Forbidden Passion

By Rita Herron

Book Overview

SHE SEES HIM IN HER DREAMS... Fueled by her family's murder years ago, Dr. Marlena Bender has devoted her life to understanding violent criminals. But when a serial killer in this small Southern town starts taking the lives of women in diabolical ways--leaving trophies of his kills on Marlena's doorstep--it all hits too close to home. Terrified, Marlena turns to the only man she can trust...the man who saved her life. BUT HIS SECRET IS HER WORST NIGHTMARE. Sheriff Dante Valtrez would move heaven and earth to keep Marlena safe, but he's not the savior she thinks he is. A dark legacy runs through his blood and a dangerous secret lies within him. Now a fierce, hot, ruthless desire draws Dante and Marlena together--as a demonic force from his past threatens to rip them apart, destroying everything they hold dear.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446199494
• ISBN13: 9780446199490
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Forever
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.1" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Bridget's Review

Devious crimes are present anywhere and everywhere. Dr. Marlena knows this fact better than most because her she lost her family to murder. In an attempt to wrap her mind around the thought patterns of violent people, she tries to understand the reason behind the act. When a killer decides to drop off his dead victims right on Marlena's doorstep she is once again facing the Sheriff who responsible for saving her life many years ago. Dante, the Sheriff, is far from the savior she thinks he is. Will he be able to protect her as he did before or will the truth come out and destroy them both? Forbidden Passion is one of those books that reminds me why I love a good romance. The chemistry is there and you can feel it through the pages. This is why Rita is on my favorite authors list.

Stunning revelations and an ending not to be believed!

Dante Zertlav had been raised by demons and trained to be a killer. The demons manipulated him to use Dante's gift to hurl fireballs from his hands as a means to destroy innocent human beings. But during his initiation he found himself unable to complete the task of killing an innocent child and instead saved her and found himself shunned by the demon community. Marlena watched as other demons killed her mother and sister but her savior sprinted her to safety. Was that night real or just a child's nightmare she cannot wake up from? Years later Dante again meets his golden light who is now Dr. Marlena Bender. Dante comes back into her life in his capacity as town sheriff while trying to solve some grisly crimes that seem to lead back to her research and patients. Marlena remembers him as her savior but does not realize that in fact he is a demon living life on the right side of the law. He will fight to keep his town safe, capture the killer and do whatever he has to for Marlena to realize that she is his soul mate and being near her cleans him of his sins even though he can't bear to tell her what he really is. Could she accept the fact that he has evil flowing through his veins or reject him even after a night of unbridled passion. When the murderer become frenzied and the murders escalated it suddenly seems to make sense that Marlena is the ultimate target. Dante ramps up his protective nature but never envisions that he might actually have the capacity for love and the reason he wants Marlena safe has nothing to do with the law and everything to do with his heart. But there is an all powerful being that is playing a much more dangerous game of destruction and even though Dante is his son nothing will prevent him from killing Marlena and destroying everything that keeps Dante from standing by his side and ruling for all eternity. This latest book in The Demon Born Series really ramps up the action and remind you of why you love these characters. The action is nonstop and just when you put the pieces of the puzzle together you realize not everything looks like it fits quite together. Marlena is a strong independent woman matching wits with an equally strong and possessive male in Dante. Great development of the story and the book is a winner. Mary Gramlich is The Reading Reviewer located at [...]

terrific romantic fantasy

Demons trained Dante Zertlav when he was thirteen years old to kill humans. He used his ability to toss fireballs at people with uncanny skill to the pleasure of his mentor Father Gio; failure in any sense meant torturous punishment. However, his final initiation test was to kill young Marlena Bender as a sacrifice to Helzebar, but he envied her innocent laugher along side her older sister and mom. He failed to complete the assignment helping Marlena to safety and he became ostracized by his demonic community. Two decades later, he is sheriff of Mysteria where he was trained by Father Gio; while Marlena has become a research scientist studying why people become violent. When she returns to the place where her nightmares began, Marlena knows Dante is the one who saved her life. While a killer is on the loose, they begin to fall in love. However, she a pure good human while he has the DNA of evil; neither considered his father manipulating both behind the scenes. The latest Demon Born romantic fantasy (see Insatiable Desire and Dark Hunger) is a terrific entry as the intrepid heroine and her demonborn champion fall in love while he realizes the serial killings are planned to culminate with the completion of the interrupted Marlena's sacrifice. Filled with action perhaps too much as some subplots never develop, Dante investigates a twisted case while also keeping the human he cherishes safe though he denies himself the dream of her at his side forever. Harriet Klausner