Ravenous

Ravenous by Sharon Ashwood

The Dark Forgotten

ISBN# 978-0-451-22617-4

Available now

Published by Signet Eclipse/Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Format: mm pbk., 344 pages

Genres: fiction, urban fantasy, paranormal romance

Ravenous is the first book in Sharon Ashwood's The Dark Forgotten series.  The second book, Scorched, will be out in December and looks to feature Mac (the detective from Ravenous) as a main character.  This book is one of the reasons the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance is so fuzzy to me sometimes.  The main characters hook up and weather some iffy relationship issues, but there's also the urban fantasy author detail to the world-building and the bigger issues, like a battle for the city.  Also, be sure to check out the Silk and Shadows blog she shares with authors Allison Chase, Annette McCleave, Jessa Slade, and Kim Lenox.

The world has vastly changed since the year 2000 when vampires, werewolves, fae, etc. decided to come out of the closet.  Now if someone says their house is haunted or a vampire attacked them they tend to be believed.  Holly is a witch that's found her niche in this new world by doing small magic like clearing houses and finding lost items, but when she's called out to what should be a routine haunted house it may be more than she can handle.  The Flanders house is not haunted, it's sentient, and pissed.  She ends up saving her boyfriend, who was trapped inside, and "killing" the house, but at a very high price.  Holly ends up in excruciating pain when she does big magic, and now that her human boyfriend has seen what she can do his prejudices against the supernatural community include her.  This is only the first day in her week from hell, maybe literally, when her partner Alessandro Caravelli also finds the work of a serial killer in the house.

Now that Holly's single she's fighting the long time attraction to her vampire partner because everybody knows they're just predators with highly addictive venom.  Alessandro feels the attraction too, but thinks it will never work, especially when his jealous queen comes to town.  It turns out she is not only there to help the police catch their serial killer, who may be a vampire, she's also there to confront an old enemy.  That's when demon portals start opening up all over town, even in Holly's very well warded home.  Creatures once thought extinct are coming through in droves and their jailers are coming right after, but for them all of the supernatural races are the enemy.  Battle lines are being drawn, but when Omara's treachery is known will Alessandro finally leave her side for good?

When I first started this book I was thinking, "It's pretty good, but there's really nothing new here."  Once you get further in there's all of nifty stuff like watching a man slowly become a demon.  It turns out that the demon realm is actually a human construct called The Castle, made when they first tried to purge the supernatural from the world.  We also learn that even vampires need hope, with the story of The Chosen.  I think Holly is a great character that starts out underestimating herself, but she grows throughout this book.  She starts out in a relationship where she had to hide herself and she goes on to face a jealous vampire queen, her own demons, and finally a huge demon portal.  The cover is another case of the author having no say because Holly never dresses like that so don't let that put you off.  If you don't mind a little sex with your urban fantasy definitely give this book a try.  Ravenous may also appeal to fans of Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series.

Zhye