The Darkest Warrior: A Thrilling Paranormal Romance of Gods and Monsters (Lords of the Underworld Book 14)

I absolutely loved this book! I was so happy that Gillian got her happy ending with someone who worshipped her and saw her as an equal! I was shocked when I first found out William and Gillian were not going to end up together, but Gena did a fantastic job giving me closure on their relationship. I never liked the fact that Gillian was so young while William was developing feelings for her. I also never liked the fact that even though he was developing feelings, he still consistently slept with other women. Not a way to show your love in my opinion. I am actually really happy that they did not end up together. They are so much better as best friends! Puck’s character was a little difficult to fall in love with. I struggled with his beast appearance. I found it hard to believe Gillian would find him so attractive. However, it helped to learn that his demon was the cause of the appearance and that he was able to change back. I did love how much he loved Gillian almost immediately despite his demon and how he helped her become this strong confident women. He treated her as the warrior woman he knew she would become and didn’t baby her the way William did. Gillian went from scared abused little girl to strong fierce warrior woman. I absolutely loved her character development. I love a strong alpha female who doesn’t take crap from anyone! Overall this was a great read! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for William, Galen, Hades, Pandora, Winter, Cameron, the Sent Ones and all the other the new characters that were introduced! There were so many subplots that were hinted at in this book! I am so excited to see what’s next!

I absolutely LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down - and it dragged me right back into my LOTU obsession. Many many many fans of the series were extremely angry when Gena decided not to pair Gillian with William. I was not one of those people. I never thought that Gillian would go well with William - and always believed that he viewed her as a little sister of sorts, with the sexual aspect of the relationship coming from Gillian's end. William deserves a female who can quite literally kick his ass - and Gillian wouldn't exactly be the one to do that to him. If on the fence about the pairing of Puck/Gillian, give it a read. I can almost guarantee that you'll end up shipping them in the end. Gena does an extremely well job developing Gillian and Puck's relationship - making it a true slow burn (my favorite) where the sexual tension is so intense by the time they even have physical contact. To be honest, after reading this book, I now know what Gena meant by Puck being the right guy for Gillian. He was exactly what she needed. In the events of this book, William shows through his actions and behavior why he isn't good for Gillian, and why Puck IS. Gillian's development was also a favorite of mine - I loved how she went from a cowering woman to a badass female -- with the help of twins Winter (who I love) and Cameron (who I also love). I also REALLY loved the screen time of some of my favorite characters - Hades being one of them. I absolutely cannot wait for his book, it'll most likely be my favorite. I'm excited to see who she pairs William with - after all, he tells Gillian he has no interest in a woman who could kick his ass -- so yes, he needs to regret those words in the near future.... I also LOVED the eight kings of the underworld who serve under Hades, and Pandora and Rathbone, I swear, I can just TELL they're gonna be paired. Anyway, it was a wild ride, an extremely fun book that you won't regret reading!

I’m just going to state a fact: Gena Showalter is one of the best Paranormal Romance authors out there. She could write the phone book and I would probably buy a copy in hardcover and paperback because I am sure it would be witty and delightful. The Darkest Warrior was a controversial novel for fans of The Lords of the Underworld series from the second it was released. Gillian, the heroine of the story, and William, NOT the hero of the story, seemed to be a fated pair throughout the 13 (!?!?) novels leading up to The Darkest Warrior. Ms. Showalter flipped the script by pairing Gillian up with Puck. I, personally, loved the pairing. William and Gillian never made sense as a fated pair in my mind. Gilly was too young and William was too everything. I should have expected how Ms. Showalter dealt with Gilly’s youth and immaturity, but I didn’t. She always manages to surprise me and that’s one of the reasons I love her so much. Without spoilers, let’s just say it was a freaking delight to see Gilly become the heroine she was meant to be. Her journey included violence, different realms, and losing a few limbs (no worries they grow back), and somehow I completely related to it. Showalter let Gilly stand on her own two feet so she could stand beside Puck as an equal, something she never was to William. Let me say, I have loved Puck, the keeper of the demon Indifference, since we first met him in The Darkest Touch (still my favorite LOTU novel to date). He was possessive and brutal but also tender and supportive. He saw and respected how strong Gilly was and loved her all the more for it. While I really enjoyed this novel, I don’t think this book would be the best place to start for a new to the series reader. There were many characters, who all have multiple names, a plethora of realms and even more world building rules. It would most likely be confusing for a new reader of the series. Another slight glitch for me was the complete retelling at the beginning of the book. Readers of the series already knew that Puck and Gilly were bonded because that event happened at the end of The Darkest Promise. The first twenty percent of the book were events that already happened and it really bored me. I understand that Ms. Showalter needed that to make this book standalone, but I was still a little disappointed at the slow start. Overall, the complete story made up for a slow beginning. The action was spectacular, the romance was sweeping, and the sexy times were SUPER sexy. I have been completely invested in this series for years and I know my obsession won’t wane anytime soon. I loved getting to know some of the secondary characters better and as always, I am dying for the next book. I highly recommend you start with book one (The Darkest Night) and fall in love with the series from there, but if you want to start with Puck and Gillian, I really can’t blame you. The Darkest Warrior is a wild ride! **I received a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**

