Customer Reviews

Forever Crossed

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Olivia Peters is a Bereavement Counselor, she works for a funeral home named Forever Crossed. Briefly, a bereavement counselor sees the the circumstances of a person's death and comforts the survivors (or helps the homicide investigation). She is also the only known survivor of a wereleopard attack to not either die or become a shapeshifter herself. Her boss assigns her to work with the ruler of the Vampires, Antonio. He is trying to find a rogue Vamp who is killing vamps and humans in his territory of the Triangle. Coincidently, she is also retained by the local police to investigate the same case. The shaman of the local wereleopards was the latest victim, so their Ra Jahn is also involved and a mutual attraction is formed.

The book is filled with action and very vivid characters. The author has created a very believable alternate reality. The world that the vampires and weres live in is very well drawn and you can easily picture it. The love scenes were very well done, and there are others that are as interesting as Luka. This book is a definite must for fans of Anita Blake, but Olivia is a much less dark and more likable character. She is better adjusted and not a dark personality. I definitely recommend this one and can't wait until the next.

Olivia Peters isn't a witch or a necromancer. She is something far more unique than that. She is a bereavement specialist -- someone who is able to communicate with spirits and help them find closure and rest in peace just after they die and before they pass on to another dimension. Olivia has kept those spirits from turning into zombies or vampires. Her job at Forever Cross, the most popular funeral home in the Carolinas, has kept her busy. But then she has to investigate a crime committed by a rogue vampire and help Antonio Vesci, the city's Undead Ruler, find and execute said vampire and his minions. To make matters worse, she has developed feelings for Lurka, the wereleopards' Ra'Jahn, who is under the impression that she is the wereleopards' Shaman due to the fact that she had been bitten by a wereleopard when she was a child. She has never gone furry, but that doesn't mean that she isn't a part of the wereleopard community. There are various twists throughout the novel.

This is a cool and fast-paced novel with plenty of fantasy and supernatural elements to make you want to read it until its final page. Forever Crossed and its heroine are very similar to the Anita Blake series. I'm almost certain that A. Leigh Jones got her inspiration from the aforementioned series. Olivia Peters is a tough cookie who carries a gun, is indispensable at her job, is addicted to coffee and is attracted to the alpha wereleopard. But Olivia, unlike Anita, is more likeable and far less discriminating and self-absorbed. This novel (is this the begin of a series?) is a great alternative for those who are disappointed with the unfortunate direction the Anita Blake series has taken. You will enjoy this book very much. Is Forever Crossed an original story? No. Is it fun and entertaining? You betcha. Give it a whirl if you're as big a fan of paranormal stories as I am.

In Forever Crossed A. Leigh Jones adeptly straddles multiple genres to create an exciting tale. She crosses a romance novel with detective fiction and with an alternative reality setting that includes witches, vampires, and wereleopards. The author's greatest achievement is in creating a vibrant lead character, Olivia Peters, who captures the mystery of believability and raises the work above the cliches of genre.

The author reimagines the sleepy southern city of Raleigh North Carolina as a place where vampires are regular citizens. However, a vampire turf battle leads to a series of murders that upsets the community.

The romance is between Peters, a victim of a wereleopard attack as a child, and Luka, the leader of the local wereleopard clan. Can the erotic feelings he stirs up in her overcome her childhood fear? Her interactions with his pack of wereleopards in human form are delightfully portrayed. Their mixture of human emotions and animalistic senses as she is attracted to their leader and how she relates to each of them is very well done.

It is the detective who comes out as the strongest part of Peters' character. She is called in to solve the murders, but the struggle for control of the vampire community hints at a more complex story. Yet ultimately, this is set aside (for a sequel?) and the romance novel gains the upper hand.

I have to agree that this book was a little treasure. Olivia Peters might not be as smart or as layered of a heroine as Laurell Hamilton's, but I enjoyed her, from the beginning of the book to its end. Part of the problem sci-fi writers can have is creating characters who are so alternative that it's hard to keep a sense of their humanity; they just become too unlikeable or alien. Not so with Olivia Peters. The author could use some seasoning to make it into mainstream markets, but I have the feeling that that will happen, if she just writes more. So, where's the sequel?

As has been mentioned, the world of Olivia Peters, a Bereavement Couselor who communicates with the dead, bears a striking resemblance to that of Anita Blake, and the writing lacks the professional polish of a Laurell Hamilton or Kim Harrison. There are, however, enough original elements to keep the book from being too derivative, and the ending leaves you wanting to know what happens to the characters in the future, always the sign of an enjoyable read. For those of us who miss the early Anita books, with their emphasis on plot rather than sex, this book is a welcome find. Hopefully, this author will continue to grow and develop as will the world she has created, leaving the spectre of Anita behind.

Lucious prose, intriguing characters, and a gritty yet senuous Southern setting. Olivia is a smart woman's protagonist: strong, sardonic, and sexy. If you are looking for a book with action that grabs you and plunges you into a dark and fully-developed altered reality, then this is the book for you. You won't want it to end.

I read this in two nights and heaved a satisfied sigh at the end. A. Leigh Jones writes in witty, tight first person voice that makes me think of a female Sam Spade. Of course, Sam Spade never met a hot wereleopard like Luka... The world of Forever Crossed is not so different from our world--if vampires and were-creatures were to come out of the closet. The mystery of just what has made Olivia different from others who have survived were-leopard attacks will keep me hanging on for the sequel. An outstanding original work.

And all I can say now is when is the next one coming? I liked the characters so much and Ms. Jones writing is smooth as Haagan Daaz and just as sweet going down. I sure hope she is busy writing the next one!

Having never heard of this author the background of the story is what pulled me in. I read the book in one sitting, and half way through it, all I kept thinking was "Wow, this is a complete and total rip off of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series!" with very few exceptions. Granted I'm a fan of LKH, but I enjoyed this book as well mostly because the author doesn't delve into...shall we say the porno realm that LKH is now mired in?

Worth the read and very enjoyable, but you'll be able to tie everything to Anita Blake if you've read that series.

Olivia Peters is a great new female character. Yes, she is reminiscent of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake character, but that is why I loved this book. Actually, I liked the character Olivia better. She has a more human and vulnerable side that the Anita Blake character does not. Also, unlike the later Anita Blake books that have moved into soft porn, this book had enough sex to keep it interesting but did not take over the story line. I hope it stays that way. However, there were enough good looking male characters to make the read more enjoyable. I prefer a book with good characters, lots of action and a great plot. This had all of that. A wonderful new author!