Review: Dining with Angels - Larissa Ione & Suzanne M Johnson

In a world where humans and supernatural beings coexist — not always peacefully — three things can bring everyone to the table: Love, a mutual enemy, and, of course, food.

With seven brand new stories from the Demonica universe, New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione has the love and enemies covered, while celebrity Southern food expert Suzanne M. Johnson brings delicious food to the party.

And who doesn’t love a party? (Harvester rolls her eyes and raises her hand, but we know she’s lying.)

Join Ares and Cara as they celebrate a new addition to their family. See what Reaver and Harvester are doing to “spice” things up. Find out what trouble Reseph might have gotten himself into with Jillian. You’ll love reading about the further adventures of Wraith and Serena, Declan and Suzanne, and Shade and Runa, and you’re not going to want to miss the sit down with Eidolon and Tayla.

So pour a glass of the Grim Reaper’s finest wine and settle in for slices of life from your favorite characters and the recipes that bring them together. Whether you’re dining with angels, drinking with demons, or hanging with humans, you’ll find the perfect heavenly bits and sinful bites to suit the occasion.

Happy reading and happy eating!

The Demonica Series:
Pleasure Unbound
Desire Unchained
Passion Unleashed
Eternity Embraced (Novella)
Ecstasy Unveiled
Sin Undone
Eternal Rider (Lords of Deliverance book 1)
Vampire Fight Club (Novella in the Supernatural anthology or as a separate ebook)
Immortal Rider (Lords of Deliverance book 2)
Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance book 3)
Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance book 4)
Reaver
Azagoth (Novella) (Demonica Underworld book 1)
Revenant
Hades (Novella) (Demonica Underworld book 2)
Base Instincts (Novella)
Z (Novella) (Demonica Underworld book 3)
Razr (Novella) (Demonica Underworld book 4)
Hawkyn (Novella) (Demonica Underworld book 5) (March 2018)
Her Guardian Angel (Novella) (Demonica Underworld book 6, also part of the Masters and Mercenaries Crossover Collection)
Dining with Angels: Bits & Bites from the Demonica Universe (Short Story Collection & Recipe Book, Demonica Underworld book 7)
Cipher (Demonica Underworld book 8)
Reaper (Demonica Underworld book 9)

For more information visit Larissa Ione's website

Review:
Dining with Angels is a collection containing seven short stories, or slice of life snippets from characters who have previously starred in Larissa Ione's Demonica or Lords of Deliverance series. It also contains a whole collection of recipes from Suzanne M Johnson that fit the theme of the stories.

As a huge fan of the Demonica world I had so much fun catching up with previous characters and seeing how their families have grown and changed over the years. To be honest I don't think this really works as an introduction to the Demonica world because the whole fun of reading this series is getting to see the couples meet and fall in love so you really don't want to start off at the HEA and miss all the fun stuff that got them there. In a way I was kind of disappointed that the stories have been toned down (fade to black sex and all the swearing has been censored out) because people who love this world aren't going to be put off by any of those things and I don't think people new to the series are very likely to start here. That wasn't a major issue though, just more down to personal preference.

The book features stories about Declan and Suzanne (from Her Guardian Angel) with a selection of breakfast food recipes perfect for the morning after; Wraith and Serena (from Passion Unleashed) with recipes for a romantic night in; Harvester and Reaver (from Reaver) whose recipes are all extra spicy; Shade and Runa (from Desire Unchained) with family friendly recipes; Reseph and Jillian (from Rogue Rider) with comfort food recipes; Ares and Cara (from Eternal Rider) with celebration food and snacks; and last but not least an interview with Eidolon and Tayla (from Pleasure Unbound) with some demon adapted recipes and treats for your very own family hellbeast. You'll get to see plenty of other characters along the way though so don't worry if that list doesn't include your personal favourites because the chances are they'll make an appearance in here too.

I loved the way the stories are all linked together and building towards a certain baby shower at the end, they also continued the relationship developments between Azagoth and Lilliana that started in the recent Demonica Underworld series which was fun. I definitely can't wait to get my hands on the next book, Cipher, to see how things turn out for the couple! It was also nice that all of the recipes fitted in with the stories that were told and often linked back to things mentioned in previous books throughout the series.

I have to confess I wasn't really that interested in the recipes but I did skim through them and there were plenty of different flavours to choose from so I'm pretty sure there's something for everyone in here. The recipes seem easy to follow and fairly simple so I think even I could probably get some decent meals out of them. I may not like cooking much but I love baking so I was excited about the cake recipes and disappointed that a lot of them tell you to just use a basic cake mix and then add a few additional ingredients. I guess that does make them simple and fast options so will probably be perfect for some but for me it takes all the fun out of baking something and made me far less interested in trying any of the cake options. The recipes are very much American based too so if you're an international fan like me you'll probably have to adapt them a bit to avoid ingredients that may be harder to find outside the states.

Overall I think this is definitely worth buying just for the short stories if you're a fan of this series but I wouldn't recommend reading it until after Her Guardian Angel or you'll potentially end up spoiling yourself for previous books. I think it's highly unlikely I'll be making any of the recipes myself but I'm definitely not in the target audience for a cookbook so you can take my opinion on that with a grain of salt! I expect there are plenty of people out there who will love getting to try out all of the meal options and there are a LOT to choose from.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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Paperback / Kindle: