Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione (May 22 2012) Paperback – January 1, 1994

5 -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"All I could think of was you...When I was gone, all I wanted was to be back here with you. Only you."Lethal Rider is the eight instalment in the adult paranormal romance series, Demonica, and the third novel in the Lords of Deliverance story arc which follow the four horsemen of the apocalypse as they attempt to STOP the end of days. Each follow follows a separate couple but you should read things in order - at the very least you need to have read books one and two of Lords of Deliverance to understand what is happening.In this story we follow Thanatos and Regan after their tumultuous ending in the previous book. Taking place eight months after the events of book two, Thanatos is angry and desperate to escape the trap he has been placed in by his family. Even more, he is angry at Regan Cooper, the beautiful and alluring guardian who tempted him to break his thousand years of celibacy. See where one thought his celibacy would protect the world from the end of the days the other saw to product of such interactions could save the world...and thus a child is on the way. This child who's very existence could save the world...or destroy it if Satan and Pestilence have the way. The final battle draws near and the sacrifice will be high...family or humanity.To say Thanatos and Regan have a rough start in the relationship is an understatement. Their connection, having been developed over the previous book, is present and raw...but influences from people around them had significantly harmed the relationship. Regan feels for Thanatos but her guilt at her part to play in his prison plagues her and I felt it helped soften her so she was willing to listen to him, which was so key. She also struggles about the fate of her child and the idea if she is the right person for her baby or if someone else should care for him. I felt seeing her struggle with these choices, her connection to Thanatos, and more made her feel real to me and I enjoyed her much more in this book.Thanatos is a mix of emotions in this book. He has always wanted a family but fear of breaking his seal meant he never expected it to happen. Despite the origins for his upcoming parenthood, he likes Regan...but he doesn't know what to trust about their relationship and seeing him gruffly try to navigate this is quite entertaining. As a horseman he is violence and aggressive but there are those moments where you see how good he can be to the people he loves.In terms of spice, this book is 3.5 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy pepper. Much like the previous books the demonic aspect of the main characters lends itself to being more highly sexualized BUT the angst between the two main characters means things take a bit more time to unfold between them. I enjoyed the balance between making love and more raw sex was distinguished here to highlight the relationship's evolution. It was well written!"My house...my rules. No chocolate NFL orgies in my keep. I think that's a reasonable request."The story takes you on quite a journey that is fast paced and filled with twists and turns. I found the multiple POVS really helped build the story wider for readers to unpack, especially with the end of days looming. I felt the injustice of what the villain's POV revealed to be coming and I also felt the build up to the key moment to be well worth it. You are going to cheer, tear up, angry shake your fist at, and smile gleefully while kicking your feel up throughout. That said I always like to put the trigger warning reminder as there are dark elements to this story such as references to infants being killed, threats of bodily harm, torture, blackmail, and graphic violence. These books have surprisingly deep stories filled with a lot of backstory that work well in the romance at the foreground. You also have moments of humour in the slices of life that made things easy to devour. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.With one more book in the Lords of Deliverance series and I cannot wait to see what unfolds with our most fascinating horseman...Pestilence.

After finishing book 2, Immortal Rider, I couldn't stand Regan, the heroine of Lethal Rider. I felt like what she did to Than, completely deceiving him and taking something from him that he said no to, was such a violation. I had no idea how I was going to be able to get behind Regan as a lead character and Than's heroine. Larissa Ione made it happen. The book opens up 8 ½ months after Regan's actions force sex with Than and results in her pregnancy. Instead of Than's seal breaking during sex which he had always believed would happen, his seal turns out to be his son...and won't that open up the flood gates for different people to want that little baby.Than, who has been paralyzed by Ares and Limos for the past 8 months comes out of his paralysis faster than they were expecting and heads straight for Regan. She's staying at the Aegis headquarters and having her own problems with a vampire that wants her dead. Than comes in just in time and takes her to his keep, so he can figure out what to do with her. Than is so full of anger, rightfully so, and the hurt and pain and all the lies that he feels from Regan don't just magically go away. They struggle through much of the first half of the book to feel their way with each other. Than has a way with cutting words right to Regan's heart and that's what ultimately had me starting to sympathize with her. Regan didn't have the best childhood and the only place she ever felt wanted was with the Aegis. While I still don't agree with what she did to Than, I started to understand it better as more details about her life came out and I slowly became a fan of hers.Than and his siblings have a whole lot of problems going on around them, in addition to Than worrying about how to keep his unborn son safe. Pestilence is still growing stronger and stronger, he's deceiving people left and right, killing without thought and he wants to kill Than's son, badly. Gone is any trace of Reseph and it becomes very clear that Than's original plan to try and find a way to save Reseph just isn't going to happen. They need to kill Pestilence and put a stop to all the death and destruction he's bringing down on the world. He attacks the Aegi and even Underground General. It shouldn't be shocking at this point, but the killings that he brings down on those that are close to Ares, Limos and Than are heartless. He's hitting them close home and with the power he has now, stopping him is proving to be next to impossible for the Horsemen.Than and Regan's relationship plays a huge role in the book, and their build up from basically hatred and shame on Regan's part to acceptance, forgiveness and finally love took time and didn't come easy. I went from cheering Than every time he landed a well placed verbal hit against Regan, to cringing and feeling bad for her once her story started coming out. I really liked Than's progression. He has always dreamed about having a family, but with the curse of what he thought was his seal, he never thought it would be possible. While I'd never say he turned into a big softy around Regan once he found out she was pregnant, he certainly fell in love with his son early on. For this couple, it was the little things that had each of them starting to see the other person through new eyes. A book from Regan to Than, Than letting some of her co-workers come to his keep so she'd have some familiar faces around her. It was little things like that that led them to find some common ground. And of course, the sex between them - hot. With Regan being 8 ½ months pregnant, it couldn't get too crazy, but Than and Regan were both very inexperienced and they were able to use that common ground as well to become more comfortable around each other, and Than had many, many years of celibacy to make up for!What I wasn't expecting at all was the storyline for Pestilence. The one question I've always had throughout the three books was how in the world was Reseph going to be able to come back? His set up occurs at the end and it was surprising to me that happened, but Ione has a way of building up the next book so well that I finished Than and Regan's story and I immediately wanted to find out what's going to happen to Reseph.I loved this book. It's fast paced, the action hits not only the Horsemen, but the demons at UG. My biggest concern going in was Regan, but I was satisfied with her and Than's story. It's emotional, and they really are the perfect match for each other. I was so happy for Than, finding happiness and a family that he'd always dreamed of. Of course, nothing is easy in these books, and he makes a sacrifice at the end that will impact their future, but it's nothing that they won't be able to handle together. I loved everything about this story and I'm SO anxious to find out what's going to happen with Reseph.