Review: The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter

 The Darkest Pleasure

by Gena Showalter

(Lords of the Underworld # 3)

Paranormal Romance

The Darkest Pleasure is the third book in the Lords of the Underworld series and it just might be my favourite one! Reyes, Keeper of the demon Pain, has suffered immensely because of his need to constantly cut himself. He hates that his demon finds pleasure from slicing a blade through sinew and bone. Where others would be shocked and disgusted to witness such a thing, Pain finds bliss. From the very beginning, I was very intrigued with Reyes because of his demon and the fact that he isn’t the friendliest of the Lords. What can I say? I love a tortured hero.

On the other hand, the heroine, Danika Ford has become one of my favourite women in this series. Danika possesses a quiet strength. Though she may think herself as helpless and scared, she has proven her courage and strength in many ways. I loved the fact that she still cares deeply about her family. Typically, once a romance begins, all other storylines are placed in the background where the focus is on building up the relationship. But in this case, the relationship between Danika and Reyes grows stronger because of Danika’s ability to love. Her ties never sever from her family even though they are kept apart. And her link to Reyes doesn’t waver either.

We find out that Danika is the All-Seeing Eye, one of the artifacts that the Lords and the Hunters have been desperately seeking. Dani has the ability to see into the depths of hell and witness the gods in heaven. With this unique talent, she has become a very valuable possession that others would kill to obtain. But somehow Reyes realized how valuable Danika was even before he knew of her ability. One of my favourite parts of the book is when Danika finds the art studio that Reyes had set up for her. It was such a kind and considerate gift that shows how much he cared for her.

Naturally, I was expecting some BDSM because Reyes reacts to pleasure and pain in equal measures. But I think Showalter managed to keep things interesting without going down that route. Because Reyes fears that Danika will fall into bloodlust as his previous lovers had, he keeps himself distanced from her in an attempt to prevent her corruption. However, they both find a way to enjoy each other without the hurt. But if Reyes needs to relieve himself, he should get a hold of the Brotherhood and ask Vishious to teach him a thing or two. Or call UGH (1-800-SHADE) to borrow some gags and flogs.

I just want to mention how happy I am that Paris chose Aeron. It was such a selfless thing to do and shows just how much the Lords care for each other. I hope he gets his HEA soon because he deserves to be happy.

Also, Aeron suffers a lot in this one too. Despite his demon clamouring around in his head, Aeron found the will power to stop himself from rendering the killing blow on Danika’s grandmother.

I can’t say how much I enjoyed this book. It’s one of my favourites of the series and I can’t recommend it enough!

Review: Seduce the Darkness by Gena Showalter

Seduce the Darkness

by Gena Showalter

(Alien Huntress # 4)

Paranormal Romance

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! What can I say! I love Devyn's character. He's sexy, he's sweet, he's funny, he's hot, he's self-centered, and he thinks he's God's gift to women... And I've been waiting for his book since he showed up in this series in book 2.

I really enjoyed this story, so far my favorite in the series, but they get better with each book. I definitely recommend the Alien Huntress series to everyone. The alien angle is done perfectly, and it's a great and different take on paranormal romance.

Devyn is actually paired with "Bride", a vampire living on the surface, who doesn't know any other vampires, and has much to learn about her own culture and world. She's actually pretty likeable and kick ass. She's had to basically survive on her own, with only one friend, her shapeshifter friend, Aleaha.

Bride has been having problems feeding, or keeping blood down. In her search for Aleaha she finds Devyn. And for the love of everything that's holy he cannot understand why she doesn't fall at his feet drooling and wanting him. But the attraction is there from the first moment.

Devyn will come to teach her many things about her race, as well as risking his own life to take her underground to find out who she really is.

I loved the part where Bride goes into McKell's room and Devyn ends up following her and having sex, all the while Devyn knowing that McKell can hear them! Mean... so mean! LOL

I also thought it was soooo cute the friendship and bond that has developed between Devyn and Dallas. They are BFFs!! And Devyn is loyal to his BFFs!

Favorite quote:

"I'm very good at math. Example: Devyn plus Bride minus clothes plus a hard, flat surface multiplied by roaming hands equals greatest pleasure ever. When shall we begin?"

This is a must read! And I can't wait to read more about the vampire world in the next book. Also, I can't wait to read Dallas's book, it all sounded VERY interesting in this one, and he's been one of my favorite characters from the beginning.

Review: Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter

3.5 Feathers

Awaken Me Darkly

by Gena Showalter

(Alien Huntress # 1)

Paranormal Romance

Mia Snow is a Huntress, she hunts down aliens who have commited violent crimes on humans and executes them, and her most recent case, where a man shows up dead and posed in a seedy alley is no different, she hs to find the alien responsible and execute them. Only things aren't quite what they seem, espcially with a certain handsome but deadly alien, and the case soon becomes really personal.

