Forced to his knees in agony whenever he speaks the truth, Gideon can recognize any lie—until he captures Scarlet, a demon-possessed immortal who claims to be his long-lost wife. He doesn’t remember the beautiful female, much less wedding—or bedding—her. But he wants to…almost as much as he wants her.

But Scarlet is keeper of Nightmares, too dangerous to roam free. A future with her might mean ultimate ruin. Especially as Gideon’s enemies draw closer—and the truth threatens to destroy all he’s come to love…

I would have to say that this book is definitely one of my favorites of the series so far. How can you not love Gideon? His humorous, yet sardonic wit is quite amusing, and who can resist a inked up, pierced, funky-blue-haired Lord? Not I, for one. We left off at the end of the last book, with Gideon finding out that Scarlet, the Keeper of Nightmares, is in fact his wife.  Yet, he does not remember her… let alone how they met or when they were married. Something about her does resonate with him though… his tattoos are actually parts of her he remembers. They also share matching ink  that reads “To Part is to Die”. I know, right? How damn swoonworthy is that?

If you have read the series, you are aware that Gideon has his own language called “Gideon-speak”. As the Keeper of Lies, Gideon cannot speak a word of truth without being brought to his knees in agony. So he must say the opposite of any truth he wishes to speak… so that he in fact, lies. For example, if you were to ask Gideon if he were hungry and he says “No, I’m not hungry,” he actually means, “Yes, feed me.” I know it sounds confusing but it’s not difficult to figure out, so don’t be concerned about reading Gideon’s dialogue.  After the first few pages, I found it nearly effortless to read and not a problem at all. It also helps that we get a lot of Gideon’s internal dialogue so we often know what he will say before he opens his mouth.

Scarlett is such a great female character, and a great match for Gideon. Her demon, Nightmares, is scary-ass but the woman herself is quite vulnerable, despite her tough, badass facade. She’s gunning for revenge and despite her obvious attraction to Gideon, she is pissed that he seemingly up and left her for centuries without a word. Once you get her story, you appreciate the girls tenacity and spirit. She’s been through hell and you can’t help but admire her strength and courage. Another reason I love Scarlet? Her impeccable taste in men…not just because of Gideon either. Read on…

For some reason, the anger drained right out of him and his lips quirked into the semblance of a smile. “No spirit. I can’t see why I would have chosen you.”

Do. Not. Soften.

“I don’t want to know who you’ve named yourself after.” He straightened from the door frame, though his arms remained crossed over his chest. “Please don’t tell me. Please.”

Casually asked, with that hint of amusement, yet there was now a sharp gleam in his eyes, as if he would close the distance between them, if necessary, and shake the answer out of her.

If he touched her, if those strong fingers closed around her arms… No, no, no. She couldn’t allow it.

She shrugged as if the information didn’t matter. “Well, I’ve been calling myself Scarlet Pattinson for several weeks. Have you seen Robert Pattinson? Hottest. Man. Ever. And no, I don’t care if that makes me a cougar. He sings with the voice of an angel. Gods, I love when a man sings to me. You never did because your voice is terrible.” She shuddered in distaste. “I swear, it’s like a demon running his claws over brimstone.”

If you haven’t read my previous reviews, you may not know that I am a HUGE Robert Pattinson fan… so yeah, I was very happy with my girl Scarlet when reading this part. I may have squeed a little…

These two together make for some hot schmexy times. I found that Gideon is much gentler than his Lord counterparts. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very passionate but he’s so damn romantic. I felt much more of a connection between Gideon and Scarlet that I felt was lacking in the other couples. It is probably due to the fact that they have a history, and as their heartbreaking story is revealed, you can’t help but feel more for these two who have lost so much along the way.

Ms. Showalter outdid herself with the plot twists in this one too. We get a lot of back story when we ride along with Gideon and Scarlet during their flashbacks. Lots of funny scenes with Strider in this book as well, it really made me look forward to his upcoming book. Galen continues to be quite an interesting character, as we find out more about him when Nightmares pays him a much deserved visit or two. There is also a very interesting excursion into hell with Aeron, Amun and William, on a rescue mission for Legion. Yeah, I’m not getting into that one…

The next in the series is The Darkest Secret, with the silent Amun. I was pleasantly surprised with him, but I will explain more about that next time.

Gina