I’ve been Tagged on Facebook by Nicola of Alpha Heroes, but I thought i’d share on my blog.

Hello, my name is Ciara, and I’m a bookaholic.

1. What author do you own the most books by?
That would probably be JK Rowling, since Harry Potter has 7 books plus two skinny school books. Though I may have a box full of Nancy Drews in my parents garage….waiting for some distant time when I may or may not have a pre-teen daughter.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
Peter Pan in all its different forms. I collect them. One original edition (my sweetie is the bestest!) A script of the play. A few beautifully illustrated editions. The Disney version and another picture book in Swedish. Can I count the audio versions?

3. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
I am quite openly in love with Adam Hauptman from Patricia Briggs‘ Mercy Thompson series. I would also take Samuel (BABIES!!!).

4. What book have you read more than any other?
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. Fabulous book. I would name my future daughter Cimorene, if it weren’t so weird.

5. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
I think at that time I had just discovered Dealing with Dragons, otherwise it would have been Peter Pan.

6. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
I don’t finish books that don’t keep me hooked. Too many books, too little time.

7. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Cried like a baby.

8. If you could tell everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
only one??? I guess The Time Traveler’s Wife.

9. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
Define difficult. I hated reading books for English class. THE STRANGER by Camus was one of the worst books I’ve ever read. H.A.T.E.D. it. Also ANGELA’S ASHES, which I was forced to listen to on a very long family car ride from seattle to Yellowstone. It was torturous.
Nonfiction – one of my college economics textbooks.

10. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
In literature? neither! Talk about depressing. When I was little my dad liked to read me Tolstoy. I was scarred for life. Now I only read happy books.

11. Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?
Shakespeare, as I haven’t read much by the other two. Though I had to memorize the opening of the Canterbury Tales in 8th grade and can still recite it for you. (but don’t ask me what I had for breakfast, I couldn’t tell you.)

12. Austen or Eliot?
T.S. or George? I haven’t read any. I saw the Jane Austin movies – does that count?

13. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
The classics. They’re boring and depressing and I can’t be bothered.

14. What is your favorite novel?
I can’t pick one. Off the top of my head: The Spymaster’s Lady, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Games of Command, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Sabriel

15. Play?
If I can count musicals, I’d go with Phantom of the Opera. The last straight play I watched was PERSUASION by Jane Austin at Book-it Theater.

16. Poem?
The Desiderata, author unknown

17. Essay?
No clue

18. Short Story?
“Thicker than Blood” by Meljean Brook in the FIRST BLOOD anthology

19. Non Fiction
Stitch N’ Bitch

20. Graphic Novel?
Elf Quest

Excited after purchasing DEMONICA book 2 (Shade's story). Currently reading book 3 (Wraith's story).

21. Science Fiction?
GAMES OF COMMAND by Linnea Sinclair

22. Who is your favorite writer?
Joanna Bourne

23. Who is the most over rated writer alive today?
I’m not going to answer this.

24. What are you reading right now?
PASSION UNLEASHED by Larissa Ione

25. Best Memoir?
BOY by Roald Dahl

26. Best History?
WILD SWANS by Jung Chang (it’s a memoir too)

27. Best mystery or Noir?
huh?

Larissa Ione‘s second Demonica novel, DESIRE UNCHAINED, debuts TODAY. Book one, PLEASURE UNBOUND, was so good, I can’t wait to read book two. I fully expect Shade’s story to be even better. If you like paranormal romance, this series is not to be missed.

Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .

Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.

A Seminus demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts—or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.

Title: Pleasure Unbound
Author: Larissa Ione
Series: Demonica, Book 1
Publication Info: Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner), June 2008
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hot, Hot, and Hawt. Buffy meets E.R. in this completely addictive paranormal action-adventure, the first in a new series that is sure to be the next Black Dagger Brotherhood. I’m not kidding. I liked this book more than Ward’s crack-between-covers, and I’m a repeat offender

The Story
Demon-slayer Tayla Mancuso was taken in and trained by the Aegis after she saw her mother raped and killed by a demon. To the Aegis there is only one kind of good demon: a dead one. After a disastrous fight in which her partner is killed, Tayla wakes up into her worst nightmare. She is the captive patient of the world’s only demon hospital, which she describes thusly: “If Castle Dracula screwed a hospital, this would be the bastard offspring,” (p56). Underworld General Hospital founder and head doctor Eidolon is a rare breed of Incubi on the cusp of a maturation that will turn him into a lust-crazed monster unless he finds a mate. The other doctors want to kill the “Buffy,” but his oath to protect and heal won’t let him sacrifice the injured slayer. Someone is kidnapping demons and harvesting their organs, and the Aegis is suspected. Eidolon must convince Tayla that not all demons are evil, before his coworkers or her fellow slayers kill one or both of them. The clock is ticking as a mysterious illness slowly kills Tayla and Eidolon’s maturation speeds up. Can they learn to trust each other and find the organ-harvesters before time runs out?

World Building
Ms. Ione’s world building sucks you in with complex layering. Humans live alongside an untold number of demon species, which include vampires, werewolves, and incubi. Each species of demon has its own ruling council that manages the accepted number of human kills per capita. Most demons live deep under the Earth and can travel via a hell-gate to the surface. Humans are protected from this evil by a society of warriors, The Aegis. At the risk of comparing Pleasure Unbound overmuch to the BDB, what I liked better is that unlike the Omega-Scribe Virgin conflict, the demon-Aegis conflict is not black and white, good versus evil. Ms. Ione delves into the shades of grey that speaks to the heart of the human condition. What is evil? Nature or nurture? What if evil is necessary for survival? Pleasure Unbound only begins to address these questions, and I look forward to peeling off more layers in future books.

Characters
Ms. Ione has crafted a strong cadre of secondary characters that both enrich Pleasure Unbound and provide for future book heroes and heroines. I’m already salivating in anticipation of Shade’s book, coming up next. The hero of Pleasure Unbound is Eidolon, the Chief archetype. His brothers Shade and Wraith are the Charmer and the Lost Soul, respectively. The heroine’s sister Gem will (hopefully) get her day in the sun too. She’s got spunk and a dash of bad girl, and we already know where her heart lies. I love Eidolon. He’s handsome and smart, sweet and protective. His expletives are funny, since as a demon his mythology centers around the evil half of the coin. I especially liked Shade’s “Hells Bells!” Yum!

Love, True Love
Yes, Oh YES! And hot too.

A huge THANK YOU to the Book Binge for their interview with Larissa Ione and contest, in which I won a copy of this book. I luvvvvvved it. I can’t wait for Demonica Book 2: SHADOW LOVER comes out in March 2009. Read the excerpt here.