Review: Base Instincts by Larissa Ione (Demonica #11.7)

Base Instincts (Demonica #11.7)
Larissa Ione
Published: Sept. 12, 2015 (Riptide)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Jannelle

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Note: While review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books in the series. If you haven’t started yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Pleasure Unbound.

 Raze is a Seminus demon yet to find his mate. As he has a few decades before he has to settle down, he is able to enjoy the female companionship needed for him to relieve stress. The problem, however, is that Raze is a Seminus demon who enjoys sex with men—not women—and in order for him to orgasm (because of his particular demon species), he needs a woman. Thankfully, he has his long-time female friend Fayle around who helps him throughout the day.

While Fayle assists Raze with his needs, he still feels lonely and in need of something more; something Fayle can’t give him. When he runs into Slake, a demon assassin, he realizes he may have found a potential mate. Of course, unbeknownst to Raze, Slake is currently working on a case to capture Fayle and take her back to his boss. Without her, he loses his very soul.

I’ve never read a male/male romance novel before and honestly, I didn’t know that’s what I was picking up when I started reading. Don’t get me wrong, I still would’ve read Base Instincts, but the Demonica series isn’t known for romance of the same sex variety so I was definitely (pleasantly) surprised when I realized that’s what I had gotten myself into. Mostly, my surprise was due to the fact that male Seminus demons (majority of the male protagonists of the series) who vitally need another female in order to orgasm and ultimately, reproduce, had a male like Raze in their midst. In Raze and Slake’s case, this obviously created another level of difficulty for them to overcome if they wanted to be together. There was also Slake’s complex background and the personal demons he was fighting (literal and figurative demons here, by the way). For a novella, there was quite a bit of storylines going on that ultimately crossed together and mended itself at the end in true Ione Demonica series style. If you couldn’t guess already, I loved it.

Base Instincts was a tame version of the Demonica books I adore. Granted, it was a novella and the overarching story line of the Demonica series has basically come to a close at this point. But I just felt like I was teased and I wanted more. Then again, I always want more Demonica novels.

If for whatever reason you’ve never picked up an M/M romance (like me), I think this is a great book to start out with. I also feel like it could’ve read the same had it been a standard romance novel (as in male and female instead of same sex). And hello, those sex scenes were on fire.

Overall, Base Instincts was a quick and easy read. For you long-time fans of the Demonica series, I would recommend you pick this one up. I always love seeing old characters in the next installments of series and Raze’s work at Underground General Hospital made it easy to integrate some of those characters briefly into this installment. Also, Wrath is probably my fave and he has some serious laugh-out-loud moments in Base Instincts. 

If you haven’t read any books in the Demonica series, Base Instincts reads well as a standalone. Of course, you might still be slightly confused about past events and curious about where it began. In which case, catch the Demonica series from the beginning with Pleasure Unbound.

Sexual content: graphic sex