There are days that I thank the Powers That Be for Goodreads, and the day I discovered New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione was one of those days. I first found her through a Goodreads recommendation and I’ve been hooked ever since. Rogue Rider has solidified my opinion that Larissa Ione has a gift for writing hot, sexy paranormal romances that are still grounded in reality.

Publication Date: November 20, 2012

Length: 432 pages

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Series: Lords of Deliverance, Book 4

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Format & Source: Paperback borrowed from my local library

 

Official Summary

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?

 

 

Liz‘s Review

Let me be honest. Rogue Rider is probably going to knock your socks off. So you may want to remove them BEFORE you get started on this book.

We meet Jillian Cardiff, a tough but somewhat broken woman who has come to northern Colorado from Florida to get away from her demons. In this case, her demons are actual fire and brimstone demons. I love Jillian. She was very real to me. She had this ridiculously awful attack in her recent past and she’s still not 100% all right. She’s a little nervous in the dark and has nightmares. But she still gets her ass out of bed every single day and makes this life for herself. Also, she has this little farm with her trusty horse, a few goats and chickens, and a pig or two. You all know I love animals, so this was a fun aspect of the story for me. But back to Jillian! She’s tough but real. I liked how she wasn’t really sure about Reseph (like a normal woman would be), but he slowly won her over with his smiles and charm and willingness to help her out and protect her. You know that I don’t like my heroines to be helpless, and even though Reseph wants to protect and does end up protecting her, that’s NOT what their relationship is based on. It may even be questionable whether or not she NEEDS his protection. He’s sweet about it but also gives you a little dash of caveman, which I have to admit that I do occasionally like! Even Jillian isn’t sure if she should like it when Reseph goes caveman, but all the other parts of his personality make up for it and she comes to appreciate the whole package.

Then there’s Reseph. Weird name, I know. But he is SO yummy! Jillian finds him unconscious, facedown in a snow bank and she takes him back to her place. When he wakes up, he has no memory of who he is or how he ended up naked in the snow. He is, of course, gorgeous! This is what I imagine Reseph looks like:

He’s also really caring. Plus, I think I see some silliness and playfulness in him from time to time and that seems to be pretty rare in paranormal romance novels. Another thing that I love about Reseph is that he really starts with a clean slate, not just because he has no memory of anything before he woke up at Jillian’s, but also because Jillian has no idea what a bad, BAD guy he was. So he gets to just be himself, or who he would’ve naturally been, without the burden of knowing that he’s half demon, half angel, a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and pretty much the only reason that the whole world went to shit and millions of people died and suffered for the past year.

Anyway, Reseph is taken with Jillian and sticks around to help her out while they try to figure out who he is. But the more time passes, the more Reseph thinks he doesn’t want to know who he was. I was actually rooting for him to NOT find out about his past. But if he didn’t have to confront his past, we wouldn’t have much of a book to read. And to be honest, Reseph wouldn’t be the man that I, er, I mean Jillian fell in love with. I won’t give away anything else because I really want you to read this book. I hope I’ve interested you in it enough for you to go pick it up. I promise that you won’t regret it! 

Bottom Line

Rogue Rider rocked my world! I read it twice in a row – that’s how good it was. Amazeballs, awesomesauce, stupid good…choose your phrase. This IS book 4 in a series so it would be best to read at least one or two of the previous books, but it is not required. I would highly recommend Rogue Rider to anyone who likes or wants to try paranormal romance with a slightly damaged hero and heroine. You won’t regret picking this one up. With equal parts heat and heart, this one is a keeper!

Rating: A+

Wine/Beverage Pairing: Sweaty Betty Blonde beer (Boulder Beer Company in Colorado) because I love the name! Also, Reseph loves beer with his chili!

Buy Print:  Amazon  |  B&N 

 

Buy Digital:  Kindle  |  Nook

 

 

 

Lords of Deliverance Giveaway

I’m so crushing on this author that I’ve convinced Kindle Gal we NEED to give away something by Larissa Ione from the Kindles & Wine “Book Cellar” (like wine cellar, get it?). But I want you to start off right, so I’m offering a copy of Book 1 of the Lords of Deliverance series, Eternal Rider, to ONE lucky K&W reader. (Trust me, you’ll thank me in the end!)

To enter for your chance to win, you must:

1. Be a follower of our blog (click HERE to subscribe), AND
2. Hit the comments and tell us where you would go if you wanted to move away to “wipe the slate clean” and get a fresh start. 

Please note: This contest will close on Friday, March 22 at 11:59 PM (CDT) and the winner will be notified via email on Saturday, March 23.

 

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