Friday, January 11, 2013

Review: Rogue Rider


Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance #4)

by Larissa Ione

Blurb:

They're here. They ride.  The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell's minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday . . . or let it ride . . .
ROGUE RIDER
Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues-and falls for-a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming, and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man whom Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he's also the kind of man who can be very dangerous . . .
Reseph may not know why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian's life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian's neighbors are killed, and demon hunters arrive on the scene, Reseph fears that he's putting Jillian in danger. And once it's revealed that Reseph is also Pestilence, the Horseman responsible for ravaging the world, he and Jillian must face the greatest challenge of all: Can they forget the horrors of a chilling past to save the future they both desire?

Review:

Wow what a way to end a great series.  The four horsemen have been wreaking havoc on my bookshelves since the beginning and I was so thrilled when I found out that Reseph was going to get a novel of his own, including a sexy woman and an HEA.   I’ve been on pins and needles since the end of Limos's story to find out what happened to Reseph when Reaver released him and what was going to happen with his future.
Reseph, formerly Pestilence, has finally been released from the prison he has been contained in inside Pestilence while he destroyed the world and threatened all that Reseph every held dear.  Luckily Reseph doesn’t have any of those memories clogging his brain.  In fact, other than his name, he remembers almost nothing of who he is.  When he is pulled from a snow bank by Jillian he immediately knows that she is something special. She is sexy and self-confident for the most part, but he senses vulnerability deep inside.
Jillian has returned to her parents’ home in the middle of nowhere Wyoming, escaping her old life after barely surviving a demon attack.  She rescues Reseph, but doesn’t trust him and certainly doesn’t trust herself around him.  She tries to push him away again and again but he always comes back.   After he saves her form another demon attack, their emotions quickly flare and they find themselves unable to fight back their desires. When Reseph's siblings discover he’s alive and come for him, his memories come return in a rush and he’s forced to live with everything Pestilence did while controlling his body. His siblings take him away from Jillian and he immediately relapses into the insanity of his initial return to himself.  But the only thing that can keep him sane is Jillian and his family soon sees that and brings her to him.  But all that does is make everyone’s life more complicated. 
With a bit of angelic magic, Reseph is stabilized and he’s finally able to corner Pestilence inside a vessel in his brain.  But he won’t let Jillian sacrifice herself for him and he decides to leave her for her own good.  He goes on a killing rampage, executing all of the demons who worked with Pestilence to bring about the apocalypse, including his own mother Lilith.  However, the pull he feels toward Jillian is just too strong to resist. He returns and finds himself unable to give her up for good.  And then the real challenge of getting Jillian to trust him again begins.
Reseph’s passion for Jillian is surprisingly gentle and shows the wonder of a changed man.  Pre-Pestilence Reseph was a playboy; you might even say he was a man slut, screwing anyone who offered their bodies to him with no real regard for who or what they were.  Though his man slut ways were because of a pain in his distant past.  Jillian’s love makes Reseph a better man and loving him teaches her that a true love requires forgiveness and compromise. They are a perfect couple and I was so thrilled that they finally got their HEA, though there was certainly a lot of misunderstandings and fluctuations in their relationship.  I can honestly say I haven’t cried that often while reading in ages.  But really a little bit of communication between them, true communication, would have prevented so much of their traumatic relationship drama.
As a finale to the horseman series, this book could not have been any better.  We finally learned who the horsemen’s father is; Reseph beats Pestilence back into true submission; and the siblings are finally able to forgive Reseph and come back together as a family.  Jillian and Reseph are two tortured characters that have to learn from their pasts before they can embrace a future that they can share together.  The ending of this series was a bit bittersweet, but Larissa writes it all so well it was like she wrapped everything up into a perfect little package.  It will be interesting to see what becomes of Reaver and find out if there is any way to save Harvester from her horrific fate.   If you haven’t read this series I recommend you go out and buy every one of them and read them immediately, all at once if you can, so you can enjoy the wonder that is the Lords of Deliverance.

Rating:  4.5 stars

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