The Darkest Night and The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"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 Thoughts:

Be still my paranormal loving heart!  A few years back (six to be exact) I read this book and I remember enjoying it.  Sadly this is about all I remembered when I tried to think back on it.  I do know that I also meant to continue on with this series but that never happened (along with writing up my thoughts on this one. Go figure!).  When I was given the chance to read a book in this series I was eager to reread this one because I remembered so little of it.  Now I am wondering how in the heck I ever forgot this one because this book was HOT!  Don't mind me over here just fanning myself.  LOL!  Seriously though, this is such a great and unique beginning to this paranormal romance series!  Fallen warriors with actual demons living inside them?  Gods and curses along with other hints of the supernatural?  I found myself instantly sucked into this complex and dark world where falling in love is the last thing that any of the warriors thought could ever happen to them.  Sigh!

I learned very early on that I remembered next to nothing about this book.  This worked out really well for me as I was sucked into this book and the world that the author had created once again.  I loved every minute of it!  It is one of those books that you just cannot set down and read as fast as you possibly can.  The chemistry between Maddox and Ashlyn is so scorchingly hot that it also made me want to read even faster.  Basically I devoured this book and that is all you really need to know.  It is funny considering that this was a reread so you would think that it would have been less suspenseful for me.  That wasn't the case in the slightest, and I had forgotten how this author isn't afraid of putting her characters through the wringer which just adds to the tension more.  The world that Showalter has created  is both dark and intense which is such a great combination.  Add to it these fallen warriors trying to keep the demons living inside them under control and you have a winning read in my opinion.  I couldn't help but want to see Maddox find his happy ever after with Ashlyn.  I loved them together almost instantly because she brought out a different side to him that I just adored.  Plus the chemistry between them was both electrifying and such fun to read about!  The ending of this book was even more intense than I remembered which left me frantically reading when I got to the last fifty pages or so.  It was worth it and I finished this one totally satisfied!  Overall, this was a really great reread and left me really pumped to continue on with this series!

Bottom Line:  I adored this book and know that I will end up rereading it again at some point.  So good!

Summary from Goodreads:

"Though she has lived for centuries, Anya, goddess of Anarchy, has never known pleasure. Until Lucien, the incarnation of death--a warrior eternally doomed to take souls to the hereafter. He draws her like no other. And Anya will risk anything to have him.

But when the merciless Lord of the Underworld is ordered by the gods to claim Anya herself, their uncontrollable attraction becomes an anguished pursuit. Now they must defeat the unconquerable forces that control them, before their thirst for one another demands a sacrifice of love beyond imagining..."

My Thoughts:

These books!  I just can't seem to get enough of these books and these fallen warriors!  After finishing The Darkest Night I was super pumped to read this one and I wasn't disappointed.  Basically when I go to read book three I need to make sure that I have nothing planned because I am completely useless while reading these.  I spent an entire Saturday afternoon curled up in a chair finishing this book- it was completely worth it!  This book was just as readable as the first book and just as hard to put down.  I find myself so completely sucked into these books from the very beginning page.  The author is just that good!  

What I loved about this second book is that we are learning more about the world that these warriors used to be a part of.  A world filled with gods and goddesses and artifacts with magical properties.  It is all so unique and interesting and fun to read about.  Plus, it is all very dark and intriguing as well which is something that I am just a sucker for in world building.  Anya and Lucien's relationship was just as hot as I had hoped that it would be which makes it all the more fun to read about.  With this book, Anya has a curse that really affected her ability to have a relationship with a man (I don't want to say more and spoil it so I will leave it at that).  This curse was something that Lucien and Anya were forced to deal with but I really loved the way that it was handled.  I also enjoyed that we learned more about some of the other warriors and the demons that they are dealing with.  The bonus scenes in this book were when we got to see Ashlyn and Maddox a bit more although the focus wasn't on them at all.  I just loved their happy ever after so it was great to see it continue on in this book.  My only complaint with this book was the ending.  After all that build up for the first 3/4ths of the book I felt like the ending didn't quite live up to my expectations.  It just wasn't as intense as I expected it to be.  It was good and I wasn't upset with it by any means but it just felt a bit flat in comparison to the rest of the book.  If that is my only complaint though....well, I can live with that!

Overall, I have become a huge fan of this series thanks to these two books.  I am so eager to continue on with this series and get my hands on book three.  I'm thinking though that I will need books three and four nearby though so I can continue on this paranormal romance binge.  These books are so steamy and such page turners.  I can't emphasize that enough!  I am loving my time in this world and am so very excited to continue on.  Highly recommended to romance and paranormal romance fans!

Bottom Line:  Another great read that left me pining for more!  I love this series!

Disclosure:  I received both of these books thanks to the publisher as part of a TLC Book Tour.