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A review by raven168
The Darkest Touch by Gena Showalter
3.0
3.5 stars
I know so many were looking forward to Torin's book, but personally, Maddox is still my favorite lord. Even so, I quite enjoyed seeing more of Torin considering how little he makes appearances in the other books usually. He's definitely just as fierce as the others, and his sarcastic personality was a lot of fun. And while it's not really about him, I so loved the shirts that he would wear that others gave him. What I didn't like? How repetitive he was about how he felt about Keeley and what she met to him and blah blah blah. It was pretty damn sappy and combined with his begging of the time was kind of annoying. Some people might find it sweet, but I didn't.
Keeley was an interesting character. I'm not sure if there are actual myths about what she is or not, but she has the potential to be quite the ally. I both liked and disliked her though. It's cool how crazy powerful she is, and she usually seems like a decent girl who just wants to wants to be loved after being betrayed more than once. But when she says she desperately wants to be friends with Torin's friends, but then acts like a total bitch toward them? Annoying. She is so damn arrogant and I hated that part about her. And she needs to stop thinking that she's a damn queen. All her people are dead, and she is a queen to none so I really tired of all her talk about creating a kingdom and making everyone submit to her every whim and wish. Yeah, that's really the way to go about making friends.
We begin with Torin and Keeley in the same dungeon, and Torin desperately trying to save Mari's life after touching her. We all know how that's gonna go down. Mari was Keeley's one remaining link to her humanity and with her loss, Keeley vows revenge on Torin. Keeley's voice has drawn him from the start and when he finally remembers he has the all key inside him (huge duh moment there) and escapes, he can't wait to see what she looks like. With her threatening to kill his friends he decides to leave her there and escape alone. But being what she is, Keeley manages to not only free herself but pretty much destroy the dungeon. Not surprising is that Torin hadn't left and so begins their attacks. But it's not long before they end up together going for the exit and protecting the other. Slowly Keeley's anger toward Torin ebbs as she learns and realizes more about him. And Torin? Well he's just having a hard time keeping himself from touching her he wants her so bad. As it turns out, his willpower isn't strong enough compared to Keeley's attempts at seduction. More than once he makes skin to skin contact, and each time she gets sicker and sicker. But she also survives. Eventually they make it back to the fortress and everybody is beyond happy to have Torin home. Can't say the same for Keeley. At least not at first. Their relationship continues to be rocky at best because each time Torin makes her sick the guilt overwhelms him and he tries to push her away. But each time she manages to keep him. Until finally he holds firm and leaves. Only to be taken by Lucifer. See, Lucifer and Hades seem to be on the brink of war and neither are above using any means to get more power on their side. That doesn't go as planned but it does lead to Torin and Keeley finding out how to touch without her getting sick and being able to stay together.
With the addition of Keeley to the mix, we not only were able to rescue all those we needed to, but now the lords also have a lot more information about a lot of different things. Like why they were really punished with the demons. And it seems like they just might be getting closer to finding the box and what's inside of it that could free them all.
What was interesting and maybe kind of odd was how important to this story Hades was. And all because after he traded Keeley away for a barrel of whiskey, he realized how much he actually cared about her and he wanted her back. Plus with her agreement with him at the end, we'll probably see more of him in the future.
And William. Oh William, you don't get nearly enough page space sometimes. But what I really want to mention has to do with what he said about Axel. The sent one who has been trying to find him...
Oh, and it was kind of nuts what Anya did to Maddox and Ashlyn's kids...just saying...
I know so many were looking forward to Torin's book, but personally, Maddox is still my favorite lord. Even so, I quite enjoyed seeing more of Torin considering how little he makes appearances in the other books usually. He's definitely just as fierce as the others, and his sarcastic personality was a lot of fun. And while it's not really about him, I so loved the shirts that he would wear that others gave him. What I didn't like? How repetitive he was about how he felt about Keeley and what she met to him and blah blah blah. It was pretty damn sappy and combined with his begging of the time was kind of annoying. Some people might find it sweet, but I didn't.
Keeley was an interesting character. I'm not sure if there are actual myths about what she is or not, but she has the potential to be quite the ally. I both liked and disliked her though. It's cool how crazy powerful she is, and she usually seems like a decent girl who just wants to wants to be loved after being betrayed more than once. But when she says she desperately wants to be friends with Torin's friends, but then acts like a total bitch toward them? Annoying. She is so damn arrogant and I hated that part about her. And she needs to stop thinking that she's a damn queen. All her people are dead, and she is a queen to none so I really tired of all her talk about creating a kingdom and making everyone submit to her every whim and wish. Yeah, that's really the way to go about making friends.
We begin with Torin and Keeley in the same dungeon, and Torin desperately trying to save Mari's life after touching her. We all know how that's gonna go down. Mari was Keeley's one remaining link to her humanity and with her loss, Keeley vows revenge on Torin. Keeley's voice has drawn him from the start and when he finally remembers he has the all key inside him (huge duh moment there) and escapes, he can't wait to see what she looks like. With her threatening to kill his friends he decides to leave her there and escape alone. But being what she is, Keeley manages to not only free herself but pretty much destroy the dungeon. Not surprising is that Torin hadn't left and so begins their attacks. But it's not long before they end up together going for the exit and protecting the other. Slowly Keeley's anger toward Torin ebbs as she learns and realizes more about him. And Torin? Well he's just having a hard time keeping himself from touching her he wants her so bad. As it turns out, his willpower isn't strong enough compared to Keeley's attempts at seduction. More than once he makes skin to skin contact, and each time she gets sicker and sicker. But she also survives. Eventually they make it back to the fortress and everybody is beyond happy to have Torin home. Can't say the same for Keeley. At least not at first. Their relationship continues to be rocky at best because each time Torin makes her sick the guilt overwhelms him and he tries to push her away. But each time she manages to keep him. Until finally he holds firm and leaves. Only to be taken by Lucifer. See, Lucifer and Hades seem to be on the brink of war and neither are above using any means to get more power on their side. That doesn't go as planned but it does lead to Torin and Keeley finding out how to touch without her getting sick and being able to stay together.
With the addition of Keeley to the mix, we not only were able to rescue all those we needed to, but now the lords also have a lot more information about a lot of different things. Like why they were really punished with the demons. And it seems like they just might be getting closer to finding the box and what's inside of it that could free them all.
What was interesting and maybe kind of odd was how important to this story Hades was. And all because after he traded Keeley away for a barrel of whiskey, he realized how much he actually cared about her and he wanted her back. Plus with her agreement with him at the end, we'll probably see more of him in the future.
And William. Oh William, you don't get nearly enough page space sometimes. But what I really want to mention has to do with what he said about Axel. The sent one who has been trying to find him...
Spoiler
I mentioned this in my review for [b:Beauty Awakened|15727731|Beauty Awakened (Angels of the Dark, #2)|Gena Showalter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350307293s/15727731.jpg|21405631], that I think William might be his brother or something. And now William says he won't kill Axel because "he has his reasons". I need to know if I'm right!Oh, and it was kind of nuts what Anya did to Maddox and Ashlyn's kids...just saying...