I couldn’t help but notice The Forever Girl storming the blogosphere and getting excellent reviews. I also follow Rebecca on Twitter and was impressed by her marketing campaign, so of course I had to see what all the fuss was about for myself.
First off, this is a beautifully written book. Hamilton’s descriptions of Sophia’s Wiccan rituals brought the story to life and I was fascinated reading all the passages involving spells.
So, on to the story: 22 year Goth girl and Wiccan Sophia Parsons sticks out in her small Rocky Mountain town in Colorado. No one’s hiring history teachers in this economy so she waits tables at a local café where everyone in town can stare at her strange clothes and whisper behind her back. Her mother is a nut and belongs to a church that sounds more like an occult than any legitimate religious organisation. The head of the church, Mrs. Franklin wants Sophia out of the house she inherited from her grandfather and uses threats and condemnation as an incentive to force Sophia to leave. In the midst of this, Sophia is trying her best to live with the whispering voices in her head and she discovers that Cruors (vampire-like beings) and other elemental creatures exist.
I initially thought this was a YA novel (a genre I read a lot) so I was pleasantly surprised to spend time with a slightly older protagonist. Sophie is a very down-to-earth and normal young woman, someone I could relate to for the most part, despite her getting caught up in a mysterious and dangerous supernatural world. I did, however find Charles’ and Sophia’s relationship at the start to be a strange one. They’re adults and discuss moving in together, having spent every day in each other’s company for months, yet all they have shared are a few kisses. I found this hard to believe given the fact that Charles has been around for a few hundred years and Sophia is a recent college grad. This is the one element of the story that made me feel I was reading a YA novel about teenagers.
Sophia’s independent nature laced with vulnerability kept me turning the pages. She lives alone in her grandfather’s house and remains strong and determined despite the abuse from the deranged Mrs. Franklin and threat from the powerful, supernatural Council. I liked the mythology of The Forever Girl. Vampires are called Cruors in this story, and there are different kinds of elemental beings and half breeds. Her family line can be traced back to the time of the Salem Witch trials, and gradually Sophia and those around her come to realise that she may also have some witch blood in her.
I loved the author’s writing style. Every detail, every description painted Sophia’s world in vibrant colours and I was with her every step of the way. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book in the series. ****
Check it out on Amazon HERE
Has anyone read The Forever Girl? What do you think of the book cover? I adore it!!
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