 | Title: The Darkest Night
 A few graphic sex scenes My Rating:
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Description
His powers -- Inhuman...
His passion -- Beyond immortal . . .
All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member -- a man trapp ed in a hell of his own.
Neither can resist the instant hunger than calms their torments . . . and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction -- and a soul-shattering test of love . . .
Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive -- and unimaginably powerful . . . Don’t miss this incredible new paranormal series from Gena Showalter!
Review
It’s impossible to read Lords of the Underworld series and not compare it to J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Both feature an immortal brotherhood of violent, passionate, and seductive warriors, each with their own demons—literally in Gena Showalter’s series—and even have names/nicknames that describe them like Wrath, as they find, seduce, and fall in love. But that’s really where the similarities end.
The Lords of the Underworld series is based around the Greek Myth of Pandora’s box. When it was opened, demons (Violence, Pain, Death, Disease, Disaster, Misery, Doubt, Promiscuity, Defeat, Lies, Secrets, and Wrath) were released and imprisoned inside each of the warriors who opened it as an eternal cure by the gods. Already I have some favorites who I can’t wait to read more about, but in THE DARKEST NIGHT, we focus on Maddox aka Violence. He is a Prometheus figure, forced to die brutally every night as penance for a crime he committed long ago.
The romance was developed rather more quickly than I would have liked and the female characters (both Ashlyn and two others who will no doubt be leads in future books) suffered a bit for lack of development, and while Maddox had a tendency to be boorish in a way that should have put Ashlyn off, I still found his constant battle with the demon inside him to be fascinating to watch. But overall, The Greek Mythology was a fantastic foundation to build on and the tortured band of brothers each promise to deliver unique and satisfying romances.
I’m giving this a 4/5 probably based more on potential than the actual book. If I had a 3.5 rating, that would be perfect. The Lords of the Underworld has the potential to be an amazing series in the long haul. I’ve been hunting for a solid Paranormal Romance series to sink into and I’m thinking I just found it. There are seven books available now (all of which I bought along with the prequel based on my enjoyment of THE DARKEST NIGHT) with the eighth book, THE DARKEST SEDUCTION, due out in 2012. Something tells me I won’t need nearly that long to catch up.
thank you for the review!i have to point out that i have not read J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series yet so i cant say or to compare those two! So anyway i this was one of the first books from paranormal romance i read which it didnt left dissapointed ofcource BUT for some reason there was something missing not sure what... i have finished the first book and looking forward ofcource to read the next book in the series as well :)
ReplyDeleteMaria - The BDB series sort of fizzled out for me, but this one is really promising so far. I hope they just keep getting better :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the first book in the series. I think I have the second one laying around here somewhere and hope to get to them all sometime in the future. I haven't read any of JR Ward's books yet, but I may have to check them out because I keep hearing about them everywhere. :)
ReplyDeleteI have all the novels of this series, and in my opinion, they just keep getting better. Like Kresley Cole's IAD series, the first novel is a good introduction into the world and main players. It's the novels that come after where the plotline and world truly unfolds and characters have more depth.
ReplyDeleteWhile The Darkest Kiss has my favorite cover and Lord (Lucien), the leading lady, Anya was very annoying. She continues to be annoying in all the novels after, but that is my only complaint.
Chrystal - Another similar premise featuring a brotherhood of immortal warriors is the Feral Warriors series by Pamela Palmer. Just started it, but decent so far.
ReplyDeleteArec - I picked up on the annoying vibe with her too. I'm still looking forward to Lucien though :)
I do not like Anya, yuck. I can't wait to read about Paris, that is going to be a good one.
ReplyDeleteGreat Review! I have just loved reading this series!! This book is my favorite of the series so far though, I just love Ashlyn and Maddox, I own this book and I have read it quite a few times LOL
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed this book. To be honest, I picked it up because of the cover. Gena has a way of throwing her heros into situations that seem imposible to get out of.
ReplyDeleteTiah - That seems to be the consensus about Anya. I'm looking forward to reading Paris' story too.
ReplyDeleteLover of Romance - Glad to hear that the series holds up. Is this your favorite PNR?
Rain Maiden - Her covers keep getting better :)
Yeah i know what you mean!Over all as i said in my first comment the book was good but i personally hunted for even more things!I will def check out as well the second book too! I am waiting for the review for the second one! p.s i really need a day with more than 24 hours pff
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the LOTU club! So happy that you love the series. It is definitely a great within the PNR genre. I can't wait to find out who your favorites are. :) I think we are getting Paris' story in 2012!
ReplyDeleteMaria - I'm hoping to get to bk 2 in a couple weeks. I'll post my review as soon as I can.
ReplyDeleteSmash Attack - Paris definitely is a favorite already. I really like all of the guys so far. i'm sure some of them will distinguish themselves even more as the series goes on.
Sure there is no rush really as long as you wont spoiled us because honestly I dont know when I am going to read the 2th book from the series - ofcource i will check it out but I dont know when :p
ReplyDeleteMaria - We never put spoilers in our review. Never :)
ReplyDelete