Hurts so good
“The Darkest Pleasure” by Gena Showalter
“Hola Lola, did I mention to you the stuff Mimi’s been up to while you were away? First, there was her sitting me, Juan and Sven down and telling us that having thought over it long and hard, she’s decided that she will be able to bring herself to eat us should we all be stranded on a raft somewhere in the middle of the South Pacific. And if that wasn’t enough, she…” Sheridan stopped short, having gotten a good look at Lola’s office.
“Um, Lo? Is there a reason why there’s a giant Styrofoam replica of the Parthenon in the middle of your room? And why are you wearing a white towel tied around you with rope?”
“I am channelling my inner Greek!” insisted Lola, shaking a bunch of incense sticks furiously. “I am calling upon all the powers of the Greek gods, to bring me my very own Lord of the Underworld! And it’s meant to be a toga!”
“Say what?” Sheridan demanded.
“Lord of the Underworld! See in Gena Showalter’s series, legend has it that Pandora’s box was opened not by Pandora, but by the elite warrior guard of the Greek gods, thereby releasing all manner of demons and ill upon the world. And so in punishment, the gods cursed each of the warriors to be possessed by a particular demon. And can I just say, I’m SO loving Reyes, Lord of the Underworld and Demon of Pain. So basically, he is doomed to feel nothing but pain, and that’s the only way he can gain any sort of pleasure for himself. So he does this whole thing where he jumps off a building every few days, so that he smash all his bones and feel his bone splinters slice open his organs.”
“This really sounds like something Mimi should be reading,” Sheridan said doubtfully.
“No! Reyes is mine! All mine! Or at least, he would be if he wasn’t so obsessed with Danika Ford. The Lords of the Underworld and their arch-enemies the Hunters are after Danika. The Lords for some reason of their own, and the Hunters because they want to use Dani to destroy the Lords, which they think will cause all the evils of the world to disappear. I seriously think the Hunters should focus their attention on hunting down people who wear Crocs, and leave these delicious manly Lords alone. Priorities people!
“But seriously Sheri, Reyes with obsessed with his “angel” as he calls her, with a capital O. But he’s afraid of corrupting her with his demon, because any woman who he sleeps with starts wanting to inflict pain on others. And not pain in a “Oh spank me Big Daddy!” kind of way either. But even though he tries to stay away from Dani, he can’t help himself, and he swears to protect her. He’s like this ferocious killer, who crumbles at the slightest look from Dani. I personally don’t get it! I mean, why her?! Why not me?! I have an extremely high threshold of pain! I barely even flinch when Sven cracks my toes! Punish me Reyes! Drown me in your manly essence!”
“Gross!”
“I didn’t mean it like THAT. Although Reyes has some serious freaky ways of getting off I must admit. Because he’s afraid of corrupting Dani, he tries to handle the problem (literally) himself. And while he’s at it, he always conveniently carries a dagger so that he can cut through his leg muscle when he um, gets off. But other than that, he’s a real sweetheart! He prepares food for Dani, and it’s so cute how this fearsome demon won’t let any of his brother demons near the food meant for Dani. And does Dani appreciate the effort that Reyes went to? NO! Choose me Reyes! I’ll happily eat anything you want me to!” said Lola fervently.
“Oh my God are you even listening to yourself Lola?” Sheridan demanded.
“But seriously! At the slightest threat to Dani, he’s ready to let his demon out and trust me, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of the Demon of Pain. * Spoiler* Like when Aeron, the demon of Wrath stabs Dani, none of the other warriors can pull an enraged Reyes off Wrath. But one little whisper from Dani, and he’s hurtling to her side and clutching her body in his arms. *whimper* And when she vanishes from his arms, his scream resounds through hell itself. Aieeeeeeeee!” Lola yelped, thumping herself on her chest. “I want a demon Lord of my very own! And then how Reyes sits there and watches old home videos of Dani non-stop, determined to do anything possible to regain her.”
Lola sniffed mournfully, and then gathering her resolve, gathered up her peppermint-mango incense sticks once more. “I’ll just have to keep praying harder. One day the gods will hear my cries!”
“Errr, yeah. Good luck with that,” Sheridan said, inching out the door. “At this point, Mimi looks like a way saner bet.”
Marsha said,
November 22, 2008 @ 1:40 am
Hurts! Hurts so good, not hurs.
I was out seeing Twilight with a friend this morning until nearly 3 a.m. and then had a first-thing meeting. That is my only defense for type mania today. Sorry.
cutepolishgirl68 said,
November 22, 2008 @ 5:06 am
I am so glad you liked this book- now go get book 1 & 2!!!!!! Hurry, do not pass go, do not collect $200- oh well yeah, get the money first so you can splurge on the books. Yum, Yum!!!!
cutepolishgirl68 said,
November 22, 2008 @ 7:16 am
btw- I forgot to mention the LotU are unavailable for future manwiches. Sorry Ladies, the days and nights are booked solid until June 17, 2015. However, I may be able to find some openings for my very dear RMB friends *blink, blink*.
La Lola said,
November 22, 2008 @ 10:23 am
Hey Marsha, here’s your first comment, which got eaten up by the dreaded Spam monsters. Side-point: Can anyone, ANYONE AT ALL teach us a way of not having spam on our website?? Because if you can, Juan and Sven are yours for a month! Ok, maybe a week. Or a day.
