Passion Unleashed is book 3 of the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. I read the first book of this series, Pleasure Unbound, because I borrowed it for free from the Amazon Kindle Owner Library. Now, I am hooked to the series; I borrow the e-books from my local city library. What keeps me engaged/addicted? There are many reasons to why I love this series as a whole (book 1-3). First, the heroes are not squeaky-clean. They are tortured by their demon nature (or their fear of demons in some cases). It makes me yearn for things to work out. Also, the three books are similar in that they focus on one of the three brother finding his life mate, but their individual stories are different enough that it doesn't get old. Plus, there is SO much going on in the sub-plot, that you are constantly trying to relate one scene to the next. Little details from one book end up being a major factor in the next book (Runa becoming a werewolf, for example). All these (sub) plot point are perfectly paced with the help of the perspective switch (the perspective shifts from character to character through each novel). Not to mention, there is a plethora of character who are all unique in both species and personality. Although there are so many characters, they important ones are developed as needed. The character development is so good, that I became invested in their lives. I desire to know what happens next. The last reason for the addiction is the humor and fun dialogue in the text. I love a book that makes me actually laugh. Not just smile, but laugh out loud. **Spoiler Alert (Books 1 - 3)**I read the intriguing Wrath focused novel in only two and a half days (it would have been quicker, but I was ill while reading). During the read, I felt every emotion possible: joyfulness, giddiness, and concern. Most importantly, I was even shocked with several details. However, some things that should be surprising were actually easy to predict, such as how a main character will be rescued. Book 1 follows Eidolon's love affair with Tyla as they become bonded. Book 2 follows Shade and his love, Runa, as they bond.Book 3 continues to focus on the brothers as Wrath meets somebody, Serena. Can he overcome his anger and fall in love? If you read the first two, you will already know the answer without reading this novel, but it's a fantastic story to read. Plus, there are many story tangents that are very interesting and connect to the other novels, much like Desire Unchained (book 2).The writing flows beautifully from one point of view to the next. The little tilde mark ( ~ ) indicates a change of point of view. Sometimes, the change is between characters who are near. This results in one character telling the scene followed by the other character's inner thoughts about what just happened or just what happened later between the same characters. Other shifts seem to be unrelated, just happened in a similar time frame. For example, there will be a scene following Wrath in Egypt followed by a scene of Ky in New York. Although everything that happens is important, the main focus in on Wrath's story, this is made clear in the beginning,The switch of points of view really shows the plot (following Wrath and Serena) and the sub-plots (following other characters). These (sub) plot points are sometimes thrilling, suspenseful, heartwarming, and overall engaging. Not to mention they are thought-provoking as we try to predict the outcome or even how these puzzle pieces of plot fit together in the greater picture that is Passion Unleashed, and the Demonica Series. Although I was able to make some accurate predictions, I was hanging on to every detail as I tried to determine the resolution to the intricate storyline.All of these emotions are delivered with witty dialogue and easy to follow, yet brilliant, writing that is engaging and keeps the story moving. I laughed so much at the way characters would speak to one another. The humorous dialogue really fits this book (it's more prominent in this book) because it complements Wrath's personality. "Good thing he had broad shoulders, because the weight of the world… sucked."Background Character Analysis of Wrath:If you have read the previous stories, you know that Wrath is a selfish, hedonistic Seminus demon (kind of like a male incubus) with some vampire characteristics who happens to have a serious death wish and a f*** life and f*** you attitude. However, he is also intriguing because he is the ultimate warrior with a code of honor and family values who is also cocky, funny, entertaining, and brutally honest. Due to his history as a young demon that is flushed out yet again in this text, Wrath has never has sex with or voluntarily eats from human or vampire women.PLOT:The book begins, "There were three things Wrath did well: hunt, fight, and f***. He was going to do all three tonight. In exactly that order." Or so he thought. We open up following Wrath as he attempts to destroy vampires and their lackeys, "Renfields" or "Swans," or the "Fakires." Instead, Wrath was poisoned by an artifact. Since the brothers no longer had the artifact, it was stolen by Roag in book 2, it was incurable. Wrath was dying slowly and Underworld General, which was built on the blood, tears, and sweat of the brothers, was falling apart bit by bit. With the hospital crumbling and the worrying about the unrest in Sheoul (the demon realm), the hospital becomes greatly understaffed. Eidolon and Shade cannot find an antidote for Wrath, but the learn of a cure. This cure would come once he claims the charm of a Marked Sentinel (a being gifted by an angle with eternal life as they keep hold of a valuable artifact that must not fall into the wrong hands). To clam the charm of immortality, Wrath must seduce and have sex with a willing Sentinel. Enter Serena Kelly, a beautiful, sweet treasure hunter who has a zest for life and a vampire fetish. Although she was charmed, she had a very strong personality that was up to the task of keeping Wrath on his toes. She is independent, curious, and