Sandy M’s review of Ravenous (Dark Forgotten, Book 1) by Sharon Ashwood
Urban Fantasy published by Signet 3 Feb 09

I usually don’t read a lot of urban fantasy.  I like my HEA and a nice wrap-up at the end of my stories. But, as they say, a good book is a good book, and I’m now hooked on this Dark Forgotten series after reading Ravenous. I’m obviously a little behind in starting it all, with Scorched now on the shelves as of a few months ago. I at least have something to look forward to sooner instead of later.

Holly is a witch who stays away from big M-magic. Her magic was repressed years before as a young girl when a spell went wrong, so now to avoid pain when practicing her magic, she sticks to the small “m” kind. Her current assignment is to take care of a demon-possessed house, which she does, but the results are a little more than she bargained for.

Her business partner, Alessandro, aids her in this endeavor. He is a vampire who is interested in Holly for more than business, but since there doesn’t seem to be a relationship for them in the near future, he settles for keeping her as safe as possible. When a female body sporting a vampire bite is found in the house, they have their first clue that leads them into a supernatural mystery they never expected.

Both of these characters are very intriguing, and when Alessandro must bite Holly later in the story, she isn’t happy at all, because it basically turns her into his sex slave. She resists as best she can – and does a darned good job of it, considering – wanting to be her own woman. Of course, as handsome and sexy as Alessandro is, I kept telling her to go for it, he’s worth it! She didn’t listen to me, however, but at least a new bond is forged between them for future books.

The paranormal elements in this book are simply terrific, and neither that nor the urban fantasy elements overshadow the romance between Alessandro and Holly. Even the secondary characters are larger than life. Ashwood’s writing is amazing. I kept turning those pages as fast as I could, she had me enthralled with every turn.

So if you’re like me, you read an urban fantasy now and again, don’t pass this series up. It’s definitely worth the time to take a day and devour it one sitting. Believe me, you’ll have a hard time putting it down.

Grade: A-

Summary:

One kiss is all it takes to lose your soul…

Holly Carver is a small-time witch who busts ghosts for tuition money, but ends up wrangling a demon when a haunted house job goes bad.

Her Undead business associate, Alessandro Caravelli, suspects the demon is somebody’s not-so-secret weapon. The supernatural community is at war, and Holly’s unpredictable magic holds the key to hell’s doorway. Soon Holly is on everyone’s “must have” list, and not in a good way.

Alessandro wants her for more than magic. A lover with six centuries of experience, the vampire is walking seduction, but he’s also a predator. Every moment he spends guarding Holly, every second he spends falling under her witch’s spell, he becomes more and more of a threat himself. As Holly’s sharp-tongued grandma warns her: vampires are like a box of rich chocolate—they seem so tempting, but over-indulgence is a killer…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Devon’s review of Ravenous (The Dark Forgotten, Book One) by Sharon Ashwood
Paranormal romance released by Signet 3 Feb 09

What if there really were such things as witches, vampires and werewolves? And what if they decided to make themselves known, live side by side with “normal” humans? Can you imagine all the issues that might arise — legal, ethical…romantic? This scenario has been explored by writer after writer after writer of urban fantasy and paranormal. Yet we’re still reading it (I am anyway). Ravenous is Sharon Ashwood’s debut. Does it add anything new to the old tale of human and vamps just trying to get along?

While certain elements of the book certainly seemed derivative, Ashwood has a snappy style, with just a bit of snarky humor, without being too overdone or “wacky.” Holly, the witch heroine, is not the bad-ass Britney backup dancer depicted on the cover. She’s a regular, hardworking gal trying to make ends meet and pay for her education, using her inherited witch skills. At first she seemed bland, by the end of the book I found her straightforward emotional strength and intelligence (no self-absorption and poor self-control) to be refreshing. Holly seemed like a good person to have as a friend or ally. I finally understood vampire Alessandro’s fascination with her.

Alessandro was the most interesting character in the book. These vampires are dangerous, and they cannot do sex without blood. Their blood contains a venom which causes an addiction in human. Because he loves Holly as she is, he doesn’t want to take her blood and free will. So he tries to keep his distance and remain friends. His struggle was touching, his personality charming. I was even able to overlook his predilection for fringed leather. Why must vampires be so cheesy hair metal/goth? Did they all get turned in 1989?

Alessandro and Holly’s romance felt a bit secondary. I would’ve classified this as Urban Fantasy rather than Paranormal Romance. There is a lot of worldbuilding, with lots of characters and species introduced. I really enjoyed the university town setting. The inclusion of supernatural species gives a whole new meaning to the term “night class.” The concept of “The Castle,” a hell dimension created by human sorcerers to contain all supernatural species (evil or not), guarded by immortal, insane guardsmen, has great possibilities. When I visited the author’s website, certain concepts became more clear to me, which can be frustrating. I liked many of the characters, regardless. Oh, and the sentient houses, too.

Discussion question for Paranormal/UF fans: Why do vampires always have a monarchy? Did it start in folklore, or with a novel? How about witches as a separate species, rather than gifted humans? There were several worldbuilding and plot elements that I know I’ve seen before, but I could say that about almost any paranormal I’ve read.

After a run of easy-to-put-down books, Ravenous was a fun read, that kept my interest all the way through (though the ending seemed a bit rushed). Fans of this kind of story are likely to enjoy.

Grade: B-

Summary:

One kiss is all it takes to lose your soul…

Holly Carver is a small-time witch who busts ghosts for tuition money, but ends up wrangling a demon when a haunted house job goes bad.

Her Undead business associate, Alessandro Caravelli, suspects the demon is somebody’s not-so-secret weapon. The supernatural community is at war, and Holly’s unpredictable magic holds the key to hell’s doorway. Soon Holly is on everyone’s “must have” list, and not in a good way.

Alessandro wants her for more than magic. A lover with six centuries of experience, the vampire is walking seduction, but he’s also a predator. Every moment he spends guarding Holly, every second he spends falling under her witch’s spell, he becomes more and more of a threat himself. As Holly’s sharp-tongued grandma warns her: vampires are like a box of rich chocolate—they seem so tempting, but over-indulgence is a killer…

Read an excerpt