Early Review of Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance, #4) by Larissa Ione

Title: Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance)
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: Paperback, 432 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (November 20, 2012)
ISBN-10: 0446574481
ISBN-13: 978-0446574488
Author's Website: http://larissaione.com/blog/
Notes: I read the eARC version of the book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. I will need to check quotes against the final copy. Assume any and all errors are my own because they probably are.

’There had always been two apocalyptic prophecies about the Four Horsemen, one catalogued by a demon holy book, the Daemonica, and one accounted for in the human bible. The differences lay in how their Seals would beak and what side the Horsemen would fight on…good or evil.‘

While the four Horsemen of the apocalypse—Ares (War), Limos (Famine), Thanatos (Death), and Reseph (Pestilence), are a cursed lot no more, Reseph has retained his curse for as Harvester states:
     “Fool. You know prophecies can change. Reseph’s Seal may not be able to break again until the Bible’s prophecy comes to pass, but the events of the last year have caused a disruption in what was originally foreseen. The Horsemen are still predicted to fight on the side of good in the Biblical Apocalypse. But…”
     Reaver ground his teeth. “But?” he prompted.
     “But Reseph’s evil side was awakened when he became Pestilence. His demon isn’t dead. It’s merely locked up.”
So while the Daemonica's Apocalypse prophecy may have been avoided, the Biblical one still has yet to come to pass and the big questions are can Pestilence be unleashed early and will Reseph be able to control Pestilence whenever he is unleashed because, if not, Reseph may end up fighting for the dark side and it won’t be God’s will that will be done.

___________________

Rogue Rider starts up a few months after Lethal Rider ends. At the end of Lethal Rider, Reseph had once again regained control over his person. While he retained all of his own memories, he also retained all of Pestilence’s, as well. As the horror of what his demon half had done began to sink in, Reseph lost his grip on his sanity and wanted nothing more than to die. He found he didn’t want to live with the guilt created by all the pain and suffering he couldn’t and hadn’t been able to prevent. When Reaver comes upon him in Sheoul-gra, the place where demon souls go until they can be reborn or kept in torturous limbo, it is not a pretty sight. But Reseph isn’t afforded the luxury of death. He is one of the four Horsemen and as such he has a purpose to fulfill. If he were to die, well, there is no telling what the consequences would be. So Reaver decided to do the only thing he could think of, he erased Reseph’s memory and transported him to a place he felt would give him the best chance to heal and regain his strength. Because when the biblical prophecy finally does comes to pass, Reseph will need all his strength to keep Pestilence in check.

Jillian Cardiff lives alone for a reason. In the past year, she was attacked by demons, betrayed by the man she loved, and lost her parents. Deciding she needed a change of venue she headed back home to get away from it all and to heal. When she comes across a man unconscious and naked in the middle of a snow storm, she thinks she really doesn't need the complication he'll bring, but knows if she leaves him he'll surely die. Hoping he's not a serial killer she brings him home and nurses him back to health.

When Reseph comes to, he's not sure who he is or where he's from. He has no idea how he got where he is or why he was naked. He thinks his name might be Reseph, but isn't a hundred percent sure. What he does know is that he likes sex and the woman who has been taking care of him and is not shy about letting her know it. He knows he's good looking, and he's a little cocky. In his former life he was the ultimate playboy and avoided relationships like the plague. While reading the book the song, "I'm sexy and and I know it" kept dancing through my head, and Reseph could probably pull off singing the song with no one laughing. Not having his memory makes him a little vulnerable, and for the first time in his life he allows himself to get close to another person who he isn't related to. 

Truth be told, I didn't particularly like Reseph at the beginning of the book. He was a little crass and unpolished. His first words after he established who Jillian was and where he was were "Did we f*ck?" followed by "Why not?" Slowly, however, as the book continues, we get to see a gentler side to Reseph and like he thawed out after being half frozen in the snow, my feelings toward Reseph began to thaw and I warmed up to him.

Unfortunately, Reaver isn't the only one who realized that Deliverance wouldn't kill Reseph, and his reprieve from reality is short lived. Demons are searching all over the world for him. They hope to find Reseph and coax Pestilence out by prematurely breaking Reseph's Seal. It's only a matter of time before his hiding place is found.

In Rogue Rider, Reseph has to regain the trust of his siblings, and we finally find out who the Four Horesemen's father is. Additionally, we find out more about Harvester and Reaver. Plus, Larissa Ione gives us a taste of what will be in her next book of the Demonica series which will be Reaver's book. Thank goodness she gave us something to look forward to.

Why is the book named Rogue Rider? Well, by definition a rogue is a dishonest and/or unprincipled man, and as Reseph was possessed by Pestilence, it seems a befitting name.

Some, but not all, of my favorite lines:
- "Look, maybe you should, ah, get off me and we'll discuss everything over dinner."
  "Dinner?" He grinned, and good Lord, he was stunning when he wasn't scaring her half to death.
  "Totally on board with that. I'm starving. Maybe we could f*ck first?"
  This time she did choke, "Sex is not on the table, but chili is."
  "You can have sex on tables," he said.
- "Have a seat, I won't bite." A cocky smile accompanied a waggle of his brows. "Unless you like that kind of thing."
-  "What's his name?
  "Doodle."
   "Doodle?" He winced. "No wonder he's so friendly. He's begging me to call him something like Fang or Chaos or Styx."

Overall, I gave Rogue Rider 4 1/2 out of 5 roses. Another great book by Ms. Ione with plenty of action, drama, and romance. It also includes some twists that surprised me although I did guess who their father was. If you haven’t noticed, the series has both the 'love conquers all' and 'good conquers evil' themes running throughout the series. What’s not to love about that? I think the most intriguing part of this book is the inner conflict Reseph suffers because of his loss of control when Pestilence possessed him. What Reseph has to realize is that things aren't as they were when Pestilence first possessed him. He needs to trust and believe in himself which isn't an easy thing when even his siblings, who could have suffered a similar fate, don't trust him and he knows what's at stake. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one scores 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 looked flustered and flushed. This was such a great series with a interesting ending. I am sad to say goodbye to these four Horsemen, but knowing Larissa Ione, we probably haven't seen the last of them. I HIGHLY recommend the series. If you haven't started it yet, you should really add it to your 'must read' pile. Yep, it's that good.

Order of Series:

Guide to the world of the Lords of Deliverance Series:

Order of Related Series - Demonica: