Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica)

by Larissa Ione

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a ChapterIdess is a Memitim. Memtims are what we as humans consider guardian angels. They are angels who are on Earth and look after wards known as Primori. Primori are humans who have something important to do while they are on Earth. They can be good or evil. They must be protected until they can fulfill their destiny. After a Memitim has spent x amount of time on Earth and pass their test, they ascend into Heaven to receive their wings. Idess has gone centuries with several Primori and she hasn't been perfect but she's been able to keep most of them safe. She only has two Primori right now and she's getting close to her Ascension. Out of the blue it seems like both of them are in mortal danger. One of her Priomori is Kynan Morgan, Marked Sentinel and keeper of Heofan.

Lore is a trained assassin and Eidolon, Shade and Wraith's long lost brother. Lore doesn't start out on a good foot with them. Roag had hired him to kill the three brothers in the event of Roag's death. When Lore saves the life of a good friend he finds himself back in the Seminus demon brothers' good graces....but not for long. The same life that Lore saved he must now destroy. If he doesn't, Lore will lose his twin sister Sin in place of the hit. Sin doesn't want anything to do with her brothers and has forbidden Lore to tell them about her. If Lore wanted to tell his brothers the reason for his determination in killing their friend he'd be betraying the trust of the only person who has always been there for him.

Lore is working on a short deadline and Idess will do everything that she can to stop him. In the end, the two must work together to figure out who is behind the hit and the motive. As if that weren't enough, Underworld General is under attack by a malicious entity and the spirits trapped there. The staff and even the brothers are incessantly at each other's throats. Finding out what or who is behind the attacks both in the hospital and out is paramount. Can an angel and a demon work together and bring balance back to their world?

Larissa Ione keeps ratcheting up the tension as each book passes. The brothers are facing attacks on all parts of their lives. Adding to the frustration is the fact that they don't know who or what is behind it all and without knowing that they can't fix the problem. I didn't know the who or the motivation behind the attacks either for awhile and there were several pieces to the puzzle that didn't snap into place until Ione put them there. I was frustrated with myself for not being able to figure it out but it also kept my interest held fast.

Idess and Lore are an impossibility and watching them at first hate each other, then show respect, to liking each other and finally to falling in love was amazing. Lore is a big old softy who finally finds the one person that he could possibly be happy with and it couldn't be more ironic. A demon and an angel could never work and not just because of the geography. Idess has been practicing celibacy for centuries. She can't have sex or she won't get her wings. Even a centuries old vow has a hard time standing up against a sexual Seminus demon.

The secondary characters are back and they're still awesome. The plot also includes a lot of the secondary characters. In some romances this can detract from the main hero/heroine relationship but I felt like it only added to it in Ecstasy Unveiled. The baddies in this book are what really draw the secondaries into the story. Really though, who can resist learning more about Eidolon, Shade, Wraith and their mates? Not this girl!

Ione also gets the reader pumped for the last book in the series Sin Undone. While several questions were answered in Ecstasy UnveiledI can't wait to find out how Ione will end the series! If you've read and enjoyed any of the previous books in the Demonica series, don't miss this one. If you haven't yet read this series, what are you waiting for?! Once you pick up one of these books you'll understand what all the craze is about. Do yourself a favor and pick up the first in the series Pleasure Unbound.