FOREST OF THE FORSAKEN
By Joanne Brothwell
Published February 2013 by Joanne Brothwell
Available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BCRURI0/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
BLURB:
In this eerie adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, the fairy
tale ending may be far from happy.
Following her mother’s death to cancer, Meg’s world crashes
in around her. Her father re-marries within weeks of their loss, her witch
step-mother is cold and rejecting, and her new step-brother, Joey, has some
rather unusual sexual preferences. Meg’s only hope is to move away and leave
her father and the tainted memories behind.
When her father forces her to attend his honeymoon with this
new and unwanted blended family, Meg finds herself in the remote wilderness of
the Rocky Mountains, miles from civilization. Meg begins to see things in the
forbidding forest—strange, unexplainable things she believes are the result of
compounding stress. But when her father and step-mother disappear, leaving Meg
and Joey to fend for themselves, lost and without supplies, she realizes her
paranormal visions are not merely her imagination after all.
Meg’s knows of the dangerous and tortured demons of Joey’s
past but her heart can’t resist him. Bound together in desperation and fear,
their romance blooms bright and all-consuming despite the evil magic of the
formidable forest.
Will Meg and Joey find their way back to civilization? Or
will their love wither in submission to the shadows within the Forest of the
Forsaken?
MY TAKE:
A fast read that zips along at breakneck speed and sizzles
with heat between the two main characters, this adult paranormal romance has
few slow moments. Told in first person from the main character Meg’s point of
view, the romance keeps shifting from dark to sweet, from lust to love, from
sizzling to tender over the course of the story.
This is a reinterpretation of an old Grimm Brothers fairy
tale, an adult retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel. Let me emphasize
the “adult” part of that sentence, as I mistakenly thought this was YA and (oh
boy!) it’s not at all. I bought this before the cover redesign – and I have to
add that I love the new cover art. With the more adult looking characters and
the darker, creepier overtones, it’s beautiful and scary, and does justice to
the story.
My favorite parts of the writing were the descriptions of
both the evil forest (its own character, really) and the witch’s house. And the
sex scenes. Ms. Brothwell does a great job bringing heat and darkness to the
characters interactions and feelings. While I would’ve liked to have Joey’s
character arc better defined (I desperately want him to be a totally changed
man in the end!) I enjoyed this story immensely. It was a great escape – a
guilty pleasure that I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, hot
read for a day at the beach.
About the Author:
Joanne Brothwell lives in the country on the Canadian
prairie where her stories are inspired by the dead things that appear at her
doorstep on a daily basis. Of course, her two pets, a retired police dog with
titanium fangs and a feral barn cat missing two toes, make the safety of
surrounding wildlife, at best, uncertain.
Joanne is known to daydream, and ever since grade school has
been accused of having a poor attention span. The truth is, Joanne has an
alternate reality inside her head, where characters speak to her, sometimes so
loudly (and incessantly) she just can't hear anything else!
You can rest assured you'll see much more of Joanne's
writing in the future, as those characters in her head, having tasted the sweet
freedom of release, simply refuse to be silenced!
