The Ascent of the Undeparted review!

Hi all!
I wanted to let you all know about this wonderful sequel I read today from my friend Deborah Palumbo. I posted this review for her and wanted to share it here with you! Here it is:

Cassandra has fallen for Quentin, the vampire that showed her the truth of her boyfriend Mike in the first book, The Undeparted. Quentin made Mike a vampire in the end so that he could suffer for all eternity with his poor decisions and deception. After living through monotonous years, Mike takes on a new identity of Lucius and tries to pass his time before he can exact revenge on Quentin. He lives as a recluse in an abandoned house in the country, fulfilling his sexual desires and lust for blood which he has never learned to control. He picks up whores to satisfy him but right after he’s satiated, he longs for more.

Cassandra is living a wonderful life with Quentin. However, he is secretly trying to find a potion that will change him and Cassandra from immortal to mortal so they may ascend into heaven together when the time comes. He knows if he is killed while being a vampire, due to his previous actions in his life, his soul will go to Hades and he would be parted from his beloved Cassandra. Cassandra, though she is immortal, had lived a virtuous life and would be welcomed to ascend into heaven. He tirelessly works on his potion, using himself as the guinea pig though it causes him great pain and weakens him.

Lucius gets tired of living the way he’s had to live and starts to become reckless with killing others. He eventually and accidentally finds out he can vanish and appear where he wants. He lures Cassandra in and holds her captive while playing a game of cat and mouse with Quentin. He keeps Cassandra in a weakened state so she cannot vanish or escape. Quentin never stops looking for her but will he find her? Will he be strong enough after taking so much of the potion to fight for her when he confronts Lucius? Who will help him? Will they be able to ascend in the end?

The Author, Deborah Palumbo has done it again. She has woven a wonderfully suspenseful story, keeping you from being able to put it down. She draws you in and creates characters that you can really identify with and feel and root for. She entwines action, the paranormal, suspense and romance all in this exceptionally written sequel to The Undeparted. She takes the reader, sucks them into the story where they feel like they are part of the main characters, both male and female. She evokes such raw emotions from the reader and delivers a surprising twist in the end. This is a must read as it has a little bit of something for everyone. She’s a master at her craft and I can’t wait to read the third book in her series, The Banished One.