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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
OH GAWWDDD.
This book striked my fancy with that premise. I loved the idea of using Greek Mythology for the basis of Demon warriors. I LOVED IT.
But that's where my love ended...Oh gosh, the world building was not that good?? I was not a fan of jumping into the romance without getting a firm understanding of the workings of the Lords of the Underworld. Don't even get me started on the whole "love story" it was so, so not my cuppa. Insta-love gives me hives, actual hives.
I could not buy these two being in love because there was no basis to it? I'm guessing they were mates and all but I wanted to see them question their bond and even grow to know each other. They just saw each other and then BAM! cue heart eyes and vows of "epic" love.
I. DID. NOT. BUY. IT.
It also took away from what could have been a well thought out story because I tended to roll my eyes and skip some pages--I knew I missed some valuable info...I must've...right?
I really hope this isn't the case for all the books in this series because I was intrigued with Torin and Reyes & Danika.
This book striked my fancy with that premise. I loved the idea of using Greek Mythology for the basis of Demon warriors. I LOVED IT.
But that's where my love ended...Oh gosh, the world building was not that good?? I was not a fan of jumping into the romance without getting a firm understanding of the workings of the Lords of the Underworld. Don't even get me started on the whole "love story" it was so, so not my cuppa. Insta-love gives me hives, actual hives.
I could not buy these two being in love because there was no basis to it? I'm guessing they were mates and all but I wanted to see them question their bond and even grow to know each other. They just saw each other and then BAM! cue heart eyes and vows of "epic" love.
I. DID. NOT. BUY. IT.
It also took away from what could have been a well thought out story because I tended to roll my eyes and skip some pages--I knew I missed some valuable info...I must've...right?
I really hope this isn't the case for all the books in this series because I was intrigued with Torin and Reyes & Danika.
I only read about half of this book. I couldn't get any further. Everything seemed so frantic, the writing bland. This book had so much potential but the plot line was lacking and progression into the storyline incredibly slow. The characters felt very one dimensional and boring.
This is one I will probably not pick back up.
This is one I will probably not pick back up.
3.5 Stars, because while it certainly isn't Black Dagger or Eternal Guardians calibre, I enjoyed it.
2.7
I hated the heroine. Ashlyn fell in absolute lust and that led her to go with some random guy (also because he quieted the voices in her head), basically anywhere he was going. But really, even if her quieted voices was a good enough reason it doesn't really excuse how she thinks she fell in love with him in under a week. Like soul-deep, life redefining love. That just doesn't happen. She fell in lust and relief at the new quiet in her life. The fact that Maddox also fell on that same time period is more excusable since he's not human, and he's lived for thousands of years. Honestly, their entire relationship was just so over-the-top and unbelievable that it was the main thing that tanked the rating.
Also, Ashlyn had a special power that allowed her to hear every conversation that has ever happened, ever, in what ever spot she stands. Great, I actually thought that was cool. However, it felt like it was only there to provide a "deus ex machina" moment. Sure, the power was what tortured her as a child, and led to her parents abandoning her to scientists. Then it was what made her useful to her employers as an adult. So in a way, it did set her up to be super naïve and unsure of how real people work, presumably. However, there was no real development on her powers. It felt more like a tool for the author to drive the story in a few places, because there was no other logical way for the story to progress than with magic. If she hears all past conversations in an airport, wouldn't that take a very long time? Or does it play a super-speed and she still can comprehend it all? If she's in an airplane, does she hear only what has been discussed on that plane or on the ground that lays directly below her? Same question but about traveling in a car or really any other vehicle. What I'm getting at, is that it seems unlikely that if her power is that traumatic and bad that she willing followed a random, dangerous-looking, strange man back to his house, in a foreign country, in the middle of the night. Surely there had to have been other times for her to have silence or else would she really have traveled that much, and to Europe, where the history of largely populated civilizations is more steady and extends longer into the past? I would think it would take her a long time to hear conversations in a town center (as she claimed she had done) in just one particular standing position, let alone throughout the main central area. Basically, her power needed WAY more development to be entirely credible as a motivator in this story. It truly felt like the author needed a tool to make things magically happen.
The other real main issue with this story was the lack of communication between the characters. I absolutely understand that at some points the main characters are in sticky trust situations. Ashlyn is more or less a captive at one point, and thus she isn't about to trust Maddox or his friends with important info. And then Maddox and his friends think Ashlyn is Bait, sent to trap them. However, after they profess their love for one another, Maddox wants Ashlyn to stay in the fortress by herself, and trusts that she will, without being locked in, despite all those times she's said she wants to leave, or at least contact her boss. He never thinks it would be wise to tell her that the Hunters might be looking to kill her? Or else mention that he spent the previous day sent up dozens of booby traps on the hill around the fortress, so if she does run away, she might want to be careful? Both of those seem like things that would be essential to know, and even might make her more compliant to his wishes.
I won't even go into Ashlyn's lack of logic. She was just a joke on most anything real. It's been awhile since I've read a heroine I dislike so much, but she might just be the most eye-roll inducing character I've ever read.
Beyond my hatred of Ashlyn, this story was half bad. The supporting cast was intriguing. I can't say I'm excited for any of their stories, but this book had underlying potential and was an easy enough read, that I'll probably try out the next book and see if the author improved any. Also, I'm a bit swayed by the ratings this series has gotten. But it might turn out that I'm just the odd woman out with my opinion.
I hated the heroine. Ashlyn fell in absolute lust and that led her to go with some random guy (also because he quieted the voices in her head), basically anywhere he was going. But really, even if her quieted voices was a good enough reason it doesn't really excuse how she thinks she fell in love with him in under a week. Like soul-deep, life redefining love. That just doesn't happen. She fell in lust and relief at the new quiet in her life. The fact that Maddox also fell on that same time period is more excusable since he's not human, and he's lived for thousands of years. Honestly, their entire relationship was just so over-the-top and unbelievable that it was the main thing that tanked the rating.
Also, Ashlyn had a special power that allowed her to hear every conversation that has ever happened, ever, in what ever spot she stands. Great, I actually thought that was cool. However, it felt like it was only there to provide a "deus ex machina" moment. Sure, the power was what tortured her as a child, and led to her parents abandoning her to scientists. Then it was what made her useful to her employers as an adult. So in a way, it did set her up to be super naïve and unsure of how real people work, presumably. However, there was no real development on her powers. It felt more like a tool for the author to drive the story in a few places, because there was no other logical way for the story to progress than with magic. If she hears all past conversations in an airport, wouldn't that take a very long time? Or does it play a super-speed and she still can comprehend it all? If she's in an airplane, does she hear only what has been discussed on that plane or on the ground that lays directly below her? Same question but about traveling in a car or really any other vehicle. What I'm getting at, is that it seems unlikely that if her power is that traumatic and bad that she willing followed a random, dangerous-looking, strange man back to his house, in a foreign country, in the middle of the night. Surely there had to have been other times for her to have silence or else would she really have traveled that much, and to Europe, where the history of largely populated civilizations is more steady and extends longer into the past? I would think it would take her a long time to hear conversations in a town center (as she claimed she had done) in just one particular standing position, let alone throughout the main central area. Basically, her power needed WAY more development to be entirely credible as a motivator in this story. It truly felt like the author needed a tool to make things magically happen.
The other real main issue with this story was the lack of communication between the characters. I absolutely understand that at some points the main characters are in sticky trust situations. Ashlyn is more or less a captive at one point, and thus she isn't about to trust Maddox or his friends with important info. And then Maddox and his friends think Ashlyn is Bait, sent to trap them. However, after they profess their love for one another, Maddox wants Ashlyn to stay in the fortress by herself, and trusts that she will, without being locked in, despite all those times she's said she wants to leave, or at least contact her boss. He never thinks it would be wise to tell her that the Hunters might be looking to kill her? Or else mention that he spent the previous day sent up dozens of booby traps on the hill around the fortress, so if she does run away, she might want to be careful? Both of those seem like things that would be essential to know, and even might make her more compliant to his wishes.
I won't even go into Ashlyn's lack of logic. She was just a joke on most anything real. It's been awhile since I've read a heroine I dislike so much, but she might just be the most eye-roll inducing character I've ever read.
Beyond my hatred of Ashlyn, this story was half bad. The supporting cast was intriguing. I can't say I'm excited for any of their stories, but this book had underlying potential and was an easy enough read, that I'll probably try out the next book and see if the author improved any. Also, I'm a bit swayed by the ratings this series has gotten. But it might turn out that I'm just the odd woman out with my opinion.
