Review: Desire Unchained (Demonica Series #2) by Larissa Ione

 

 

Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .

Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn't resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.

A Seminus Demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he'd seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever.

As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts-or succumb to a madman's evil plans.

My Review:

Desire Unchained – the second installment of the Demonica Series by Larissa Ione (LI) takes place right after the end of the last book, Pleasure Unbound.

At the end of Pleasure Unbound, we pick up some new characters: a demon named Gem (Tayla’s half-sister), Kynan (a human and former director of the Aegis cell Tayla used to belong to), and Luc, a Werewolf who recently lost his mate. All three work with the brothers at Underworld General (UG).

We begin Desire Unchained with a flashback set some time in the past of E, Shade, and Wraith who sense their brother – Roag – is dead. We learn Roag was an unmated Seminus Demon and more than one of the brothers was glad he was gone as Roag was no doubt laying waste to anything/everyone. We feel a sense of foreboding at the end of the flashback, no doubt preparing us for what’s to come.

Dropping us to the present, Shade the ultimate man whore awakens in unfamiliar surroundings. It takes him a moment to realize he’s locked in a cage. The last thing he remembers is making an ambulance run with his sister, Skulk. He realizes he is a prisoner of the black market ghouls and surmises his sister must be captured as well.

Fate rears its ugly head and before Shade can comment on what a small world it is, he notices Runa, one of his ex-lovers in the cell with him. Runa was a clingy human Shade quickly kicked to the curb as demons can never form a bond with humans. But despite the fact they could never be together, Shade couldn’t resist the alluring Runa during their brief affair and found himself doing favors and things for Runa he normally didn’t do for any other female. He cared for her (in his way) as her sweet disposition and ultimate compliance/submission made her irresistible to him.

Nonetheless, things weren’t meant to be and nothing could delay the inevitable. We are privy to the details of their messy breakup and it is revealed that one night, Runa decides to surprise Shade at his apartment where she catches him in some ménage action. Instead of stopping what he was doing, Shade asks her to join the party, and devastated, Runa flees Shade’s apartment.

As Runa runs in the night, she collides with a werewolf in an alleyway and gets bitten, causing her to become a wolf. This is a total game changer, as Runa is now bumped up to the category of possible mate and Shade can’t seem to get the possibilities out of his thoughts.  However, a curse stands in the way to Shade’s HEA as a warlock cursed him from ever finding true love. Should Shade ever tell a woman he loves her, he will fade into nothingness.

For her part, Runa is hell bent on revenge, and we learn she joined the U.S. Army’s Raider-X Regiment shortly after she was turned. Her objective is to find out all she can about UG and bring it down (her way of paying back Shade for hurting her) as she knows it is the only thing Shade cares about.

Harsh words are exchanged, but before they kill each other, Shade and Runa realize they must put aside their differences, and concentrate on escape.

The real mastermind behind the selling of demon organs in the black market makes himself known and Shade can’t believe who it is. It’s none other than Roag, the brother he thought was long dead.  Roag, a shape shifter, has been causing lots of havoc for the brothers, impersonating them and their loved ones, and it seems he’s just starting to get warmed up.

Deformed and looking a lot worse for wear in his true form, Roag is ready to exact his revenge on his brothers for their part in trying to bring about his death. On the top of his to-die list is Wraith, who Roag knows was responsible in selling him out to the Aegis. The need to escape is even more pronounced at this point as Shade knows he needs to warn his brothers.

But before Shade can make his move and escape his maniacal brother, Roag drugs both Shade and Runa and forces them to bond. Now dependent on Runa for survival and sex, Shade must face every challenge thrown his way and protect the woman he never thought would be his mate. But as time passes and Shade starts to love Runa, the ancient curse he’s subjected to activates and his days are numbered.

These events unfold concurrently with several other storylines, and we learn more about Kynan and how he’s reeling from his wife’s betrayal from book #1 and Gem’s eagerness to make him forget her. Plus we get an insight to Kynan’s newfound friendship with Wraith that has them both questioning everything they’ve ever come to know. Throw in a depressive dash of Luc who’s lost his mate and you’ll see why I can’t get enough of this series.

LI once again crafts a tale of suspense, non-stop thrilling action, unexpected plot twists and turns you’ll never see coming, and sexxy scenes guaranteed to melt your lips off. Desire Unchained is the perfect follow up to Pleasure Unbound as we see all the characters from the first book (who made it out alive LOL) – a first – based on the paranormal series I’ve read where it’s the norm to see the characters you know and love become lost and forgotten in the next book. Finally, someone gets it right! *cheers*

If you think I’ve given away too many spoilers on this review, you are sadly mistaken as I haven’t even scratched the surface of everything that happens in Desire Unchained! Stop what you’re reading and pick up Larissa Ione’s Demonica Series today – it’s a guaranteed great read!  

The only reason I didn’t give Desire Unchained 5 Kisses is due to my germaphobic tendencies. LOL

Shade is a reluctant Dom and into the BDSM scene. When he takes Runa to his home, she is shocked at seeing all his toys and the setup he’s got going on. What was disturbing to me was how anxious Runa was to use the props/toys with Shade and I kept thinking, “Have they been cleaned? Disinfected? Ewww . . .” *cringes at the thought of used sex gear/toys* LOL  

Shade left Runa alone in the bedroom, unable to stomach the scent of her confusion and fear. He hated that room, hated everything in it. Hated that he’d had to bring a woman as gentle and caring as she was into a place where he’d spilled both his semen and the blood of countless females during sex.

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The forest around her went silent, and a chill ran up her spine. She scanned the area, saw nothing, but she didn’t like the sudden vibe. “I have to go. I’ll call again when I can.”

“Wait—”

A branch snapped, stopping her heart and drawing her gaze to a shadowed recess in the trees behind her. Oh, God. She saw eyes. Burning, glowing, red eyes. She stumbled backward, fumbled the phone. Her heel caught on a vine and she nearly went down. The darkness surrounding the red eyes began to shimmer and take form even as the eyes closed on her. A scream welled in her throat, clogged behind the lump of terror.

The shape solidified. Shade. Her brother’s tinny, panicked voice blared from the phone, which trembled in her hand. “I’m okay,” she said into the mouthpiece. “I’ll call later.” She disconnected, wondering, sickly, how much Shade had heard.

His eyes were little more than red, laser-intense slits now. “Mate,” he rasped in a voice that sounded as if he’d forgotten how to talk.

“Shade? What’s wrong?” She caught his forearm, and he closed his eyes and swayed.

“S’genesis. ”

A moan rumbled from deep in his chest, which was bare, like the rest of him. Her eyes dropped to his groin, where his sex strained upward so rigidly he had to be in pain. She slid her gaze up, over skin that glowed, radiated scorching heat. The dermoire on his arm writhed angrily, and around his neck, a shadow pulsed with the rhythm of his heartbeat just beneath the surface of his skin.

“This is your Change?” she asked, and he nodded. He hadn’t said how the actual transition would occur, or how long it would take, and she certainly hadn’t expected it to be this intense.

“Hurts.” As though his body agreed, it convulsed violently.

“What can I do?”

His lips drew back from his clenched teeth.“I … need … you.”

Rating:

 

 

 

 

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