Larissa Ione
Rogue Rider
Grand Central / November 20, 2012 / $7.99 print & digital

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 . . .

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?

Rogue Rider, the final book in Larissa Ione's epic Lords of Deliverance series, has a lot to live up to. It has the dubious honor of redeeming quite possibly the most heinous of all villains: Reseph, or Pestilence, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The only Horseman to have had his Seal broken, Reseph has been purely evil since the beginning of the series. This is a redemption story, but of all the books in the Lords of Deliverance series, it's also the most dazzlingly romantic, and definitely the most sexual.

[Going out with a bang, eh?...]

Today Heroes and Heartbreakers is pleased to exclusively reveal the cover of the third book in Jenn Bennett's Arcadia Bell series, Binding the Shadows. Here's what it's all about:

Demons sure know how to kill a girl’s buzz. Renegade mage and bartender Arcadia Bell has had a rough year, but now the door to her already unstable world is becoming completely unhinged. When a citywide crime wave erupts, Cady’s demon-friendly tiki bar is robbed by Earthbounds wielding surreal demonic abilities that just flat-out shouldn’t exist. With the help of her devilishly delicious boyfriend, Lon Butler, Cady sets out to find the people who wronged her—but her targets aren’t the only ones experiencing unnatural metamorphoses. Can Cady track down the monsters responsible before the monster inside her destroys everything—and everyone—she loves? If she survives this adventure, one thing is certain: it’s last call for life as she knows it.

Binding the Shadows will be available May 28, 2013.

Stephanie Chong
The Demoness of Waking Dreams
Harlequin MIRA / August 28, 2012 / $7.99 print, $6.79 digital

Ex-cop Brendan Clarkson is an angel with an edge. His tough exterior is the perfect camouflage for his job-hunting down the most dangerous criminals on earth. Brendan’s a self-reliant and demanding lone wolf, constantly on the brink of clashing with his superiors at the Company of Angels.

Brendan is the perfect angel to track and capture demoness Luciana Rossetti. Luciana’s cool, green-eyed beauty masks her true nature: inside, she’s a dangerous and malevolent killer. Yet, she sees what most people don’t-that beneath the layers of Brendan’s rugged shell beats the heart of a passionate lover.

They are perfectly matched. Yin and yang. Angel and demon. Man and woman. But only one of them can win the battle of wills, of strength and of desire.

Is it really opposites that attract or is the line more blurred? You can’t get more opposite than a guardian angel and a rogue demon, right? But in Stephanie Chong’s second novel, The Demoness of Waking Dreams, she shows us that since both angels and demons were originally flawed human beings—just like us—underneath it all, both types can have moments of goodness and evil.

[That makes things complicated...]

Lexi George
Demon Hunting in the Deep South
Brava / July 31, 2012 / $14.00 print & $11.99 digital

Evie Douglass doesn’t know what’s worse—the demons secretly infesting her small Alabama hometown. . .or human belle-from-hell Meredith Starr Peterson, who’s made her life miserable since high school. But when the “Death Starr” is brutally murdered and Evie is the number-one suspect, she’s suddenly besieged by the evil-not-dead-enough and Meredith’s furious specter. The only way she can clear her name is to get out from under demon hunter Ansgar’s grim protection. He’s blond, breathtaking, and the most lethal of all his kin, but after years of teasing, Evie is wary of anyone who swears her plus-size self is beautiful. However, having Ansgar all over her is sparking outrageous powers Evie didn’t know she had. And she’ll face any ultimate evil to keep this sexy slayer in this dimension and in her bed for all eternity...

Demon Hunting in the Deep South is the second book in Lexi George’s Demon Hunting series. In book one, Demon Hunting in Dixie, we meet shy and shapely Evangeline Douglass and the Dalvahni warrior, Ansgar. We watched the attraction between these two characters developing in the background of the first story and we also watched the shy Evie blossom into a confident woman. But circumstances at the end of DHiD leave Evie with a case of memory loss. And since fraternizing with humans is unacceptable, our very by-the-book warrior, Ansgar, leaves Evie with her memory loss because he has to return to his own dimension and he doesn’t want her to miss him.

[But but but...]

Larissa Ione
Lethal Rider
Grand Central / $7.99 print/digital / May 22, 2012

Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, ReganCooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse—he’s about to become a father.

Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he’s ever wanted—a family.

