Review - Forged in Fire (The Vessel Trilogy #1) by Juliette Cross

For Jude and his fellow demon hunters tell her she is a Vessel, one who is born to serve the Light, but can be corrupted into a weapon of darkness. And to survive, she must trust a man whose unearthly eyes promise heaven…but whose powers unleash hell.

Review

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting…and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming. (E.A.P)

The line of a well known character, "Same story different versions, but all are true" fits very well this book, with the mention that the "true" should be replaced by delightful. In Forged in Fire, the eternal struggle between good and evil receives new troops and new deployment plans.

I really liked how the author has entwined the elements of universal mythology, especially the Greek one, with Christian elements. She manages to identify correspondents and to put together specific elements of each without a trace (not obvious and certainly not an annoying one) of exaggeration.

Another thing that I liked a lot is how Mrs. Cross (appropriate name given the subject of the book, isn’t it?) slipped in, in a natural way, references to other branches of art that perhaps, out of curiosity, the reader who still does not know them will have the chance to discover them. If he has, and he will satisfy this curiosity, then that reader will benefit because he will be able to create and enjoy the "correct" atmosphere of the book as the author conceive it.

The characters are appealing. The author was careful to bestow on the heroine a suitable background for her to deal with the challenges that are to come, but without to exaggerate and without seeming to be implausible. The main male character, it is needless to say that he would appeal. With a still mysterious past, which sometimes puts him at the boundary between the good and evil, with his own limitations and demons (!!!) will do and risk everything for the loved ones. The way in which the author has disposed things, even those who don’t believe in love at first sight, will not have anything to criticize. The end of the book will confirm the hero’s feelings, and will remove any "inconvenience" brought by the chemistry between the main characters. Still, in my opinion, the outcome of confrontation between the positive and the negative characters, based on their history, seems a bit steep.

With an exciting pace, successful main characters and secondary ones that you cannot wait to meet again, with a special atmosphere enriched by visual effects but also sound ones, Forged in Fire is most likely to be pleasant to many readers. I certainly am curious to find what will happen next given the somewhat limited solutions and minimum chance that the heroine seems to have, especially now that she has already lost one of her three essential conditions of her salvation, especially when death or loss of the loved one is not the worst thing that can happen to her.

[S]he must trust a man whose unearthly eyes promise heaven…but whose powers unleash hell.

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About the author:

Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance--brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.

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