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Ravenous (The Dark Forgotten #1)

by Sharon Ashwood (Goodreads Author)

3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 · rating details · 1,324 ratings · 135 reviews

A dark AND sexy paranormal romance?

from an exciting debut author

Vampires, Werewolves, and other creatures have emerged from the shadows. And some of them have sinister THINGS on their minds...

Holly Carver is a witch who sometimes relies on the help of Alessandro Caravelli for her family?s preternatural investigations business. Alessandro is the oldest and strongest vamp...more

Paperback, 352 pages

Published February 3rd 2009 by Signet

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Dec 28, 2010 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ravenous is the epitome of a middle-of-the-road book. It’s an entertaining read, but not one I’d jump to recommend.

Classified as paranormal romance, Ravenous follows the structure of that genre, but also includes plenty of urban fantasy elements and will probably appeal to readers on that side of the subgenre divide. The central characters, Holly (a witch) and Alessandro (a vampire), fall in love while trying to prevent a demon from wreaking havoc in their city. Sharon Ashwood tells the story in...more Ravenous is the epitome of a middle-of-the-road book. It’s an entertaining read, but not one I’d jump to recommend.

Classified as paranormal romance, Ravenous follows the structure of that genre, but also includes plenty of urban fantasy elements and will probably appeal to readers on that side of the subgenre divide. The central characters, Holly (a witch) and Alessandro (a vampire), fall in love while trying to prevent a demon from wreaking havoc in their city. Sharon Ashwood tells the story in third person, with the point of view alternating between Holly, Alessandro, and occasional others.

Ashwood’s best touch is probably the witch houses. In this universe, when a witch family lives in a house, the building absorbs a great deal of power and becomes partially sentient. We see two examples in the novel: one benevolent and one gone horribly wrong. Another fun aspect is the snarky humor:

Eternal life didn’t make a person anything besides old. The real value lay in what you did with all that time. As far as he could tell, most immortals wasted that opportunity on internal politics and fashion crimes.

On the other hand, the characters could have used more fleshing-out, as could the relationship between the leads. Holly and Alessandro initially meet and establish a friendship offscreen, before Ravenous begins, so we don’t get to see the formation of that bond. Instead, most of the development is sexual. One terrific exception is the scene where Holly calls Alessandro for comfort after dispatching a human-sized mouse, and he comes to her rescue even though he thinks she means a garden-variety rodent. This is one moment when the emotional connection between the characters really comes through. I’d have loved to see more moments like that. In addition, everything seems to fall into place a little too easily at the end.

Also disappointing is (view spoiler)(less)

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Oct 03, 2009 The Flooze rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, paranormal-romance, vanquished_2009

**3.5ish**

Though it's classified as PNR, Ravenous reads like thrilling UF. It has moments of wit and terror, enhanced by the growing connection between witchy heroine, Holly Carver, and her vampire partner, Alessandro Caravelli.

Ashwood's characters are realistic, as is the dialogue. The relationships flow easily, punctuated by moments of wry humor. Holly, Alessandro, Mac, and others are flawed yet likable, doing the best they can in a dark situation.

Unlike a lot of PNR, the plot takes center st...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I picked up Ravenous by Sharon Ashwood because I liked the sound of the blurb. I tried to ignore the front cover. (Seriously? Who wears clothes like that, while delicately fingering the hilt of a blade?) The idea of a ghost-busting witch seemed interesting and entertaining, and by midway through the first chapter, I was hooked. My thoughts went something like this:

Chapter 1: This is great. Holly is a really interesting character, strong but not aggressive, and it’s such a novelty to see a vampir...more

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May 07, 2012 Ellen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reading-challenge-goal

I had gone to a used bookstore looking for something to read. And I found Ravenous and 2 more books in the series, so I thought I would give them a try. I wasn't sure if I would like the story and I did have a little trouble getting started with it but after I had read a little bit of the story I definitely have to say that I enjoyed this book.
To me it is a mix between UF and PNR.
I liked the characters and it was great to have vampires in a book that were bad and didn't pretend to be anything...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-kiwi

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Magic on every page.

Opening Sentence: “Why didn’t you say you were calling about the old Flanders place?”

