As The Bitten came to a climatic end, I wondered where THE FORBIDDEN, the fifth book of the series, was going, or more specifically, where L.A. Banks was going to take it. On Damali's twenty-first birthday, she gained full powers as a Neteru Queen; the vampire huntress, and a team of Guardians to assist her. Once she became aware of her destiny to hunt and destroy vampires she learned that her friend, Carlos was a master vampire. They share an irregular kinship, made more significant because they are on opposing ends of good and evil. But the history between Damali and Carlos goes back to times before Damali was the huntress and Carlos was a vampire; he was her protector when she lived on the streets.
 
The civil war between  Damali, Carlos, Damali's Guardian squad, and the Vampire kingdom has just ended. The results brought, much chaos and many fatalities. The team is battle-weary and seeking refuge. An ill-advised predicament between Damali and Carlos has created a breach, and they must be chastened. Damali is separated from her team and summoned to the council of Neteru Queens. A disoriented Carlos is hidden from the Darkside and summoned to a council of Elders. Damali is stripped of some powers, Carlos is tripping on his ego, the Guardian team must step it up a notch, and time is running out. Damali and Carlos must be prepared to fulfill their destinies.

During the civil war all of the top side vampire masters and three council level Vampires were exterminated. Lilith, the consort to the Un-Named One, is called to the seventh level of Hell to set affairs in order. This lethally sexy, black widow assassin has been given the power and authority to open the portals of Hell. She will prove to be Damali's fiercest nemesis. Her assignment is to wipe out Damali and the Guardian squad, but this Vamp has her own 'forbidden' history and her own secret agenda. Lilith has stolen an embryo that could produce the Anti-Christ, and give her ultimate power in the Vampire kingdom; but she needs Damali to accomplish it. A confrontation is inevitable, and what transpires is cataclysmic.

L.A. Banks has again written an intense story with timeless characters and has unlocked the doors of her imagination in a way that is unprecedented. Where she takes THE FORBIDDEN is phenomenal. At some point, I realized that I was no longer reading a story, I was on an adventure. I anxiously await book six, The Damned. But this time I will be prepared, with silver bullets, garlic water, and a prayer in my heart. This is an awesome read.

Reviewed by aNN Brown
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers