• The Darkest Craving

  • Lords of the Underworld, Book 10
  • By: Gena Showalter
  • Narrated by: Max Bellmore
  • Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,037 ratings)

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The Darkest Craving  By  cover art

The Darkest Craving

By: Gena Showalter
Narrated by: Max Bellmore
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Romance, 2014

New York Times best-selling author Gena Showalter is back with a breathtaking Lords of the Underworld tale about a warrior trapped by darkness and the woman determined to save him.

Having endured weeks of torture in the bowels of hell, Kane wants nothing to do with his beautiful rescuer, Josephina Aisling. The half-Fae female threatens to awaken the demon of Disaster inside him - a beast he's determined to kill, no matter the price.

Josephina is hunted by a brutal enemy - her royal family - and Kane is her only source of protection. He's also the only male to ever set her aflame, and even he succumbs to the heat. But as they navigate the treacherous world of the Fae, they are forced to make a choice: live apart...or die together.

©2013 Gena Showalter (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

  • Earphones Award, 2014

"Narrator Max Bellmore rides herd on Showalter's epic paranormal romance to excellent effect. He clearly portrays Showalter's huge cast of immortals, each with individually crafted personas, while simultaneously building sympathy for Kane and Josephina's star-crossed romance. In particular, he captures Kane's frustration as he tries to free Josephina from Fae enslavement. Listeners experience firsthand the perils of Josephina's life in the Fae realm through the indifferent or downright nasty tones Bellmore gives to them. Segmenting an extended plot into meaningful episodes, he alternates moments of high drama with well-inflected description. His commanding voice reflects the mood of Showalter's action-packed story, filled with both fight scenes and Kane and Josephina's stolen intimate moments. Bellmore ensures that Showalter's immortal-length saga doesn't drag for its mortal listeners." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Darkest Craving

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not your typical LOTU book

Although this book was an improvement over the last installment, it still lacked a certain spark from the other Lords of the Underworld books. Most die-hard Gena Showalter fans are aware of her new writing style and either like it or hate it. For me it wasn’t the writing style as much as the substance. This book started out well and ended well, but really just fizzled for the majority of the listen. The whole Cinderella story was a bit different for a LOTU book and just didn’t work for me. I found most of the story boring; with the exception of William. He’s always entertaining no matter what the storyline. I will probably continue with the series simply because I'm 10 books deep now and have to know how it all ends.

Overall I can only give this book 3 stars.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ah...The Lords of the Underworld

I'm a big fan of the Lord's. I've read them all and enjoyed each and evey one of them. Some more than others. This one will rank as a good one but will not be at the top of my Lord favorite's. In saying that though I must say that it was a very good addition to the story. If your a fan like me then you know you must continue with the story. Sometimes all of the story can't be great, but it fills you up anyway. This one leaves you wanting more and with that question of "Oh no, what's going to happen next?" I, for one, look foward to the answer.

So YES use that credit and continue the story with me. If your not a fan then you know my advice, LOL, get Book 1 and catch up because I know you'll love this series.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not a complete disaster.

This addition seemed to have a different feel to it. The book was good but far from my favorite, closer to my least favorite. I did like how things turned out in the end. I am still a fan though and will continue to read Gena Showalter's book diligently. The ones I enjoyed most are Death, Doubt, and Defeat, although Violence and Lies are close second. I am a Torin groupie so I can't wait for his story. This book has made me also anticipate Misery's story which I bet is next. If you have read this far then you know you like this series. If you are looking for something similar I would recommend the Demonica series by Larissa Ione.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

ANOTHER HEARTPOUNDING HEARTWRENCHING WINNER

I'm sure any fan of LOTU series will have this as an auto download because the whole series is that good and GS is such a very talented author that we, her fans, devour her books as soon as they become available then eagerly await the next one. For any who haven't sampled her creations then you could start here but be warned and prepared cause I'm sure you'll want to spend another 9 credits to get the rest in the series.

Poor Kane was literally in Hell but Josephina a half Fae rescues him and that's when the action, fun and drama begins. Disaster (his Demon) causes untold damage as Kane attempts to help Josephina but in the beginning she only wants one thing from him.... and it's not love and Kane goes through, and back to Hell to win her heart.