The Review:

Ok, so I went back in time and picked up the first in this series, after already reviewing the fourth. Screwy, I know, but I was on a deadline. So, in this first installment we are introduced to what seems to be most of the major players in the rest of the series. It’s nice to get to know them a bit more. And we are also introd...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Sandy M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, contemporary, vampires

I usually don’t read a lot of urban fantasy. I like my HEA and a nice wrap-up at the end of my stories. But, as they say, a good book is a good book, and I’m now hooked on this Dark Forgotten series after reading Ravenous. I’m obviously a little behind in starting it all, with Scorched now on the shelves as of a few months ago. I at least have something to look forward to sooner instead of later.

Holly is a witch who stays away from big M-magic. Her magic was repressed years before as a young gir...more I usually don’t read a lot of urban fantasy. I like my HEA and a nice wrap-up at the end of my stories. But, as they say, a good book is a good book, and I’m now hooked on this Dark Forgotten series after reading Ravenous. I’m obviously a little behind in starting it all, with Scorched now on the shelves as of a few months ago. I at least have something to look forward to sooner instead of later.

Holly is a witch who stays away from big M-magic. Her magic was repressed years before as a young girl when a spell went wrong, so now to avoid pain when practicing her magic, she sticks to the small “m” kind. Her current assignment is to take care of a demon-possessed house, which she does, but the results are a little more than she bargained for.

Her business partner, Alessandro, aids her in this endeavor. He is a vampire who is interested in Holly for more than business, but since there doesn’t seem to be a relationship for them in the near future, he settles for keeping her as safe as possible. When a female body sporting a vampire bite is found in the house, they have their first clue that leads them into a supernatural mystery they never expected.

Both of these characters are very intriguing, and when Alessandro must bite Holly later in the story, she isn’t happy at all, because it basically turns her into his sex slave. She resists as best she can - and does a darned good job of it, considering - wanting to be her own woman. Of course, as handsome and sexy as Alessandro is, I kept telling her to go for it, he’s worth it! She didn’t listen to me, however, but at least a new bond is forged between them for future books.

The paranormal elements in this book are simply terrific, and neither that nor the urban fantasy elements overshadow the romance between Alessandro and Holly. Even the secondary characters are larger than life. Ashwood’s writing is amazing. I kept turning those pages as fast as I could, she had me enthralled with every turn.

So if you’re like me, you read an urban fantasy now and again, don’t pass this series up. It’s definitely worth the time to take a day and devour it one sitting. Believe me, you’ll have a hard time putting it down.

See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com (less)

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Jul 23, 2011 Meredith rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, urban-fantasy

I'm not sure WHY I finished this one. I really struggled to; yet I never gave up. I think Ashwood has something here; despite a lot of flaws I was still interested in the world she had created. A lot of it was very frustrating: could not figure out why the hero was interested in the heroine, the plot was a bit boring at times and the heroine as witch was somewhat underdeveloped (how did she do magic again? What were the rules of magic in her world? that was never satisfactorily explained.)

But, t...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Ddsun rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

This book made my week (my whole month really). It is a joy to find a new (to me), top-notch paranormal romance. Even more awesome to find out there's more to read in the series!

The set up seems similar - at first. Holly Carver lives in an alternate world. Magic has moved into the light. Vampires are known to be real. And then things start to get a little bit different, in a most refreshing way.

Holly is a damaged witch. She can't access all of her powers and she makes her living doing small mag...more This book made my week (my whole month really). It is a joy to find a new (to me), top-notch paranormal romance. Even more awesome to find out there's more to read in the series!

The set up seems similar - at first. Holly Carver lives in an alternate world. Magic has moved into the light. Vampires are known to be real. And then things start to get a little bit different, in a most refreshing way.

Holly is a damaged witch. She can't access all of her powers and she makes her living doing small magics. Her largest ambition in life is to settle down with her professsor boyfriend, and go back to school to get her business degree. And then an easy job "cleaning" a house for sale goes south, quickly.

Alessandro is Holly's partner and a vampire. Things are strictly business but Alessandro really, really wants what he knows he shouldn't have - Holly. Vampires aren't fit mates for nice girls, and Alessandro's queen is too jealous to suffer a rival to live. And then there's the vampire venom addiction problem...

When an ancient evil comes to town, Holly must access her lost magic and die. Ordered to subvert Holly for his queen's pleasure, can Alessandro save them both before it's too late?

And.. back to the happy raving. This is a really, really, really good book. The world building is complicated and unique, and the characters are complex and compelling. I found Holly amazingly easy to relate to. Trying to make ends meet while going back to school, handling relationship problems, and dealing with her unique family - she could be half the women I know, despite her magic. She's quirky, with a great sense of humor. I was rooting for her happy ending from the first page. Alessandro is a fantastic hero. Alpha - yes - in the grown up, take care of your responsibilities, while cherishing your woman, and being, of course, totally hot and great with a sword kind of way. He's torn about this relationship, because he knows he's not good enough for Holly. She is afraid of losing her independence to Alessandro, but still drawn to him. Their HEA is heart-warming and well-deserved.

This book is a great combination of urban fantasy action and world building, with a really sweet and sexy romance. I highly recommend it to readers of either genre. As I mentioned above, the really great news is that this series continues from here!(less)

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Jan 11, 2011 Ithlilian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, paranormal-romance

I think fans of either genre will enjoy this book. I'm on the fence with my overall opinion of this book. It started out fun and interesting. Holly is cleaning the bad spirit out of an old house to pay for college. It turns out the house is a bit more malevolent than she expected and our story goes from there. The mystery is decent. I wanted to know who was summoning demons, how and why they stole a book from the vampire queen, and what was killing college students. I was also interested in our...more I think fans of either genre will enjoy this book. I'm on the fence with my overall opinion of this book. It started out fun and interesting. Holly is cleaning the bad spirit out of an old house to pay for college. It turns out the house is a bit more malevolent than she expected and our story goes from there. The mystery is decent. I wanted to know who was summoning demons, how and why they stole a book from the vampire queen, and what was killing college students. I was also interested in our main vamp character's (Allesandro) enemy vamp. All of those things are pluses for the book, but there were a few minuses. First, the characters. Holly is neither likable nor unlikable. She seems pretty normal, which is a plus for me in this world of too-tough chicks. Allesandro is a pretty old vampire that is formal around his queen, and carries himself well. However, a few times he uses slang or makes reference to something an "old school" vamp probably wouldn't know about. He is a modern vampire yet still speaks regally. I couldn't wrap my head around that sometimes, the character seemed a bit inconsistent. Then there is the vampire queen, Omara. She isn't very bright. She leaves her extremely valuable magic artifacts, the only source or her power, and the only reason she is queen, lying around for anyone to steal. She falls for a bad boy and refuses to see reason, and also manages to get jealous of Holly and Allesandro. She's a mess. Not too impressive for a queen that is supposed to instill fear. Another minus for me is the pace. At times there is tons of action and demon slaying, and at times we are wandering from place to place with no real purpose. All in all this book is a decent romance and a decent urban fantasy book. In true romance style the next book centers around a different main character, Mac. I didn't like the snippet in the back of the book, and I may not read it. I do care about the "Dark Forgotten" beings left in The Castle/Hell, but I'm not sure if that is enough. (less)

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May 28, 2010 Malin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Holly Carver is a witch living in the little town of Fairview. She comes from a long line of powerful witches, but damaged her own powers badly during a spell when she was little, and therefore uses what little witchcraft she has left to banish ghosts from old buildings in return for tuition money. She is helped in her ghost busting business by Alessandro Caravelli, a six centuries old vampire who clearly wants to be more than just a friend to her, but knows that if he ever bites her, his addict...more Holly Carver is a witch living in the little town of Fairview. She comes from a long line of powerful witches, but damaged her own powers badly during a spell when she was little, and therefore uses what little witchcraft she has left to banish ghosts from old buildings in return for tuition money. She is helped in her ghost busting business by Alessandro Caravelli, a six centuries old vampire who clearly wants to be more than just a friend to her, but knows that if he ever bites her, his addictive venom will turn her into a mindless slave, not the independent and strong-willed woman he has grown to love.

Holly experiences a rough couple of days. She is nearly killed saving her professor boyfriend and some of his students from a sentient, evil house. Then said boyfriend asks her to sell her ancient house that has been in her family for countless generations, something she can't do, because the root of her (now limited) powers reside there. When she refuses, he dumps her, unable to deal with her supernatural abilities. Several students are found dead around campus, and a giant (nearly person-sized) mouse manifesting in Holly's house turns out to actually be a demon, who wants to take over Fairview, and from there, the world.