will do whatever she needs to do to recover a relic. There is only one thing that she will NOT do on her quest; she will not have sex. Being bitten by a Mara demon as a child, she contracted a deadly disease. Unfortunately, the Mara demon was killed, so there is no cure. However, her charm keeps her in good health. Uh-oh, conflict of interest!The irony is that the cure for Wrath's affliction is to seduce and devirginize a human female. However, if she give him her charm, which is done through intercourse, she will no longer be saved from her deadly, demonic disease. This wouldn't be so bad, except Wrath falls for Serena. As is the way with all Seminus demons in this series, Wraith falls hard and for the first time in his life and he has come to terms with the unfamiliar feelings: romantic love, protective, and possession of another being. Not only is he willing to give up his life, but he is willing to allow the collapse of UG and the death of his brothers if it will keep Serena safe from her Mara disease. So, he decides not to give in to his brothers' request or his nature. He only stays with Serena to keep her safe from the many demons who attack her and Byzamoth, who can physically injure Serena despite her charm. Don't forget, Wrath is slowly dying all this time and his pain is visible. Serena, who is anything but stupid, sees his pain. Once it is revealed that Wrath is dying and Byzamoth already grabbed the artifact that she was to keep safe, she decided to save the man she loved (she knew Wrath as Josh, the human at this time). Their romantic could have been bittersweet as we want both parties to be saved, but only one charm is available. (The only bad thing about this was I predicted the outcome of this as soon as I saw the conflict. It was not difficult to predict.)As you may have been able to tell, Wrath goes through a character metamorphosis. However, some of his changes are a little shocking at first, while others make prefect since compared to his breed (shown through E's and Shade's stories).This love story is the focus, but it is intertwined with a complex sub-plot. Byzamoth is the malevolent creature, who is far worse than one seen previously in the series. He acts like an unmistakeable hell spawn, yet he's not actually from hell! Byzamoth is a destroyer; his goal is to destroy earth AND heaven by using a piece of heaven to unlock the gate. There is graphic imagery surrounding this creature, especially during the final battle scene between the Aegis and "good" demons (those who live in relative peace with humans) against Byzamoth and the other demons (those who want hell on earth). The battle really surrounded the "boss battle;" there was no detail about what happened to the armies of humans versus demons.Gem and Kynan are back with their roller coaster relationship. Gem is fearful of being hurt again while Ky is jealous of a new character, Lore. There was angst and heartache mixed with desire and passion. Not to mention Kynan is part fallen angel whose future is tied up with a prophesy within the Daemonica: "And he born of man and angel shall die in the face of evil and yet may bear the burden of Heaven..."Reaver, the fallen angel, is fully developed. He is an integral part in the plot as he provides celestial information, although it is against his angel nature, and he is important in the final battle.That's a lot right, well, Ione wasn't finished with her sub-plots. She introduced Lore. He is an assassin. Before Shade's curse was transferred onto Roag in book 2, he contracted a team of assassins to take out his three brothers. Luc killed the first assassin after torturing him into identifying what was wrong with Wrath. Lore, the second, befriended Gem (he would liked to have become more than friends if only his "gift" wouldn't kill her). He used the intell she unwittingly gave him to enter UG and grab E. This should have killed Eidolon, but it didn't. I don't want to give away the reason behind Lore's failure, because it was a plot twist that I had no idea was coming. Read the book to find out why he failed in his task after spending 2/3 of it attempting to kill the brothers. I believe it is possible for this character to be the next tortured "hero." I will have to read book 4 to find out.By the way, the final battle in the boos is where war between human and demon-kind looms.Reading these stories in order is important because the plots interconnect as each book builds on the previous. I enjoyed the first two books in the series, but even while reading them knew that it was only a matter of time before the elements of the story and world that I didn't like grew too much for my enjoyment of the story to overcome. Mostly I enjoyed the sex scenes and tried not to pay attention to the parts of the story that annoyed me. I made it a quarter of the way into this book before I couldn't do that any more. While the world is interesting, the Seminus demons were a bit much for me - I found the idea that any of them who found a mate would be interested in having kids that would grow up to potentially be such monsters and likely killed well before that a bit much - especially as the Seminus demons features in these books were otherwise so concerned with the well being of many of the others around them, to the point of building the first demon hospital. I think it would have been better off to either tone down the Seminus demons a bit, or to not make them the main characters in romances. The other problem was that I never really felt invested in any of the female leads. They behaved erratically and their actions usually didn't make sense. The plot in general in all three books were pretty shaky. The series will be good for those looking for a quick, fun read that don't get as hung up on plot and consistencies as I do.
What do You think about Passion Unleashed (2009)?
My favorite in this series so far! I've been waiting for Wraith's story, and it didn't disappoint!
—Setu
I’ve loved Wraith since the very first book. It’s about time he found his match!
—Neha
