She never knew this demon world existed. Now she just wants to survive it.The Vessel Trilogy, Book 1Genevieve Drake never needed a man to come to her rescue. Not until the night of her twentieth birthday, when some dude nearly chokes her to death in an alley behind a New Orleans Goth club. And a hot stranger splits the guy in half, rips a monster from inside, and incinerates it into ash.The hunky … incinerates it into ash.
The hunky rescuer? Jude Delacroix—Dominus Daemonum, Master of Demons, now her guardian, whether she likes it or not. But she’s seriously beginning to like it.
Her would-be murderer turns out to be only the first of many minions of the demon prince, Danté, who has all kinds of lascivious and sadistic plans. Which means when the formidably beautiful Jude offers his protection, Genevieve has no problem accepting it.
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.
Warning: Contains a dark and brooding demon hunter who harbors even darker secrets, a snarky heroine who’s being hunted by every demon in the underworld, and a sadistic demon prince with a fancy for violent sexual encounters.
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WOW!!!! Just finished reading this amazing book!!! I see many more great stories to come. Juliette creates a world that blends in seamlessly with the great city of New Orleans. The details let you know the author has spent much time there herself. The many references – cultural, pop, contemporary, historical, mythological all blend perfectly just like a perfect pot of gumbo. The heroine, Genevieve is sassy and smart and I am pleased to say not a woman who waits around for a man to save her. Jude, is sexy, dark and slightly brooding, but man enough to know when a woman completes him and isn’t scared to show her. The storyline moves along quickly and keeps you absorbed. I can’t wait to learn more about Kat and George and how much more trouble Mindy can get in to. I’m thrilled to have discovered this new author and am anxiously awaiting her other books.
This was a good start to the Vessel trilogy! I liked the little details of Angel/demon hierarchy along with the references to pieces of English literature my dusty brain had to dig out from English Lit courses in college. It also made Genevieve and her plight more tangible, underscoring the urgency of her situation. Now at 20, Genevieve is younger than I prefer my characters to be, but her general attitude came across more maturer than I expected, giving a better impression of her appeal to Jude.
Jude was a sexy hot mess of a protector and the kind of guy I’d want in my corner against the baddies! Regardless of his description, I personally was picturing Adrian Paul from his Highlander days, because that’s the only warrior I could channel with Jude’s background! That and I am still crushing on Adrian from my teenage years, lol.
The plot was intriguing and the world building was fantastically done. I’ve started this series backwards, but find it refreshing and fun! I’m looking forward to the next book to see what happens next!
Forged in Fire is the first book in The Vessel Trilogy by Juliet Cross.
Genevieve Drake is a normal woman living in a normal everyday world until the night she turns 20. Everything about her life is turned upside-down with introduction of demons and guardians. The fact that she’s been identified as a Vessel and now on the radar of two very powerful demons is just icing on the cake really. Fortunately, Genevieve has as pretty hot guardian by the name of Jude Delacroix, or Mr. R & B (Rugged and Beautiful).
Jude is a very powerful and quite ancient piece of male flesh – one that doesn’t look a day over 30. Built, sexy as hell, and that voice??!! It makes Genevieve shiver in anticipation. Except, it doesn’t matter how hot and sexy he is or how much Genevieve wants to put her hands all over him. She’s a pure and untouched Vessel and to keep her safe, a virgin she must remain. Of course, Genevieve refuses to believe the seriousness of her new life and finds herself in serious situations that could compromise her purity, life, and what side of the line – Light or Dark – she stands for.
I really enjoyed Forged in Fire. I’ve been wanting to read the trilogy since the first book was released but hadn’t had time. Right now I’m currently employed full-time outside the home, attend college part time, and maintain a family/household. When to opportunity to review it came up for this review tour, I grabbed it. I had the book read in three days (which is good considering my hectic life) and in that time frame devoured it as often as I was able.