This girl likes to be Pucked! Freakn' Awesome! Totally loved it! As always, Gena Showalter constantly brings us stories that capture your hearts and souls. Her characters always amaze me with their transformations - going from brutal beast that they are to sweet passionate lovers. I totally got Puck and from the beginning I was on his side. As far as Gillian goes, I'm glad she went from wimpy to kick A$$ Raider. This book was brilliant in my eyes because life is not a given and sometimes things work out for the best. In the past books I always thought Gillian was a nuisance and really didn't care for her because everyone felt sorry for her or treated her like she was a fragile piece of glass. I mean, come on, William was a man whore and it's gonna take someone a lot tougher and just as magically conceited and delicious as he is to fix his dilemma. The world these Lords of the Underworld live in and the other realms that we learn that exist. always capture the perfect fantasy get away I'd love to stay in. I think that's why I love this series so much. The character's demon themselves personalities draw me in too. Just think, Gena is not only building one character but she is building two characters into one. I love how she merges them together because it makes the demons become sexy (almost humanized) and you can see their transformation as well once they get to know their new host. I loved this HEA. Thanks Gena for taking me away into a paranormal romance fantasy I will never forget - your writing style of hilarious bantering scenes between the characters, the bad A$$ battle scenes, and the magnetic passions of erotic lust turned to love are the perfect recipe for your awesome Lords of the Underworld Series. I look forward to your next installment. Excellent Read!

So here is the thing…. I know, I know a lot of fans wanted the whole “Gilliam” thing and trust me, I get it cause I was one too. But as Gena said in a post many moons ago when she gave us fans the heads up that it wouldn’t being playing out that way and that she wanted to do her characters justice. WELL SHE DID, please believe me when I say it wasn’t meant to be. As the story develops you learn this. With Gillians history and story, it will unfold all the why’s. Let me tell you I went in skeptical thinking I would not be satisified and would end up disappointed but very early on, my tune started to change, bout 3/4;’s the way through I was a total Puck fan…. 100% with no regrets and I could say “ Yes, this is where it needed to go”. Bottom line –without giving too much away- William needs to work on himself. With Gillians tragic past everyone thinks “ She isn’t ready” or “She has stuff to work out” but in actuality they both do and William is seriously just as complicated and “not ready” he isn’t ready and he wasn’t the right character for her. Trust me I’m telling you. Please, please give Puck a chance and go in with an open mind and you will see what I am talking about. If you are one of those stubborn females that cant be open minded well then …..there is no help for you and you probably should run the other way.

At first I was hesitant that this book was going to be a huge mistake because of Gillian ending up with Puck. But then after reading it I came to the conclusion that this story is how is should be. Gillian was a fragile human. Once immortal she turned into a warrior. All thanks to Puck. If not for Puck, she would have either died or she would have been locked in a closet her whole life and not ever given a chance to grow stronger and past her fears. She showed an empowerment for women. I already recommend the whole series to my friends. These books help me cope with depression. Along with a couple other series by other authors. They give me something to look forward to always. Knowing there will soon be one out for me to read. Thank you Gena. You are amazingly talented. Keep up the amazing work and please if you get a chance. Please continue your Angels series. I need Xerces and Bjorn and Axel's books.

Add me to the list of people who was never a fan of "Gilliam." I always found their relationship (and particularly William) to be immature and icky in the sense that he has so little confidence in her ability to take care of herself. He treats her like a daughter, not an equal. They could never be partners. On the other hand, I'm a huge fan of Puck and a huge fan of Gillian (someone I never much interest in either) when she's with Puck. I will say I found the SPOILERS time fast forward very convenient in developing Gillian from a boring victim to a badass immortal heroine but I won't complain because otherwise I would have probably disliked this book. I liked the Puck and Gillian storyline a lot when it was introduced in LOU 13 and I was really looking forward to this story. It did not disappoint. If not for the confusing setting (an Irish tribe in Arabia?) it would have been my favorite LOU. Even so, it's pretty up there. No doubt Puck is hot. William needs a few more centuries to grow up. He's obnoxious and getting his heart broken is probably extremely healthy for him.

