I've long been a fan of Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series and Cameo's book was always one I wanted to read, especially when Lazarus was introduced! Another excellent book!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Gena Showalter for my radio show after she wrote her contemporary fiction book. I thought I'd try her Lords of the Underworld title for a change.

While I love Ms. Showalter's writing style and know that she has legions of fans, I cannot write about this story in all honesty because I am so unfamiliar with the world she has built surrounding these characters.

It would not be fair for me to review this book. I did read the first 6 chapters and found Gena's writing to be exceptional. There are points for that. Thank you for letting me read this book.

The Darkest Promise is the most current release in author Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld Series, a series I have adored since finding it almost ten years ago. I continue to look forward to every release and was so excited to get Cameo and Lazarus’s story. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more!

Their relationship is complicated, intense, tense and at times, confusing to both of them. It’s a push and pull filled with desire, emotion, and an intensity I ate up with a spoon. It’s a relationship that’s been building over the course of a few previous books and built into a dark and beautiful crescendo I knew would lead to their own well deserved happy ending. It truly was everything I had hoped it would be for them.

Also, the battle between Lucifer and Hades is still brewing and the plot lead up to the next book has me anxiously awaiting its release.

Between superb world building, characters I have grown to love over so many years, and a story line that continues to build in a fabulous overall series arc, this is a series I will continue to look forward to reading more of!

Thank you, Ms. Showalter, for another stellar read!

This is the first in the series that I’ve read and I kinda knew going in that it would probably have an impact. I made myself push through the awkwardness, especially at the beginning, and while there were definitely things that I missed (and nuances that would have had more significance to me as a returning reader), after a bit I found myself having a really good time. I can definitely see why Showalter has been so popular!

You have to feel for a woman who can never be truly happy, has no relationships that last, has large gaps in her memory, and can make people break down sobbing at the sound of her voice. That’s a lot to take but Cameo does it with strength and determination. She has a support system with her friends but her’s is not an easy path.

Lazarus’s life has not been easy either (rotten childhood, dead mother, and enslavement – whew!) but he’s managed to find a place of his own and he’s working on building up an army to seek revenge on those that have wronged him. (Ya know, just your average To Do list, right after 1. Turn those who cross me into stone and put them into my garden as gruesome statues. Yikes!) But he’s struggling with an almost overpowering need for Cameo and having her back is putting a kink in all sorts of his plans.

I know that both Cameo and Lazarus have been in previous stories, so I’m missing out on a lot of backstory and development, but as a new reader I found them quite interesting. Both are carrying burdens, from their pasts and where they see their futures going. But like any good paranormal story there’s always more than you know! I think that’s one of my favorite things about stories with sci-fi elements – you can do whatever you want as long as it makes sense in the realm you’ve made. And I feel that Showalter did that pretty well here.

I wouldn’t normally jump into a series this far along (I saw somewhere that this was book 13!) but I’m glad I did. The world that Showalter created – a lovely mix of mythology and paranormal romance – seems complex and intriguing. The characters were fun, sassy, and kept me turning pages. (I’m definitely curious about some of the side stories that were hinted at so I think I’ll be looking to add a few more books to my ever-growing TBR pile 🙂 ) Overall, a pretty dang good read but one that was probably enjoyed even more by those who have some history with these characters.

The Darkest Promise is part Alice in Wonderland, part biblical tangent, part mythological twist. You have Cameo, who is inhabited by the demon of misery. Lazarus the cruel and unusual is king of the realm of the grimm and fantica. The world Showalter has created is insane! Its so incredibly unique and fantastical! Its also VERY sexy. Talk about sexual tension!

Now, Lazarus is a character I know from the Bible. He is the man Jesus raised from the dead in his last miracle before his passion. Also, religiously speaking, Balthazar was the demon of misery who, like Satan, was once an angel who was banished. So, these stories had me thinking about the characters and trying to make connections in other ways. It was fascinating because obviously, the story goes in directions you could never predict but it didn't stop me from trying!

Talk about a forbidden love that is never to be! Cameo has her memory erased the moment she experiences happiness. So, no love, no joy. Lazarus knows she is his intended (he has a weird greek word for it), but they simply cannot be together. Its all very tragic and angsty. Cameo is one of the Lords of the Underworld, but because her demon makes everyone around her miserable, she has pretty much steered clear. Lazarus also knows that keeping Cameo in his life will lead to his death, just like his father. As if these two didn't have enough against them, it seems like literally everyone is out to get either Cameo, Lazarus, or both of them! Seriously, these two can't catch a break. When Cameo makes Ever and Urban cry just by talking, my heart hurt for her. I can't even imagine not being able to talk to my godchildren!

Loved the supporting characters! Urban and Ever are adorbs! Viola is an interesting character as well. At first, I thought her demon didn't seem that bad (compared to Cameo's anyway!) but you start to see how it would still be pretty sucky.