Genevieve is a very likable character. She is snarky and sweet. Her life hasn’t all been wine and roses, however, as she still harbors a lot of feelings and emotions pertaining to the suicide of her mother many years prior. Juliette took Genevieve’s character and turned her into someone that many readers will be able to relate to, made her realistic and genuine. Now, I know not everyone is a Vessel like Genevieve (::wink::) but her normal human qualities make her a strong character. She doesn’t exactly fall onto the Vessel/Guardian bandwagon easily but I wouldn’t have liked her as much if she just took everything as gospel. Making mistakes, not listening to Jude, and general disbelief, even after seeing a demon disintegrate before her very eyes, made Genevieve a more credible character.
Jude is a fantastic hero in Forged in Fire. He takes Genevieve under his wing and promises to protect her – even when she risks her safety by not listening to him. He’s honorable in the sense that he doesn’t want to defile her -even though it’s clear he would love nothing more than to ravish her body- in order to preserve her purity as the Vessel. Jude knows that Genevieve is safer from the demons as a virgin. He has secrets that Genevieve tries to get him to reveal but Jude only talks about what he wants to talk about, which irritates Genevieve. I love the bantering, sexual tension, and interactions between Jude and Genevieve.
Juliette’s writing style is wonderful and sometimes lyrical. The dialogue between all characters is smooth and understandable. The plot is wonderfully constructed and the world building was done extremely well. The details were descriptive enough to paint wonderful pictures in my mind as I read along but not overly done or obnoxious. Now that I have a taste of The Vessel Trilogy, I must continue with Book 2.
Wow, this was one thrilling ride! Filled with so much action, drama, suspense and thrills, I never knew which way to look for where the bad guy was going to come next!
On Genevieve’s twentieth birthday the world as she knows it is suddenly and terrifyingly changed before her eyes. The man at the center of her new world is a demon hunter and the things he slowly teaches her are things straight out of a nightmare. As the target of a high demon, Gen is struggling to learn how to utilize the new powers that are a part of the new her. With Jude’s help she hopes to survive but as events slowly begin to unravel it becomes apparent that even he may not be able to save her.
I loved both Gen and Jude. Their pasts, although so many centuries between, are eerily similar but they have both been scarred down to their souls by it. As they forge a united front they grow closer to each other and yet the dark powers that threaten Gen keep them from moving forward in the direction they both desire. Jude was exactly as I would imagine a demon hunter would be…had I ever thought to imagine one. What he takes upon himself in a fight for justice is unique and horrifying but the fact that he faces one of the worse his kind could endure in order to help Gen made me love him even more. Gen, with her background in self protection, is not a wilting flower. Despite the extremes she is experiencing daily now, and the human struggles of remaining sane in the face of them, she stays strong and continues to grow in strength. I loved the hard and soft sides to her.
This is a slow paced read with lots of world building – in today’s world but with powers and beings that exist outside our realm – that painted a wonderfully dark and grim picture of those things we might sense but never see. The secondary characters are excellent and add so much depth to the story. The steam is low although there is definitely chemistry between Gen and Jude. This ends in what felt like a happy for now style although it’s safe to say this couple are definitely a couple. I’m very curious to see what happens from this point onward.
I just recently got to read an advance copy of Juliette’s DARKEST HEART (comes out 8/20) so I went back and re-read The Vessel Series that comes before it. Man, I’d forgotten how much I loved this series. And it’s a perfect warm up to the stellar DARKEST HEART!
Wow, this was one thrilling ride! Filled with so much action, drama, suspense and thrills, I never knew which way to look for where the bad guy was going to come next!
On Genevieve’s twentieth birthday the world as she knows it is suddenly and terrifyingly changed before her eyes. The man at the center of her new world is a demon hunter and the things he slowly teaches her are things straight out of a nightmare. As the target of a high demon, Gen is struggling to learn how to utilize the new powers that are a part of the new her. With Jude’s help she hopes to survive but as events slowly begin to unravel it becomes apparent that even he may not be able to save her.
I loved both Gen and Jude. Their pasts, although so many centuries between, are eerily similar but they have both been scarred down to their souls by it. As they forge a united front they grow closer to each other and yet the dark powers that threaten Gen keep them from moving forward in the direction they both desire. Jude was exactly as I would imagine a demon hunter would be…had I ever thought to imagine one. What he takes upon himself in a fight for justice is unique and horrifying but the fact that he faces one of the worse his kind could endure in order to help Gen made me love him even more. Gen, with her background in self protection, is not a wilting flower. Despite the extremes she is experiencing daily now, and the human struggles of remaining sane in the face of them, she stays strong and continues to grow in strength. I loved the hard and soft sides to her.
