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Vampire Huntress Legend #7
The Forsaken
The Chairman of the Vampire Council is dead, and Lilith, the consort of the Unnamed One, and the Unnamed One himself are out for revenge against Damali Richards, the Vampire Huntress, and her lover, Carlos Rivera.
A ruthless and carefully planned strategy---one that not even Damali will anticipate---has been developed. There is only one entity who can best Damali, send Carlos packing, and put the Guardian team at mortal risk. This powerful being was once banished into a forsaken land and possesses everything that would bring a Neteru to his or her knees.
This time the fight is not so clear-cut, and it is not only Damali's soul in the balance, but her body and heart as well.
A ruthless and carefully planned strategy---one that not even Damali will anticipate---has been developed. There is only one entity who can best Damali, send Carlos packing, and put the Guardian team at mortal risk. This powerful being was once banished into a forsaken land and possesses everything that would bring a Neteru to his or her knees.
This time the fight is not so clear-cut, and it is not only Damali's soul in the balance, but her body and heart as well.
432 pages, Paperback
First published June 27, 2006
51 people are currently reading
2116 people want to read
About the author
L.A. Banks
59 books1,263 followersA pseudonym used by Leslie Esdaile Banks, she also wrote under the names:
Leslie E. Banks
Leslie Esdaile
Leslie Esdaile Banks
Leslie Banks
Alexis Grant
L.A. Banks, a native Philadelphian, was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program. With many awards to her credit, Banks also held a masters of fine arts degree in film and media arts from Temple University. She lived in Philadelphia with her family until she passed away on the morning of August 2, 2011.
Visit L.A. Banks' page on the Macmillan website: http://us.macmillan.com/author/labanks
Leslie E. Banks
Leslie Esdaile
Leslie Esdaile Banks
Leslie Banks
Alexis Grant
L.A. Banks, a native Philadelphian, was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program. With many awards to her credit, Banks also held a masters of fine arts degree in film and media arts from Temple University. She lived in Philadelphia with her family until she passed away on the morning of August 2, 2011.
Visit L.A. Banks' page on the Macmillan website: http://us.macmillan.com/author/labanks
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
October 21, 2016
In The Forsaken, lucky #7 in the VHS, we learn that Dante (Vampire Council Chairman & son of the Unnamed One) was beheaded by a Neteru. Lilith is being punished by her Husband who blames her for the demise of his son. Lilith however while giving the Devil his due comes up with a plan to end her punishment, gain her husbands favor and also take down the Netetus by using Damali's music Muse , who happens to be the son of Dante with Neteru Queen Eve, Cain. Cain was banished to the Forsaken Land of Nod to choose Light over Dark. Damali , still hurt & upset by Carlos' actions when he was possessed, gives in to temptation with Cain. Cain’s presence cause more than just trouble for our Neteru soul-mates than just their hearts, his presents is having an adverse effect in Heaven and now entities banished to The land of Nod are crossing over to Earth making it very difficult to decipher Light from Dark beings, all the while Lilith is still plotting , killing and deceiving everyone. The team must, Repair the rip in Nod , Find out Cain’s true intentions & get the forsaken back to Nod.
I must say I love this book, our super sexy Carols final got a little bit what he has been dishing out to Damali, he got to see and feel how she felt when he was with other women and boy did Ms. Banks do a great job with this story. It was one of the better ones in the series. Great plot, lots of action and few surprises to go along with some of our new team members and more to come. Loved it.
I must say I love this book, our super sexy Carols final got a little bit what he has been dishing out to Damali, he got to see and feel how she felt when he was with other women and boy did Ms. Banks do a great job with this story. It was one of the better ones in the series. Great plot, lots of action and few surprises to go along with some of our new team members and more to come. Loved it.
October 2, 2011
I love, love, loved this one. Cain was one "smooth operator". I couldn't stop giggling cause he won me over; but he was soooo BAD. Yeah Carlos messed up, but in the end I was still cheering for him. I can't wait to see what happens next.
