Review: Reaper

Reaper by Larissa Ione
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, I was unprepared for this book. I started it, just assuming that I’d be in for your typical short read in this rather developed universe. This was not your typical read.

So much happens and I’m not willing to spoil you to discuss it, but just be prepared for *a lot* of shocking developments, changes to the world, changes to people we care about, and some super dark surprises. I’m… happy, I guess? There’s resolution to a lot of things that get initiated in the first few chapters of this book, but this has set my head spinning.

We join Azagoth, still living with his pregnant mate, still trapped in his realm, but determined to be a better person for her. Then… all the things happen. So much badness, so much change, all orchestrated by the “big bad” that was created previously. As usual, heaven isn’t really much help to him, but it was still nice to get visits from *all* the familiar faces from just about every book previous. This was like the greatest hits of the series, which would be great and fun, if some major things didn’t happen that shook me up.

Ultimately, there are a lot of battles (some super “epic”) with so much damage and destruction that I was cringing but eagerly flipping pages. As with most books that have so very many changes, it was difficult at times to continue. Azagoth has been through so much, and he heads in a bit of a different direction I this book, that I was simultaneously rooting for him and rooting for people to stop him. I think this is a necessary book, but tough to finish.


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Release Blitz: Reaper by Larissa Ione

"Reaper is . . . Epic. Thrilling. Amazing. No one can suck me into a story like Larissa Ione." -- Donna Grant, New York Times bestselling author”

For love, he’ll watch the world burn.

For revenge, he’ll light the match.

New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione returns to her fan favorite Demonica Series with REAPER, available now!

THE DEMONICA SERIES RETURNS…

He is the Keeper of Souls. Judge, jury, and executioner. He is death personified.

He is the Grim Reaper.

A fallen angel who commands the respect of both Heaven and Hell, Azagoth has presided over his own underworld realm for thousands of years. As the overlord of evil souls, he maintains balance crucial to the existence of life on Earth and beyond. But as all the realms gear up for the prophesied End of Days, the ties that bind him to Sheoul-gra have begun to chafe.

Now, with his beloved mate and unborn child the target of an ancient enemy, Azagoth will stop at nothing to save them, even if it means breaking blood oaths and shattering age-old alliances.

Even if it means destroying himself and setting the world on fire…

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Excerpt

Lilliana woke to someone tap dancing on her bladder. Groaning, she rolled over and bumped into Azagoth. Pleasantly surprised that he was still in bed, she ignored her need to pee and curled up against him. She’d missed this so much while she was gone. “Good morning,” he murmured, his husky voice even more gravelly than usual. “Morning.” She snuggled into his shoulder. “I’m surprised you’re not working.” He yawned. “You wore me out last night.” Smiling against his skin, she trailed her fingers along the hard ridges and deep valleys of his abs. “I wanted to show you how grateful I was that you threw me a baby shower.” And she’d done it without getting too active. Eidolon couldn’t begrudge her one orgasm, right? “Mmm.” He pressed a kiss into her hair. “You must have been very grateful.” She slid her hand under the sheet and meandered her way to the curve of his hip. She might be a million months into her pregnancy, but her sex drive didn’t care in the least. “I’m still grateful.” He hissed as her knuckles brushed his shaft. “Not complaining.” It truly had been sweet of him to gather together the denizens of Sheoul-gra for a big celebration of food, drink, and games in the traditions of people from the human, demon, and angelic cultures. She’d suffered two more bouts of intense nausea and some cramps, but they’d passed quickly. What hadn’t passed was Azagoth’s concern. Which was probably why he was still in bed with her. It was cute the way he hovered. Annoying at times, but cute. “I just want you to know that you’re my life,” he said. “Without you, I’m a monster.” “And what are you with me?” He gave her a rare, boyish grin, made even more playful by his mop of bedhead. “A happy monster.” “I’m very happy about the happy.” She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Things are good, Lil,” he said. “I never thought much about being a partner, let alone a parent, but I want to do these things with you.” He settled his hand on her belly and smiled with wonder. “This will be my first child born without a predetermined future. He or she can be anything. Do anything.” “Incredible, isn’t it?” She pushed up on one elbow and leaned in to kiss his chest. She’d kissed every inch of him last night. Maybe she’d lick every inch of him this morning. “And our baby will be born to parents who love each other.” Determined to show him how much she loved him, she kissed her way lower. Her lips whispered over his nipple, but before she could taste him, a cramp wrenched her insides. She sucked in a harsh breath, her hand going to her belly. “What is it?” Azagoth jackknifed up, his expression dark with worry. “Is it the baby?” Fierce heat swelled beneath the surface of her skin as her abdomen tightened. “I think it might be Braxton Hicks,” she said between panting breaths. “What?” “Cara had them.” Closing her eyes to stop the room from spinning, she eased back onto her pillow. “They’re like practice contractions.” She didn’t remember Cara complaining about being hot and sweating buckets, though. Another cramp streaked through her, and she moaned. Cara had said they were painful, as if someone were squeezing her intestines. This was more like someone was driving a red-hot blade through them. “You’re white as a ghost, Lilli.” Something’s wrong. No, nothing was wrong. She was being paranoid. Azagoth rested his palm on her forehead, testing her temperature. “Are these Hicks things supposed to be like this?” She heard the panic in his voice but not the words. Her ears were buzzing. Her head was pounding. And, suddenly, a wave of agony wrapped around her and squeezed so hard she screamed. Vaguely, she heard Azagoth call out her name as a warm gush spread between her thighs. “Lilliana? Lilliana!” His voice droned in and out as the room began to tilt. There was shouting. More pain. Her thoughts fragmented. And then, finally…nothing.

