Book Review - Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter

in Hive Book Club3 years ago (edited)

Hi everyone, today I'm gonna review one of my favorite books from the author that I adore, Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. I've been reading her books since ten years ago. The Darkest Night is the first book of these series and it happened to be my first reading book of her.
.

631d237d_bd7f_41da_a820_0c46b4e8abb2.jpg
.

There are 13 books in Lords of the Underworld series and the author also make side story named "1001 Dark Nights novella". It is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series.

Lords of the Underworld are stories about thirteen ancient cursed warriors who have responsibility to keep the Pandora box safe but failed to do so because one of the warriors temped to open the box even though the gods already told them that what inside the box is forbidden to appears in the world. The curiosity has a huge price for them, they cursed by the gods eternally to be the vessel of demons that imprisoned in the box such are the demon of death, demon of pain, demon of doubt, demon of lies, demon of secrets, demon of defeat, demon of promiscuity etc. (Well...these demons remains me of the seven deadly sins, may be the author got inspire from that).

Since then these handsome and beautiful warriors have to go through various trials to kept them sane because it wasn't easy to balance the soul between the demon soul and themselves. They even have to divided themselves into two group of people because of different mind in dealing with further way of survive but lately they were back together to face the same enemy who wants their life. Of course there are our heroines to be the important part of that chaos legion, their own love story with the lords will be telling in every books separate from each others. Personally, Anya (book #2) and Olivia (book #5) are my favorite heroine 😉.

There is hate and love relationship between these lords and the gods, Cronus, Rhea, Hades. Also a plot twist that makes you wanna scream (in a good way 😉). The books are happy ending story so no worries 😄.

I absolutely enjoy reading the Lords of the Underworld. The stories are full of action and romance with Greek mythology involved there, it is always captivated me. I really hope to see them as a TV Series like the Vampire Diaries. The stories took place in Budapest, Hungary and since then it is becoming one of my bucket-list for travel destination 😎.

The memorable thing about Lords of the Underworld is a lovely butterfly tattoo that makes me want it too for awhile 😍.

screen_shot_2021_08_13_at_19.24.11.png

Image sorce
.
.
Here are my collection of the Lords but for the rest I put them on Kindle now.

60e5a404_e505_43cf_9668_6d094cc5a520.jpg
.
.

SYNOPSIS:

Book #1 - The Darkest Night

His powers — Inhuman…
His passion — Beyond immortal

All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she’ll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member — a man trapped in a hell of his own.

Neither can resist the instant hunger than calms its torments . . . and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction — and a soul-shattering test of love . . .
Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive — and unimaginably powerful.
.
.
Book #2 - The Darkest Kiss

She has tempted many men…but never found her equal. Until now.

Though she has lived for centuries, Anya, goddess of anarchy, has never known pleasure. Until Lucien, the incarnation of death–a warrior eternally doomed to take souls to the hereafter. He draws her like no other. And Anya will risk anything to have him.

But when the merciless Lord of the Underworld is ordered by the gods to claim Anya herself, their uncontrollable attraction becomes an anguished pursuit. Now they must defeat the unconquerable forces that control them, before their thirst for one another demands a sacrifice of love beyond imagining…
.
.
Book #3 - The Darkest Pleasure

Reyes is a man possessed. Bound by the demon of pain, he is forbidden to know pleasure. Yet he craves a mortal woman, Danika Ford, more than breath and will do anything to claim her–even defy the gods. Danika is on the run. For months she’s eluded the Lords of the Underworld, immortal warriors who won’t rest until she and her family have been destroyed. But her dreams are haunted by Reyes, the warrior whose searing touch she can’t forget. Yet a future together could mean death to all they both hold dear….
.
.
Book #4 - The Darkest Whisper

He is the keeper of Doubt and his entire world’s about to be rocked.

Bound by the demon of doubt, Sabin unintentionally destroys even the most confident of lovers. So the immortal warrior spends his time on the battlefield instead of the bedroom, victory his only concern…until he meets Gwendolyn the Timid. One taste of the beautiful redhead, and he craves more.

Gwen, an immortal herself, always thought she’d fall for a kind human who wouldn’t rouse her darker side. But when Sabin frees her from prison, battling their enemies for the claim to Pandora’s box turns out to be nothing compared to the battle Sabin and Gwen will wage against love…
.
.
Book #5 - The Darkest Passion

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

With an enemy hot on his trail and his faithful demon companion determined to remove Olivia from his life, Aeron is trapped between duty and consuming desire. Worse still, a new executioner has been sent to do the job Olivia wouldn’t…
.
.
Book #6 –The Darkest Lie

In this riveting new installment of New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series, Gideon, keeper of the Demon of Lies, fights to uncover the truth….

