Reviewed at Another Look Book Reviews The Darkest Night was way better than the prequel story, The Darkest Fire but still a long way off what I would describe as an addictive series. Maddox and Ashlyn were a great couple to read about but (and a big but here) there was so much that ended up being a head scratcher for me. For instance, there never really was an explanation offered on what caused their electric chemistry as clearly it was more than just an attraction. Their chemistry was described time and time again as literally being shocking with electric jolts. Why did the voices in Ashlyn head go quiet around Maddox? What was so special about their connection as I believe the reader was lead to understand that it was more than just a mutual attraction? I kept waiting for some sort of back-story to emerge to explain all of this information but nothing was shared. It drives me nuts in a story when the male protagonist (that has been living for thousands of years) becomes so in love and protective of the female that in less than 24 hours from meeting her, he'd be willing to kill his best friends (that he has had for thousands of years) if they tried to harm her. It just didn't jive. I still wasn't a fan of the writing style or the how the voices were written and I totally thought that Ashlyn's self sacrifice storyline was way out there on the ridiculous side. I fully admit to rolling my eyes. One more thing that I didn't care for were the amount of characters that The Darkest Night introduced. Wholly smokes my head was spinning and I had started to take notes. I am going to list the characters after this review so I can refer back to them. There are a lot of reference in this series to the Greek Gods & Titans. I found that part all very interesting and I still like the idea about searching for Pandora's box. I am going to continue on reading the series for now. It is an easy read that I can put down without hesitation. Torin - Lord of Disease Lucien - Lord of Death Reyes - Lord of Pain Aeron - Lord of Wrath Paris - Lord of Promiscuity Sabin - Lord of Doubt Gideon - Lord of Lies Kane - Lord of Disaster Strider - Lord of Defeat Cameo - Misery Amun - Lord of Secrets Anya - Goddess of Anarchy Maddox - Lord of Violence Ashlyn - when standing at a spot, she can hear any conversation that has taken place at the spot from the pass no matter how long time has passed.

The first book in the Lords Of The Underworld series was great I really enjoyed the concept,characters and the story line, Not going to say much else but I thought it was great and I look forward to reading more. :0)

So what isn't there really to love about this series?Strong sexy men troubled by their own demons (literally) who melt around their strong smart women. I'm sold! Plus the background story in itself is actually quite interesting. If you like the BDB, I think you will like this series. I will definitely be continuing on in the series!

First off, I'll say I'm not an avid reader of adult novels, but there are a few that grab my attention, the Lords of the Underworld series being one of them. That said, this book is for 18 years of age and up! This book introduces us to the Lords, men who embody demons unleashed from Pandora's box. Thing is, back in the days of ancient Greece, they were the ones that opened the box and this is a curse put on them by the gods. This fascinated me from the start; each of these men houses a demon, some worse than others (in ways). Torin, for example, who houses Disease, can't have physical contact with anyone lest he start a plague. Reyes, keeper of Pain, is overcome with the need to hurt himself, it's all he knows. Each of these men have their own cross to bear, so to speak, and while they're all strong physically, these demons are always at the edge of their minds, whispering, pushing, eager to get control and wreak havoc. I'm not sure if it was because the men were from ancient times but I found the writing very formal. I noticed a lot of 'surely's' for example. Surely you don't mean...surely I can...surely this and that. Most of the time it was sort of awkward. Also corny. Are all romances like this? The relationships also move very fast. Maddox and Ashlyn knew each other for a week, a week, and were already mentioning the L word. Their relationship was intense and lust filled from the start but it did have deeper meaning, especially for Maddox, whose demon also comes to care about her. It might've been unrealistic, but it was fun to read. Ashlyn was a strong woman with lots of self doubt so it was nice seeing her really grow into herself and experience these feelings with Maddox. And I'll be honest, their interactions were pretty hot! I thought this was a good introduction to the series. We learn about the Lords but I definitely want to know more; what were they like in Greece? What happened when the demons were loose? The Hunters who are, well, hunting, down Pandora's box to reclaim the demons; how were they started? Will they be more badass? because they didn't seem that tough. Each book will focus on one of the Lords so I am looking forward to delving into all of their hopes and fears and abilities and how they'll go about dealing with their (probably) intense love connections. This sounds like a really cool series with a great idea, love the spin on the Greek mythology. The guys are hot, powerful, and, let's face it, they fight hard and they play hard. Great (adult!) paranormal-romance read, check it out if you can! Review also here: http://allofeverythingforyou.blogspot.com/2011/04/adult-review-darkest-night-lords-of.html

Fans of the series dont forget to get this one, I found some interesting plots that gave insight into tthings that are effecting other parts of the series. This one was interesting I found that the main character Maddox was easy to like, dispite his dark nature. The girl who loves him, and eventually may save him is likeable, but I think that there could have been a little more character building in her case.

