Description:
Ophelia’s been successful at hiding her true identity, until the mark of the serpent appears on her neck—a death sentence, should it be seen by anyone in her town. Hiding the mark might save her from falling victim to the witch hunts of her era, but the scorching sensation it carries can’t be ignored.
When the mysterious Ethan is sent to collect her for a life of something more, she learns concealing the mark is the least of her concerns. She’s destined to do a new task—to join a dark, supernatural world and protect the future of people she may never meet.
What she doesn’t know—what she learns too late—is that her initiation won’t be complete until she kills the man who’s captured her heart.
Review:
Rebecca Hamilton is an excellent writer. Her first book, “The Forever Girl“, landed one of my sparse Five Star reviews. Hamilton writes gritty paranormal romance with horror elements written in a literary style.
That’s a bagful of genre elements right there but Rebecca Hamilton makes it work. There were times I had to stop reading “Her Sweetest Downfall” because it creeped me out and I needed a happy break. I felt emotions stirring in the gut of my stomach during the peak of the love affair.
The gothic environment of “Downfall” reads as sparse yet lovely. Think Anne Rice “Interview with a Vampire” aesthetic but less gory.
Ophelia, main character of “Downfall”, only played a small role in “The Forever Girl.” This new installment takes place 200 years before the first in the series.
Ophelia has to make a difficult decision. She can wait until the burning mark spells out her death or give up everything, absolutely everything, to play a mysterious role against the people who ordered her parents’ death.
This novella kept me entertained for days. Although short, I didn’t want to finish it too fast!
Keep in mind this novella is intended as a “gift to the fans of ‘The Forever Girl’ series.” I can tell it didn’t get as deep of an edit in the middle section as it would have if it was a full novel. Totally cool– that leaves more time for Hamilton to keep working on that sequel!
Because we aren’t as connected to the characters, I’m not as attached to Ophelia as I was to Sophia of “The Forever Girl.” But Sophia’s hard to top.
If you enjoyed “The Forever Girl”, you’ll love this one, too. A new reader might like to pick this one up as well–but the talk of Strigoi and other terms may be confusing.
One thing Hamilton may consider is incorporating a brief index of terms in the back–both to make the book accessible to new readers and also for us forgetful fans!
Her Sweetest Downfall on Amazon
