I am excited to bring you the Review & Excerpt Tour for Larissa Ione's HADES!
HADES is a novella in Larissa's Demonica Series as part of the 1001 Dark Nights Collection and is exclusively available as Amazon Kindle and Paperback.
Grab the latest installment in this sexy series!
Amazon US Kindle ~ Amazon Paperback ~ Amazon UK Kindle
Book Description:
A fallen angel with a mean streak and a mohawk, Hades has spent thousands of years serving as Jailor of the Underworld. The souls he guards are as evil as they come, but few dare to cross him. All of that changes when a sexy fallen angel infiltrates his prison and unintentionally starts a riot. It’s easy enough to quell an uprising, but for the first time, Hades is torn between delivering justice — or bestowing mercy — on the beautiful female who could be his salvation…or his undoing. Thanks to her unwitting participation in another angel’s plot to start Armageddon, Cataclysm was kicked out of Heaven and is now a fallen angel in service of Hades’s boss, Azagoth. All she wants is to redeem herself and get back where she belongs. But when she gets trapped in Hades’s prison domain with only the cocky but irresistible Hades to help her, Cat finds that where she belongs might be in the place she least expected…
Excerpt:
“And what does good and evil feel like?” he rasped. “On your skin, I mean?”
“I’ll show you.” She moved toward him, every step popping out her hips and making her breasts bounce in a smooth, seductive rhythm. His mouth went dry again, but then it began to water as she reached out and placed her palm in the center of his chest.
Very slowly, she dragged her hand along the contours of his pecs, her touch so featherlike that he barely felt it, and yet, he was hyper-aware of every move her hand made, every centimeter of skin her palm passed over.
“Goodness and light,” she said softly, “is like bathing in Champagne. It’s tingly and effervescent. It wakes you up even as it relaxes you.”
“Like sex,” he murmured. “With someone you like.”
“With someone you like?” She blinked. “Why would you have sex with someone you didn’t like?”
A rumbling purr vibrated his chest. “Baby, it’s like fighting, but with orgasms.”
“And less blood, I suppose.”
“Not if you’re doing it right.” He waggled his brows, and she rolled her eyes. “So what does evil feel like to you? If good feels good, then does evil feel bad?”
“That’s the funny thing.” She inched closer, adding another palm to his chest, and he gripped the cup so hard he heard it crack. More. He needed more. And damn her for making him crave it when he’d been perfectly fine being alone for all these years. “It’s as seductive as good, but in a different way.” She shivered delicately. “It’s hot. If good is like bathing in Champagne, evil is like bathing in whiskey. There’s a burn, but it’s almost always a lovely burn.”
Yeah, he felt that lovely burn where she was touching him. As she talked, it spread across his chest and into his abdomen, then lower, to his pelvis and groin. Everything tightened and grew feverish with lust.
“Seems to me,” he said in a humiliatingly rough voice, “that bumping up against evil would be an incredible temptation for angels like you.”
“It is,” she purred. “Which is why we aren’t allowed to leave Heaven except under certain circumstances, and even then, we must have an escort. It’s one of the reasons I know I can’t ever enter Sheoul. To become a True Fallen would be to have my full powers of detection restored, and I’d be skewed toward evil. The few Seraphim who have become fallen angels are like drug addicts, seeking out the most evil beings they can find, to serve them, to just be near them.”
He wondered how having a Seraphim fallen angel as a warden in the Inner Sanctum would play out. Then Cat dragged her palms down his chest to his abs, and he forgot all about everything except what was happening right now, right here in his home.
My Review:
Is it possible to make the Lord of the Dead likable? One wouldn't think so, he's a bit cocky and a whole lot of mean. His job is to torture and punish and he reports directly to Azagoth, The Grim Reaper. We've seen bits of him through out the Demonica Series and never has she come across as a likable character, but you know what Larissa was able to take this unlikely hero and make him on of my favorites of the series.
Cataclysm AKA Cat, was cast from Heaven after finding herself unknowingly in the middle of a plot to kick of the Apocolypse. As an Unfallen Cat's fearful of spending her time penitence on earth where she is in danger of being dragged into Sheoul where she would become a True Fallen. Instead she takes on a position in Azagoth's realm of Sheoul-gra determined to do the near impossible and earn her way back into heaven. There is only one problem, she is a horrible house keeper, continually mucking up her menial jobs and earning the ire of Azagoth. She also manages to make an ally in Azagoth's mate, Lilliana and catches the eye of a True Fallen guy with a blue mohawk and body made for well....sin. As if life as a bumbling Unfallen with a serious crush on the Lord of the Dead wasn't bad enough Cat manages to send the entire Underworld into a tailspin when she accidentally opens the portal to Sheoul's Inner Sanctum.
I loved this book and have to say it is probably one of my favorites in this series in a long time. There is just something about the tortured soul of Hades and a naive angel coming together to save the Underworld and in the end each other. One of my favorite parts comes toward the end of the story where we learn why Azagoth and Hades have the relationship that they do and how they fix it. I love the simplicity and the meaningfulness behind the act of contrition that occurs. It's a good reminder that mending a relationship or someone's pain doesn't have to be difficult it just takes letting go of your pride and stubbornness.
As with all the Demonica books this one is full of wit and snark, it has moments where you want to break down and cry for the characters or at times beat sense into them. And because I love these two characters so much the only thing bad I can really say is that I wish it had been a full length novel instead of a novella. Larissa does a great job fitting their entire story into this quick read, you won't walk away feeling cheated or as if things ended suddenly like I find happens often with novellas, but like me you might finish wishing that you just had a little more time with them because they are such a great couple.
You all know my typical spiel when it comes to series books and I will mention it here with this one. Do you have to have read all 11 books in the series prior to this one, no, but will it help you get the entire picture yes. That said out of all the Demonica books I think this one is most like a standalone so if you haven't read the rest of the series do not let that stop you from picking up this wonderful story. When you are done though be ready with your one click finger because I think you will be wanting the rest of the books.
This is a great story for Paranormal Romance Fans. It is only about 100 pages so it is a super quick read and it is well worth your time!
~Happy Reading~
HADES Review & Excerpt Tour
May 22
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May 25
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May 26
A Fortress of Books-Review CJ’s Book Corner-Excerpt Diane’s Book Blog-Review & Excerpt Home is Where the Wine Is-Review Mama Reads Hazel Reads-Review & Excerpt Reads All the Books-Review & Excerpt Sultry, Steamy Reading-Review
May 27
Book Lovin Mamas-Review Little Read Riding Hood-Review & Excerpt Lostinthegreatperhaps-Review The Reading Chameleon-Review & Excerpt
May 28
Between the Lines-Review Kelsey’s Corner Time-Review & Excerpt Nite Lite Book Reviews-Review & Excerpt Reading in Pajamas-Excerpt Revenge of the Feels-Review & Excerpt Smut Book Junkie Reviews-Review & Excerpt
May 29
Girls With Books-Excerpt Got Nikki?-Excerpt Reading Between the Wines-Excerpt Travels N Reads-Review & Excerpt Us Girls & A Book-Review & Excerpt
May 30
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About Larissa Ione: Larissa Ione is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. An Air Force veteran, she traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion of writing. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her U.S. Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.
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