Bitten by Books » Forbidden: The Claim by Samantha Sommersby

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Forbidden: The Claim by Samantha Sommersby

Posted under Adult Content, Book Reviews, Vampires by Jackie on Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 2:43 pm

Byron Renfield is a Dominie, an elite rank in the vampire nation that is not given lightly. Since the death of his sister Fred and her lover Grace, he has been alone…until Violet Deeds, Grace’s niece, shows up on his secluded island saying Grace invited her to visit on vacation. Even in death, Fred and Grace want Byron to be happy, setting him up with a human girl. They should have known better—to take a human lover is against the rules, and to claim her as his would take away his immortality and put Violet in danger should the Clan find out. Byron must decide if love is worth sacrificing everything, or if he can give up the best thing that has ever happened to him.

Forbidden: The Claim by Samantha Sommersby was often clichéd, the underlying humor was irresistible, as was the connection between Byron (Ren to the people closest to him) and Violet. I found myself lost in their relationship, in the feelings they had for each other, making me forgive some of the story aspects that would normally make me scoff and shake my head.

For instance, the proclamations of “Oh, Ren!” or “Oh, Violet!” during sex interrupted the flow of the love scenes. Instead of focusing on their passion, I was trying not to laugh at their words. It didn’t happen often, but enough to make mention of it.

Also the speed at which the story concluded through me off a bit. Everything was going fine then bam! all hell broke loose. I would have liked to see the final scene fleshed out a little more so that the fear and desperation of the characters could be better experienced.

One of my favorite parts of this story was living it through the eyes of a male protagonist. I didn’t find him effeminate, as occurs often when female writers try to write from a male’s perspective, and I found his internal monologues hilarious, rivaling the power players in the paranormal genre. Men react so much differently than women in certain situations, and this story let me see things that I wouldn’t have been able to had the main character been a woman.

I give Forbidden: The Claim 3.5 tombstones. The sex scenes are graphic (which I prefer in my erotica), so beware this story if you’re squeamish, but overall, it was an extremely quick and enjoyable read. It’s not as solid as many of the books I’ve read, but the characters overshadow the negative and then some. I look forward to reading the next installments in this series and hope to see Ren find his happily ever after.

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