War - Ares
Famine - Limos
Death - Thanatos
Pestilence - Reseph
Command and conquer.
For a brief, sweet moment, she kissed him back. Her lips softened and her tongue met his, hesitantly, as though she wasn't sure what she was doing.
And then his world turned upside down.
<time lapse>
"You kissed me!" Eyes wild, she backed away so fast she lost her flip-flops. "Do you know what you've done, you idiot? You're going to pay for kissing me."
The four horsemen of the apocalypse are a cursed lot. Born of a demon mother (succubus) and an angel father, they struggle with both halves of their nature. Each half struggling to take control, but once their four seals, which they wear around their necks, are broken their inner demons will be unleashed and then, God save us all...
In 'Immortal Rider', Limos, the only female horseman, is kissed by Arik, an Aegis warrior. In Arik's case what you don't know can definitely kill you, and what he didn't know was that Limos was engaged since birth to the most notorious demon of them all--Satan. Satan can't have her until one of three things happens--her Seal breaks, she's captured in Sheoul--the demon realm, or a male who incited Satan's jealousy for Limos says her name while in agony. Seconds after the kiss Arik is captured and taken to the demon realm. The race is on to save Arik from a fate worse than death, and prevent Limos from having to fulfill her marriage contract while attempting to find a way to stop the apocalypse from happening. No pressure.
With all the rewrites of old legends, fairy tales, myths and supernatural beings I have to say sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. This one definitely works. The spin Larissa Ione puts on the four horseman of the apocalypse prophecy was enjoyable. Each of the characters are unique from the others and are enjoyable to watch, er, read about. Truth be told, when I read I usually picture everything in my head, sort of like my own personal movie version. With Larissa's book it's easier than some.
Larissa's world building skills are off the charts with this series. I love how she wove her Demonica series' world in with this one. The little touches she adds such as each horseman's horse residing on their body until needed, armor which appears upon touching a scar on their body, and three dimensional tattoos are fun. Plus, I always enjoy it when an author intertwines their stories with something well known, in this case a prophecy of the four horseman of the apocalypse, and make changes which makes it their own.
The sacrifices each horseman must make in order to prevent the apocalypse and their internal conflicts and fears of becoming evil makes the story more engaging. The way the personality change in Pestilence/ Reseph was portrayed in this book almost makes me wonder if perhaps there is more than one soul or being residing in his body. Could perhaps the broken seal actually break out a demon that takes possession of the individual it resides in? On the other hand, it does sound a little bit like the multipersonality disorder described in the famous book 'Sybil' by Flora Rheta Schreiber. I must admit it makes me wonder.
Arik's and Limo's story was thoroughly enjoyable. Imagine wanting a relationship with someone, but not being able to have one because of circumstances put in place when you were a baby and then reinforced by you in your misguided youth. The chemistry between the two was sizzling, and I love how they tried to work around the barriers Satan had put in place to ensure Limo would be his. I liked the 'where there's a will there's a way' attitude they took on when posed with a problem. Also, the banter between the two at the beginning had me chuckling. Here is a small example of one of my favorites. The verbal sparring match is actually longer, but I don't want to give it all away:
"Wow," he rasped. "Do you emasculate all the men, or am I special?"
Her sensual lips curved into an amused smile. "Oh, you're special, but I wouldn't take it as a compliment."
The secrets Limos tried to sweep under the rug added additional drama to story and effected everyone. It was interesting how lying was something that was a weakness for her. Pestilence's growing power was alarming and intriguing. His devious plans for Thanatos and the way he got Limos to help him was highly entertaining. You always need a good villain in a book. I look forward to see what Larissa will do with this character.
The secrets Limos tried to sweep under the rug added additional drama to story and effected everyone. It was interesting how lying was something that was a weakness for her. Pestilence's growing power was alarming and intriguing. His devious plans for Thanatos and the way he got Limos to help him was highly entertaining. You always need a good villain in a book. I look forward to see what Larissa will do with this character.
Songs/lyrics that this book inspired to dance through my head? The first is, 'Love Hurts' appropriately by Incubus:
Love hurts...
But sometimes it's a good hurt
And it feels like I'm alive.
Love sings,
When it transcends the bad things.
Have a heart and try me,
'cause without love I won't survive.
I'm fettered and abused,
I stand naked and accused
(Should I surface this one man submarine?)
I only want the truth...
And they say, "You don't tug on Superman's cape,
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Limos."
On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a STEAM rating - too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you look flustered and flushed. Overall, I gave this one a 5 out of 5 roses. I felt it was a wonderfully blend of romance, action, and drama.You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Limos."
Notes to keep you in the know:
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting by Victor Vasnetsov
Photo gotten from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse
When many people think of the four horseman of the apocalypse they envision something like the above portrait. The horseman on the extreme left is death and he looks like a skeleton. I think that is what inspired Regan's following line about Thanatos: "Visions of a bony old dude who looked like the crypt keeper's twin brother popped into her head."
Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, the most active volcano in Ethiopia. It is in the Afar Depression, a badlands desert area spanning the border with Eritrea, and the volcano itself is surrounded completely by an area below sea level, making it a relatively low-elevation volcano. Erta Ale means "smoking mountain" in the local Afar language and its southernmost pit is known locally as "the gateway to hell".
The above information and photo gotten off of wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erta_Ale
Order of the Series:
1) Eternal Rider
2) Immortal Rider
3) Lethal Rider - Thanatos' story coming June 2012
I loved this book. I only discovered Larissa Ione's books when ETERNAL RIDER was released but since then, I have had to read the whole Demonica series and now this one. Each book just makes me love her even more!
ReplyDeleteI read the first book of the Demonica series before starting this one. I think Larissa has a great imagination and I love her writing style.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever visited her website? She throws some awesome giveaways and contests. A while ago she did a contest for her subscribers to come up with a name for one of the characters in an upcoming book. Sadly my suggestion wasn't taken, but I really liked the ones she chose.
She also lets you know of any good books she's read. I checked out a couple of her recommendations and truly loved the books.