The Darkest Whisper (Lords of the Underworld)

Gina Showalter has concocted an intricate tale of demons, angels, harpies and other non-human creatures in a vivid series of stories guaranteed to titillate the senses. Her latest offering, The Darkest Whisper, features Sabin--whose demon is keeper of Doubt--and Gwendolyn, his forever love who is half-harpy and half-angel. Dark forces are at work to destroy the 'evil' demons as human 'hunters' inflict heinous and brutal tactics to achieve this objective. Sabin and his Gwendolyn are the last hope of survival. Will they succeed in driving back the hunters who would destroy them? The characters are well-rounded, the story works well as a fantasy and the prose is very dark indeed. Ms. Showalter does a good job with this series. Recommended Diane Davis White Author, Moon of the Falling Leaves

I have read the other books in the series and I recommend you do as well. The story can be stand-alone but, some of the previous books bleed into it. Also I know that once you have read this one you will want to go back and read the others - and you don't want to spoil anything. This book is exceptional. The other books in the series. The Darkest Fire - (Short Novella) - this is the story of the creation of Pandora's Box. The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, Book 1) The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Book 2) The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld, Book 3) The Darkest Whisper (Lords of the Underworld) The Darkest Prison - (Short Novella)

I have to hand it to Gena Showalter, I've always been happy with her romance and paranormal romance books and she keeps getting better with each publishing. The Darkest Whisper is no exception. I've been a fan of the Lords of the Underworld series from the beginning, though I've heard some readers be critical that the premise is very reminiscent of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series and Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series (and others). Honestly, that's true in that there are a group of mega alpha males working together (and have been for centuries) to fight against an almost unbeatable foe. That war spans the arc of the series with each book highlighting a battle or skirmish or development in the war and goes hand in hand with at least one main romantic pairing. It's not an original premise, but so what? I totally dig that type of paranormal romance series - which is why I read so many of them. And the series is not defined by its premise, by any means. Showalter sets Lords of the Underworld apart in a couple of different ways that really work for me. I love the backstory on the Lords and think it's unique and imaginative. Showalter does really well whenever anything revolves around ancient Greek mythology - her knowledge and ability to modernize ancient history is superb. She also has an absolute smashing gift of making really good choices in her romantic pairings. I can't say that about all my favorite authors in the genre. In THAT regard, she's tops in the field. Sabin (Doubt) and Gwendolyn the Timid are a perfect example of that. I just loved them together. I've always been fascinated by the idea of Doubt as a demon and was really looking forward to reading Sabin's story. I found it totally satisfying! Gwen is a half-harpy who starts out as a walking contradiction - timid, yet ferociously deadly - and really grows into her wings and claws. Sabin (Doubt) is a Lord whose entire life is destroying the enemy and now finding Pandora's box and he struggles with regret and...well...self-doubt...as he fights an attraction to a woman he respects and admires...while every other woman he's cared about has ended up dead or destroyed courtesy of his demon. I can't say too much without spoiling the story, but I found their romantic resolution to be particularly satisfying as it relied in parts on the very nature of them both, instead of being a more external force. On a personal note, I wasn't totally thrilled with one scene in particular at the end of the book and wish it had taken a different turn. It was a choice I wouldn't have supported had I been housing a demon at the time, that's for sure. I thought it made the non-romance plot aspects end on a weak note. It was the only weak note for me though. Otherwise, the threads that Showalter are starting to weave into her books with growing complexity - Paris' continuing downward spiral; Aeron's feelings of being watched and struggling not to slip back into psychosis (I love Legion, and the idea

Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series is about a group of former guardians to the Gods who ages ago opened Pandora's box and unleashed hell. Unfortunately, as payment for their deeds, they were each assigned a demon from the box to inhabit them to keep the chaos unleashed in check. After all this time the Lords have learned to live with their misdeed, however noble their thinking might have been at the time. It's not easy to keep their own personal demons in check, but they're dealing. In The Darkest Whisper we get Sabin's story, the Keeper of Doubt. Living with constant thoughts of doubt and despair- not only about himself but projected on others, Sabin keeps the worst of his demon's effects for the battlefield, where he spends the majority of time to keep those around him safe. When the Lords are sent to a pyramid in Egypt to uncover an artifact that will destroy the box that once held their demons- for if the box is destroyed, so are they- he encounters something even more dangerous to him then his demon ... the love of his life. Gwendolyn the Timid is an immortal Harpy, but she's never learned to control the dark creature that lives inside her. When a group of fierce warriors rescue her from imprisonment, she's helplessly drawn to the leader. But she's so afraid of the Harpy inside her she's sure she cannot trust herself to be around him. Fate, it would seem, has other ideas. They eventually join forces to battle a group of humans who want nothing more than the destruction of the Lords and as Sabin teaches her to accept the part of herself that frightens her the most, they draw even closer in a dangerous passion that neither can deny. However, all is not completely what it seems with Gwendolyn and a dark secret may eventually destroy the burgeoning love arising between them. I gobbled this book up in one sitting. The Darkest Whisper is the kind of paranormal romance that keeps me coming back to this genre over and over. Full of angst and steamy passion as well as mythic story telling, this one is my favorite Lord of the Underworld book so far! Sabin is so surprised by the feelings he has for Gwen, he puts up little fight. Sure he knows he should stay away- for her own good- but the protective instinct she awakens in him keeps him by her side. He's fierce in his love and I just loved him. Although Gwen initially comes off as a scared little rabbit, it all changes when she meets Sabin. He makes her want to defeat her own demons and as she learns to trust him, she learns to trust herself. Her complete love for Sabin makes their love story a joy to read. Showalter did an excellent job of keeping these too on a tense wire without having them fight each other to create it. Yeah, they were unsure about the love they felt, but mostly because the dark parts of themselves were so destructive. It was a great hook and I'm glad she found it! I have to mention too that I loved that Showalter included a little peek at each of the previous L

As Lords of the Underworld race their enemies, the Hunters, to uncover the one artifact which can destroy our demon possessed immortal warriors, the warriors discover not another clue to the location of Pandora's box but their enemies' breeding program. In the midst of the rescue, Sabin (possessed by the demon of Doubt) is drawn to the most dangerous of the captives. Gwen's beauty belies the lethality of her immortal harpy heritage, and though she has suffered by witnessing her fellow captives' abuse, no Hunter has been able to approach Gwen to 'bring her into the program'. Even though Gwen's inner harpy is deadly, `Gwendolyn the timid' is the queen of self-doubt and not your typical bold, brash and `fowl' immortal. Sabin is sure that he can turn Gwen's harpy into a weapon to aid the Lords in their fight against the Hunters, but knowing the deadly effect of his demon's ability to plant self-doubt in the minds of women he has allowed in his bed in the past, Sabin is determined keep the luscious Gwen safely at arm's length. So despite Sabin's growing need to claim Gwen, he must keep their relationship strictly about the war with the Hunters. But... Gwen's harpy has other ideas and Sabin's demon had better watch out. I loved Darkest Whisper, for me it was the best of the dark Lords of the Underworld series so far. At first I couldn't imagine how Gwen who seems so riddled with self-doubt could possibly stand up to the assault of Sabin's demon, but it is the very fact that Gwen is so familiar with her own inner voice of doubt which allows her to ward off the insidious demon's attacks. And part of what makes the story so wonderful is that Gwen, as she finally comes to terms with her inner harpy, ends up being more than a match for Sabin and manages to fully cow his demon. It was fun to watch. Though the romance between Gwen and Sabin is a major part of the story, as in past books Darkest Whisper continues to be an ensemble piece. Adding to the fun is the always irreverent Anya, the goddess of Chaos, and Gwen's harpy sisters who very much have the feel of the Valkyries from Kresley Cole's (an author buddy of Showalter) Immortals After Dark series - speaking of which, IAD character Nix puts in a brief appearance. The large number of 'Lords', mates and supporting characters will seem daunting to readers new to the series - actually it won't only seem daunting, if you are new to the Lords of the Underworld don't start here on book four. But for those of us who been following the series from the start, it really isn't a problem to keep track of the large cast. And more and more we are getting a feel for all of the warriors who haven't yet had their turn in the spotlight - with intros to Gideon(Lies) and Amun(Secrets), more of Paris'(Lust's) decline, and a peek at Torin(Disease) and Cameo (Misery) - and we are starting to see the threads for future stories come into play. Next up: is Aeron's story with his mysterious watcher and his soothing pet