To become a king of the underworld at long last, William must resist an irresistible beauty—or a curse will ensure his end… 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?
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I so love this series!
I love every book Gena writes, but this one is extra! Highly recommend!
William’s story did not disappoint!
Hilarious, steamy fun!! Gena Showalter is an AMAZING writer! Check out this book. You will not be disappointed.
Absloutley Loved this book!!!! It has everything a PNR reader could ask for!! Action Packed, funny, and sexy as can be!! A must read for not only Gena fans but for any PNR readers!! All Hail The King!!
This Book!! Oh my god! I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this wonderful book and I could not put it down. Going to work was a chore because all I wanted to do was read. I think that Sunny was the perfect match for William. She was basically a female version of him and so snarky and badass that you can’t help but love her. We learned William’s and Axel’s origins and how each of them ended up where they were. But the storyline as a whole was fantastic. It gave backstory, it continued the storyline from the previous books (i.e. war in Hell), and it was action packed like everyone should be expecting from this book. Honestly, one of the best books I’ve read in awhile. I can’t wait to see who’s story is next. I’m hoping for Axel!
SO MUCH FUN!! I just adored this super sweet (with all the magic action) story of William and his fabulous Sunny, the mystical Unicorn. Yes, there were tons of unicorn rainbow themes that Ms. Showalter weaved into this fantastic story. Lots of laughs for sure!
William has been a fan-favorite for several years. Always has the best lines, the best friends – (Anya is a hoot) and the best magic! But having been cursed at a young age to be killed by his future life-mate, he has avoided love at all costs. We all thought that Gillian (The Darkest Warrior — #14) was destined to by William’s mate – she ended up with Puck instead and that worked out perfectly. I never could quite picture a William & Gillian match anyway. He’s needed someone “unique” to finally break his pesky Love-Curse issue.
Enter the darling, quirky Sunny – a unicorn-shifter that rocks his world. Literally. I especially love all the magical unicorny-type personality traits that she embraces. Draws strength from rainbows, eats leaves and petals, loves everyone and all animals. She is also a badass code-breaker geek girl – just who William needs. Showalter has Sunny change looks and moods often – which quenches William the Panty Melter’s past queue of varying ladies. The banter between these two main characters had me laughing out loud and their chemistry was so steamy!
Our William is an “Alpha with a Heart” and proclaims his love on the regular to his adopted Dad (Hades) and his kids (Horsemen of the Apocalypse) – SWOON! Lots of family/bromance drama for sure and tidbits from our author on upcoming plotlines – Hello Axel (and his hostage?), then maybe Hades (and his mirror?)! And we finally find out what William actually is – or did we? It’s got to be in his eyes – his real father’s eyes? Another reason to get Axel’s book ASAP!
If you are a Gena Showalter, Lords of the Underworld aficionado – The Darkest King will not disappoint. If this is your first LOTU book, you will love the love story as it can absolutely be read as a standalone. Enjoy!
So long we have waited for William’s story and Gena did not disappoint all through the series we thought Gillian was his one and then Sunny appeared so much more his match and this story was epic all loose ends tied up into a fantastic ending I loved it thank you x
William’s book is chock full of adventure, witty banter, and panty melting fun! Sunny is a codebreaker who may hold the key to unlocking William’s curse. With a deadline looming, they must work together to decipher the book and set William free. Battles ensue and passions flare. A page turner, for sure!
BEST BOOK OF 2020!!! No. I don’t need to finish out the year to make sure that statement is accurate. IT IS.
I laughed, cried, cheered, shouted and swooned.
I’ve been waiting YEARS for William’s book and Gena did not let me down. It was everything I hoped.
Everyone who’s been throwing temper tantrums like spoiled children because the heroine is a WOC unicorn shifter? I’m giving all y’all ignorant trolls the double fisted unicorn salute. I absolutely adored Sunny and want to be her BFF.
Side note: I’m tired of the books that are topping romance charts because they’re filled with teenage bullies and the hero and heroine being awful to each other. Bad writing that depends on shock value. Hard pass. Learn to write amazing amazing romances that are captivating, edited and, shocker: ROMANTIC.
Open letter to romance (or supposedly romance) authors: More books like this. Less angsty brats.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I know there are a lot of people out there who have feelings in regards to William and Gillian, but here’s the thing, Gillian’s had her book. Gillian is happy with the turn of events. William is happy with Gillian’s turn of events. Not every true love has to be a romantic love, Gillian and William will always have an especially close bond because they grew up together in many ways and I appreciate that Gena gave them that.
