The Romanceaholic

Expected Release Date: May 22, 2012
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Imprint: Forever
Author’s Website: http://larissaione.com
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 3, Lords of Deliverance (Spinoff of the Demonica Series)
Series Best Read In Order: Yes
Steam Level: Steamy

Official Blurb:

They’re here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell’s minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday…or let it ride…

LETHAL RIDER

Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he’s about to become a father.

Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he’s ever wanted-a family.

This review contains spoilers for previous books in the series.

What Worked For Me:

• Oh Thanatos is just as delicious as ever.  Full of anger and yet still honorable almost to a fault, he’s easily my favorite of the Horsemen.
• I loved how betrayed Thanatos felt by not only Regan and the Aegis, but by his own family as well.
• I was very, very anxious about how Ms. Ione was going to handle the fact that Regan raped Thanatos in the last book.  Now, put down the pitchforks and torches — I know that there’s a lot of controversy over whether it was rape, but regardless of semantics, she set out to seduce him and conceive a child without his knowledge, and there was bound to be a LOT of fallout to that.  I do feel that Regan was sufficiently repentant about what happened, and I did feel that things were explained in such a way, and that the storyliine progressed in such a way that their HEA was believable despite her previous actions.
• I never thought I’d say this, but *whew* Hot Pregnancy Sex! *fans self*
• On a similar note, I was happy to see that both Than and Regan had some issues to work through before they fell back into bed together.
• I loved the plot twists and many, many betrayals. It becomes impossible to know who to trust, and watching all the characters being forced to watch their backs was
• The ending was amazing. No spoilers, but that was one of the most harrowing endings I’ve read in romance in a very long time.
• I love the baby’s name too

What Didn’t Work For Me:

• Unfortunately, like any late entry into a long-standing series, there was a lot of rehashing of events from previous novels. While I understand that it is intended to refresh the memories of previous fans, as well as try to keep newcomers from being completely lost, I found myself wanting to skim fairly often, which is rather disappointing.
• While they both played an important part in this story, I was sad that there wasn’t more interaction between Harvester and Reaver. I’m really hoping they end up not only together, but getting their own story, even if it’s just a novella.

I’ve been a fan of the Demonica Series, and subsequently the Lords of Deliverance Series since their inception, and this book is no exception.  Full of action, drama, steamy romance, and terrifying plot twists, I was happy to see that Than and Regan still had the same intense chemistry that we’d witnessed between them in Immortal Rider.

The main thing keeping this book from being a 5-star read was simply the fact that as Book 3 of a spin-off of another 5-Book series, it tends to be a case of “more of the same”.  While I was glad to see that certain long-standing elements of the series-wide story arc were resolved, I admit that there were several instances where I was tempted to skim over parts that were feeling a bit repetitive.   Also, since Than and Regan’s story began in the previous book, much of the early story was spent rehashing the dramatic and even traumatic way that Regan got pregnant to being with.

That said, I loved them as a couple.  Regan and Thanatos are easily my favorite couple of the Lords of Deliverance series, and I was very pleased to see so much of the delicious chemistry and snarky by-play that I’d enjoyed so much in Immortal Rider.

I admit that I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get more background on Reaver and Harvester, but they played a big enough part to keep me from protesting TOO loudly (not to mention the setup for the next book!).

I do, of course, think that this story is best suited for those who have already read, at bare minimum, the previous book in the series, simply because there is so much history that newcomers will either be totally lost, or miss out on the significance of many of the story’s developments.

While this is not my favorite title by Larissa Ione, I can easily say it’s my favorite installment of the Lords of Deliverance series, and as such is very firmly on my keeper shelf.

A solid 4.5/5 Stars

Lords of Deliverance Series Reading Order:

• Eternal Rider AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY | GOODREADS
• Vampire Fight Club  (Novella) AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY | GOODREADS
• Immortal Rider AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY | GOODREADS
• Lethal Rider AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY | GOODREADS
• Apocalypse: the Lords of Deliverance Compendium AMAZON | GOODREADS

a Rafflecopter giveaway