The Darkest Passion (Lords of the Underworld, #5)

by Gena Showalter

[Charli G.]

The Darkest Passion is my first Lords of the Underworld novel, and indeed, my first Gena Showalter novel period.

It seems that angels, fallen and otherwise, is a theme that is being widely used in fiction these days, whether it be YA or adult level fiction. That being said, I believe that Gena's pairing of an angel (Olivia) who has fallen to be with a demon-possessed warrior (Aeron) is highly unique. The pairing is actually much more solid than one would think it would be. Their coming together is filled with laughter and heartbreak for them and the reader.

The book was a bit slow to start for me, although I admit that had I read the first four in the series first, it might not have seemed so slow to start. It took me until chapter 4 or 5 to really get into reading the book. However, once I got into the book, the book seemed to just fly by. Once we got past the initial finding of Olivia and into the meat of the book, things truly did pick up and I was captivated.

The book is extremely well written, although people who are not fond of strong language, cursing, or sexual scenes should be aware that while there is not a lot of cursing and strong language there is some, and that there are scenes that contain sexual content. It is, after all, a paranormal romance novel.

One of the things that makes this book so unique is that Aeron's demon, Wrath, is just as captivated by Olivia as Aeron is himself. One would not think that any demon, the natural enemy of an angel, much less Wrath would be attracted to, or captivated by, an angel. But this demon is and it makes for a very interesting story.

The demon possession in this series is also unique in that the demons are more or less hosted in the bodies and that the warriors can not only talk to their demons, but they can also control the urges their demons create in them. This is not something that you find in normal books, and even your knowledge of Greek mythology will be put to the test with some literary license being taken with the age old myths.

There is one thing you will have to get used to though...Gideon's manner of speaking. You'll catch on quickly enough, but it takes a bit to get used to.

"The Darkest Passion" is an all over great read and I highly recommend it for paranormal romance readers.