I enjoyed the book, and was really taken by the whole idea of it, and I'm curious to read the next one, but I will confess that I wasn't completely taken by it. I'm not really sure why, but I didn't get that excited/obsessive feel you get when your reading a brilliant book.
Ashlyn and Maddox are on a different level of cute together. She isn't plagued by voices around him and Violence is a kitten in her hands. Keep reading the books to get glimpses of their life together. It gets even better.
DNF %72, baya kötüydü cringe olmaktan boyum kısaldı, straight people need to be stopped başka bir şey de demiyorum
Review Originally Published at Love Literature Art and ReasonBook Review Blog.
After being disappointed by a string of books, I decided I needed to read something both fun and well written, so I picked up The Darkest Night. It was definitely the right book for me. I was relieved by how much I loved the premise, the writing, and the romantic setup. It was a nice break from the disappointing and somewhat mediocrely written books I’ve been reading lately.
In the Lords of the Underworld series, warriors were paired with demons after the opening of Pandora’s Box. They were immortal and their punishment was to be paired with a demon of some sort of sin. Maddox, the main character in the first book, was paired with Violence. His demon was hard to control and resist, making him quite the violent man. Ashlyn, a human woman, studied the paranormal, was cursed with hearing conversations in any spot she stood in, and sought relief/cure. The mysterious men in a fortress in Budapest called to her and she ended up in the woods surrounding their house.
I loved the premise. One, it was dark, I expected violence, and I loved the connection with Greek mythology. I also loved the idea of demons inside of immortals because they were all cursed with some affliction and were unable to tame the demon. It was such a unique idea and I thought it was well executed. I’m definitely a fan of Gena Showalter’s writing. She writes in a way that is descriptive and captivating while also being easy to read and somewhat light.
There were many times where Maddox failed to use complete sentences, which kind of made him seem more caveman than man, but considering how cut off from the world the warriors were, it didn’t bother me much. I felt like ease in conversation was probably not something he was used to. And in other.. moments, I feel like most of us probably don’t use complete sentences, anyway.
The Darkest Night was definitely a guilty pleasure paranormal romance, but I loved the writing and it was such a relief to me after being disappointed by other romances. I’m glad I bought the second book for the Kindle, because I’m hooked. I definitely recommend the book. It wasn’t over the top graphic or ridiculous. Maddox was a little caveman-ish, but he wasn’t really an asshole at all like a lot of grunting alpha male leads. He was actually kind of sweet.
After being disappointed by a string of books, I decided I needed to read something both fun and well written, so I picked up The Darkest Night. It was definitely the right book for me. I was relieved by how much I loved the premise, the writing, and the romantic setup. It was a nice break from the disappointing and somewhat mediocrely written books I’ve been reading lately.
In the Lords of the Underworld series, warriors were paired with demons after the opening of Pandora’s Box. They were immortal and their punishment was to be paired with a demon of some sort of sin. Maddox, the main character in the first book, was paired with Violence. His demon was hard to control and resist, making him quite the violent man. Ashlyn, a human woman, studied the paranormal, was cursed with hearing conversations in any spot she stood in, and sought relief/cure. The mysterious men in a fortress in Budapest called to her and she ended up in the woods surrounding their house.
I loved the premise. One, it was dark, I expected violence, and I loved the connection with Greek mythology. I also loved the idea of demons inside of immortals because they were all cursed with some affliction and were unable to tame the demon. It was such a unique idea and I thought it was well executed. I’m definitely a fan of Gena Showalter’s writing. She writes in a way that is descriptive and captivating while also being easy to read and somewhat light.
There were many times where Maddox failed to use complete sentences, which kind of made him seem more caveman than man, but considering how cut off from the world the warriors were, it didn’t bother me much. I felt like ease in conversation was probably not something he was used to. And in other.. moments, I feel like most of us probably don’t use complete sentences, anyway.
The Darkest Night was definitely a guilty pleasure paranormal romance, but I loved the writing and it was such a relief to me after being disappointed by other romances. I’m glad I bought the second book for the Kindle, because I’m hooked. I definitely recommend the book. It wasn’t over the top graphic or ridiculous. Maddox was a little caveman-ish, but he wasn’t really an asshole at all like a lot of grunting alpha male leads. He was actually kind of sweet.