Into the Dark (Lords of the Underworld, #.5, #3.5, Plus Bonus Material)

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Into the Dark (Lords of the Underworld 0.5 & 3.5)

by Gena Showalter (Goodreads Author)

4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 · rating details · 3,760 ratings · 186 reviews

Three otherworldly tales from the master of paranormal romance . . . and a brand new Lords of the Underworld bonus guide!

The Darkest Fire
A Lords of the Underworld prequel

Geryon is the guardian of hell, more monster than man. Kadence is the goddess of Oppression, more angel than woman. Together they will enter the flames to battle a dangerous horde of demon lords -- and dis...more

Kindle Edition, 380 pages

Published (first published April 27th 2010)

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May 02, 2012 Mery rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zai

kalo di goodreads 2 bintang itu it was okay kan ya :P
eh tapi aku ngasih 2.5 bintang loh :D

sebenernya bagus... suka sama mitologi-mitologinya. Suka sama penggambaran settingnya. Tapi mungkin karena cerpen jadi ga puas... emang dasarnya aku lebih sering baca novel ketimbang cerpen. Jadi pas baca ini yah ga gitu terpuaskan, dan mungkin karena ini penggalan cerita yang menyertai seri aslinya jadi rada puyeng :D

Dari semua cerita, intinya yah pria dan wanita yang saling mencintai, rela mati demi yang...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Ren rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, ass-kick-heroine, based-on-mythology, god-goddes, immortal-warrior, there-are-hot-men, demon, wow-fantastic-baby, favorite, reviewed

Giveaway for the translated version (Rahasia Kegelapan) at my blog! :D
The link : Giveaway and Interview with Angelic ZaiZai
And its Indonesian only for this time

Once again, Gena Showalter not make me disappointed (2 thumbs up)
I've read the 3 short stories ((The Darkest Fire, The Darkest Prison sama Amazon's Curse) in e-book version, so i skip it and read just the guide inside

And...
Its soooo great and very funny.
My favorite part is "At Home With Lords of The Underworld"
Where William (Anya's BFF)...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 14, 2010 Shawna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: LOTU fans

Shelves: anthologies-novellas-shorts, gena-showalter, pnr-angeldemon-fae-magic-witch-misc, pnr-vampires, series-lords-of-the-underworld, tattoos-piercings-body-art, favorite-romance-series, 2010-reads, captive-kidnapped-hostage-slave, enemies-to-lovers-opposites-attract, hero-abused-scarred-tortured-angst, heroine-abused-traumatic-past-rape, humorous-at-times-or-fluffy-fun, i-read-no-longer-own-sold-swapped, revenge-deception-secrets-lies, hero-cold-cruelbrute-dark-dangerous, hh-warrior, 4-stars, greek-egyptian-misc-mythology, paranormal-romance

4 stars – Paranormal Romance Anthology

This anthology features the LOTU short stories The Darkest Fire and The Darkest Prison, the Atlantis short story The Amazon's Curse, and LOTU bonus material.

The Darkest Fire is an okay LOTU prequel story, but I didn't really gain any further insights into the series and it's just a bit too short. 3 stars.

The Darkest Prison is a pretty good LOTU 'enemies to lovers' story that I enjoyed. 4 stars.

The Amazon's Curse was my favorite part of the anthology, which i...more

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Feb 16, 2011 ♥ Sarah ♥ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: anthologies, demons, ilb, paranormal-romance

The Darkest Fire by Gena Showalter: (3.5 stars)
(Lords of the Underworld, #0.5 Prequel)
Read January 8, 2010
I thought this was pretty good. I picked up this anthology primarily for this story. Of course, I will read the rest, but I wanted to start this series, and I thought this would be a good place.

