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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended!, February 25, 2009
This review is from: Desire Unchained (Demonica, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Runa Wagner has wanted revenge on Shade, the Seminus Demon who broke her heart and left her life forever changed. But she never thought she'd end up imprisoned with Shade! Shade is determined to stay away from Runa because he fears she could be the one to trigger his curse... a curse that promises him an eternity of anguish if he falls in love. Shade and Runa will have to face a mountain of obstacles if love stands a chance, however, as deadly foes want them destroyed. DESIRE UNCHAINED is a bit darker than the first book, PLEASURE UNBOUND. While it can be read as a stand alone, the plethora of characters and their various connections may be a bit overwhelming without the solid foundation of the first book. Characters from the first book do play pivotal roles in DESIRE UNCHAINED but Ms. Ione does provide sufficient background history for newcomers. I can't imagine not wanting to read PLEASURE UNBOUND, though! Readers should be warned that Larissa Ione takes readers on a dark journey as Shade's world isn't an easy one. Don't let this deter you from reading DESIRE UNCHAINED, however, as Larissa Ione has so many diabolically clever plot twists in store! It took every inch of my spoiler-loving little heart to not peek at the ending as there were just so many moments I thought Shade and Runa were thoroughly doomed, only to see such a logical and splendid twist appear. World building and character development are critical to the success of DESIRE UNCHAINED and Larissa Ione does a spectacular job with both aspects. Neither is sacrificed for the other but instead each enhances the other. Runa is a likable heroine, and her anger and feelings of betrayal are easily understood. Shade, on the other hand, would be a difficult hero to love but Larissa Ione portrays his dilemma so well that it's hard not to fall in love with him. DESIRE UNCHAINED is a steamy but oh so intricately developed tale that should have cross-genre appeal. Larissa Ione shows that without a doubt she is one of the hottest authors out there. Her combination of a scorching romance, gut wrenching emotional punches, and superb characters all mixed together in a richly developed supernatural fantasy world is perfect. Highly recommended! COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I don't say this often, but this PNR series is worth the money, May 12, 2009
This review is from: Desire Unchained (Demonica, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Plot Summary: Shade wakes up chained in a dungeon with an ex-girlfriend who hates his guts. They've been kidnapped by ghouls, the faceless boogeymen who kidnap supernaturals in order to harvest their organs. Runa hasn't seen Shade in almost a year, since he dumped her after a month of incredible sex, but she's hardly forgotten or forgiven him. Their kidnapper has a personal grudge against the Sems brothers, and his punishment for Shade could activate a curse that would literally turn Shade into a living shadow. I think these books have near perfect pacing, because this is the second Demonica novel that has entertained me beautifully with nary a snooze. I am never tempted to skip, skim, or speed through any of the passages, regardless of which characters are being featured, because they're all interesting. I am more than willing to pony up the dough to keep reading this series, which is definitely one of the highest compliments I can bestow, since I'm a disgustingly frugal book buyer. While I liked Shade and Runa's story, I have to say that they probably won't be my favorite couple after I've read more of Ione's books. They have unique problems to overcome, but their chemistry never reaches that nuclear hot level I'm constantly hoping to encounter. As with her first novel, Ione blends in saucy sex scenes (including BDSM this time around), with great interpersonal dialog between Shade and Runa. It's always a pleasure to spend an afternoon at Underworld General, the demon-run hospital serving all non-humans. I commend Ione for dreaming up such a unique setting for her paranormal world, and I love hearing about all the weird and wonderful creatures who get treated there. I'm thinking that maybe Wraith's book, the next one in the series, will deliver the best romance yet, and the teaser chapter had me itching to buy it immediately. I showed some restraint, but I know that I'm getting it sometime this month.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
When You Don't Like the Hero..., March 18, 2009
This review is from: Desire Unchained (Demonica, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Introduced in Pleasure Unbound, Shade is the brother with the brooding bad-boy manners and a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas. Branded with a love curse thanks to his Seminus Demon nature he can never fall in love, lest he fade away. When an evil figure from his past comes back to haunt him he winds up imprisoned with former girlfriend Runa Wagner. Once naive and sweet, his betrayal has left her jaded and with more than one bone to pick with her former flame. Suffering under a curse of her own the last thing Runa wants is to fall in love with the man she blames for her curse. But when Shade's enemy bespells them, forcing the two into a mating that binds them eternally both begin to finds things in one another worthy of love. Shade has to find a way to break his own curse and defeat the enemy or fade away forever. Oh how I wanted to love this one. The storyline was good. The villain was nicely brought in and made a terrific enemy for the brothers. Runa was a likable heroine, once timid and innocent she's become angry and bitter in a way most women who've been burned by love can relate to. What didn't work for me and makes me actually feel a little guilty is that I don't like Shade. Didn't like him in Pleasure Unbound and don't like him any more now than I did then. I read somewhere that he is the authors favorite and I think to some extent maybe that is why I kind of felt like she was trying to put too many eggs in one basket with him. Originally I thought he was supposed to be the mysterious, brooding one and Wraith was supposed to be the bad-boy but it came across like she was trying to make Shade brooding, mysterious, charming, snarky, the bad-boy, the rebel, all of these things in one. If you are a Shade fan I think you'll love this one. Unfortunately he just didn't work for me and it's tough to love a romance when you wanna trade the hero for another one. That said it sets us up nicely for Wraith's story which is the one I have been looking forward to. If you enjoy subcharacters and side stories there's more of Kynan and Gem's back and forth attraction and Luc (I love Luc!!!) pops up a little. If this series continues beyond the books of the three brothers it looks like there is potential for some enjoyable urban fantasy storylines with a romance blended in smoothly. I may not have loved this one but I definitely look forward to seeing where this series goes.
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