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!)"

"Well I'll never feel joy again...<br/>I would not recommend this book to the faint of heart. I freely admit to skipping over the more... let's call them intense scenes. This is a story about incest, and things happen and it is described in detail. So beware of that if that's not exactly your cup of tea.<br/>All that being said, the story itself is beautifully crafted and tragically heartbreaking. You know this relationship is destructive, the characters even know it deep down, but it's also strangely beautiful and a part of you wants them to work out despite everything that says they won't, can't.<br/>The writing is absolutely gorgeously done. Sometimes, in the beginning, I thought the author could get a little wordy, but the writing really began to flourish as the story progressed. Suzuma really has a mind for the most gorgeous imagery.<br/>And the characters! Oh my gosh, the characters. This is a very tricky subject to handle, obviously, because we come into the book knowing that we shouldn't root for Maya and Lochan to get together, what with them being brother and sister and everything. So their relationship really had to be EARNED in the story. And boy was it ever (that sounds really creepy out of context, so hear me out). I don't think Forbidden would have worked half as well if the relationship wasn't built toward the way it was. You really identify with the situation these kids are in, you feel for them, and in the beginning, you do see Maya and Lochan as brother and sister.<br/>In fact, they acted so much like brother and sister, that I really started wondering how the author would make their romance work without it seeming weird and forced. But when they finally got together, it felt like a natural progression to the story (but still a little weird, let's just get that out of the way). That choice, to make the audience see them first in a sibling relationship, I felt, was a very smart one. It really sets us up for what we're all in for. If they had started the book as siblings who were aware of their attraction for each other in any way, or even siblings who didn't really act much like siblings at all, we really wouldn't have gotten such a real, raw relationship.<br/>I mean, you know that none of this is sustainable, and you want to shake the characters for making reckless mistakes, but you also want to hug them, and hope that everything works out for the best.<br/>*spoiler!* It doesn't.<br/>And how badly things don't work out for the best in the end is really what makes this book so memorable. The ending is absolutely devastating while also managing to be bittersweet.<br/>I loved how the relationship was handled, to be honest. It could be seen as a challenge to the taboo of consensual incest. The characters are lovable, and the actions they take seem completely understandable to the point that the audience wants them to succeed.<br/>But in the end, it is also their relationship that causes their downfall. If they had never gotten involved, none of the bad stuff at the end would have happened, and everything might have turned out fine.<br/>I think that the book really toes that line well, and as a result, you feel a little messed up after reading it... in more ways than one.<br/>Ultimate verdict: Definitely not for everybody, but very enjoyable in the my-heart-has-just-been-ripped-from-my-chest-but-watching-it-beat-is-strangely-awe-inspiring-and-beautiful kind of way."

"As i read the book i continuously forgot they were siblings and it wasn't so bad until i realized once again that they are. It's an emotional experience for sure - this book takes you up and down."

"The BEST book for those with an open mind"

"Due to the subject matter, I feel I cannot review this book like I usually do. <i>Forbidden</i> is a tough read — one that deals with a very dysfunctional family and the damage that occurs as a result. The Whitely’s mother can hardly be called a parent. She is an alcoholic, cares little for her children, and isn’t even there to support them. Willa and Tiffin are young, and must be provided for by Lochan and Maya. Kit needs to be taken care of too, but he is old enough to be rebellious and resent everything about the family’s situation, leading him to fall in with an undesirable crowd. It is not a normal family, and Maya and Lochan cling to each other just to make it through. Their relationship turns into a romantic one, and then things get really interesting.<br/><br/>I was recommended to read this book by my best friend, who knows of my love of angst. This book certainly has it. While the book is about an incestuous romance, the novel does not romanticize the situation. It lingers on the disastrous consequences. Although I may not have liked the subject matter per se, I enjoyed the novel because it was very well-written. Suzuma has a way with words, allowing you to understand what Maya and Lochan are feeling. The events progress in a way that feels realistic, not contrived.<br/><br/>If you like a good, angsty novel, can have an open mind, and feel you can handle the subject matter mentioned above, then <i>Forbidden</i> may be for you. Just keep in mind, although this is a young adult novel, it deals with mature issues and should be read only by readers mature enough to handle it."

"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."

"This is a pretty good story, but it seems like all the other books in the series. Yes there are differences but its pretty much the same story. I know most stories are the same with different variations, but it just seems like this series is repeating the main characters with different names and a different way to take on the "big bad" but their relationship goes the exact same path every time. So the story is good and can be enjoyable, but how the couple interacts is annoying. I guess what it boils down to is I love the background story-line, but I hate the couple story-line."