Pleasure Unbound

Demonica, Book 1

By: Larissa Ione

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life....

She's a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure - but fears it will always be denied her, until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.

Two lovers will dare to risk all.

Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his quest to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable - and let Tayla possess him, body and soul.

©2008 Larissa Ione (P)2011 Hachette

Great Story!

Loved the start to the series! Spicy 🥵🌶️ with great world building! Can’t wait to listen to the rest of the series.

Incredibly good

The author has done a terrific job of building a world where demons and other creatures can be both good or bad.
The characters are very good with detailed pasts and interesting personalities.

Love it!

Really loved this book. Already listened to all 5. A great paranormal romance with lots of action. Demons, vampires, wolves, angels, hunters, everything you could imagine mixed together with humor and passion. Kinda made me think of ER full of monsters. Can't wait for a new one.

I am hooked

Bought on Audible
May 2011 BBA Read
Overall Rating 4.25
Character Rating 4.5
Story Rating 4.0
Audio Rating 4.0

NOTE: I read/listened to Pleasure Unbound because it is the May 2011 read for BBA and I'm going to Authors After Dark 2011 where Larissa Ione will be the keynote speaker. I am so glad that I did because now I am hooked. It is a bit sexier/grittier/darker than I was expecting but I think the tone fit the story perfectly!

What I Loved: Tayla is a woman stuck in the middle of a bad situation. She just found out she is part what she hates and that those she has always trusted either lied and/or are uneducated about the demons that they hunt. Add to that her attraction to Eidolon and you have got one messed up leading lady. This, to me, is what makes her a fantastic lead. You get to watch as she grows into the person (demon) she is supposed to be. Eidolon is a great balance to her though he does have issues of his own: changing, brothers that can drive a man crazy, and a hospital he needs to run.

What I Liked: Wraith and Shade were fantastic side characters in this book. I enjoyed each moment they were in Pleasure Unbound. I also loved Gen(Gem)--sorry I listened to it on audiobook so I am not sure which it really is--the part she is involved with is fantastic. I really liked that story arc.

Complaints: None

Audio Specific Review: Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, she does a fantastic job with almost everyone's voices. There was enough nuance difference that each one stood out on it's own. Her pacing, pronunciation, and emotions were great. I recommend her as a narrator.

Who I gave it a 4.25: This was a fantastic beginning to a series. Pleasure Unbound was a book that had a good story and was still able to introduce character's whose stories are yet to come.

Who I would recommend this too: PNR readers that like the darker stories. Think dark like JR Ward because it is that gritty and sexy.

Just OK.....in story and narration.

I'm a PRN addict and have listened to a lot of books and based on some of the reviews it looked like a promising series. Honestly, I was bored for half of it and felt no connection to the characters at all. Sex was immediate and romance at the end. I love some good steamy scenes, and I don't mind the instant connection story lines, but with no connection between these characters it just fell flat for me. This book may have benefited from a better narrator, such as Kirsten Potter, as Cassandra Campbell didn't pour any emotion into the characters. Her narration was dull and left a lot to be desired. Very robotic at times. She's not the worst but I wouldn't seek her out.

Can't say this is worth a credit and likely won't bother with the rest in the series.

Other PRN books I think are fantastic are anything by Jeaniene Frost, Heather Hunter's Irin Chronicles (really beautifully written and narrated), Dianne Duvall's Immortal Guardian Series, Jacqueline Frank's Nightwalker Series, Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series (series turns amazing at book 3), Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter Series, J. D. Tyler's Alpha Pack Series and Tessa Dawn's Blood Curse series (very dark take on vampires). Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series is really good too, thou more just paranormal than a PRN, romance is subtle but totally worth a listen unless you require steam. Most of these are available in the Escape Package which is a bonus if you like to binge.

Fun characters. Overkill and repetitive sex.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am new to this kind of book, so maybe I wasn't sure what to expect. I grew to like some of the characters and found myself rooting for the good guys in the end. I found the actual sex scenes well thought out and fun. That said, being new to this kind of book I found the constant interruption of the story line for the same old "she felt her sex swell with anticipation" to start out as a little distracting, and by the 100th time she went on a tangent about how horny she was (right in the middle of something important), I just wanted to start fast forwarding through the same played out lines. I have no problem with sex, but that just wasn't sexy anymore. By the end of the book I felt like about half of it could have been left out.

So my opinion, story was fun but the author got way to caught up in the need to fill pages with repetitive sexual thoughts that just didn't need to be there.

Great book!!!!!!

What made the experience of listening to Pleasure Unbound the most enjoyable?

Yes.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved all the characters in the series.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. Couldn't put it down.

Surprisingly deep!

I really didn’t expect that level of story based on the teaser. But this book had everything I could ever want in a romance thriller without any silly misunderstandings. I didn’t expect to read it in one day. I didn’t expect to love everyone and I’m waiting with baited breath to start the next one! Yes please. Thank you for a new series to lose myself in!

A surprising guilty pleasure!!

I got this audiobook because of the great reviews it had and because it was on sale. This is my first demon book, the first book I've listened to by this author and narrator. I was scared at first because of the demon thing and I had low expectations. Dark Paranormal romance is not my thing but I wanted to give this book a try.... And I loved every minute of this! I could not stop listening!

The storyline seems ridiculous but trust me, it actually works! Eidolon is an incubus demon, Tayla is a demon hunter who can never "finish" when she's with a man. They end up meeting when she's injured and taken to a secret demon hospital.

The story is really interesting, well developed and it introduces you to a world of demons very complex and not at all what you could expect. The story is unpredictable and complex and the sex (lots and lots of it... After all he's an incubus) is hot! And the romance, it's there and it's wonderful.

My favorite paranormal romance is Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh and after that I've listened to many PNR books looking for one that makes that huge impact on me and I found it. This book is that good. The narrator does an AMAZING job too! Be prepared because she uses a little creepy voice for the demon at times but it's part of the story. If your scared about listening to a demon story like I was let me reassure you that there are no devil worship, no bad talking about God or really scary thing.

The next book in the series is not narrated by Cassandra Campbel so that sucks but I am definitely looking forward to more books by this author and/or narrator. So give this book a try if you like PNR, you won't regret it.

Totally addictive lose sleep series

I had this series as physical books, kindle books and audible-- I didn't even realize it. So yeah I love this series! In my top 5 of best series.