The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Yet another favorite for me in this series. I found Olivia and Aeron to be a great couple. I loved how Aeron just couldn't resist her, and how Olivia was so drawn to Aeron, that she was willing to 'fall' for him, instead of killing him as she had been ordered to do.



As this series progresses, I am seeing more investment in developing the heroines. I liked Olivia's steadfast ability to love. Her determination to enjoy her time with Aeron, and for him to be happy. Even though Legion was a real pain, she tolerated her as much as she could, because she knew how much Aeron loved her. Olivia was a heroine who brought to mind 1 Corinthians 13, which explains what love is. For Olivia, her love for Aeron wasn't an easy thing. It wasn't simple, but complicated her life, and she knew that she wouldn't have him forever, but she was willing to be with him as long as she could. Truly, she was hesitant to define it as love because she didn't view it as a sacrifice (she was wrong about that). In the end, her love helped to save him. As you can tell, I really loved this heroine.



Aeron had closed his heart off from people, so that he could avoid the pain of loss. To him, dying and having those he loved die was the worst thing possible. He didn't seem to understand that it's more important to live the time you have to the fullest. In some ways, I could understand why he had boxed himself in emotionally. His demon caused him to harm and kill people for their sins, and he had seen so much death. He knew more than anyone just how frail humans were. When Olivia comes along, he does all he can to resist her. But even Wrath, the demon that possesses him, knows how important she was to him. Even though Aeron didn't realize it, his actions showed love. The way that he watches out for Paris, the tenderness and care he shows for Legion. He doesn't want to let Olivia in his heart, but when he does, she becomes so important to him, he's willing to do just about anything for her to be happy. And in the end, his true, deep love for Olivia causes him to make a great sacrifice, one that is very much rewarded by the One True Deity, the god that Olivia loves and serves.



I think the theme of this book was love. You could see this played out through the actions of the various characters. Interestingly, Legion truly believed she loved Aeron, more than Olivia ever could. But her actions showed a very selfish aspect to her love. Olivia, her nemesis, taught her a lesson about what real love was. One that I hope she takes to heart.



This book had some exciting twists and turns. The focus wasn't exactly on the war between the Lords and the Hunters, but on the issues that Aeron and Olivia faced instead. I liked that. And there was an unsuspecting angle that tied into Aeron's relationship with Legion. That was pretty interesting.



I was pretty surprised at how this one ended. I didn't expect things to unfold the way they did. It wasn't quite a cliffhanger, but pretty darn close. Things promise to get very complicated in the forthcoming books. But I have to say, I really did like Aeron and Olivia's happy ending. It was the best one so far--a silver lining to the dark cloud of how things progressed at the climax.



The Darkest Passion is my favorite in this series so far. I loved the romance aspects, and the underlying message about love. I think Olivia was a great heroine. And the love scenes were pretty darn steamy. I thought I liked Aeron in the previous books, but seeing him as the hero in this book showed me more depth to him that made me love him even more.



I will take a short break before reading The Darkest Lie, because I don't want to go too long without more Lords of the Underworld books. These books feed my paranormal endorphins, and my spirits took a downer when this book was over. What will I do when this series ends?



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