Legacy of Chaos by Larissa Ione is live, and OMG, what an amazing read!
This is the second book in the Demonica Birthright series, a second-gen spin-off from the original Demonica/Lords of Deliverance series and a steamy, angst-filled, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity paranormal romance.
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Blurb
The legacy continues…
It’s a gritty new world.
Three decades after the events of REAPER, the world is a different place. The secret is out. The existence of demons, vampires, shapeshifters, and angels has been revealed, and humans are struggling to adapt. Out of the chaos, The Aegis has risen to global power on the promise of containing or exterminating all underworlders, even if that means ushering in the End of Days.
Standing in their way is the next generation of warriors, the children of demons and angels and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
See how they become legends in their own right.
Legacy of Chaos
Stryke, son of Shade and Runa, grew up a happy, well-adjusted incubus alongside his four brothers. A supergenius, he took an interest in science and technology at an early age, with a dream of joining NASA…until a moment of carelessness resulted in the death of his little brother. Unable to forgive himself and desperate to prevent a similar tragedy from happening to others, he started up his own anti-demon tech company and sequestered himself behind its walls. Now he’s a household name and one of the wealthiest people on the planet.
Cyan, a technomancer who works as a cybersecurity expert for DART, lost her best friend to a weapon designed by Stryke’s company. She’s hurt, angry, and wants revenge. So when an opportunity to work with Stryke on a project arises, she jumps at the chance to help DART and make Stryke’s life miserable.
At first, Cyan and Stryke butt heads about everything. But she soon finds that deep down, he’s desperately wounded and willing to sacrifice everything, including his family, to achieve his goals. Can she help him heal before he destroys himself—and everyone around him?
Review
5 MASSIVE STARS!
OMG, what an amazing read! I am obsessed with this series and I love this world, and this book is everything that I was hoping it would be – exciting, unexpected, action-packed, funny, intense, sexy and romantic with fantastic character development and heartwrenching emotion, I fell so in love with these characters and their story, and I devoured this one!
This is the second book in the Demonica Birthright series, a second-gen spin-off from the original Demonica/Lords of Deliverance series. You may find yourself a little lost if you haven’t read those original books because there are a lot of characters and relationships to understand, but you don’t need to read the first book in this series to understand this one.
Stryke is the son of Shade and Runa from Passion Unchained, (Demonica, #2). He is one of their triplets, a seminus demon like his father, and after a devastating family tragedy which he holds himself responsible for, he has estranged himself from his family. Instead, he has dedicated his life to science and research and has become the richest man/demon on the planet, building an empire of bad-demon-destroying tech. And though he has a reputation as a cruel and heartless bastard, he’s actually just trying to make the world a better place. He is also drowning in guilt and shame at his past, he’s struggling with crippling PTSD, and he does everything he can to avoid interaction with others, or having a spare minute to think. After being shocked and a little unsure of him in the first book, I instantly loved him in this one, and felt so much for him.
Cyan is a technomancer demon working with the Demon Activity Response Team. As a complete tech nerd she idolised Stryke for his well-known achievements, until a weapon he designed was responsible for the deaths of her parents and her best friend. Now, her boss wants her to work with him on a joint project, and though she wants nothing to do with him, she figures the experience will be invaluable, and she can at least use the opportunity to make his life miserable.
There’s a fantastic enemies-to-lovers vibe happening here. Stryke and Cyan are antagonistic towards each other, but there’s a definite attraction, and the chemistry is electric! When their unique skills are needed to avoid a potentially world-ending catastrophe, they’re forced together in the most intense of circumstances, and working so closely, Cyan starts to see a whole new side of Stryke. And when he starts to open up to her, she begins to understand him, and everything starts to change.
Oh my God, I love this relationship! Stryke is complex, with a lot going on, but Cyan is a strong and stubborn female. She’s determined to get through to him, to help him deal with his issues, face up to his past, and move past his trauma, and she throws herself whole-heartedly into helping him heal. And quite unexpectedly, she finds in him the strength to deal with her own past. It’s sweet, sexy and heartfelt, and I loved going on the journey with them both.
“Guilt is an emotion designed to teach you a lesson. Not destroy you. Guilt will make you suffer, as intended, but once you learn your lesson, make amends, forgive yourself, and become a better person. Live a good life and never forget what it taught you.”
At the same time, we get to see Stryke’s complicated relationship with his family. God, I love seeing the original characters again! There are some tricky dynamics here, and I hurt so much for Stryke, but I loved seeing them interact, and go on their own journey together. There’s some time spent with some more of the younger generation – particularly Blade, Mace and Scotland (WTF is going on there?), and some other characters from the series are continuing to play a big role, and holy sh*t there are some big things going on in the background! I have so many theories, and I am so excited to see where the series goes from here.
This is a phenomenal read, and is everything I love about this series. It’s a fave or 2024.
5 stars!
An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.
Demonica Birthright
Second-generation series following on from Demonica/Lords of Deliverance series
Have a look at our Family Tree to see how all of the characters tie together.
Legacy of Temptation (#1) (Logan & Eva)
Review
Buy: Amazon | Paperback
Legacy of Chaos (#2) (Stryke & Cyan)
To be released 3 December
Pre-order: Amazon
Legacy of Desire (#3) (Mace/Blade & Scotland)
To be released 7 October
Pre-order: Amazon
Keep reading for a look inside Legacy of Chaos!
“Let’s go inside where it’s safe,” Cyan said, turning back to Stryke.
“You go. I’ll catch up.”
She stared at him through the dense tendrils of fog that swirled in the space between them. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”
He didn’t look at her, but she swore he said something like, “I couldn’t save him.”
Not so distantly, a sound like something wet slithering on metal sent a chill up her spine.
“Stryke,” she said with growing urgency. “Let’s go.”
His head swung around, and she drew a sharp breath at the gleaming gold burning in his eyes.
“I can’t,” he growled. “It’s not safe.”
A warm wave of arousal washed over her, and instantly, she understood. “Did you bring your medicine?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crushed injector pen. “This contained four doses.” He closed his eyes. “Blade was right. I’m an arrogant asshole. I couldn’t save him.”
“Er…yeah.” He wasn’t making sense. None of this made sense. Maybe he was experiencing a nervous breakdown. Too much stress or something.
“You did everything you could for Ubundi,” she said calmly, but his eyes popped open, and he looked at her like he didn’t understand.
“Not Ubundi.”
Not Ubundi? What was he talking about?
Something in the fog snarled, and closer, something hissed. She decided to worry about whatever was wrong with Stryke later.
“Okay, we’ll deal with it inside.” He didn’t move, but he did open his eyes. Somehow, they glowed even brighter, a molten gold that made her feel like whiskey flowed through her veins. She burned in the best way. “Stryke.” She extended her hand. “We really have to go inside.”
The wrench clattered to the deck, but he still didn’t move. Fiery turmoil as violent as the stormy sea filled his expression, drawing her in with a sense of almost morbid fascination. She wanted to touch that fire. See how badly it would scorch her.
She stepped closer, her heart pumping so hard she could hear it over the roar of the wind. Desire fluttered in her belly, even as her brain screamed that they were in danger.
Screamed that he was the danger.
“Come on,” she whispered, taking his hand.
His grip snapped closed on her wrist, and he wheeled them both around lightning-fast, slamming her against a huge tank. He pinned her wrists above her head and pressed his big, warm body against hers.
Teeth bared, his face inches from hers, he growled, a sound that relaxed her muscles and turned her core liquid. Oh, wow. So, this was why lust demons were so dangerous.
Here they were in a situation that could get them killed, and all she wanted to do was strip off her clothes and let him do whatever he wanted to her. Right here. In the cold rain. Likely with demons stalking them.
“Go…inside,” he gritted, even as he pushed his pelvis into hers, the hard ridge of his erection making her instinctively roll her hips against it. He sucked in a harsh breath, and the gold in his eyes swirled.
“I’m not going in without you,” she said, her voice sounding more breathless than she’d like.
“Yes, you are.”
Did he understand what he was saying? Did he really want to send her away? What the hell was wrong with him?
Her lust turned to instant fury, something she was far more comfortable with around him. She jerked angrily out of his grip. “What is your deal? If you stay out here, you’ll get killed!”
“I know. But I won’t make it easy on them, and I’ll take out as many of those bastards as I can.”
Oh, gods. He was serious. He really was prepared to fight to the death. And he wasn’t even bothered by the idea. It was all just very ho-hum.
“Stryke, you don’t have to die. Come inside.”
For more information about Larissa Ione, visit https://www.larissaione.com/
For more information about Blue Box Press, visit
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