Review: THE FORBIDDEN CHAMBER

October 26, 2009 on 10:50 am | In ERD, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Ella Drake’s THE FORBIDDEN CHAMBER is available today from Samhain Publishing. If you, like me, have been obsessively haunting the few excerpts of this story that are available at Ella’s site, Samhain and Books on Board, today is a happy day.

THE FORBIDDEN CHAMBER, a re-imagining of the fairy tale and (according to my feminist lit professor) feminine teaching tale “Bluebeard,” is gothic goodness at its most dark-chocolate, rich-cream delicious. Ella took pity on me after I started fantasizing about the hero, Lord Hayle, during my morning shower last week, and bestowed upon me an ARC. Now I’m passing my good fortune and her generosity on to you with a release-day review.

Lord Rukh Hayle, patriarch of a cursed line of raven shapeshifters, must take a wife. He has no shortage of candidates, as even the rumor of two previous wife-murders fails to discourage debutantes and social-climbing mothers from parading through his ballroom. Despite the array of prospects available to him, he quickly finds he craves only one: young, innocent Isabel, third and unwanted daughter of a widowed mother’s flock.

Inexplicably drawn to the maybe-murderer, Isabel resists Hayle’s enigmatic charm only so long as she manages to evade him. In his presence, she finds herself overcome by inappropriate, sensual urges and imaginings no proper young woman should harbor. She is at once intrigued and frightened by Hayle and the whispers of violence that follow in his wake.

Even though Hayle suspects Isabel’s amorous response to him is a result of the salacious shadow hanging over his house, he cannot bring himself to resist her. When a moment of unchecked lust and ill-timing leaves Isabel compromised, Hayle struggles with his obligation to take her as his bride–not for lack of wanting, but for fear for her safety.

He is, after all, a two-time widower.

And maybe-murderer.

A hasty marriage sees Hayle and Isabel alone with their desires and their secrets, which Isabel is quickly bound to share. Hayle has but one rule for a wife of his name: do not open the red door. If Isabel promises to obey only that one rule, she will know a marriage filled with passion and wanting for nothing.

Committed to ignoring the red door, Isabel struggles to overcome her misgivings of Hayle’s dark secret. The door has a life of its own, however, and a will stronger than innocent Isabel’s. The longer she resists, the louder it calls.

Soon, she demands the entirety of her husband’s story and determines she must leave him–her soul, as well as her mortal person, will not be safe so long as she perpetuates the Hayle curse.

As forces gather to bind Isabel to the gloomy manor and the wicked red door, she and Hayle face wicked, lustful horrors and love too strong to release for the mere safety of their souls.

THE FORBIDDEN CHAMBER combines the lovely, lush and dark aspects of traditional gothic romances with a breathless pace, a unique dash of supernatural and a delicious demonic twist–a perfect accompaniment to your Halloween chocolate stash. Dark only. Milk is not nearly sexy enough.

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For behind-the-scenes information about Ella’s inspiration for THE FORBIDDEN CHAMBER, click here to visit her blog on the topic.

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Dear FTC and anyone else who cares: I received this book for free.