Review: The Darkest Passion

The Darkest Passion
Author: Gena Showalter
Release Date: May 25, 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Publishing
Lords of the Underworld Series Book #6
ISBN: #0373774559




From the author’s website:

For weeks, the immortal warrior Aeron has sensed an invisible female presence. An angel--a demon-assassin--has been sent to kill him. Or has she? Olivia claims she fell from the heavens, giving up immortality because she couldn't bear to harm him. But trusting - and falling for - Olivia will endanger them all. So how has this 'mortal' with the huge blue eyes already unleashed Aeron's darkest passion?

Now, with an enemy hot on his trail and his faithful demon companion determined to remove Olivia from his life, Aeron is trapped between duty and consuming desire. Worse still, a new executioner has been sent to do the job Olivia wouldn't...

Gossip Time:



Aeron... How I love thee! I have been anticipating Aeron's book since the first Lords of the Underworld story. And my wait was rewarded with such a wonderful story.

Aeron, has been tormented by his demon, Wrath, for centuries. Wrath gives Aeron the ability to “see” an individual’s sins which causes Aeron to exact the same punishment upon the sinner, and usually, worse. In the first Lords book, Cronus, the god king and ruler over the Lords, placed a curse upon Aeron which put him through a terrible bloodlust, and he almost went insane. Once the curse was lifted, Aeron was able to get himself back together and maintain some sanity with the calming influence of his "daughter" demon, Legion. That is until he meets darling Olivia, a true angel. She soothes Aeron and causes Wrath to purr. She gave up her heavenly existence and climbed out of hell to be with Aeron. She is naive, but brave - willing to give up everything just for a little fun and *ooh la la*.

Gena does a fantastic job weaving yet another tale of hot-passionate love.  Olivia will give anything to spend a few moments with Aeron, knowing that he is sentenced to die. When she realizes she truly loves him, she understands that she must let him go for the greater good. Conversely, Aeron is happy with his life and does not want Olivia in it. Until likewise, he learns to become a whole individual through loving someone else. This makes for some heighten emotional points and the sacrifices they each make to be together are heart-warming.

In addition, Gena gives us insight into Legion, a character that Aeron met in hell and adopted as his daughter. What Aeron doesn't realize is that Legion isn't a little girl. She is all female with certain hopes and desires. I really enjoyed watching the transformation of Legion and her relationship with Aeron.

The overall story arc of Lords vs Hunters slows a bit in this story and was more of a side plot in this book, which I enjoyed. We still learned a few things, but the Hunters took second fiddle to the development of the love between the two main characters.

I highly recommend this story to all LORD and Gena fans! It has the perfect mix of romance, action and humor. And if you have not read the Lords of the Underworld series - START NOW! but you really need to start with the first book, The Darkest Night, to get the most out of this book.
 
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!