Product Description

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.…

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17994 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780373772322
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
One of the premier authors of paranormal romance. --New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole

Showalter at her finest. --New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning on The Darkest Night

About the Author
Gena Showalter sold her first book at the age of 27 and now, four years later, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirteen books, with eleven more on the way in a thrilling blend of genres: breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting edge young adult novels, and stunning urban fantasy. 

Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, MTV, Seventeen Magazine, and have been translated in French, Italian and Korean.  The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called ?a star on the rise?. 

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Anya, goddess of anarchy, daughter of Lawlessness, and dealer of disorder, stood on the edge of a crowded dance floor. All of the dancers were human females, beautiful and nearly naked, chosen specifically by the Lords of the Underworld to provide the night's entertainment. Both vertical and horizontal.

Wisps of smoke cast a dream-fog around them, and pin-pricks of starlight rained from the swirling strobe, illuminating everything inside the darkened nightclub in slow, sweeping circles. From the corner of her eye, she caught a scintillating glimpse of a taut immortal ass pounding forward, back, forward, into an ecstatic female.

My kind of party, she thought with a wicked grin. Not that she'd been invited.

Like anything could have stopped me from coming, though. The Lords of the Underworld were delectable immortal warriors who were possessed by the demon spirits that had once resided inside Pandora's box. And now, with a few rounds of hard liquor and even harder sex, they were saying goodbye to Budapest, the city they'd called home for hundreds of years.

Anya wanted in on the action. With one warrior in particular.

"Part," she whispered, fighting her intrinsic compulsion to shout "Fire" instead and watch as the humans raced away in a panic, screaming hysterically. Let the good times roll.

An erratic pulse of rock music that matched the erratic beat of her heart blasted from the speakers, making it impossible for anyone to hear her. They obeyed, anyway, compelled on a level they probably didn't understand.

A path cleared, slowly…so slowly….

Finally the object of her fascination came into view. Heated breath caught in her lungs, and she shivered. Lucien. Deliciously scarred, irresistibly stoic and possessed by the spirit of Death. Right now he sat at a table in back, expression blank as he stared up at Reyes, his friend and fellow immortal.

What were they saying? If Lucien wanted the keeper of Pain to procure one of those mortal women for him, a false declaration of "fire" would be the least of their worries. Teeth grinding together, Anya tilted her head to the side, zoned in on them while discarding all surrounding noise, and listened.

"—she was right. I checked the satellite photos on Torin's computer. Those temples are rising from the sea." Reyes knocked back the contents of the silver flask he held. "One is in Greece and one is in Rome, and if they continue to rise at such a swift rate, they'll be high enough to explore sometime tomorrow."

"Why do humans not know about them?" Lucien scrubbed his jaw with two strong fingers, a habit of his. "Paris has watched the news stations and there has been nothing. Not even speculation."

Silly boy, she thought, relieved sex was not the night's topic. You know about them only because I wanted you to know. No one else would—or could—see them. She had made sure of that with a sweet little thing called chaos, her strongest source of power, hiding the temples with storms to keep humans away, while at the same time feeding the Lords enough information to draw them the hell out of Buda.

She wanted Lucien out of Buda and off his game. Just for a little while. A disconcerted man was easier to control.

Reyes sighed. "Perhaps the new gods are responsible. Most days I am sure they hate us and long to destroy us, simply for being half-demon."

Lucien's expression remained blank. "Does not matter who is responsible. We will travel in the morning as planned. My hands itch to search one of those temples."

Reyes tossed the now-empty flask onto the table. His fingers curled around the top of one of the chairs, his knuckles slowly bleaching of color. "If we're lucky, we'll find that damned box while we're there."

Anya ran her tongue over her teeth. Damned box, aka dimOuniak, aka Pandora's box. Constructed from the bones of the goddess of Oppression, the box was powerful enough to contain demons so vile even hell had not been able to hold them. It was also powerful enough to suck those same demons out of the Lords, their once unwilling hosts. Now these wonderfully aggressive warriors were dependent on the beasts for their survival, and needless to say, they wanted the box for themselves.

