The Darkest Night – 4 stars

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 . .

The Darkest Kiss – 4 stars

She was tempted many men…but never found her equal. Until now.
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…

The Darkest Pleasure – 3 stars

Reyes is a man possessed. Bound by the demon of pain, he is forbidden to know pleasure. Yet he craves a mortal woman, Danika Ford, more than breath and will do anything to claim her—even defy the gods.
Danika is on the run. For months she’s eluded the Lords of the Underworld, immortal warriors who won’t rest until she and her family have been destroyed. But her dreams are haunted by Reyes, the warrior whose searing touch she can’t forget. Yet a future together could mean death to all they both hold dear.…

The Darkest Whisper – 3 stars

He is the keeper of Doubt and his entire world’s about to be rocked.

Gwen, an immortal herself, always thought she’d fall for a kind human who wouldn’t rouse her darker side. But when Sabin frees her from prison, battling their enemies for the claim to Pandora’s box turns out to be nothing compared to the battle Sabin and Gwen will wage against love…

I was going to review these individually, but I thought I would go through all four in the series pretty quickly and do one big glowing review. That seemed to be true upon reading the first two books, but things slowed down for me reading book 3 (The Darkest Pleasure).

The series starts off well …. your typical tortured warrior who finds a women he seemingly can’t have. All the books are based around a group of Lords, warriors who were once in good with the Gods. They did something they shouldn’t have and were expelled from the Gods’ good graces and punished by being forced to harbor evil demons. Each warrior hosts an evil demon such as Violence, Disease, Distrust, Death, Wrath, etc. These demons provide the stumbling blocks in the warriors relationships with their fated women.

On top of the romance there is suspenseful plot built around the premise of a group of “Hunters” who think the world would be a better place without the existence of these demons, therefore without the existence of the Lords. Hunters will do anything necessary to get their hands on the Lords of the Underworld and the series develops into a war between the two.

I really enjoyed book 1 and book 2. The warriors were strong and sexy, yet vulnerable. The women were relatable and likable. I rooted for Ashlyn in The Darkest Night to find her own feet and stand on them. I cheered as Anya from The Darkest Kiss kicked Lucien’s ass and took names while doing it. Their stories grabbed me and pulled me in so that I had to finish them.

I wish I could say the same positive things for book 3 and 4. Something about the last two books fell flat for me. I found myself more interested in the subplot of the war than I was in the state of the relationships. The characters seemed to be too typical and predictable. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t go into detail but I found the ending to The Darkest Pleasure unrealistic. It didn’t work within the previous context given to the Gods and their actions. Book 4, The Darkest Whisper, was a disappointment to me. I was slightly more interested in the relationships, but the subplot of the war was almost entirely missing from this story. There was almost no development or progress in the fight and again I found the ending unrealistic for the characters.

I will keep reading the series because I find the series idea and subplots interesting, but I hope the next book is an improvement.

FTC Disclaimer: These books were purchased by me

Other posts you may like:

• Review: The Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon
• Cover Reveal: The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter
• Review: The Fever Series