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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
This book reminded me a lot of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books by[a:J.R. Ward|20248|J.R. Ward|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1355342653p2/20248.jpg].
I can't handle the lack of romantic plot line development in this book. It's the "love-at-first-sight" trope, but the male is possessed by demonic violence and the woman is experiencing Stockholm Syndrome. DNF.
Maddox and his brothers are Immortals from ancient Greece, each of them carrying their own burden to pay for opening the Pandora box eons ago. Our dark hero is also cursed, an extra gift from the Gods for his misconduct. Shuffling through a meaningless life, they hate but accept their Fate, until something disrupts their fragile equilibrium. The Gods are threatened, Hunters are invading the Lords’ refuge and a woman sets passions ablaze. Are those changes for better or for worst?
The entire lore in this novel was a breath of fresh air in a literature full of vampires, werewolves and angels. Immortals sharing their bodies with demons, constantly fighting for control is rather interesting and opens up to so many possibilities. And Gods and Titans fighting for supreme power over the earth? Definitely unheard of. The first novel felt like an introduction to the entire Lore and I’m sure there is much more to discover in the following books, but it grabbed my attention that’s for sure.
The characters have a lot of potential, each Lord have their own curse, linked to their demon, personality, and strengths. One of the thing that bothered me a bit though, is that the two main characters fell for each other way too easily and even though the passion was described and worked perfectly at some points (see shower scene), it sometimes felt fake and superficial. I just felt like something was off, compared to lets say, the instant passion main characters have in the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole. It didn’t stop me from enjoying my read, but I’m hoping the passion will feel more sincere in the following books.
Even though there is almost 400 pages to this book, the plot flew by at the speed of light. Every development felt natural and I appreciated how surprises unfolded. Showalter takes you on a ride and you don’t see anything coming, and just like a rollercoaster ride, it’s over too quickly.
The end surprised me in some way. I was expecting the “save the day” moment, but not in the form it took place (if that makes any sense?). The end is opened and leaves lots of room for speculation, so I’m glad I have the second book at hands reach, to cut short on the torture. Overall I loved the Lore, characters have a lot of potential and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
The entire lore in this novel was a breath of fresh air in a literature full of vampires, werewolves and angels. Immortals sharing their bodies with demons, constantly fighting for control is rather interesting and opens up to so many possibilities. And Gods and Titans fighting for supreme power over the earth? Definitely unheard of. The first novel felt like an introduction to the entire Lore and I’m sure there is much more to discover in the following books, but it grabbed my attention that’s for sure.
The characters have a lot of potential, each Lord have their own curse, linked to their demon, personality, and strengths. One of the thing that bothered me a bit though, is that the two main characters fell for each other way too easily and even though the passion was described and worked perfectly at some points (see shower scene), it sometimes felt fake and superficial. I just felt like something was off, compared to lets say, the instant passion main characters have in the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole. It didn’t stop me from enjoying my read, but I’m hoping the passion will feel more sincere in the following books.
Even though there is almost 400 pages to this book, the plot flew by at the speed of light. Every development felt natural and I appreciated how surprises unfolded. Showalter takes you on a ride and you don’t see anything coming, and just like a rollercoaster ride, it’s over too quickly.
The end surprised me in some way. I was expecting the “save the day” moment, but not in the form it took place (if that makes any sense?). The end is opened and leaves lots of room for speculation, so I’m glad I have the second book at hands reach, to cut short on the torture. Overall I loved the Lore, characters have a lot of potential and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have been a big fan of Gena Showalter since 2009. I came across her books thanks to another friend who suggested them, and I’m thankful to that reader friend every day. Gena Showalter became one of my auto-buy authors and is still today. I read The Darkest Night in 2009 but never reviewed it, so I’m rectifying that by re-reading this series and reviewing the ones I never reviewed. I’m glad I’m starting from the beginning because this is one of my favorite PNR series.
Storyline/My Thoughts: A little bit about the LOTU series before diving into what I thought about The Darkest Night, the first book in the series. The Gods cursed the Lords of the Underworld (elite immortal warriors), each with a curse from Pandora’s Box. They are bound by a curse and will be forced to live with it for the rest of their lives. Each LOTU suffers from a different curse.
