Review: The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Surrender (Lords of the Underworld #8) by Gena Showalter
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: June 3, 2012

Lords of the Underworld
0.5. The Darkest Fire
1. The Darkest Night
2. The Darkest Kiss
3. The Darkest Pleasure
3.5. The Darkest Prison
4. The Darkest Whisper
4.5. The Darkest Angel
5. The Darkest Passion
6. The Darkest Lie
7. The Darkest Secret
8. The Darkest Surrender - Paperback | Kindle
9. The Darkest Seduction
10. The Darkest Craving
11. The Darkest Touch
12. The Darkest Torment
13. The Darkest Promise
14. The Darkest Warrior
14.5. The Darkest Captive
14.6. The Darkest Assassin
15. The Darkest King
15.5. The Darkest Destiny

Related Series:
(find all the reviews for the series under the first review)
Angels of the Dark
1. Wicked Nights

Rise of the Warlords
1. The Warlord

Gena Showalter
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor's edge of surrender.

Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can't afford because he has an agenda of his own-steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter-the love neither had thought possible...

My Thoughts: Hold on, my inner cover whore is drooling. *blink blink* Geez. I could stare at this cover all day and not get bored.Okay. I think I'm done. Maybe. There might be long, protracted pauses while I stare at Strider but considering he is "the strongest, sexiest and smartest" of the Lords (his words, I swear!), I think it's totally justified.

So. Strider. Besides having a totally lickable cover, he is pretty darn awesome. I might have become slightly infatuated with him in book 7 when he was trying his hardest to pretend that he wasn't attracted to Kaia and her bloodthirsty ways. The guy cracks me up with his ego checks and his constant pokes at his demon to make sure that he didn't view whatever Strider had just said (or thought) as a challenge. And, oh, he tries so damn hard to deny his feelings for Kaia. He fights them every step of the way. He's determined not to fall for her. And he totally fails.

Kaia, on the other hand, knows she wants Strider but he rejects her at every turn because she made the mistake of sleeping with Paris once. Yet, she still perseveres. She puts herself  into Strider's path time and time again until he has no choice but to see her as more than just one of Paris' numerous women. I kind of love how vicious she could be. She's a warrior and a fighter and she's not afraid to cause a little damage. Or a lot. A youthful mistake has made her practically an outcast among the other Harpies and she constantly feels like she has something to prove.

The Harpy Games are brutal and bloody and the lengths some of the Harpies will go to to try to make Kaia pay for her part in the massacre years earlier kept me on the edge of my seat. I love the secondary story lines for the Lords that weave through the book and I'm DYING for poor Kane and William. Bad things are coming! BAD THINGS! I know that Paris' story is next but I'm almost biting my nails for those two. I want to know what's coming!