The Forbidden Island by A.J. Lewellyn is the third book the Phantom Lover series.

Johnny has finally, hopefully gotten over his infatuation with his old lover Lolpaka. Lopaka has moved on and is in love with Kimo, the most gorgeous hula dancer and a powerful religious leader, a kahuna. There is much more to Kimo than meets the eye as Johnny found out when they were together in a one night stand with Lopaka, which ended very badly. Johnny is now with Aloha, but their relationship has never been exclusive and Johnny is beginning to feel that something is missing. Aloha and Johnny are complete opposites. Aloha is from England and is obsessed with Hawaiian music (he even speaks the native language), while Johnny is a Japanese/Hawaiian plus mixture and has lived in Hawaii all his life. While at the beach, after meeting up with Kimo and Lopaka, Johnny and Aloha see a very mysterious, sexy stranger who seems to be captivated with Johnny, and the feeling is mutual. Things become interesting when Kimo asks Aloha for help with his and Lopaka’s wedding and Lopaka asks Johnny to join his wedding party. Just as that problem is solved strange things begin to come up missing and Johnny learns that his stranger, Mahini, is a visiting Kahuna there at Kimo’s request. Even with the mysterious occurrences, Kimo and Lopaka’s wedding goes on without a hitch, but afterwards things spiral out of control for Johnny as an accident occurs which puts his life in danger while setting him up for a much more mysterious, dangerous, possibly life-altering, situation. Will Johnny and Aloha find a way to overcome all these problems with the help of the very powerful and sexy kahuna Kimo?

A.J. Lewellyn has continued this series with this incredibly visual story that brings to life the traditions and culture that is modern day Hawaii. All the characters come to life as this story unfolds with a mixture of suspense and action with very visual scenes that ensnare the reader until the very end. The complex emotional situations that the characters find themselves in (jealousy, fear, confusion, loss, and very erotic feelings) are ones that people can sympathize with and understand. The complex situations that Johnny and Aloha find themselves in are very compelling. Kimo and Lopaka’s wedding was beautiful to behold. I for one will be waiting for the next book in this series.

Reviewed by: Teresa