This is a slow paced read with lots of world building – in today’s world but with powers and beings that exist outside our realm – that painted a wonderfully dark and grim picture of those things we might sense but never see. The secondary characters are excellent and add so much depth to the story. The steam is low although there is definitely chemistry between Gen and Jude. This ends in what felt like a happy for now style although it’s safe to say this couple are definitely a couple. I’m very curious to see what happens from this point onward.
I found the world and characters created by Ms. Cross to be intriguing…so intriguing, that I wanted more. The characters created by Cross were fantastic, like Genevieve can be pretty snarky and bold and utterly fantastic, yet we as readers were privy to her vulnerabilities and insecurities. I appreciated how real of a character she was in a fantastical world. She has problems just like the rest of us…awkward dates, jerk professors, and all the expectations and ups and downs that come with living. She has experienced much in her twenty years and I know what she has been through would be extremely hard to overcome. One of my favorite parts of the book was where she talked about returning to school after her mother’s death. Others at school were talking about her, saying that she would turn out crazy just like her mom did, however, she explained that she could let her words beat her down, or overcome them…and she did. She learned to be her confident snarky self and kick ass. There is so much more to her than being a girl attracted to this otherworldly guy. Seriously so much more. And thus, I’m left wanting more. I want to hear more about Genevieve’s ability to overcome her obstacles and face the “monsters” that are waiting for her. I just want more!
Not only did I feel sort of let-down on seeing Genevieve’s character fully develop, but I also felt a little lacking in the development of other characters as well. We all know that Jude has a long history and obviously has some dark seductive secrets, but being as I’m sure he’s to remain a mystery until the appropriate time in the series, I’m not as upset about seeing more into his character. Instead, I do want to know more about Genevieve’s dad and his other employee, Erik. There is a lot more to the two of them and I really feel a little left out not knowing their full stories.
I see a lot of potential with this series, and I’m going to continue on and see if I can get everything I want in terms of character development. I just want to know so much more! The world Cross built and the story are super intriguing and I want to see how it all ultimately unfolds. I have high hopes for the rest of this series, and it’s times like these I wish I had a rating scale with more options, but ultimately I’m going with a 3, in hopes that the rest of the series will blow this one out of the water!
I really love Juliette Cross. She fast became a favorite author to read and reread. I feel in love with her writing when she came out with her Dragons aka Morgan’s (Nightwing & Vale of Stars) and then she came out with her Vampire’s (Vampire Blood) and I feel even more. So, when you pick up a favorite authors work you don’t expect to not like it or end up DNFing.
I ended up stopping at 82%. I know I only had a little more to go, but I wasn’t enjoying. I wanted to know what was going to happen and to continue onto book two, but then again I didn’t. It was not a great feeling.
Forged in Fire is dark fantasy, paranormal romance, and new adult. The story was just to dark, deep, and heavy for my liking. I did like Jude, but our heroine and lead Genevieve wasn’t winning me over.
As for the Vessel aspect I still don’t understand everything that a Vessel is and can do. Most give into either death or let a Demon Lord have them. Their has never been one to stay in the light. Their was also too much cryptic stuff and some running around in the dark. Our cryptic prophecy we and the characters don’t have the full version, so they don’t know all. I was just not getting a good picture or understanding of the world and characters.
The last thing and this one was the one that really bothered me. The author was very specific in pointing out that their are rules that both good and bad must follow. They can’t be broken. So, one such rule is free will. We all have it. Yet, their is this thing with Genevieve’s soul and The Evil Demon Lord, where he can pull it into another world and compel her do anything and everything he wants. She can’t resist. It felt wrong on so many levels. She should be able to fight; wither it’s just her soul or her soul and body together.
Unfortunately, Forged in Fire was not the book for me. If the blurb intrigues you, I urge you to give it a shot. Just because it did not work for me does not mean it won’t for you.