Review: Eternity Embraced (Demonica #3.5) by Larissa Ione

Desire...
Demon slayer Andrea Cole has always taken down the demons and vampires she hunts without mercy. But when a fellow slayer is captured and turned into a vampire by a sadistic monster, she must choose between loyalty to her family and the man she loves.

Versus Instinct...
Kaden Quinn has dedicated his life to slaying vampires, so when he is turned into one, his greatest nightmare comes to life. And when the woman he loves is thrown into a dungeon with him -- as food -- he must battle new instincts and old desires, and choose between his life, and hers.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a short novella that originally appeared in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 and the anthology Vampires in Love. It has been expanded for its stand-alone digital release. In the Demonica timeline, it falls between book 3, Passion Unleashed, and book 4, Ecstasy Unveiled, though it can easily be read without having read the Demonica novels.

My Review:

Andrea Cole and Kaden Quinn are both lovers and members of the Aegis sent to infiltrate a cell of vampires believed to be in an Oregon billionaire’s mansion. Kaden went in first, under the guise of a  delivery boy, but then his microphone goes dead and he disappears.

Two weeks later, Andrea and her team of twenty Aegis members  swarm the mansion, hoping to see what has become of Kaden, though they don’t expect him to be intact or alive. Instead, they expect their fellow Aegis to be turned into a vamp, in which case they know what to do to him– stake him.

But the mission goes horribly wrong. Andrea is captured and brought to the cell where Kaden – now a vampire and hungry – is being kept. Now their relationship is put to the test – can they fight their natures and save each other?

What I disliked about Eternity Embraced:

1. Eternity Embraced falls between book 3 and 4, but it seems Larissa Ione (L.I.) forgets the rules of her universe as in book 3, Passion Unleashed, we learn it’s not so easy to create a vampire. Permission must first be granted by the vampire Council as creating a vampire without permission qualifies for instant death. And in the event the council agrees, they don’t do anything for free as Wraith finds out. So to have vampires be created like they are going out of style in this story jarred me a bit.

2. Why did Andrea wait two weeks to see what became of her fellow Aegis and lover? Set fire to the place, for love’s sake, then pose as a firefighter (covered head to toe complete with oxygen mask) and easy access! I just can’t see how she waits around two weeks to go in with the mindset there’s nothing to do but kill her former lover. 

3. I love L.I. and she is my favorite author, but for me, Eternity Embraced doesn’t bring anything to the Demonica series, and you won’t miss anything if you skip this novella. I really tried, but I just couldn’t ‘embrace’ this novella as it wasn’t up to the standards I’ve come to expect from L.I. I was glad it was a quick read.

 

“Kaden ?”

His  head  swung  around, his grey eyes bright and wide with  surprise.  His  dark  blond hair was  alternately grooved and  spiky, as though he’d been thrusting his fingers through it and his tan skin was marred by fading bruises and cuts.

If the vampires had had him for the full two weeks he’ d been missing, she was surprised he hadn’t been hurt  more. Then again, maybe they had put him through hell, but he’d healed  already, thanks to a vampire’s rapid regeneration
abilities.

But so far, she saw no signs of him being turned. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be OK.  God,  please let it be OK.

“Kaden, don’t move. I’m going to get you out of there.”

“No!” He lurched forwards, only to be drawn short by the chain  linking his collar to the wall. Panic put a chilling, grim light in his gaze. “You can’t.”

Dread draped over her like a shroud, suffocating her last breath of hope. She knew what he was going to say. She didn’t want to ask, but the question fell from her lips before she could stop it. “Why not?”

“Because,” he said, opening his mouth to reveal two extra long canines, “I might kill you.”

Kaden Quinn braced himself f or Andrea’ s reaction.  The sight of the stake in her hand put ice cubes in his blood – but whether his reaction was an instinctive one brought about by his new vampire status, or whether it was because he was a Guardian who knew exactly what that pointed shard of wood would do to him, he didn’t know.

What he did know was that he’d been here for two weeks, tortured for the first five days and then turned into a vampire on the sixth.  Oh, and he was starving.

Andrea’s gorgeous brown eyes glistened with tears. “No,” she rasped, shaking her head so hard her ebony hair slapped her pale cheeks. “No. Those bastards!”

Her curses echoed through the chamber as she worked the slide-lock on the cell door. She was going to kill him. The knowledge should have comforted him. Upon becoming a Guardian, every Aegi swore that they would never allow themselves to be turned into any kind of monster – not vampire, were-beast, or demon. If you had to
take your own life in order to uphold that vow, you did it.

Rating: 1 Kiss