Lords of Deliverance: Lethal Rider

Lethal Rider is book three in the Lords of Deliverance series. I am going to be so sad when I finally finish this series. It's just so epic. And I have totally added Thanatos to my book boyfriend list. This guy was just too damn adorable for words.

The story was set up in the previous book, Immortal Rider. Regan was sent by the Aegis to seduce Thanatos and get pregnant. Thanatos found out and blew a gasket. Not only was he pissed at being used, but he was terrified that losing his virginity would mean his seal breaking, and him becoming as twisted and messed up as Pestilence.  His reaction to the whole situation was so bad that Limos and Ares had to use hellhound venom to keep him... sedate. 

Lethal Rider takes place eight months after Immortal Rider, and when poor Thanatos unfreezes, he's justifiably pissed. He's lost eight months of his life. It isn't entirely surprising that he wants to get his hands on Regan and throttle her for her betrayal.

Regan knows she's done wrong. She's spent the past eight months feeling guilty and dreading Thanatos waking up. She's also on the brink of popping out a baby that could avert the apocalypse. So, a stressful time for one and all. The story basically starts when Thanatos finally catches up to Regan. 

This book wasn't quite as funny as what I'm used to from Ms Ione, and I didn't even care. Thanatos was so friggin' sweet when he found out Regan was pregnant. All this guy ever wanted was a family of his own, but it never seemed possible because of the whole seal situation. Normally Thanatos is this take charge, lets-get-things-done kind of guy, but in the face of Regan's pregnancy he's all nervous and uncertain. He is so excited to be a dad, but he flounders about trying to properly express that excitement. I had so many "aww..." moments in this book that it was actually getting ridiculous. 

Lets not forget about Regan. She was one tough cookie. She has had a really rough time of it, and she deals with her circumstances as best she can. I felt quite bad for her a couple of times. We see that she struggles with OCD, and it sounds like an awful thing to suffer from.  

The ending of the book was pretty huge. It sets things up just right for the last book in the series, Rogue Rider. 

I know I said there weren't a lot of funnies in this book, but I did find something that made me chuckle. In Eternal Rider, Cara and Ares adopted a baby demon, Rath, whose parents had died. Cara loves the little demon like she gave birth to it herself. This is a family moment between Cara and Ares, Limos and Arik, and Regan and Thanatos.

The clink of glasses rang out, and after their first drink Cara said proudly, "Rath said his first sentence." 

Arik tugged Limos against him. "What did he say?"

Ares sighed. "What are the three words said most often in our house?"

"Not tonight, Ares?" Than offered.