Alessandro, in return, has to deal with the return of his ruler, the vampire queen Omara. She's none too happy about his divided loyalties, but also wants to make sure Holly can help her banish her demon nemesis back to the supernatural prison it escaped from. An ancestor of Holly's helped her banish the demon once before, and while she is none too happy about Alessandro's affection for Holly, she will use it to get Holly on her side, if need be.

Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten is one of many paranormal books I picked up in a sale at my local fantasy/sci-fi bookstore, and it has languished on my book shelf for many months. The cover is, like on so many paranormal books, grossly misleading. I can only assume that the cover is meant to portray Holly, although she never wears anything even vaguely as skimpy and tarty as the top on the cover, but there is one mention of her ritual silver dagger, and she has dark hair, so I guess that's as far as the cover artist needed to stretch themselves. I'm assuming the title refers to the ravenous hunger felt both by the victims possessed by the demon Geneva - who seem to feel an all-consuming literal hunger after she kisses them, and that of the victims of the vampires, who once they experience a vampire bite become ravenous for sex, and will do anything the vampire who bit them wishes, submerging their own will to that of their vampire master.

The book can be classified both as a paranormal fantasy and as a paranormal romance, depending on whether the reader thinks the most important part of the story is the couple getting together, or their defeating the evil demon. I personally felt the romance aspect was secondary in the book, and most of the book is Holly coming to terms with first the limitations of her stunted power, then later the possibility of her full powers returning, and how she is going to support herself in the future rather than with whether or not she's going to find true love with Alessandro.

Sharon Ashwood's book was not the most groundbreaking paranormal fantasy I have read, but she creates a nice world, and sketches some good characters. I must admit that the revelation of some of the bad guys did not exactly make me gasp in surprise, it was all rather predictable, but I was never bored reading the book, and will probably pick up the sequels at some point. It appears as if Ashwood, like Kelley Armstrong, instead of writing all her books about the same characters, has new protagonists in each book, all loosely inter-connected in the same world. As far as I can see, her second book is about the cop who gets demon-possessed in this one, and the third appears to be about Holly's older sister. That can keep things from getting boring, so I will look out for her books, but I doubt I will rush out to buy them as soon as they are released. (less)

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Sep 29, 2009 Lexie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-blog, genre-romance-paranormal, genre-romance, books-owned

To be very fair at the start of this review I am naturally predisposed towards any book that has these 3 things: chick with sharp pointy object on cover, character who owns/wants an Aston Martin Vanquish (my dream car) and a heroine who has to battle the minions of darkness--both those of the academic kind and supernatural sort. Ravenous goes one step beyond by making me really enjoy reading about the characters.

Poor Holly has so much on her plate, none of which want to fit together nicely. She...more To be very fair at the start of this review I am naturally predisposed towards any book that has these 3 things: chick with sharp pointy object on cover, character who owns/wants an Aston Martin Vanquish (my dream car) and a heroine who has to battle the minions of darkness--both those of the academic kind and supernatural sort. Ravenous goes one step beyond by making me really enjoy reading about the characters.

Poor Holly has so much on her plate, none of which want to fit together nicely. She tries her hardest to make things work out and it just seems to make things go from bad to hellacious worse. As if calculus isn't scary enough add to it a power crazy demon intent on sucking the soul right out of you, makes hazing week look much simpler huh?

The Vampire Queen, Omara, was by far my favorite character. Morally ambiguous, manipulative, sneaky, lying and possessive there really aren't too many positive traits to label her with. Except her utter loyalty to her people's cause and that vampires adhere to every single law that she squeezes out of us humans so that they can be a measure of equals. She remembers freedom to live out in the open--and wants it back.

The mystery of the book is figuring out where everyone lies on any given side or time of day. Holly is firmly entrenched in the side for good of course, but everyone else is a variable. Alessandro--her hunky vampire partner (who looks very good in leather fringe apparently)--is arguably on the side of good as well, but is trenched in loyalties and secrets that it sometimes makes it hard for him to exhibit that. The demon is a force for evil clear and present. Omara is mostly out for herself first, her people second and everyone else comes in a distant if she cares to remember them third.

There's a twist at the end, that's hinted during the book, but each time just as easily explained away harmlessly. And the next book, focusing around a not quite main character from this book, promises more whispered secrets and forbidden knowledge. Plus any book that has hell hounds as something other then slobbering beasts is just plain fun (I won't even get into the Orpheus myth fun!).(less)

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Jun 16, 2009 Schnaucl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, june, library, read_2009, urban_fantasy, series

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 18, 2009 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads

Yay!! Another winner in the unknown author (to me, anyway) lottery. I picked up "Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten" on a whim and I'm sure glad I did. Sharon Ashwood managed to pique my interest with her tale of a modern day witch with dating 'issues'.

Holly's the last of the Carver family, a registered witch, and sole proprietor of the 'Three Sisters Agency'-Specializing in the removal of hauntings, poltergeists, and unwanted imps. Her occasional 'partner' while working is a very sexy vampire, Aless...more Yay!! Another winner in the unknown author (to me, anyway) lottery. I picked up "Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten" on a whim and I'm sure glad I did. Sharon Ashwood managed to pique my interest with her tale of a modern day witch with dating 'issues'.

Holly's the last of the Carver family, a registered witch, and sole proprietor of the 'Three Sisters Agency'-Specializing in the removal of hauntings, poltergeists, and unwanted imps. Her occasional 'partner' while working is a very sexy vampire, Alessandro. She has a 'normal' boyfriend-an economics prof at the local college, and things between them are heating up. Life's looking pretty good. At least it was...until she got a call to cleanse one of the oldest and spookiest uninhabited witch homes in the city...and runs into what looks like the beginning of a paranormal war! Now her life is filled with demons, vamps, weres, hell hounds, and other creatures who all seem to want something from her...either her powers or just a quick snack!

What did I like about this book? I liked the 'world' the author began to build. She took lore, myth, and 'old wives tales' and created something new and different. I won't say exactly how it's different, but I will say that I don't see myself having trouble differentiating this book from the masses. The imagination and skill in bringing those thoughts to life...just grand! I also enjoyed the plot. Yes, there were times when I could guess the outcome...but there was always a twist--so I was right...but maybe not exactly in the way I thought I would be. Make sense?

This tale also has a future. I can see several more books in the offering and I'm planning to pick up her next, "Scorched: The Dark Forgotten", in December 2009. From the teaser in the back of this one, it will continue the story of one of the very intriguing cast of secondary characters...and Ashwood has quite a few to choose from!

So if you're looking for something 'newish' from the paranormal world; and you like romance with a heavy dose of urban fantasy; and you're interested in a new version of Hell...try out "Ravenous" by Sharon Ashwood. You just might have another book for your wishlist.(less)

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Nov 13, 2011 Hannah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, romance, paranormal-romance, read-2011

I'm going to be generous and give this 2.5 stars.

I really wanted to like this book. In spite of the fact that it is a classic urban fantasy with classic urban fantasy tropes, there were a few elements to this book that I thought were imaginative and interesting. For one thing, I love the idea that witches in this UF universe have semi-sentient houses, and that haunted houses are really just sentient houses gone bad. That was cool. But that was one of the few innovative ideas in this novel.

The ch...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Wendy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have no idea where to begin with this particular novel.

Sharon Ashwood is a new author to me, I scanned the back cover of Ravenous and found the blurb to be interesting enough to buy. I've been wanting something fresh and new to read for a while and the idea Sharon Ashwood had was so original I couldn't resist.

I first want to say that from the moment I started reading, I was hooked and could not read it fast enough. The opening scene had me so engulfed in the heroine I nearly missed the hero....more

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Nov 28, 2008 Tez rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sharon Ashwood gives good haunted house in her paranormal romance, Ravenous.

Ghost-busting grab student Holly Carver is a witch out to make tuition money, but the Flanders House is no easy job. Six people have entered the building, but none have emerged yet. So in goes Holly and her vampire partner Alessandro Caravelli to investigate. Work of demons is definitely afoot, but that takes some kind of sorcery, so who's the mastermind?

The author's website proclaims this as "urban fantasy romance". Ah....more Sharon Ashwood gives good haunted house in her paranormal romance, Ravenous.