Geryon is the Guardian of Hell and Kadence is the goddess who oversees the condition of the wall between Hell and Earth. So every day for all eternity she is outside the wall, inspecting it. All the w...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Cherise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-or-review-copy, paranormal-fantasy-romance

A little background on the premise of the Lords of the Underworld:
Thousands of years ago a group of warriors disobeyed their laws and their Gods/Goddesses when they killed another warrior, Pandora, and opened the box she was charged to protect. When they opened the box they unleashed demons and those demons needed a new host, they chose the warriors. Since that time the warriors have been paying for their mistakes. Once reckless, careless and even cruel they have learned to some control over the...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Sherri *The Lady Hillindale* rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, ebook, freebie, paranormal-romance

Reviewing for netGalley.com

This book is a nice collection of stories and extras from two of Gena Showalter's paranormal series.

The first story is actually a pre-prequel to Showalters Lords of the Underworld series. Titled "The Darkest Fire", its the story of WHY the gods created Pandora's Box and how it came to be in her possession. I found it interesting as it relates to the series as a whole but for story content, it was not something I would have read on my own. C+

The second story is bonus m...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Trianna Hyde rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In The Darkest Fire you meet Geryon the guardian of the gates of hell & Kadence the goddess of oppression and protector of a walls of hell. when the walls start to weaken Kadence enlists the help of Geryon (whom she had secretly liked) to help repair the wall. inside hell they find a love that has existed between them... and it gives the reader a glimpse of the demons before they were in the Lords. loved this story.

In The Amazon's Curse you meet Zane a vampire who is imprisoned in an Amazon'...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Nalia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-paranormal-romance, romance, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hem, aku memberikannya 4 point tapi buku ini tetap jadi favorit.
Semua ceritanya bagus. -Ada 3 cerita di dalamnya tapi semuanya cerita pendek-
Nah, karena cerita pendek ini makanya aku kasih 4 point.
Kurang Puas!!!!!
Mau Lebih!!!
Udah biasa satu buku penuh tentang satu kisah jadi kurang greget!!!

cerita pertama : tentang Geryon -si penjaga neraka- dan Kandence -dewi penindas-. terharu-terharu!! Salut sama Kandence yang merelakan untuk menukar dirinya demi kebebesan Geryon dan mengatakan bahwa pria it...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Sophia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr-uf

Typically when I read an anthology, I find stories that are winners, that are losers, and stories that are merely 'meh', but in this short three story anthology I found all the stories winners. Two of the stories were from the Lords of the Underworld world and the other was from the Atlantis world.

The first is a prequel explaining how the demons came to escape into the world and the origin of Pandora's Box. It was a tender 'Beauty and the Beast' romance. Geryon, is thought by himself and others...more Typically when I read an anthology, I find stories that are winners, that are losers, and stories that are merely 'meh', but in this short three story anthology I found all the stories winners. Two of the stories were from the Lords of the Underworld world and the other was from the Atlantis world.

The first is a prequel explaining how the demons came to escape into the world and the origin of Pandora's Box. It was a tender 'Beauty and the Beast' romance. Geryon, is thought by himself and others as the monster guarding the gates to hell. He had once been human and married, but he'd never been accepted even by his wife who he sold his soul to save. Every day the bright point of his existence is to view the beautiful goddess of oppression, Kadence, come to check the soundness of the walls that contain hell. She secretly finds him attractive. It is not until she discovers that the walls are slowly being breached that she speaks to him for the first time and makes a bargain with Lucifer to gain Geryon's help and have his soul set free. They both know for their own reasons that they cannot be together because they love each other and believe themselves unlovable. Then death itself separates them. Can they still find a way?

The middle story was the Atlantean story centered around an Amazon warrior who was cursed to be like a ghost for not fulfilling the god's desire for her to kill others in the god's version of the Olympic games and the vampire she rejected in an earlier meeting during the games. I have not read the series and this short must fall somewhere in the middle as it referenced other characters and events, but I still found it interesting. Nola, the Amazon, has been sexually exploited much of her young life at her own mother's bidding so does not see herself as worthy nor does she trust or like men which is why she rejects the overtures of Zane, the vampire in the first place. Zane has his own inner struggles because he was once voluntarily the demon queen's sex slave to save the woman he loved though she rejected him afterward. He does not like to be touched either, but he saw something of a kindred spirit in Nola and reached out to her only to be rejected. He is now a captured Amazon slave once more in the very camp where Nola must figure out how to free him and make amends because she realizes belatedly that he is the only male she can love. How can a wraith-like Nola rescue a chained and weakened Zane?

The final story was a spin off Lords of the Underworld tale beginning with Reyes and Danika viewing a painting she has just done of a Titan god being tortured in the King's chamber. The story then jumps into the explanation of the painting. Atlas, god of strength, is the prison warden for Tartarus where all the Greek gods have been imprisoned after their overthrow by the Titans. At one time, Nike, the goddess of strength and victory, had been Atlas' jailor and now their roles are reversed. He played her and several female guards to set him free when he'd been the prisoner and it almost succeeded when he fooled love-sotted Nike into letting him out, but in the nick of time, she realized the mistake when she ran into another woman he had tricked. Nike retaliated by having her name tattooed to his chest before tossing him back in prison. Now it is his turn. Atlas has dreamed of revenge and acts on it by having his name tattooed into her back. The only problem is that even though Atlas played her for a fool, Nike still has feelings for him and for Atlas, though he had been set on escape, he did have feelings for the woman he was duping and now see his name on her back drew those feelings to the surface. He knows the danger of setting Nike free, but he also knows that because of love she had once faced that danger for him and now he was willing to do it for her- exchange his freedom and possibly his life for her. Another seemingly doomed love affair.

For short stories, I was pleased with Gena's ability to give a strong plot, sympathetic characters, and a satisfying resolution. I should also say that the stories are pretty short with the whole second half of the book devoted to Lords of the Underworld bonus material. I found the interview of Kresley Cole interviewing Gena and a character, William, interviewing the Lords to be the best of that part.

Good read!(less)

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Dec 30, 2011 Jilly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lords-of-the-underworld

The Amazon's Curse should be read after the 4th book in the Atlantis series. This short is about Zane and Nola who we encountered in the book The Vampire's Bride. I remember being intrigued by Nola and Zane and really wanting them to have a book but I think the short story was better than a long drawn out one for them. It was great to read and I enjoyed it a lot.

The Darkest Fire should be read before any of the official books in the Lord of the Underworld's series. This is really a prequel to th...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Hayden Casey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

GOODREADS EXCLUSIVE REVIEW!
1.025 stars

Into the Dark is basically the ultimate Gena Showalter fan-driven book, the one that contains a few online-or-ebook-only stories put into print and some cheesy character interviews for filling space.
Let's run through the contents, shall we?

1) The Darkest Fire
-a.k.a. Smut #1
-This is one of the online-only stories Showalter thought would be good in print with a few others. It's got a run-of-the-mill I-want-to-get-laid-by-you-but-you-think-I'm-a-fucking-freak p...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hardcore LoTU/Showalter fans.

Shelves: paranormal-romance, anthology

Containing three novellas and some behind the scenes companion information on Showalter's beloved Lords of the Underworld series, Into the Dark is full of good stuff, but unfortunately, much of it I'd read before. The novellas The Darkest Fire, The Amazon's Curse, and The Darkest Prison are all offered to Kindle owners individually, and I'd read two of the three of them that way, so I can't say that this book was all I was hoping it would be. I'd be more likely to recommend it for hard core LotU...more Containing three novellas and some behind the scenes companion information on Showalter's beloved Lords of the Underworld series, Into the Dark is full of good stuff, but unfortunately, much of it I'd read before. The novellas The Darkest Fire, The Amazon's Curse, and The Darkest Prison are all offered to Kindle owners individually, and I'd read two of the three of them that way, so I can't say that this book was all I was hoping it would be. I'd be more likely to recommend it for hard core LotU fans without a Kindle or those Kindle owners really committed to the few companion pieces of LotU that are offered here.

