The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter (A Lords of the Underworld Novel)

This is a review of The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter. This is a Lords of the Underworld novel. We finally have Baden’s long awaited story. Baden has been returned from Purgatory and is once again back among the lords. He no longer has the demon of Distrust inside him but something much more dangerous.

There is a war waging between Hades and his son Lucifer.  Baden gets stuck working on the side of Hades because Hades is the one that has restored him to his former self through a pair of serpentine wreaths that he wears on his arms. As long as he wears these wreaths on his arms, he will be in flesh form. There is a secret though to the wreaths that shocks Baden to his core when he finds out the truth about them. (You have to read the book to find out the secret about them because I won’t tell). 

Baden is on a mission that Hades has given him and he (along with Torin and William) interrupt a wedding where they find Katarina. Katarina has just married a very powerful and dangerous drug dealer naked Aleksander because he was threatening to harm the one thing that meant the most to her (her dogs).  The reason the wedding was interrupted was because Aleksander has a coin that is very important to Hades that he wants back. Aleksander refuses to give up the coin so after a mass slaughter of Aleksander’s people, Baden takes Katarina.  Katarina soon finds out that Aleksander has killed her dogs and she shuts down and sinks into a depression. Baden gets her through it and finally she starts trusting him some. She gets two new dogs very reluctantly. Her new dogs have a secret too that she is shocked when she finds out.

Cameo, the keeper of the Demon of Misery steals the 3 artifacts that the Lords have collected so far because she is desperate to find Lazarus once again because she knows Lazarus is her one chance at happiness. She uses the artifacts to start her search for Lazarus so I’m sure we will be getting her story soon.

Gillian becomes very ill and William takes her to a realm where the Lords can’t find her. Gillian and William both learn she is dying. William finds out that the only way he can save her is to bond to her but he refuses to do it. He wants his father Hades to save her but he refuses. Gillian meets a satyr named Pukkin that comes to her rescue. He bonds with her with her permission in order to save her life. William goes ballistic when this happens and it takes multiple Lords to restrain him.  Will William go after Gillian since he is hopelessly in love with her or will he admit defeat and let Pukkin have her?   I look forward to the rest of this story in a future book.

After the fortress is attacked by Lucifer’s minions, Baden takes Katarina and her dogs someplace safer. Baden has started to fall for Katarina and she for him. Baden is soon trying to find a missing Aleksander since they were holding him hostage at the fortress when it was attacked and left in rubble. Baden is engaged in a battle with Pandora to earn Hades’ favor and soon learns that she has Aleksander because she is looking for the coin too. Pandora manages to lose Aleksander though and he eventually attacks Katarina and her dogs however, Katarina has a nasty surprise for Aleksander when she kills him and takes the coin.  Katarina wants to meet with Hades and she does once she finds the coin. She physically fights Hades while Baden has to stand by and watch because Hades has immobilized him. Baden absorbs the serpentine wreaths he is wearing into his skin thereby making him become Hades’ son. Katarina manages to best Hades and he grants her immortality. Pandora is allowed to stay in the underworld to have her own realm to rule.

My recommendation: These are only some of the highlights of this book but there is so much more going on.  This is a must read but you need to read the previous books in the series before reading this one or you will be totally lost and not have a clue what is going on or who the characters are.