Forced to his knees in agony whenever he speaks the truth, Gideon can recognize any lie—until he captures Scarlet, a demon-possessed immortal who claims to be his long-lost wife. He doesn’t remember the beautiful female, much less wedding — or bedding — her. But he wants to . . . almost as much as he wants her.

But Scarlet is keeper of Nightmares, too dangerous to roam free, and a future with her could mean ultimate ruin. Especially as Gideon’s enemies draw closer . . . and the truth threatens to destroy all he’s come to love . . .
.
.
Book #7 – The Darkest Secret

In this sexy new installment of Showalter’s bestselling Lords of the Underworld series, the haunted Amun meets a woman who tempts him like no other…

Keeper of the demon of Secrets, Amun can manipulate the darkest thoughts of anyone nearby. But when the immortal warrior is chained and isolated to protect those he loves, death is his only hope of release—until he meets Haidee, a fellow prisoner whose beauty and hidden vulnerability draw him into a reckless test of his loyalty.

Haidee is a demon-assassin, raised to despise Amun’s kind. Yet how can she hate the man whose touch sets her aflame? But to save him, she must give herself body and soul…and face the wrath of a powerful adversary sworn to destroy her.
.
.
Book #8 – The Darkest Surrender

Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor’s edge of surrender.Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can’t afford because he has an agenda of his own-steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter-the love neither had thought possible…
.
.
Book #9 – The Darkest Seduction

Possessed by the demon of Promiscuity, immortal warrior Paris is irresistibly seductive—but his potent allure comes at a terrible price. Every night he must bed someone new, or weaken and die. And the woman he craves above all others is the one woman he’d thought was forever beyond his reach…until now.

Newly possessed by the demon of Wrath, Sienna Blackstone is racked by a ruthless need to punish those around her. Yet in Paris’s arms, the vulnerable beauty finds soul-searing passion and incredible peace. Until a blood feud between ancient enemies heats up.

Will the battle against gods, angels and creatures of the night bind them eternally—or tear them apart.
.
.
Book #10 – The Darkest Craving

Having endured weeks of torture in the bowels of hell, Kane wants nothing to do with his beautiful rescuer, Josephina Aisling. The half-Fae female threatens to awaken the demon of Disaster inside him—a beast he's determined to kill, no matter the price.

Josephina is hunted by a brutal enemy—her royal family—and Kane is her only source of protection. He's also the only male to ever set her aflame, and even he succumbs to the heat. But as they navigate the treacherous world of the Fae, they are forced to make a choice: live apart…or die together.
.
.
Book #11 - The Darkest Touch

Fierce immortal warrior. Host to the demon of Disease. Torin’s every touch causes sickness and death—and a worldwide plague. Carnal pleasure is utterly forbidden, and though he has always overcome temptation with an iron will, his control is about to shatter.

She is Keeley Cael. The Red Queen. When the powerful beauty with shocking vulnerabilities escapes from a centuries-long imprisonment, the desire that simmers between her and Torin is scorching. His touch could mean her end, but resisting her is the hardest battle he’s ever fought—and the only battle he fears he can’t win.
.
.
Book #12 - The Darkest Torment

Driven to his death by the demon of Distrust, Baden spent centuries in purgatory. Now he's back, but at what cost? Bound to the king of the underworld, an even darker force, he's unable to withstand the touch of another...and he's quickly devolving into a heartless assassin with an uncontrollable temper. Things only get worse when a mission goes awry and he finds himself saddled with a bride—just not his own.

Famed dog trainer Katarina Joelle is forced to marry a monster to protect her loved ones. When she's taken hostage by the ruthless, beautiful Baden immediately after the ceremony, she's plunged into a war between two evils—with a protector more dangerous than the monsters he hunts. They are meant to be enemies, but neither can resist the passion burning between them…and all too soon the biggest threat is to her heart.

But as Baden slips deeper into the abyss, she'll have to teach him to love…or lose him forever.
.
.
Book #13 - The Darkest Promise

Possessed by the demon of Misery, Cameo isn’t allowed to experience joy. If she dares, her memory is wiped clean. With no other recourse, she sneaks into a land more fantastical than any fairy tale, determined to find the one man with the key to her redemption.

Lazarus the Cruel and Unusual rules his kingdom with a single unwavering focus: to build his army and annihilate his enemies. Nothing distracts him—until Cameo. He is relentless in his quest to make her smile…and seduce her into his bed.

As dark forces conspire against them, threatening to destroy the fragile bond they've forged, the once-calm Lazarus grows crazed. Every heart-stopping kiss and wicked touch causes Cameo to teeter on the brink of happiness. But if she falls, she risks forgetting him forever…
.
.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

screen_shot_2021_08_13_at_19.07.41.png

Image Source

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.
.

I can't hardly wait for other books by her to be published.

I read also books of Guardians of Eternity by Alexandra Ivy. I will make a review for that next time 😉.

Thanks so much for reading my review and have a wonderful day 😊.

Cheers~