Marsha: Yep…reading about Reyes hurs so good (I know, I shouldn’t have gone there). But? That scene with him in the bathroom? I don’t know. A bit much. No, a lot much. But still somehow sweet. Put me down as conflicted on the point of Reyes, but it was still a great read.
La Lola said,
November 22, 2008 @ 10:27 am
Yeah I know the scene in the bathroom was a bit out there. I mean, way to push the envelope Gena Showalter! Oooh and how was “Twilight”?? The RMB girls are planning a movie night out to catch it, once we manage to unbury ourselves from our massive piles of TBR books.
And CPG, I’ve read Lucien’s book! Loved Lucien, didn’t like the book (or his heroine) that much though. But I’m eager to read the first one, which I have sitting on my nightstand right next to me! *pats it happily*
Sayuri said,
November 23, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
Ryeys is mine! MINE!
lauren said,
November 24, 2008 @ 1:44 am
Have you girls read Meljean Brook at all? I have only read one of ehr angels and demons books, the second one, but I think I’ve found my all time favorite vampuire in Collin. You may want to look into these are a replacement for BDB if the current trends of that series holds, I plan to.
La Lola said,
November 24, 2008 @ 11:18 am
Get a grip Sayuri! Also, I don’t remember you calling dibs!
I haven’t read Meljean Brooks lauren, care to give a bit of background? For a vampire that is close to approaching the BDB, I say sign me up! Will definitely go check this out.
lauren said,
November 24, 2008 @ 11:47 am
Well I missed the first book, which I think has a lot of setup. It’s not a vampire series strickly, there are angels and demons and vampires. It’s kind of hard to explain, and let’s just say that Brook knows her Milton and used him to create the backstory pretty much. But there writing is good and as I said Colin is probably my all time favorite vamp, my dream come true of a regency rake transported to modern times. I am having a hard time tracking down Demon Angel which is the first book.
La Lola said,
November 24, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
This is awful! Thin Pale Scary Lady doesn’t have any Meljean books! And even more tragically, has never heard of her! *weeps* How will I get my non-PG13 vampire fix now?! *wails to the heavens*
Sayuri said,
November 25, 2008 @ 1:40 am
Sheridan, I totally dibbed Reyes ages ago on either one of the Lara Adrian reviews or BDB reviews.
Reyes and Strider are MINE! And Paris….and perhaps Maddox too. LOTU Manwich here I come!
Sayuri said,
November 25, 2008 @ 1:44 am
http://www.ripmybodice.com/2008/05/03/like-a-virgin-touched-for-the-very-first-time/#comments
30 May!
Sayuri said,
November 25, 2008 @ 3:12 am
Sorry Lola, I called you Sheridan! My bad! I still called Reyes first tho.. *g*
Meljean Brook is awesomeness incarnate. My fav of hers is Demon Moon. Drifter is YYUUUMMM!
Sayuri said,
November 25, 2008 @ 3:13 am
Demon NIGHT…not Demon Moon. God, You’d think I was drunk or summat.
lauren said,
November 25, 2008 @ 7:27 am
Sayuri, I really liked the sound of Demon Night, so good to hear it is good, and really Ethan (he;s the hero right) sounds more like my usual fav hero, but for some reason I just am all about Colin.
Sayuri said,
November 25, 2008 @ 8:31 am
Lauren, Colin is fab but Ethan, he’s a cowboy, my weakness. Yum, yum, yum!
lauren said,
November 25, 2008 @ 10:52 am
Ohhhhhh I love me some cowboys, on a scale of good to bad cowboy does beat out rouges.
La Lola said,
November 25, 2008 @ 4:59 pm
*scowls at Sayuri menacingly* You win Sayuri. THIS time. But Zsadist is still mine. And Bowen too!
*taps chin thoughtfully* Is it possible to be a roguish cowboy Lauren? Because imagine the possibilities!
lauren said,
November 26, 2008 @ 9:51 am
I’d say the best are! Or would those be the outlaws.
Julie Bo Boolie said,
February 1, 2009 @ 10:31 am
I’m sorry but I got to say I’m disappointed. She had the opportunity to really push the kink factor up a bit but the sex scenes were actually.. well kind of dull. I liked the story. I liked the characters. I just didn’t find the book terribly hot when there was just SO FREAKING MUCH potential for hot. I mean bite him, scratch him, spank him, squeeze his manly bits while fondling him wickedly… stab him in the shoulder? not so much.
Of the 3 books I’m going with #2 as the best so far because Anya’s got to be one of my all-time favourite heroines.
This was left me frustrated. She just could have done SO MUCH MORE *frustrated pulling out my hair scream*
La Lola said,
February 2, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
Wow you thought there wasn’t enough kink JBB? *scratches head* I dunno… I thought having a couple of knives in bed and stabbing your lover was pretty out there!
Julie Bo Boolie said,
February 3, 2009 @ 12:16 am
Stabbing your lover isn’t sexy .. biting him yes.. scratching him yes. Stabbing? Who gets off on stabbing?
Maybe it was just too out there for me.