The Darkest Angel is the seventh story in the Lords of the Underworld from Gena Showalter which follows a group of immortal warriors; in the full length novels, the story revolves around the warriors who have hosted demons for centuries after opening Pandora's Box years ago and the short stories in Dark Beginnings, the stories revolve around different immortal warriors that are integral to the story but not part of the main group.
Rating: 9
Recommended To: Those that like paranormal books, though definitely for an adult audience
Favourite Characters: Bianka - not just a self-serving Harpy
Favourite Part: His eyes narrowed. She was trying to force his hand, and he didn't like it. "You steal in secret. You sleep in secret. Why not this?"
"That you don't know the answer proves you aren't the warrior I thought you were. Have a nice life, Lysander," she said, jerking from his hold and walking away without a backward glance. - Page 258
Good Points: Another new supernatural being; unusual for the man to be the inexperienced one; didn't feel too short this time
Bad Points: Aeron subplot could have stayed in his book
The Darkest Angel follows the previous full length novel, The Darkest Whisper, and focuses on one of Gwen's sisters, Bianka, who is also a Harpy but is part phoenix shape-shifter, like her twin sister Kaia because of their father, instead of part immortal warrior like Gwen, as well as Lysander, an angel whose job is to ensure that demons do not break Heavenly Law. Lysander's job title is defined as a member of the Elite Seven and just before this book, he learnt that every member of the Elite Seven has one temptation that can be their downfall and Bianka is Lysander's. Bianka is a thief, a liar, and a killer and for Lysaner, she means everything but could mean he would fall from grace so is determined to change her so he won't have to choose between her and his job.
Over the Lords of the Underworld series, new supernatural
beings are introduced occasionally, from gods to the All-Seeing Eye, with the
latest being Harpies. These beings are
descendants of Lucifer on their mothers' side and often gain traits from
supernatural fathers. This time around
an angel was the main character along with a Harpy; unlike in the other short
stories, only one of the main characters is a new supernatural being and isn't
an established character because Bianka was introduced in The Darkest Whisper. As I said
before, it's like a breath of fresh air when a new being is introduced because
it made Lysander intriguing and I wanted to know more about him as new
information is revealed about his abilities and his role in this universe. However, if Showalter adds a new type of
supernatural being in every book, it may get confusing.
Throughout
the series, the Lords and the other male warriors have some kind of experience
with members of the opposite sex though maybe not as much as Paris or William,
and so do some of the women they encounter.
However, this time around, the man is completely inexperienced while the
woman he has fallen for has had many lovers though none that she feels as
strongly as she does Lysander. It made
the story slightly different as it made Bianka seem more intimidating sexually
instead of Lysander. As Lysander is the
inexperienced one, it seemed to make him more vulnerable from my point of view because
he had no idea what his feelings meant and I would have thought a handsome,
six-something angel would know all about life's pleasures.
Unlike the
other two short stories, this story didn't seem to go past me quickly and I was
able to delve into Lysander's and Bianka's story properly and understand what
motivated them and the bond was formed quickly and satisfied at the end because
there is a hint that Bianka and Lysander will return because she is Gwen's
sister. However, after Bianka falls out
with Lysander after their romantic rendezvous, they quickly make up and
everything is fine when I expected Bianka to hold a grudge as she's Harpy.
I loved
Bianka because there was more to her than it seems; Lysander mentions that
Bianka steals and she admits she's a killer and a liar initially but it is
revealed that she only does all of these things to wrongdoers. She also knows she's not perfect and wants
Lysander to accept it and stop trying to change her because she's comfortable
with it and her imperfections are what made Lysander fall for her in the first
place.
An unnecessary point from this short story for me was that the focus was sometimes on Aeron and Olivia. Part of me thought this could have waited until the next book, The Darkest Passion, which focuses on Aeron and his getting to know Olivia like the other couples have done in the previous books; it was a short story and could have just focused on Bianka and Lysander with slight mentions to the Lords, like when Paris was brought in randomly which brought more humour into the story, which was effective for me.
An unnecessary point from this short story for me was that the focus was sometimes on Aeron and Olivia. Part of me thought this could have waited until the next book, The Darkest Passion, which focuses on Aeron and his getting to know Olivia like the other couples have done in the previous books; it was a short story and could have just focused on Bianka and Lysander with slight mentions to the Lords, like when Paris was brought in randomly which brought more humour into the story, which was effective for me.
His eyes narrowed. She was trying to force his hand, and he didn't like it. "You steal in secret. You sleep in secret. Why not this?"
"That you don't know the answer proves you aren't the warrior I thought you were. Have a nice life, Lysander," she said, jerking from his hold and walking away without a backward glance. - Page 258
This part
just summarised Bianka for me because as Lysander says, she does everything in
secret to protect herself while everyone else thinks she doesn't care about
anyone else but she clearly does as demonstrated when she is with her sisters
and eventually when she is interacting with Lysander.
Thank you
for reading this review and putting up with my mad desire to alternate between
the Lords of the Underworld series
and other books. I am having a rest from
this world for a while but after my next book, I am picking up a new series by
Gena Showalter to see what it is like; hopefully I will enjoy because I've
liked the Lords series. Next up is Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, international bestseller author
of the Mortal Instruments series
which has just been adapted to the silver screen.
Predictions
1. Something is different about Maddox and Ashlyn's
baby
2. Olivia decides to make herself visible to Aeron and
the others causing Legion to leave
3. Aeron and Olivia are forced to fight or she'll fall from grace
3. Aeron and Olivia are forced to fight or she'll fall from grace
Other Books By Gena Showalter
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