The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Baden, former Keeper of Distrust, has something new living inside him, something darker than any mere demon. Bound to the King of the Underworld, he struggles to fit into his new role of assassin, however his biggest challenge comes in the form of Katarina - a dog trainer that happens to be the wife of a very troublesome man.

(WARNING: This review contains spoilers.)

Let me start by saying that this instalment's number twelve in an ongoing series (Lords of the Underworld), and at the beginning - it's been seven years since I picked up the first book - I absolutely adored Showalter's steamy and mythological world. My very first reviews are of this series, where I found the characters, the stories, and the sexual heat all new and captivating. I even gave five star ratings to a couple, The Darkest Pleasure and The Darkest Passion. I had nothing but praise.

That time has unfortunately passed.

Whilst these books will always have a place in my heart, and I'll probably, against my better judgement, continue on until they come to a final conclusion, I'm truthful to myself in that I'm not enjoying them as I once did. At this point I'm just regurgitating my complaints, and it feels more like a chore to get down my thoughts. I'll however try and be coherent about my reasoning - why do I now largely dislike what was once beloved?

- The characters tend to fuse together, becoming indistinguishable. They're too similar, often having the same mental outlook, the same behaviour and even the same dialogue. Say a bunch of them were in the same scene and it wasn't directly stated who was speaking, well, I honestly wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

- The sex has become stale and it fails to thrill me anymore. What was once downright dirty has turned tame. I don't need an excuse to prefer the eroticism that once dominated the romance.

- Plot inconsistencies are plentiful. I'm not even going to go into detail, but it's clear that Showalter made a decision to change already established storylines. Baden's past in particular completely confused me.

- The writing's declined on a monumental level. Full sentences are a thing of the past. Example:

Heart pounding, she jerked her hands away from him. “Sex...from me?”

“Yesss.” A hiss. “Only from you.”

Only. Amazing how one little word could send pleasure soaring through her, warming her. “You told me never to touch you.” Which she’d just done, she realized. My bad.

Which brings me to the dynamic of Baden and Katarina, and how she ultimately considered him an animal in need of training. When someone doesn't even think of their significant other as an actual person, then there's undoubtedly something wrong with the relationship. I liked the hellhounds, though, but that's the only thing, and it's not enough to justify a higher rating.

As for the whole William and Gillian debacle - I just didn't care.

In conclusion: I initially rated this two stars, however I believe one to be more appropriate in regards to how I feel. I'm not into this series anymore, but I feel an obligation to trudge onward. If only I could walk away.

© Red Lace 2018

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I remember reading this. This was what I bought for a fun read. Yes, it was a fun read, when I read it over a year ago.

Recommendation:

I really do recommend this series. It was pretty interesting. It would be great for fans of J.R. Ward, Kresley Cole, Lara Adrian, NENA Showalter, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Danni Dark, etc. It is steamy paranormal romance. This author rocks at sex scenes and action/ffighting scenes. She is great at conveying emptions, so great that I remember tears.

Personal note to jog my memory:

This is the one with the magic water/well that is rapidly drying up. You fell in love with the male in this one, he loved his lady with all his heart. Oh, and you sobbed like a baby.

I don’t really know what to say here. It feels really weird saying this, but I think that I might have to break up with Gena Showalter’s books..

Yes, I said it was weird, but that’s really what I’m feeling right this moment, after having finished this book..

See.. When I first got into paranormal books, I was younger, and this series, the LOTU, was actually one of the first series I found, and I fell in love with it. Seriously. In love!

I loved Gena’s writing, and her characters. They were all very “MINE!- ish", which I found was one of my paranormal kinks, apparently.

Over the years, my taste in books has changed, of course, and I’ve read a million other genres since falling in love with the LOTU series. Had you asked me just 2 year ago, if I thought I would ever ‘break up’ with this series, then I would have laughed in your face, because no?!

Something has changed though, and I don’t know if it’s me or its Gena, but I did not like this book, well, I didn’t like it after the chase was over.

I’ve LOVED Kane since the moment he was introduced, so it kinda hurts me not to like his book, but seriously, he cheated on his wife, and when the fuck does that happen in paranormal books? That’s why we read these books, is it not?! To read about dreamy, fictional possessive men, and not “real men” who cheat on their new wives?! Seriously, Gena? Just no. 

Other than that, this is also really a YA book. Yes, they have “sex” or “make love” as Kane probably would say, but it’s nothing. Its soooo nothing that’s its really as close to YA as you can get. OK, I might not have read any YA but I’m sure teenagers have wilder sex than this..

Also, it’s very ‘religiously correct’ – and no I’m not “anti-religion” or anything, I just don’t dig the whole “lets be married before we kiss” vibe. – Btw, this was not said in the book, but still - the vibe..

Kane chases after his future bride, “Tink*” while being all “Kane-ish” and then he “catches her” and becomes a douche. First off, he cheats on her.. Douche! (Oh, and "Tink"? Way to stand up for yourself! (Just kidding, she didn't really))

Second, Gena makes him become some wannabe BDSM freak who wants to “spank her” when she’s been “bad” - Seriously. That was just so weird. Either you do the BDSM storyline or you don’t. “Being in control” is not spanking her ass during "gentle love making", ok? Third, he becomes ridiculously ‘sweet’. “Oh, can a man be too sweet?!” you might be thinking now, and yes, yes, he can. Where did the warrior, bad-ass Kane go?

* If you like the word “Tink” then don’t read this book. You will be very tired of reading it when you’re done. It wouldn’t surprise me if the word “tink” is the most used word in this book.

Anyway.. I liked the chase part. That part was like the good old LOTU days, but then it just became weird, and I started thinking that I don’t want to read another book like this again. Which fucking hurts, because I love Torin SO MUCH, and his storyline seems exciting, but because of the last couple of Gena’s books that I’ve read, I’m already pretty positive that he’ll also end up married to his bride and that the sex is going to be boring and I just don’t want to read that.

This book also told me that I still hate Legion with a passion (See reviews: The Darkest Passion & The Darkest Lie) and that it’s probably a good time for me to break up with LOTU now, because I would have had to do it anyway when it was announced that Gilly is Williams future wife.. Which is just.. no.. so wrong.

LOTU.. You’ve given me some great reading experiences, but it’s time for us to part.

2 stars.