Review: Passion Unleashed

Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione

FORBIDDEN TEMPTATIONS Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter-and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she's been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn't all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she's finally met the one man she cannot resist. FATAL DESIRES Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe-her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: He's falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.

Review:

Ione's Demonica series has been one of the top paranormal books on my reading list for a while. Her first two books have been about Incubus type demons who where both brothers, and I absolutely loved them. This book is about the third brother Wraith. He's the dark and twisted character that all paranormal series seem to love, the monster even the monsters are afraid of. Wraith was an iffy character for me and I wasn't sure if I would like him. After finishing Passion Unleashed I can safely say Wraith is my favorite brother.

Wraith was a hot crazy biker creep. Who ended up having great character depth, and really quite lovable. It was so crazy how he needed everyone to believe he was evil and more importantly he needed to believe it. Following along in Wraith's head and watching him grow into his conscious and falling in love with him as Serena did was terrific.

I loved all of the plot twists, and as one of the Wraith's brother says, “This is better then a Soap.” The end of the world thing had me a little worried. In my experience when a series takes a turn for world destruction it never goes well. Ione however pulls it off wonderfully balancing the side story and Wraith and Serena's love story beautifully.

The side story in this book, and following the previous books, is Gem and Kynan. I have loved watching the relationship grow, then implode, grow, and implode again. Gem is half demon and Kynan , an ex-demon slayer, is coming to grips with the fact that maybe not all demons are evil. Gem grows up and gets tougher, I would have liked to have seen more of that. As much as I love Kynan, in the previous book the way he had left Gem high and dry really grated on me. Personally I felt Gem just came running back when Kynan crooked his finger. I would have enjoyed it if Gem and Kynan's story went into the next book. But, hey, they end up together and all is well.

Bottom Line:
I really love the idea of a hospital that treats demons. The cast of characters Ione has created is so fun and I enjoy getting to be in other characters heads as the plot thickens. Each book is connected by the other characters actions, whether they are the main ones or not. I can not wait to read the next book as Ione has left some great plot threads dangling.

Sexual Content:
Graphic scenes. This one is for adults only.

Rating: 5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession.