L'oracle des ténèbres

Lords of the Underworld #10

by Gena Showalter

Dans la forteresse interdite, les Seigneurs de l’ombre ont presque tous trouvé une compagne. Seul Kane, guerrier solitaire, maudit chaque jour Désastre, le démon qui l’habite et transforme chacun de ses actes en catastrophe, l’empêchant ainsi de trouver l’âme sœur. Désespéré par la perspective de vivre seul pour l’éternité, il consulte les oracles de la citadelle et découvre qu’une femme l’attend quelque part : une femme aux cheveux blonds comme les blés.
Bien décidé à trouver celle qui lui est destinée, Kane se lance alors à sa recherche, bravant tous les dangers. Mais, un jour, après un combat suicidaire contre des créatures infernales, il est sauvé par une inconnue qui disparaît aussitôt, ne lui laissant que le souvenir de sa beauté féerique. Et de sa magnifique chevelure d’ébène…

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Demons, Fantasy, Mythology, Adult

406 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 2, 2013

About the author

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs and cats.

Reviews

[Tays · Rating 3 out of 5]

*~EDIT~* Finished. I'm giving it between 2.5 and 3 stars.

So, where do I start?

I guess it would be my overall feeling to this book.

This is what it was like for me;





It felt like a big punch in the face of her series.

It's true that there wasn't a major "Christianity > Greek Mythology" issue that I thought there was going to be. And I can almost hear you all taking a big sigh of relief to hear that, HOWEVER, if you are spoiled by previous Gena books, you'll not like it for a different reason.

Lets begin with what I loved about it;

William. He really saved it for me.

The two aside stories starring Torin and Cameo. They were much more interesting to read than the main storyline.

And the last 100 pages.

That's it.

This 400+ page book was redeemed by side characters and the last f*cking hundred pages.

I found I was torn reading it. I had to take several days to The Darkest Craving when usually I would inhale something like this in a night.

At times I got so angry and annoyed, I had to walk away from it.

The series still feels redeemable, but it's on a slippery slope. So, she hasn't lost me forever but Gena and I are on a bit of a time out. I hope that this was just a bad filler book because I don't know how much more of this I can take.

What I didn't like about this book;

It was a painfully long, jarringly written, over the top, vaudeville style melodrama that had me grinding my teeth in agony. The flow was often disrupted by poorly formed scenes and kitschy dialogue.

Things along the lines of 'Aha! How foolish of you to trust me! Of course I lied! Muahahaha!' (I'm paraphrasing here).

The crux of this lies within having her characters say what they saw rather than explain it for us.

So instead of writing something along the lines of 'In her periphery, she saw an Angel flash into the hotel. He winked at her and vanished'; instead she wrote 'Oh, those clothes just appeared by an angel. He winked at me and disappeared.'

Perhaps this is just my anal retention, but I can't stand when authors get lazy like this. (Maybe you won't have such an issue with it as I did. Moving on.)

When I read a book, I want to see and experience an authors world in vivid detail, I don't want to imagine and patch in my own version. Some people like to do this, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but if I wanted to do that, I would write my own damn book.

I feel like it was jarring for me because I spent half the book re-writing it in my head. I'm not saying I could have done it better, but it lost some of it's magic by scenes that could have easily fixed.

It just felt unpolished. Or maybe Gena just had enough and wanted to be rid of it.

And at times, I felt it was at times written by two different people.

Like sometimes she would contradict herself. One minute she would say 'No one knew William's shaded past...' the next she would say 'Everyone knew William came from...' etc.

Boo continuity! Get a better editor, woman.

When I started this book, I felt the characters had so much potential.

Josephina for half of it was BOSS.

She was funny, smart and kind of cool sassy that I LOVED when she was introduced. Then slowly she withered into a martyred Cinderella type figure who was a victim of her own circumstances. Then she would sprout some infallible wisdom that was completely out of character.

Then there was Kane.

He's understandably messed up from his time in Hell, I get that, but she left a lot of his torture to our imagination. I felt like I couldn't sympathise with him because he didn't explain himself better.

So when he got all crazy, I didn't feel sorry for him because he was just acting like a big fat jerk-face.

Authors like Sherrylin Kenyon and Kresley Cole often write about character torture and explain it in vivid detail. By doing this, you can understand their motives behind their actions and excuse them when they're being big fat jerk faces. And when they finally get their HEA, it's that much more cathartic and fulfilling.

By Gena leaving out the torture, she lost my sympathy for Kane, and I was not swept away by the love story because I couldn't connect with or understand him.

So when Josephina and Kane finally admit their undying love for one another, I was all;



There was no real growth of character. One minute they were one way, the next POOF! Change.

I don't know how Gena felt writing this book with her newly found religion.

To me, it felt like Gena was trying to say her previous works are weak in comparison to 'the Most High' and Angels of the Dark who are popping up more in the book. Even has Kane say thanks to 'the Most High', even though he's from another pantheon.

It's possible that she has made too many rules between the world of Angels and Lords and is having trouble balancing them together. Especially considering it was so HOT to begin with. Perhaps she doesn't know how to be bashful after such a raunchy start.

Which brings me to the sexytimes.

They were tepid at best.

They were no where near the bone melting, panty tingling, leg shaking sex scenes she used to write in early LOTU and the Alien Huntress series.

Overall it felt like a big bag of meh. I was frustrated by the writing but it came pretty good in the end.

To sum up;

What was good:

Like I said the last hundred pages were good.

And William. He was the funny sexy saviour for the beginning.

And Cameo. Who, I found, I now like! She goes on her own little adventure.

And Torin, who we finally, maybe see who he maybe, possibly will end up with.

What was bad:

The writing for 3/4 of the book.

The lack of awesome sexytimes.

FInal Verdict:

All in all it was cheesy and tacky, but ended better than I expected.

I hope then next instalment (Cameo or Torin?) will be better.

But I'm really feeling she's plateaued in the series, so I'm not holding my breath for anything super amazing next.


------------------------------------------------


I am eager for the new LOTU installment. However, I feel a little trepidation in its approach.. Perhaps because Gena's found God and sounds a little preachy to me.

Don't get me wrong, I think everyone is entitled to their own spiritual beliefs and I am truly happy for her that she's found something she loves. Again, to each their own. I'm not saying Christianity is bad at all.The only beef I have is that I feel that it's getting in the way of her stories a little.

Gena's last few books (Last Kiss Goodnight, Beauty Awakened and Alice in Zombieland) have all seemed to be missing that essential Gena zing that was present in the early LOTU and Alien Huntress series.

They're lacking in the raunchy steaminess. Or the overall plot is becoming inundated with thinly veiled propaganda.

It had place in Beauty Awakened. And I could understand it in Alice in Zombieland, but if she messes with my boys in Greek Mythology I might have to say f*ck it and dust my hands of her.

Which is sad because she's an excellent writer.

I just hope Kane is as good as the rest of the gang. He deserves a good lot of some-some after having roofs continually crash on his head.

I'm crossing my fingers and toes!

[Sophia Triad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kane: Demon of Disaster
Butterfly: on his right hip
His curse: Destruction. Catastrophes are caused everywhere Kane goes.

Josephina “Tink” Aisling: Half Fae, half human. Princess
Supernatural ability: She has the awesome ability of temporarily stealing others’ abilities with her hands. She can also project into others’ thoughts

I think this is the first book that a Lord and his Demon really absolutely hate each other. In the previous books, the Lords tolerate their Demons – sometimes they even like their Demons and they work together for a common cause.
Kane’s Demon really wants to hurt him, to destroy him and his friends. Ceilings are falling on his head, things are exploding beside him, Kane slips on a banana peel (or something equally stupid and cartoon-worthy) etc., while Disaster is laughing at him.

And the Demon will absolutely dislike Josephina. Obviously Kane and Disaster will try to go separate ways in the end.

The book starts with Kane being saved by Josephina and trying to recover. He was in Hell for so long, he was being tortured and constantly raped by disgusting demons until Josephina saved him and brought him in New York. Kane is not particularly happy. He just wants to die and maybe his awful demon Disaster will be destroyed.