I think this book starts of really well, she sets up an interesting futuristic world where aliens now live openly amoung us. However, some aliens aren't quite as peaceful as others and that is where Mia comes in. And the case is interesting, I wanted to know why these men had been abducted and murdered and I wanted to learn more about Mia and this sci-fi world. But as the book progressed it seemed like the whole thing was being rushed through and one minute you were in the thick of the action and revelations and the next everything was resolved and they all lived happily ever after, the last 5% of the book read more like a list of what happened next rather then a story.

I also felt like I never really got to know Kyrin who was the hero of the story, as it was told from first person POV I think this may be why as we go to know Mia quite well. But Kyrin, he seemed like an after thought and I don't get how the fell in love I didn't really feel the chemistry with them. One minute she hated him, the next she didn't.

There were also plot points left open, which I think are probably left that way on purpose for future books, like Mia's brother and the children. But I think there needed to be something more between Mia and her father to get some closure on that.

But despite all that I still enjoyed it, the whole thing was a bit different and I just can't resist the lure of sexy aliens!

Review: The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Kiss

by Gena Showalter

(Lords of the Underworld # 2)

Paranormal Romance

We are officially forming a We Heart Anya club! It is only two books in but she is our favourite! With her penchant for dressing up in saucy outfits, her love of lollipops and her sassy attitude what’s not to love? And, we believe she would completely agree with that statement, self-depreciating and humble she ain't. And now Anya has set the Keeper of Death, Lucian in her sights and she wants him. Bad.

Lucien the scarred and sweet smelling Keeper of Death doesn’t believe a beautiful woman like Anya would be interested him. Who would want to be with someone that keeps takes regular trips to hell and as part of his grim reaper job? And then there are the scars and the mismatched eyes. To even think that a beautiful goddess like Anya would want him is inconceivable to him. Surely this must be some new trick of the gods? Despite this he can’t stop his helpless attraction to her.

This was brilliant, although we enjoyed Maddox’s book *Suzanne drools* Lucian and Anya’s book was a little better. Anya was a much stronger character then Ashlyn and is one of those heroines that you will always remember and perhaps even outshines the hero a little bit. We at the We Heart Anya club agree that she was not only hilarious with a completely wicked sense of humour and a fab sense of style but she was also fearless and protective of those she loves.

Not to say that Lucian was a slouch! That man was hot! He may have a deliciously scarred face but he has a delectable body and an intense personality. Lucian is the leader of the Budapest Lords and he has a quiet strength that they all rely on as well as being completely kick ass of course. Anya and Lucian’s personalities complimented each other.

Then there is the sex which was flaming hot! They had such great chemistry, Gena really knows how to build up the tension between them, right from the very start when she is tempting him to dance with her you could feel the sexual attraction between them.

And of course William we cannot forget him, nor would he let us. He is like a male version of Anya, beautiful, irreverent with the ego the size of Everest. But we love him! Him and Anya have some great banter between them and we just want more, More, MORE of him!

There's just one thing that we wish there was more of in Showalter's writing. She has created demons like Violence and Death, but there's actually not a lot of that in the book. Sure, there are a few fights here and there and someone dies. But with their big bad reputation and their tough ass attitudes we expect it to be played up, they are possessed by demons, where’s all the violence *Suzanne: ummmm Maddox*?

Sneak peak - Lord of the Vampires + Swag giveway

Under The Covers is happy to be participating in the Summer Giveaway Hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and BookHounds.  This hop is scheduled to run August 1st to 7th.

Of course we know you want to take a quick peak at what you can win!!!  So here it is!!!!

Be sure to come back tomorrow!  We will be posting a special Author Override: Gena Showalter!  Are you a fan of the Lords of the Underworld series?  Then trust me, you DO NOT want to miss this post!

To enter:

1. Be a follower of this blog

2. Fill out the form below

Remember to come back every day between now and August 7 for our Gena post of the day!  You can mark the extra comment entries as done if you plan to come back to comment.

Review: Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Lord of the Vampires

(Royal House of Shadows #1)

by Gena Showalter

Paranormal Romance

Find it one Goodreads!

Lord of the Vampires is the first book in the Royal House of Shadows series. This series tells the tale of three brothers and one sister, each is a prince or princess in the royal house of Elden, that is until their home is destroyed and their parents, the King and Queen, murdered by the Blood Sorcerer who now rules cruelly and desecrates their land. We loved the sound of this series, and as massive fans of Gena Showalter we had to pick it up and read it, but what makes this series really different is that each book, each sibling’s story, is written by a different author! This is such a great idea, it will keep the series fresh and interesting as we read each authors unique writing style writing in the same world toward the same goal adding perhaps to the idea that we are in a different characters head in each book we read.

