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42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Awesome Story In The Demonica Series!, January 26, 2010
This review is from: Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)
Lore is a halfbreed Seminus demon/human and Eidolon, Shade and Wraith's half brother. He is an assassin who has a slave bond to demon master "Deth" until he satisfies a debt owed to the creature. If you have read the Demonica series, you will know that Lore's assignment was to assassinate Eidolon, Shade and Wraith as part of the evil antagonist's plan in the previous two novels, "Desire Unchained" and "Passion Unleashed". Lore, of course did not fulfill his contract. "Ecstasy Unveiled", opens 3 weeks following the riveting conclusion of "Passion Unleashed", and Lore is having to `pay the piper' as it were regarding his failure to succeed in his assignment.
Lore is an enigma because unlike full-blooded seminus demons in the Demonica world his mother was a human which causes the genetics to go awry. What does this mean? Instead of having a gift that can be used for good (Eidolon for instance, can heal with his touch) Lore can kill by touching any creature, human or demon with his right hand. In addition, his dermoire markings, or glyphs are faded snaking from his right shoulder to finger tips. Conversely full-blooded sem's dermoires are much darker and they have a personal glyph around their neck. Lore also has the ability to resurrect the dead in certain circumstances but because of the slave bond, Deth suffers as a result of that intervention. The penalty for using his gift of resurrection or if he does not accomplish a `contract' is exceedingly unpleasant.
Lore learned soon after his S'genesis (final maturation cycle) that intimate relations with a female as with his touch causes death, he therefore has had to find other ways to satisfy the sexual requirements inherent to Seminus demons. Lore is a lonely conflicted character, he doesn't particularly like killing, but he has been left with little choice. When Deth gives him the assignment to assassinate a close friend and family member of the Sem brothers, Lore is again in a catch 22 situation. Oh, and Lore? He is HOT...
Memitim or `angel in waiting' "Idess" is eager for her ascension to heaven and she feels it is close. She has spent centuries in solitude and loneliness and has missed her brother "Rami", her mentor, terribly. Memitim are `Primori' guardians, which means they have charges to keep safe until they fulfill a destiny important to the world. If a Memitim doesn't keep their Primori safe then their time on earth is extended. Idess is an ancient, wields considerable power, she is beautiful, and lethal in battle. As fate would have it Lore's `target' is one of Idess's Primori and so the hero and heroine of this novel meet under extremely adversarial circumstances.
Lore and Idess's relationship develops slowly over the course of the story from literally battling each other into a soul deep love. Idess has been celibate for centuries but she is not a virgin which I found refreshing and unusual given her "angelic" status. I became completely invested in Idess and Lore's story and could not put this book down for wanting to find out how their tumultuous and at times bittersweet story would conclude.
Ms. Ione introduces Lore's fraternal twin sister "Sin" who is an anomaly because Seminus demons are always born male. Sin's gift is even more lethal than Lore's and she is a character with a giant chip on her shoulder due to a history of torture and abuse. Sin also has a razor sharp tongue, and an attitude to go with it, as Eidolon indicates in the story she is "like a female Wraith". Sin like her brother is an assassin and bonded to the same master as Lore, she has an extremely dark past.
Eidolon, Shade, Wraith and their families have significant roles in the plot. A mysterious "aura" has permeated Underworld General causing staff tensions to rise and two of the Sem brothers in particular to be at each other's throats. In addition, ghosts have infested the hospital and equipment failures are happening daily. Even an exorcist hired to do a "cleansing" runs for the hills.
Readers also meet a very hot dhampire (a vampire/werewolf) who I hope we will see in future Demonica stories. Lets just say, he and Sin have an `encounter'. (lol)
In "Ecstasy Unveiled", Ms. Ione takes readers through the Harrowgates (demon portals) deep inside the Sheoul or "demon realm". The amazing graphic imagery and prose brings the Demonica world to life.
IMHO, Larissa Ione continues to build the Demonica world with just the right amount of momentum. As part of this, the world and hierarchy of angels is expanded and integrated. "Ecstasy Unveiled" is full of exciting plot twists, turns, surprises, and action packed scenes that get the heart pounding. There are two main antagonists in the story, the identity of one in particular will completely surprise you and is revealed during a riveting climax. In addition, readers are treated to Ms. Ione's signature dark humor that had me chortling with laughter.
If you have enjoyed the Demonica series thus far, I don't think you will be disappointed. There is a good foundation to Demonica series written into the narrative and I think the book could be read in isolation. However, IMHO it would be far better to read the series in sequence.
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10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dark, Seductive, and Satisfying, February 11, 2010
With each book I become more and more impressed with Larissa Ione's Demonica series. It's an original world with complex and unique mythologies blended nearly seamlessly into a cohesive whole, ripe with dark humor, honest and erotic sexuality, and at its core, the steely strength of love - familial and mated both. What began four books ago as a paranormal romance series has developed into a smorgasbord of trials, tribulations, dangers, and true consequences, and as a reader, I'm intensely appreciative of the pleasure each book has provided. Ecstasy Unveiled was absolutely no disappointment.
