REVIEW: Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione
Dear Ms. Ione:
Ecstasy Unveiled is the fourth book in the Demonica series. I’ve enjoyed all of the three previous books to varying degrees. The last one was my favorite and while I enjoyed this entry Wraith and Serena from Passion Unleashed remains my favorite couple. The action in this book is non stop and I never once wished I was doing anything but reading the book while the story lasted.
Loren is a half human, half Seminus demon and half brother to Eidolon, Shade and Wraith. Because he’s half, he’s never suffered from the inability to complete without his mate; unfortunately, Loren remains very inexperienced because he has another sexually related problem. The touch of his right hand or arm can kill and he’s especially dangerous when he lacks control over his body and emotions such as during climatic sexual moments. Loren’s had a lot of self pleasure but little enjoyment with the opposite sex. Oh, Loren, inexperience never looked so sexy.
Idess is a Memitim, the only class of angels born, not made. She is awaiting her ascension. While Idess is on earth she serves as a protector for Primoris. Primoris are humans or other beings who have the ability to change the outcome of humanity. Idess is impervious to most to most dangerous and receives brief infusions of power by drinking the blood necessary to flash from one location to another. Idess feels her time to ascend is near because she has only two Primoris.
One of Idess’ Primori’s is Kynan, a Marked Sentinel, and he was virtually impervious to all threats except those of angelic origin. Except for Lore. Lore brought Kynan back from the dead and therefore has the power to remove the gift of life.
Lore and his sister, Sin, are assassins in the service of assassin master, Deth. Lore abandoned Sin when they were younger because he was driven slightly mad when his demon side appeared when he was twenty. Sin got herself enslaved to Deth 30 years ago and so to save her, Lore agreed to serve as well. He had to perform a 100 kills and they would both be free.
His 100th kill assignment is Kynan. It Lore fails, Deth will cut off Sin’s arms and sell her to a different slave trader. So while Lore really doesn’t want to kill Kynan because it would mean the wrath of his brothers, he wants to save his sister.
If Idess can’t save Kynan from Lore then she will be forced to remain longer on earth. Then Lore becomes one of her Primori’s. So she has to protect Lore, prevent him from killing Kynan. Every one is going crazy at the hospital. The brothers are fighting. Shade wants to kill Lore. Sin has unleased a disease on the wargs. It’s really all going to hell in a handbasket. Oh and did I mention that Idess has to remain chaste in order to Ascend.
I kept wondering how you are going to get yourself out of the fixes that you had your characters in and for the most part I thought that the world building was extremely consistent there were a couple questions I had such as how a Memitim knows when the Primori has served his purpose. I think the world building is creative. The plot moved quickly without being too frenetic.
The wind down of the story was a tiny bit problematic. All of the resolution to the issues that you threw at your characters were resolved easily. I also felt that the sexual content in this book as compared to the previous ones was a little toned down. There was a lot of build up but the consummation scenes seemed rushed, as if you were laboring to fit everything into the book at the end. There were so many characters from previous books that are someone entering the series at this point might be very confused.
This is more of an action romance than one that is built upon the character introspection. Lore and Idess spend little time contemplating either their place in the world or their roles in each other’s lives. Nearly all of the conflict comes externally and once those barriers are removed, the two move on toward the cementing of the relationship. This isn’t a complaint, but an observation. This book is fast paced and fun. I fully enjoyed the book and look forward to more Demonica stories. B
Best regards,
Jane
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I would love to read this. I would have bought this yesterday, except I want the ebook and the publisher is delaying that for another week. Thanks for the review, because I’ll get over my grumpiness and my temptation to protest by not buying.
This is killing me because my local B & N hasn’t released it yet! But I will wait even another week if I have to, because this series is that good. I know when I open one of these books, I’m getting a deep, fully-fleshed out read with many layers. SO glad I discovered this author and this series.
Let’s see…if I add the half a grade for the car-standstill-gotta-pee incident…A-? :)
Glad it worked for you, Jane!
Mikou, I’m sorry. I’ve emailed the publisher about both the ebook and paperback, because at least one big chain is delaying the paperback release until Feb. 1, so I don’t get what’s going on with the odd release dates. It’s weird!
I can’t wait to read this book! Hurry up Feb 1 so I can read it on my Kindle : )
I was also upset by the delayed release date on the ebook
Yeah, I have my copy of Ecstacy Unveiled waiting on my doorstop today! I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the review Jane, it sounds great!
Larissa – I really enjoyed the first three books and can’t wait to read this one! Love the covers too! The tattoos are hot!
I usually try not to cave in to publishers who delay e-book release, in the hope you’ll buy paper, but I like this series so much that when I saw it on the shelf at my local bookstore last week, I couldn’t resist. It was totally worth it – another great read in a terrific series.
Oh, thank you so much, ladies!
I know the delayed ebook thing is frustrating. I didn’t truly realize just how much until recently.
Frannie, do you mind emailing me? I have a question for you! :)
larissaione AT gmail.com
@Larissa Ione: Thanks for the effort! I hope they reconsider for future releases. I’ve had the Jan 26 release date burned in my mind. I was crushed when I realized I’d have to wait, especially since my work schedule will keep me from reading until next weekend.
I’ve since seen that another book I want has the same delay. I don’t know if it’s the same publisher, but I hope this ebook delay trend goes away.