Release-Day Review: Forsaken by the Others by Jess Haines (H&W Investigations #5)

Forsaken by Others (H&W Investigations #5)
Jess Haines
Published: July 2, 2013 (Zebra)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Review Source: Provided by publisher for honest review

Reviewed by: Krista

Rating (out of 5):  4 stars

Note: If you haven’t read the previous H&W Investigations books, we suggest you check out the VBC review of Hunted by the Others.

When we last left Shiarra Waynest she had been bound to a vampire, infected with a werewolf virus, and possessed by a sentient belt (the fashionable accessory of choice for the modern revenge-minded vigilante). More importantly she had fallen into bed with Royce, her tall, dark and dead protector.

At the beginning of Forsaken by the Others, Shiarra is having an epic case of morning after second thoughts. Second thoughts being an understatement when describing the turmoil of emotions she is dealing with after sleeping with “a creature” she still considers inhuman. On top of that she single-mindedly wiped out some of those she considered responsible for her werewolf infection while possessed by her belt. Also she had to deal with her father disowning her because of a newspaper article revealing her Other status and the somewhat death of her friend/ally/antagonist White Hat leader.

The beginning of the novel is the only part of the whole novel which I had issues with. Shiarra is completely overwhelmed and ashamed of her actions over the past few days. She was directly or partially responsible for the deaths of several individuals, but what is she freaking out and ashamed of the most? Falling into bed with Royce. The man, after unfortunate beginning, had been bending over backward to change and accommodate her beliefs. He provided her with protection, information, and assistance with little to no reciprocity on her part. She even goes as far as to imply that he used undue influence to get her into bed. I don’t think I was as frustrated with Shiarra, as Royce was but I am sure it was pretty close. She then sleeps with him again! My annoyance with this pales in comparison to my pique with the fact that Royce ships Shiarra out of town for her own safety while he cleans up the mess she created. And she meekly goes along with it! At this point I wanted to revoke Shiarra’s Kick Ass Heroine’s Membership card. Instead I took a breath and kept reading. Now after finishing the book I can reliably state it was worth it.

The only parts of Forsaken I found troubling were found in the first couple of chapters, so I shouldn’t really judge the book on my first impression. Shiarra more than rebounded once she and Sara landed in California. They hit the ground running and more than exceeded my expectations. While they are in California they have to deal with a zombie invasion, an emotional werewolf, a deranged vampire family, and other creatures which are the size of a bus. Throughout these trials Shiarra showed growth and a quiet ruthlessness that only added to the characters depth. I really enjoyed this outing in the H&W Investigations world and definitely recommend diving into this series. Here’s crossing my fingers that we will not have to wait as long for the next book.

Sexual content: Sex