Review: ‘The Darkest Seduction’ by Gena Showalter
The Darkest Seduction
by Gena ShowalterSeries: Lords of the Underworld #9
Published by HQN Books on February 28th 2012
SubGenres: Paranormal Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 504
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Rated R
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At long last, New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter unveils the story of Paris, the darkest and most tormented Lord of the Underworld.
Possessed by the demon of Promiscuity, immortal warrior Paris is irresistibly seductive — but his potent allure comes at a terrible price. Every night he must bed someone new, or weaken and die. And the woman he craves above all others is the one woman he'd thought was forever beyond his reach... until now.
Newly possessed by the demon of Wrath, Sienna Blackstone is racked by a ruthless need to punish those around her. Yet in Paris's arms, the vulnerable beauty finds soul-searing passion and incredible peace. Until a blood feud between ancient enemies heats up.
Will the battle against gods, angels and creatures of the night bind them eternally — or tear them apart?
The Darkest Seduction is the ninth book in Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. I first read this when it was released back in 2012 and loved it, and I loved it even more when I decided to reread it this year (2023). Paris and Sienna’s story will always be a favorite of mine, and the book cover will always be one of my favorites in the series, too.
Paris is possessed by the Demon of Promiscuity, which means he has to sleep with a new woman whenever his demon requires it, and he can’t sleep with the same woman again; otherwise, he’ll get sick from it. The only woman he suspects he can be with more than once is Sienna, and he suspects it’s due to her being his mate. The issue is she was a hunter when she was alive, and she’s been dead for a while, at least that is what he thought, until he found out Cronus, the King of the Titans, has kept her captive and given her the demon of Wrath that his friend, Aeron used to have. Paris will do anything to save Sienna, even sleeping with a Goddess or two to find out what he has to do to retrieve her from Cronus’s grasp. Paris doesn’t like what he has to do and is ashamed of it, but he’ll do anything to be with Sienna and prove he can be with her more than once.
Poor Sienna has to live life with a demon inside her now due to Cronus, who she can’t stand, and she wants to leave but can’t. The worst part of it all is no one can see her except Cronus, Paris, and a few others, such as an angel named Zacharel, who has his own agenda when it comes to Paris and Sienna’s story. I love when Gena throws in twists and turns in her stories and I knew right away that she was probably setting up new characters and possibly a new series because the angels were showing up a lot in the Lords of the Underworld books.
Here are my thoughts on the book and why I gave it five stars the first time and now the second time after reading it.
- Paris and his determination to save Sienna from Cronus and his plans, even though he should be hesitant since she used to be a hunter, but he didn’t care. He put his buddies in their place whenever they talked bad about her. I know he did some things in order to retrieve her that he was even ashamed of, but just remember, his demon makes him do it. He changes once he’s with Sienna, completely.
- Sienna was an FMC I didn’t expect to like due to what she did to Paris before, but she was possessed with Wrath. She found out the truth and didn’t align with the Hunters. She played a major part in the story that wasn’t expecting and redeemed herself in my opinion. She was a kick-butt heroine and may have taken the top spot from Anya, which is hard to do since I love Anya, but Sienna can wield a sword like no other.
- I loved getting to know the Angel, Zacharel, and knew he was up to something when it came to Paris and Sienna.
- I loved that I got more of William’s POV and that he has another big secret that is revealed in this book. He also helps when it comes to Ashlyn and that’s all I’m going to say on that because I don’t want to give anything away.
- The steamy moments between Paris and Sienna were off the charts, which I already knew would be the case. It did take some time for Paris and Sienna to give in to each other, but that’s due to their pasts and Paris’s demon.
The first time I read this book, I was sleep-deprived because I had a hard time putting it down. I didn’t sleep-deprived myself when I read it a second time, but that’s because I have the audiobook version of it this time. When I wasn’t reading it, I was listening to it, and I love that Max Bellmore is the narrator for this series. He brings the story to life in my ears, and I highly recommend the audiobooks to this series.
I could go on and on about this book and how much I enjoyed it, but I don’t want to give anything away. I’m so glad I reread this book because it made me realize how much I will always love Paris and Sienna.
Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Steam/Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Lords of the Underworld series, and I recommend reading in order.
Would I recommend this book/series? Yes. I recommend this book/series to Paranormal Romance readers.
Genre/SubGenre(s): Romance | Paranormal Romance
Trope(s)/Element(s): Fated Mates | Forbidden Romance | Enemies to Lovers | Kickbutt Heroine | Alpha Hero | Jealous/Possessive Hero | Lords Possessed with Demons | Angels | Demons
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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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