Review: The Darkest Lie

THE DARKEST LIE (Lords of the Underworld #6)
Gena Showalter
Paranormal Romance
436 pages
Harlequin
Available Now

THE STORY
Gideon, keeper of Lies, is plagued with the inability to speak the truth. Instead, he's forced to voice the opposite of what he truly means, with only those closest to him understanding what he's trying to say.

Scarlet, a vessel for the demon of Nightmares, travels to Budapest to issue a warning to the Lords. Cronus, the new king of the gods, has issued a set of scrolls to the Lords with names of other beings who are demon-posessed. Scarlet's name is on such a list, so she demands the Lords not search for her in any way. Of course, the Lords cannot let someone as powerful as Nightmares loose in society, so they capture her and throw her in the dungeon.

Here she meets Gideon, a man from her past she is unable to escape, and a man she desperately wants to be part of her future. Gideon, however, is unable to remember anything of his history with her, and constantly struggles against his growing feelings while trying to get her to understand the convoluted language he has to speak.

The Titans, ever watchful and ever conniving, keep a close eye on both Scarlet and Gideon as the two of them explore their past life together. They continue to insert themselves in the Lords' war with the hunters, providing aid when necessary and refusing it when it suits them. Temporary allegiances are made, old enemies are remembered, and a new supernatural force continues to make it's presence known.

MY THOUGHTS
Gideon and Scarlet have a history together. They don't simply meet by happenstance and fall instantly into lust and decide to try and make a relationship work. In all the previous novels, the women have been strangers to the Lords, and I like that in Gideon's case there is much more present in their interactions than simple physical attraction.

Gideon himself is hard not to adore. He so badly wants to just once tell a woman she's pretty instead of ugly, call her "angel" instead of "devil", and scream at his enemies that he wants to kill them instead of kiss them. The Gideon Speak does take a little getting used to however. Trying to decipher what he's saying slows the plot down a little, and every once in a while you can't help but take what he's saying at face value and are left slightly confused.

Scarlet I find to be a little frustrating. I genuinely feel for her as her past is revealed, and empathize with her plight to find Gideon after they were separated when the Lords were kicked from the heavens, but her constant inability to commit to a decision lessens my opinion of her. She's extremely naive with regards to her feelings, and though Gideon has given her no reason to doubt otherwise, she refuses to believe he truly cares for her and therefore constantly pushes him away thinking his life will be better without her in it.

Because she continually recants on this decision and comes back to him, poor Gideon is forced to deal with the repercussions of having his feelings taken from one extreme to the other. She loves him and is going to stay, then she can't possibly stay because she's hurt him enough already, then she can't imagine her life without him, then she fears her staying will result in godly wrath so she must go. Gideon, as a result, is happy one minute and then constantly trying to make peace with her decision to go the next. Phew, that is a lot of decision making in a short period of time.

I still truly enjoy these books and will of course be continuing the series. Amun and Strider are next, so I can't wait to see what's in store for Secrets and Defeat.

Rating: 3.5/5