Product Description

Bound by the demon of Doubt, Sabin unintentionally destroys even the most confident of lovers. So the immortal warrior spends his time on the battlefield instead of the bedroom, victory his only concern…until he meets Gwendolyn the Timid. One taste of the beautiful redhead, and he craves more.

Gwen, an immortal herself, always thought she'd fall for a kind human who wouldn't rouse her darker side. But when Sabin frees her from prison, battling their enemies for the claim to Pandora's box turns out to be nothing compared to the battle Sabin and Gwen will wage against love….

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4095 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-25
• Released on: 2009-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780373773923
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.
Sabin, keeper of the demon of Doubt, stood in the catacombs of an ancient pyramid, panting, sweating, his hands soaked in his enemy's blood, his body cut and bruised as he surveyed the carnage around him. Carnage he'd helped create.

Torches flickered orange and gold, twining with shadows along the stone walls. Walls that were now spattered with vivid red, dripping… pooling. The sandy floor was thick like paste, wet and colored black. Half an hour ago it had been honey brown, grains sparkling and scattering as they'd marched. Now bodies littered every square inch of the small corridor, the scent of fatality already rising from them.

Nine of his enemy had survived the attack. They'd already been stripped of their weapons, hustled into a corner and bound with rope. Most trembled in fear. A few had their shoulders squared, their noses in the air, hatred in their eyes, refusing to back down even in defeat. Damned admirable.

Too bad that bravery had to be quashed.

Brave men didn't spill their secrets, and Sabin wanted their secrets.

He was a warrior who did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, no matter what was required of him. Killing, torturing, seducing. He didn't hesitate to ask his men to do the same, either. With Hunters— mortals who'd decided he and his fellow Lords of the Underworld made good whipping boys for the world's evil—victory was the only thing that mattered. For only by winning the war could his friends finally know peace. Peace they deserved. Peace he craved for them.

Shallow, erratic rasps of breath filled Sabin's ears. His, his friends', his enemies'. They'd fought with every ounce of strength they possessed, each of them. It had been a battle of good versus evil, and evil had won. Or rather, what these Hunters considered evil. He and his brothers-by-circumstance thought otherwise.

Yeah, long ago they'd opened Pandora's box, unleashing the demons from inside. But they had been punished eternally, each warrior cursed by the gods to host one of those vile fiends inside himself. Yeah, they'd once been slaves to their new, demonic halves, destructive and violent, killers without a conscience. But they had control now, human in all the ways that mattered. For the most part.

Sometimes the demons did fight… did win… did destroy.

Still. We deserve to live, he thought. Like everyone else, they suffered if their friends were hurt, read books, watched movies, gave to charity. Fell in love. Hunters, though, would never see it that way. They were convinced the world would be a better place without the Lords. A utopia, serene and perfect. They believed every sin ever committed could be laid at a demon's feet. Maybe because they were dumb as shit. Maybe because they hated their lives and were simply looking for someone to blame. Either way, killing them had become the most important mission of Sabin's life. His utopia was a life without them.

Which was why he and the others had relinquished the comforts of their Budapest home to spend the past three weeks searching every godsforsaken pyramid in Egypt for ancient artifacts that would lead to the recovery of Pandora's box—the very thing Hunters planned to use to destroy them. Finally, he and his friends had hit the jackpot.

"Amun," he said, spotting the soldier in a far, dark corner. As usual, man blended perfectly with shadow. Sabin motioned toward the captives with a grim shake of his head. "You know what to do."

Amun, keeper of Secrets, nodded forbiddingly before striding forward. Silent, always silent, as if afraid the terrible secrets he'd gleaned over the centuries would spill from him if he dared utter a single word.

Seeing the hulking warrior who'd ripped through their brethren like a knife through silk, the remaining Hunters took a collective step backward. Even the brave ones. Wise of them.

Amun was tall, leanly muscled, with a stride that was somehow both purposeful and graceful. Purpose without grace would have made him seem normal, like any other soldier. The combination allowed him to exude the kind of quiet savagery usually found in predators used to bringing their prey home between their jaws.

He reached the Hunters and stopped. Scanned the thinned crowd. Then shoved forward and grabbed the one in the center by the throat, lifting him so that they were eye to eye. The human's legs flailed, his hands clutching Amun's wrists as his skin blanched.

"Let him go, you filthy demon," one of the Hunters shouted, jerking on his comrade's waist. "You've killed countless innocents, ruined so many lives already!"