Lore, the Sem demon assassin, is one kill away from freedom from his master, but it's not freedom for himself he cares about, it's his sister Sin's life - which hangs in the balance of this particular kill. Unfortunately, the target is none other than Kynan, the human whose life he restored in the previous book, and the guy who got the girl that Lore himself was interested in. Not to mention that Kynan is real tight with the three brothers Lore recently discovered AND he's protected by the almost-angel, Idess, whose job it is to keep Kynan alive - at all costs - to save humanity. What's a demon assassin to do?
One of the things I like most about the Demonica Series is it really is a study in the adage "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." Truly, none of the good guys (and the not-SO-good-but-mostly-well-intentioned guys) can catch a break here. Lore has to kill someone he sorta hates, sure, but he doesn't WANT to kill him, really, especially as he craves a family bond and connection to his brothers Eidolon, Shade, and Wraith (and they'll kill him for taking out Kynan), not to mention he's totally hot on Idess, who really wants to get into heaven and leave the earthly plane, but to do so she's got to make sure neither Kynan NOR Lore get dead. And if that's not enough, the forces manipulating all this death and destruction are viciously evil and bent on the destruction of the brothers, their mates and children, AND Idess...basically everyone.
Oh yeah, you definitely can't say that Ecstasy Unveiled is thin on plot. My only complaint, actually, is that in this particular book there's almost too much going on as Lore's world spins out of control and the evil undermining his brothers starts ripping everything apart. I can understand - and really liked - the initiation of the story thread for Sin's (the smurfette...*giggle*) book (due out in September 2010, so look for it!), but a werewolf epidemic on top of everything ELSE that was going down in Ecstasy Unveiled made it a little too chaotic for my own tastes. I would've liked more time with Lore and Idess, seeing their relationship develop a bit more in non-life threatening or captured situations. It's a minor issue, really, but it did keep me from truly loving this book. I really REALLY liked it though.
I do not recommend this book if you haven't read the three previous novels. This is not the sort of series where you can just pick it up here and go, or read out of order, because far too much of what goes on in these books, and the characters in them, are motivated by the relationships and events of the past novels, and there's not enough exposition to satisfactorily define the world for a neophyte. Too much impact would be lost. Also, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone not comfortable or fond of sexual situations written with explicit language and without the use of flowery euphemisms. The brothers are sex demons, after all, and there's not a whole lot held back.
Really enjoyed Ecstasy Unveiled and am very pleased that the next in the series will be out in September. Until then!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Every Pot Was Boiling In This One., June 6, 2010
This review is from: Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)
Larissa Ione is a talented writer in that her attention to detail is pretty over the top. The world she has created is so intricate and at many times reading one of her offerings is like making one's way through a maze. Sorta fun at the beginning but by the middle your sorta over it and just want to find the exit. Why? Well I feel it is because she INSISTS on throwing in every element of her world, every character, every level of the society she has created, every power, every super-power, every counter-power, every temperature, every emotion, every update, every back story, middle story, front story, the list is endless and for me that just drags her books way the hell down.
Now IMO she overcame this in Passion Unleashed (Wraith & Serena's story). She kept to one basic (ok 2) geographic areas and she let the characters be the focal point of the story. But now in Ecstasy Unveiled, she is back to cramming so much into it that the H/H are lost and become almost bit players in their book. The book centers around Lore a demon assassin and Idess a soon to be ascending angel who has a few tasks she must complete and that being the protection of her Primori Kynan and an unnamed Warg. Lore, is entrusted by the bad guys with doing away with Kynan so that the medallion he protects can be used to bring about the end of mankind. Lore has been working for uber demon Deth and is working off his debt as a way to make up to his sister Sin who is also an assassin for abandoning her. So if either fails to complete an assignment they are faced with horrible pain and possibly extending their servitude to Deth. If Idess fails to protect her Primori she may not ascend to Heaven. Great plot, good potential, but all goes downhill from there.
Ione introduces a secondary plot and re-introduces the Seminus brothers Eidolon, Shade, Wraith, their families Tayla, Runa & Serena, Rami/Rariel (Idess's brother), Conall (hot medic), Kynan & Gem, the grim reaper (Idess's dad), Wargs and a Warg disease that is wiping them out and the premise for the next book Sin Undone, All the babies of the Seminus brothers, ghosts, white lights, saving souls, harrowgate hells, Gargantua bone, magical cuffs, death dermoire, A bad brother (can't remember his name). Ok krikey, you get the picture! In other words it was just too much.
Now i liked Lore and really liked Idess but I never felt that Ione spent time synching them up because she was too darn busy pulling the threads of this overly tight corset of characters togethers and that for me is why this book fails. If by the midway point I am looking to get outta the maze then I am sure many readers will potentially feel the same. Why don't authors get it and maybe listen to their readers.
I do sorta think that my next purchase of her books if any will be done straight from the discount bin and my local bookstore.
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