The companion information, a cute Q & A between Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter - two obviously great friends, and the interviews of the Lords by William and the ladies by Gilly were amusing, but lacked any true hilarity. The camaraderie between Cole and Showalter was the brightest spot of the companion information for me. There was little other information of note - a FAQ and a narrative by Showalter about coming up with the series, a rundown on the Lords. Nothing much is provided that couldn't be had by reading the series or visiting Showalter's website, and that is where the true shame lies. This book falls in the LotU timeline between The Darkest Whisper (Sabin) and The Darkest Passion (Aeron), so reading this anthology will provide no new insight if you're current in the series, and reading it before the series will provide too many spoilers.

I do recommend the novellas, in whichever format you want to read them. I have also read Showalter's Tales of Atlantis series, so The Amazon's Curse was a nice surprise. It's the only one of the three I hadn't yet read. All three stories are meaty little gems with Showalter's flair for story telling. I especially enjoyed The Darkest Prison and I hope that some of the developments there are brought into the series, as there's ton of potential.

If I hadn't already read the novellas, I think I would have been far happier, but because I had, I was left feeling like the book contained very little that I hadn't already known or read before.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another. (less)

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Feb 11, 2011 Habrewer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Into the Dark by Gena Showalter
* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The first story, The Darkest Fire is a prequel to the Lords of the Underworld series and gives us a glimpse into the beginning of the end.

Geryon is the “gate Keeper” responsible for keeping the demons inside Hell and Kadence is the goddess of Oppression who is tied to the wall that surrounds Hell. For hundreds of years she has been coming to inspect the wall. The demons have been growi...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Comicfairy (Leanne) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: PC Cast's (goddess book) readers

This book includes the Lords guide, an interview with Kresley Cole,and 3 previously unreleased Lords of the Underworld short stories.

I noticed that Showalter and Kresley Cole definitely name drop a lot with other authors in the business, but I suppose that's just smart marketing. This book actually has an interview with Cole which didnt really make sense to me at first, but the Lords books are discussed, so it made a better fit. This title also included a bonus guide, though it wasn't really us...more This book includes the Lords guide, an interview with Kresley Cole,and 3 previously unreleased Lords of the Underworld short stories.

I noticed that Showalter and Kresley Cole definitely name drop a lot with other authors in the business, but I suppose that's just smart marketing. This book actually has an interview with Cole which didnt really make sense to me at first, but the Lords books are discussed, so it made a better fit. This title also included a bonus guide, though it wasn't really useful to me since I'm just a casual Lords reader. While the interview was still informative, this book really didn't do much for me as a whole.

The first two books ("The Darkest Fire" and "The Amazon's Curse") were not that entertaining and tended to be a bit murky. I can understand why Showalter needed to write "The Darkest Fire", a story about the wall and the unleashing of the demons (thus setting up the Lords series), but the story was just not very believable and the events were a bit disconnected and hard to follow. The second story was better than the first, but also a bit too unbelievable. Vampire gets taken prisoner by a group of Amazons, only to quickly fall for one of his captors who happens to be invisible. Still, her invisibility gets spotty once she's trying to liberate him and she is able to solidify long enough to see him to freedom...conveniently enough. lol. Then she goes invisible again, only to solidify once she is being punished. Very predictable story, though it naturally has a happily ever after. I'm sure you can figure out what happens after she is punished without me having to do a spoiler alert. haha

The third story ("The Darkest Prison") is really what made the book for me; Showalter saved the best for last. Well written though a bit tripe in places (using unlike characters just to make the other jealous, etc), filled with furious passion and jealousy. This was the story of Nike and Atlas who aide eachother's escape and then flee to Earth to hopefully connect with the Lords, thus springboarding the Lords series.

It was a decent book, very informative to hardcore Showalter/Lords fans and would be good at filling in the blanks. For me, being a casual Showalter reader, the additional data and first two books were just a lot of filler. Looking forward to reading more of Showalter's full length work because I can tell she has talent; she just seems to flourish more with full length stories.(less)

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Aug 28, 2010 Monica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

The Darkest Fire:
This was a nice little story, even with the death and knowing the ending from the beginning. The two characters in this book are actually very good for each other. I think there is good chemistry and an excellent story. This story reminded me somewhat of P.C. Cast's 'Goddess of the Rose' as well. Just a thought, it's a Beauty and the Beast tale with hell, demons, and lots of fire.