July 20, 2014
Carlos finally gets a taste of what he dished out to Damali! It's been a while since I looked in on Damali and Carlos and I am glad that I got a chance to see what they were up to. To see these two come full circle was awesome. I cannot wait to read The Wicked.
Read
May 4, 2020DNF
I made it to page 92 before my polyam heart couldn't take it anymore
I still love the cast of characters, but can't push through the muck of interpersonal petty relationship drama. I wish I could, but ugghhh
I wanted to keep reading the series since I've owned these books for years, but I just can't.
I made it to page 92 before my polyam heart couldn't take it anymore
I still love the cast of characters, but can't push through the muck of interpersonal petty relationship drama. I wish I could, but ugghhh
I wanted to keep reading the series since I've owned these books for years, but I just can't.
April 11, 2021
In love with this series
I can't g err t enough of this series. I love reading them. This author took me to a whole other level of writing through reading her works.
I can't g err t enough of this series. I love reading them. This author took me to a whole other level of writing through reading her works.
November 22, 2013
My mother gave me this book... it starts out with a compelling (and frightening!) action scene and then never really lets up. The romance between The Vampire Huntress and fellow vampire slayer Carlos Rivera never overshadows the kick-ass action, terrifying Lilith-lead Vampire Council or Damali Richards' overall badassery as The Vampire Huntress.
What I loved the most about this book was how it never shied away from the gruesome details when it came to killing: both vampires killing humans, and vampires being killed themselves was depicted with a sufficient amount of hard-edged brutality as to make the reader cringe. Vampires are not romanticized here: they are depicted as the enemies of humanity, enemies who need to be stopped. Consequently, they are very intimidating.
Don't write this off as a paranormal romance: if you do, you'll be missing out. If you liked Buffy and the Vampire Slayer, you will probably love this series; if you like Michonne on Walking Dead, you will probably love this series. It's like they got together and produced one no-nonsense vampire slaying love child.
What I loved the most about this book was how it never shied away from the gruesome details when it came to killing: both vampires killing humans, and vampires being killed themselves was depicted with a sufficient amount of hard-edged brutality as to make the reader cringe. Vampires are not romanticized here: they are depicted as the enemies of humanity, enemies who need to be stopped. Consequently, they are very intimidating.
Don't write this off as a paranormal romance: if you do, you'll be missing out. If you liked Buffy and the Vampire Slayer, you will probably love this series; if you like Michonne on Walking Dead, you will probably love this series. It's like they got together and produced one no-nonsense vampire slaying love child.
December 14, 2008
This book was awwwwsome. This is one of my favorite books. Basically it was about how Carlos was trying to win back Damali from, guess who?,Cain. Yes that Cain whom killed his brother Abel according to the biblical story. I wanted to literally go into the book and slap Damali so hard that she would be speechless. How can you have secong guesses about marrying Carlos, an ex-mater vampire and former male Neteru!? She was driving me CRAZY!!!
I really hated Cain for even trying to battle Carlos for Damali's heart. At first i didn't trust Christine when she came to talk to Dan as an angel. I thought she was Lilith, the Devil's wife and the chairman's lover. My favorite characters in this particular volume were everybody on the guardian with the exception of Damali and Marlene. But in the end everything went back to being normal, Cain was back in his world. Carlos and Damali got back together and ended up doing a proper wedding under the protection of the Light.
I really hated Cain for even trying to battle Carlos for Damali's heart. At first i didn't trust Christine when she came to talk to Dan as an angel. I thought she was Lilith, the Devil's wife and the chairman's lover. My favorite characters in this particular volume were everybody on the guardian with the exception of Damali and Marlene. But in the end everything went back to being normal, Cain was back in his world. Carlos and Damali got back together and ended up doing a proper wedding under the protection of the Light.
July 5, 2016
This is definitely my favorite book of the series so far. The introduction of Cain took this story to a whole other level. I was always team Carlos but last book, he fucked up bad. So when Damali was getting seduced by the new big bad, I was all for it. Carlos deserved to feel all the pain he put his woman through. The best scene has to go to Tara though. She told our Neteru some things I've been thinking for a while but she is brutal, fearless, and awesome in her delivery. I hope to see more of her in the next book.
August 12, 2021
I will not be finishing this series. The first 5 books were fantastic and book 6 started a downward slope into a complete mess. I had high hopes book 7 would be better but it just wasn't. I am very disappointed in these last 2 books I attempted to read because L.A. Banks could've done so much better after the elaborate set up in book 5, and yet she didn't.
May 31, 2011
You have to give this series a chance..yes there is some hip hop language but this saga of books takes you on a journey. It brings in elements of good and evil, heaven and hell, God and the devil.. There are characters such as cain & abel, adam & eve and so on... Give this series a chance before you just say forget it...in the end it will be worth it..check out all 12 or 13 novels!!!!
October 5, 2012
This series got me through an entire summer. I was lost in these like I was lost in Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen series. When I had to snap back into reality it took me a second to catch back up. I could have spent all of my time fighting evil in this series.
December 11, 2008
For now, just read the title and you will know where this series currently stands with me.
Read
August 5, 2011I could NOT put the book down. This is the MOST intense book so far in the series. Intense revelations were made in this book. It was wonderful.
July 19, 2012
Just couldn't make myself read these anymore. That's why it scored so low. I couldn't finish the book.
November 30, 2014
I'm afraid this book does not impress me much. I just can't get into it somehow.
January 9, 2023
I'm giving The Foresaken four stars because I'm glad Carlos got some of what was coming to him. Not enough in my opinion. I'm re rereading the series. Overall somethings that rubbed me the wrong way was for Damali to be the main character, her character didn't really develop. She only existed around Carlos. The fact that she was 20 getting ready to be 21 when the series first started and never got a chance to honestly live on her own or have any real freedom. I feel this should have been explored more. Instead of taking a more modern approach the author fell back to the typical pure virginal woman and bad boy trope. In the end she overlooked his sexist ways he refused to let go of. Overall I liked this book as well as the whole series.
November 10, 2025
This book here!!!! OMG this one had me in my feels the most! I'm soooo glad Carlos finally got a grip. Don't get me wrong, he's my man, my man, but he was doing too much. And didn't know nothing ! 😭🤣 Gurlllll I thought we lost our good sis Marlene for a minute, I was about to cry with all of them🥺😭. And I'm soooo happy that Damali is flourishing and growing ✨️. The ending was chef's kiss 💋, we've all been waiting for it! I can't wait to see what the next Rollercoaster has in store lol. I hope this time Damali and Carlos work together like they should have been all along!🖤✨️
P.S. We need Asuar to give that TEDTalk to all the men down here on Earth too! It would work wonders!😭🤪
P.S. We need Asuar to give that TEDTalk to all the men down here on Earth too! It would work wonders!😭🤪
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2017
it was really hard for me to get into this book. I really couldn't side with damali I mean I could but I couldn't, and I figured she should have known what was going on long before she had it told to her by the other queens. But other than that it's as great as the other ones and I will continue to read the series. RIP l L. A. Banks you're missed
November 2, 2024
FANTASTIC
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2013
What has always impressed me the most about these series, is that she can write some kick-butt action scenes (which I have a hard time doing) and sets the tone in romance close to erotic scenes. Moreover, even though this is supposed to be about vamps, she knows how to bring biblical concepts with a twist in the storyline.
When reading about this sensual being, later figuring out it was Cain, before the explanation came on page 142, and speaking on Neterus and before time, then first man and woman--I was astonished. Then somehow how Cain and Carlos are brothers in some weird kind of way.
"...name begins with the letter C, which carries the resonance of scattered energy, but is the marrying type--numerically represents three. I slayed my younger brother, Abel, whose name begins with the letter A, which carries the numerical property of one, like Adam's...your name starts with the letter C...you too, killed your younger brother, Alejandro, your father's favorite son. Both destined to be Neterus, but made several grievous choices along the way." (p. 142). This is stuff that will make you go hmmm or go over the top of your head. Sometimes I wonder how she does that!
Seeing Eve aside from Lilith, Dante who was supposed to be the serpent in Eden doing the bidding for Satan, is what is making me want to carry on reading.
Side note: I pick up some insight from her writing, word choices, and style as an author but see she writes at least 100,000 words; her books be long. Surprised her editor doesn't cut out a lot...who knows. (This book is 500 pages)
Sadly, there was so much writing that was boring! There were only about a fourth of this book that had some interest. So I gave it an okay read.
Adrienna Turner
When reading about this sensual being, later figuring out it was Cain, before the explanation came on page 142, and speaking on Neterus and before time, then first man and woman--I was astonished. Then somehow how Cain and Carlos are brothers in some weird kind of way.
"...name begins with the letter C, which carries the resonance of scattered energy, but is the marrying type--numerically represents three. I slayed my younger brother, Abel, whose name begins with the letter A, which carries the numerical property of one, like Adam's...your name starts with the letter C...you too, killed your younger brother, Alejandro, your father's favorite son. Both destined to be Neterus, but made several grievous choices along the way." (p. 142). This is stuff that will make you go hmmm or go over the top of your head. Sometimes I wonder how she does that!
Seeing Eve aside from Lilith, Dante who was supposed to be the serpent in Eden doing the bidding for Satan, is what is making me want to carry on reading.
Side note: I pick up some insight from her writing, word choices, and style as an author but see she writes at least 100,000 words; her books be long. Surprised her editor doesn't cut out a lot...who knows. (This book is 500 pages)
Sadly, there was so much writing that was boring! There were only about a fourth of this book that had some interest. So I gave it an okay read.
Adrienna Turner
January 27, 2017
SUMMARY:
"Dark fantasies. Dangerous seduction. Demon lovers. ""This time, the fight against evil means giving up everything..."" "The Chairman of the Vampire Council is dead. Lilith, the consort of the Unnamed One, and the Unnamed One himself are out for revenge against Vampire Huntress Damali Richards and her lover, Carlos Rivera. A ruthless and carefully planned strategy has been developed--one that is powerful enough to destroy them both while the fate of the world hangs in the balance... THE FORSAKEN Now there is only one entity who can best Damali, send Carlos packing, and put the Guardian team at mortal risk. This powerful being was once banished into a forsaken land and possesses everything that would bring a Neteru to his or her knees. Now it's not only Damali's soul that she risks losing--but her heart.... " ""In the seventh book in her incredibly successful series...Banks presents interesting myths--both biblical and mythological...with prose that's difficult to match--and most certainly just as difficult to put down."--"Romantic Times BOOKreviews (4 1/2 stars)"" " "Banks lays a lot of wisdom on the line about male-female relationships...But It's the characters and their passions coupled with the author's wild imagination that drive the narrative. . .[a] sizzling series."--"Publishers Weekly"" "Visit www.vampirehuntress.com
July 14, 2008
I enjoyed this book. Banks keeps improving as she goes. Looking beyond the flaws of slang (I'm black and I don't talk like her characters and every black person I know doesn't talk like this either - end rant) I still enjoyed the intent of the book. Banks has taken a unique view of vampires and the THE BIBLE and created a different spin to the genre. I loved this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I read a lot and I liked visiting this world and greatly appreciated seeing my face reflected back at me even if it is some what stereotypical view of "Black" or urban people.
