Forbidden

"I loved this book so much - It dealt with difficult subjects and you can't help but root for the main couple and their family. The ending was heartbreaking but the story was worth being read, I recommend (but if you're a baby like me prepare tissues!)"

"The BEST book for those with an open mind"

"Buena historia, pero no lloré :/"

"3.25? Maybe?<br/><br/>edit: I swear the amount of sobbing made me forget how cheesy the two leads were, especially when they came running home"

"I have no idea!! I need help! "

"I have a phrase for stories so beautifully sad that they break through your heart. Lovely Despair. Lots of stories have broken my heart. This book pulled my heart out of my chest, threw it on the pavement, and shattered it into a million pieces. And yet I loved it with every broken shard.<br/><br/>Some people won’t ‘get’ this book. It might be cringe-worthy or even triggering. And I get that. I do. If you feel that way, I don’t blame you for avoiding this book. You have to take care of yourself. But if you can handle the subject matter (and getting your heart shattered by a story), this book could be for you.<br/><br/>Forbidden is a story about two teenage siblings, Lochan and Maya, who have spent most of their lives raising their three younger siblings. They’ve always been best friends more than brother and sister, and that develops into romantic love. I want to mention right away that these two are not people who simply have incestual leanings. They don’t feel any attraction to their other siblings. They have an attraction to each other. And that’s something that builds out of a deeper connection, not just a sexual desire. They act as parents to the kids, and Maya considers Lochan her soulmate and partner in the life they have to lead, with their alcoholic and absent mother leaving them all the responsibilities. Lochan and Maya might be living a much different life than you, the reader, can easily imagine, but you feel so connected to them that it doesn’t matter. <br/><br/>I have a thing for forbidden love, and I’ve always been curious about the idea of consensual sibling incest, but judging by other reviews and testimonials I’ve read, this can be a book that makes you really think about your beliefs, even if you don’t normally approve of such a thing. But that may not be the actual point. Whether or not you believe consensual incest is okay, I think it would be hard not to feel for Lochan and Maya, whose connection and relationship is often the only bright point in their lives. They also don’t enter the relationship without reservations. Lochan, in particular, struggles deeply with his feelings before giving in. They both just come to the point where denying their feelings is too painful to bear. “At the end of the day it's about how much you can bear, how much you can endure. Being together, we harm nobody; being apart, we extinguish ourselves.”<br/><br/>The writing in this book is simply amazing. If you let yourself become invested in this story, the emotional intensity will absolutely shake you. You feel the pain and loneliness of Maya when she’s away from Lochan. You feel the desperate panic of socially phobic Lochan when he has anxiety attacks. And in the moments they actually get to be happy together, you feel the intensity of the real love these two share and how much they truly need each other. And that makes it really, really hard to maintain that this relationship is morally wrong.<br/><br/>Is incest a good thing, something that should be encouraged? No, of course not. The laws regarding incest are completely understandable, because (and I can’t stress this enough) the vast majority of it is abusive. But this particular instance where the relationship is very clearly consensual, with two people on an equal level of authority, and based on a deep love is something I can’t believe is evil. It’s unfortunate and tragic. You feel like you wish that they just hadn’t been born siblings. But I’ve thought about this so much that I’ve sort of decided that they needed to be siblings. That they needed someone who was as invested in their family’s survival. They couldn’t have made it through their hard times if they hadn’t supported each other every step of the way. It’s unfortunate that they should be soulmates who are also siblings, but they were fortunate in that they had each other nearly their whole lives. All of it is tragic, and yet, all of it makes sense. And the incredibly rare kind of love they shared should not be illegal. At least that’s how I feel about it.<br/><br/>This book is probably the best book I’ve read in years. The writing and plot were able to suck me in and reach me on every level, the characters became a part of me, and this is a story that will stay with me forever. I feel like I have to warn you, though, that the ending of this book set me off into an extremely depressive state. I was just so invested in the story and the characters that I couldn’t really handle the ending with the other things that were going on in my life at the time. I don’t regret letting this beautifully painful book into my heart, but if you’re easily set off by tragic endings, please be prepared. I thought I was. I wasn’t."

"I hate that it is compared to flowers in the attic.. This book is not taking a stance on incest but making a statement about the dangers of a disfunctional family and trauma. I read this book almost 10 YEARS ago and it still stays with me. It was that well written. "

"I loved this book. It was so tragic love story. Twisted and dark, the book broke my heart."

"Totally, but this book is not for everybody ! You need to read it with an open mind."

"I finished reading it and the end had me in tears. I've never cried because of a book so this was a first. It was definitely a little weird reading about something that I've always thought was wrong, but the plot was so good that it just seemed like two teenagers in love, not siblings. It's excellently written, and a real emotional rollercoaster. It's something you know won't have a happy ending but you still hope it does. If you're okay with being out of your comfort zone, then it's a must read"