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

Related posts:

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

Redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty, both personally and professionally, is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. His weapon: the power of love. His enemy: the darkest of evil. And failure is not an option.

Vincent Di Pietro has surrendered himself to his business—until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior, and a woman who will make him question his destiny. With an ancient evil ready to claim him, Vin has to work with a fallen angel not only to win his beloved over…but to redeem his very soul.

I am a very big fan of J.R. Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, because of that I had high expectations for Covet and the new Fallen Angel series. Unfortunately, the book fell short of it’s potential. It took me quite a while to get into the story and be invested in it. Even at almost the halfway point I wasn’t sure I was enjoying it. The story seemed to drag on and wasn’t engaging enough to grab hold of me and suck me in. Once I passed the halfway point things picked up and I knew I would finish it.

Jim Heron – a bad ass who wants to start his life fresh. He wants a quiet life where he can be left alone. I was prepared to dislike him, but grew quite fond of him by the end. I like the journey his character made throughout the story and if it were not for him I would have quit reading before I reached the halfway point.

Marie-Terese as a heroine was likable enough for me, but her character did not seem realistic or believable. Marie -Terese is a woman who prostitutes because she has large debts to pay off because of her ex-husband. She hates it and dislikes herself for doing it, later realizing she could be subconsciously punishing herself for her past actions. I am ok with all of that. Ward starts to lose me when Marie-Terese gives up the sexual goods to our hero without much of a hesitation. So much of the beginning of the book feature son how untrusting Marie-Terese is with men… not even trusting her boss who seemingly does anything to protect her and treat her well. Yet for some reason those trust issues virtually disappear and it isn’t more than a day or so before our hero and heroine have the all consuming life changing boots knocking? It just isn’t realistic for this character. I expected more hesitation and trepidation than we were given.

Vin- our hero was just “eh” for me. I liked him well enough, but I felt like we have seen him before in Ward’s books.

I am intrigued by the plot put forth by this series. I like the idea behind the battle for good and evil using a flawed but good intentioned character. This book fell short on plot when it comes to the subplot of Marie-Terese’s stalker. It seemed like an afterthought and had little to do with the driving force behind the series. I could have done with out it.

All of that said, I will keep reading the series. Even with this book’s faults, the series idea is a good one and J.R. Ward is great at interactions between her characters. I am looking forward to seeing how J.R. Ward will handle a series where not every book can end with a happy ever after.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was purchased by me

Related posts:

• Review: Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
• Review: Lords of the Underworld Series
• Review: Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian