The demon possessed beast wants his beauty back, and he’ll do anything to win her. Even war with a god king.
From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Gena Showalter, comes THE DARKEST CAPTIVE, a new novella in her addictive bestselling Lords of the Underworld Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Be sure to grab your copy today
Author: Gena ShowalterSeries: Lords of the Underworld #14.5, 1001 Dark Nights #94
Audience: +18
Genre: Paranormal romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: December 4th 2018
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gena Showalter comes a new story in her Lords of the Underworld series…*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
For centuries, Galen the Treacherous has been the most hated immortal in the Underworld. With good reason! This bad boy of bad boys has lied, stolen, cheated and killed with abandon. Possessed by the demons of Jealousy and False Hope, he has always lived for a single purpose: destroy everything. Then he met her.
Former demon turned human femme fatale — Legion Honey — sought to kill Galen, but ended up parting with her virginity instead. Afraid of their sizzling connection, she ran away…and ended up trapped in hell, tortured and abused in the worst of ways. Now she’s free, and a shell of herself, afraid of her own shadow.
Galen’s hunger for Legion has only grown. Now the warrior with nothing to lose must help her rekindle the fire that once burned inside her. But as desires blaze white-hot, will Legion run again? Or will the unlikely pair succumb to love at long last?
**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only
Another great installment in the Lords of the Underworld series from this amazing author. I really enjoyed being back into this world.
This novella reveals a little bit more about how the demons were released from Pandora's box. Since I haven't yet caught up on the previous books in the series, there were a few pieces of the puzzle I was missing. While it didn't spoil the earlier books for me, this novella helped shed some light on things, while leaving me with more questions on other fronts.
The Darkest Captive tells the story of Galen, host of False Hope and Jealousy, and his road to redemption. Since I'm relatively new to this series, I haven't had the chance to hate Galen as much as the other Lords do, so I immediately liked him. He was very witty and sarcastic, but also very sweet in his own way. The things he does for Legion are very swoon-worthy, from almost frying his brain in an attempt to thwart an impending kidnapping of his beloved, to teaching her self-defense classes. I loved his letters to Legion. Showalter has a way of making love letters very cheesy and sarcastic, and these ones didn't disappoint. I knew right away I was going to enjoy this story just by reading these letters, to be honest.
Legion is such a sweet character. I loved her, even though at times I couldn't reconcile the stories of her past to the woman she was now. I couldn't imagine her being the one in charge of torturing souls, because she's so sweet and good. She's also a very wounded woman, one who has been through a lot. I really enjoyed seeing her blossom under Galen's care, and seeing her go from being scared of her own shadow to kick-ass heroine was fantastic.
I would have wanted a full-length novel for these two, only because I would have wanted to see more of Legion dealing with her trauma, facing her demons, and Legion and Galen training together. Galen fights dirty, but he does so because he loves Legion and he wants to make her feel confident in her abilities to defend herself. I loved that we got to see the demons of False Hope and Jealousy affect Legion as well as Galen. I wonder if they share the demons, a sort of joint-custody thing as a result from something that happened in this story, or if the other demons can do the same thing.
All in all, I enjoyed this story, and I am very excited to see what happens next in the series. There were a lot of cool things that happened in this story that will probably have some repercussions in the future books. Until the next book comes out, I plan on catching up on the earlier books.
Grab your copy of THE DARKEST CAPTIVE today!
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EXCERPT
Shocked to the bone, Legion performed a slow-mo 360. Galen’s kitchen had been transformed into an Arabian Nights paradise. Flickering candles filled the entire room. Multi-colored scarves cascaded from the ceiling, intermixing with strings of beads. A coffee table had replaced the kitchen table, jewel-toned pillows acting as chairs. Covered platters dominated the table’s surface, a gem-encrusted genie lamp the centerpiece.
Your wish is my command…
The scent of corn dogs, chili cheese fries, and cotton candy saturated the air, and her mouth watered.
As Galen stepped past a sheer purple curtain, electric pulses awakened every nerve in her body.
He looked her over. “You are stunning, Leila.”
His husky timbre sent shivers rushing down her spine. And when he looked her over a second time, taking in the frilly dress with a cinched-in waist and mid-thigh tulle skirt paired with ballet flats, his irises heated—and so did her blood.
Galen wore a dark, perfectly tailored suit, the polished veneer only enhancing the savagery of his soul. Awareness of him eclipsed her fears, and it was nice. Better than nice. Wonderful! For a moment, she felt like the old Legion again.
“I’m guessing I am stunning, too?” he prompted.
Did she detect a thrum of uncertainty? How adorable. The saucy, ultra-confident Galen cared about her opinion. Meaning she had power over him. How delicious.
“You are,” she admitted. “I think you’ve hijacked my thoughts.” And she was glad for it. Once, she’d made a deal with the devil because she’d dreamed of falling in love, being loved in return, and discovering why humans were so obsessed with getting naked and rolling around in bed. Here, now, she realized a part of her still yearned for those things, despite everything that had happened.