With this book, first and foremost, I Loved William…of course I did! He’s the William the Ever Randy that we have grown to love over a dozen books, but in those 12+ books he has done what any great character should do, grow and develop, he’s still a bad arse, still cocky as ever, still a flirt, but he’s also found a sweet side that just endears him to the reader on another level. Secondly, I LOVED Sunny. Don’t tell me a unicorn shifter can’t be a F’n bad arse! Sunny has a heart of gold and a take no shite attitude and that is exactly the person Will needed! He needed someone who didn’t mold herself to be what he needed, as Gillian would have ultimately done if they had been together, he needed and deserved someone who knew exactly who she was and how to take what she needs! Sunny is the Bomb!
I loved their push and pull, though I will say Gena cut that off at just the right time because much longer with the back and forth in emotions and I may have thrown the book out of frustration, luckily she knew when to reel it in and save the drama. I loved their romantic moments, sweet at times and totally passionate at others. Like getting that look at William the Ever Randy, yeah baby!
I loved the look into Will’s present and past, getting to know the people who shaped him out side of Gilly, the Lords, and their loves. Understanding his upbringing, his joys, and his pain meant so much to me as a long time LotU and William fan.
I, of course, adored getting moments with the LotU gang, you can never go wrong when they pop back into you life. Most importantly I want and need more! I feel like Gena has opened a whole new world of stories to tell and I. Am. Here. For. It!
It’s everything you’ve been waiting for and more!!
William’s story is amazingly written! I can’t even begin to say how and why I love it so much without giving things away. All your burning questions are answered in this wonderful story of lust, love, betrayal and reconciliation.
Sunny is definitely the one for him! She gives him hell like no other Lord or Angel/Sent One has gone through with their woman and that’s saying something! Their first meeting ends in lust and bloodshed. The insults she hurls at him throughout had me rolling so hard! As did the banter between the two, along with William’s son’s, Axel and Hades! Who would ever think that the king of hell knew what breakfast cereal he’s most like
Hades and Axel are huge parts of William’s book and I loved every second of it! I can’t wait for their stories to be written! I actually had tears in my eyes for Hades in this book. I just felt so bad for the evil yet loveable king! He’s definitely at the top of my favorites list I don’t think Gena could have written this book any better and it’s definitely been worth the years of waiting! She’s a master at writing books you don’t want to put down and are sad to see end while craving the conclusion all at the same time.
I received an early copy by Gena but this in no way affects my opinion of the book or my review. Besides to say I’m ecstatic she put me in the book along with two of my friends Wendy and Naomi!! Definitely a bucket list item I didn’t even know I needed!
I had to read this as I’ve read the entire LOTU series. True to her style Showalter portrayed William in his unique personality which readers love. I enjoyed it. I didn’t love it. A teeny bit disappointed but perhaps my expectations were just unrealistic.
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.
This book kept me reading until I finished. I have been waiting what seemed like forever to finally learn William’s story and oh my Gawd…
He has one heck of a story to tell.
Cursed√ Raised by Hades√ Has a brother he didn’t know about√ and oh yes the fates are coming for Mr. Ready!!!
In the form of one sassy, spicy, Sunny!
This book has so much action, many past characters, and even a few who may be future books. Truly amazing!
**I borrowed the Kindle edition of this book from my local library**
3.5 stars
And this is why I don’t like going into a book with high hopes. This is a great story, but I’ve been waiting for William’s tale since we first met him many, many books ago (The Darkest Kiss) so my expectations were sky high. Like, unrealistically high.
I love a fake relationship story, and in its own convoluted way that is what this story happens to be. The funny thing is, I think William and Sunny thought it was fake more than anyone else. It seemed obvious to those close to William that he had finally met his match.
Getting to the heart of how the curse on William came about and how he dealt with things once he realized he was cursed was interesting. Again, it’s been many books that we’ve just been getting bits and pieces. As much as we know that Lucifer is bad, seeing the progression of him being William’s beloved foster brother to William seeing the truth of Lucifer’s evil was very well written and had me reacting on a gut level. If you’ve read the Lords of the Underworld series up to this point, you know there are many things that happen throughout that could really cause terrible feelings to resurface for many people. When it comes to Lucifer and his attitudes about violence and sex, that goes tenfold. I’m giving you a HUGE content warning on this book. Seriously, Lucifer is not a good guy. Absolutely NOT redeeming qualities.
Sunny is a lot of fun. She has seen so much tragedy and, essentially, been on the run for a huge part of her life. Yet, she finds a way to keep it together. She has an instant reaction to William, but doesn’t trust anything he has to say. Of course, she doesn’t realize that William is also reacting to her in a way he hasn’t with any other person. Where she is constantly reminding herself of William’s womanizing reputation, William is trying to rein his feelings in when in comes to Sunny. He is falling for Sunny so hard that he doesn’t want her to be his fated mate, that would mean he has to kill her or be killed.
I’ve never been a huge fan of William’s foster father, Hades. Just because he is now allied with the Lords doesn’t mean his intentions are good. I believe he loves William and cares for William above all others. I do not think Hades knows what unconditional love is, though. With everything William has been through in his life, Hades just piles on more guilt that is unnecessary. It’s painful to watch their interactions once Hades realizes the he cannot stop William from interacting with Sunny or his long-lost brother Axel. My heart breaks for William.
