Bond of Passion (1001 Dark Nights #171)

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Synopsis

Twelve years ago, while working as an underworld assassin, Tavin was sent to kill a Neethul demon named Gristlen. Neethul are as evil as they come, so he thought it would be an easy assignment... until he met her. With her unexpected compassionate side, Gristlen was nothing like any other Neethul he'd ever met, and he found himself falling in love with her. Their passion was unlike anything he'd ever felt for anyone before, but with the contract still out on her life, Tavin knew it was only a matter of time before another assassin caught up with them. Seeing no other way out of their dilemma and with Gristlen facing a painful torturous death, Tavin made the fateful decision to kill her himself in the quickest way possible, but he's been wracked with guilt ever since. After his assassin bond was fortuitously broken, he went to work for Underworld General saving lives instead of taking them in an effort to atone for his past actions, but nothing can ease the pain of having to kill the female he loved.

Following her death, Gristlen spent years in Sheoul-gra, stewing in anger over the betrayal of the man she loved and planning her revenge. When Azagoth destroyed the underworld realm, she found herself Resurrected in a somewhat different body. Although a mysterious turn of events, it perfectly fit into her plan to go after Tavin, because he wouldn't recognize her. She took the new name, Deja, and trained as a nurse, so that she could get a job at Underworld General to see him again. But their reunion is interrupted by an explosion that badly injures Tavin. Deja volunteers to look after him, thinking it will give her an opportunity to enact her revenge. But the more time she spends with him, the more she remembers the love they shared. Before she can decide on a course of action, a number of other Resurrecteds come gunning for Tavin, and Deja must make a choice as to whether she's going to save him or let them kill him.

Review

Bond of Passion is the twentieth-first book in Larissa Ione's Demonica series, and it's also the final book of the main part of the series before it jumps ahead thirty years into the new next-gen series, Demonica Birthright. Tavin is a Seminus demon and an assassin who's been seen a few times before as a supporting character in other books. Twelve years earlier, he was sent to kill Gristlen, a Neethul, one of the most evil and sadistic demon species in existence. He thought it would be an easy job until he met her. Gristlen was nothing like any other Neethul Tavin had ever known, and he ended up falling in love with her. But with a contract still out on her life, it was only a matter of time before another assassin came for her, and this time, he knew they were going to brutally torture her in front of him as punishment for not fulfilling his contract. Not willing to let that happen, he ended up killing her himself in the quickest way he could, and he's been tortured by his decision ever since. When the Four Horsemen broke the slave bonds in the previous book, it also broke assassin bonds, so now Tavin is free to do whatever he wants, and he's decided to become an EMT at Underworld General. Deja, a new nurse comes to work there, and they begin flirting with one another. But little does he know that she's his former love in a new Resurrected body, and she's out for revenge. Deja plans to seduce, then kill, Tavin just like he did to her, but the more time she spends with him, the harder it becomes to continue with her plan. Both of them have enemies, though, who want them dead, making their lives complicated and dangerous.

Tavin never expected to fall in love with his prey, but that's exactly what happened with Gristlen a dozen years ago. Although they had to essentially live on the run, because of him not fulfilling his contract to kill her, they were happy and shared a passion that was unmatched. But knowing that the Assassin's Guild was going to catch up to them, Tavin felt he had no choice but to kill Gristlen himself to save her from a horrible fate. However, it nearly killed him to do it and he's been haunted by the memory ever since. Once he was free from the assassin's bond, he chose to work at Underworld General, saving lives, instead of taking them, in an effort to atone for what he did. When Deja comes to work there, he feels oddly connected to her even though they've just met. After an explosion leaves Tavin badly injured, Deja volunteers to look after him, and they grow closer, but he doesn't know she's his former love come back to kill him. However, a group of demons he killed in the past that have now been Resurrected beat her to the punch when they capture and torture him with plans to kill him when they're done. I've been fascinated by Tavin ever since he was introduced (I can't recall now which book it was in) and had hoped he'd get his own story, so I was thrilled to discover he had. For a demon assassin, he was always a pretty good guy. Writing a guy who kills the woman he loves could be dicey, but I completely understood his reasons for doing it, and he's paid for it with his own guilt and pain ever since. He's also now trying to make up for it by being even better. I like that he shows his vulnerability over what he did to Deja, which helps her to reconnect with the passion they once shared and believe that he truly did love her and didn't want to kill her. I'm really glad that he finally got his HEA.

Deja (aka Gristlen) always felt like she was born into the wrong body and family. All the other Neethuls are brutal and sadistic, but she has a kind, compassionate nature and doesn't like pain. When she met Tavin years ago, all she wanted was to experience sex without the pain her species usually dishes out during the act, and as a sex demon, Tavin was happy to help out. It didn't take long for them to fall in love, so she felt utterly betrayed in her final moments of life when he killed her. Because Deja is one of the Resurrected who were returned to their original bodies after Azagoth destroyed Sheoul-gra, she can remember her past life and wants revenge. She becomes a nurse at Underworld General just so she can meet Tavin, but she's hiding her identity and doesn't entirely look like she did when they were together. When Tavin is injured in the explosion, she's happy to take care of him, thinking it will give her an opportunity to kill him herself. But the more time she spends with him, the more she starts to remember their love and feel guilty about what she wants to do. Then she's faced with a large group of demons, also with vengeance on their minds, torturing and trying to kill Tavin and must make a decision about whether to save him. But if she does and reveals her secret, he might not forgive her for what she'd originally intended. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of a kind soul in the body of an evil creature. It made Deja a complex and interesting character, and I also liked the way the author explained why this happened. I love how her compassionate nature wins out and helps her to see the vulnerable side of Tavin and how he's suffered for feeling like he had to kill her all those years ago.

Overall, Bond of Passion was a great read and a nice wrap-up to the main part of the Demonica series. I enjoyed all the little appearances by various characters we've met throughout the series. I also love both Tavin and Deja and think they fit together well as a couple. I'm a sucker for second-chance romances and this one comes with some pretty interesting complications. As always Larissa Ione is fantastic with her plotting ability, believably bringing things full-circle for this couple, and explaining how Deja ended up in the "wrong" body. She also lets us in on who put out the original contract on her life and why. Not only did Tavin pay for what he did to Deja through his own guilt and pain, but he's quite literally tortured within the story. With all the Resurrecteds who come for him, we get to see how dangerous it's going to be, not only for Tavin, but for pretty much all our beloved characters who've previously killed the evil demons that are now roaming the Earth again. This also demonstrates how Azagoth's actions are still reverberating throughout the world and how demons are basically living out in the open among humans now. It's a great set-up to lead into the next-gen series that will jump thirty years into the future to follow the offspring of all the main characters we've come to know and love. Bond of Passion may essentially be the end of one era, but I very much look forward to venturing into the next one soon.

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Larissa Ione

Themes

Reunion Stories
Tortured Heroes
Tortured Heroines