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Cover of Darkest Hour

Darkest Hour

Andrew Neiderman (1993)

SubgenreDark Fantasy
Age groupAdult 18+
Content ratingHard R
Pages (Standard (250-400))
SeriesCutler Family #5
Setting
CSM age18+

Content levels

ViolenceStrong
Sexual contentExplicit
LanguageModerate

Positive tags

Not yet tagged

Hero archetypes

RakeAristocrat

Synopsis

***Growing up on the thriving plantation called The Meadows, Lillian Booth cherishes the brightest, happiest dreams....*** ***Lillian's world is full of grand parties, of sunshine and promises, as thrilling as the fairy tales*** Mama spins for her and her little sister, Eugenia. No one, not even her cold, stern Papa and her Bible spouting sister Emily, can crush her spirits -- until the day Emily reveals the shattering secret at Lillian's birth, a secret Mama sadly cannot deny. ***Still Lillian refuses to believe Emily's hateful claim that she is evil, a curse...even when sweet, gentle Eugenia loses her fragile hold on life, and Mama retreats further into her fantasies.*** But when tragedy befalls her best friend, the one boy whose tender heart mirrors her own, Lillian comes to believe Emily's grim words. Meekly, she endures her penance, finding a strange solace in the endless repetition of prayers in a room stripped of all comforts. ***Lillian's heart is torn anew when, in a drunken haze, Papa subjects her to the most brutal degradation.*** Then Papa loses The Meadows in a card game, and Lillian is faced with a new and terrifying prospect. Arrogant, handsome playboy Bill Cutler will return the plantation -- if Lillian will marry him! Now Lillian must leave her girlhood home behind, and make a bold new beginning as the mistress of a hotel called Cutler's Cove...

Darkest Hour: content & age rating

Intended for adult readers (18+).

This dark family saga contains graphic depictions of child abuse, incestuous sexual assault by the protagonist's father, emotional manipulation, and religious trauma. The content is extremely mature and disturbing.

What to know going in

This book has strong violence, explicit sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include sexual assault, child abuse, incest, emotional abuse, and religious abuse (see the full list above).

Who'll love this

This is not appropriate for children or teens due to extremely graphic adult content involving abuse.

Tags

Gothic HorrorFamily SagaHistorical FictionPsychological Drama