Publication Date:July 1, 2008 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Promotion:Buy 4 eligible items in the 4-for-3 promotion offered by Amazon.com and get 1 of them free.Terms and Conditions Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Painfully dark at times, but more 'Lords' come into focus as Showalter continues to flesh out her ensemble.July 25, 2008 Reyes possessed by the demon of Pain at last claims as his mate Danika, the woman targeted for death by fellow lord Aeron (Wrath) in The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, Book 1). Thankfully, Danika is no longer the terror striken victim. The leading lady and object of Reyes' obssession, has leveraged her stubborness into a suvival tool and has learned how to protect herself since we've seen her last. And she'll need everything she's learned since she is even more 'special' than even Reyes realizes and everyone is after her: demons, Hunters and gods. At the core of her strength is her loyalty to her family above all else, so she should be a formidable ally as her family grows to include first the other mates, then Reyes and finally the rest of the Lords.
There was a lot that I liked about this book as Showalter continues to develop the rest of her large cast of possessed Lords of the Underworld and the gods and villains that are working to end the Lords' existence The humongous cast is quite a challenge but I like that Showalter is only bringing a few to the foreground to flesh out in each book because once there is a bit of story behind them it is much easier to keep track of who is who. This time we see more of Aeron (Wrath) driven almost insane with his need to fulfill his mission to wipe out Danika's bloodline, Aeron's new mysterious demon `playmate' Legion, Sabin (Doubt, and next up in Darkest Whisper) and most prominently Paris (promiscuity). I did not like Paris at all in the first two books. He was always `on the make' to sate his demon and there was a shallowness to him that I found offputting. But the events in The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Book 2), which gave him a taste of what 'might have been', provided a believable catalyst for a change in Paris. That along with the choice he's forced to make here and the high personal cost of his decision, and Paris has become a character that I actually want to see more of.
I also liked that Showalter has actually done a good job with those who oppose the Lords and has avoided the cartoonish over the top evil that plagues many PNR series. Even though as the background cannon fodder some of the Hunters are a bit repetitious, they are orchestrated by Galen the demon of false Hope, who gives the mortal Hunters a bit more heft as a group to make them more of a true threat to the Lords. Then add in the Titans throwing in random obstacles to hinder the Lords and it looks like the race to beat the Hunters to the box will hold a few more surprises along the way.
The only problem I had with Darkest Pleasure was that it was difficult to read at times. Since Reyes needs to keep his demon satisfied with inhumanly large doses of pain -- having accepted burder of bearing the pain himself instead of inflicting it on innocents -- Reyes does a great deal of damage to himself. One scene in particular which served to hammer home to the Danika the extremes necessary to met Reyes "needs' sexually was truly ewww. That said, it could have been much worse because, although in his past relationships Reyes has sought pain from his partners, with Danika he strives to keep her free from the taint that his demon imparts.
On the whole though I think that this is really shaping up to be an interesting series. Even with the darkness that these possessed warriors carry, Showalter has managed to make them noble and to inspire a great deal of sympathy for them. You can truly believe that each seeks the peace, and happiness that love brings and, as the unmated lords watch their mated brethren enjoying their new mates, the longing is tangible. And with plenty of possessed warriors yet to come, I look forward to watching more HEAs from Sabin, Paris, Torin, Kane and the rest.
I loved this book!July 20, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sometimes it is hard to branch out and find a new author that you will like. I find myself reading the same books and authors over and over, and I was desperate for something new. I loved this book, and all of the books in the series. I will buy more from this author in the future, and these books are going on my keeper shelf.
This was Pleasurable Pain To ReadJuly 18, 2008 By reading the other reviews, you know this 3rd installment in The Lords of the Underworld series is about Reyes, Danika, and Pain (Reyes's demon). I won't bore you with those details.
I had high hopes that I could give this book 5 stars, and while it is very good and worth your purchase, it fell just a little short. The story is good. The search for the artifacts is definitely heating up. The showing of Reyes's softer side is touching - At times, you just want to swoon, "Ooohh, that's sooo sweet!" And a few juicy plot twists were developed for future books of the series. However, where this book fell short was in its readability. Here's why:
There are several characters at play here. Several times in this book, more than four characters (and sometimes upwards of ten) were in the same scene. And several times while reading these scenes, I had to backtrack several paragraphs to try and figure out who was supposed to be talking. Showalter was writing dialog without indicating who was speaking. And she'd infuse thoughts of one character, and then a quote from another. Many times, it all just blurred together. It got VERY frustrating trying to sort out who was thinking what thoughts and speaking what words. A clearer delineation needs to be made when writing a scene that contains multiple characters so that the reader doesn't get lost, as I did over and over and over again in this book. Also, it didn't help that sometimes she referred to the characters by their immortal name and at other times by their demon name (ie. Maddox/Violence). This simply added to the confusion as I had to stop and think, "Okay, now which one is Doubt?"
I noticed this confusion happening in book two, but not nearly to the extent that it did in this latest installment. As the author continues to write more books in this series, I hope she does a better job of identifying speakers and thinkers, because this series has great potential to be very enjoyable and entertaining.
Still not 5-star worthy, though...but definitely worth buying if you don't mind doing a little re-reading to figure out who's thinking and saying what.
Better than last oneJuly 16, 2008 3 out of 6 found this review helpful
Still not sure this is a 4 since I skipped to the end and skimmed over the last several chapters. Some great characters and wonderful story - but introducing a new villian 3 books in kind of annoys me. I'm in no rush to get involved in another 13- 14 book story arc (a la Anita Blake, etc) It is a good read but I can wait for next year.
A Fantasic PLEASUREJuly 15, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's Gena Showalter... need I say more? Her style of writing is some of the best that I have read (and continue to read). The Darkest Pleasure is the third book is the Lords of the Underworld Series and wow! If you haven't read this series yet, you are missing out! Immortal warriors who have to house the demons inside them that they let out of Pandora's Box. Like Gena says, she takes the story of Pandora's Box and blames it on the men ::lol:: It's a great series with demons, gods, immortal warriors and their enemies. Oh, and of course the women who dare to fall in love with them... whether they want to or not.
