Available: November 20 2012 Amazon/B&N
Type: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Grand Central
My Copy: Sent
Reviewer: Nikki
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?
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I was afraid to open this book. There I said it. The prior four books set this one up nicely and Reseph was painted in such a horrible light as Pestilence, I was equal parts excited and afraid. How could Ione take a character that had caused so much death and despair, and turn him back into someone I could root for, fall for…shoot, even just like? That kind of set up can spell disaster to even the best author. This book could go either way and I knew it when I cracked open that first page.
Jillians finds a naked man, in the middle of winter, passed out in the woods on her secluded property. Not wanting to sign his death certificate she loads him up on her horse and takes the mysterious stranger home with her. She finds herself instantly attracted to him even though when he awakens he has no memory of who he is.
The stranger is Reseph, aka Pestilence, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse Though his family thinks he is suffering an eternity in hell for his role in the wars and plaques that have spread worldwide, in a twist of fate he’s back on earth, sans memory of his horrible deeds and constantly battling the demon inside him intent of getting back out. As his memory slowly starts returning, a league of demons intent on bringing back his demon set their sights on Jillian and Reseph must enlist the help of those he hurt in order to keep her safe.
While I found Reseph to certainly be sexy and alpha and just hot hot hot, I was less intrigued by the story line and the role he played in Jillian’s attack from demons a few years earlier. I don’t know why really, all the usual aspects were there and I did “like” them both but I just failed to have strong emotional attachments to them. I did chuckle at myself throughout this one because even when Reseph was Pestilence, I found myself quietly lusting after him. I have a thing for bad boys. Anyone remember when Angel turned into Angelus on Buffy The Vampire Slayer? He lost his soul and started tormenting Buffy and her friends? That was exactly what I thought about during this book. I found Angelus hot…and well Pestilence had this bad boy, Imma kill you vibe, and I’m a sick individual and yeah, I liked it.
There was complete transparency in this one and I wasn’t surprised by any twists and turns the book took along the way. Even the watcher/bad angel/fallen angel triangle failed to surprise me. I will say that while it didn’t excite me, I look forward to that book because the set up was well executed and I think there is more to a certain fallen angel then we are told so far. Reaver though, he makes me SWOON. I figured once all 4 Horseman had books the series would be over. Nope. I’m happy Reaver gets his own, not only to tie up loose ends but I want to know everything about him. I want to know where he came from and where he is ultimately going.
I didn’t think there was as much action in this book then in the previous books. Maybe it was just my mood when I was reading it but I thought at times it kinda dragged along with all the information, which was needed of course to do the story justice, but it dragged all the same. I found my attention strained several times which is unusual with not only this series, but this author as well. I just don’t think it was up to the same standards as the rest of the series. I have no doubt I will keep reading, not only this series but the author as well. There is usually one book in every series that makes me grumble and I think this one was it.
Of course I want to give it 5 stars on principal, but I just can’t. I know for a fact that my little ole 3.50 won’t even cause a disruption in the giddy feelings of all the fans and I’m sure plenty of people will love this book regardless.
This one, while good, wasn’t the typical excellence I’ve come to expect and for that I have to give Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione 3.50 stars!
*GIVEAWAY*
The awesome people over at Grand Central are allowing me to give away a copy of the book today! This one is US ONLY. I will leave it open until 11/23/12 @ 11:59 EST. Simply comment to enter 
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