A review by laurenjodi
The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

4.0

The Darkest Kiss
4 Stars

Synopsis
Nothing makes Anya, the Goddess of Anarchy, feel more out of sorts than her attraction to Lucien, one of the Lords of the Underworld who contains Death within him. Unfortunately, Lucien has been ordered by the merciless Cronus, king of the Gods, to claim Anya's life and her soul. Given the unrelenting passion between them, will Lucien risk everything he holds dear in order to protect Anya?

Review
A tremendous improvement over the first book.

Lucien and Anya are amazing together - whether fighting or loving, they have tremendous energy and passion. Anya is a wonderful mix of naive, childish prankster and mature woman who fears letting down her guard long enough to find someone worthy of her. Lucien is scarred inside and out and doesn't believe anyone, let alone a goddess, can love him for who he really is. Seeing them overcome their insecurities is one of the best aspects of the book, but I was disappointed in the fact that the role of Lucien's demon is downplayed as opposed to Maddox's in the first book.

The story is entertaining as well - Anya's curse and the quest for the ancient artifacts are both compelling and well developed plot devices. The resolution of the first is good even though I had actually imagined a different solution, and the second comes to a partial conclusion. I look forward to seeing what happens with it in future books.

The secondary characters are excellent. From the diabolical Cronus (I so hope he eventually gets what he deserves) to Anya's morally questionable friend William. I also enjoyed the progression of Paris, Reyes and Aeron's stories, especially Paris and Sienna.

The writing is good and the incorporation of the Greek mythology is seamless. Looking forward to Dannika and Reyes's book next.