Exina's Reviews > The Darkest Secret

He gave her what no one else had ever been able to give.
A past to cherish.
A present to enjoy.
A future to anticipate.

The Darkest Secret is the seventh installment of the Lords of the Underworld series, the story of Amun, Keeper of Secrets, and Haidee, a Hunter.

Amun can hear everyone’s thoughts and hidden secrets. He has chosen not to speak, because if he releases a single sound, the secrets would escape and it would hurt his friends.

In The Darkest Lie Amun helped Aeron to save Legion from Hell, but during the journey, his demon, the high lord Secrets, absorbed hundreds of his minion demons into Amun’s body. Now Amun is not himself. His condition is infectious: whoever comes near him feels dark, evil urges.
His friends keep him chained, to ensure he doesn’t hurt others and himself.

Thousands of years ago, Haidee was the Bait who seduced Baden, Keeper of Distrust that ultimately led his death. Back then, she had paid for that, and the Lords had never thought they would see her again. But Haidee has the ability of being reanimated. She had suffered death and the pain of reanimation several times during the centuries.

In The Darkest Lie Strider captures Haidee in Rome, and takes her back to Budapest. They arrive to the fortress and learn that an army of angels guards Amun, but even the angels don’t know how to cure him.

For some inexplicable reasons, Haidee’s presence frightens the minions, and Amun calms down.
Zacharel, the leader of the angel army tells Amun there is only one way to get rid of the minions: he has to take back them to Hell. And since he is lucid only with Haidee at his side, she must accompany him.

With that, their journey begins, not only through the horrifying realms of Hell, but getting to know each other as well.


Amun is strong, reliable, and deeply caring, with amazing self-discipline and strength. He is a fierce warrior, and a devoted friend.

He knew his friends considered him calm, without a temper. Normally he was. But when he looked at this woman, this supposed enemy, this unexpected savior, something hard and primal seethed inside him, knocking at the door of his restraint. He felt like a godsdamn caveman, wanting to carry off his woman and hide her from the rest of the world. Wanting to put his body between hers and anyone who dared threaten her. Wanting to tie her to his bed, keep her there forever, keep her ready for him. Wanting to soothe her even as he ravaged her. The desires were dark and sultry, insidious as they snuck past his defenses and wrapped around his every cell, changing the very fabric of his being.
He was Amun no longer, but Haidee's man.

Haidee is extraordinary. With each reanimation she forgets her every good memory, and only the bad ones remain. And an odd hatred. Despite these things, she tries to conserve the good things: she makes tattoos, sends herself notes and pictures about her nice experiences. How fundamentally good a person she is that (view spoiler)[despite hosting a small part of the demon of Hate inside her, (hide spoiler)] she can overcome the hatred, and is capable of having positive emotions and desires.

“… she was killed again and again and again, and even though every good and decent memory she had was always wiped from her, even though she knew only sadness and pain, she found a way to love me, to save me…to die for me.”

The grandiosity of forgiveness and unconditional love is overwhelming in this novel.
After everything that had happened to them, after so much pain, loathing, and enmity, they are still capable of forgiveness and trust. People change. Particularly when they have thousands of years to live.

Amun and Haidee discover the connection between them is somehow inherent, therefore it is impossible to ignore or resist.

The chemistry is palpable between them. It is heated, passionate, all-consuming, plus it is spiced with telepathic communication.

The Hell-tour (view spoiler)[was totally unnecessary, as Zacharel says at the end, which (hide spoiler)] pissed me off at first, but I realized it was necessary anyway to create an exciting, horrific, fantasy-filled setting to Haidee and Amun’s story.

It was an amazing and heart-wrenching scene when Amun (view spoiler)[spoke up for Haidee, with actual words, not with sign language. (hide spoiler)]

Though the ending (view spoiler)[and the comeback of Haidee (hide spoiler)] are a little bit rough-and-ready: Haidee quickly sums up what happened to her, the reader doesn’t witness it. I really dislike narratives that tell instead of show. Despite that, The Darkest Secret is a fabulous installment of the LOTU series.

Ooh, the secondary storylines!

Paris, Strider and William’s vacation is hilarious. They provide many laugh-out-loud moments.

William jerked a thumb toward the backseat. “What about sleeping beauty?”
“He's not gonna kill himself while we're gone.”
“Do you have any self-preservation instincts?” Ice-blue eyes glittered with sardonic humor. “I meant, what if he wakes up, steals our car and abandons us?”
“Easy. We steal a truck and play chase. I've always wanted to drive a big rig.”
“I like where your head's at, Stridey-Man. Maybe we'll do that anyway.”

A ray of hope is flashed to Paris to find Sienna, and Strider and Kaia’s story is also intriguingly prepared.

"I cannot kill him," Kaia muttered to herself. "I cannot kill him. I promised Bianka I'd stop at ten bodies a day, and I've already surpassed my quota for the fifth day in a row. I cannot kill him."

My favorite quotes.

Read:
August, 2011
August, 2013
November, 2014