Ghost-busting grab student Holly Carver is a witch out to make tuition money, but the Flanders House is no easy job. Six people have entered the building, but none have emerged yet. So in goes Holly and her vampire partner Alessandro Caravelli to investigate. Work of demons is definitely afoot, but that takes some kind of sorcery, so who's the mastermind?

The author's website proclaims this as "urban fantasy romance". Ah...no. I much agree with the publisher's label of "paranormal romance". The first three chapters are intriguing, and Flanders House makes for one hell of an interesting read. But the rest of the novel doesn't live up to it, though there are worthy scenes here and there.

The problem lies mainly with the characters. Long-haired, leather-clad vampire Alessandro has superficial qualities (if you go for that unoriginal type), but otherwise I can't really describe his character. He doesn't come alive. Same with Holly, bordering on being a Mary Sue - three guys fancy her (including her 1 tru wuv, so the others have to be evil, right?) for no particular reason I can see other than she's there. And Holly has a lot of powerful magic, only it's crippled in the beginning. But of course it's conveniently restored for her to defeat the baddies, but I would've respected her more if her powers had remained handicapped.

A childhood accident led to Holly's magic being crippled, but for me her sister Ashe Carver deserves her own novel. She has the more interesting story: Ashe had magic, and then she lost it for good. So how is she dealing with paranormal problems when she no longer has her powers?

The author has the potential to write some really interesting stuff. But for now her characters need to step out from their prescribed cardboard cut-outs and become more like real people. Ravenous should go down a treat for paranormal romance fans, but urban fantasy readers might be less than impressed.(less)

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Jul 30, 2011 Brina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ich muss gestehen, dass ich das Buch gestern endgültig abgebrochen habe.

An sich ist die Idee, dass eine Hexe und ein Vampir zusammenarbeiten eine recht gute, die mich auch zunächst unterhalten hat. Doch dann wurde das Buch an manchen Stellen so langatmig, dass ich immer wieder Pausen einlegen musste, die sogar zum Abbruch geführt haben.

Die Charaktere werden von der Autorin zum Teil sehr liebevoll und authentisch dargestellt, bleiben aber recht oberflächlich. Besonders von Holly, die mir am Anfan...more

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Dec 16, 2011 OpenBookSociety.com rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Heidi

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...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Dorri rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 23, 2012 LL rated it 2 of 5 stars

1.5 stars.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I thought it could have had potential, because the ideas behind the world-building weren’t bad. However, the author’s execution of the story fell flat on its figurative ass.

The following review may contain some mild spoilers, so please proceed with caution.

Holly, the story’s main character and heroine, was a witch with great magical prowess. Due to some childhood trauma, she had lost a large chunk of her magical abilities until later in the boo...more 1.5 stars.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I thought it could have had potential, because the ideas behind the world-building weren’t bad. However, the author’s execution of the story fell flat on its figurative ass.

The following review may contain some mild spoilers, so please proceed with caution.

Holly, the story’s main character and heroine, was a witch with great magical prowess. Due to some childhood trauma, she had lost a large chunk of her magical abilities until later in the book, where she re-discovered herself and regained her lost powers. The novel largely focused on her battle and struggle against some unknown villains releasing demons from another parallel dimension into their human world to wreck havoc. Along the way, she found herself growing more and more romantically attracted to her vampire partner, Alessandro. They even overcame the issue with the vampiric venom binding the prey to the vampire, and became true partners. Essentially, Holly “chose” Alessandro and because of their mutual love, the vampire was able to live on love (and sex) alone without the craving for blood.

To give some credit to the author where it belonged, some of the ideas presented in this book were pretty good – like the sentient houses, the demonic realm which imprisoned all things horrendous and too horrifying to discuss, the idea of someone consciously “choosing” a vampire mate etc. Even the introduction of the werewolves, and later hellhounds, working together with the vampires to battle the evil was interesting.

Where things started to fall apart for me, and failed to spark any intrigue or interest, were as follows:

(1) Holly – Oh yeah, I had huge issues with her. As a heroine, other than her magical potential, she uninteresting, boring, and everything that would turn you away from liking the book. Worse, she was also dumb as a rock. Information was handed to her, spoon-fed even, to the extent that I thought perhaps she had no brains. When she was supposedly investigating the demon summoning activities, she basically got all her information from just talking to people – never did any thinking on her own. Furthermore, what baffled me most was that after the incident where Mac (another character in the book whom had turned demonic) attempted to lure Holly and Alessandro to a graveyard to attack them with ghouls, she didn’t find it alarming that Mac showed up at her door as though nothing happened. Anyone with some semi-decent intellectual capacity would have figured – “Hmmm, so he just tried to trick me last night, why the heck is he doing at my place now?!? How come he is not even trying to explain things a bit?!?”... But no, Holly decided to play dumb and actually let this guy into her house while she was freakin’ ALONE!!!! OMG, I wanted to bang my head on the wall. How could she be so stupid?!?

(2) Alessandro – As a love interest for Holly, I didn’t find Alessandro attractive at all. There was no sizzling chemistry between them. Yes, they had some seemingly hot sex scenes together and whatnot, but I didn’t feel anything for them or about them. Actually, I didn’t really understand why they fell for each other. The relationship was not palpable nor believable.

(3) The overall storytelling and writing style was flat and dull. Yes, there were some actions, but they were just words on paper – the setting and atmosphere was not conducive to capturing my attention. There wasn’t much that appealed to me in any way. The characterization was weak, because all of the characters portrayed in the book were two-dimensional and cookie-cutter-like – no one really stood out for me. I managed to finish the book only because I skimmed the pages quickly and kept turning the pages. It wasn’t like I really paid attention.

So, in a nutshell, all I could say was that I didn’t enjoy the book, but at least it wasn’t too painful for me to finish so I didn’t think it deserved a 1-star rating. However, I would definitely not venture into book #2, because apparently it was a story centered on Mac, whom I didn’t really care about after reading this book. Meh...
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May 25, 2009 Rhianon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: five-star-rec-s, vamp-romance, urban-dark-fantasy

While Ashwood's story encompasses any number of cliches and the end of the journey is -- ultimately -- rather obvious, I can say without a doubt that this book is a prime example of the journey and where it takes you carrying more weight than the destination itself. She weaves her world-building effortlessly, the character development and interactions come across to the reader as naturally as if I was sitting in the local Starbucks, people-watching.

A definite must-read for fans of paranormal rom...more

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Jul 24, 2010 Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I don't normally like or read stories with vampires but I do read books with witches. This one has both and it's good. Probably because together they kick demon butt!

Holly Carver is a witch who busts ghosts and hauntings for tuition money. Her business partner is Alessandro, a 600 year old vampire. They fight their attraction to one another. There seems to be some terrible demon activity afoot that pits the supernatural community at odds with each other. As the battle lines are drawn and the evi...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ravenous is the first book in the Dark Forgotten series by Sharon Ashwood. It follows the story of witch Holly Carver and her business partner vampire Alessandro Caravelli. Together they run a paranormal investigation business so that Holly can afford to go to college. After an accident when she was younger Holly cannot access all of her magic and can only perform little M magic as the big M magic leaves her in terrible pain. They are called out to investigate a haunted house where some students...more Ravenous is the first book in the Dark Forgotten series by Sharon Ashwood. It follows the story of witch Holly Carver and her business partner vampire Alessandro Caravelli. Together they run a paranormal investigation business so that Holly can afford to go to college. After an accident when she was younger Holly cannot access all of her magic and can only perform little M magic as the big M magic leaves her in terrible pain. They are called out to investigate a haunted house where some students, including Holly’s teacher boyfriend Ben, have gone into the house but have not come back out, they have mysteriously disappeared. Even though Holly saves Ben’s life the job goes bad and after performing some big M magic Holly is nearly consumed by the house she is only saved by Alessandro. Suddenly creatures that were thought of as extinct are showing up in town and Alessandro discovers that portals to hell are being opened up by a very powerful demon. The vampire Queen Omara comes to town and Holly is forced to help banish the demon back to hell, but that’s ok because the demon also wants to end Holly’s life.

I enjoyed this book it is a mix between UF and PNR. I liked the characters and it was great to have vampires in a book that were bad and didn’t pretend to be anything else, they saw humans as play things. Alessandro is the archetypal vampire, dressed in tight leather, good looking, dangerous and sexy as hell and I loved him for that. Even though it was a bit PNR for me I liked the story between Holly and Alessandro, especially the scene where he has to bite her. The pace of the book was perfect with a good storyline. The only bit that I had a problem with was the ending it was like another author had written that part of the book. After what had previously happened I found this to be too much of a happy ending and I wish that another ending had been written. Saying that the rest of the book was brilliant so I can put up with it and if you like PNR I don’t think you will have an issue with it. I will be carrying on with the series and would like to give Ravenous 4 stars.