Amun was unmoved. They all were.

"He's a good man," another cried. "He doesn't deserve to die. Especially at the hands of such evil!"

Gideon, the blue-haired, kohl-eyed keeper of Lies, was at Amun's side in the next instant, batting the protestors away. "Touch him again, and I'll kiss the hell out of you." He withdrew a pair of serrated knives, still bloody from his most recent clashes.

Kiss equaled beat in Gideon's upside-down world. Or was it kill? Sabin had lost track of Lies's code.

A moment passed in confused silence, the Hunters trying to figure out what exactly Gideon meant. Before they could decide, Amun's hostage stilled, wilting completely, and Amun dropped him to the ground in a motionless heap.

Amun remained in place for a long while. No one touched him. Not even the Hunters. They were too preoccupied with reviving their fallen cohort. They didn't know that it was too late, that his brain had been wiped, Amun the new owner of all his deepest secrets. Perhaps even his memories. The warrior had never told Sabin how it worked, and Sabin had never asked.

Slowly Amun turned, his body stiff. His black gaze met Sabin's for a bleak, tormented moment in which he couldn't mask the pain of having a new voice inside his head. Then he blinked, hiding his pain as he had a thousand times before, and strode to the far wall while Sabin watched, resolute. I will not feel guilty. This has to be done.

The wall looked the same as any other, jagged stones piled on top of each other and rising at a slant, yet Amun placed one hand on the seventh stone down, fingers splayed, then his other hand on the fifth up, fingers closed. Moving in sync, he twisted one wrist to the left, one to the right.

The stones pivoted with him.

Sabin observed the proceedings with awe. Never ceased to amaze him, what Amun could learn in a few heartbeats of time.

Once the stones settled into their new positions, a crack formed in the center of each, branching up, down, aligning with a streak of space Sabin hadn't noticed before. A section of the wall pulled back… back, and finally began to inch to the side. There would be a gaping doorway when it finished, wide enough for an army of hulking beasts like himself.

As it continued to widen, cool air blustered through the catacombs, causing the torches to sputter and crackle. Hurry, he projected to the stones. Had anything ever moved with such agonizing slowness?

"Any Hunters waiting on the other side?" he asked, sliding his Sig Sauer from his waist and checking the clip. Three bullets left. He dug a few more from his pocket and reloaded. The custom silencer remained in place.

Amun nodded and held up seven fingers before standing guard at that ever-widening chasm.

Seven Hunters against ten Lords. He didn't count Amun because the man would soon be too distracted by the new voice in his head to fight. But gods knew Amun would still (silently) demand to be included in the action. Still. Poor Hunters. They didn't have a chance. "They know we're here?"

A shake of that dark head.

No cameras watching their every move, then. Excellent.

"Seven Hunters is child's play," Lucien, keeper of Death, confirmed as he slumped against the far wall. He was pale, his mismatched eyes bright with… fever? "Go on without me. I'm fading. I'll soon have souls to escort, anyway. And then I'll have to flash our prisoners to the dungeon in Buda."

Thanks to the demon of Death, Lucien could move from one location to another with only a thought and was often forced to usher the dead into the hereafter. That didn't mean he himself was immune to destruction. Sabin frowned over at him. Studied him. The scars on his face were more pronounced, his nose out of joint. There was a bullet wound in his shoulder, one in his stomach, and from the looks of the crimson stain spreading from his lower back, his kidney.

"You okay, man?"

Lucien smiled wryly. "I'll live. Tomorrow, though, I'll probably wish I hadn't. A few organs are shredded."

Ouch. Been there, had to recover from that. "At least you don't have to regenerate a limb."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Amun flash hand signs.

"Not only are there no cameras installed, but they're in a chamber with soundproof walls," Sabin interpreted. "This was an ancient prison and the masters did not want anyone to hear their slaves screaming. The Hunters are completely oblivious to our presence, which should make it easy to ambush them."

"You don't need me for a simple ambush. I'll stay behind with Lucien," Reyes said, sliding to his ass and propping his back on a stone to hold himself up. Reyes had been paired with the demon of Pain. Physical agony brought him pleasure and being injured actually strengthened him. While fighting. When the fight ended, however, he weakened like anyone else. Right now, he was more battered than the rest of them, with a cheek so swollen his line of vision had to be shit. "Besides, someone needs to guard the prisoners."