But not while Josephina is watching out for him:

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” she told him.

The Fae and their kingdom Seduire are introduced in another modern version of the Cinderella’s story. Josephina is a blood slave for her cruel family and her creepy brother. Her half sister Princess Synda carries the demon of Irresponsibility. And Josephina is the royal whipping girl who receives the punishments Synda is due. Her only hope is Kane. If she brings Kane back to the Seduire, maybe they will start to take her seriously.
Because the Lords in the Fae land are like Rock Stars. All the Fae love them. All the females what to marry them. Of course the Lords have no idea about it and Kane will be surprised.

“And why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m...a giant box of chocolates.”
“I’ve heard of you,” she said, and left it at that. Truth, without explanation.

This is a different book in comparison to the previous book in the series. It is more fairytale like. Kane will be the prince charming for the miserable Josephina. He will try to protect her – no matter what. The good thing is that his sense of humor will be back at some point and he will somewhat recover from the torment that he had suffered in Hell.

William and his 4 evil (?) children i.e. White, Red, Black and Green will save the day, when things are going bad.
A Phoenix will also help, although this was not really her intention.

The lovemaking between tortured Kane and suffering Josephina will be AFFECTIONATE rather than hot. And it will take a lot of time for the two of them to finally make love and express their feelings.

Disaster had tried to stop him, and maybe the Moirai had even tried to stop him, but there was something in him that was greater than both. Love. And love couldn’t ever be stopped.

[Exina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

“You make me crave things I never thought I’d crave again.”

This book is very different from the previous installments of the series in many ways, and it also represents a turning point. A very important thing is revealed that could give a completely new turn to the events.

In The Darkest Craving the relationship between Kane and his demon, Disaster differs very much from the other Lords’ relationships with their own demons.

While the other warriors have never liked their demons either, they have used the demons’ abilities, strengths, and have established some kind of agreement and peace with them.

Unlike Kane. He hates Disaster. He hates his demon with infinite and immeasurable hatred. He hates him with every fiber of his being. He has been suffering from Disaster in a very different way than the others. Disaster is a malevolent, humiliating, useless being for Kane. It's like as if Kane carries an extra enemy within his body.



Kane is unexpectedly fierce and brutal and ferocious. He was always in the background before, playing coy, keeping distance from the others in order to protect them from his demon.
In his story, he is amazing from the very beginning. He is a true warrior, unstoppable, and fearless, despite the fact that Disaster is always against him.

The story presents a new paranormal race, the Fae, and also shows their realm Séduire in details. Set in mainly Séduire, the story takes you to a completely different scene than the previous books. The Lords here are celebrities,  there are even fan clubs. But it's not really a pleasant place.

In Séduire, beauty mattered more than brains and clothing mattered more than food. Political intrigues were always in full swing. An open mouth was a lying mouth. Power was just as valuable as cash. Lust, greed and torture were always on the menu. Josephina hated it here.

Josephina's life is miserable and tragic. She can’t see any other way out of it but death. Though she fought against his family before and tried to get free, she always failed, and she just gave up hope. She is all alone, without help or anyone’s sympathy. Everyone around her is cruel, selfish, and cold. Her family hates and brutally uses her, and she has no friends. (Just one thought: it seems pretty impossible that there is not even a single positive or compassionate person in Séduire. It's too black and white.) But Josephina is also very brave, playful, and compassionate.



Kane and Josephina’s relationship is different from the other couples’ in the series. In every other case the warriors’ demons are either tamed or intimidated by the women. Unlike Disaster. Disaster hates Josephina, wants to make Kane leave her; eventually wants to kill her. He actually hurts her physically many times.

Josephina has very special abilities, but she is confused, insecure in her own capability and worthiness. She is all alone, until she meets Kane, so it is hard for her to accept help. First she refuses Kane's help because she sees her situation hopeless. She knows even if Kane rescues her from Séduire, they will have no peace from her family ever. Josephina slowly learns to recognize the situations when she needs help, and becomes confident enough to ask for it. It takes both of them time to figure out what to do and how to do it. On their path, battles, adventures, and danger accompany them.

I loved Kane and Josephina together. Their love is sweet, passionate and based on mutual understanding. I especially loved their mental connection.

When they’d met, they’d both been in a very dark place. They’d lacked hope. Their fears had overwhelmed them. Together, they’d climbed out of the depths of hell — literally and figuratively. They’d found reasons to laugh. They’d let go of hate and embraced love. The weaknesses they’d had had been blasted by fire and were now strengthened with steel. They hadn’t broken. They wouldn’t break.

Secondary characters
All of the Lords and their beloved ones are amazing! And OMG, Cameo and her new companion! I just can’t believe it, but like it very much! And Torin... Oh. My. God. But there is not enough of Paris and Sienna.

The ending
Maybe it's too dramatic and miraculous, but it makes sense. No deus ex machina this time, like in the case of Aeron's comeback. It is well done: complicated, coherent, makes you think a little bit.

There are many more things in this book that could be talked about: William and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse; Kane: his feelings, his suffering, and his very complex personality; Josephina’s life, abilities, and possible future; the imaginary world of the series, which is becoming more and more complicated; and the secondary characters. But this review is already too long, so I won't. :)

My favorite quotes.

[Anna (Bananas) · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star for the cover. I do love the cover.

By the end of this nightmare I just wanted it to be over. Gena Showalter's books used to be smutty guilty pleasures, full of fun, humor, and steamy sex. Now all 3 have magically disappeared. *Poof* What happened? I'll get to that in a minute.

I had hope going into this. After all, I adore those testosterone-fueled (well, except for Cameo) Lords of the Underworld in all their supernaturally buff glory, endless ropes of muscle included. (Yep, the ropes make an appearance per usual. Abs can be described no better way apparently.) The Lords are a blast, they're unspeakably sexy, and as a group they have an endearing brotherly charm. So why was Darkest Craving so lame?

Problem #1: What happened to the sex??? Even when the book in question drags, there's usually this redeeming factor. Showalter can write a hot, dirty, edge-of-your-seat sex scene. I know she can. I remember! In detail.

Here we get vague descriptions bordering on YA. Very little foreplay or else it's minimally explained, no hand jobs, no blow jobs, no cunnilingus, no shower sex - What!! But Gena loves shower sex. Doesn't she?? There are countless shower scenes in this very long series. But in Darking Craving we get several noticeably solitary shower scenes. I could care less if a fictional character showers, unless they're getting thoroughly molested behind that curtain. Then I'm interested.

Overall, there was no heat, no fire, no flirting. There was, however, a lot of teasing. Kane and Josefina would start to get there and then - cold water. In your face. Over and over again. They didn't have any kind of significant sex until, big surprise, they were married.

I'm gagging right now. I'm gagging on the matrimonial, sin-free, happy, shiny sex. Someone please shoot me.

Problem #2: The plot was dull. It might have been tolerable at 250 pages. As it was, the contrived push and pull of the main relationship (they want each other, they pretend they don't want each other, they fight, they make up the next milisecond) was beyond tiresome. I won't deny that this is the romance formula, so either I'm over it or it was more unbelievable that usual in this book.

The fae storyline had promise. It could have been dark and disturbing or seductive and mysterious. There's plenty of sinister stuff to mine from fairy mythology. Instead, this fae society consisted of a snotty, tame court of charicatures. Now there are charicatures in abundance in Gena's books, but at least they're normally entertaining. These fae were just zzzzz....

The subplots were okay. Lazarus, my paramour, came back! I would love him with Cameo. They're both strong characters. The Torin subplot was weak. That Mari chick was a wet rag. The bits with William were so-so. I do like his fatherly yet tough-love relationship with his kids, the illustrious Horsemen. Such misbehavers. I like them.

Problem #3: Subtle, suspicious changes in story and character. What was the point of all that set up with the Fates, only to have it summarily debunked? Oh yeah, so Showalter could make the point that we all control our fates.

And those Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Well, they're not THE Horsemen. Nope. Did you know there can be multiple apocalypses, so naturally there are multiple horsemen? Because "multiple apocalypses" isn't an oxymoron. Not at all.

Also where was Torin's adorable personality? He was solemn, serious, and soooo dull. William retained a bit of his charm but even he wasn't the same.


So what went wrong? All signs point to an important change in Showalter's life. She found God, and good for her. Really. But did she have to simultaneously morph into a boring as fuck romance author? Go write Christian romance if you can't do sex before marriage in your books or detailed sex scenes or even play around with Christian mythology. You're ruining a previously awesome series. You're demolishing it with your saintliness.

Now my expectations are exceedingly low. There's the chance I won't be let down by Torin's book. I am going to read it. He's my favorite and I want to see him get his poor, deprived hands on some human flesh for once....

Oh God, I'm so going to be disappointed. One more reason religion is a bummer.

[Jessica's Totally Over The Top Book Obsession · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 pretty good stars



I don't want to spend too much time on Kane because I want to get to the next book. I will say a few things on this book though. Like how I didn't really feel the passion between Kane and Josephina. I liked both of them a lot. As a couple they had no sparks, no sexual tension. I don't know why, but I just didn't feel them. Kane has never been one of my favorites. It's hard to think of him as a sexy warrior when he is always getting beat up by his demon.



He's like a big goober. I get it's his demon and not him that causes all the accidents. But every few minutes he is falling, getting conked on the head with falling ceiling, lamps, or whatever is near by. It's hard to find that bad-ass and hot.



It's like a running joke. Falls, broken chairs, lamps flying, tripping, so not sexy.







Sorry Kane.....

Josephina was funny at times and I liked her. I just wish she didn't come off as a doormat for most of the book. She had some really cool powers yet she let everyone treat her like shit and hurt her. William, Torin, and Cameo stole the spotlight from the main couple. Their story lines were better and I loved getting to see more of William. Poor William and Torin. They both had bad things happen in this book and my heart hurt for both on them. Overall this book was pretty good, but that ending was too much. It was like a unicorn farted on the last few pages and made everything good and new.



Now on to Torin's book.

[Neyra ♦ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my fourth, and I hope my LAST attempt at writing my review for The Darkest Craving by Gena Showalter. I'm tired, and more than a little grumpy...

If you remember in The Darkest Seduction, Kane was taken captive by Hunters and was being escorted to hell, when he was once again kidnapped, but by demons this time. Later on, we saw how he had been tortured, but was saved by an unknown female who rescued him on the condition that once he was free, he'd kill her. Fast forward to The Darkest Craving and we meet Josephina, the half fae, half human female who saved the keeper of Disaster. But to her dismay, Kane refuses to keep his promise, instead he wants to help her live. Furious, Josephina runs away.

Oh yeah, I'm not kidding on that one guys. She runs away because he refuses to kill her!

I really believed this story had potential. Not only was I curious about the mystery heroine, but I wanted to learn the reason why the Fae King was after his own daughter, or why she felt the need to runaway in the first place. But a few pages into the book, and I see... THIS is a Disaster waiting to happen. Pun intended. Now, before I go into rant mode, let me give you the gist of the story...

Josephina is the bastard daughter of the Fae King and her human mother. The King and Queen have a daughter of their own, so unfortunately for Josephina, she gets to be the blood slave. Any mistakes the girl makes, and Josie here must bare the brunt of the punishments. God forbid the princess EVER take responsibility for her own actions. Which brings me to another thing, the princess (who's name I've forgotten) is the keeper of the demon of Irresponsibility. I see some of you perking up now (heh). So as you can imagine, this doesn't exactly make for a happily ever after for Josie, which is why she's run away determined to die. Once Kane comes to, he sees Josie, determines she's his MINE and bam! One week after he recovers he leaves The Realm of Blood and Shadow determined to find the little fae and save her. But Kane has his own agenda. After the hell he endured (literally!) he's determined to end Disaster at whatever cost to his own life.

With me so far? Nice! :) Alright, here's my issue, and I'm hoping I can provide you guys with sufficient facts as to why I had to give this book such a low rating and ended up wanting to throw in the towel without ranting too much.

Like many other readers, I'm not a fan of instalove, and I'm disappointed to say, that as quickly as Josie appeared, THAT quickly she became Kane's MINE. Good lord, 5% in, really Ms. Showalter? Being how this is a HEA type romance regardless of circumstance, why not allow the characters to get to KNOW each other BEFORE tramp-stamping their love interests with their neanderthalish-MINE ways? Of course though, Kane refuses to believe she's his mine because he's no good for anybody, regardless of the fact that every bone in his body is telling him otherwise. And Josie refuses to believe Kane would be interested in her after seeing that he now knows what her sister looks like. So there were a lot of frustrating moments of insecurity and refusal issues going on. If he didn't want YOU, he wouldn't have left his brothers by circumstance to help you. Stupid, stupid, STUPID fae girl!

Next, you'll be happy to know that Showalter spared us all the religious nonsense that was consistent with the second installment in her Angels of the Dark series. Although there were moments where she preached, but those were few and far in between it wasn't too bad, thank the stars above.

"And yes, he knew being conceived in evil had no bearing on the girl herself. He knew those in darkness could find their way to the light. He knew something beautiful could come out of something terrible. After all, diamonds were formed in the mantle of the earth, with horrendous heat and bone-crushing pressure."

I rest my case.

While I'm all for HEAs and finding your mate no matter what, what I've always loved about LOTU was that the love didn't deter from the actual plot of the series, finding Pandora's Box. Unfortunately, that was not the case here. The only ones determined to find the damned thing were the rest of the Lords. Yes, we are given a glimpse into the Fae Realm, and its beauty and deceit, but Showalter veered way off course with Kane's story. IMO anyways. She filled the pages with incoherent thoughts, incoherent sentences, and information overload I would have happily done without. In book ten of any series, I don't need a recap of who is who, or what has been happening. If I'm on book ten it's because I've been following the series and know what's been going down.

Like with Beauty Awakened and the angels, excuse me "Sent Ones", Showalter felt the need to change a few facts from previous books. I know this may be petty, but it aggravates me to see that something that was already explained once, is being explained differently now. Ya'll know Willie's kids are the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse, right? Well, not anymore! They are now mere shadows of the Horsemen.

"He'd heard demons call them the four horsemen of the apocalypse. But these four were not, not really; they were more like shadows of the originals."

Palm. Meet forehead.

She also changes something else, but that would be a spoiler, so... sorry, but I can't say anything. Just know I'm annoyed by it.

Does Gena Showalter bring sexy back in the Lords of the Underworld? ...No. Not really. The sex scenes are still way too watered down for my liking, and even though they are better than in Beauty Awakened, I am highly disappointed. For someone who had no qualms whatsoever in previous books using the words penis, or cock, Showalter absolutely refused to write them down whilst describing Kane's cock.

"The wings of the butterfly tattoo appeared more jagged than before, stretching closer and closer to his... his... there."

"And his... his... his tattoo was getting larger, because one of the butterfly's wings rode the length of his..."

She called his cock an it you guys... an IT!!

"It grew, and it thickened, and it hardened, and it mesmerized her."


The characters that captivated me most were definitely William, Cameo and my Torin. The Ever Randy is present throughout the book while he "helps" Kane find his way to Josephina and I am so glad. He was a much needed distraction! Cameo and Torin battle for the spotlight in this one, at least that's how I saw it. Both their journeys will have you wishing for more this instant, but we'll have to be satisfied with waiting for the next book in the series. As for the main characters, if you haven't already guessed it, I am not a fan. I thought I could grow to like Josephina because at first she seemed spunky, but once she started whining about her death, and acting terribly immature, it went downhill from there. Kane was and still is a big mystery for me. Unlike the previous lords', we don't really get a glimpse into the man that is, or WAS Kane. We know he's keeper of Disaster and that the guys are always wary about bringing him along in missions because of his demon, but even then, it would have been nice to see his POV on some situations that happened throughout the series. I mean, ten books and you couldn't fill me in on who this guy is? We don't even learn who he was before, when they were in the Heavens and what role he played in the release of the demons from the box!

It might surprise you all, but I actually loved Disaster in this book. Unlike the previous demons, he couldn't be tamed by a woman. He detested Josephina and did everything in his power to get rid of her. True demons, will never be topped or tamed, and Disaster won a brownie from me. I did like the interactions with the other guys and their demons because they were funny and cute sometimes, but Kane and his demon were proof, that housing a demon is as miserable as the Lords have claimed to be for thousands of years.

Last thing, because this review is already way too long. The writing. While there are no religious undertones noticeable enough in The Darkest Craving and there are still some funny moments to be had while reading the book, I feel like Showalter is either running out of ideas, or she just can't be bothered enough to form a coherent thought or sentence anymore. Every few pages or so, I'd see things like this:

"Kane didn't even want a mate. He wanted... he needed... yeah, some part of him wanted and needed a mate."

"If he did it, if he allowed his lips to meet the princess's, she would... she would...oh! There was no action violent enough."

"Too late? They were...they were...no way."

"The minions had sense him. The minions...the minions who had...had...NO!"





This book dragged its arse all over the place with what you read above, plus the consistent need to either retell me something or give me more info than I needed. Showalter didn't show me a story, she told it to me, and went ahead to bore me out of my ever loving mind. The whole thing was wrapped up into a very sugar coated, barf inducing romantic package I don't even think I can read the next book for fear that she'll ruin Torin in my eyes.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Tink and Candy Kane Stars!
This is the tenth book in the Lord of the Underworld series. It's Kane and Josephina's story.

Kane is the keeper of Disaster. He hates Disaster! Kane has always been left on his own pretty much because where he goes there is always a disaster. Floors cracking, bulbs bursting, ceilings falling anything Kane's demon can do to cause a disaster happens. So it's best if Kane stays away from others.
Josephina is half Fae and human. She is a blood slave in her world because her mother was the Kings mistress and when she died the King blamed Josephina and sentenced her to take other Faes punishments. But Josephina also has the ability to absorb other people's power and energy if she touches them.
In the previous book we know that Kane is trapped in Hell and being abused by the minions. Then the four horseman which are Williams kids (White, Black, Red and Green) capture him. That is how Josephina finds him. She had been banished to Hell for something her sister did. While there Josephina and Kane make a deal. Imagine her surprise when Kane finally heals and refuses the deal they made. Josephina runs from Kane after this. She's pissed because she saved him and he's not going to help her. Kane is not the only one after her though. Josephine's father the King of the Faes and Petra the Phoenix wants her. The chase is on.
Kane has to come up with a plan to save Josephina that he calls Tinker Bell or Tink.

Now around halfway through the book I was finding myself off doing other things. I wasn't in a hurry to pick the book up. I was bored. I wasn't feeling the love between Kane and Tink. It just wasn't there for me at all. I felt zero passion between these two.

What happens when Tinks fathers men finally catches up to her? Does Kane finally convince the King to stop punishing Tink? Does Petra finally get her hands on Tink and get her revenge? Does Kane finally get rid of his Demon once and for all?

Will I still be reading more of this series? Hell yes!

What kept me laughing through this book was William. He was his usual funny self.
I also loved that we got Torin in a few chapters and the set up for him and his women. I hope his book is better.
My favorite parts were with Cameo and Lazarus. Can't wait to read their story!
So over all I liked this one but didn't love it. It's defiantly on the bottom of all ten books at being my least favorite.

[Sharon ∞❥ is an emotional book junkie ❥∞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ★'s

Kane has been stuck in hell for quite a while and being tortured by who knows what, doing who knows what else and it has damaged him emotionally. How could it not? So when he is finally rescued by some strange woman who then steals his powers including Disaster, why should he care about her? The problem is he can't stop thinking about her.

Poor Kane...



Kane, Kane, Kane aka Candy Kane...who knew? He's really just a big teddy bear that needs some lovins'. He really surprised me at how needy he was...and emotional! But he did have some Jekyll and Hyde moments...actually, he had a lot of those. The memories of hell don't help but then he has to deal with all the stuff that his demon, Disaster, throws at him. It also doesn't help that his feelings of acceptance is lacking. He's always thinking people have an ulterior motive...He really should be the keeper of Doubt.

But...he really fought for Josephina and I really liked that. And even thought he did have one "almost" lapse, it was completely understandable. The "MINE" thing was killing me though!



As for Josephina, aka Tinker Bell or Tink for short, I really enjoyed the half fae-half human who had some pretty interesting powers. Her life completely sucked though and I was so happy that Kane made sure it didn't...as much as he could.

So Candy Kane and Tinker Bell, how were they you might ask? Well, the humor was there and the sex was there (at least six times...I counted!) but what I think is missing is the "passion". There was no intensity and even the wording seems lacking...and I could've done without hearing about him "donning a condom" ever again. Yes, GS' books are different since "her experience" but it's hard to say if this is the reason or if the stories have gotten mediocre?

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story but it didn't "call to me" and I could definitely put the book down. And there seems to be two kinds of readers...1) those who are not bothered at all by the changes and 2)those who are very bothered by the changes. My only advice is that you'll have to read it yourself and decide.

But there are some redeeming moments and William has a big role in many of those. He's with Kane all the way and becomes his wing man. William definitely made the story better. It was also great getting to know him better and his grown children - White, Red, Black and Green aka The Rainbow Rejects. There's some great information about them.

Tink's family are a bunch of intriguing characters and I think they got what was coming to them. The whole Fae environment was interesting with the jewels, the clothing and the gossiping! I got a kick out of the fact they all followed what the Lords were up to! And I did like the spin on the Cinderella story.



I really enjoyed the drama that Petra, the Phoenix, brought to the story. I hated how that ended though and was hoping to see more of them. Maybe with what happened to Tink, we will?

And don't worry about missing out on the Lords, we get a lot of them. Some more than others...Paris had ONE sentence....really?!! Both stories for Torin and Cameo are set up and they seem like they will be quite interesting.

Malcolm was a bit weird...? I haven't read the second book of GS' Angels of the Dark series, Beauty Awakened, so I'm not sure if I'm missing something about him or not. I know that's Koldo's book and the next one is Thane's so who knows? Anyway, I'm not quite sure what his "mission" was.

All in all, it was an okay book. A bit better than mediocre but like I mentioned, I felt like the passion was missing and there weren't any big surprises. Even with what happened at the end, you could see that coming. Here's hoping the next book will be better!



Favorite quotes:

♦ "He wore a T-shirt that read I’m a Jenius."

♦ “Lord Kane beat me up,” one said with a grin. There was blood on his teeth. “Did you see?”

“Best. Night. Ever.”

♦ “First rule of Teach Kane a Lesson: you don’t talk about Teach Kane a Lesson. Second rule of Teach Kane a Lesson: you don’t talk about Teach Kane a Lesson. Third rule of Teach Kane a Lesson: if someone taps out, you just keep fighting. Fourth rule of Teach Kane a Lesson: there are no rules. Got it?”

♥ “You aren’t a cage. You’re my everything.”

♥ “Sweetheart, nothing has ever compared to this.”

♥ “Good. Because you’re it for me, Tinker Bell, Tink, Tinky Dink. My one. My only. My everything. My mine.”

♦ “My queen is better than your queen,” Paris said, punching him in the arm good-naturedly.

[Azet · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the hell will i do once i finish this series?!!!Gena Showalter is amazing at writing plots with angst,drama,humor,romance,action and the character developements are wonderful made.I just love "The Darkest Craving" which is the 10:th book in the "Lords of the Underworld"-series and follows the story of Kane the warrior keeper of Disaster who was tortured and raped by demons in Hell in the former books.A sweet beauty by the name of Josephina saves him from Hell so he in turn can kill her.

Josephina Aisling is half Fae and half human with incredible gift of sucking another persons power into her body.She is also very mistreated and abused by her family and the people from her kingdom despite her being the Kings daughter.I hated her step-mother the Evil Queen and the self-absorbed half-sister who brought Josephina misery all her life and treated her like a servant.And top of it all she has a half-brother who lusts after her.No wonder she wanted to end her life when there was no one there who even cared for her.Her life changes when she meets Kane and becomes his obsession.Through his love,devotion and acceptance she blooms into a powerful confident heroine.I loved her sweet dreamy-like persona and how she strives for goodness-and that she is a fan of the Lords.Also everytime she gave herself compliments i just adored her even more.God she was so cute!

Kane the warrior of the demon of Disaster just stole my heart in a whole another level.Due to his demon Kane causes catastrophes everywhere he goes.Both Kane and the demon Disaster inside him really hates each other to the death.Which is new to me since the other Lords have always tolerated their demons,or even befriended them (in a way).I thought Kane such a brave and captivating warrior of a character that cared about his friends and humanity.He was also charming,flirty and fun and so crazy obsessed with Josephina that he did everything to save her from being a blood slave and also got himself engaged with her mad half-sister.I love his determined strength and the way he loved Josephina with all his soul made me sigh with happiness.All the times he called her Tink or Tinky Dinky made me smile,his love for her was too great to bear for me.I love the scene where he forces her to marry him and even threatens the Fae King,that scene was so EPIC!He fought for Josephina with every breath of his body.She gives him peace and happiness which he have never felt before and which was now what he desperately craved ever since his despicable torture in Hell.If it weren`t for Josephina he would have been more broken and self-destructive.The ending to this book was so beautiful that i shed some happy tears.Thank you so much Gena for another keeper!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread March 2022!

I have to say that 7 years later reading this book was way more entertaining than the first time! I know I had been disappointed years ago, but for what ever reason, I loved it this time!
A big factor for me was that I truly didn’t remember a large portion of the book. This refresher gave me the little details I clearly missed before. I’m very eager to move on to Torin’s story now, because it will be the first time I read it! At least I’m caught up and now I hope I enjoy the rest of the series!!





This was the first time that I have read a paranormal romance in quite some time, and unfortunately I was somewhat disappointed in what I read. I have always adored Gena Showalter's writing, her humor, and most of all her Lords of the Underworld. When I first came across this series I fell in love with all of these tortured men. As the books went on I fell deeper in love with them all, and the women whom they fell in love with. Kane; the keeper of Disaster (the demon inside of him is called Disaster)was never one of my faves; but I was very curious about his book as he spent some time in hell being severely tortured in all sorts of terrible ways. This book just didn't have the passion that the others have. Now, it is quite possible that my tastes have changed in my reading material; therefore it could be just me being bored?? I'm not sure?? It wasn't terrible, it just didn't wow me.

I will say that my favorite parts about the story was William. That guy is so hilarious, and quite frankly if I hadn't had his humor in this book; my rating would have been lower. I also enjoyed the few snippets we got of Torin- the Keeper of Disease; and of Cameo and Lazerus..(wrong spelling probably!)

All in all, this was just an ok read for me. Does that mean that I give up on the sexy Lords?? Heck no!! I have got to find out if and when Torin will get his HEA...as well as I pray for the day when William gets his book. I hope we don't have to wait years for that..Even if we do though, I will wait! He's absolutely worth any wait I'd have to endure!!

That is all I really have to say about Kane and Josephina's story. Wasn't a lot, but I'm just not feeling very inspired at the moment!!!

Thank you Michelle for letting me join in with you to read this book! I'm sorry that my real life got in the way and I lagged way behind! I do appreciate you including me in your Lords marathon!!! it was a pleasure..♥♥

[Esra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gena showalter hiçbir zaman beni hayal kırıklığına uğratmaz. yine harika bir kitaptı. Gerçi yazarın william'ı kitabı okutmak için kullanmış gibi hissettim. Çünkü disaster'ın taşıyıcısı kane ile daha önceki kitaplarda pek bir etkileşimimiz olmamıştı. Cehennemde yaşadıkları yüzünden intiharın eşiğine gelen kane'i kurtarma görevini üstlenen william haşerilikleri , tahmin edilemez davranışları ve seksiliğiyle belkide kitabı kurtaran isimdei. en azından fifty fifty. ama ben kitaptaki esas kızımız josephina'ya da hasta oldum :D bu kadar şekerlik olmaz. Lord'lara karşı fangirl tavırlarıyla adeta bizi temsil etti orada :D çünkü bir lord'u karşımda görsem bende tink gibi davranırdım :D
Kane'i cehennemden kurtaran josephina bunu karşılıksız yapmadı. Kane'den onu öldürmesini istemişti. Ama kane ilk gördüğü anda "benim olmalı" dediği bu fae kızın isteğini yerine getirmeyecek aksine ona yaşama sevgisi aşılamayı kendine görev edinecektir. ama josephina'nın kötü fae kral babası ve ailesi onu kan kölesi yapmış fae krallığında kız kardeşinin işlediği suçların cezasını çekmekle görevlendirilmiştir. Tinker bell'inde ölmek istemesindeki neden budur. Kane tüm bunları öğrenip tink ve kendi için bir çıkar yol bulmaya çalışırken kendisi için yazılan farklı bir kadere karşıda direnmek zorunda kalacaktır. işte kısa özet budur :P
Kitapta yan hikayelerde sıradaki kitapların sahipleri olabilecek potansiyel çiftlerin konularınada giriş yapılmış. Torin ve gizemli kız , cameo ve lazarus mu neydi adı o :D Bence sıradaki kitap torinle alakalı olacak. yaşasıııın.
Ama ben artık gilly'nin büyümesini ve william ile birlikte olacağı kitaplarına geçmesini istiyorum gena'nın :=) çok şeymi istiyorum :D
http://allkillerbooks.blogspot.com/20...

[Melissa ***BITCH, I'M READING!*** · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is painful y'all, Giving a LOTU book such a low rating,but my god! what happened to Showalters writing?! I read the Angels of the Dark series and thought maybe these are just different because it's a spinoff series. regardless it's threw me off my Showalter game, so starting this book I told myself "self..."

But no, I just couldn't get into this book! I would set it down..and roll my eyes when I went back to pick it up..I can't really tell you want all happened because after about 45% I was just skimming...



I have a feeling that my lover Torin's book maybe next, but honestly I love him so much and have waited for his book since book one, I am scared to read it.I just don't want his story to be written this way!



Does anyone really know why there is such a change in Showalters writing? I heard it's because of a religion change, I don't know if that is fact or hear say..but if it is a fact, then by all means...


Just don't change your writing style babe!!

[Alice Wulf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly enough Gilliam for my liking. I mean, like a scene and a half, IF THAT? YOU, MRS. SHOWALTER, ARE A TEASE. Sex scenes were very lackluster (although abundant), hated the Torin and Cameo cliffhangers, and I'm like 75% sure that Mari's friend is going to be his HEA. William, like always, makes everything better.

Alright! So when's the next book coming out? I want. If I have to wait another year, I'm gonna... *shakes fist* the gap between the last two books was so long, I totes forgot that Cronus was dead. Fuck, now I want to re-read the whole series. DAMMIT. I don't have time for this!



Please have lots of William & Gilly, PLEASE HAVE LOTS OF WILLIAM & GILLY!

*fingers crossed*

[Brianna Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

HAS THIS SERIES TURNED INTO YOUNG ADULT???

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO GENA SHOWALTER????

3 and a half stars

Ok so ill start by saying that I DID enjoy this book I loved Josephine smart mouth and the fact WILLIAM was in most of the book,

I really enjoyed Cameo's and Torins side story and looking forward to them,

What I didn't like and to be honest will probably can the series if the next books follows the same path.

Kane was a HUGE disappointment for me and at times I found him to be an Ass and not the sexy fun kind, I know he went through a lot and needed to work it out but still something about him bothered me,

The lack of steamy scenes really annoyed me this series has gone from Hot Hot Hot to hardly tepid and really Gena if you have so many reviews from so many different types of people saying the same thing pick up your game iv read young adult books that are hotter than the last couple of these.