The Amazon's Curse:
I haven't read many of Ms. Showalter's Atlantis series book as of yet. So I didn'...more

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Jul 26, 2010 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Into the Dark is one of those books that rounds out the original series more completely without necessarily adding anything new. This isn't a bad thing; rather, this is one of those books that can be an old stand-by when the time between regular series installments is dragging and it gets harder and harder to wait for a new one.

The short stories that start off this collection are easily my favorite part of the book; each one was unique and showed a facet of the setting of the Lords of the Underw...more

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Apr 14, 2010 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Jaimie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I have never been a big fan of short stories but that hasn't stopped me from continuing to read them in hopes of finding another one as good as Father Mine. I read The Darkest Fire and The Darkest Prison in this book but did not read The Amazon's Curse because I have not read that series yet.

I was excited to read The Darkest Fire because I thought it was supposed to help us gain insight into the creation of Pandora's box. Well, it did but that was like a paragraph at the very end of the story....more

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May 18, 2010 Wenj rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

I picked this book up, mainly because I was curious about the Lords of the Underworld series. They'd been recommended to me, but the whole concept of them being a "romance" novel threw me. So when I saw a book that contained two short stories for that series, and one for her Atlantis series, I figured it would give me a good general idea about the authors story telling.

While yes, this book can definitely be ranked in the romance category...think explicit for any of you younger readers or readers...more

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May 21, 2010 Steph rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay well this book was split up into three novellas. The three stories are The Darkest Fire, The Amazon's Curse and The Darkest Prison. At the back of the book you have a Lords of the Underworld bonus guide!

The Darkest Fire:Lords of the Underworld Prequel
The story takes place in hell where a unspoken connection between Greyon *guardian of Hell* and Kadence *Goddess of Oppression* seems to cause some sexual tension. They finally might get their chance to find out what these feelings mean because...more Okay well this book was split up into three novellas. The three stories are The Darkest Fire, The Amazon's Curse and The Darkest Prison. At the back of the book you have a Lords of the Underworld bonus guide!

The Darkest Fire:Lords of the Underworld Prequel
The story takes place in hell where a unspoken connection between Greyon *guardian of Hell* and Kadence *Goddess of Oppression* seems to cause some sexual tension. They finally might get their chance to find out what these feelings mean because a horrible revelation is brought to their attention the barrier that holds the Demon Lords in Hell has been damaged. Fear and lust drives the Goddess to Lucifer and asks for his help on the the barrier issue but she will need Greyon's assistance. Of course he is not called Lucifer because he is good *lol* so the deal she makes will have grave consequences that not even the gods can change. Will Greyon and Kadence finally get to find out what are these strong feelings they have for each other before it's too late? Hopefully the Barrier can hold for at least that long before all hell brakes loose and I mean that!

The Amazon's Curse:A Tale of Atlantis
In this heart wrenching story of two tortured souls Nola *A Strong Amazon* and Zane *A Vampire Warrior* find love in each other they could never think was possible. After years of being a sex slave to a Demon Queen Zane never thought he could ever let another woman touch him but then he met Nola who also encountered her own sexual abuse growing up hated men but found love in Zane. From two different worlds Zane and Nola are not meant to be together but a twist of fate brings them closer until the gods decide they must be put to a test. Can they survive Nola's Amazon sisters who want nothing but to inflict pain and suffering on them both?

The Darkest Prison:Lords of the Underworld Tale
In this tale the tables are turned when Atlas a Titan god of Strength now owns Nike Greek Goddess of Strength and Victory. After years of being Nike's slave the Titans have come into power and enslaved the Greeks. All Atlas wants is revenge on Nike for what she did to him or least that is what he thinks until he realizes he actually is very much in love with her. The only way they can be together fully is if he frees Nike but if he does that Cronus *King of the Titans* will kill him! Decisions...Decisions!

