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| The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher: HQN Books
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $2.74
You Save: $4.25 (61%)
New (36) Used (27) from $2.70
Avg. Customer Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 443
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0373772467
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780373772469
ASIN: 0373772467
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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 that calms their 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….
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| Customer Reviews: Read 56 more reviews...
Very good paranormal -just don't compare it to anything else May 22, 2008
22 out of 26 found this review helpful
The Lords of the Underworld are a band of immortal warriors who have, for thousands of years, fought for the king of gods (Greeks). Insulted that they have not been chosen for the monumental task of guarding a sacred box (Pandora's box), the warriors decide to teach the gods a lesson. They steal the box and set the hordes of demons free. In the fray the box is lost. Thus, the evil can not be returned inside. As punishment for the deed, the individual warriors themselves become the *homes* for the each of the demons. So the demons of Violence, Disease, Death, Pain, Wrath, Promiscuity, Doubt, Lies, Disaster etc. are now inside the warriors forever. Like having a split personality, the demon urges the warrior to do its bidding. They all struggle against the demon inside.
Fast forward to present-
The warriors now live with their curses in Castle high upon a hill in Budapest. They keep to themselves for fear of reeking havoc upon the humans. Their enemies are the *Hunters*, a band of human warriors out to kill all the perceived evil in the world -the lords being their main target.
This book is about the warrior Maddox, who has Violence demon inside. His heroine is Ashyln a human who posses the uncanny ability to hear all the conversations ever made in a particular place. Voices constantly battle inside her head. She seeks the warriors in an effort to silence the voices inside her head. But she gets more than she bargained for......
I admit when I started reading this book I got flashes of Ward's series. But really who wouldn't? - the six warriors living all together, the gods controlling them (scribe virgin), the hunters (lessers), the description of the warriors (ones tattooed, beautiful, scarred etc). Then I realized that I'm doing a complete injustice to this book by thinking this way.
To me this book is more Greek mythological than paranormal. And I'm hoping Showalter will expand on the myths with the sequels. Unlike most paranormals the war these warriors are fighting is mostly within themselves. An internal rather than external conflict. They are not out to protect anyone else, merely to survive their own curses and possibly get free of their demons. And frankly I think thats a fascinating and fresh idea. I mean who wouldn't like to read more about a warrior with a compulsion to Lie, one who causes Disasters wherever he goes, one who has to inflict Pain on himself, or one who cannot be touched (anywhere) for fear of causing Disease? And lets not forget Promiscuity. ;)
I found the characters intriguing, the action well paced and the plot believable (well, as any paranormal could be). And I wasn't bothered by how quickly the H/H fell in love (its not like they had sex on page 10). True , there are many unanswered questions but I guess thats what sequels are for.
So, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be looking out for the sequels. And for those die-hard Black Dagger fans? I say go and read the three chapter excerpt (above is link) on Showalter's website and decide for yourself.
 Showalter has started out with a bang. April 29, 2008
20 out of 27 found this review helpful
As a normal reader of all that is Gena Showalter, I was anticipating a good read - Boy I was wrong! This one absolutely blew me away. The story of Maddox and Ashlyn just struck a chord with me, it had me laughing, crying and pleading silently for a happy ever after.
The typical hero/heroine sacrifice has to be in my top five of all time. Okay enough with that my review follows:
1.) Believable falling in love time? (1= Unbelievable, 5= Believable)
3.5, only because it was very short time period (less than a week). I am a firm believer when you read paranormal fiction that the standard weeks and months need not apply for the falling part but the period should coincide with the emotional healthiness of the characters.
2) Believable World/Universe? (1= Unbelievable, 5= Believable)
5, Gena did an excellent job of creating her world and not overwhelming you with the unnecessary descriptive paragraphs that some authors love. The history was peppered throughout with the remembering of the characters.
3) Was the HERO unbelievably SCORCHING? (1= Yuck, 5= Get the Fire Department)
5, Duh! I had my Ashlyn move over you are not worthy moment.
4) Happy Ever After (1= There was a romance? 5= A box of Kleenex ending (with an epilogue)
4.5, not a 5 because this is the first in the series and there was no epilogue. I love and need one of those.
5) Reading time (1=Train reading, 5=Stayed up all night)
5, boy was the next day at work hard!
I would recommed picking this one up.