Seven against eight, then. Poor Hunters. Actually, Sabin suspected Reyes wanted to stay behind to guard Lucien's body from the enemy. Lucien could take it with him to the spirit world only when he was strong enough, which he probably wasn't now.

"Your women are going to give me hell," Sabin muttered. The two had recently fallen in love, and both Anya and Danika had asked only one thing of Sabin before the warriors left for Egypt: bring my man back safely.

When the boys arrived home in this damaged condition, Danika ...

Customer Reviews

Without a 'Doubt' this romance is the best of the series so far
As Lords of the Underworld race their enemies, the Hunters, to uncover the one artifact which can destroy our demon possessed immortal warriors, the warriors discover not another clue to the location of Pandora's box but their enemies' breeding program. In the midst of the rescue, Sabin (possessed by the demon of Doubt) is drawn to the most dangerous of the captives. Gwen's beauty belies the lethality of her immortal harpy heritage, and though she has suffered by witnessing her fellow captives' abuse, no Hunter has been able to approach Gwen to 'bring her into the program'.

Even though Gwen's inner harpy is deadly, `Gwendolyn the timid' is the queen of self-doubt and not your typical bold, brash and `fowl' immortal. Sabin is sure that he can turn Gwen's harpy into a weapon to aid the Lords in their fight against the Hunters, but knowing the deadly effect of his demon's ability to plant self-doubt in the minds of women he has allowed in his bed in the past, Sabin is determined keep the luscious Gwen safely at arm's length. So despite Sabin's growing need to claim Gwen, he must keep their relationship strictly about the war with the Hunters. But... Gwen's harpy has other ideas and Sabin's demon had better watch out.

I loved Darkest Whisper, for me it was the best of the dark Lords of the Underworld series so far. At first I couldn't imagine how Gwen who seems so riddled with self-doubt could possibly stand up to the assault of Sabin's demon, but it is the very fact that Gwen is so familiar with her own inner voice of doubt which allows her to ward off the insidious demon's attacks. And part of what makes the story so wonderful is that Gwen, as she finally comes to terms with her inner harpy, ends up being more than a match for Sabin and manages to fully cow his demon. It was fun to watch.

Though the romance between Gwen and Sabin is a major part of the story, as in past books Darkest Whisper continues to be an ensemble piece. Adding to the fun is the always irreverent Anya, the goddess of Chaos, and Gwen's harpy sisters who very much have the feel of the Valkyries from Kresley Cole's (an author buddy of Showalter) Immortals After Dark series - speaking of which, IAD character Nix puts in a brief appearance. The large number of 'Lords', mates and supporting characters will seem daunting to readers new to the series - actually it won't only seem daunting, if you are new to the Lords of the Underworld don't start here on book four. But for those of us who been following the series from the start, it really isn't a problem to keep track of the large cast. And more and more we are getting a feel for all of the warriors who haven't yet had their turn in the spotlight - with intros to Gideon(Lies) and Amun(Secrets), more of Paris'(Lust's) decline, and a peek at Torin(Disease) and Cameo (Misery) - and we are starting to see the threads for future stories come into play.

Next up: is Aeron's story with his mysterious watcher and his soothing pet demon Legion, I can hardly wait.

Great romance and buildup but clumsy, unbelievable ending (no spoilers), 3.5 out of 5
The Lords of the Underworld series is a fun, very sexy romp with lots of action. The first book (Darkest Kiss) was good, but seemed overly wordy. Darkest Pleasure and Darkest night were very good in my opinion, I loved the leads, these are my two favorite books. This book, Darkest whisper, was pretty good, 3.5/5. Although each book centers around one couple, you actually get a decent amount of intro to other characters upcoming stories (like Paris and Aeron). There's also several plot lines going on at the same time, which adds a touch of complexity.

Darkest Whisper didn't get 5/5 stars for me mainly because there is a huge buildup of plot that just fizzles into a WTF moment around page 400 (out of 406). I won't give away spoilers but there's no way anyone in the story at that point would have let what happened happen. The last 7 pages of dialogue degenerated into something agonizing (and completely unbelievable) to read and I felt pretty let down with the outcome. There were other ways the author could have had the needed character interactions and events without it becoming so awkward and unbelievable.

