King Arthur Movie Tristan

title: The Darkest Night


author: Gena Showalter

pages: 374

published: 2008

genre: paranormal romance

first line: Every night Death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he’d have to die again later.

rated: 4 out of 5

An immortal warrior cursed to die every night, only to awaken the next morning knowing he has to die again. A mortal woman with a power beyond imagining...



All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she’ll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member – a man trapped in a hell of his own.



Neither can resist the instant hunger that calms their torments. . .and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction—and a soul-shattering test of love...

In The Darkest Night, a group of immortal men live together in a remote castle in Budapest. These men have been cursed to house demons for eternity. Torin is
Keeper of Disease, Maddox is the Keeper of Violence, Paris is the Keeper of Promiscuity, Reyes the Keeper of Pain and Aeron is the Keeper of Wrath. Each night at midnight, Maddox is cursed to die a painful death then spend the night in Hell with his demon, Violence.

Maddox had been given Violence, the demon who was now as much a part of him as his lungs or his heart. Now, man could no longer live without demon and demon could no longer function without man. They were woven together, two halves of a whole.

Ashlyn Darrow has the gift of being able to hear the past thoughts and voices of the people who had been in that same location.

She couldn’t live with the voices anymore.



Ashlyn had only to stand in one location and she could hear every conversation that had ever taken place there, no matter how much time had passed. Present, past, any and all languages, it didn’t matter. She could hear them in her mind, translate them even. A gift, some assumed. A nightmare, she knew.

Ashlyn travels to Budapest, in order to find these men who have been rumored to live in a fortress and are said to be angels...or demons. The men are said to have supernatural abilities, and Ashlyn hopes they can help her to get rid of these voices.




Once she is in the forest nearing the castle where the men live, she runs into Maddox.
He warns her to leave, or she will be killed. The men live a secluded life and are always on the lookout for those who may be hunting them. Maddox wonders if Ashlyn is a hunter, but something about her draws him to her. She notices that the voices are silent when she is around him. It is near midnight, and he is trying to get rid of her so he can go and 'die' violently. It also doesn't help that as he is 'dying' each night, he needs to be chained up so he wont hurt anyone, since his demon forces him into fits of violence.
He ends up taking Ashlyn home with him, and having her stay there while he 'dies' that night. Soon enough he tells Ashlyn what he really is.


I really liked The Darkest Night. Gena Showalter's writing keeps you hooked and the characters are likeable and interesting.


***NEW favorite hero alert****



Maddox makes a great hero. He is strong, tormented and well...hot. I liked Ashlyn's character too. I like that she and Maddox don't rush into sex right away. The love scenes were well done. There's romance and tension between the two, it made it a believeable storyline.

Air burned his throat, his lungs. "Tell me you want me."

"I want you," Ashlyn all but shouted.

"Tell me you need me."

"I need you."

"Tell me you'll never betray me."

"I'll never betray you."

At least she hadn't hesitated. Something inside him softened, melted. "Where do you want to be?" he asked, the words almost a plea. Need me as much as I need you.

The plot is interesting and the story is well written.
I also like the other 'brothers'...mostly Reyes. I am interested in the other books in this series and will be reading them as well.



The Lord of the Underworld have thier own site: http://www.lordsoftheunderworld.net/



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”.

visit her blog: http://genashowalter.blogspot.com/


Here's an author interview with Gena:





Special thanks to j.kaye, I won this book at her blog over the summer, and I'm glad I finally read it.