During my break in Scotland, I read three books, which is good going for a long weekend away! All three were books in Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. I had already read the first book, The Darkest Night, so I read books 2, 3 and 4.
Last week I posted my four star review of The Darkest Kiss and this week I’m reviewing The Darkest Pleasure!
So here’s my candid review of this paranormal romance book by Gena Showalter.
The Darkest Pleasure
Gena Showalter
Reyes is a man possessed. Bound by the demon of pain, he is forbidden to know pleasure. Yet he craves a mortal woman, Danika Ford, more than breath and will do anything to claim her—even defy the gods.
Danika is on the run. For months she’s eluded the Lords of the Underworld, immortal warriors who won’t rest until she and her family have been destroyed. But her dreams are haunted by Reyes, the warrior whose searing touch she can’t forget. Yet a future together could mean death to all they both hold dear.…
REVIEW
It’s a rare occasion that I give a book five out of five. Those are reserved for the books that really satisfy me, giving me everything I love in a read—passion, darkness, pain, love, action and danger. The Darkest Pleasure, the third book in Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series deserves this accolade.
I really loved this one. I like both Reyes, the hero and an immortal warrior who has to deal with bearing the demon of pain inside him and therefore has a tendency to cut and injury himself to avoid having to hurt others, and Danika, a human female who was first introduced in the initial book in the series. I think it was Reyes that really made this a five for me. I adored his darkness and everything about him, how twisted he’s become because of his need for pain and reluctance to harm others to satisfy his demon. I love a hero who is very dark and a little broken.
It wasn’t just Reyes that captivated me though. Danika’s strength and resolve to protect herself and her family from the Lords and the evil in the world made her a heroine I could love and feel for. She’s willing to do whatever it takes, even if that means facing off against a crazed Aeron, the Lord who has been ordered to murder her and her family, or Reyes to get what she wants. She doesn’t back down with Reyes and I loved that. She goes from being intent on proving to herself that she doesn’t want him and he’s too dark for her because of his need to cut himself, to wanting to do whatever he needs to give him pleasure when they’re together.
I actually enjoyed the side moments with the other characters in this one too. The series is starting to build and it’s good to see inside other heroes’ heads and get their perspective, and what is happening with them. Bad things happen. Good things happen too. It’s packed with action and passion, and a beautiful undertone of danger. Reyes protective and possessiveness is everything a girl wants in a paranormal romance hero, and endeared him to me even more.
The only thing I didn’t like about The Darkest Pleasure was that Reyes’s demon, Pain, was sent away when Reyes was intimate with Danika, to Hell in fact, and Reyes didn’t give a damn. It seemed cruel to the demon since he craved Danika so much and couldn’t have her too, instead suffering in Hell while Reyes got all the pleasure and happiness.
I really recommend this book. Sexy immortal warriors, plenty of passion and possessiveness, darkness and danger, and the twist with Danika was awesome.
Read reviews of The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2712967-the-darkest-pleasure
