Devils Light Book Blog: The Forever Girl Review Tour

The Forever Girl (Forever Girl #1)

“Whatever you do, fight.”

Sophia’s family has skeletons, but they aren’t in their graves.

At twenty-two, practicing Wiccan Sophia Parsons is scratching out a living waiting tables in her Rocky Mountain hometown, a pariah after a string of unsolved murders with only one thing in common: her.

Sophia can imagine lots of ways to improve her life, but she’d settle for just getting rid of the buzzing noise in her head. When the spell she casts goes wrong, the static turns into voices. Her personal demons get company, and the newcomers are dangerous.

One of them is a man named Charles, who Sophia falls for despite her better judgment. He has connections that might help her unveil the mystery surrounding her ancestor’s hanging, but she gets more than she bargains for when she finally decides to trust him.

Survival in his world, she learns, means not asking questions and staying out of the immortal council’s way. It’s a line she crossed long ago. If Sophia wants to survive the council and save the people she loves, she must accept who she is, perform dark magic, and fight to the death for her freedom.

Forever Girl will appeal to lovers of paranormal fantasy, mystery, romance, and horror.

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My Review

Excellently written and easy to read, The Forever Girl is a fantastic choice for paranormal romance lovers. Even though it’s more a coming-of-age story, it could certainly be appreciated by a 15+ Young Adult audience. Sophia’s transition from petulant youth to strong young woman is gradual, but convincing, and easy to identify with. There are also plenty of supernatural beings and mystical goings on to whet your appetite.

The romance plays a big part in this story. It unfolds subtly, if somewhat assumedly, but it's tender and loving all the same. Sadly, it didn’t make my heart didn’t throb, which is a must for me when enjoying romance. I suppose it all depends on what you look for in a fictional romantic interest. In this I found him to be a little two-dimensional for the most part. I prefer plenty of personality to fall in love with, as opposed to repeatedly reading about the colour of someone’s eyes, but hey! That’s just me. It was only at the end that I started to get a feel for who he really was. I imagine that as this being the first in a series, there’s more of the main characters romance to come.

At first I wasn’t sure I liked Sophia, finding her a little weak and simpering, considering the hardships she’d endured by the start of the story. After finishing I’m still not sure if I liked her, but I definitely preferred her fiery, fighting side which came out towards the end. Regardless, the narrative works well being told from her perspective. As much as she and I may not be best pals in real life, there is something to be said for a believable, consistent and well-rounded main character.

Perhaps I was reading between the lines, but there were aspects of this book I took to be allegorical. There are various points in which certain topics were presented in such a way as to having universal relevance. These gave an otherwise fantasy story a deeper edge, which I enjoyed. The Wicca references added a nice touch as well, especially as the author clearly had experience of the craft. I couldn’t really be bothered with the vampires/Cruor, but thankfully they were atypical and didn’t suck the substance from the story.

While my overall experience of this book was good, I didn’t feel much of a sense of impending danger in the build-up to the finale. However, the climax is gruesome and action-packed, and every bit the story I was hoping for. What I will say is that after reading a little about what’s to come in the series, I’ll definitely be looking out for the next instalment.

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Rebecca Hamilton

Rebecca Hamilton writes Paranormal Fantasy, Horror, and Literary Fiction. She lives in Florida with her husband and three kids, along with multiple writing personalities that range from morbid to literary. She enjoys dancing with her kids to television show theme songs and would love the beach if it weren’t for the sand. Having a child diagnosed with autism has inspired her to illuminate the world through the eyes of characters who see things differently. To learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder, please visit: http://www.autisticadvocacy.org