Finally, I enjoyed the banter between Lazarus and Cameo. Despite all the tragedy and danger, there are moments when these two are hilarious and punny! It was incongruous with their situation, but it totally worked.

I haven't read the previous books in the series. Honestly, I don't think it mattered THAT much, but because Showalter has created such a unique fantasy world, having had more background would have probably helped a bit. However, you really could read this as a stand alone like I did.

Full Disclosure: I totally skipped to the end to make sure this would end in a way I was okay with. #SorryNotSorry
(blog link live on 4/9/18)

Cameo is possessed by the Demon Misery.

Lazarus, the Cruel and Unusual, a child of a god and ruler of a kingdom, will stop at nothing to crack Cameo’s unhappiness…but he also doesn’t want to keep her because of the curse his father has passed down to him.

Will he cruelly rip away any happiness Cameo might find?

Can they beat the untenable odds, the dark forces plotting against them?

You’ll have to check out The Darkest Promise the 13th book in the Lords of the Underworld series.

I have to say that Misery really is a downer with everything being whoa-is-me...

But in the end, an impossible relationship, imminent heartbreak and the odds of survival that defy all calculations and still Showalter manages to make it work!

I received this ARC copy of The Darkest Promise from Harlequin - HQN. This is my honest and voluntary review. The Darkest Promise is set for publication March 27, 2018.

My Rating: 4 stars
Written by: Gena Showalter
Series: Lords of the Underworld (Book 13)
Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: HQN
Publication Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN-10: 1335050930
ISBN-13: 978-1335050939
Genre: Paranormal Romance

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The Darkest Promise is the hopefully lucky 13th book in the Lords of the Underworld series. It is appropriately just a bit different from the previous books, because the demon in this particular entry inhabits Cameo, the lone woman among the men who became Lords of the Underworld by hosting a demon.

As Cameo herself puts it, she’s the lone Smurfette among all the Smurfs, always having to be twice as hard and four times as badass to get the men to take her seriously.

Unless, of course she lets her demon out. Cameo’s demon is Misery, and when she lets him out, everyone takes her very seriously – about as seriously as a heart attack. Or the deepest darkest depression ever known. When Misery talks, everyone around them cries, runs away and tries to slit their own wrists.

Of course, Cameo’s demon Misery does not just inflict himself on those around Cameo, his greatest victim is Cameo herself, who has him stuck inside her head and is therefore always available for him to do his worst to. And he does, every single day of her long and miserable life.

But even though Misery makes her forget the few times that Cameo manages, well, not to be completely miserable, she is aware that there is one male in the cosmos who made her happy, however briefly. All she has to do is find her way back to the Spirit Realms to see if Lazarus the Cruel and Unusual, Lord of the Realm of Grimm and Fantic, is willing to make her happy yet again.

And if he’s willing to tell her everything that Misery made her forget.

Unfortunately for both Lazarus and Cameo, he isn’t merely the one man who is immune to her demon. Because Lazarus is cursed by his own blood to be turned into a crystal chrysalis by constant exposure to the one woman who is his mate – his obsession. For Lazarus, Cameo is that woman, and her initial visit to his realm has already begun the deadly process of crystallization.

Lazarus has vengeance to wreck before he becomes to enfeebled to carry out his plans. Being with Cameo dramatically shortens the time he has available.

But she is his obsession, and he can’t resist. He isn’t even sure that he wants to. While Cameo, knowing that she will be the cause of her love’s death, opens herself even further to the demon within.

Escape Rating B: As long as this series is, I’m not sure that this book will make any sense without reading at least some of the previous entries. Particularly as this is not the first time we’ve met Cameo and Lazarus and watched them interact. And that’s a good thing, because without those previous meetings this book would smack of insta-love.

The premise behind this whole series is still a fascinating one. The Lords of the Underworld are the warriors who made the extremely foolish mistake of opening Pandora’s Box. When the box was opened, all those escaped demons needed a place to live (and work their worst) so they inhabited the bodies of the warriors near them. A fitting punishment.

But as the series has progressed, those warriors have managed to find love and happiness in spite of the demons they harbor. And with the help of their friends and allies, they are closing in on the location of the Box and perhaps a cure for their “condition”.

Of course, as immortal warriors they have also gathered a whole lot of equally immortal enemies, and often find themselves caught in the crossfire between rival factions. In the case of this entry, they are caught up in the ongoing warfare between Hades and Lucifer.

And yes, this is a story where all the pantheons seem to be real. And active.

The romance in this paranormal romance is between two beings who expect to be hated and reviled – Lazarus, son of the monster Typhon and Cameo, Mother of Misery. These are two people who have zero expectations of a happy ever after, or of ever finding happy at all, and yet, they are perfect for each other – if they can leap over the baggage that they carry and get past millennia of negative expectations and destroyed hopes.

In the end, love does conquer all, and in a way that the reader has been expecting pretty much from the beginning of the story. But it’s an interesting read watching her work for it.