Sharon Ashwood
Ravenous
The Dark Forgotten, Book #1
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Heidi
Holly Carver is the last practicing witch left in her family and lives in her family’s magical self-cleaning and self-healing house that was built by the spells of her ancestors. But Holly suffered a traumatic experience when she was younger that has left her magic a little off. She can’t use it to its full ability and when she does use it, it causes her pain, therefore, she limits how much she utilizes it.
With her boyfriend, Ben’s, encouragement Holly has decided to go back to college. To pay for it, she’s taking jobs ridding people of their unwanted ghosts. She has enlisted the help of a family vampire friend, Alessandro, to help her.
Her latest assignment is the Flanders house. It’s another magical house, like hers, but this one is evil. Six people have gone in and none have come out to tell the tale. Holly and Alessandro go in and start investigating only to find out that one of the six people trapped in the house is Ben. Holly pulls out all the stops to try to save Ben and the others from the living slime they are trapped in inside of the house, but the effort drains her and causes so much pain that Alessandro has to carry her out of the house. Holly is able to save three people, including Ben. Alessandro also discovered a body hidden in an upstairs room, one of the campus murders.
Ben can’t handle Holly’s magic life. He’s a human that tries to pretend magic doesn’t exist. After seeing what went down in the Flanders house, he ends things with Holly.
Then, a six foot mouse appears in Holly’s house, which she later finds out is a demon that was brought through in a portal that somebody opened in her house. She manages to close the portal and strengthen the wards on her property, with the advice from her grandmother. But the damage has been done, the demon has been freed and quickly starts sucking people’s souls from them making them her servants.
Alessandro and Holly grow close, while trying to figure out how to rid the town of the demon.
Meanwhile, Mac, a detective investigating the campus murders, starts reaching out to Holly for answers after a strange night. Unbeknownst to her, the demon has kissed him, causing him to turn into a demon as well. He in turn kisses her to start her change as well. Holly looks for answers and is taken to the vampire queen who informs her that the only way to prevent her from turning into a demon is to have a vampire mark her with their bite. The queen insists that Alessandro do the deed. He doesn’t want to, as it will take her free will forever making Holly his slave, but he eventually sees that it’s the only way to save her, so he marks her. They later find out that it was unnecessary that if they had trapped the demon back into the portal that she wouldn’t have been able to reach Holly to do any damage. This news angers Alessandro and causes him to break allegiance with his queen.
Being with Alessandro sparks something in Holly though and she dreams of her traumatic experience unblocking all the memories her unconscious mind had hidden and also giving her full use of her magic, without pain. Holly is eventually able to fight the bond of Alessandro’s mark and is able to get rid of it with her magic, giving her back her free will.
The battle between the demon and the creatures trying to stop her rages. Alessandro is injured and Holly manages to trap the demon back in the portal, but it causes her to be trapped there as well. But Holly created a door over the portal in the process and Alessandro finds it and goes in after her. They eventually find each other and Holly chooses him, making an old myth come true. If a human loves and chooses a vampire of their own free will, the vampire will no longer be ruled by their bloodlust and can live off of love instead.
Alessandro and Holly make it back home and Holly becomes the gatekeeper of the door to determine who can be on either side of the portal.
I liked Holly’s character. She seemed like any average girl trying to juggle a romantic life, a house, a job and going back to school. She wants to help everyone, even if it puts herself at risk. Her relationship with Alessandro is interesting, but a bit predictable. And of course I want to know where I can buy a self-maintenance house, like hers!!
I knew there was something up with Ben, and figured he was somehow involved, but never expected him to be in so deep.
Reading this book, I thought it was OK but it was a bit too easy to put down during the majority of it. That was why I was so shocked when I got to the end of it and discovered I had been sucked in and that I liked the book, after all. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
