The Darkest Touch (Lords of the Underworld #11)
by Gena Showalter
Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter comes the long-awaited story of Torin, the most dangerous Lord of the Underworld yet…
Fierce immortal warrior. Host to the demon of Disease. Torin’s every touch causes sickness and death—and a worldwide plague. Carnal pleasure is utterly forbidden, and though he has always overcome temptation with an iron will, his control is about to shatter.
She is Keeley Cael. The Red Queen. When the powerful beauty with shocking vulnerabilities escapes from a centuries-long imprisonment, the desire that simmers between her and Torin is scorching. His touch could mean the end for her, but resisting her is the hardest battle he’s ever fought—and the only battle he fears he can’t win.
Source: I purchased a Kindle copy
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Review:
The Darkest Touch was absolutely amazing and definitely my favorite in the series so far. I’ve been dying to get Torin’s story, as I think he’s my favorite Lord because he has such a personality. Also, I like to think about each Lord’s demon and figure out what kind of heroine will offset whatever their demon does to them. But Torin’s demon is worse than even Amun or Kane, so I was eager to see what Showalter would do with him. I don’t know what’s been up with Showalter giving us such awesome female leads, but I love it. I really liked Josephina in the last book, but I think Keeley wins as my favorite heroine. She’s fierce, powerful, stubborn, and awesome. I loved her character so much. She was a lot like Anya, but less annoying to me for whatever reason.
My absolute favorite thing about The Darkest Touch is that Keeley was not immune to Torin. I know… that makes no sense. But it just solidifies my love of the series for not taking easy routes and cutting corners and doing the expected. I couldn’t have been alone in thinking that there must have been some random immortal immune to Torin and that would be who he fell for. I should have known that the author would make him work a little harder than that. I could just hug her for giving me so much angst and conflict. The entire novel had my head pounding and my heart racing because there HAD to be some sort of solution and it was killing me seeing them come together after Torin lost his battle of wills only to have her sicken from his touch.
I loved the chemistry between Torin and Keeley and the way they offset each other. I love that, of all the Lords, Torin was the least caveman about things. I think Torin is probably the smartest Lord because he’s not all alpha male all of the time, so I already respect him, but I also loved that he found a girl who challenged him, included him, and made him just a tad caveman possessive about her. It was the perfect balance. I know a lot of people will dislike Keeley (but I’ve practically hated over half of the love interests, so it’s bound to happen) and I know that a lot of people thought Torin and Cameo (yuck) would end up together, but I found the entire relationship with Torin and Keeley to be refreshing.
The rest of the plot was interesting, especially what took place with Cameo on her search for Viola. I am hoping the author makes her a little more interesting, but if there’s a Cameo/Lazarus match up, I hope it isn’t from her POV. I haven’t even heard her voice and she makes me want to bang my head against a wall. But I like Lazarus a lot, so I’m intrigued.
I am intrigued by what is happening with Galen and his obsession with Legion and I’m hoping that he will somehow switch sides again. After getting a glimpse of his POV a few books ago, I have to admit I’m curious about him. What made him switch in the first place? Does he regret his alliance with Rhea? Also, I kind of loved the moment he and Torin had a nonviolent drink together at a bar. It was kind of awesome. I just want to see him hop over to the Lord’s side.
I love the Lords of the Underworld series. I highly recommend it. It blends mythology and other paranormal aspects with romance flawlessly. You can’t really skip books because critical things happen with the overall plots, making the books harder to mix up or forget about, which is my biggest problem with other long paranormal romance series. Even though the main characters are the same type of being, I feel like there is enough crazy mythological beings and conflicts that I’m constantly on my toes and nothing gets old. I can’t wait for more. I binge read so many of the books and I’m so sad I’m caught up with all of them and have to wait for more each year.
Labels: Adult, paranormal romance, Review