In the case of Maddox, he is bound with the curse of Violence. I would be violent, too, for an immortal that has to suffer his death every night at the hands of two of his friends. Maddox is forced to die every night at midnight by two other Lords. He dies the same death that he inflicted on Pandora. What do you think happens when you have Violence in you? You want to commit Violence at every turn, especially when the voice of Violence constantly craves it. When a female trespasses on the Lord’s property, Violence is loud in Maddox, especially when it believes the female is bait from the Lords of the Underworld’s enemy. The Lord’s enemy is always tempting them with females as bait.
Ashlyn Darrow is not bait. She is trying to find the men that supposedly have supernatural abilities. She’s hoping they can help her quiet the voices she has been dealing with since she was young. She hears past voices in rooms/areas, and the second she comes across Maddox, the voices become silent for the first time, and she is instantly relieved for the first time. I would be relieved if I were her to hear no voices, so I could understand why she didn’t want to leave Maddox. When she meets the other Lords, they believe she is the bait and will do anything to get rid of it. They will even attempt to unalive her. This is when Maddox’s Violence comes out because, for some reason is intrigued by the beautiful Ashlyn Darrow. He instantly wants to protect her; even Violence wants to protect her, which he finds weird. He won’t harm her even if he finds out she is bait.
I won’t go into much more of the story because I do not want to give anything away. Here is why I enjoyed the first full-length book of the LOTU series even more the second time.
Maddox is a tortured MMC. I always fall hard for the tortured/damaged MMCs. The first time I read his book, I didn’t like him much, but then I read it a second time and realized why he is the way he is with Ashlyn. He doesn’t want to lose her even if she could be his enemy because he feels an instant attraction to her that baffles him at first, especially when he finds out how protective she is of him. He is a big-time alpha male and will take on his friends to protect her. I felt for the other Lords because dealing with Violence who is in love has to be tricky. They were all confused about how he was with Ashlyn.
I loved Ashlyn’s character in the book. She is trying everything to get help with what she has been dealing with her whole life. She should be scared of the Lords, but she isn’t, and I respect her for it. She even puts the other Lords in their place. I loved what she did at the end of the book for Maddox. That is true love.
I love multiple POVs in books, and Gena does a fabulous job of having different characters tell their side of the story from their POV. You won’t just get Maddox and Ashlynn’s POVs, so be prepared for several others. Gena is setting up the world to be a big one, and this is why one of many reasons why I loved this series. There’s a big story arc happening, and I’m here for it. I’m so glad I’m re-reading this series from the beginning.
Initially, I gave it only four stars when I read The Darkest Night. This time around, I’m giving it 4.5-stars because I enjoyed it a little more the second time around. Maddox won me over more, and I loved him and Ashlyn together.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the LOTU series, and each book follows a new couple, but the storyline continues from each book. I would recommend reading in order.
Steam/Spice: 🌶🌶 🌶
Trope(s)/Element(s): Fated Mates; Instant Love/Attraction; Touch Her and I’ll Unalive You
Would I recommend this book? Yes. This was one of my first PNR romances, and I will always recommend it to other PNR readers. It became one of my favorite PNR series that I’ve ever read, next to Kresley Cole’s IAD series.
I'm gonna go ahead and say that I'm not a fan of this author. This is only my second try at one of her books. I didn't like the first one all that much. This one, I loathed.
Okay, so when they first start in on the Pandora's box and how it was unleashed on earth, my mind immediately jumps to maybe what it unleashed was the supernatural beings: vampires, weres, etc. That sounded like it might be a cool premise. However, where my mind went and where the author's went were not in alignment. This book felt like the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, but not nearly as well written. It also reminded me a bit of the Dark Hunter series, but also not as well written. And those two series I gave up on a LONG time ago. So, yeah.
I was constantly rolling my eyes at the lame dialogue. I didn't like any of the characters. The writing was weird and stilted with sentences phrased like this: Maddox liked eating potatoes from Maddox's garden. (Obvs not an actual sentence, but you get what I mean.)
So I'm done with this author.