The first book concerns the eldest of the siblings the Crown Prince Nicolai, not that he knows that his memory has been wiped and he is now kept as a sex slave by a cruel princess in a different kingdom. Chained up and longing for vengeance against the princess who has stolen his freedom and his identity he tries to summon someone who can help him escape. When Jane wakes up and finds she has fallen down the rabbit hole and is now in Wonderland she can’t believe it, and when she sees the silver eyed vampire who has been haunting her dreams she knows she must help him escape.

We loved the idea of this book, it was like a fairy tale in reverse rather than a damsel in distress waiting for her knight in shining armour to come, we have a hot hunky vampire in distress waiting for his damsel to come and in more ways than one! And the start of this book was fantastic, living up to all our expectations’ the prologue drags you in and throws you into a sensual paranormal fairy land of evil sorcerers, noble kings and queens and vampire princes.

The vampire prince in question is Nicolai and what a delicious vampire he was, tortured but strong, vulnerable yet dangerous an irresistible combination that surely no woman can resist! He was a good hero to read about and as a sucker for men who get all protective and monosyllabic when their woman is either in peril or when he is about to bang her brains out, we completely loved him. Jane Parker the woman who Nicolai gets all monosyllabic about was also a good character, although she may not be our favourite heroine of all time she was smart, gutsy and little bit quirky.   I think one of the main complaints about Jane was her constant ramblings in her head, it was starting to get a bit distracting.

However, we were a little disappointed with this book. It seemed to be building up to a big ending but then…nothing. It was very anti climatic, we weren’t expecting him to march in and defeat the big bad guy; after all there are three more books to go. However, why wasn’t there more about the fight for Elden? Or about the search for his siblings? It just felt like there should have been more in the story then there was. And also the blood curse thing going on with Jane, was that not the simplest curse to overcome in the history of all paranormal romance or was that just us?!

However, we did enjoy this book, it was very funny and sexy and we will definitely be reading the next book as soon as we can get our grubby little hands on it. After reading the blurb we are very excited!

Nicolai in a bad mood…

He snarled like a panther, bit like a shark and held on to whatever he clamped his teeth into like a pit bull.

Jane in a bad mood…

"You’re ugly and mean I wouldn’t give myself to you even if a flesh eating bacteria was ravaging this world and you cock held the only immunization.”
The awww moment…
“I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you. I want to wed you. To be with you always. I choose you, Jane. Over my crown, my people and my vengeance.” 

* eARC provided by netGalley

Book 2: Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe

Release date 20th September 2011

Book 3: Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Anderson.

Release date 25th October 2011

Book 4: Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

Release Date: 22nd November 2011



Gena Showalter has offered a signed ARC of "Lord of the Vampires" + swag to one very lucky reader!  All you have to do to enter is:

1. Be a follower of this blog

2. Fill out the form below

Remember to come back every day between now and August 7 for our Gena post of the day!

Review: Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong

Spell Bound

by Kelley Armstrong

(Women of the Otherworld # 12)

Urban Fantasy

I may have a girl crush on Savannah! This is the second book with her as the narrator, and I just love her! I love her personality, her spunk. She starts to do some growing up in this book. First of all, picking up right where Waking the Witch left off, she doesn't have any powers. And this is not the best time to be left without them as she is still dealing with a witch hunter.

But that is not the only threat her and Adam are facing in this book. Some of the previous storylines come back into play (immortality seekers, witch hunters, prophecies), some characters from previous books come back! Almost every character in the series makes an appearance! I don't want to give too much away, but lets just say that while Savannah is struggling to figure out how to regain her powers, she might get kidnapped, again, save a certain vampire, get drunk with a HOT demon on more than one occasion, and struggle with some major things with certain members of her family.

I definitely think this book was perfect to tie in lose ends and set up the last book. Yes, Kelley Armstrong has only been contracted to write 13 books, so the next one will be the last as far as we know. *pouts and makes a sad face* But I can tell it'll be amazing!

Savannah and Adam? Yes he will be her HEA, but there isn't a whole lot happening between them in this one. We do get one hot and emotional kiss, and a moment that I thought would be promising when they are both drunk and she falls asleep in his lap. Adam is adorable! He cares for Savannah so much, he really shows her he would put her above anything, protect her, take care of her and I can't wait to see them as a couple.

Savannah also realizes that she may not treat him with the respect that he deserves. So she has to change her ways.

Some of my favorite lines in this book though, came from Cassandra! Who would've thought? I loved her character in this book. I think is so cute that she's dating Aaron again to start with, and that has made her be a little bit more friendly. One of my favorite moments was when she texted Savannah if they really needed to talk to Eloise because she was soooo "O.M.G. I'm so excited to meet a vampire! fangirl".

So the final book I think will revolve around a "prophecy" that involves Savannah, Elena's twins, Rhy's grandchild, Jaz. This group we meet in this book thinks that it's time for supernaturals to rule the world. To come out in the open and have humans submit to them. I am really excited to see what happens with this as it seems it will be the final battle.