Originally posted at http://clairesbookcorner.blogspot.com... (less)

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Mar 06, 2012 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: demons, demons-magic-weres, fae, ghosts, magic, vampires

After some time, I decided to read a book without reading any reviews about it. I was not disappointed at all! “Ravenous” is the first book in The Dark Forgotten series by Sharon Ashwood and a very interesting read.

I have to say that the world-building in this urban fantasy book is kind of dark. Witches, vampires, werewolves, demons, ghouls, fae and everything you can imagine is in this book! Humans know about the existence of the paranormal for some years and still is adjusting period. Holly is...more

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Sep 06, 2010 Chris rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

A blog I saw "highly recommended" this book. I will NOT be checking that blog for more suggestions.

I agree with lots of the other reviewers here. Holy was a flake. Alessandro was supposed to be so sexy, but her description (long, flowing, blonde, wavy hair and wearing colorful, 80's disco clothes) was so NOT appealing.

I guess if you like fantasy novels with goblins, changlings, werewolves, demons, pixies, etc, you might like this. But, unless you are really into that, it's not worth it.

And I re...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Tori [Book Faery] rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, favorites, highly-recommended, read-in-2010

See this review in it's entirety at:
http://www.book-faery.blogspot.com

I love this book--in fact, I want to go back and re-read it ALREADY because I loved Holly and Alessandro so much! It's taken me a few weeks to write this review because initially, I wasn't planning on doing so. But then I realized, if I loved this book so much, why not spread the word?

Holly is a witch who can hold her own. Her character is so rich and appealing that I couldn't help but adore her from the start. This is the sec...more

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Mar 31, 2010 Lois rated it 4 of 5 stars

4 and 3/4 stars!

I'm so grateful that there was a clearcut victory in this book and a clearcut happy ending for the main characters, even though it's part of a series.

Characters with dimension, devious plot, snappy lines. Hard to know what else I would want.

Here's a sample early on of the wit. Holly (witch) and Alessandro (vampire) are going into a house that has basically swallowed six people already:

"This house isn't almost sentient," [Holly:] said in a low voice. "It's fully aware."

Alessand

...more

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Nov 29, 2009 Darcy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

This book started out slow for me, real easy to put down, until I hit the 2/3 mark, then things picked up and it was hard to put down.

I liked Holly and how as a witch, the power was in the family lines and the houses. Some of the things the house could do were funny and I wish that I had a house like that. I also liked her partnership with Alessandro, it definitely made for some interesting scenes while the boyfriend was around. In the end things with them went as it should have. I was glad to s...more

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Jul 10, 2009 marlene rated it 5 of 5 stars

this is so rachel morgan meets early jean claude. it is a really good mix turns out. this book was really well rounded. parts made me laugh, others were action packed, and of course there was a healthy dose of inevitable romance. i assumed that we were going to follow holly through the next books but it doesn't really seem like that is the case. that kind of makes me sad. i guess if that is my only complaint about the book it is a good thing. we got introduced to pretty much every type of preter...more

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Jun 20, 2009 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Holly is a registered witch who exorcises houses to earn tuition money. When one particular haunted house almost kills her and her boyfriend, all is not as it seems. A demon escapes from a portal that failed to close, and it’s up to Holly to send the demon back through the portal, with help from her grandmother, police detective Conall Macmillan, and her business partner Alessandro Caravelli. Alessandro’s loyalty is split between his vampire queen Omara and Holly, who he is in love with. Omara i...more

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About Sharon Ashwood

Sharon Ashwood is a free-lance journalist, novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. She has an English literature degree but works as a finance geek. Interests include growing her to-be-read pile and playing with the toy graveyard on her desk. As a vegetarian, she freely admits the whole vampire/werewolf lifestyle fantasy would never work out, so she writes paranormal romance...more

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“You met over a pile of dead bodies mere days ago. Now he's carving little radish garnishes and humming to himself. It's creepy.” — 3 people liked it

“I am old, not senile,” — 2 people liked it

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Ravenous (The Dark Forgotten #1)

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