Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives - and the way they understand each other so completely - has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

My Rating: 5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: When Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma was made available to me, I chose to ignore it because I didn’t like the cover. It’s a good thing then that Missie from The Unread Reader chose to review it because I totally would have overlooked an amazing book. The main theme in Forbidden is incest, but Suzuma has created a masterful love story revolving around a taboo love. Her characters have chemistry and it becomes hard to remember that Lochan and Maya are siblings.

Right from the start, it was easy for me to like Lochan and sympathize with him. Though he is good looking, he is painfully shy around strangers; and as the eldest at home, is responsible for taking care of his younger siblings. It’s not hard to understand why Lochan would fall for Maya, the one person he can truly be himself with.

It was a little harder for me to see why Maya would love Lochan back as more than a brother because unlike Lochan, she is sociable and has friends. Sure, she can never be entirely honest about her life at home, but it can still be possible for her to date someone else. But, then there wouldn’t be a story.

As I already mentioned, Lochan and Maya have incredible chemistry. However, my favourite parts of the book were when they were interacting with their brothers and sister. Suzuma did a wonderful job creating this complex family and making me feel like an insider. I wanted to strangle Kit at times for being mean to Lochan who is trying his best to keep it together for his siblings, and yet I understood that Kit as the middle child felt like he had no clear role. I felt sad for Tiffin and Willa who were still young but wise about so many things, and I loved it when the entire family came together to do things like play a game.

A brilliant book that will make you smile and also break your heart, Forbidden was released on June 28, 2011 by Simon and Schuster. 

Comments About the Cover: I’m still not a fan of the cover but I like that the heart is made out of barbed wire and that the background is red – the colour of love.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Simon and Schuster) for free via Galley Grab.