My thoughts:
I thought this book as a whole was a great intro to Gena Showalter's mythic world. I have never read any of her books but now having read Into the Dark I can not wait to dive into her raved about series! My favorite of the three tales was The Darkest Prison because I loved the chemistry between Atlas and Nike so much aggression and passion. Well that's what happens when you pair a god and goddess of strength together I suppose,lol! If you have not read this book I really do recommend you pick up your copy today...tomorrow...soon:) Oh I almost forgot the guide in the back of the book is amazing with so much info and a lovely interview of Gena Showalter is also in this book. For you who can not wait for the Darkest Passion there is a sneak Peek in here as well. All in all this book is a great price for all you get:) Thanks Gena you can add me to your many fans now:)

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Apr 29, 2012 Astri Nasthasia Videlia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hah! Kelaar!!! hahahha...

Gw bilang ajah... Neh buku... menyiksa bangeet!!! Bikin gw nahan ketawa sepanjang jalan menuju kampus gw... hadeehh...

karna apa?? Karna adegan wawancara yang di lakukan oleh Willie.. kepada anggota LoTu lainnya... Yaaaak!!! 1 bintang tambahan buat adegan ituu... hmpffth..

buku ini ada 3 cerita.. Lupa apa ajah judulnya...
tapi yg 1 bercerita awal mula Kotak Pandora berasal...
yang 1 ceritanya Zane (Temen si Leyel si Raja Vampire) and Nola (temen si Delilah yg sekarang jadi...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Jen (Red Hot Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lords-of-the-underworld, anthology, pararnormal-romance

Gena Showalter's "Into the Dark" is a collection of three short stories and a few bonus features for fans. It seems all three of the novella had been released as ebooks, but I'm old school and I'd still much rather have a book in my hand.

Anyway, the first novella is "The Darkest Fire," a prequel to the Lords of the Underworld series. It's the story of how the demon lords escaped hell in the first place. But that was really secondary to the sweet, but brief love story between Geryon, the guardia...more Gena Showalter's "Into the Dark" is a collection of three short stories and a few bonus features for fans. It seems all three of the novella had been released as ebooks, but I'm old school and I'd still much rather have a book in my hand.

Anyway, the first novella is "The Darkest Fire," a prequel to the Lords of the Underworld series. It's the story of how the demon lords escaped hell in the first place. But that was really secondary to the sweet, but brief love story between Geryon, the guardian of hell's gate... and Kadence, the goddess of Oppression. The walls holding the demons in hell are literally tied to Kadence. As they weaken, so does she. So when cracks start to form in the demons' prison, she must repair them.

Geryon has been in love with her for ages, but is monstrous in his current form. He thinks himself unworthy of her, but wants to help her anyway. I really liked this story.

Novella number two was "The Amazon's Curse," the last of the Atlantis stories. And frankly, it could have been a full length book. It picks up Zane and Nola's story that was left hanging at the end of The Vampire's Bride. Zane the vampire is held captive by the Amazons. Nola is non-corporeal and can't get to the man she has grown to care so much about. Both Zane and Nola are terribly damaged, but manage to give each other peace. I don't know how much this story would mean to someone who didn't read the Atlantis books. But for me, it was the big payoff I was waiting for.

And novella 3 was "The Darkest Prison" is set in the Lords of the Underworld series. Sort of. It wasn't actually about the Lords, but instead about the relationship between Atlas, the Titan of strength, and his love/hate relationship with the Greek goddess Nike. It was pretty good, but I liked the other two novellas better.

There were also a couple of extras... some "interviews" with the Lords, narrated by William. And a love fest of a Q&A between Showalter and fellow author Kresley Cole. For me, the extras were just lagniappe. The real draw was the three stories. And they were worth buying the book. A solid 4 stars.

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Apr 10, 2010 Paranormal Haven rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-read-by-stephanie

3.5 Stars

There are two Lords of the Underworld and one Atlantis short story from Gena Showalter in Into the Dark.

