Download Forbidden: The Revolution epub

Special Agent Dell Renfield is on a new assignment, going under cover with Special Agent Alexandria Sanchez to bust a drug ring in Vegas. But that's just his day job. His father, Byron Renfield, former Dominie and leader of the revolution against Cain's followers, is certain that Dell's new partner Alex is actually a Chosen child and vampire Christopher's daughter, taken from her father after her mother's murder. But Byron's been certain before and Dell can't let his father's quest keep him from doing the job he's actually paid to do. Even as Dell becomes more and more convinced his father is right the longer he spends with Alex. She's captivated him effortlessly and despite his determination not to be a blood drinker, it's all Dell can do not to take a taste...of anything and everything she's willing to allow him to taste.

Their undercover job takes a turn when a decades-old spell flares up around Alex, and a simple assignment takes on wider implications when the focus of the investigation turns towards an old foe. Dell is going to have to sacrifice everything to keep Alex safe, even if it means dipping into the darkest of the dark magics, even if it means the price of those magics is his very soul.

A lack of exposition is a serious problem for this book, which is set about twenty-five years after the events in Forbidden: The Ascension (book 2). Much more needed to be provided to a) remind the reader of the world building and series mythos and b) give a rough overview of previous events that would draw a reader into the time line and remind/inform them of the happenings in the previous books. Without it, I felt cast adrift in a flurry of almost random scenes that were meagerly fleshed out and populated by ill-defined characters. An unfortunate sensation that wasn't a problem in either of the previous books in the series.

Unlike those, Forbidden: The Revolution drops the reader into an initial meeting scene between new partners Alex and Dell, and while their chemistry is immediate and there was some humor in their repartee, the strength of the plot surrounding them is cursory at best, with a confusing directive and muddled assignment that never seems to really coalesce into something meaty. The entirety of their stay in Vegas is heavily overladen with a repugnant but ultimately impotent mid-level bad guy fronting a darker threat, but even that's not given much room to grow before Alex and Dell are "finished" with their assignment and on their way to reunite Alex and her father. There is quite a bit of time spent on the heat between Alex and Dell at the expense of their job, and that was disconcerting.

What disappoints me most about this book, however, is that the plot, while bare-boned to the extreme and lacking clear definition, back story, or development, IS based on a solid concept and had a handful of appealing characters with a lot of potential. Had there been about 100 or so more pages that concentrated on exposition, defining and fleshing out the plot conflict, identifying the antagonist, and offering the characters a bit more depth and a lot more identity, this could have been a first rate novel and elevated Sommersby to another level in the paranormal romance genre.

As it stands, I thought it was an okay - if perfunctory - read that left me feeling more disappointed about what WASN'T there than I felt for anything that was.

Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

FORBIDDEN: THE REVOLUTION by Samantha Sommersby.

STORY BRIEF:
This is Book 3 and continues the story about vampires who can eat and drink normal human food. They don't require human blood. As they get stronger they can exist in sunlight. In the past, mating with humans was against vampire law. In Books 1 and 2, Ren (a vampire) mated with Violet (a human). They had vampire son Dell who is now 25 years old. Dell works as an agent for the PFS (Preternatural Special Forces). Dell has been assigned to a job with Alex a human woman as his partner. They must pretend to be lovers applying for jobs at a Las Vegas hotel, which is one story. A second story involves a spell that was put on Alex as a baby. The spell was supposed to protect her, but it had the effect of keeping her a virgin. She and Dell are attracted to each other, and they want to find a way to reverse the spell. A third story involves the relationship between a succubus and a vampire. A fourth story involves a bad guy wanting something from Dell.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I am happy that the author didn't use any of my pet peeves, but the four sub stories needed more depth, development, and details. They were interesting but were missing some why's and how's. Regarding Las Vegas, Dell and Alex went for one purpose, but didn't finish it. Instead they discovered a second situation which they attended to. The other stories were set up and solved too quickly and needed more detail and dialogue. Character development also could be improved. The author had some good ideas but the book needed to be longer to be able to develop them in ways to keep the reader engrossed.

DATA:
Story length: Kindle count 6593. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 8, each a few or several pages long. Setting: around 2032 Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and a private island. Copyright: 2007. Genre: erotic paranormal romance.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Samantha Sommersby books, see my 4 star review of "Forbidden: The Temptation" posted 7/2/09.