Bad Moon Rising

Bad Moon Rising

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Book Review - The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter

As you all know in my previous post I have shown you the love I have for Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series. So here's my review of her first book The Darkest Night featuring Maddox the Keeper of Violence and Ashlyn Darrow who has an ability she cannot control.


The Synopsis :-

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 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...
Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive -- and unimaginably powerful...



My Review :-

Maddox - 

Possessed by the demon of Violence, Maddox has a short fuse on his temper, plus the gods cursed him with an additional curse which is to die painfully every night.

"Every night death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he'd have to die again later. That was his greatest curse and his eternal punishment."

He goes out one night in search of his enemies and stumbles upon Ashlyn, who looking for a cure to her special ability and thinks the strange men who are famous in legends could help her. 

 He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do with her. He knew what he should do—and what he couldn't. Both mattered little just then. Because, more than anything, he knew that he didn't want to share.


Ashlyn -

She has a special ability that's she's trying to get rid and the Lords are her only option. She didn't plan to be held captive in their castle and accused of being Bait, but oh well life is like that. The only thing that helps is having Maddox around, because he is the only one she trusts, and it doesn't take long to figure out they need one another. 

Pale hair fell in waves to his shoulders, framing a face mortal females considered a sensual feast. They didn't know the man was actually a devil in angel's skin. They should have, though. He practically glowed with irreverence, and there was an unholy gleam in his green eyes that proclaimed he would laugh in your face while cutting out your heat. Or laugh in your face while you cut out his heart.”


“I've traveled all over the world for the Institute, but I never dreamed I'd meet someone like you."
"Strong?"
A chuckle escaped her. "Yes."
"Handsome?"
"Of course."
"Sharp of wit and skilled with a sword?"
"Absolutely." An other chuckle. "But I mean a man… friend… guy. Oh, I don't know what to call you!"

He savored her amusement—and her earnest words. "Just call me yours. That is all I want to be."

The Story:-

Ashlyn has heard of the “Angels” that live in the castle on the top of the hill in Budapest (who are the Lords).

When she gets to the woods near the castle she is going half mad with all the voices talking to her when all of a sudden they just stop. Confused she looks around and finds a man. A man covered in blood. She doesn’t care he has made them stop somehow. She wants to stay with him and find out more. 

What transpires then is obviously them falling in love, Maddox never has been in love before. 

With Ashlyn, Violence was not truly violent. Instead, the spirit was made into something beautiful. Dark, yes. Always dark. But sensually so. Not evil, but needy. Not destructive, but possessive. Two days ago, he would not have thought such a thing was possible.

The story also revolves around secondary characters such as:-

Lucien – Death
Reyes – Pain
Aeron – Wrath
Torin – Disease
Paris - Promiscuity
Sabin - Doubt
Gideon - Lies
Amun - Secrets
Strider - Defeat
Kane - Disaster
Cameo - Misery

All of the Lords working together to find the godly artifacts so that they can trap the demons back in Pandora's Box. Each character will develops as the story unfolds itself. 

Overall, this is a good book, very very good read if you are into paranormal romance and books like Black Dagger Brotherhood by Jr Ward or Dark Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon. 

Rating - 5 stars!!  

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Gena Showalter - Lords of the Underworld



Okay, so apart Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter is one of my favorite author. Her books series include the Lords of the Underworld, White Rabbit Chronicles, Intertwined, Angels of the Dark, Alien Huntress and Atlantis. Although up to this point I have only read her Lords of the Underworld series, I do not doubt that her other series would be as good as the Lords of the Underworld.




So, lets talk about the Lords of the Underworld. The series are about a group of men that are cursed to carry demons that escaped from pandora's box. This may be a one liner synopsis for a series that has 15 books but you have got to read the series to know the story. Each book has one demon that needs crazy taming! Trust me when I say the demons are tamed and controlled when the men find their other halfs.
Below are the list of the books as per it's reading order:- 



  1.  The Darkest Fire (prequel novella to Lords of the Underworld)
  2. The Darkest Night - Maddox (Keeper of Violence)
  3. The Darkest Kiss - Lucien (Keeper of Death)
  4. The Darkest Pleasure - Reyes (Keeper of Pain)
  5. The Darkest Prison, novella ebook - Atlas (Titan God of Strength) 
  6. The Darkest Whisper - Sabin (Keeper of Doubt)
  7. The Darkest Angel - angel Lysander
  8. The Darkest Facts: A Lords of the Underworld Companion
  9. The Darkest Passion - Aeron (Keeper of Wrath)
  10. The Darkest Lie - Gideon (Keeper of Lies)
  11. The Darkest Secret - Amun (Keeper of Secrets)
  12. The Darkest Surrender - Strider (Keeper of Defeat)
  13. The Darkest Seduction - Paris (Keeper of Promiscuity)
  14. The Darkest Craving - Kane (Keeper of Disaster)
  15. The Darkest Touch - Torin (Keeper of Disease)



When I first discovered Gena Showalter, it was actually by mistake. I bought the first three books at a sale at a bookstore. It was quite a while before I actually read Maddox's book (The Darkest Night). It was pretty slow when I began reading but when she began uncovering their world and settings at Budapest, I totally fell in love!

One by one, the books began uncovering the underworld and each of their story was gripping than the ones before. What was interesting was the way the demons control each and everyone of the warriors and when the warriors had to battle their own demons for the love of their lives. With so many paranormal romance writers out there, this was something out of the ordinary and I'm pretty sure anyone who loves the paranormal romance, this is would definitely satisfy your need. It is action packed, romance packed and the writing is just exquisite. 

Now, all of the books that are listed above have been published of course and should be available at any bookstores around you. So please, go grab yourself a book and start reading this series because this is just plain amazing.