The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

Anya, Goddess of Anarchy & Lucien, Lord of Death



The Darkest Kiss (Lord of the Underworlds book 2)

By Gena Showalter

Book Blurb:She has 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..

I don't think I am connecting with this series. However, The Darkest Kiss was better than the first two books I read. The Darkest Kiss is one of the books where practically everyone on my Goodreads friends list has rated it a 5 and I am scratching my head wondering what I am missing. 

I admit that the story got better and better as I got further into the book. I also think that the writing in The Darkest Kiss was way better than the first two books. 

Anya was not my cup of tea for a heroine. She was constantly rejected by Lucien but she kept going back for more. Even though Lucien was very attracted to her, he did not outwardly share his feelings toward Anya at all. Yet, through insults and rejection she kept coming back for more and more and couldn't seem to keep away from him. Urgh! That drove me crazy. She was like a love starved teenie bopper and not a thousands year old Goddess. Also adding my eye rolling moments was that she tried to dress sexier and sexier to get his attention. I do not like my heroines to be so desperate and sinking to lower levels to gain attention. I know that Anya liked to dress sexy to begin with but to blatantly bend over in front of him while wearing a thong and a mini shirt or to show up at an archaeological dig wearing a maid uniform was too much for me. It all just screamed for way to much for attention and desperation for my liking. 

Lucien was a pretty good character and he didn't hold too much of a pity party on his behalf. I felt it was way over the top that he scarred himself because the woman he loved died. That seemed like some pretty deep emotions going on there. So it really bothered me that throughout the story there were constant references to "never feeling that way before" or "never loved like that before". I kept thinking to myself that the dude scarred himself and set him on fire on a daily basis so that certainly he must have felt that way for his first love. I think it was the exaggerations and the over the top descriptions that bothered me. Here is an example of what I dislike:
"Her nipples were so hard they were probably as sharp as her knives" Really? Nipples so hard they were sharp? 

I'm also confused on when exactly Lucien is called to collect souls as the demon, Death. Thousands of people die everyday (every second) but for some reason he only has to escort a handful of people to heaven & hell. I don't get it. There was a slight explanation provided but it still seemed like a reach for me. 

The storyline is now moving forward with a treasure hunt and enough tidbits are included in The Darkest Kiss about the other Lords to hold my interest but I don't think for too much longer. The Kindle Lords bundle that I purchased runs out after the next book so I guess I'll judge better after the next book if I keep going. I only hope that I start to connect more with the series. I love the whole Greek Mythos and meanie Gods so I am curious and want to continue. 

Teasers: strawberry lollipops, Arctic treasure hunt, hidden paradise, curse incentive to remain a virgin