I really would like to know what has happened!!!
In conclusion I will pick up the next book and let's pray that it gets back to normal because I'm starting to feel she just not that into LOTU anymore

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I really liked this one. My heart wants to give it five stars, even though logically I know it's not perfect. I rated it highly because I loved Kane and Josephina together and I rooted intensely for them both. I'm a sucker for down on their luck lead characters. Kane is played as kind of a joke from the moment he's introduced into the Lord of the Underworld storyline. He's possessed by the Demon of Disaster, and every thing that could go wrong does to him. And let's just say you don't want to be too close because his bad mojo will catch you in its crosshairs. He's kind of like a walking Final Destination movie. But in this book, you really get to see how tragic his story is. My heart really hurt for Kane. I think that's why I loved him with Josephina, because she's introduced as an equally downtrodden, tragic heroine. Her family literally wants her dead and she's been on the run. She's literally begging for her death at this point because she's been taught by her family that she doesn't deserve to live. It's just awful. My heart gets sad just thinking about it. I knew I was really going to like them as a couple.

However, some truly awful, crappy stuff happens to Kane in this book. This one comes with trigger warnings. I was really shocked as a matter of fact. It goes to quite a dark place for Kane. I have a feeling that won't work for some people and I respect why. The trauma he goes through would really be a source of discomfort for some who would read this book. I would recommend avoiding it if you haven't read it and you have some issues with that content. Although Showalter doesn't go into great detail, the idea of what happens to him is very distressing, and the reader has to go through his journey of recovering from it. I definitely felt for him and wanted him to have some peace, and I wanted Disaster to leave him alone.

Josephina is like a fairy tale heroine, and that's probably why I gravitated towards her. She is a really sweet soul and anyone who wishes ill for her is a terrible person. I was really glad that she had Kane in her corner protecting her. She needed a protective knight and she found one. I loved the direction that Showalter went in this story that was quite different from the other books, and it really fit the story.

Showalter sometimes does this thing where stuff happens in her books, and it's so glossed over, I'm like 'huh?' There was a moment like that about another ongoing subplot in the story, and I didn't like it that much. It was kind of random and should have been more impactful than the way she wrote it. That's probably the main thing I didn't like about this book. Otherwise, despite the fact that this book has some really dark themes that might be distressing for some readers, I really enjoyed this book. While some might think this was a filler book in the series, I really loved this story for Kane and Josephina.

While Torin is my all-time favorite, Aeron is my second favorite, Cameo is number three, Kane is my fourth favorite of the Lords of the Underworld.

[Kelena]

We are already hooked Gena, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! ;)
An excerpt from THE DARKEST CRAVING!
His skin prickled, and maybe he moved. Maybe he spoke. Her gaze lifted to meet his. Her lips parted on a startled exhalation. Could she see the rawness of his need?
“Kane.” A breathy entreaty.
In that moment, the cry of the demon ceased to matter. The past faded, leaving only the present…the future, and the unstoppable tide of the pleasure to come. Every bone vibrated. He needed to get inside her. Here. Now.
It would be agony.
It would be ecstasy.
Tension coiled low in his gut, only to spring apart and jolt him into a stand. “Leave us,” he said, his voice a broken rasp.
No questions. No protests. The two seamstresses flittered from the room, shutting the door behind them.
The teapot shattered on the tray, dark liquid spilling everywhere, glass flying. Disaster’s newest attempt to deter him.
Tinker Bell didn’t seem to notice, was too busy watching him. “I-is something wrong?”
Silent, he stalked toward her. A predator with a purpose. He was done resisting. Done thinking about all the reasons why not. Today, he was taking something.
Perhaps sensing the dark, greedy urges driving him, she straightened with a snap. Her breathing quickened. “Kane,” she said.
“Tell me to stop.” He stood a mere heartbeat away, their gazes locked together, trapped. Nothing else would halt the madness.
“I…I can’t.”

---------------------------------------
For those who missed the text exchange between Strider and William, I've posted it. This isn't in THE DARKEST CRAVING, but happened behind the scenes somewhere in the first 100 pages. Alls I can say at this point LOL_GS

Strider: DUDE
William: I know. Disaster has finally flipped his lid
Strider: Try 2 talk him in2 stayin w/us
William: Did. Epic fail
Strider: When you say “did” do U mean “didn’t”
William: U know me so well
Strider: F-U.
William: Why don’t U try 2 talk 2 him?? by U I mean U
Strider: I like my balls where they R, thanks tho
William: If he leaves fortress 2 find this chick, he’s gonna get shanked—NOT in good way
Strider: There’s a good way?
William: Hells yeah. There was this one time, at band camp…
Strider: Blow me.
William: Told U be4 UR not hot ‘nuff 4 me.
Strider: Please. U want a piece of me SO bad
William: I’ve seen better
Strider: LIES! No one’s seen better. So what R we gonna do about Kane?
William: I’m sick & tired of looking this good AND saving the day. But fine. Whateves. I’ll go w/him & make sure chick’s not cray-cray. But U’ll owe me SO BIG
Strider: UR all heart—such a giver. I’d go but the old ball & chain has
Strider: I’d go but MY WONDERFUL GLORIOUS CONSORT HAS GENTLY REQUESTED THAT I STAY AND HELP WITH A VERY IMPORTANT TASK
William: UR wonderful glorious consort just stole UR phone, didn’t she?
Strider: Hello, Willy
William: Hello, Kaia. Tell the Stride-Man not 2 worry—I’m on the case
Strider: Poor Kane. Poor world
William: Well, look @ that. U know me as well as the Stride-Man. Save a kiss 4 me. I like a lot of tongue.
Strider: What U’ll get is a lot of fang—across UR carotid
William: Don’t you dare save a kiss 4 me. How does Strider live w/U?
Strider: Easy. He’d die w/out me
William: That kinda sick obsession is NEVER happening 2 me! Willy signing off.

Source Gena Showalter Official Fan Page

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I was a little harsh in my last review so let me start by saying that this book was definitely a huge improvement from her last ones. It didn't have the in your face religious propaganda the last few have had and the preachiness was very well disguised.

As soon as you start reading it, you come face to face with the old GS. The one we love and have missed so much. It was incredible! I was so excited I couldn't wait to get into it. You meet Tink and you feel so hopeful. She is everything all of GS's best characters (you know, the old ones) have been. Well.... that didn't last long. She had her moments throughout the book, but they were very few and it just seemed like she lost steam. The vibrancy she had in the first few pages of the book disappeared. Maybe she had stolen it from the Phoenix with the rest of her powers and it faded right along with them?! Who knows. But yet again, personalities were flat in this book too.

When I read the description for this book a few months ago I was really confused. I thought Kane was suppose to be with the girl horsemen. So where the hell did this fairy come from, right? Well this all gets explained, but I thought not very convincingly. I felt the story line for Kane was set in motion many books ago but maybe because it doesn’t' compliment her writing style anymore she decided not to pair them together after all. I like Kane and Tink together just fine, that's not it. I just don't like the interference with were the story was originally supposed to go (assuming this isn't all just in my head).

Anyway, the sex scenes were almost non-existent and the ones we got were very blah. Language was extremely G-rated and I shit you not she even uses dang instead of damn. It really does take so much away from the story. It doesn't allow the characters that extra umph they need for expressing, punctuating and stating anything and everything with the right amount of feeling.

For new GS readers, you will definitely enjoy this book since you have normal "realistic" expectations. For the real GS fans who have read everything she has, this will be another failed attempt at achieving her full potential, but definitely a BIG improvement over the last several books. For me, it was a relief at the improvement but still a letdown. I read fantasy for a reason. I don't want normal, and I don’t want a resemblance to real life. I want to be blown away. I want magic. Unfortunately you can’t have that when your fictional characters have to follow moral, mortal and religious rules. That’s a lot of restrictions. I read a lot of words I never use, sex scenes I’ve never tried, situations I would never be a part of. None of it has changed me. I’m not going to stop saying fuck just because it’s not in the book. I didn’t start saying it because it was in her earlier ones. I want it all back, the foul language, the explicit sex scenes (premarital), the moody, crabby, crazy bitchiness, but more than anything, I want these characters to come to life again as I’m reading about them.

