**REVIEW** Beguiled by Rashelle Workman

Venus has become immortal, just as she always wanted. In the process she hurt Zaren, lost Michael, and destroyed her family. 
At least that's what she believed.
Turns out Ramien, the god of her planets' underworld, has her parents, and Michael. 
To save them, Venus makes a deal. She must complete three trials. They seem impossible. They certainly won't be easy. Worst of all, someone she loves won't make it out alive.

Release Date:  October 19, 2012

Published by: Polished Pen Press

Review Copy: Kindle

*purchased

Review

  This book was a super quick read and was action packed from start to finish.  Not to mention all of the twists and turns that have been thrown in.  It didn't quite stand up to the first book for me but it was still a totally worthy read.  Just had a little bit of the second book syndrome that I always worry about in a series.  No fault of the author because her writing was still amazing but simply something that tends to happen when I love a first book so much and it's hard to stand up to something that so many people loved so much.  

  Venus has made her choice.  She made it home, picked to be with Zaren over Micheal and is now trying to deal with finding her lost family.  She is still the strong and dependable character that I remember reading about in the first book but she also seems to be more unsure of herself than last time.  Possibly this is because the pressure of either doing as the Gods say or dying on a different planet are lifted.  She does push on and through and her fighting takes some serious skill but she crumbles too easily.  That isn't really fair either because despite how she crumbles, she always stands back up and fights on, tries to figure out how to get through.

  I wish I could tell you about the romance or love interest part more in detail than I can.  I know many of you out there are team Zaren but I have always been a Micheal fan and was glad to have him back.  Though Venus chose Zaren I believed that her heart wanted Micheal and she just went with the safer bet.  Even when she sees Micheal again for the first time since their separation her heart beats just a little faster.  Know that in this installment Venus has her choice between the two again and there is way more on the table and way more taken away.

  The story itself was interesting and I had no problem following along with what was going on.  There was a few times that I had what was going on backwards and thought that there was a little betrayal going on but to my relief I was wrong.  My disappointment came in the form of the fact that this book just seemed a little shallow, yes a lot happens and you find out a lot near the end but up until then it kind of just skims the surface.  Bonus about this book was that there was a lot more action and you got to see Venus build up to her full potential.

  There is no doubt in my mind that I will pick up the next book in this series.  I want to see how everything plays out now that things have all been put into place and Venus has found out who she truly is and what she is actually meant to do.  RaShelle Workman has done such a wonderful job with her characters and has created a world in which things may change but there is always something/someone making it happen.  The fact that she was willing to kill of characters that people loved for the greater good of the story shows just how talented and daring she is!

Quotes

After Michael lifted me onto a black lava rock, he splashed out.  I hate to admit I really noticed the way his white shirt clung to every muscle on his torso and arms.

I wanted to box their ears, and tell them he was taken.  But... that was just to weird to think about.

But I was glad to see Michael's hazel eyes sparkling with life again.  No blood trickled down his beautiful face.  In fact, he looked good as new.

The guy and girl would triumph and be together forever.  But the ending had suddenly changed.  The hero died and evil won.  No happily ever after.