The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton – a Review
The Forever Girl is Rebecca Hamilton’s first novel. The theme is considered urban fantasy, with paranormal tones.
Official Excerpt:
Sophia Parsons’ family has skeletons, but they aren’t in their graves…
Solving the mystery of an ancestor’s hanging might silence the clashing whispers in Sophia’s mind, but the cult in her town and the supernaturals who secretly reside there are determined to silence her first.
As Sophia unknowingly crosses the line into an elemental world full of vampire-like creatures, shapeshifters, and supernatural grim reapers, she meets Charles, a man who becomes both lover and ally.
But can she trust him?
It’s not until someone nearly kills Sophia that she realizes the only way to unveil the source of her family’s curse: abandon her faith or abandon her humanity. If she wants to survive, she must accept who she is, perform dark magic, and fight to the death for her freedom.
Review:
The heroine in this book is a young girl named Sophia, whom you meet immediately and see that she is tortured by an incessant buzzing in her mind. Sophia, who is wiccan, cannot control the buzzing, nor does she understand what it means. She discovers there are skeletons in her closet, as one of her ancestors was a witch that was burned in the Salem witch hunts.
The interesting thing about The Forever Girl, is the new types of supernaturals that Rebecca introduces to us early on in the book, which includes vampires, ghosts, and mainly different types of elementals. At first, when I started reading about the different creatures (elementals), I had a hard time keeping up and understanding. But as the story continues, Rebecca successfully pulls me into this interesting modern world she has created.
You can’t help but like Sophia, and feel her fears and pain. Who can she trust, as even her closest friends would turn away from her, if they found out about her problem? Sophia comes across as intelligent, strong, and once she meets Charles, she becomes more determined to find what she really is. Even in this grave world, Sophia did have a sense of humor, which was a nice touch.
Charles, who is a shape shifter, is one of the elemental creatures that Sophia meets. But in time Sophia and Charles fall in love, and together they must fight the evil that pursues them. The Queen of the elemental faction wants Sophia, to turn her into a vampire (Crucor), and they also want to kill Charles. Together, with help from some of Charles supernatural friends, they learn all they can about Sophia’s history. It is Sophia, who must accept her destiny, and embrace her powers, that will save them all.
After a bit of slow start trying to grasp this world, and its characters, I was totally hooked. The story became very exciting, as you are pulled into this thrilling tale of survival against a powerful adversary. You will care about Sophia, and Charles, as they face insurmountable odds. The romance between Sophia and Charles was slow to begin, but you end up caring very much for them. I thought the end was excellently done, and the addition of the two young children is a great way to lead into the next book in this series.
Rebecca Hamilton has done a great job writing her first book, and making it her own, with the different types of supernaturals. I look forward to the next book in this series, as I am adding Rebecca to my list of authors that are on my preorder list. The Forever Girl is definitely worth it for you to pick up to read.
Reviewed by Barb
Tune in tomorrow, when The Reading Cafe interviews Rebecca.