I could go through this story chapter by chapter and tell you all the good, there’s a lot of good. The problem I found was it wasn’t keeping me fully engaged. I think that had to do with pacing, not the story itself. There was a lot that was going on and it didn’t always unfold in a way that made sense or really flowed the way I’m used to things flowing with Gena Showalter’s stories. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the story or that I don’t think Sunny and William are a perfect match. I did and they are.
As is usually the case with this series, I got one HEA but now cannot get Axel out of my mind. I’d very much like to see him find his mate, too. There is plenty of story left to be told with other peripheral characters we’ve met throughout the series. This story was a bit anti-climactic in many ways, not just William’s story but also the overall arch of the Lucifer vs Everyone story. That coupled with the fact that I know there are more book after this one leads me to believe we will get to see Axel get his HEA someday.
Did this book live up to my expectations? No. Could it have? Probably not. But it was a good read and really was a lot of fun when we got into Sunny’s nature and how unicorns work.
William has finally met his match in Sunny! I absolutely loved it! It was sarcastic, sexy and so much fun!
Her Dark Kings books were good & I was interested in Williams story. I couldn’t finish this one. Same thing over & over. Minimal story. Won’t be buying any more.
OMG this book totally rocked everything i expected it to be-smoldering erotic romance,witty humor,epic action and unforgettable adventure about the infamous Anti-hero in the series William the Ever Randy in “The Darkest King” which is the 15:th instalment in the “Lords of the Underworld”series.William is cursed to get killed by his fated soulmate when he falls in love with her,and he desperately needs a codebreaker to break through the magical book where a code is to be broken to take away the curse.Through information from the Red Queen he knows that the codebreaker will be none other than his fated soulmate,and he decides to take her captive.
Sunday “Sunny” Lane is a unicorn-shifter and the one woman i have longed to read about ever since i met her in the former book.What a darling she was!I love her sassyness,wit,humor,her illogical mind and how goofy she is.I just wanted to hug her to pieces and she made me laugh my ass off!She is a match for William in strength and mind-and she DID LEAD HIM ON A MERRY CHASE!It was hilarious in the wicked way she handled him and the way she put out her “punishments” that made William go crazy with passion.I absolutely adooored this heroine,what a stunning woman for William and a brave and loyal warrior in soul.No wonder William couldn`t help but fall head over heels for her!She had him around her Little finger and she knew it!
William of the Dark, the Ever Randy is the prince of darkness,incarnation of war, the epitome of sex and the king of violence, savagery and carnality.He is the one man i have been mouthwateringly excited over ever since he appeared in the second book in this series.He is also known as the infamous mercenary and legendary womanizer who loves to kill and have sex like he needs air to breathe.He is so self-loving,arrogant,dangerous,wicked and the ultimate sexy badboy who takes what he wants and apologises to nobody.But when it came to Sunny he was so expressive,honest and vulnerable.Watching him falling in love with Sunny was like coming home and eating candy and chips on a Friday evening.My absolute fave hobby!William`s fierce need,attraction,devotion,care for Sunny made the romance so explosive that i was fanning over my head.He knew she was his soulmate,and still he was unable to resist her.Where before he always put himself first,in this book we see him putting the love of his life above himself and anybody else.Sunny was the sun and air for him-she was his fascination and happiness and he loved her with every breath he took.
***
“You tried to kill me. Therefore, you owe me a life-debt, and I will collect. From now on, you are my property. Every breath you take is my gift to you. Meaning, yes. I own you, body and soul.”
-William the Ever Randy to Sunny Lane
***
Gena Showalter created such a fine sizzling love-story between William and Sunny.Both are badass,dangerous and beautiful creatures with hearts of gold.Sunny always called on William`s shit.They always teased each other from their bad moods.Their way of arguing, bargaining, bantering and the way they fought to be together made them a paradise of a couple to read about.William never knew faithfulness and true love until he met his Sunny Lane.These two are one of the strongest power couple in “Lords of the Underworld”-series,and i am so grateful Showalter wrote this amazing romance for William and Sunny-they made my day so much brighter!
It is interesting that William and Axel are twin-brothers,and i love the bond they shared in this book.I also wonder if Axel and Evelina are fated?There seemed to be something electric between them!Hades makes me both want to kiss him and then slap him afterwards.I have no idea about this male,he is so infuriating,evil and bloodthirty-but do love William in his own way.I am also wondering if one of William`s and Sunny`s daughters will be soulmate to Gideon`s and Scarlett´ son!?That was something Keeley mentioned,and oh boy am i into it!I am also suspecting that Showalter have stories ready for the all other Kings of the Underworld,and i can`t wait to read more!
We have been wanting William’s story for a long, long time and it was not disappointing. I love the Lord’s series.