Again, Lucien nodded. "Do not think about that now; there'll be time enough for that tomorrow. Go and enjoy the rest of your evening. Do not waste another moment in my boring presence."

Boring? Ha! Anya had never met anyone who excited her more.

Reyes hesitated before ambling off, leaving Lucien alone. None of the human women approached him. Looked at him, yes. Cringed when they saw his scars, sure. But none of them wanted anything to do with him—and that saved their lives.

He's taken, biyatches. "Notice me," Anya commanded softly.

A moment passed. He didn't obey.

Several humans glanced in her direction, heeding her demand, but Lucien's gaze latched on to the empty flask in front of him and remained, becoming a wee bit wistful. Much to her consternation, immortals were immune to her commands. A courtesy of the gods.

"Bastards," she muttered. Any restrictions they could place on her, they did. "Anything to screw with lowly Anarchy."

Anya hadn't been favored during her days on Mount Olympus. The goddesses had never liked her because they assumed she was a replica of her "whore of a mother" and would jump their husbands. Likewise, the gods had never respected her, again because of her mother. The guys had wanted her, though. Well, until she'd killed their precious Captain of the Guard and they'd deemed her too feral.

Idiots. The captain had deserved what she'd done to him. Hell, he'd deserved worse. The little shit had tried to rape her. If he had left her alone, she would have left him alone. But noooo. She didn't regret cutting the black heart out of his chest, didn't regret placing said heart on a pike in front of Aphrodite's temple. Not even a tiny bit. Freedom of choice was precious, and anyone who tried to take hers away would feel the sting of her daggers.

Choice. The word rang inside her mind, bringing her back to the present. What the hell would it take to convince Lucien to choose her?

"Notice me, Lucien. Please."

Once again, he ignored her.

She stomped her foot. For weeks she'd cloaked herself in invisibility, following Lucien, watching, studying. And yes, lusting. He'd had no idea she lurked nearby, even as she willed him to do all sorts of naughty things: strip, pleasure himself… smile. Okay, so the last wasn't naughty. But she'd wanted to see his beautifully flawed face light in humor just as much as she'd wanted to see his naked body glisten with arousal.

Had he granted even that benign request, though? No!

A part of her wished she'd never seen him, that she hadn't allowed Cronus, the new king of the gods, to intrigue her with stories about the Lords a few months ago. Maybe I'm the idiot.

Cronus had just escaped Tartarus, a prison for immortals and a place she knew intimately. He'd imprisoned Zeus and his cohorts there, as well as Anya's parents. When Anya returned for them, Cronus had been waiting for her. He had demanded Anya's greatest treasure. She'd declined—duh— so he'd tried to scare her.

Give me what I want or I'll send the Lords of the Underworld after you. They are demon-possessed, as blood-hungry as starving animals, and they will not hesitate to peel the lovely flesh from your bones. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

Far from frightening her, his words had caused excitement to bloom. She'd ended up seeking out the warriors on her own. She'd thought to defeat them and laugh in Cronus's face, a sort of look-what-I-did-to-your-big-scary-demons kind of thing.

One glance at Lucien, though, and she'd become instantly obsessed. She'd forgotten her reasons for being there and had even aided the supposedly malevolent warriors.

It was just that contradictions tantalized her, and Lucien had so very many. He was scarred but not broken, kind but unbending. He was a calm, by-the-book immortal, not blood-hungry as Cronus had claimed. He was possessed by an evil spirit, yet he never deviated from his own personal code of honor. He dealt with death every day, every night, yet he fought to live.

Fascinating.

As if that wasn't enough to prick her interest, his flowery fragrance filled her with decadent, wicked thoughts every time she neared him. Why? Any other man who smelled like roses would have made her laugh. With Lucien, her mouth watered for a taste of him and her skin prickled with white-hot awareness, desperate for his touch.

