Title: Reaver
Series: Demonica Series
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: Paperback; 416 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (December 17, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1455526975
ISBN-13: 978-1455526970
Author's website: http://larissaione.com/blog/
Notes: Received and eARC loan from the publisher via NetGalley
Five thousand human years ago, two angels were best friends. They pulled pranks on each other and other angels. They supported and confided in one another. Then one of the friends kissed the other and, frightened by the emotions that kiss evoked, she ran away not knowing how to deal with this new turn of events. When she returned, she found the other in the arms of another and kept silent. When she realized the union had produced offspring; she, for the sake of the other's own good, decided not to tell him. She did, however, vow to watch out for her friend's offspring and had planned to reveal all to him eventually. She, however, waited too long and he eventually found out, but not from her. Feeling angered and betrayed, he, in turn, betrayed her in a most despicable way and then disappeared. Despite the pain and hurt he'd caused, she went above and beyond to protect his children--the horsemen of the apocalypse--and made the ultimate sacrifice--she fell from grace to save them.
The angels were Yenrieth and Verrine, but known to all now as Reaver and Harvester. If you thought you knew all there was to know about these two, think again. This is their story.
Some say love and hate are two sides of the same coin, but when love is betrayed and lost, can it ever be regained?
This is truly a hard story to place. Larissa, I believe, is grouping this with her Demonica series, but it is also a continuation of her Lords of Deliverance series as well. While Reaver is not a horseman of the apocalypse, he is the horsemen's father and the horsemen are somewhat involved in what happens as well as characters from Underworld General which is part of the Demonica series. I would NOT recommend jumping into this book without having read at least one book from each of the two series. However, to truly savor this book, I really feel you need to completely read both of the series to get the true experience of it. I'd liken the reading of just one book this far into the series to watching a movie in black and white and the reading of the full series to watching a 3-D movie in technicolor with dolby surround sound in D-BOX seating. While the black and white (one book) version is perfectly acceptable, you get so much more out of the full deal experience.
So as I read this story I had to laugh at myself. I wondered how Larissa would conceptualize a Reaver/Harvester love story and keep me hooked. Reaver, while the sire of the horsemen, is no horseman. Plus Harvester is, well, Harvester. (For those of you who haven't read the series, Harvester is a fallen angel and the type of villain that you can't help but love to hate.) I couldn't see how Larissa was going to pull this one off to my satisfaction. Granted, I took one look at the cover and thought, maybe. lol Seriously, though, I didn't really care all that much for Reaver or Harvester. Let me just say right off the bat, I was pleasantly surprised. If shock and awe were a book strategy, then this one definitely utilized it to perfection. Hence, I had to laugh at my original apprehension over the story line.
In 'Reaver', we see totally different sides to Reaver and Harvester. We get the back drop as to how everything went to hell in a relatively short period of time. We find out how Reaver and Lilith hooked up in the first place and what went down between Harvester and Reaver. There were a lot of twists, and I came away from this book with a new respect for Larissa Ione. If I had to sum up her imagination and story writing abilities in two words, I'd pick wickedly awesome. Still, Larissa held some things back as we are left with a rather large gap with no explanation of where or what Reaver was doing. Plus, a relatively new character, Revenant, the horseman's latest watcher and Harvester's replacement, dropped a bombshell that left me with my jaw dropped and mouth open. All I can say is that Larissa ought to be very suspicious of anyone trying to buddy up to her in the near future. They may just be wanting a peek at her next installment to this fabulous series. *grin*
If you haven't already guessed by now, I'm giving this book a 5 out of 5 roses. I absolutely loved it and Larissa delivered a one-two punch combination of steamy romance and action packed, hold on to the edge of your seat, jaw dropping drama. *sigh* It's the way a books should be. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a SHOWER rating--a cold shower is necessary (need I say more?). Some books should come with a warning - make sure your significant other is handy or your shower is in working order. lol
Order of the Demonica Series:
Order of the Related Lords of Deliverance Series:
(should be read after Sin Undone, but before Reaver)
Guide to the world of the Lords of Deliverance Series:
