The Lords of the Underworld series is always good for a fun read; it's certainly hard to go wrong with the combination of mythological characters, an elaborate quest, and romance that's spicy and sweet at the same time. While The Darkest Passion is still a good installment in the series and does add some interesting facets to the overall plot, I find at the end that it wasn't one of my favorites.

This is for a lot of reasons; the hero and heroine don't seem all that compatible for most of the story. Despite her status as a fallen angel, Olivia struck me as kind of a Mary Sue for most of the story, and it wasn't until things were really looking dire that she finally decided to stand up for herself and what was hers. Likewise, Aeron was kind of a dunce for a lot of this book. Normally I'm all for having a code of honor and a sense of duty and responsibility, especially to those who have helped or sacrificed for you, but there came a point in this story where I wanted to send Aeron a memo that consisted of the following: SHUT UP AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND YOU.

I also wanted to strangle Legion, thoroughly and without reservation. I get that the conflict her was the product of improperly communicated expecations, but there wasn't a moment in the entire story where I felt sorry for her. Ma'am, you are a lizard. This poses some serious anatomical issues for what you're planning. I'm just saying.

I was way more interested in seeing the presentation of the heroine for Gideon's story, and in trying to figure out what was going to happen next in terms of the overall quest for the artifacts and the ultimate goal of defeating the Hunters and destorying Pandora's box. A lot of development goes on in these arenas, which is a good thing, and made me definitely look forward to The Darkest Lie, Gideon's book, which is out as we speak!

In terms of Aeron and Olivia, though, I hope they get a little bit of face time in future books, if only to enjoy themselves as a couple instead of as proverbial flies trying to extract themselves from a sticky, sticky web.

Overall Grade: B-

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