Scorched
By: Sharon Ashwood
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Publish Date: December 2009
Format: Paperback, 4 1/8" x 6 3/4", 366pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Second book in The Dark Forgotten series. First book is Ravenous.
Recommendation: Yeah.
Book Synopsis:
Welcome to the Castle. The price of admission is your soul.
Ex-detective Conall Macmillan has always had a taste for bad girls, but his last lover really took the cake - and his humanity. Now half demon, Mac has lost his friends, his family, and his job.
But Constance, a strangely innocent vampire trapped in the Castle prison, needs his help. Her son has been kidnapped, so suddenly Mac has a case to work - one that embroils him with a mad sorcerer, and even madder city council, and a winged love god. The trail leads deep into the supernatural prison, and Mac soon learns that cracking the case will cost him his last scrap of humanity.
Fiery, vulnerable Constance will do anything for those she loves, including Mac. He'll be damned if he turns his back on her... and a demon forever if he doesn't.
First Sentence:
"Good evening to all you fanged and furry listeners out there in radio land. This is Errata, your hostess from CSUP, the FM station that denies and defies the normal in paranormal."
My Review and Summary:
I read Ravenous before I started blogging here, so I don't have a review for it. Do you need to read it before this book? No, I don't think you do. You could if you would like to get just a little bit more idea of the background but I don't think it is needed to get into this story.
Mac returns to Fairview a year after the big show-down, which killed the female demon who made him the demon he is now - or what is left after Holly Carvers' spell that left him strong as his demon and very hungry but not able to eat human souls. Alessandro Caravelli has been waiting Macs return... to kill him, as punishment for his involvement with the demons against all other supernatural creatures trying to live peacefully with the humans and against the humans as well.
Alessandro seems to have softened some with living off his love with Holly now as apposed to feeding on blood, and puts Mac in the Castle - a supernatural prison. In the Castle Mac learns more of the Castle and its inhabitants along with finding a case that calls to his human nature. The Castle itself is in danger of failing. I start to feel for Mac in this book. He is just an innocent man who got mixed up with the wrong girl in the last book and now has to suffer as an unwanted demon. But Mac starts to find his way.
There is not as much in this book with Holly and Alessandro. These two are a wonderful couple (witch and vampire) and I really started loving them in Ravenous. You do get to meet Ashe, Hollys' sister. Now, you thought you had it bad with the in-laws? Try being Alessandro, living with probably the most powerful witch to live from a family of witches and her sister... being a vampire slayer.
I really enjoyed the tremendous amount of possible angles to the storyline here in the beginning. There was a good bit thought to happen with five great characters storylines. I really enjoyed getting all the different views in the beginning. Then, getting into the book it seemed to slow down in the storyline for me. It seemed that Holly, Alessandro, and Ashe got put on the back burner with Mac and Constance being the front line of the story. Which I loved learning about this couple, but I would have liked more from the others.
It was also given that the Castle is a very dangerous place, but I was expecting more from the Castle than I got. Then I got to the last seventy to eighty pages and the story picked up wonderfully again. I got here what I wanted from the Castle and got to have my favorite characters in the action as well.
The couple Mac and Constance was hard for me to accept at first with the way they got together. It seemed a little rushed or pushed, but by the end of the book they were perfect together.
In the end of the book I loved all the characters and all seems great... for a time. There is an opening to go into a book three. I will pick up book three because I have liked these characters again and the author has left me with hope for book three to have great possibilities.
While I liked this book, I as well had problems with Mac and Constance..I felt their romance forced...no real spark between them.
ReplyDeleteI do love The Castle and I am very interested to see how the next couple get together :)
Nice review!
Sounds like an interesting book, so will take a look next time I'm at Barnes & Noble. Enjoyed your review!
ReplyDeleteMandi - I am interested to see who the next couple will be as well. I was thinking there is always Lore but Ashe seems to be more needy for love than Lore. Who do you think it may be? Do you think it will someone who is already in the stories kind of like Mac?
ReplyDeleteAlexia - I am glad you enjoyed the review. I hope if you get it you enjoy it. I look forward to hearing what you think if you read it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting, I haven't heard of this book.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like each book will have a focus on a new love interest. But it also sounds like the other characters still stick around.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy that kind of play on characters.
hmmm, I am worried about the start of the relationship because like you said it is very hard to accept if they are rush into it.... but all in all this sounds like my kind of series!!!=)
LadyStorm - If you read this book and even Ravenous I look forward to reading your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteck.twilighter - Welcome to the blog. It does seem the books focus on different love characters. The love works out in the end but is tough in the beginning. If you read them I do hope you enjoy them. Thanks for stopping by!