Blog Tour: Book Review/Giveaway!! Forsaken, by Jacquelyn Frank

Welcome to this stop in the

TLC Book Tour for

The World of Nightwalkers series,

by Jacquelyn Frank!

This tour celebrates the release

of the third book in the series,

Forsaken!

Forsaken
(The World of Nightwalkers #3)
Jacquelyn Frank
Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages
Ballantine Books, January 7, 2014
Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

Book Synopsis:  As a mercenary, Leo Alvarez has signed on for a lot—but he never signed on for his best friend becoming host to the soul of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Jackson is now inhabited by a Bodywalker, and Leo is forced to grapple with a realm of supernatural beings far more dangerous than anything he’s ever encountered.

But when Jackson is wounded by an attack from a demon god, Leo must team up with another supernatural creature—a Night Angel—to save his friend from utter destruction. With skin as black as midnight, hair as white as snow, and a body of pure perfection, the Night Angel arouses a burning desire in Leo, even as he refuses to be intimidated by her power—or the power of those who would destroy his friend. An unusual alliance is forged, electrified by sexual temptation, and together the two must unite their strengths to bring down a supreme evil.

My Review

As a lover of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, I was immediately interested in this series.  I had heard of this author before, but had never read any of her books.

Although this tour includes the first three books in this series, The World of Nightwalkers (a spinoff from the original Nightwalkers series), I decided to read only Forsaken, the most recently published one.  I did not have time for all three, due to my hectic work schedule.  Besides, I really like to do justice to a book, and there just isn't enough space here for three reviews. 

The premise of this series, as well as the original one, is fascinating.  Several supernatural races of beings, known as Nightwalkers, exist side by side with humans, who are completely unaware that such beings walk the planet.  Among these races are the Bodywalkers, humans who serve as hosts to the souls of ancient and very powerful Pharaohs.  I did find this concept rather creepy initially, especially when I discovered that the soul of the original inhabitant was supposed to "blend" with that of the new entity.  In spite of this, I decided to delve into the story, to see just why Ms. Frank is a New York Times bestselling author.

I definitely found out why!  Her characters are so well-drawn, the reader starts to think of them as people who might be friends, or even  family.  The writing is tight and the plot very well developed.  And the world-building.....the world-building is magnificent, to say the least!

There are not only Bodywalkers, but Gargoyles who can be flesh-and-blood people alternatively with their stone selves, Djynn of different orders and powers, Mysticals, Shadowdwellers, Vampires, Lycanthropes, and Night Angels such as Faith, who teams up with Leo Alvarez, the central character, in order to save his friend, Jackson Waverly, after the latter is viciously attacked by the evil god, Apep, and left barely hanging on to his life.  Then there are the evil Templar Bodywalkers, who, instead of blending with their hosts' souls, ruthlessly suppress and dominate them.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a Hispanic as one of the main characters in the book.  Leo is a man of Mexican descent, a man of explosive emotions, as well as a very good heart.  His concern for Jackson, whose sister, Docia, he helped raise, is very touching.  Although he has been badly scarred in his encounters with Chatha, a Templar Bodywalker, he strives to put this aside, and do everything he can to save his friend's life.  

Faith, the Night Angel, is a very sweet, unassuming character, in spite of the power she obviously possesses.  The members of her race have the strange ability to see 'scrolls', which is what they call the beacon of light emanated by every human being, in which Night Angels can read the words that accompany the humans' emotions and thoughts.  I find this to be a fascinating, and very original, concept!  Faith can immediately see that Leo is a damaged soul.  It's her compassion for him, as well as her patience, that  slowly helps to heal his tormented emotions, throughout the course of the novel.

The romance between Leo and Faith blossoms rather rapidly shortly after they are thrown together, thanks to the intervention of a very powerful Djynn.  Leo was a badly scarred man -- not only physically, but emotionally, so I tried hard not to dislike him in spite of the way he treated Faith at first.  After all, his hatred of all supernatural beings was understandable, because of his earlier experiences with Chatha.  

Interestingly, the author contrasted Leo's prejudice against the Nightwalkers with his own experiences with prejudice toward Hispanics.  I thought this was a very powerful statement on the author's part.   I was happy to see that Leo came to realize the irony of hating the Nightwalkers when he himself had experienced such hatred.  This realization really hit home after he was reminded by Faith that not all Nightwalkers are as evil as Chatha, whom the author identifies as a psychopath.

Once Leo realizes what a kind, gentle being Faith is, and how selflessly she throws herself into danger just so she can help him, their romance becomes a truly beautiful thing.  They are not only a team in the sense that they're both committed to helping save Jackson's life.  They become a solid couple as well, and Leo begins to treat her with the tenderness she deserves.  

This is the third book in the World of the Nightwalkers series.  Still, this novel reads quite well as a stand-alone.  Frank doesn't spend countless pages repeating information from the earlier books, and she uses her characters to inform her readers about how her supernatural world works.  She does this very skillfully, too, so the reader never feels bored, or loaded with tons of information.

The romance, of course, is very sensual, but this is not 'casual sex'; it's obviously laced with the couple's care for each other.  Leo never uses Faith simply to consummate his passion, and it's clear that Faith has fallen in love with him long before he's willing to admit that he has fallen in love with her, as well. 

Even though I very much enjoyed reading this book, I did have a couple of issues with it. 

The first was the opening scene, in which the violence was very graphically described.  It was a dream in which Leo was reliving a horrible, real experience with the evil Chatha.  If you're very squeamish, like me, you might want to skip the first pages of Chapter One, and head straight to page 5, beginning with the paragraph that starts with the sentence, "Leo awoke with a savage shout, his body lurching out of bed...."

Another issue I have with the novel is the very frequent use of profanity.  The 'F bomb' is dropped very, very often.  There are readers, of course, who are not at all put off by these things, so they will be able to enjoy the story without cringing every time they encounter this type of language.

In spite of the above objections, I do think that this is a very well-written novel, with great characters, terrific world-building, and a fascinating plot that holds a reader's interest all the way to the end.  Paranormal romance and urban fantasy fans will definitely love this novel, and fans of Jacquelyn Frank will not be disappointed.  Frank can tell a very compelling story, and she is definitely a master of this exciting genre!  

MY RATING:  

Reviewer's Note

I received copies of all three books

in The World of Nightwalkers series,

in return for my honest reviews.

Due to time constraints, I have only reviewed

the most recently published one.

I will be reviewing the other two later on.

My thanks to TLC Tours!! 

Jacquelyn Frank

About the Author

Jacquelyn Frank is the New York Times bestselling author of The World of Nightwalkers series (Forbidden, Forever, and Forsaken), the Three Worlds series, (Seduce Me In Dreams and Seduce Me In Flames), the Nightwalkers series (Adam, Jacob, Gideon, Elijah, Damien, and Noah), the Shadowdwellers novels (Ecstasy, Rapture, and Pleasure), and the Gatherers novels (Hunting Julian and Stealing Katherine).  She lives in North Carolina and has been  writing romantic fiction ever since she picked up her first teen romance at age 13.

Online Links

Website

Goodreads

Facebook

Amazon

Twitter

TLC Book Tours is giving away 

the first three books in The

World of Nightwalkers series 

to one lucky U.S. winner!!
This includes not only Forsaken,
but also Forbidden and Forever!
This contest is open only 
to those 18 and over.

Good luck to all participants!!

Click on each cover for more
information about each book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway




 

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