About Larissa Ione

Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career in meteorology to pursue her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her retired U.S. Coast Guard husband, her son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhounds, a King Shepherd named Hexe and a Belgian Malinois named Duvel.

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Review: Junkyard Dog

Junkyard Dog by Katja Desjarlais
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book feels like a later installment in the series where I skipped the first few books – that’s how developed the world is. We join what feels like a story already in progress, which only grabbed me even more.

Alex is part of a group of mythological beings. You gotta get over that real quick, because there is so much more to this story. Charlotte is a park ranger with a super tough chick background. She’s more than capable, but still has a soft spot for lost animals. After another sighting of a huge black dog pops up, she sets up camp to “lure” this dog to safety. She’s certainly fearless, because it’s Alex in his shifted form that she ends up “catching.” The sizzle between these two (as humans, not human/dog pairing) is off the charts hot and awesome.

What should have been a simple hunt for Alex ends up being complicated by the murderous intentions of his target and his attraction to Charlotte. Did I mention that the side characters in this story are also great? They totally are, and left me wanting even more. Charlotte’s partner in particular was a highlight of this tale. I hope this isn’t the last we see from him. So while this story starts and ends Charlotte and Alex’s tale, I’m optimistic that we’ll get some closure from the other brothers at some point in the near future.


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Review: The Weaver

The Weaver by Heather Kindt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was definitely a unique tale, and managed to weave (ha!) together a contemporary YA romance, historical fiction, and even some elements of horror/fantasy. As the start of a series, this does not disappoint!

Laney is a bit of a recluse. She keeps to herself, writing her secret novel and studying, but makes an exception for her childhood friend and longtime crush. Things take a bit of a turn when a character from her book ends up attacking her. Her college life, which seemed relatively normal, only gets weirder and weirder as some more familiar faces begin to pop up. A simple crush turns into a love triangle, which then turns into a race against a murderous fictional character. The face is quick and this book was completely addictive.

While I guess you could read this book and stop here, this is clearly not meant as a standalone. This book sets up the characters (both fictional and “real”), the world, the magic, and starts the story. I can’t wait to see where this world takes me in future installments. I’m desperate to know more about what goes on here, what other powers are roaming around in this universe, and ultimately where Laney will end up.


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Review: Burn for Me

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know, I’m doing this in a weird order. I dove in at book 4, but now I’m swinging back around to start at the beginning (even though I kind of know where things end up). That being said, I still really enjoyed this book.

Nevada is the eldest kid of very… interesting family. They live in this universe where magic powers are relatively commonplace and everyone is dealing with their challenges/skills in different ways. A sort of class system has set up with primes (the heaviest magical hitters) are at the top and everyone else falls in line. Nevada’s family has become beholden to one such family, due to some debts they collected when her father fought against cancer. She’s carrying the weight of this and all their other burdens when she accepts an un-winnable case – find a fire-magic prime and bring him to his family before the police catch him.

As if that wasn’t tough enough, she ends up butting heads with a notoriously crazy “mad Rogan.” Oh, and he’s super-hot, super powerful, and super arrogant. These two, obviously, have some amazing sexual attraction that will take us through this 3 book story arc. Fair warning – this is not a book that resolves everything all in one book. In fact, there’s a pretty good cliffhanger which guarantees you will read the next one (which I will). It was neat to see all these characters must younger than I saw them in book 4, so I think whatever order you join is still OK.


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Review: Stockings and Spells

Stockings and Spells by Nancy Warren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I blindly picked up this audiobook while between series based solely on the cover and title. I'm new to this "Vampire Knitting Club," but was also intrigued by that. I guess vampires can do anything, also knitting.

I met Lucy at the start of this book, so I'm not really sure of all she's gone through up to this point. She now owns a knitting store, inherited from her grandmother who is now a vampire. I'm sure there's a story there. Her grandmother is around (though hidden) with her group of vampires, including one possible love interest for Lucy in the form of an older vampire book appraiser (he's a vampire, who is also a book appraiser, I should say). Another love interest for Lucy is in the form of a cop, who she encounters several times before ultimately needing him for the mystery part of the book.

This book is not my typical read, because there really isn't any romance. Instead, we get a mystery in the form of an attempted murder, possible book authorship theft, and some other related crimes. I liked the characters, the mystery, and was even motivated to think about trying knitting (I won't). this book was quick, entertaining, but probably won't get me to continue with the series in lieu of others. For a book series with "Vampire" in the name, there was pretty much no supernatural elements, other than fast knitting.

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Review: Enchantress Under Fire

Enchantress Under Fire by A.C. Spahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am so sad to see this series come to an end! More, please? I'm not ready to say goodbye to this world, all the characters, and the unique magical quirkiness! That being said, this was a fabulous ending to a wonderful story. If you are reading this and have not yet read book 1 - go back and do that! You would be doing yourself a disservice by starting at the end of this fantastic journey.

We join Adrienne as she embarks on what will undoubtedly be her most dangerous mission. At the end of the previous book, we learned she was going off on her own to infiltrate Geralt's cult and rescue her boyfriend. Seems silly, but she's desperate for enchanters, and Geralt holds all those cards. This story starts quickly and just doesn't let up on the terror and anxiety. Sure, it takes some time for her to gain some trust and allies, but there is a constant worry that she will be found out and sacrificed, killing way too many people in the process.

Don't worry - we get lots of familiar faces, even though Adrienne was insistent she do this on her own. I wouldn't mind some spin off books, though, to get even more of our friendly PU members (hint-hint). There are so many twists and turns to get to the big showdown that I wouldn't know where to start with a spoiler-free review. Things I can promise? Magic - more awesome magic. Big showdown - the one you want. Happy endings? Of course! These endings, however, come in the most unexpected way (that I was shocked and happily surprised by). This world is still one of my favorites, and I'm so happy I got to see it all play out.

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