Review–Dark Promise (Underworld #1) by M. L. Guida

                                                            Published March 3rd 2014 by Lyrical Press

Love can unlock the secret to saving two worlds.

As the Golden Aspen Tree withers, darkness consumes the Dragon Demons of the Underworld, turning them feral. Prince Eric Wyvern must keep his darkness at bay and woo the silver-haired human tainted with angel blood whose touch is prophesied to save the Golden Tree and restore light to the Underworld.

Cassandra Wright, a gifted psychic, has dreamed of Eric her whole life. When her dream lover joins her on a ski vacation, he plunges her into a nightmare. Imprisoned in a dying world filled with abuse and torture, she must become the Demon Prince’s mate or remain trapped forever. If she fails to fulfill the prophecy, the darkness will spread to her world. But how can she give herself to this dark and frightening version of the man of her dreams?

Eric will give Cassandra the world, if only he can make her see past the darkness to the man he really is, and help him save it first.

I had the absolute hardest time rating this book. I loved the story, the writing was top notch. The hero was absolutely PRIMO! I fell in love with a couple of the secondary characters and desperately want to follow up with this series, but there was one majorly irritating component that kept this book from being a slam dunk five. Arrrrrgh! The heroine!! This is a short book and Cassandra came very, very close to making this a DNF for me. If I had not been so enamored with the basic premise of Dark Promise and Prince Eric, this book would have fell to the wayside. There was a lot of time devoted to Cassie's friend and her ex, I didn't find any of this relevant, although maybe it was to help explain why she was such an unmitigated (insert derogatory female slur here). She had been dreaming of Eric for years, yet is beyond rude when they finally meet. She has always felt like an outcast because of her abilities, yet when someone offers her an explanation and acceptance, she not only blows them off, she does it with extreme prejudice. I tried to find something likable about Cassie. Honestly.

The entire story hinges on Cassandra being Eric's mate. Eric is ready to fulfill his destiny although I can't believe after Cassie's behavior that the thought of eternity with her didn't make him take a step back. As I stated previously, I fully intend to read book two when it is published. I am actually looking forward to it, but I hope there are major overhauls in the heroine department.

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