Tori's Review: Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione

Released: December 1, 2011
Paperback: 448 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
Source: Bought 
Genre: Paranormal Romance 
Series: Lords of Deliverance 
Buy: Amazon



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Sexy, powerful, and immortal, Limos is on a crash course with destiny. She’s been marked as Satan’s bride and her jealous fiancé wants her all to himself. The only way this Horseman can keep herself—and everyone else—safe is to keep her distance. But not even Limos can save herself from the secrets she’s kept . . . or resist the seductive allure of one very brave human.

Arik Wagner knows the saying “love hurts” better than most, yet he never thought stealing a kiss from Limos would land him in Hell. Literally. It takes all his military training to survive the demon torture, but once he’s topside, Arik realizes that the agony has just begun. With the Apocalypse looming and Satan demanding his bride, will Arik and Limos surrender to the desire smoldering between them? Or will giving in to their passion unleash hell on earth?

My Rating:

 
My Opinion:
What a book. Larissa knows how to weave such intricate details and conflict into a book without bogging me down with too many details. I absolutely loved the complexity of IMMORTAL RIDER and thought that only someone with incredible writing skills could pull this sort of book off without failing miserably in the process.

Limos: She's spunky and has lying issues. It was interesting following her journey of overcoming her addiction to lies. Part of me felt that she was forgiven a bit too quickly, and sometimes I found her to be somewhat wishy-washy (said wishy-washyness DOES reinforce the fact that she wanted to be normal, though). I would have enjoyed more of a focus on her particular abilities as Famine. Perhaps even seeing her reaction when visiting a scene that compels her to visit an area, like we saw with Ares. Overall, I enjoyed her character, and felt that she was more interesting than Cara and Regan.

Arik: I appreciated his loyalty and how defensive he got, despite how ambivalent he felt about Limos at times. I felt like he got over some of his issues a bit too quickly, especially considering what he went through for a month, and would have appreciated more of a transition from scarred to healed. I also could not understand, at times, how he could so easily forgive Limos.

Than: What a sexy beast. I enjoyed his scene time in IMMORTAL RIDER, and cannot wait for his book. The clarification regarding what will actually break Than's seal was appreciated, since I could not, for the life of me, figure out how he was ever going to get a HEA in his book. Sneaky. Very sneaky.

Regan: Eh, I'm feeling ambivalent about her. We'll see if she grows on me more in the next book.

I was looking for more of a focus on the resolution of the betrothal between Limos and Satan. I wouldn't necessarily say that what happened was a cop-out (it was anything but), however, I felt that with all the emphasis placed on such a predicament, the resolution was too brief for my liking.

Another thing that I wish received more attention was the couple time in this book. The other characters, including Ares and Than, got some page time--which isn't bad since I enjoyed the teaser for Than's story--but I wanted Limos/Arik's relationship to be developed further. Like some other reviewers, I felt it somewhat rushed and sometimes forced.

Overall, IMMORTAL RIDER felt like the complete opposite of its predecessor, ETERNAL RIDER. While Ares' book focused more on the romance, Limos' book was action-packed and a setup for what will happen next in the series.

The novel started off strong, and while I was absorbed in the story from first page to last, I felt that the romance waned the further I progressed. As a paranormal romance, I expected more romance, but I am, by no means, complaining about the lack of it this time around. Sometimes less is more, and I definitely appreciated not getting clubbed over the head by "I love yous" and corny love scenes (even though I wish there was still more development of the relationship overall).

Like I said in ETERNAL RIDER, I suggest you read the Demonica series before beginning the LoD series. There is a lot of worldbuilding and characters you would miss out on, which, in turn, would affect your overall experience while reading this novel. Do yourself a favor and start from the beginning.


Series Order:
1. Eternal Rider (Tori's Review)
2. Immortal Rider
3. Lethal Rider (Tori's Review)
4. Rogue Rider (coming soon)