I have been itching for good PNR lately, and when I got the chance to read a Lords of the Underworld book early, you know I jumped at it! Right off the bat, let me tell you that you do not need to be caught up in the Lords of the Underworld series to read this book. It can be read as a standalone. It is a longish novella.
Okay so Viola is a goddess of the afterlife, however she became keeper of the demon Narcissism while she was trapped in Tartarus. This means she must be adored to keep it fed, or else the demon feeds on her. It blocks her most traumatic memories to use against her in times like this. She has several powers, but she can steal immortals’ souls, or kill the deathless. She is a goddess of the afterlife, after all.
Brochan is a Sent One (think an angel that kills demons). He is very staid, buttoned up, responsible, and a rule follower. One night, he sees a woman walk into a bar and his world stops. He knows without a doubt, that she is his mate…except she doesn’t even glance at him and walks on to meet his brother. He can’t bear it and goes back into Nevaeh, when his brother comes crashing in…minus his immortality. He decides right then and there to Fall. He will find his mate, but only to force her to fix his brother, or to kiss her, uh kill her, definitely not kiss.
Viola is not the capricious girl he took her for. She’s so much more. And when he captures her, she’s going to make him realize it.
Viola has to steal immortal souls to feed Fluffy, her immortal pet. Fluffy is the only one in all of the worlds who has never betrayed her or let her down. So she has to hunt for souls. She, being a goddess of the afterlife, can see auras. She doesn’t just pick any handsome immortal, she has criteria. And she refuses to share that with the Forsaken One her angel is slowly becoming. He’s slowly gaining horns, talons, blue skin…he’s changed since his Fall. And as beastly as he feels, Viola never makes him feel like one. She almost seems to prefer him with horns. He can’t believe it.
The two of them have more trials to face than just his brother’s mortality, or her sweet little Fluffy. His anger gets in the way of so much, and it isn’t until something big happens that Brochan realizes how much Viola means to him. The two of them are wonderful together. I haven’t loved a heroine this much in a long time. Viola is amazing, and just so likeable.
This book is a case of I opened it up to read a couple of pages and wound up reading the whole thing that afternoon. With fun, loyal, protective, interesting characters, you really can never go wrong with a Gena Showalter book, but with this one especially, I can’t boost it enough. You need this book in your eyes.
Gena Showalter’s writing is addictive. Do yourself a favor and grab The Darkest Destiny today.
***ARC provided courtesy of the author’s publicist
