Customer Reviews
Beautifully touching.. - By: SER, 04 Aug 2008 
I wont give a review of this book, as others have already done so - suffice to say - this book is completely beautiful. The characters are charming & Reyes' battle with his 'curse' along with his emotional pain with regards to his feelings for Danika - as well as her reactions to him - are almost poetic. Of the three I think this is my favourite, but you really do have to read the other two to appreciate it's depth & feeling.
Absolutely loved it.
Third in the Lords of the Underworld series - second book is my fav so far - By: Misuzmama, 14 Jul 2008 
Long ago a band of immortal warriors stole & unleashed the evil within Pandora's box. In the melee, the box was lost. As their punishment for the deed, the gods forced each warrior to 'contain' one of the demons within themselves. So the Lords of the Underworld were born.
At present, some of these possessed immortals live a sheltered life high on a hillin Budapest. They struggle daily with their demons eventually succumbing to the demons desires. As well as warding off attacks by the radical humans called Hunters who want to see them & their demons dead.
The immortal warrior Reyes possesses the demon of Pain. He can only feel pleasurein one of two ways 1)unleashing his demon during fights or 2)self inflicting pain -cutting himself. That is until he meets his *angel*.
Danika Ford is the unfortunate woman whom the gods have targeted for death (along with her family). Aeron (Wrath) has been assigned the task of murdering them. The more he resists, the more the bloodlust grows within him.
Meanwhile the other warriors continue to look for the pieces of the puzzle to find Pandora's box. Only Reyes cannot concentrate on anything other than keeping Danika safe & away from his warrior friend. Soon he must choose between his two loves -his woman or his friend.
A good book but I liked the second onein the series The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Book 2) much more. I think I expected something else here -perhaps some mild BDSM? (he is Pain after all). And the adventure was somewhat lacking unlike the previous installment. There is a lot of foreshadowing (more like teasing for the next book! ;)) too . In particular, Showalter showcases Paris & Aeron. Those parts were my favorites (made it a 4 star rather than a 3 star book) & make me anticipate the sequels.
On the other hand as far as the romance goes -Reyes & Danika are a engaging couple but nothing that is earth shattering. Good sexual tension but somewhat mundane love scenes. Perhaps my expectations were too high *shrugs* I don't know.
I mostly liked it & recommend it to those who have liked the previous books. And I will be definitely looking forward to the nextin the series. Showalter has an interesting take on the mythologicalin the paranormal genre.
"Lords of the Underworld" series book 3 - By: A Reader, 03 Jul 2008 Part of the group of immortal warriors responsible for unwittingly releasing the evil containedin dimOuniak (Pandora's box) into the mortal realm, Reyes's punishment was to be eternally bound to the demon of Pain; left able to only find pleasure or even relief from the demon inside him by training himself to inflict injuries solely upon himself rather than hurt others. Nothing brings him greater joy than the draw of a knife upon his skin or a plummet to a rocky ground which breaks numerous bones & splatters various organs.
Reyes has met (and saved) Danika Ford several timesin the two previous books of this series; hopelessly drawn to this human woman marked for death by Cronus, the King of the Titans. Yet he finds he is willing to put Danika's welfare before that of the other Lords of the Underworld, specifically Aeron (Wrath) the Lord ordered to kill Danika & her family or sink fully into an all consuming bloodlust.
Danika has been separated from her family & on the run since Reyes saved her from Aeron; learning self defence & killer instinctsin the hopes these skills will protect her. Yet not only do the Lords hunt her, but also their enemies. Members of the Hunter organisation hope to sway Danika into acting as Bait to infiltrate the Lords of the Underworld & locate Pandora's box; enabling them to kill the Lords & recapture their demons. But Danika finds she is equally drawn to Reyes, torn between her growing feelings for a man deemed a monster or seeing him & his brethren destroyed to ensure the safety of her family.
In this book GS reveals why Cronus wants the Ford women killed, who the leader of the Hunters is & the location of the second legendary artefact required to locate Pandora's Box; the "All Seeing Eye". She also introduces a demon character who befriends Aeron, a creature of Hell able to appease his bloodlust somewhat, Paris (Promiscuity) has to make a heartbreaking choice & Danika learns she is far more special than she realised.
