Mundie Moms

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Blog Tour/ Book Review: Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M. James

I'm thrilled to be the next stop on The Teen Scene's Forbidden Blog Tour. Please be sure to follow the entire tour here.


Published by: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: January 24th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
3.5 stars: I Liked It

She should not exist.

He should not love her.

Claire Brennan has been attending Emerson Academy for two years now (the longest she and her mom have remained anywhere) and she’s desperate to stay put for the rest of high school. So there’s no way she’s going to tell her mom about the psychic visions she’s been having or the creepy warnings that she’s in danger.

Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where he could be normal for once. He hadn’t factored Claire into his plans. . . .

Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the reason behind Claire’s unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her? -quoted from Goodreads

Forbidden for me is one of those book that you sit down to read thinking you'll read a few chapters, but before you know it you're almost done with the book. While this book didn't sweep me off my feet, it's one that I really liked spending time reading. The story's intriguing, and it's one that kept me reading, because I wanted to know what was going to be revealed next. More importantly I wanted to know what Claire and Alex where. I love it when an author doesn't reveal everything at once. That's what keeps me invested in the story. Beyond the reveal, Forbidden also has a unique spin on angel lore, a great paranormal mythology, fun characters, and a sweet romance, plus there's a bit of action. Did I mention the main love interest has a Scottish accent?

I liked that the story is told in third person, and from the point of view of both Claire and Alex. It made it really easy to following along, and I liked being able to see both sides of it the story through them. I really enjoyed getting to know them and what they are. The story follows Claire, a teenager who's just trying to blend into her new high school and has grown tired of always moving around from place to place with her mom. Recently she's started to develop some strange powers, and it's until Alex shows up (unrelated to what Claire is dealing with), that she discovers who and what she really is.

Let's just say there's a lot that happens in this story and a lot of people aren't who you think they are, which made the story line that much more exciting. I loved feeling like I was apart of the story in trying to figure things out along with Claire. Especially Alex. He definitely has his secrets, but there's something about him that makes you realize he's not the scary, dangerous kind of guy. The more I learned about him, the more I loved his character. The chemistry he and Claire have is great. I liked they had this instant attraction to each other, which given that the story takes place in high school felt realistic to me. I loved the way they end up falling for each other, even though it's forbidden. Well, there's a few things in this book you'll find out are forbidden, like Claire's existence which was a great spin to this story. I really adored Claire's two close friends and I loved how accepting they are of her and Alex, especially after they find out about their abilities and what they are.

Over all I thought Forbidden was a good read. There's some great fight/action scenes, and I liked two of the plot twists that happen towards the end of the book, which surprised me, because I found part of the story line easily predictable. Even though I felt that way, I still enjoyed it. Sometimes it's fun to sit down and just read a good book, which I felt Forbidden is. I'm definitely looking forward to finding out what direction the series will go in. There's just enough unanswered questions at the end of this book that have hooked me and have me wondering what will be in store for Claire and Alex in the sequel.

Be sure to stop by on Sunday to read my interview with Syrie and Ryan.

3 comments:

  1. I read Syrie's paranormal romance about the girl getting lost in a snow storm and running into a mysterious stranger. I loved how she set the mood for that one. So cool that she's writing with her son now.

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  2. Found this one in my mailbox for review last week, but I honestly haven't heard very much about it, so I was glad to run across your review! I'm looking forward to reading it, even if you had a few minor issues with it!

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  3. This book was amazing! I loved Claire, she was a teenager. She didn't act like an adult; she complained to her friends, hid things from her mom, gossiped about boys, etc. I really liked that she stayed true to her age and wasn't overly mature. However, my favorite character was definitely Helena, she was so sassy! Actually, I liked all the characters, from the good guys to the bad guys. They were all very well developed and I felt like they were people I would know (minus the paranormal stuff); they were very believable. The story moved at a great pace, with lots of details. It helped me in really understanding the story and what was going on. Claire and Alec's love was very believable, it wasn't over the top and they didn't instantly fall in love.

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