THE DARKEST PASSION

Author: Gena Showalter ISBN: 9780373774555 6/2010 PARANORMAL Publisher: HQN

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 Aerons darkest passion? Now, 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...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Gena Showalter sets her paranormal romance THE DARKEST PASSION (Fifth in the Lords of the Underworld series) in present day Budapest, where lords of the underworld live in a fortress and are regarded as angels by the community because they protect the citizens and donate lavishly to local charities. Unfortunately, there are hunters in the world seeking to destroy the immortal lords. The leader of the hunters is a former compatriot, Galen (holding the demon of hope inside him), who is attempting to find Pandora’s Box so he can capture the demons from within each of the other lords, thereby rendering them powerless and himself able to wrest power from the Titans who just kicked the Greek gods from power. And falling short of finding the box might not mean failure anymore, as Galen finds a way to bind a released demon with a willing—or not so willing—human host. With that going on in the background, it’s safe to bet that Aeron (the Lord bound to the demon Wrath) will find it difficult to focus on the overwhelming love that he and his demon suddenly feel for a fallen angel, Olivia, as well as the twisted romantic love his surrogate daughter, the demon known as Legion, feels for him, especially since Legion has lost her scaly, lizard like appearance when sealing a pact with Lucifer to bed Aeron. And that two-faced devil is looking to sweeten his bet with Legion by taunting and tempting Olivia to do things with Aeron while competing with Legion for Aeron’s affections. Looks like somebody thinks he’s going to win.

Oh, the devil really does have a name, and it is Gena Showalter! She brings together, yet again, two disparate souls in a love match definitely not made in heaven. In fact, this could be a three-way to end all three-ways if Aeron, Olivia, and Legion were a little more open-minded. Just think: Heaven on one side, Hell on the other, and Aeron in the middle of this decadent love sandwich. But just as with the other Lords who have fallen on their sword for love, Aeron’s demon, Wrath, is completely smitten and subjugated by this charming angel. He purrs with satisfaction and releases Aeron from his constant carping to get vengeance for other people’s sins. Aeron knows his love for this heavenly creature is wrong, and when the Angel Lysander turns up to affirm that belief, suddenly Aeron realizes what he’ll lose when he sends Olivia back to her old life. Wrath can’t live without her calming peace and Aeron can’t live without her healing potion that keeps returning him to life after Galen’s minions shoot him with poisoned bullets. Will Olivia understand why he makes the ultimate sacrifice for her love and life?

THE DARKEST PASSION is an unbelievably hot paranormal romance with demons and hunters and angels, all fighting to the finish and even into the afterlife. The love and desire between Aeron, Wrath, Legion, and Olivia is one for the ages. Another Lord taken by love and ultimately spared by it.  Showalter shows off her genius once again in creating a novel that can stand on its own, but fits integrally with the Lords of the Underworld series. Well done! I can’t wait to see Gideon’s apparent downfall next.

Susan Barton