I had several really major problems with THE DARKEST NIGHT.

There is a pretty substantial facade of supernatural violence in THE DARKEST NIGHT - the Lords of the Underworld are cursed to see and do an awful lot of really grisly stuff - but the romance itself is very tame. I read dark, paranormal romance novels because I want a...dark, paranormal romance. Not peaceful, bland romance in a spooky setting. Maddox and Ashlyn spend their time together talking, cuddling, and getting along just fine. They worry about one another - that's about the extent of their conflict.

My second objection is very similar to the first. Maddox is fused with the spirit of Violence. We learn early on that Maddox's sexual history can be summed up as "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am", on repeat. But when it comes to Ashlyn, Maddox is constantly musing to himself about how even though he's dying to have sex with his woman, he really just wants to talk to her for a while first. He does thoughtful things like tidy up and dust in order to make the boudoir just perfect; he sets the stage by decorating with colorful scarves; when Ashlyn says that she reads romance novels, Maddox admits that he does too - and wants to maybe read some aloud with her.

I signed up for a book about a wild, uncontrollable alpha male. Instead I got the caring yet spicy escapades of a tame, sensitive beta male. Ashlyn has almost no personality at all.

All of these little touches - that Maddox instantly shares Ashlyn's interests, that he prioritizes talking over sex, that he cleans up around the house, that he anticipates her desires and meets them - reek of a kind of fantasy that I find disturbing. I like men to be men, and I don't think true love equals slavish devotion.