Scorched: The Dark Forgotten

In Sharon Ashwood's previous book, Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten, Detective Conall Macmillan ended up losing his job, most of his soul, definitely his dignity and we weren't sure, but perhaps his life. All this happens because of Macmillan's particularly nasty lover-- literally a demon lover. This book, Scorched, picks up with Macmillan taking stock of what's left of his friends and home. And particularly what is he going to do next. It doesn't take him long before trouble finds him again in the form of a lovely, innocent, but certainly not helpless vampire who needs help in rescuing her son. Mac finds himself in the Castle, a supernatural prison, once again. There he not only faces a powerful foe but finds out a dark and dangerous secret about himself. I really enjoyed the character of Mac. He is a fun, down to earth, and definitely not without appeal on the heroic front. The heroine, Constance, is believable, innocent but not without self awareness and strength. These two characters do as those of a good book should -- grow and evolve as they complete their adventures, but in the end you can still see them together. I was struck again by Ashwood's ability to create an excellent, smooth and sustainable plot. A great book to loose yourself in by the fireside!

I recommend your read the previous book Ravenous, before reading this book. I categorize this book and series as a romantic urban fantasy. At first I thought this installment was going the way of romance but I couldn't have been more wrong. While this installment does mirror romance on the level that it has certain main characters and they each get their own turn during each installment for love. Also, as with most romances, the story was pretty predictable and in addition, the person in place to be Mac's love interest was obvious as well. That being said, the author did a great job of hybridizing the different formats and elements from both urban fantasy and paranormal romance. The story picks up a year from where Ravenous leaves off. Detective Connall Macmillian has been struggling to recover from his date and mistress from hell! No one likes to contract an infection on their first date; however, one year ago, Mac's date intentionally infected him with the essence of a soul-eating demon. Suddenly his life went from being on the job and being of service to the community and enjoying life, to suddenly getting the craving for sucking out human life. Fast forward one year later, Mac is a wanted demon possessed criminal on the lam. Unfortunately for Mac, Alessandro Caravelli, the sheriff of the supernatural community has finally caught up with him and dumps him in the Castle. The Castle is a prison for the supernatural community. It houses/incarcerates the world's worst supernatural beings and over time has become the worlds dark forgotten. To Mac the Castle is a death sentence, until he realizes his luck has finally changed, because he meets and falls in love with Constance. Constance is a vampire who is also incarcerated at the Castle, whose incubus son has been kidnapped by the guards of the castle for their own nefarious reasons. Seeing Constance in such distress gives Mac a reason to be needed again. He finally sees that being half demon isn't a curse but can be a blessing if he uses his new talents to service others. In this dark world that Sharon has created, magic exist and loads of supernaturals have come out of the closet to the public. As with all things different, human beings in all their predictable glory allow the supernatural community to attempt to assimilate into human society but only as second class citizens. I judged this book solely on its entertainment factor alone. I completely enjoyed it and it kept me thoroughly engrossed from beginning to end. There were plenty of parts in this book that were just laugh-out-loud funny! I highly recommend this book to fellow dark urban readers and look forward to the next book Unchained due out 7/6/2010. I also recommend: Tainted (THE BLOOD LILY CHRONICLES) Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) Bad Blood (Crimson Moon, Book 1) They Call Me Death A Rush of Wings: Book One of The Maker's Song

I read Ravenous and thought it was o.k. but not a keeper. Scorched was wonderful!! Conall Macmillan, we met him in the last book ( a good cop turned demon) is a joy. I loved this character! He comes back, mostly human but all cop and hero. Sharon Ashwood hit it out of the park with this book. Yum Yum!

Conall "Mac" Macmillian is determined to prove that he's no longer cursed to be a demon. With the death of the demon Geneva, all of Mac's powers as a demon should have been eliminated. Mac senses something is still awry and unfortunately so does vampire, Alessandro Caravelli. Mac's escape attempt leads him back to the dreaded Castle, a prison for the supernatural. This time, however, he encounters the vampire, Constance, and is drawn into her mission to free her kidnapped son. Will Mac be able to solve this case? And what will it cost him in the process? Sharon Ashwood's follow up to the awesome book, RAVENOUS, is yet another stunning hit from this fabulous author! SCORCHED picks up where RAVENOUS ends and I would highly suggest you read RAVENOUS first in order to truly appreciate Mac's quest to regain his humanity. Sharon Ashwood does an excellent job both at building her world and at developing her characters and it would be a shame to miss some of the nuances by not having read both books. I didn't think Sharon Ashwood could top RAVENOUS as it was one of my top reads of the year. Thankfully, I can say that Sharon Ashwood succeeded at adding more twists and turns to her already fascinating world while creating characters one couldn't help but love. Mac's plight is heartbreaking as he's lost everything thanks to Geneva's mad pursuit of power. Constance is a welcome balm to his soul, a woman who is innocent and yet not weak by any means. In fact, Constance has a warrior's heart, particularly when her adopted son is at risk. The chance for a happily-ever-after seems almost impossible for these two and yet Sharon Ashwood finds the perfect balance to make it work. SCORCHED is yet another must-read from Sharon Ashwood. With this second book in the series, she has solidified herself as one of my new favorite authors of the genre. The unique flavor of her books makes them stand out while the characters have captured my heart. I only hope we'll see more of the hellhounds in the future as I'd love to see a story featuring them. Highly recommended! COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Former detective Connall "Mac" Macmillan honestly can say he was on the date from hell; in fact it went so bad he was turned into a demon. He prays all the time to regain his humanity and being able to destroy Geneva the demon was a large step at regaining what he lost. However Alessandro Caravelli the vampire distrusts the demi-demon so incarcerates him in the Castle, a prison with magical bars. For centuries Constance the vampire has resided at the Castle where she served Atreus the sorcerer who recently has gone insane. When the guards kidnap her adopted son, she pleads with Mac to find and rescue him. Unable to resist her, Mac investigates inside the prison he reluctantly with no choice calls home, but he begins to find clues that something is not right at the Castle and unless rectified many will die. The second Dark Forgotten urban fantasy is a terrific thriller as Mac goes from the bad that happened to him in Ravenous to the ugly of being Scorched in a magical prison. The key to this super tale is his investigation inside the realm of magic as fans will want to join his escapades. Sharon Ashwood provides a super saga leaving the audience what next will befall Mac. Harriet Klausner