The Darkest Pleasure by Gene Showalter

I have the weirdest habit of starting a new series with the third book. Not by any personal purposeful design on my part though. Historically if just seems to happen. J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood - Book #3 (Lover Awakened) was my introduction. Sherrilyn kenyon's Dark Hunters - Book#3 (Night Embrace). Christine Feehan's Drake Sisters Oceans of Fire...guess what? Ding ding ding 10 points for you!! Book number 3. I fell in love with Lora Leigh's Breeds because of Tanner's Scheme which just so happens to be the third book in the series. It's freaking uncanny.
So when I chose The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter, little did I know that Barnes and Noble had cast its magic number voodoo. I got home and discovered the number three had hunted me down again. I don't mind though because every time I choose a book 3 the series inevitably turns out amazing and addictive. And the Lords of the Underworld was no exception.

In this series we are introduced to a group of immortal warriors (the emotionally tortured type you usually find in paranormal romance) who were pissed that the gods let Pandora guard the Box when they obviously kicked ass better. So, of course piqued beyond endurance they opened it and subsequently became shackled to the Demons that had been bound. So each guy is trapped with a vice/curse/demon thingy such as Wrath, Vengeance, Pain, Deceit, Despair, Misery etc. And the warriors each begin to embody the demon that possesses them taking on certain traits or face dire consequences. It sounds kinda hokey but trust me it works.

In this book, we meet Reyes who is trapped with Pain who makes him need to inflict a world of hurt on himself or others. So like a true Romance novel hero he hurts himself rather than others. But this gorgeous hunk isn't your average tortured hero. He actually gets off by getting hurt. It's how he appeases his demon. So lots of angry sex for this guy was my expectation.

On a side note I am freaking thrilled with this trend in paranormal Romance to show different sides of sensuality.Gena Showalter takes this tortured passion to a place I haven't read before. I don't mind, I LOVE surprises. Now back to the important bits.

On the other hand our heroine, Danika, is on the run from...well...everyone it seems. Including Reyes. Because, as it turns out, if I read book 1 instead of book 3 I would have know that he had kidnapped her so someone could kill her in previous books so its all his fault the world is after her. Stupid men making things difficult.

Following these two strong characters through their very own romantic journey was a fun experience. Especially given the fact that the usually expected and inevitable betrayal by the guy (that usually happens around page 200) actually happened before the book even started so it was nice to get it out of the way early and focus on other plot lines.

I felt that Danika as a character was one of the best female characters that I have had the privilege to read. In the beginning she became close to being your typical strong "I'm going to stand beside you not behind you" lady who won't be left behind. But she rather dramatically veered away from that path rather quickly with her panicked induced killing of a man in the first couple of chapters ( don't worry he turned out to be a bad guy so it's OK), her willingness to stab her boyfriend during sex, and her inner turmoil at actively betraying her boyfriend to the enemy to save her family.

Gena Showalter truly surprised me with this book. It was intelligently written and and paced. Her characters are vivid and unique in a world of cliche heroes and antiheroes and waaaaay too many vampire novels (Sacrilege...I know...are the rotting tomatoes really necessary?). The best endorsement I can give is that within 15 minutes of finishing this book I ordered the first 2 on Amazon.com. I'm waiting with bated breath and much checking of my mailbox.


I Think this is Gena Showalter's Wesite
Go look anyway...you know you want to.
You Really don't have a choice. Buy the Book Now!!