Okay, so when they first start in on the Pandora's box and how it was unleashed on earth, my mind immediately jumps to maybe what it unleashed was the supernatural beings: vampires, weres, etc. That sounded like it might be a cool premise. However, where my mind went and where the author's went were not in alignment. This book felt like the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, but not nearly as well written. It also reminded me a bit of the Dark Hunter series, but also not as well written. And those two series I gave up on a LONG time ago. So, yeah.
I was constantly rolling my eyes at the lame dialogue. I didn't like any of the characters. The writing was weird and stilted with sentences phrased like this: Maddox liked eating potatoes from Maddox's garden. (Obvs not an actual sentence, but you get what I mean.)
So I'm done with this author.
I don't know how to rate this book.
Did I love it? No! Did I hate it? No! Was it a meh reading? I don't know!
So 2.5 stars
Did I love it? No! Did I hate it? No! Was it a meh reading? I don't know!
So 2.5 stars
I have been reading the Immortals After Dark series and really enjoy it. A character named Nix has become a favorite of mine. She mentioned in a book that she was going to go to Budapest and check out the Lords of the Underworld. A book cross over... Awesome! So I went in search of this series and found that I had already read the first book two years ago and didn't love it enough to continue the series. But with the new knowledge of kick-ass-crazy Nix making an appearance I decided to reread the first book and try the series again. And again I really didn't love this series. I have started the second book because I actually hate not finishing a series but this book will be a make it or break it for me. I might not make it to the book with Nix in it. We shall see
Wanting to read more
This book was recommended to me by a friend who said the series was great. I have to say I have really enjoyed the first book and look forward to reading more.
This book was recommended to me by a friend who said the series was great. I have to say I have really enjoyed the first book and look forward to reading more.
This book is definitely perfect for a reading experience where you just want to turn off your brain and read a (very) steamy romance based on 7th grade mythology stories. But, if you're like me, even when your brain is mostly turned off, it MIGHT get a little tweaked by some of the gems in this novel.
First, we have the super sexist Violence-driven (no, really, he's possessed by the demon of Violence. At least Showalter is upfront about it) man of beautiful mysterious hotness. He's almost... angelic. Oh, he's also an angel? How very complicated and being complicated is hot, right? Especially when he unleashed demons on the world, as an angel, because he was pissed that a woman took his job and that's why he's now possessed? Hell yeah. Sexism is so hot. Tell me what to do with my life, you possessed hunk of man that killed thousands of men and one woman you were mad at who stole your job, you. Through the whole beginning of the novel we get to hear his deep innermost thoughts and feelings about using random women for sex (he refuses to even look at them, he's just satiating a need-- WE GOTTA MAKE SURE HIS LOVE FOR THE MAIN GIRL IS PURE Y'ALL), about his intense desire to maim/kill/slay/stab everybody around him because he's just. so. violent. But it's all good because the second the young, voluptuous-but-doesn't-know-it, and too "weird" for relationships gal who hears voices shows up, his demon says "aw yiss, I've just been overreacting *purr purr* we must love and protect this female we have known for an hour because even if she's Bait she's perfect." I'm still unsure why Bait was always capitalized. Was that just an official position or ? And why does his demon purr contentedly? Why does she purr contentedly? There's so much purring happening and there aren't even any cats around.
There's also the issue concerning the whole Greek mythology part. A lot of Greek myths were used to explain natural phenomena in the world. Like sin. And Pandora's Box was DEFINITELY trying to explain naturally occurring sin. Pandora opened the box the gods gave her with all of the demons of vice inside and released sin into the entire world. This translates very awkwardly into this novel. The demon of Violence, for example, is concentrated into only one man. Our handsome and volatile hunk. Yet, somehow, if they are able to find Pandora's box and open it, it'll suck all of the demons back into it, like Violence, and there will be no more violence in the world. And yet, were that to happen, our beautiful cast of ripped and possessed angels will DIE. And, excuse me, but the idea of one of our gorgeous hunks biting it in exchange for getting rid of violence or even death (how does that work????????) is just too PAINFUL for me to even fathom. So when humans come along hoping to accomplish that, we all need to just feel okay when they get decapitated by our main guy (because they cut the neck of one of the angels and we gotta avenge him even though he isn't dead and lives forever and heals really fast??) or are afflicted by a plague of massive proportions (that is also treatable by modern medicine?????). And then there's the problem where his immortal hotness talks about wanting to slay his roommates but they're also immortal so I couldn't really reconcile that one. Or the constant worry that these men all need to live far away from society in a remote area so they can escape the Hunters and not be slain by them. But again, they can't be killed and the Hunters are all human? And even though they live in an extremely remote area, the demon of promiscuity is able to sleep with a MINIMUM of two women a day (or else he does horrible sex things that torture him) with no repeats? It's all very confusing.