Wait till you find out who Cameo is with!!! Also, very excited about Torin though I’m not sure how that’s going to go, but who cares, finally something!!!! Yay!!!!!

I will remain cautiously optimistic.

[Shawna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ½ stars – Paranormal Romance

I'm a big Gena Showalter and LOTU fan, but this was a disappointment for me. Kane has never been one of my favorite warriors, and I just couldn't get into the story. It was too slow and dragged at times, and the Fae element didn't really interest me. The steam factor was just a low simmer and never quite sizzled. William's scenes and his sarcastic humor kept it from being a total bust. Overall, this was just an okay addition to the series. Hopefully Torin's book will be better, and I can't wait for William's story!

[Deborah Obida · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is worse than Amum's book, the only none boring part is Torin and Cameo's POV.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hovering between a 4 and 4.5 star

Showalter has really outdone herself with Kane's story, breathing life into his character and making him stand proudly alongside the other Lords of the Underworld.

Read this review in its entirety at Fresh Fiction

[Lover of Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

The Darkest Craving is the tenth book in the Lords of the Underworld series and you honestly can never go wrong with this author. I am not reading this in order of course because I still have a couple of books before this one I need to read but this was on sale on Amazon and honestly, of late, I have been such a mood reader and I was in such a mood for this goodie here. And Showalter always knows how to deliver a good story. And this book packed a punch at almost 500 pages. But if you have read this series or this book you know with the plot line, it needs that many pages for the story.



The Darkest Craving features two people who couldn't be more opposite....Kane and Josephina. Kane is a Lord of the Underworld and carries within him the demon of disaster and has recently for weeks been under torture in some horrific ways even sexually in Hell. But then he is rescued by a fae princess who only asks one thing of him.....kill her. Now Kane has no intention of fulfilling that promise sensing the fear that lives within this woman who calls to him and is a threat to holding the key to destroying his demon. But when she is taken captive by her family and people, Kane will stop at nothing to protect her and bring justice to her after all the torment she has endured. Josephina may be a fae princess, her birth father being the king of the fae.....but her life has been hell. Her step sister is the one that is honored and every time she steps out of line ....she pays a heavy price for it. And now she just wants her torment and torture to end....until Kane has other plans for her.

He forced her head to tilt, taking more. Giving more. This time, bad memories were kept at bay. And there was no pain in the action—no pain at all, he realized, not that he would have cared. This woman…she chased the darkness away, showed him pleasure and light. Beauty.

The Darkest Craving is a WHOPPER of a read and its a heavy one, I am not going to lie. There are some difficult topics addressed such as rape and torture here so fair warning if those are triggers for you. If they are tread lightly with this one. But if you are familiar with this author's work than you will have an understanding of why and how she implements these difficult issues in her books. But this is one of my favorite characteristics of Gena Showalter's writing is how she portrays these elements and blends it so seamlessly into her stories. The Darkest Craving is a story that starts heavy ....you don't get heavier in a story than the heroine wanting to die. And she is not an easy being to kill either. In fact, it's fairly difficult to do so. But Kane sees something so worthy in her, something no one else ever has. And this is what instills a sense of hope for Josephina having been so tormented all of her life by her own family no less.

For the first time in her life, she’d felt alive. She’d had something to look forward to, something worth the hardships she faced.

I really found this story to be packed with so much beautiful raw material and this raw material is the romance. These two have NO clue what they are really doing or how a relationship will work. Kane is divided because he is drawn to Josephina and his demon wants her dead. She is the first woman to complete him and give him peace and is the first one he has ever known who could expel the demon from him. But he also has her volatile family to deal with and it might mean having a plan of deceit to save her. Now this isn't your typical man saves the woman (although I have no issues with those plot lines) but both characters have such strengths and work together as a team and taking on the whole fae race is no easy feat. I was really captivated by this story because this pairing just won my heart so quickly especially when we see all that they overcome.

You, Tinker Bell, own me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. No line I wouldn’t cross. I love you so much I can barely see straight. I’m obsessed with you, addicted to you. I respect you, and I revere you

Overall I found The Darkest Craving to be a story a feels, packed with enough kick ass intensity to keep you on edge....and the perfect tones of sensuality to leave you breathless for more. True Delights!!!

[★Tinja★✮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad saying this, but I'm disappointed:/ I mean the book was overall okay, I liked some parts of it but I also got often bored. The sex scenes used to be so much better, in this one everything kinda felt rushed and there aren't really any details in them anymore which is a bummer:/ The books used to be really steamy, what's happened!??
I was also looking forward to some Gilly + William moments or at least something from William's POV but there wasn't any of that either so I'm sad:(
But there was a positive thing too: Cameo and you know who! They'd make a great couple.
Hopefully I'll like Torin's book more than this one.




EEEEEEEH I'm so excited for this!!!! Finally Kane gets his own book! I'm also happy we get new beings in the series. And hopefully there will be lots of Gilliam moments. I need those two to end up together!! PLEASE LET THEM END UP TOGETHER! Team Gilliam <3 And please Gena, bring Baden back ;)

[Jen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this story with a little bit of trepidation. The last two Showalter books were not the best for me –and on top of that– I have never been that interested in Kane. But I am happy to say that I actually ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would. Kane turned out to be a pretty good tortured hero; and his heroine turned out to be just as tortured, but with an inner strength that could not be denied.

As the story begins, Kane is recovering from his trip to hell. He had been tortured and raped by the demons. Now he wishes for nothing more than to defeat Disaster and die, himself. Josephina has other plans. She is the person who rescued Kane from hell, but she did it while demanding that he kill her for her efforts. It turns out that Josephina is the illegitimate daughter of a ruthless Fae king, and serves as the whipping girl for the princess. She can’t take her own life, but the punishments she has had to endure for her sister are beyond what she can bear. She knows Kane’s reputation and considers the proposition a win-win. As miserable as Kane is, there is something about Josephine that soothes him. Instead of killing her, he decides to journey to her own world to change her circumstances.

There is a lot going on in this book. I don’t feel like it was as bloated as Paris’s book, but it’s still got a lot of threads. There’s a side plot involving Cameo trying to find Pandora’s Box… and one for Torin (!) and what may be his path to a long overdue HEA. Some people might complain, but personally, I was excited for Torin to finally get some attention. He has been my favorite Lord since the series began. But I will admit that even though I have read every book in this series –and the Angels of the Dark– I was a little lost with some of the references to the Sent Ones and the Phoenix people. I guess after all of these books, there are just too many threads to keep straight.

I ended up liking Kane. It helps that I have a weak spot for tortured heroes. He has been through so much and his demon is so difficult. There were times he frustrated me, generally when he made stupid choices to appease Disaster, but for the most part he was a good guy. He tried to do the right thing by Josephina and give her the love and future she never dreamed she’d have. The thing is, my image of him from the previous books was almost like a caricature. He was the cartoon character who was always getting an anvil dropped on his head. It didn’t leave the door open for much character development. He was just the shmo always getting hit with a lamp or something. Now, we see there is so much more to him, including a relationship with his demon that is so much more contentious than any of the other Lords had with their own. Making it even worse, for the first time, a Lord’s demon DOESN’T want his mate and actively works against the romance. (I liked Josephina too, though all of his Tinkerbell nicknames for her started to grate on me after a time. )

I am pleased to say I didn’t feel a Message in this book like I did in the last angels installment, though it didn’t escape my notice that the only sex had outside of marriage was Bad sex (ie. rape, mindless sex with hookers, forced concubines, etc.) The love scenes we did get are better than in recent books –I could tell what was going on– though not quite as smoking as the earliest books in the series. I guess you could say we’re splitting the difference between fiery-hot and tepid. I was ok with it.

The ending was cool. It wasn’t quite the showstopper that Aeron’s book had, but it’s in the same vein. Overall, I liked it –and I am excited that Torin’s book is finally next. I just hope his HEA is the other chick in the prison. A 17 year-old mate is a little tough to contemplate.

Rating: B


*ARC Provided by Harlequin

[pennapely · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book. Gena's recent turn to vanilla in her newer series was annoying but not for one second did I think she'd shortchange me in the LOTU.

