~~~
3/5 Stars
Athena Chambers is the star performer in the nightclub of a luxury Las Vegas casino. Her voice draws the crowds in and captivates them night after night. She’s living her dream of singing for the masses.
However, not everyone shared her dream. Athena’s parents wanted her to get a college education and she didn’t want to disappoint them, but she wanted to sing more. Now they’re gone and her estranged sister never allows Athena to forget she never rose to their expectations.
But Athena isn’t alone. She has a support network in bestie, Pam; the small group of performers with whom she works, and the people who fill the seats to hear her sing. She’s making a name for herself and building a future.
Sorin Ludovici is a self-made billionaire, traveling the world adding treasures to his precious art collection and managing his holdings.
He finds the one treasure that has eluded him when he makes a rare visit to one of his properties—the Turin Casino in Las Vegas.
While watching Athena and listening to her golden voice, Sorin knows his found his mate. And, he has to claim her before he’s overtaken by blood lust.
Because Sorin is a 367-year-old vampire.
I liked Athena’s personality. She was her own person, determined to make and follow her own path. She wasn’t trying to rebel or make a statement—she simply had a dream and a goal.
Sorin was more complicated because he preferred going his own way managing his empire while searching for his mate, however, sense-of-duty came calling. Can he answer the call and take Athena with him?
This is a good story and premise, and both Athena and Sorin are strong characters with sizzling chemistry between them.
But the delivery fell flat for me.
The pacing was off for me and along with continuity—it didn’t feel fluid. Grammar errors, incorrect word usage, and redundancy dragged the story down. When vampire hunters kidnapped Athena, I wanted to feel the suspense and urgency of the moment, but it never happened.
The vampire hunters were disappointing—not that I wanted them to win—but they didn’t seem smart or clever enough to get as far as they did. They know vampires avoid the sun and can be killed by a wooden stake to the heart, but what are they doing? Shooting a gun at a vampire? Seriously?
I admired the way Sorin’s assistant, Devin, stood up to him about Athena and forced his hand, but she and head of security, Linkin, seemed diluted… not as badass as I’d expect those in Sorin’s inner circle to be.
I own twelve books and a boxed set by this author, and this is not the quality of her work I am used to. While this read didn’t work for me, I’ll continue to read new books by her, and I’m sure readers of paranormal romance will enjoy Forever Desired, it just didn’t work for me.
~~~
Forever Desired is a novella featured in the Vampire Brides series. All books in the Vampire Brides series are standalone and can be read in any order.
~~~
KINDLE UNLIMITED
Nesie's Place 