Review & Giveaway: The Darkest Secret by Gena Showalter

Title: The Darkest Secret
{Lords of the Underworld # 7}

Author: Gena Showalter
{Bad-ass Fantasy Man Creator}

Publish Date: March 29, 2011

Publisher: Harlequin

Pages: 410, Paperback

Keeper of the demon of Secrets, Amun can manipulate the darkest thoughts of anyone nearby. But when new demons possess him, the immortal warrior must be chained and isolated to protect those he loves. Death is his only hope of release—until he meets Haidee, a fellow prisoner whose beauty and hidden vulnerability draw him into a reckless test of his loyalty…

Haidee is an infamous demon assassin, raised to despise Amun’s kind. Yet how can she hate the man whose touch sets her aflame? But to save him, she must give herself body and soul…and face the wrath of a powerful adversary sworn to destroy her.

Isalys's Review:
Amun, Keeper of Secrets, is suffering as a result of his sojourn to Hell with Aeron and William.  He is being battered, day in and day out, by the voices of evil that have taken residence in his head.  They are beyond his control and are threatening not only his life & sanity, but of those around him. He is a prisoner in his own home; chained to his bed for fear of the damage he will do to others.  Is death the only way to save him?

As Keeper of Secrets, he still knows enough that he cannot verbalize his pain for fear of releasing the vile secrets trapped inside of him.  Instead, he calls for help in his mind knowing that no one will be able to hear him.  However, someone does hear him.  Someone completely unexpected.

Haidee has been captured by Strider, Keeper of Defeat {side note: I am now in love with Strider, but I digress}.  She's been taken to the fortress where ALL her enemies reside.  As she tries to come up with a plan to get herself out of their clutches, she hears a tortured voice call for help - but why is she hearing that voice in her head? 

It takes Haidee some time to figure out that this man that she's compelled to help is in fact one of her enemies.  However, despite her hatred of his kind, she cannot help but feel protective of him and wants nothing more than to help ease his pain. And so begins their journey. 

Unlike some of the lords in the previous books, Amun did not fight his feelings for Haidee.  Their attraction was immediate and fierce {Gena is a master of this!}.  It wasn't just passion between these two though, there were some really great tender moments where they realized their original perceptions of the other was quite wrong. Ancient memories reveal that their lives were more connected than either realized.

I was not originally a fan of Haidee because of the way her character was painted in the previous book.  Then again, she was introduced to us by Strider who is not in the Haidee Fan Club.  This book gave us a lot of insight into her character and by the end, I really admired her strength, love and utter devotion to Amun.  Oh Amun, the strong, silent type.  As the most mysterious of all the lords, it was so refreshing getting to know him better.  All the lords at their core are benevolent, but Amun is one of the most noble.

The only area where I felt the book fell short of perfection was the finale.  I don't want to give anything away, but I was left with a few questions about Haidee's ability, so to speak.

What I do love about these books, and this one in particular, is Gena's ability to weave in elements of the other lords without taking away from the main attraction.  I loved the bits she gave us about Strider and William {who I hope also gets his own book and HEA}.

Bottom line, Gena is hands-down one of my very favorite paranormal romance writers.  She gives us incredible smex (not just scenes, but the sexual tension between our h/h), belly laughs, emotional vulnerability, badass heroines and top-notch warriors that are the stuff fantasies are made of. 

PS:  This is just me talking here, but seriously you guys, I cannot friggin' wait for Strider's story.  Him and Kaia are going to be combustible. It's going to be epic, EPIC I tell you!  {Gah, I ♥ Stider}

To celebrate the release of this FABULOUS book, I got to ask Gena a question of my choice. 

Gena, do you have any interesting, or even peculiar, writing habits? (The weirder, the better). Also, how do you organize your thoughts for your books? Do you have a system (ie: Post-It's, dry-erase board, etc.)?

Weird habits…Besides chaining myself to the computer, having my family slide food under the door and –when I finally finish the rough draft – emerging as a tack-eating, foul-mouthed beast woman? Nah. And no system for writing, either. I just sit down and start typing, letting the characters take me wherever they want to go.

and we have a Giveaway!

April 20 - April 27

Thanks to Big Honcho Media and Harlequin, we have TWO copies of THE DARKEST SECRET up for grabs.

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Rules:

• To enter the giveaway you must complete the form linked above and leave a comment indicating that you've entered.
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• Winners will be drawn after the contest ends and posted soon thereafter.
• Winners will be chosen using random.org!

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Happy reading!