Into the Dark (The Darkest Fire / The Amazon's Curse / The Darkest Prison)

Not my niche, but the interviews at the end were fun. ( )

THE DARKEST FIRE. 79 pages. Explains the beginning of the LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD SERIES so read this before you read the series and it will all make sense. I found the end to be sad but contains a teaser for reading the rest of the series.

THE AMAZON'S CURSE. 47 pages. Amazon Women and Vampire. Did not like the passionate language which was written like a script from a cheap low budget movie.

THE DARKEST PRISON. 58 pages. Very well written, exciting, sexy and adventurous. When you read the LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD series, make sure you read this AFTER "The Darkest Angel (ss)" which in found in the book Heart of Darkness by and BEFORE "The Darkest Prison".

The final 183 pages of the book is a Bonus Guide to the LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD series. Great reference material should you ever need it however, I will read it only if I "have to".

***THE FOLLOWING IS THE TRUE ORDER THAT YOU SHOULD READ THE "LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD" series*** It will make more sense if you read the books in this order. (see this video on Youtube) http://youtu.be/mGJqMGiLv6M

(ss) The Darkest Fire (a short story found in INTO THE DARK)

1 The Darkest Night

2 The Darkest Kiss

3 The Darkest Pleasure

4 The Darkest Whisper

(ss) 5 The Darkest Angel (a short story found in the book HEART OF DARKNESS)

(ss) 6 The Darkest Prison (a short story found in INTO THE DARK)

7 The Darkest Passion

8 The Darkest Lie

9 The Darkest Secret ( )

A three-story anthology and a guide to the men (and women) of Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series.

In the Darkest Fire Geryon and Kadence reveal their roles in the origins of Pandora's Box. Not so happy an ending, but a happily ever after, nonetheless.

Cursed by the gods with invisibility (the Amazon's Curse), the Amazon warrior Nola suffers in silence as she watches the one male she's ever wanted tortured and abused by her fellow Amazons. For vampire Zane, death holds more appeal than a forced mating with the Amazon who's won him. Can the star-crossed lovers ever find happiness?

And in Darkest Prison, with roles reversed, once guard now prisoner, Nike's love for the the Titan god of Strength, Atlas, seems doomed. But what's this? Is it possible the god actually returns the Greek goddess's regard?

And finally, the guide. Written (shades of J. R. Ward) as an interview by the author of Chronos, Titan king of the gods, it's chatty and vaguely annoying. I couldn't get into it, and ended up putting the book down only a page or so in. Too much breaking of the fourth wall for me, I guess. ( )

I LOVE THE LORDS!! ( )

I love, love, love the Lords of the Underworld books so I was excited to find out the origins of Pandora's box and an additional LofTU story. I was disappointed in The Darkest Fire. The story never grabbed me and the ending was a total let down. Maybe it's because I'm used to the characters triumphing against the odds but this ending just seemed like the characters giving up. The Amazon's Curse was better although I am not familiar with her Atlantis books. I liked getting a glimpse into vampire society and it was actually touching to see Zane's softer side and the mention of how he felt about children and family. I would definitely like to read more about the Amazonian warriors and may have to check out the Atlantis series. My favorite was probably The Darkest Prison. We got to see Sienna again and I am dying to read Paris and Sienna's story. It's like a tease that we get these short glimpses of what is to come but I just want that story in my hands! I enjoyed both Atlas and Nike and the chemistry between the two was hot. It gives you a hint of what is to come in the war between the Greeks and the Titans and it made a nice addition to the LofTU series. ( )