Although "The Darkest Pleasure" certainly lacks the humorous undertones foundin its predecessor "The Darkest Kiss" it is an absolutely cracking read as GS fully explores the budding relationship between a man able to respond only to pain, yet determined to contain his demon rather than risk tainting the woman he loves with his unusual sexual tastes. This book absolutely rocks; as always the adventure pretty much explodes from the pages whilst the love scenes positively scorch them. Lastly some good news for fans; the fourth book initially scheduled for release November 09 (what!!) has been brought forward; "The Darkest Whisper" (Sabin's story the Keeper of Doubt) will now be releasedin May next year. Although this is still a long wait at least a further releasein this author's "Atlantis" series prior to this will (hopefully) keep me going.
Me you and that sweet little demon too - By: Jessica, 02 Jul 2008 The series continues & this The Darkest Pleasure is genuinely my favourite book so farin The Lords of the Underworld series, it's more interesting, intense, moving & it proves that the series isn't losing steam. There's potential for real longevity here, the author has mentioned she wants to write a book for each of the Lords...
Reyes is the Keeper of Pain, thousands of years ago when the Lords couldn't control their demons & there was mayhem & death he inflicted pain to hundreds of people until he chose self confinementin an attempt to temper the compulsions of his whining demon. He learnt that by cutting himself he didn't need to hurt others...and so he went through existence not really living, any relationship he tried to form ended with the women becoming addicted to his demon & craving pain. It's a time of turmoil for the Lords, the gods don't know what to do with them, Hunters seek to destroy them & both want the artefacts they need to find Pandora's Box & finally be free of the threat it processes. But for Reyes his very hope of finding peace is threatened, his friend Aeron is processed by bloodlust & must by order of the gods destroy the women who he feels is his. His thoughts are consumed with Danika but knows to have her would place herin more danger, betray his friends & possibly corrupt her but when she is kidnapped by Hunters he has to make sure the women that has plagued him for so long is safe...
Danika is merely a struggling artist but a few months ago when on holiday with her family mourning her grandfathers death everything changed, she, her sister, her mother & her grandmother were kidnapped by towering & fearsome warriors...they escaped captivity & split, Danika has been on the run ever since, learning to fight & trying to keep one Lord named Reyes from her dreams as surely as she tries to keep Aeron from her nightmares. She has no idea why they're after her but other mysteries also plague her...she's always dreamed of heaven & hell but they're getting more confusing & why does she always feel so cold? When she is kidnapped by Hunters she will be faced with a choice...help these men who seem to want to make the world good & pure or the warrior processed by a demon who she feels an unwanted connection with...
Reyes & Danika's plight has been present from the very fist book but as Reyes says he has only been near her a couple of times talked to her even less, all the emotional developments are therefore left for this book. Their story is rife with complications - death threats, power hungry gods, demon hordes, vindictive Hunters, unsympathetic friends, corruptible demon compulsions - & misunderstandings - kidnappings, betrayals, false alliances, desire - some of which has been there from the first others plantedin the volume.
Reyes has been presented as a very hard, quite mean characterin the past books so getting into his mind was interesting & he's become my favourite Lord so far, as for Danika considering that for the majority of the book she is incredibly indecisive I really liked her whereas I would have been irritated with a more poorly constructed character.
Although this is very much about two people who have felt connected from the first moment & are on a journey to find out what they really mean to each other, the messages that have been present from the beginning of this series are still there about atonement, finding peace from love & bringing two halves of a soul together.
The leader of the Hunters is finally revealed as well as Danika's importance but here is a warning don't look at the indexin the back or both revelations are painfully obvious. We also learn a bit more of the gods & their plans, Cronus is a bit baffling but entertaining. As for the other Lords a couple more seeds are sown for Torin & Cameo & Aeron & Legion (this one is going to be very interesting) & we get more of Paris's story, it feels as if he's already had a book from the tantalising bits we've had of him. I find myself gushing, this is because The Darkest Pleasure is obsessively good & that goes for the series as a whole, there's a wait for Sabin's story, The Darkest Whisper which comes out May 2009. Although Showalter has shown a predilection for introducing the heroines wellin advance, we're leftin the dark as to Doubt's story, it would have been nice to get a few titbits but then again I proberly would have been more obsessed.
Although there are a few holesin the mythological aspects that had me distracted with stupid questions,in particular the heavenly scenes, you don't want to miss if you like complicated emotional stories, bloody action, thrilling adventure & decent twists.