Lethal Rider is the explosive third installment of Larissa Ione’s dark, dangerous, and sinfully sexy Lords of Deliverance series, a true paranormal romance that delivers well-crafted characters, devious plots lines, and engaging dialogue. I love the balance between the sexy romance and the heart-pounding action—though you know your happy ending is coming, the path there is fraught with peril and pain. The world-building is both incredible and convoluted.

[Sounds like book 3 does not disappoint...]

If you read any romance at all, chances are you’ve encountered a supernatural element somewhere, whether it’s a small town’s local psychic or a convenient gathering of superhot preternaturals who protect humans from evil forces.

So what is paranormal romance?

The paranormal romance section at your local bookstore can carry just about everything from books with alpha heroes saving the day, to strong women who aren’t in need of saving, to nefarious murder plots, to vampire babies.

All the elements you love about romance novels —from historical to those with urban fantasy twists—come into play in paranormal romance books. Except with paranormal romance, the tension is farther elevated by bringing in the forbidden desire of supernatural creatures. Vampires, werewolves, demons, fallen angels, faeries might have been scary in your youth, but as an adult, the wild nature and added bad-for-you factor make the preternatural irresistible.

[The possibilities are endless...]

Larissa Ione
Immortal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #2)
Grand Central Publishing, $7.99, Nov. 22, 2011

The signs are everywhere...disastrous world events. Evil rising up, unleashed upon the innocent. The prophecies were there...but no one listened. Until now. The time has come for those who can either usher in Doomsday...or prevent it.
They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Arik Wagner, a soldier with the U.S. Army’s paranormal unit, the R-XR, kissed a girl and liked it. And then he went to hell as punishment. Where he’s spent weeks being tortured...and plotting revenge.

Limos, Horsewoman of the Apocalypse, isn’t your average girl. She’s immortal, dangerous, and her fiancé is Satan himself. In a moment of weakness, she gave in to her desire and kissed Arik, triggering her fiancé’s wrath - and his claim on her. In order to save Arik, and the world, Limos must make a dangerous pact with her recently turned evil brother, Pestilence. A deal that might just cost her her soul...and her heart.

[Doesn’t anyone just lose their keys anymore?...]

Gena Showalter
The Darkest Surrender
HQN Books, September 27, 2011, $7.99

Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razors edge of surrender.

Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can’t afford because he has an agenda of his own; steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter; the love neither had thought possible.

[Defeat meets the Disappointment? Sounds like a match made in...]

Larissa Ione’s seductive series is more than just hot demon lovin’; it would be easy, merely judging by the five titles in Larissa Ione’s Demonica series, to dismiss her work as Paranormal Porn.

Take into account some of the blurbs on their back covers, and this impression is almost a certainty. Pleasure Unbound: “Tayla Mancuso is a demon slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure . . .”; Desire Unchained: “Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire…” The backs of the subsequent books—Pleasure Unleashed, Ecstasy Unveiled and Sin Undone, if you please—are less overtly lascivious, no doubt to counter that very idea, but still. Even just considering the titles and the cover images (sexy, shadowy naked people with no heads; oh yes, it’s definitely Paranormal Romance), one could be forgiven for assuming it’s All Nasty Sex All the Time.

[Not that that's a BAD thing...]

Condemned to death for black magic and shunned, Rachel Morgan has three days to somehow get to the annual witches convention in San Francisco and clear her name. If she fails, the only way she can escape death is to live in the demonic ever after . . . for ever after.

Banned from the flight lists, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack, headed for the West Coast for his own mysterious business. But Rachel isn’t the only passenger along for the ride. Can a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car survive for over 2,300 miles? And that’s not counting the assassin on their tail. 

A fearsome demon walks the sunlight, freed after centuries of torment to slay the innocent and devour souls. But his ultimate prey is Rachel Morgan. While the powerful witch with nerves of steel will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

[You had me at road trip . . .]

I am not a paranormal romance fan.  I just don't get the appeal of vampires and werewolves and demons (oh my!). Now, I don't mind a bit of magic here and there (I have these things compartmentalized; it's how I rationalize my reading quirks to myself.  Don't look at me like that—you do the same, you know you do.) Jill Barnett's Bewitching is on my Keeper Shelf and features a klutzy witch named Joyous whose most charming paranormal trick is that rose petals drift down from the ceiling whenever she has an orgasm. How sweet is that? And that might be it.  Magic can be charming. I see nothing charming about the undead.

[Hear me out . . .]