Bound by the demon of doubt, Sabin unintentionally destroys even the most confident of lovers. So the immortal warrior spends his time on the battlefield instead of the bedroom, victory his only concern…until he meets Gwendolyn the Timid. One taste of the beautiful redhead, and he craves more.

Gwen, an immortal herself, always thought she’d fall for a kind human who wouldn’t rouse her darker side. But when Sabin frees her from prison, battling their enemies for the claim to Pandora’s box turns out to be nothing compared to the battle Sabin and Gwen will wage against love…

People who know me, my reading and my favorites won't be surprised that I can't find enough appropriate words to express how much I love Gena Showalter's books. With THE DARKEST WHISPER she nailed it again. From the first page she latched on to me and didn't let go until I reached the end.

For me Gwen is the best heroine in the LOTU series up till now. She is a character that I loved from the minute I met her in the book. She is intriguing and likeable, powerful, yet vulnerable. She had two very different sides to her. A dark, violent, powerful side, her Harpy side, but she is also known as Gwen "The Timid" because her non-Harpy side is timid, kind and selfless. This, however, is just a thin veneer and a consequence of her tamping down her Harpy side. She craves normalcy, independence, and freedom from her Harpy and she wants to prove to her sisters that she can be as wild and strong as they are.

And then Sabin. He is just so deliciously masculine and protective, all the while denying his endearment and attraction to Gwen. He too is a contraction. He is hard, harsh, vengeful and calculating but has a boyish charisma at the same time. With his efforts to control his demon Doubt he may come across as confident and sure but I think it's more determination not to let Doubt overrule him than confidence. Sabin caught my attention in the previous book with his gruff and standoffish behavior but underneath he was so passionate and so sweet to Gwen it made me melt into a puddle. As Sabin never was a character that I was particularly intrigued by, I was very surprised at how much I loved him in his own story. He has definitely conquered a place among my favorite characters in this series.

I adored Sabin and Gwen and their journey to the happy ending but I was also utterly intrigued by the tidbits surrounding Aeron, Gideon, Thorin and Paris. I loved seeing the couples Maddox, Ashlyn, Lucien, Anya, Reyes and Danika again. And Anya’s sex addict friend William, who’s become the Lords’ permanent houseguest, added an intriguing and witty note in the midst of the cast of deities, humans, demons and harpies.

Every couple in the LOTU world is unique and Sabin and Gwen are no exception. They bring something different to the series both with their personalities and their love story. I like it when authors do that and Gena Showalter never fails me. Gwen and Sabin’s story is awesome and for me THE DARKEST WHISPER is the book I loved the most of all the books I’ve read to date in this series. Despite a lot of other things going on with the other Lords and the overall story arc, the romance and chemistry between Sabin and Gwen always stayed on the forefront, their story pulled on my heartstrings and on occasion also jumpstarted my laugh muscles.

Another thing I admire in Gena Showalter's writing is that despite of the tone of this book being more dark and intense (Paris and Aeron are turning darker and more tormented with every page) and the LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD are no happy, fluffy band of warriors (they do horrid things to their enemies), she still manages to retain that humorous undertone that's so typical for her writing and which I love so much.

With THE DARKEST WHISPER Gena Showalter has expanded considerably on the foundation she build with the first three books of the series. Those were meant to introduce the world, the characters and the overall plot arc. This book expanded on that and has further set the stage for things to come. Sabin and Gwen's story was told against the backdrop of an overall plotline that definitely made me want more. The small snippets of the storylines surrounding the other Lords (Aeron, Gideon, Paris, Thorin, Cameo and Amun) show stories unfolding for which the description "interesting" is an understatement. These sneak peeks and enticing POVs show things to come that offer many things to ponder and a lot to look forward to in this series.

My favorite book of the series was THE DARKEST NIGHT but THE DARKEST WHISPER with the twists and turns in the overall plot arc that totally surprised me, the wonderful romance between Sabin and Gwen and the fleshing out of future main characters and their stories has taken over the spot on the top of my list.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10