A couple other things that really bother me about this series (and I do read for fun, not because I'm looking for a "perfect literary masterpiece") is that there's a lot of over-explaining of what people are feeling (it's not that complex) and repitition of certain points. For instance, while I appreciate knowing what a character is thinking at a certain point, it's annoying when the dialogue is broken up with PAGES of rambling "thought". I don't even remember what they were talking about without going back and looking. Also, the whole "opening of Pandora's box" and "Baden's death" scenes do not need to be referenced three times in every book. We get it.

Despite my issues with the series (and this book in particular), LotU is a sexy, entertaining series. I love the characters and look forward to reading the upcoming books (and I hope Paris gets his turn!).

Great Read On Its Own and Best In The Series
I have to hand it to Gena Showalter, I've always been happy with her romance and paranormal romance books and she keeps getting better with each publishing. The Darkest Whisper is no exception. I've been a fan of the Lords of the Underworld series from the beginning, though I've heard some readers be critical that the premise is very reminiscent of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series and Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series (and others). Honestly, that's true in that there are a group of mega alpha males working together (and have been for centuries) to fight against an almost unbeatable foe. That war spans the arc of the series with each book highlighting a battle or skirmish or development in the war and goes hand in hand with at least one main romantic pairing. It's not an original premise, but so what? I totally dig that type of paranormal romance series - which is why I read so many of them. And the series is not defined by its premise, by any means.

Showalter sets Lords of the Underworld apart in a couple of different ways that really work for me. I love the backstory on the Lords and think it's unique and imaginative. Showalter does really well whenever anything revolves around ancient Greek mythology - her knowledge and ability to modernize ancient history is superb. She also has an absolute smashing gift of making really good choices in her romantic pairings. I can't say that about all my favorite authors in the genre. In THAT regard, she's tops in the field.

Sabin (Doubt) and Gwendolyn the Timid are a perfect example of that. I just loved them together. I've always been fascinated by the idea of Doubt as a demon and was really looking forward to reading Sabin's story. I found it totally satisfying! Gwen is a half-harpy who starts out as a walking contradiction - timid, yet ferociously deadly - and really grows into her wings and claws. Sabin (Doubt) is a Lord whose entire life is destroying the enemy and now finding Pandora's box and he struggles with regret and...well...self-doubt...as he fights an attraction to a woman he respects and admires...while every other woman he's cared about has ended up dead or destroyed courtesy of his demon. I can't say too much without spoiling the story, but I found their romantic resolution to be particularly satisfying as it relied in parts on the very nature of them both, instead of being a more external force.

On a personal note, I wasn't totally thrilled with one scene in particular at the end of the book and wish it had taken a different turn. It was a choice I wouldn't have supported had I been housing a demon at the time, that's for sure. I thought it made the non-romance plot aspects end on a weak note. It was the only weak note for me though. Otherwise, the threads that Showalter are starting to weave into her books with growing complexity - Paris' continuing downward spiral; Aeron's feelings of being watched and struggling not to slip back into psychosis (I love Legion, and the idea of her waltzing around in a tiara is priceless), and anything to do with Torin (who I have the most sympathy for - but I ADORED the beginning of the crossover with Kresley Cole's character Nuckin' Futs Nix!!) - have added a rich and luscious depth and intricacy to the books that were missing in the first couple. Those threads are really elevating the quality of the books overall and adding what was once a needed dimension.

Overall, this is in my "must read" column, but you'd miss a lot if you don't start at the beginning of the series - I suppose you COULD read The Darkest Whisper as a standalone, there's enough explanation to give you a rudimentary understanding of what's going on, but you'd lose a LOT of the atmosphere and feeling of the growing familiarity with these characters.

One caution to those who don't like a lot of darkness in their heros - the Lords of the Underworld are demons with histories that are lengthy and brutal, and The Darkest Whisper in particular had some scenes of brutality and torture that were written out and some just alluded to. Sabin can be a ruthless killer - they all can, but it's his book. I personally felt that this book was the darkest and most intently violent of the series. Not horribly graphic in description, really, but in tone. I don't have a problem with darkness and violence, but I know that some do.

Overall, I'd give The Darkest Whisper a 4.5 stars(I really didn't like that scene at the end, but the rest was so good it just detracted a little) if I could, but as we're limited to full stars it definitely gets rounded up. A must read for all paranormal romance fans!

Oh, and just one more thing...I can't help myself - I have to say I LOVE the title of this book. It just could NOT be any more perfect.

Doubt is, after all, the darkest whisper.