 Poorly adapted formula May 10, 2008
15 out of 35 found this review helpful
I really wanted to like this book, since I'm a fan of a few of Gena Showalter's series, but it just fell completely flat. [...]- there's no such thing as 911 in Hungary; it's 112. Also, Tylenol is not a brand name there - it's Voltaren; Algopyren is also used often. So - these items notwithstanding, and they honestly drove me nuts - the formula was obviously lifted from J.R. Ward's Black Dagger series, and with horrible results: There is no proper back story or logic as to why the guys live together (OK, maybe Maddox, Reyes, and Lucien), and the fortress goes from impenetrable at the beginning of the story to swiss cheese toward the end.
The main characters, Ashlyn and Maddox, have this "undeniable" attraction to each other for no apparent reason (and Ashlyn is frankly annoying and not the strong woman that Showalter keeps reminding us she is) - this is never explained, and the two declare their undying love for each other within 48 hours.
There are a ton of plot holes - such as, how do the hunters get in the fortress? Where do the new warriors come from? How does the disease get spread before the hunters get it? And the most jarring, in the last couple of chapters, Ashlyn, after her escape, hears Maddox screaming, but not at the fortress; on the next page, she's at the fortress with him, comforting him - hello?
Finally, the names of the warrior characters, who supposedly stem from Greece and were created by gods, don't have even remotely Greek names (Honestly, Maddox? Who ever heard of Maddox before Angelina Jolie? Also, Cameo, Reyes, Lucien, etc., etc. C'mon Gena, research something!)
In all this was a frustrating and ultimately annoying read - if I do decide to read the others in the series, which is doubtful, I'll buy them at a used bookstore.
Great New Paranormal Romance Series! April 25, 2008
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
"Get ready for the next really great paranormal romance series, Lords Of The Underworld by mega talented, Gena Showalter which debuts May 2008 with THE DARKEST NIGHT.
By day, immortal warrior Maddox lives among his fellow Lords Of The Underworld in their Budapest castle as they try to stay away from the human world, for their demon companions urge them to do all manner of evil. However by night, Maddox is doomed to die a painful, terrible death and spend his time in hell's inferno. Centuries ago Maddox and his immortal brothers released the horde of demons from Pandora's box and as punishment, the gods cursed the warriors to each host a demon inside themselves. Maddox is the Keeper of Violence! When strangers are detected trying to invade their compound, the Lords believe they are Hunters, who want to destroy them, so Maddox is sent to kill them, for there is no greater warrior. Ashlyn Darrow is with a team from the World Institute of Parapsychology, who is in Budapest to investigate paranormal beings. Ashlyn was born with an ability to stand in one location and hear every conversation that has ever taken place there, which has been a nightmare for her. She'd do anything to stop the voices! When Maddox finds Ashlyn in the woods, even though he thinks she's Bait sent by the Hunters to entrap him, he is instantly drawn to her. For Ashlyn, being around Maddox is a miracle since the voices she constantly hears have suddenly ceased, as if they are as afraid of him as she should be! Maddox cannot help himself and takes her home with him, where the two will find themselves edging closer to a soul-searing test of love. Will this cursed couple be able to overcome great odds to be together? And what about the other cursed Lords: Lucien, Keeper of Death; Reyes, Keeper of Pain and all the others? Readers can look forward to their immediate sequels, THE DARKEST KISS (6/08) and THE DARKEST PLEASURE (7/08). The truly remarkable Gena Showalter has given paranormal romance fans everything they could want in her amazing new Lords Of The Underworld series: an angsty, complex, highly imaginative plot; dark, immortal warriors they will instantly fall in love with along with their destined mates; and all-consuming passion that will have readers begging for more!" - Patricia Rouse, Rouse's Readers' Groups
 A formula I don't care to repeat... May 5, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
I wish I could have given this more than two stars. Having read everything the Kelley Armstrong and Charlaine Harris have published I really wanted to love a new supernatural series. This was not it. Part of this may be my problem, as I'm not really a Harlequin romance type - I need plot AND romance, and this was way too thin on plot for me.
I found the romance unbelieveable, and there was no real explanation for the sudden chemistry between the main characters. If some explanation is to come later in the series, it will come too late for me. The affection and sacrifice the characters showed toward one another just didn't seem plausible given how long they'd known one another.
I found it to be very much a 'formula' romance and the supernatural world she created didn't do much for me - it seemed inconsistent and there was no explanation for why things worked the way they did.
The high point of the book to me was the relationship between the 'brothers' who were bound together through centuries of pain and loss. It wasn't enough to rate more than two stars from me, though.
In short, if you are looking for a supernatural adventure along the lines of Charlaine Harris or Kelley Armstrong, keep on looking.
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