Review: ‘The Darkest Passion’ by Gena Showalter
The Darkest Passion
by Gena ShowalterSeries: Lords of the Underworld #5
Published by Harlequin HQN, Mira on May 21st 2010
SubGenres: Paranormal Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 438
Source: Purchased
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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 Aeron's darkest passion?
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...
I originally reviewed The Darkest Passion on my first blog (Mrs. Papillion, aka The Book Worm) back in 2010. I’m rereading the series from the beginning and rewriting my book review for this book. My rating remains the same: five stars, which I wish I could give more because I loved Aeron and Olivia’s story.
Aeron is the Keeper of Wrath, and Olivia is the Angel who has been sent to unalive him, but instead, she’s following him around in another plane becoming way too fascinated with the demon-possessed Lord. She refuses to unalive Aeron, and now she’s a fallen angel without any angelic powers, forced to live as a mortal, but that won’t stop her from getting close to Aeron. The big issue, though, is someone else will be sent in place to unalive Aeron, and it’s up to her to prevent that from happening. Aeron refuses to take in someone like Olivia, who is pure and innocent because he doesn’t want to risk corrupting her. He knows he has to focus on the hunters and Galen, but the former Angel tempts him.
Aeron is another Lord, like Sabin, who I didn’t like at first, but after reading The Darkest Passion, I understood him a lot better. He cares deeply for his friends, and he also cares for Legion, even if she’s becoming a nuisance at times with her obsession with him. He has every right to push someone like Olivia away because he fears what he could do to someone like her. He needs to understand, though, that Olivia chose to fall in order to prove to him she saw something in him. I loved how they were complete opposites of one another, good vs. evil (or at least that is what Aeron considers himself), but they complement each other, and Olivia is going to show Aeron what love is.
Olivia was a kick-butt angel, and I adored her in this book. She’s right up there with Anya, who is my favorite heroine in the LOTU series. I loved how Olivia stuck up for herself not only with her bosses, who wanted her unalive Aeron, but also with Aeron and anyone else who challenged her, including Lysander (who is her mentor – and he appears in The Darkest Angel).
The reason why Olivia was supposed to unalive Aeron is revealed in the book, and it involves Aeron’s little friend, Legion. I learned a lot about Legion in this book and she may be a little troublemaker at times, but she redeemed herself towards the end of the book. She just wants to be loved.
Gena gives us other POVs in this book, too. Readers will get Gideon and Strider’s POVs and what is possibly going to come in their books. Gena loves throwing in twists and turns along the way, so you don’t really know what is to be expected.
Olivia stole the show in this book for me and how she handled everything, but I wasn’t fond of what she had to go through. The ending to this book had me bawling, and I knew it was coming, but it still broke my heart, but don’t worry, there’s a HEA.
Gena sure knows how to keep me on the edge of my seat with this series, which is why this series will forever be a favorite. It’s my second time reading this book, and it will forever be a 5-star read.
Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Steam/Spice: 🌶🌶.5
Would I recommend this book/series? Yes.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Lords of the Underworld series and I recommend reading in order.
Genre/SubGenre(s): Romance | Paranormal Romance
Trope(s)/Element(s): Fated Mates | Opposite’s Attract | Grumpy vs. Sunshine | Good Girl vs. Bad Boy | Forbidden Romance | Slow Burn Romance
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About Gena Showalter
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of nearly 100 novels. Most stories fall under the genre of romance, be they paranormal, fantasy, contemporary, or young adult. She’s also co-authored a (delightfully quirky) cozy mystery series as well as a nonfiction guide about how to write a book in a year.
Gena is a dedicated mother, grandmother, and fur-mom. A woman under construction, whose life took a few unexpected turns the past few years. But she’s learned a lot and firmly believes her best days are ahead of her, not behind her. Chances are good she’s writing her next novel and already in love with the hero.
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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