In The Darkest Fire, Geryon is the guardian of the gates of hell. It is his job to keep the souls in hell. Kadence is the goddess of Oppression and plays warden to to Lucifer and Hades. When the demon lords start to attack and weaken the wall, Geryon and Kadence must go inside the gates of hell and stop them before they brake through the wall and are released into the world. Geryon h...more 3.5 Stars

There are two Lords of the Underworld and one Atlantis short story from Gena Showalter in Into the Dark.

In The Darkest Fire, Geryon is the guardian of the gates of hell. It is his job to keep the souls in hell. Kadence is the goddess of Oppression and plays warden to to Lucifer and Hades. When the demon lords start to attack and weaken the wall, Geryon and Kadence must go inside the gates of hell and stop them before they brake through the wall and are released into the world. Geryon has always admired Kadence at a distance. He has the appearance of a beast and thinks he is unworthy of her. Kadence however can see past the fur, claws and horns to the strong male that wants to protect her and is willing to go into hell for her. I thought this was a sweet story even though the ending was a bit sad. Any woman could fall for a tall, dark handsome man but it takes something extra in order to see past the face of a beast and feel nothing but love him. In this story you also get to find out how Pandora's box was made which I thought was interesting.

The Amazon's Curse is a story about Atlantis. Nola, an Amazon, was cursed by the gods not be seen, heard or touched by any one. Zane, a vampire, is to be sent to the Amazon camp as punishment to be used as a sex slave during their mating season. It is not until Nola starts to admit her true feeling toward Zane is she finally able to break the curse. I didn't feel there was much to this story. I felt like I was missing out on a lot of back history. Maybe it is because I have yet to read Gena's Atlantis series but I just didn't feel any connection to the characters. The story wasn't not bad it just wasn't my favorite of the three. Into the Dark is very Lords of the Underworld oriented and I felt this story was just thrown in just so it could make it to print.

We get a brief appearance by Reyes and Danika in The Darkest Prison. The goddess Nike was once tricked by Atlas so he could escape from Tartarus. He manipulated her emotions and as part of his punishment she branded her name into his chest. Once the titans took control of Mt. Olympus, it was time for Atlas to get his revenge. After he tattooed his name into her back, he had Nike thrown into prison. He thought that would be the end of it but his real feelings for Nike could not be ignored. Nike trys to refuse Atlas but she has never stopped loving him. It is always nice to read a story where the female lead isn't a perfect female. Nike isn't the most attractive woman but to Atlas, she is everything. The story was short and sweet and I hope in the future the LOTU can count both Nike and Atlas as allies. A moment that got me thinking was when Atlas went to Cronus and saw that Sienna was at his side. My poor Paris is in for a world of pain.

There were also plenty of extras to satisfy a Lords of the Underworld fan including and interview with Gena conducted by Kresley Cole, a look into the files of the Hunters and a round table interview with the women of the Underworld. My favorite section of the book was the interviews that William held with the Lords. It had me laughing and thinking 'that is so sweet'.

Favorite quote 1: William is interviewing Aeron.
"William: Zodiac Sign?
Aeron: Sign? I'm not holding a sign. My hands are empty
William: Are you embarrassed by your cluelessness? Because I'm embarrassed for you"

Favorite quote 2:
"Sabin: You say tomato, I say shut the hell up"

I really enjoyed reading Into The Dark. This would be good to have for all the true fans of the LOTU series because it helps to also clear up a few questions about the warriors and has detailed descriptions of all the Warriors plus much more. I learned a lot of interesting bits about the world of the Lords of the Underworld and I was very entertained. This is NOT another full length Lords of the Underworld book but a collection of short stories and a bonus guide. The guide alone along all the extras is worth buying this book. You also get a sneak peek into The Darkest Passion (release date May 25th) which is Aeron's book and The Darkest Lie (release date June 29th) which is Gideon's book.

