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The Darkest King  By  cover art

The Darkest King

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

To become a king of the underworld at long last, William must resist an irresistible beauty - or a curse will ensure his end.... 

A merciless prince feared by all....

Cursed by a vengeful witch, William of the Dark will die if he ever falls in love - murdered by the woman who steals his heart. His lone shot at redemption is a book filled with indecipherable code. Break the code, break the curse. Now, centuries later, he’s condemned to a string of one-night stands...until he finds the only woman in the worlds able to set him free.

A rare creature of myth and power....

One of the last living unicorn shifters, Sunday "Sunny" Lane works from the shadows as a cryptanalyst, on the run from assassins and poachers. Then, the darkly seductive William abducts her, holding her captive in Hell. The closer they get, the more she hungers for his touch...and the stronger a mystical desire to kill him becomes....

But which desire will prove stronger - lust or death? And who will give in first?

©2020 Gena Showalter (P)2020 HarperAudio

What listeners say about The Darkest King

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Total Dissapoitment

I certainly do not understand if everyone is reading the same book that I am and write so high reviews, but to each their own and I respect their opinion, just as much as you respect mine, and with that being said this entire book felt empty of everything, character & plot development, and don't even get me started with the cave style dialogue that it's getting old and ridiculous 🤨🤔. I mean a unicorn shifter as a love interest for William, glitter bombs and rainbows..... It's just sooo laughable and Absurd!!! I'm sensing someone is having an animal fantasy fetish or something? first Gilly with a goat and now William with a Unicorn... WTH??? I was struggling to keep reading.
The entire book felt like a whiplash of contradictions, and bipolars attitudes.
Not a good book in my opinion and I could have being definitely happy without reading it, but it was William and I had such high hopes, but nope, for me personally it was a total disappointment.....🤨.

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16 people found this helpful

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

suggesting that you read all of the series

love the book I've been wanting to hear William story forever always thought that he would be with Gillian but was thrown for a loop to find out that he wasn't meant for her and to read this book to find out everything after finishing it who's awesome.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I'm disappointed in the ending I don't like how it ended I don't have enough information I'm just kind of really Disappointed much mystery going on with William

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Die hard "Darkest" fan

This was my very 1st audio book. 12 hrs to read a book I could read in 4? I THOUGHT it was going to drag, but the narration was FANTASTIC !!! It was so good I actually had a hard time at 1st. In the 1st chapter William is being beaten. It took me a whole day to get threw it because of the narration . I felt as though I was there. That I, myself was being beaten. Now that's a good book !

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • R
  • 11-09-20

Very good

I had waited for this story for so long and it didn't disappoint. I wish there would have been a little more detail into his and axel's past but maybe she's saving that for axel's book. I can't wait for his!!!

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1 person found this helpful

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

If you're a fan, you'll listen - if not, move on.

Would I listen to it again: unlikely
Did the story keep me engaged: not really
Was I invested in the characters: little bit

These are MY PERSONAL thoughts on The Darkest King - everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect that - to each his own.

I've been a Lords fan since their first release more than a decade ago - I had high expectations for William's story, but for me, this one fell significantly short of the mark. It did get good at about the 11 hour mark, but up-to that point the constant inner monologue, self doubt and questioning became increasingly annoying. This just wasn't the confident / cocky William from the earlier books.

I feel like this series has lost it's way somewhere along the line, its early books with their origins in the mythology of Gods, Demons and Angels were awesome, but come-on - a Unicorn Shifter - really? Apparently I have a line in the sand with my Fantasy beings and this one stepped over it. Thea Harrison successfully pulls it off with her Elder Races series - but for me, it doesn't belong in this universe.

I think this series needs an end. I feel like the last few books have just lost that spark that made the earlier titles so good. (sorry! I think í'm done)

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

another one!!

i love this whole series and this one was great. max is amazing with all his different voices. i wish more of the lords had been involed with this book just bc i miss them. over all this book was like stepping into a movie in my head...but i have more questions about william than i had before and the end felt a little rushed.

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

absolutely amazing

I have desperately been waiting for Williams story for years, and now that I have read it/listened to it, I am satisfied!! I honestly felt they could have had more interactions with the rest of the worlds in the series...but with the ever randy, you'd guess where his story lies *wink wink*. i still give a 2 thumbs up!!

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

loved it

the beginning was slow but it got good. I'm happy with it! ! ,!

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

Williams Story Best One Yet

I loved it! I read the reviews and I was nervous about it but I loved every book before so I read this one too! I loved it! Unicorn Mate was Perfect! The only true love for a man that had everything!

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  • Christine
  • 02-29-20

fantastic

so long we waited for William's book and Gena did not disappoint all through the books we thought Gillian was his one but this book surpassed all expectations thank you this was epic and that voice was great telling it x

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  • London Doran
  • 07-01-21

Conflicted

I think I knew in my heart of hearts I wouldn't enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed other books in this series. I've put it off for so long. I wasn't as pressed as some "fans" seem to be that William and Gilly didn't end up together. That ship never did sail for me truly. And Sunny and William together were fun as heck. But something didn't click for me. It just wasn't it. Not all the way, the way I needed William's story to be.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 04-29-20

Amazing read

Loved it the story was enraptureing constantly twisting and interesting. The performance was good and story line foe William was great can't wait to see what comes next

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