So, yeah, if you're okay with a plot with more holes in it than a "you might have Trypophobia" post and a disturbing sexist element to the main guy who fits all of the abusive stereotypes but you just really want to read a lot of explicit sex scenes (that are also pretty damn extra), this is the book for you.
First, we have the super sexist Violence-driven (no, really, he's possessed by the demon of Violence. At least Showalter is upfront about it) man of beautiful mysterious hotness. He's almost... angelic. Oh, he's also an angel? How very complicated and being complicated is hot, right? Especially when he unleashed demons on the world, as an angel, because he was pissed that a woman took his job and that's why he's now possessed? Hell yeah. Sexism is so hot. Tell me what to do with my life, you possessed hunk of man that killed thousands of men and one woman you were mad at who stole your job, you. Through the whole beginning of the novel we get to hear his deep innermost thoughts and feelings about using random women for sex (he refuses to even look at them, he's just satiating a need-- WE GOTTA MAKE SURE HIS LOVE FOR THE MAIN GIRL IS PURE Y'ALL), about his intense desire to maim/kill/slay/stab everybody around him because he's just. so. violent. But it's all good because the second the young, voluptuous-but-doesn't-know-it, and too "weird" for relationships gal who hears voices shows up, his demon says "aw yiss, I've just been overreacting *purr purr* we must love and protect this female we have known for an hour because even if she's Bait she's perfect." I'm still unsure why Bait was always capitalized. Was that just an official position or ? And why does his demon purr contentedly? Why does she purr contentedly? There's so much purring happening and there aren't even any cats around.
There's also the issue concerning the whole Greek mythology part. A lot of Greek myths were used to explain natural phenomena in the world. Like sin. And Pandora's Box was DEFINITELY trying to explain naturally occurring sin. Pandora opened the box the gods gave her with all of the demons of vice inside and released sin into the entire world. This translates very awkwardly into this novel. The demon of Violence, for example, is concentrated into only one man. Our handsome and volatile hunk. Yet, somehow, if they are able to find Pandora's box and open it, it'll suck all of the demons back into it, like Violence, and there will be no more violence in the world. And yet, were that to happen, our beautiful cast of ripped and possessed angels will DIE. And, excuse me, but the idea of one of our gorgeous hunks biting it in exchange for getting rid of violence or even death (how does that work????????) is just too PAINFUL for me to even fathom. So when humans come along hoping to accomplish that, we all need to just feel okay when they get decapitated by our main guy (because they cut the neck of one of the angels and we gotta avenge him even though he isn't dead and lives forever and heals really fast??) or are afflicted by a plague of massive proportions (that is also treatable by modern medicine?????). And then there's the problem where his immortal hotness talks about wanting to slay his roommates but they're also immortal so I couldn't really reconcile that one. Or the constant worry that these men all need to live far away from society in a remote area so they can escape the Hunters and not be slain by them. But again, they can't be killed and the Hunters are all human? And even though they live in an extremely remote area, the demon of promiscuity is able to sleep with a MINIMUM of two women a day (or else he does horrible sex things that torture him) with no repeats? It's all very confusing.
So, yeah, if you're okay with a plot with more holes in it than a "you might have Trypophobia" post and a disturbing sexist element to the main guy who fits all of the abusive stereotypes but you just really want to read a lot of explicit sex scenes (that are also pretty damn extra), this is the book for you.
I don't feel this was a sizzling page turner, but it was okay. I did not like the primitive talk used. It was ridiculous.
want. You
need. You
gag! I may try book 2, but I'm not going to put it on my "gotta read now!" list.
want. You
need. You
gag! I may try book 2, but I'm not going to put it on my "gotta read now!" list.