Any author could benefit by including many voices and experiences of different background into their novels which is what Banks has done. Or taking on the least traveled path or even the left-of or right-of the middle path will bring readers a better experience. But only if it enriches and moves the plot along and not to say hey I love "Black, White, Indian, Asian" people too. Banks great but flawed take in writing is a beginning and I hope to see more authors take risks like this and create great stories for fellow readers of different life experiences to take to these new paths they have forged.
Any author could benefit by including many voices and experiences of different background into their novels which is what Banks has done. Or taking on the least traveled path or even the left-of or right-of the middle path will bring readers a better experience. But only if it enriches and moves the plot along and not to say hey I love "Black, White, Indian, Asian" people too. Banks great but flawed take in writing is a beginning and I hope to see more authors take risks like this and create great stories for fellow readers of different life experiences to take to these new paths they have forged.
May 23, 2021
i read this one, but the series is getting too biblical for my tastes, when i was expecting a vampire huntress series. the characters are still powerful and good lore imo, so it gets solid stars, but it has lost its catch.
October 3, 2007
I really can't get into this book for a number of reasons. #1 is a whole bunch of sex scenes that just seem gratuitious. If I wanted to read porn, I would buy Playboy.
#2 Her characters do a whole bunch of jive talk, I guess that is the only way to describe it, you might have to read the book to understand, but it comes across as hokey to me. But I'm white, so, hey, maybe people talk like this all the time and I just don't hear it, but it sounds contrived to me.
#3 It jumps all over the place and really isn't my type of book.
I much prefer Rachel Morgan's witch character (by Kim Harrison) if we are going to deal with vampires, witches, demons and the like.
#2 Her characters do a whole bunch of jive talk, I guess that is the only way to describe it, you might have to read the book to understand, but it comes across as hokey to me. But I'm white, so, hey, maybe people talk like this all the time and I just don't hear it, but it sounds contrived to me.
#3 It jumps all over the place and really isn't my type of book.
I much prefer Rachel Morgan's witch character (by Kim Harrison) if we are going to deal with vampires, witches, demons and the like.
April 5, 2016
For me it was slow in to getting to the whole plot of the story. But, also I just happen to run across this book and bought it. So, I'm reading it out of order in a series of her other books from the Vampire Huntress Legend. I end up doing this a lot of the time. Guess I need to use the library more often....lol. But, once I got into the book it was a good read; after all of the action started taking place. I think if I ever find any other by L. A. Banks, I will give them a chance. I'm not one to write very many reviews; mostly I liked the book or hated the book....so far I've never stopped reading a book because it was crap...lol.
July 8, 2008
This was a really good book to me. It drew me back into the series. Damali and Carlos have been to hell and back, figuratively and literally. I like the fact that although both of them have these supernatural powers, they both are very human, and easily make human mistakes. Especially the mistakes that happen in relationships. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of this story develops.
May 26, 2009
rounded up from 3.75
Book was really slow, too much romance..Didn’t really get good until the end and there was really no big fights involved. They introduced a new character "Cain" just loving him. Cant wait to see what will happen with Damil and him when they meet again. There was so much sexual tention between them.
Book was really slow, too much romance..Didn’t really get good until the end and there was really no big fights involved. They introduced a new character "Cain" just loving him. Cant wait to see what will happen with Damil and him when they meet again. There was so much sexual tention between them.
September 24, 2010
What in awesome read!! I just could not put it down!! You get so involved the people in the book, that u really feel like your there living it with them!! I have to keep going and finsh this series. I can't wait to see how it all ends! Now it's time foe the next book
" The Wicked " so can not wait!!
" The Wicked " so can not wait!!
October 18, 2009
I think this was my favorite in this series so far. I was hooked from the beginning. There was drama galore, and action around every corner. The story was DEEP, I really loved this 'alternate' reality we were exposed to.
September 30, 2009
The way how Damali handled herself was very well written. She wasn't being whiney but someone who didn't know how to break through to her love about her POV and how she was feeling. Carlos was still struggling.
Can't wait to read the next one.
Can't wait to read the next one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews