I've been looking forward to the publication of "Forbidden" since I finished reading "Forsaken". It didn't disappoint. It was even better than I thought it would be.

"Forbidden" starts directly from where "Forsaken" left off, Riley Blackthorn hasn't even had time to shower since the climatic finish of "Forsaken".

Jana Oliver again demonstrates her ability to write a page-turning read that also touches the emotions. Part of her talent is for engaging the feelings we all encounter: loss, betrayal, doubt, confusion, friendship, lust and the need to be loved, and making us live through them as if for the first time. She wraps all of this in a supernatural context that is becoming gratifyingly complex. At the end of "Forsaken" I thought I pretty much knew what was going on. Part way through "Forbidden" I enjoyed discovering that we'd just scratched the surface and almost nothing was what it seemed.

Jana Oliver writes well. Her pace is perfect. Her dialog is realistic and memorable. Her descriptions are light but evocative. The ending of the book is satisfying. It avoids easy answers but doesn't leave the reader hanging.

I'm delighted to have discovered in Jana Oliver, an author whose books bring me joy. I look forward to the next one. ( )

Its mind candy - a straight forward plot, with an interesting lead character. This is a second book in the series, and as a result, is mostly filler, without any resolution. Of course, this isn't great literature, but it is fun. Its also easy to read, so a great way to kill hours on a Sunday afternoon. ( )

What the heck? It took way too long to find this book. Apparently the title (along with The Demon Trapper's Daughter) has been changed for some reason. Interesting.

ETA: done. It was pretty much what I expected when I picked this up, so i wasn't let down too much. It was solidly okay. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This is a great YA paranormal that’s full of action, romance, and adventure! I did have a little bit of a hard time getting into it, but once I did I couldn’t put it down!

Opening Sentence: The Grounds Zero Coffee Shop made the most amazing hot chocolate in Atlanta, maybe even in the whole world.

The Review:

Demon hunter Riley Blackthorn has had a rough couple weeks! Her father was killed by a grade five demon that now seems to be stalking her. There was recently a huge demon attack on the hunters that left many dead and Riley’s boyfriend, Simon, was gravely injured. Then to top things off her father’s body was illegally raised by an extremely powerful unknown necromancer. Yeah, Riley has not had a good couple weeks, but with the demon population increasing she has no time to stop and grieve. Plus, now that her father is gone Riley has to worry about paying the bills and the only way to do that is to hunt and trap demons!

Things with Simon have been tense ever since the attack and Riley doesn’t know what she is going to do if she loses one more person. Then enters the sexy Ori, a freelance demon hunter who has decided to be her own personal body guard! There is a fierce attraction between them, but Riley doesn’t know if she can trust him! She also has to deal with the overprotective, Beck, who still seems to see her as a child. She knows that he means well, but she is seventeen and its time he realize she has grown up! There is no way Riley’s life can get any more complicated, but things have just started to get crazy and it’s only going to get worse!

I love Riley, but I did have a harder time connecting with her in this book. She is an extremely independent girl that knows how to take care of herself, which is something I love in a heroine. She also has a great witty personality and her life is never dull! But I felt that she was more whinny then I personally prefer. I wouldn’t say that it was bad enough for it to really annoy me, but it did get on my nerves at times throughout the story. She just had a poor me attitude that was understandable since she has been through so much lately, but I wish she would have tried to be a little more positive. As the story progressed she did get better and by the end she was back to the Riley I love and adore.

I seriously adore Beck! He is my favorite character in the series and my love for him just continued to grow throughout the story. He is fierce, loyal, sexy, and deep down he is a really sweet guy. He can be a jerk at times, but somehow that just adds to his overall charm. His relationship with Riley is very interesting. At this moment they are friends, but there is potential for more. Beck doesn’t really know how to treat Riley. He feels fiercely protective of her, but he also seems to have other feelings brewing for her that he doesn’t quite understand. I really hope that their relationship develops into something more in the future books because I think they would make a great couple! Beck is one of my all time favorite book boys and I can’t wait to get more of him in the books to come!

Soul Thief is a fun story full of adventure, action, and romance. This has actually been a really hard review for me to write because I’m not exactly sure how I felt about the book. For starters, I picked up and put down this book more times than I can count. I’m not sure if I just wasn’t in the mood for it or what it was, but I had a really hard time getting into the story. But I never gave up on it and once I got interested I finished the whole thing in one setting. The pacing of the story was great and for the most part, I really loved the characters. The romance part of the story was a little frustrating for me, but I think it has potential to be really great in the books to come. The world Oliver created is really entertaining and the story is non-stop action. This is the second book in the series, and while I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book. I would ultimately say that it was a really good read. I am very interested to see what happens in the rest of the series. I honestly don’t know why I had such a hard time getting back into the story, but luckily I stuck with it and finished it because I ended up really enjoying it! I would highly recommend this series to anyone that is looking for a great young adult paranormal series!

Notable Scene:

They’d reached her car. As Riley pulled out the keys, he said, “Call me when ya get to the church.”

“Why do you do that?” she demanded, turning on her heels to face him.

“What?”

“You go all old on me, like you’re a geezer or something.”

“Ya don’t understand,” he said running a hand through his hair.

“What don’t I get, Beck? That you had a craptastic childhood? That you can’t change what happened to you so you’re going to micromanage my every waking hour?”

His face hardened. “Yeah, that’s part of it. I had to take care of myself since I was little. I know what it’s like.”

“You keep it up and you’re going to be like Harper, a sad old guy who hits people and bitches about everything.”

“Ya don’t understand,” he repeated.

“Then tell me why you have to be like this. One good reason.”

“Because…” He slumped against the car. “I don’t know any other way to be.”

Finally the truth. And from the expression on his face, it looked like she’d craved it out of his heart.

FTC Advisory: St. Martin Griffin/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Soul Thief. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

The second book has been out for a while but of course I read it only as the third book hits the shelves. It picks up right at the end of book 1 and most of it has Riley trying to keep her head above water dealing with everything from the previous book and trying to find out more about who took her father's body. Both Riley and Beck make choices this book that will certainly have ramifications in the future books. ( )