There are so many parts to this multi-layered listen - plot twists, new characters, new 'entities', Apocolyptic threats, a Fae realm, thrills, questions, sub plots, loose ends, tension, romance, passion, humor, sacrifice, and, of course some old loveable characters from previous books, that your mind will hardly be able to keep up everything that's being thrown at it and when you finally reach the end speech will just be beyond you.

How very talented GS is as she lets her imagination fly to conjure up and create an alternative paranormal Universe that includes Demons, Gods, Harpies, Fae, Angels etc., then fills it with tortured, loveable, funny, charming characters and she finally creates riveting, enjoyable, thrilling, tender, romantic, sexy, twisted, heartbreaking stories for them to be involved in. Then we, the listener, embark on these magical journeys, narrated perfectly by MB, that take us to new fantastical places, spins us, entertains us and then, finally... slides us back to earth having been truly and thoroughly entertained.

Worth a credit? After this review do you really think I'm going to say naa because you'd be soooo wrong - it's well worth the credit and, as long as GS keeps writing them, I'll keep pressing the 'Add To Cart' button.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Really Disappointing

First off, I am a huge Gena Showalter LOTU fan. This book was really lacking the same fire, passion, interest and strenght of characters that her prior books had in abundance. Gena's new writing style is really hit or miss, and this was a big miss. Most of the story was boring, and it was very hard to get into Kane and Josephina as main characters. There was no chemistry or passion - it just seemed off. Also, Kane's nick names for Josphina were very annoying - "tinkerbell" or "tink" - it just seemed to grind on my nerves. On the positive side, Gena did set the stage for a couple of other books to come that might be interesting! I just hope they are the "old" Gena style!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed...

Any additional comments?

**NO SPOILERS** First of all let me say that Gena Showalter is one of my all time favorite PNR authors particularly her Lord's of the Underworld series. I devoured all of the previous books in this series and have listened to the entire series multiple times...this book did not even come close to Ms. Showalter's usual writing perfection that we find in all of her other lord books. I am so disappointed!! All of her usually steamy scenes were watered down so much that they only tease us with vague uninteresting descriptions, leaving all the juicy details up to the reader's (or listener's in our case) imagination. I can't understand why Ms. Showalter completely changed her writing M.O. in the middle of a series, especially a series that has done so epically well...the other parts of the book were also sadly lacking. There are several new stories being spun in this book with no answers or resolution. Also, diaster's love for tink has no natural progression, heck there isn't even any sort of super natural progression. One minute the two are strangers and the next minute the two are inseparable soulmates. It's not believable and therefore it didn't engage my emotions or interest. I would have stopped listening halfway through the book had I not kept hoping it would get better....disappointing to have to write such a review about a writer I respect and like but I know she can do better.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, funny, moving, amazing

I am constantly surprised how Gena Showalter is able to create such a large cast of characters and make each one feel new, unique, and special. I loved following Cain’s journey with his fiery Tink. This book has it all. It’s sexy, laugh out loud funny, moving, and a great story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Who wrote this?

This Lords of the underworld book was written by someone else. It's a different take on the Cinderella story. The Kane in this story is different from how I imagined him based on the other "warriors" ( I'm so tired of that word by the way lol) and the few glimpses I had of him in other books. Max Bellmore did a bad job on the narration too. I liked Cameo's voice in the other books. In this one she didn't sound miserable. Anywho... Kane does not come across as a lord of the underworld to me. More like an average immortal joe with issues. Tinker Bell is pathetic one second and brave the next. The only reason I'm still Listening to this is for the side stories. My review is all over the place yeah but this book is just wrong. No excitement, no build up, no tension. Just Blah. Thank God for William. Oh and please give Legion back to Galen!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Very Disapointed

I'm not sure if it was the narrator or the story, maybe both. I was bored from the very beginning to the last chapter. I was hoping the story would pick up, but it just keep lingering on. The narrators had no spunk in this story. It's sad because I really enjoyed the series. I have been looking forward to Williams story. But right now I don't think I even want to torture myself with listening to the voice of Max Bellmore. I have listened to hundreds of books some good and some not so good But I could not wait for this story to be over. I've always like Kane Lord of Disaster but I just could not get into this book. I had pre-ordered this book. Next time, I will wait for the reviews.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Candy Cain! This one is another favorite !

I’m mean, all the warriors stories are my favorite. Like the others, this one had a storyline, love, sex, brutally, a strong woman. Everything. Moving on to the next book in the series.

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