Review – ‘The Darkest Surrender’ by Gena Showalter

Blurb 

Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor's edge of surrender.

Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can't afford because he has an agenda of his own-steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter-the love neither had thought possible...

Review 

This is my second time reading this book and I like it better than I did before.

Kaia Skyhawk believes Strider, keeper of Defeat, is her consort. She’s a Harpy, he’s a demon-possessed warrior, so you’d think they’d be perfect for one another. Kaia thinks so, too, but Strider is determined to keep her back even though he’s crazy with desire for her. Too bad she made a mistake a while back and he can’t get over it.

Their romance starts slow and the first sex scene isn’t until page 280-something. That’s very refreshing. Unlike some of the previous books in the LOTU series, sex doesn’t consume the storyline.

I’m not a fan of the Skyhawk sisters. They’re too bitchy, slutty, and they’re women-haters. The Harpy race is supposed to be a strong feminist race but I don’t agree. They forgive their consorts (husbands/men) for about anything and they always place the blame on another woman. For example, Kaia attacked Haidee for simply talking to Strider. She didn’t attack Strider at all for what she wrongly perceived as flirtation on his part and Strider didn’t get mad over it. He turns out to be a crappy friend to Haidee while Amun turns out to be a crappy boyfriend to Haidee for not defending her. Also, the main antagonist of the book, Juliette, and most of the Harpy race blamed Kaia for the death of their people hundreds of years ago. Juliette’s consort, Lazarus, murdered all the women and 14 year old Kaia was blamed. This un-feminist attitude really annoyed me and reconfirmed my dislike of the Skyhawks.

I’m honestly surprised by my 4 star review. I like the book as a self-contained story and I liked the Harpy Games plot, but I don’t see how the Games had anything to do with the overall storyline other than a way to find the Paring Rod, a godly artifact the Lords are desperate to own. Yes, Paris’s story is set up and we see that Kane and William are in trouble, but we didn’t get to see enough of them for their side storylines to really matter.

The link to my original review can be found here: http://amberdaultonauthor.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-darkest-surrender-by-gena.html

4 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.