Even now, simply looking at him and imagining that scent wafting to her nose, she had to rub her arms to rid herself of goose bumps. But then she thought about him rubbing her, and the delicious shivers refused to go away.

Gods, he was sexy. He had the freakiest eyes she'd ever seen. One was blue, the other brown, and both swirled with the essence of man and demon. And his scars… All she could think of, dream about, crave, was licking them. They were beautiful, a testament to all the pain and suffering he'd survived.

"Hey, gorgeous. Dance with me," one of the warriors suddenly said at her side.

Paris, she realized, recognizing the promise of sensuality in his voice. He must have finished screwing that human against the wall and was now looking for another bimbo to sate himself on. He'd just have to keep looking. "Go away."

Unaffected by her lack of interest, he grabbed her waist. "You'll like it, I swear."

She brushed him aside with a flick of her wrist. Possessed by Promiscuity, Paris was blessed with pale, almost glittery skin, electric-blue eyes, and a face the angels probably sang hallelujahs over, but he wasn't Lucien and he did nothing for her.

"Keep your hands to yourself," she muttered, "before I cut them off."

He laughed as if she were joking, unaware she'd do that and more. She might deal in petty disorder, but she never uttered a threat she didn't plan to see through. To do so smacked of weakness, and Anya had vowed long ago never to show a single hint of weakness.

Her enemies would love nothing more than to exploit it. Thankfully, Paris didn't ...

Customer Reviews

The Darkest Kiss- A Joyfully Recommended Title
Lucien is the Warrior of Death and Lord of the Underworld. Charged with taking souls to heaven or hell upon their death, Lucien has no choice but to do as he is has been commanded to do. His demon is Death and Lucien despairs of ever being free. His sin? He was the leader of the warriors charged with protecting the dimOuniak and instead of protecting it, he opened it and unleashed hordes of demons throughout the world. Death is his punishment and his life. Until Anya. Anya makes him smile. She makes him laugh. But most of all she makes him yearn in ways he had long ago forgotten. These yearnings make the task he has been given that much harder. It seems the leader of the gods wants Anya dead and Lucien is to be her destroyer.

Anya, the Goddess of Anarchy, has set her sights on Lucien, the Warrior of Death. Doing everything in her power to make him notice her, she just wants to feel his skin and touch him in ways that she shouldn't be thinking. As the Goddess of Anarchy, she must allow herself some mischief in order to survive and in doing so, she tries her best to make Lucien laugh. While she wants Lucien with every breath in her immortal body, she knows they can never consummate their relationship because her curse is such that in doing so, Anya would be forever in love with Lucien, even if he does not love her back.

When the man she has come to love and cherish tells her he has come to claim her for Death, Anya is not having any part of it, even if her desire stays strong. Pursuing each other across the world, forces beyond their control threaten them and when it is too late to turn back, they despair at ever being together.

I knew I would love The Darkest Kiss because in the first installment, The Darkest Night, Lucien was such a tortured soul having to deal with Maddox's curse. I respected Lucien for his loyalty and compassion for his friends and ached when he had to lead souls to their final resting place. In The Darkest Kiss, my love and affection for Lucien became unconditional because he was given a task he didn't want to do and while he knew that his friends would suffer should he fail, his task was horrible and he was so sorrowful at not having a choice. I agonized when he agonized and I cried more than once. Anya's characterization was playful and teasingly childish at times. However, she loved with a woman's heart and more than once I despaired of her being loved like she deserved.

Dark passion, raw emotions, and hauntingly beautiful love scenes were in the pages of The Darkest Kiss. Some questions were answered, some were not. I was given a tease of the next installment, The Darkest Pleasure, which just whetted my appetite for more of these wonderful Lords of the Underworld. Consider The Darkest Kiss Joyfully Recommended! It should be read more than once!

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Fan-friggin-tastic!!!
I absolutely loved this book. I won't go into a lot of details but this series, for me, ranks up there with Sherrilyn Kenyon's - Darkhunters and J.R. Ward's - Black Dagger Brotherhood. I NEVER thought anything could measure up to those two series. Thankfully, I was extremely wrong. I'm not going to go into a lot of details in regards to the synopsis but I will endulge my likes and dislikes.