The storyline and characters were forgettable (seriously, I'm struggling to remember much of it) and how did Kane's demon, Disaster, come to terms with the HEA again? Totally can't remember, I think I was just reading to get it over with at that point. None of it hung together very well and quite frankly, I find myself not really giving a damn. And why? BECAUSE THERE WAS NO STEAM!!!!

Remembering The Darkest Kiss and The Darkest Surrender (not to mention The Vampire's Bride, Showalter's best IMHO), she now gives us this badly written Young Adult story posing as fantasy romance. Not cool, Gena, not cool.

There's loads more mileage in the LOTU-verse but unless Gena realises that being a Christian is not incompatible with well-written sex scenes, then I'll be getting out here.

One last thing - I get that safe sex is important, absolutely, no arguments with that at all. But this is Book 10. Book 10. For the LOTU that ship has sailed, so everytime Kane "donned a condom" it felt like a massive anachronism. A massive preachy anachronism in the middle of a boring sex scene.

Disappointing on pretty much every level, Gena has definitely, if not lost, then misplaced the mojo that made me such a fan.

[Ronda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars as opposed to just 3...

What has happened to one of my favourite series??? Where has all the hotness gone???

While I thought the book started off good, I found myself yawning throughout the following pages, I was so disappointed not to have the usual Lords roaming around inbetween the main storyline and I was totally bored with the Fae realm and the characters involved here...

Tink is cute, definitely YA material, but Kane? I was expecting the 'slowly melt me into steaming hotness' from him and I never got it - 'grump'!!!

It looks like William will be the next character, or I'd like to think so - however, if his book turns out anything like Kane's, I will be devastated, I do not expect mild from Will, that simply won't work!!

Anyway, what Tink does with Kane's demon toward the end is kind of 'great stuff' but it seems we went a long way to getting to this point, why Kane put up such a fight with him throughout the book is beyond me, I expected compromise somewhere... but -

The book is done, I'm disappointed but I'm trying to be hopeful and optimistic for the next one. Gena usually surpasses all my expectations so with that in mind, I look forward to William? (or maybe Cameo!)

[Leila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am normally a big fan of the Lords of the Underworld series. Hot heroes with attitude that have opened Pandora's box and released all the demons and now have to deal with the demons they were given? What's not to love? Add in a heroine who can hold her own and many times saves the hero? Even better. I only gave this 3 stars because this formula works even when the author PG-13's the series. I am not pleased with the new style of writing from Gena Showalter. The past two books, while not LOTU books, were a huge let down for me. I felt like I was reading YA not a paranormal romance. I was really looking forward to Kane's book and I was really hoping that GS had gotten back on track and his story would do him justice. It was pretty lukewarm, Kane's book seemed very tame for the series I am used to. There was so much potential for the storyline that seemed unrealized. Instead of spending the whole book trying to get rid of Disaster, why didn't she have Kane learn to control his Demon and use it to help the LOTU? I personally won't be buying any of the Angels of the Dark series of books, and I'm on the fence about buying the next LOTU book. This makes me sad because this used to be one of my favorite series.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3 very cheesy stars

Unfortunately, for me this was a huge honkin'.... meh.

Seriously, all I was pretty much thinking while reading this one was:



IMO Kane, aka Disaster, definitely lived up to his moniker as a hero and the heroine was... well, just plain D-U-M-B. And that's me trying to be nice.

The only redeeming qualities I can list are that the stage has been set for Torin's book (woot!) and Cameo's circumstances just got wayyyy more interesting. I sure hope GS gets her game ON and brings "IT" in the LOTU to come.....

[Glamdring · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Spoiler free review*

Saying that I was disappointed by Kane's story is an understatement.

For me this book was long, dragging, dull with little action, long and dragging. I'm sorry but for me, all the part taking place with the Feys was plain boring and Kane and Josephina's relationship oscillated between bland and over dramatic.

Two things saved this book from the 1 star rating: William (who already saved Paris's book) and what was happening with Cameo and Torin. So, yeah, their books better be good.

[Maida (Medley of Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 3.75 HEARTS! *Revised*

Starting a book with trepidation and disinterest in a main character is never a good sign. Admittedly, that was the relationship between me and Kane. I only saw him as ‘just’ a side character. Surprisingly, and quite wonderfully, The Darkest Carving turned out to be, not only, a good read, but an enjoyable one at that, despite some major flaws.

This book follows the traditional PNR tale, a HUGE step-back from Showalter’s earlier books. Unlike Paris’ book which had so much plot to offer, Kane’s book, in comparison, fell flat in that regards. There is no extensive plot follow up, nor the exploring of possible repercussions of previous events, instead giving us the customary play of events – girl in trouble, guy to the rescue, stupid reasons why they think they can't be together, and a predictable end. The inadequacy of the plot made the story feel more like a side story rather than a part of the main series. In spite of, the addition of Fae did bring a nice change from the usual Greek mythology.

Another aspect that bothered me to no end is the lack in smexy scenes, and this has been an issue for the last couple books. This series has gone from deliciously sexy to hardly tepid. More Young Adult material than Adult. The scarcity in the romance does no favours in building a solid connection between the two characters, instead ensuing a rapid decline of excitement and care for the couple from the reader. It would be nice to have the ‘old’ Gena Showalter romance spark back, and hopefully in the next books, it does.

Individually, both Kane and Josephina are solid characters. Kane, Keeper of Disaster, may have a demon that elicits nothing but feelings of hate, yet that does not deter from his character. His manly ways are temptingly appealing (although, the jealousy and “mine” scenes could use some toning down) and, for all that he has been through (trapped in Hell, tortured, and raped by demons), his emotions are strikingly raw, giving rise to a fleshed out character.

Josephina, half-Fae ‘princess’, brings humour with her smart-mouth and quirky attitude, and an instant like for putting Kane’s demon in his place. The problem in here lies when the two come together. The romance is satisfying enough, despite the dull sex, with plenty of angst and cheers rooting for them to get their HEA, still there is a lingering sense of something missing. Something that fails to fully captivate.

The truly redeemable quality in this are the side stories. William the Ever Randy has been an instant favourite, his humour and odd ways never ceasing to make a story more entertaining and worth the read. Not to mention, his relationship with Gilly (these two need a book, STAT!). Cameo and Torin’s side stories are also both enthralling, giving us mere glimpses of more (hopefully) fabulous stories to come.

Again, many flaws and not at all up to par with previous installments, yet fun and an easy read, nonetheless. Gena Showalter is always a good choice. VERY MUCH looking forward to Torin’s story next!



Posted: January 29, 2015

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was really frustrating to me. Although it was better then the most recent book in her angels series she still isn't back to her old self. I found myself skimming parts of the book and I had a hard time connecting to Kane and Tink. I just didn't care about them at all. I didn't enjoy the addition of the Fae at all. It felt like she didn't want Kane to end up with White, because she is evil, so she had to create a sweet kind creature for him to ride off into the sunset with. Another thing that bothered me was that she is changing the lore of the world she built. The whole, you can't survive without your demon thing, the "angels" are actually "sent ones" and now William's kids aren't the four horsemen they are "shadows" of them. To me it is lazy writing to change rules in the world that you created just because now you don't agree with them or can't find a solution for them.

I still feel like her new found religion is affecting her books and NOT for the better. And although I am happy that she has found comfort and peace through religion it is affecting her work and making her books less enjoyable. Also, these books are romance novels. I mean they have half naked men on the cover. So, I feel that there is a certain amount of steaminess that should be in them. Those types of scenes were almost nonexistent in this book and when they did happen they were so glossed over it was like I was reading a YA novel.

The only things that saved this book from being a one star for me were Torin and William. I just love them and they were great. They were everything I expected from them and more. What makes me sad though is that their books haven't been written yet and I worry that they are not going to get the hot steamy books they deserve because Gena doesn't write that way anymore. I will most likely read the next one because Torin is my absolute favorite lord but instead of buying it I will just borrow it from the library. Gena used to be one of my favorites but at this point I have lost faith in her ability to give me what I want.