~Stephanie G(less)

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Apr 02, 2012 Delisa sahim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dapat giveway dari blog-nya kak momo tapi hadiah dari kak Zai. Terima kasih kakak-kakak :)

Sebenernya bintanya 2,5. Tapi karena gak ada makanya 3.

Cerita pendeknya kurang panjang. Feel bacannya jadi berkurang. Dan di novel yang halamanya 429 hanya 238 halaman yang berisi tiga cerita pendek tersebut selebihnya wawancara dengan para tokoh-tokoh LOTU, sahabat gena showalter yaitu Kresley Cole dan daftar istilah.

Tetapi bukan hanya tiga kisah itu saja. Ada sebuah cuplikan cerita LOTU selanjutnya dan aw...more

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May 28, 2010 Rosey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 07, 2010 Trish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: LOTU fans, Atlantis fans, Paranormal

Shelves: gena-showlater, series, mythology-romance

This book is three short stories (two LOTU and one Atlantis story) that were available as eBook form and now are available in one printed collection, plus a bonus guide of LOTU interview from William, Q&A with Gena, LOTU women, and behind the scenes of creating the lords.

From the back of the book:

The Darkest Fire- prequel: Geryon is the guardian of hell, more monster than man. Kadence is the goddessof Opression, more angel than woman. Together they will enter the flames to battle a dangerous...more

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May 05, 2010 Bethany rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lots of fun!!! :) Cute short stories and lots of extra material. A nice peek inside Gena's head! There's three short stories: A little bit of a history lesson about the Lords, an out of place but welcome short story in the Atlantis series, and a non-pertinent but enjoyable LOTU related tale.

There was a lot of bonus stuff since the stories only took up about half of the book. The 'interviews' with the characters were fun, but as with most novels by women I was shaking my head the whole time think...more

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Jul 05, 2009 Kathrynn marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-paranormal, series-lotu_showalter, own, anthology

Per the author's Site:

"Q: Why can't I find The Darkest Fire, The Amazon’s Curse or the upcoming The Darkest Prison in the book store?

A: All three of those stories are very very short and only available as e-books. However, in the summer of 2010, all three will be printed in one volume called Into the Dark."

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Apr 27, 2010 Tori [Book Faery] rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, reviewed, read-in-2010

See this review in it's entirety at:
http://www.book-faery.blogspot.com

Overall book rating: B+

The Darkest Fire
Kadence, the Goddess of Oppression, is forced to monitor Hell's walls, ensuring that they never crumble. Geryon, a "monster," is stationed to guard Hell, protecting the living world from the vengeful spirits trapped inside. The two have worked side-by-side for years, never once uttering a word to the other. But, when demons start causing some trouble, will Kadence and Geryon be able to o...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Chandra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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About Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books in paranormal and contemporary romances, as well as young adult novels. Her series include White Rabbit Chronicles, Angels of the Dark, Otherworld Assassins, Lords of the Underworld, Alien Huntress and Intertwined.

Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Seventeen Magazine, and have been transl...more

More about Gena Showalter...

Books by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1)

The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, #2)

The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld, #3)

The Darkest Whisper (Lords of the Underworld, #4)

The Darkest Passion (Lords of the Underworld, #5)

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Trivia About Into the Dark

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Quotes from Into the Dark

“William: What's your nickname?
Maddox: I do not have one.
William" I'm happy to give you one. Captain Ass. What do you think?
Maddox: I can leave.
William: New nickname: Big Baby. Anyway, let's continue...” — 108 people liked it

“Lucien: And Flowers--but only Anya can call me that.
William: Fine. I'll call you Roses.
Lucien: You won't.
William: I will. Zodiac sign, Roses?
Lucien: First, how does my woman stand you? Second, I don't think I have a sign. I was created rather than born, and I am unsure of the day, much less the month.
William: I'll just mark your sign as "Roses". Choice of weapon, Roses?
Lucien: You are a bastard. But I like knives. I like to get up close and personal with my kills. Care for a demonstration?
William: Later. What are you looking for in a woman, Roses?
Lucien: Why don't I just call you Moron? Anya does.....” — 24 people liked it

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