As a fan of paranormal romance and in particular JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood my searches for what to read next kept taking me to this series. That's not to say the two are comparable, because they aren't. But if you like continuing story arcs with multiple character POV's, sexy, sexy love scenes, the occasional bloody fight and tortured yet strong alpha males who become kittens once they meet their prospective mates then you might like this too. The premise for Gena Showalter's world is quite elaborate. Centuries ago a group of immortal warriors released the demons from Pandora's Box. (Yes the Pandora's Box) As punishment the Greek gods cursed the warriors, forcing each to act as host to one of the demons, sort of like a duo personality. Maddox, this books hero is the keeper of violence and because he was unable to control his demon in the beginning and killed Pandora. (Yes the Pandora) Maddox was additionally cursed to die each night at the hands of his fellow warriors, burning in the pits of hell until morning (which can`t be fun) The Lords of the underworld now live in a secluded castle in Budapest, each struggling to coexist with their own personal demon. The other warriors possess things like disease, wrath, death, pain, doubt, promiscuity, lies, and disaster, all of whom getting their own book as the series progresses. Our heroine here is Ashlyn Darrow. She works for the World institute of Parapsychology and has come to Budapest with her team to investigate the warriors. Poor Ashlyn has a curse of her, born with the ability to hear any conversation that has ever taken place in the location where she is standing. These voices in her head have ruined her life and she'd do anything for a moment's silence. Maddox finds Ashlyn in the woods outside the castle and even though he thinks she's `bait' sent by the `hunters' (bad guys) he is instantly drawn to her. For Ashlyn it's a miracle, because even though she finds this violent and bloody (he's just killed some hunters) man terrifying the voices have stopped. Now she can't bear to be separated from him and Maddox can't help himself either (they never can) carrying her back to the castle and into his chambers. Of course he's going to have to explain himself to the other men, if he can leave Ashlyn's side long enough and what happens at midnight when his friends have to kill him? That's sure to put a damper on the ole love life. The premise for this series is original and exciting and I will definitely be continuing on. Despite the fact at times I was overwhelmed by Greek Mythology and couldn't keep track of who was who and cursed with which demon. I also had trouble with Ashlyn and found her to be written too young and virginal to ever handle a man like Maddox (maybe I was just jealous though?)

This is the first book in a series that was recommended to me by several people and by the looks of things has had generally quite favourable reviews. Just goes to show, you can't please all of the people, all of the time because it just didn't do it for me, in fact I thought it was just plain bad. The series revolves around a group of warriors who, offended that their gods chose to entrust the guarding of a demon-filled box to a woman, decided to steal the box and release its contents into the world. Their plan was then to gather up the freed demons and put them back inside the box, thus showing their prowess to the gods while proving the female warrior, Pandora, incompetent. Sounds like something a bunch of guys would do alright. Unfortunately, the warriors were unable to recapture the demons. Needless to say, the gods were furious. To punish them, they granted the warriors’ wish to guard the demons. But instead of using Pandora’s Box, they charged each warrior with the task of guarding a specific demon — by placing that demon inside the warrior, thereby letting it possess and corrupt its host. Maddox is the keeper of Violence. Each day, he fights the desires of the demon inside him. He also suffers from extra divine punishment. When Violence originally possessed him, he fell prey to its wishes and killed everyone in his immediate vicinity. One of them was the female warrior, Pandora. Angered that their chosen warrior died by his hand, the gods cursed Maddox to experience her painful death each and every night. Ashlyn Darrow works for an international organization interested in finding and studying supernatural phenomenon. Gifted, or perhaps cursed, with the ability of clairaudience - she can hear voices, the conversations of the past. Constantly bombarded by voices, Ashlynn's only wish is to learn to control her power or get rid of it. So when she learns of a group of men living in Budapest who might be angels, or demons, and are said to have mysterious powers, Ashlyn journeys to their mountain fortress to seek their help. The premise for this series is original and had lots of potential. It's too bad it really didn't live up to it (for me anyway). One of the main things that really bothered me is the men themselves. Beside being flat and unidimensional characters, they seem resigned to their punishment and have made no effort to try and redeem themselves and end their possession. They don't even know what happened to Pandora's box after the demons were set loose. You'd think that a bunch of guys cursed to be tormented by demons might actually try and find a way to rid themselves of their tormentors. Logically, you would think that having the original container to put them back into would be a good place to start. But, no, not these guys. They just live in seclusion on their little mountain top passing the time. Another problem is that I kept waiting for the story to actually start. Ashlyn's and Maddox's first meeting is rather odd. They meet on the mountain where Maddox kills several people. Ashlyn's reaction to this knowledge is that she wants to wrap her arms around him and tuck her head under his chin. Say what? I mean, yes, the voices are quiet when you are around him, but he's a killer covered with blood and you know nothing about him. Seems like a rather idiotic reaction if you ask me. The first half of the book is practically devoted to Ashlyn and Maddox dancing around each other and fighting their mutual attraction, although there is really no romance or sexual tension to speak of. The story ramps up in second half of the book, but it seems to be just a jumble of scenes and I had a hard time connecting them to an overall plot. A bunch of new characters are introduced, including some mysterious voice that is supposedly trying to help the warriors, but it is never clear who or what the voice is or why she is trying to help. This book was a major disappointment.