I so loved the two main characters in this book. Lucien(the demon of death) and Anya(the "minor" god of anarchy) come together in a "I can't seem to put the book down long enough to even take the time to eat lunch" kind of way. The best part about this book is the fact that Anya is in pursuit of Lucien. She's aggressive, confident, strong, sexual, and never apologizes for who she is. It's refreshing to read a paranormal romance that doesn't include the heroine acting like a helpless, insecure, obnoxiously naive twit. Lucien tries to avoid Anya's overwhelming personality but she strongly suggests to him that he will need her help in order to locate certain artifacts that he needs to possess. Lucien is an alpha male but not necesssarliy your typical "I am man hear me roar and pound my chest" kind of way. Ms. Showalter manages to find a way to write his character flawlessly into a strong, self-sacrificing, gorgeous, intelligent, sexy, and seemingly perfect man/demon.

I am beyond ecstatic that the release dates of these books have been so relatively close together. If I had to wait a year between book releases of this series I would be seriously peeved. Thank You Ms. Showalter for typing your heart out. Please keep it up!!! Things that I disliked about the book? Only one thing...not being able to put it down. If you have errands, or cleaning duties, or have to study for a big test coming up, forget it. I'm telling you, once you start reading you won't be able to stop. BUY THIS BOOK. It is worth every penny.

I wouldn't mind making mischief with this demon possessed warrior!
Long ago a band of immortal warriors stole and unleashed the evil within Pandora's box. In the melee, the box was lost. As their punishment for the deed, the gods forced each warrior to 'contain' one of the demons within themselves. So the Lords of the Underworld were born. The warrior who opened the box (Lucien, former Captain of the Guard) was 'gifted' with the demon of Death forever escorting souls to heaven or hell whenever the call came.

At present, some of these possessed immortals live a sheltered life high on a hill in Budapest. They struggle daily with their demons eventually succumbing to the demons desires. As well as warding off attacks by the radical humans called Hunters who want to see them and their demons dead.

The most serious and somber of the warriors is about to be the victim of a little mischief. For the minor goddess of Anarchy has her sights set on the sexy scarred warrior called Death. Lucien can't believe that any woman would be interested in him due to his harrowing looks, let alone a beautiful goddess. But Anya is. She's a stunning immortal who brings light into his dark soul and entrances his demon. Too bad he's been ordered to kill her.............

Woo Hoo! Another scarred hero book! I just love those! Lucien (Death) really didn't see the train called Anarchy coming until it plowed right into him. I thought Anya was hilarious. She flipped him upside down and inside out, teasing poor serious Lucien and keeping him totally off balance. I didn't know which way their fighting was going to go -would he actually try to kill her or kiss her (don't think you know what the answer is cause you don't!). They just made a great couple. I loved their bantering. I think Anya called Lucien *Flower's* (well he does smell like roses cause he's death ya know!) just to mess with his head and get him to lighten up -cause Death really needs to take a chill pill every once in a while. Anya is Anarchy after all, so she might make you crazy but thats the point. So that didn't bother me all. Lucien needs this kind of chaos or his soul will succumb completely to the dark demon inside. And for my favorite part -there's tons of sexual tension. Showalter didn't skimp on their love scenes either (more woo hoo!).

Along with the romance there were some major plot developments in DK as well. The Lords are still searching for Pandora's box, racing against the Hunter's to find it first. They gather new information which leads them on treasure hunts in separate parts of the world. Showalter also explains some more Greek myths/legends.

I thought that The Darkest Kiss was even better than its prequel The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, Book 1). And it can be read as a stand alone since Showalter gives plenty of background information on the Lords.

Next up is The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld, Book 3)which is Reyes (possessed by the demon of Pain) book. And then perhaps? Paris's book in Nov 09' -Ack! Over a year!