This book had my attention from the get go. I went in prepared for disappointment because no matter what Gena Showalter had said about changing my mind with this strange pairing I was certain she wouldn’t be able to do it. I just finished reading The Darkest Warrior and I am not sure if she was wrong or I was. This book was very well written – one of her best offerings in fact. I was sucked in from the first page and had a hard time putting down the book. At the same time, it took me a few days to finish because there was a part of me that didn’t want to read it. I did manage to finish it and I am glad I did. I was very frustrated by the direction Showalter had indicated that she was going in and while I didn’t publicly berate her decision or vow to never buy from her again, I was really not here for Gillian and Puck. In my mind, you cannot build up a relationship through several books then abandon the story at the last minute. And it was last minute. The pairing came out of nowhere for me and there was no easing into a more platonic relationship between Gillian and William to get me used to the idea. It seemed like a spur of the moment idea and it showed in the book. On the other hand the story itself is engrossing. The supporting cast are a treat. The chemistry between the H and h crackles off the pages and the conclusion was satisfactory. Showalter’s decision to use the first chapters of the book to give us Puck’s back story and version of events was a wise one and made him seem more likeable rather than the interloper who caused the end of Willian. I understood his motives and came to enjoy him. But the fact is I would have enjoyed him more if we hadn’t had years of Willian build up. Also, I couldn’t really get into the furry goat feet thing - Gillian is weird. Initially I thought I might begin to dislike William during this book, but Showalter brought out a maturity in him I hadn’t seen before. New facets of his personality were revealed and even though at first he came on as his usual arrogant self, by the end he had grown up. My issue with William and by extension Hades in this book has nothing to do with the character himself, but the way writers are able to manipulate their creations as they see fit. I could be totally wrong, but when I read the part where Hades says he is certain that Gillian is not fated for William and he would kill her if necessary to get her out of the way - He helped Puck so that Gillian would be apart from William - I had this moment where I came out of the written world and wondered if Hades was just voicing Showalter’s own feelings on the matter. What I am trying to say is we all know William is the most popular and intriguing male character to come out of this series, does Showalter think - like Hades -that William deserves better so in a last ditch move wrote this book to justify the separation? At the end of the day, no matter how great Puck is, he is no William. William is THE prize male all the readers want to read about and Gillian didn’t end up with William. I wished we had more than a few letters to Puck to really show how Gillian became a warrior. I felt like the use of different timelines and swift passage of time was a cop out and it was even worse that we didn’t actually see enough of Gillian overcoming her trauma. It was more Showalter telling me, hey, Gillian is a bad ass now rather than letting me witness it myself. I also didn’t buy the instant lust between Gillian and Puck no matter how well the attraction was written. She had barely known Puck and he left her alone for hundreds of years but as soon as she sees him again it’s on? Nothing for William who she had known and trusted for much longer? Showalter does a pretty good job of presenting Gillian and Puck as a great couple and at the end she had done what she set out to and I was invested in our H and h’s happy ending. I would have given this book 5 stars if not for the underlying “wrongness” I constantly felt throughout. I wish that Gillian and William had realized that they were meant to be just friends a few books ago rather than discovering it here, thus taking away from what could have been my favourite book in this series. Puck deserved better. I will not abandon this series. Showalter is a favourite of mine and I cannot wait for Galen and Legion’s book. I feel like Showalter has written here the best book she could have under the circumstances. My critiques have very little to do with Puck and Gillian as written and more about me not being fully able to immerse myself in the idea of a broken Willian. She almost sold me, but not quite. I really hope that by the time William’s book comes around I will be fully converted. I cannot wait to see who Showalter thinks is worthy enough of him.

Saga dans l'ensemble addictive, personnages attachants, histoire intéressante grâce à quelques petits rebondissements même si la fin est convenue d'avance.

I felt bad for William but it is what it is I like puck and Gillian they look good together

Great book if you are following the series. lots of twists and turns

Awesome book! I love the lords of the underworld! Every story is amazing. I couldn’t put this book down! I would recommend this series to anyone who loves romance and science fiction!

Great thanks.