Fear had put her life on pause long enough. She deserved pleasure.
If she wanted better, she had to fight for it. Had she picked the right man for the job, though? Someone who would be patient with her, who would ease her back to life, and give as much as he took?
Time would reveal the truth, one way or another, but her hopes were high. Galen was strong. He would cross any line to get what he wanted, and for some reason, what he wanted most was a chance to keep her safe.
Unless he decided to bed her, even if she said no.
Your wish is my command…
The scent of corn dogs, chili cheese fries, and cotton candy saturated the air, and her mouth watered.
As Galen stepped past a sheer purple curtain, electric pulses awakened every nerve in her body.
He looked her over. “You are stunning, Leila.”
His husky timbre sent shivers rushing down her spine. And when he looked her over a second time, taking in the frilly dress with a cinched-in waist and mid-thigh tulle skirt paired with ballet flats, his irises heated—and so did her blood.
Galen wore a dark, perfectly tailored suit, the polished veneer only enhancing the savagery of his soul. Awareness of him eclipsed her fears, and it was nice. Better than nice. Wonderful! For a moment, she felt like the old Legion again.
“I’m guessing I am stunning, too?” he prompted.
Did she detect a thrum of uncertainty? How adorable. The saucy, ultra-confident Galen cared about her opinion. Meaning she had power over him. How delicious.
“You are,” she admitted. “I think you’ve hijacked my thoughts.” And she was glad for it. Once, she’d made a deal with the devil because she’d dreamed of falling in love, being loved in return, and discovering why humans were so obsessed with getting naked and rolling around in bed. Here, now, she realized a part of her still yearned for those things, despite everything that had happened.
Fear had put her life on pause long enough. She deserved pleasure.
If she wanted better, she had to fight for it. Had she picked the right man for the job, though? Someone who would be patient with her, who would ease her back to life, and give as much as he took?
Time would reveal the truth, one way or another, but her hopes were high. Galen was strong. He would cross any line to get what he wanted, and for some reason, what he wanted most was a chance to keep her safe.
Unless he decided to bed her, even if she said no.
Gena Showalter’s THE DARKEST CAPTIVE – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:
December 5th
Booknerd1107 – Review & Excerpt
Diane's Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Kaidans Seduction – Review & Excerpt
NallaReads – Review & Excerpt
Read more sleep less – Review& Excerpt
Under the Covers Book Blog – Review
December 6th
Bout-a-Book blog – Review
Busy Bumble Bee Book Reviews – Review
Dirty Girl Romance – Review
Milky Way of Books – Review
Rantings of a Reading Addict – Review & Excerpt
That Transylvanian Chick Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
December 7th
Binding Addiction – Review & Excerpt
Ilovebooksandstuffblog – Review & Excerpt
Kick Back & Review – Review & Excerpt
Reading in Pajamas – Review & Excerpt
The Romance Rebels – Review & Excerpt
December 8th
Canadian Book Addict – Review & Excerpt
Dreamer's Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Family, Books and Food – Excerpt
Lo's Lo-Down on Books – Excerpt
Nerdy Chic – Review & Excerpt
Sip read love – Review
December 9th
3 Degrees of Fiction – Review
NC 2 DC – Review & Excerpt
I Smell Sheep – Review & Excerpt
Mythical Books – Excerpt
The Book Branch – Excerpt
December 10th
A Book Nerd, a Bookseller and a Bibliophile – Review & Excerpt
Angela's Opinion – Review & Excerpt
Declarations of a Fangirl – Review & Excerpt
Nerdy Dirty & Flirty – Review & Excerpt
PNR Book Lover Reviews – Review
Rainy Thursdays – Review & Excerpt
December 11th
Cinta Garcia de la Rosa – Excerpt
Echoing Books – Excerpt
Feel the Book – Excerpt
Ginreads – Review & Excerpt
Romancing the Readers – Review
Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
December 12th
Book Lovers Hangout – Review & Excerpt
Cupcakesandbookshelves – Excerpt
Little Shop of Readers – Review & Excerpt
Ms. Me28 – Review & Excerpt
Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt
Ruby's Books – Review & Excerpt
Shirley Cuypers – Review
December 13th
All Things Dark & Dirty – Review & Excerpt
Avephoenix Naughty Readings – Excerpt
Book Addict – Excerpt
PBC – Excerpt
Reese's Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Somewhere Lost in Books – Review & Excerpt
December 14th
Beneath The Covers – Review & Excerpt
Book Nook Nuts – Review & Excerpt
Clare & Lou’s Mad About Books – Review & Excerpt
My Book Filled Life –Review & Excerpt
Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt
Shahla's World – Review
The Reading Cafe – Review & Excerpt
About Gena Showalter:
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld series, two young adult series–Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles–and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. In addition to being a National Reader’s Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, she’s been mentioned in Orange is the New Black–if you ask her about it, she’ll talk for hours–and her books have been translated in multiple languages. She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com
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