Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths LittlePublished by: HarperCollins on November 4, 2014
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 397
Source: Edelweiss
Book Details
Rating: ★★★★½
In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden’s tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden’s turn to be honored. But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart.
Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape—or die trying.
With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself.
Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.
I absolutely ADORED this book! Forbidden is one of the most unique books I’ve read in a while. I think the words Mesopotamian, desert, tribe, and dancing say it all. When’s the last time you read a young adult book that involved those?? The overall plot may not be that unique (forbidden love) but the interesting setting really made Forbidden stand out.
Everything in Forbidden felt different from what I’ve read before. The strict hierarchy in the tribe, the marriage traditions, the dancing culture, ALL THE CAMELS!! That made Forbidden so fun and interesting to read. It was hard to put down!
Although the forbidden romance between Jayden and Kadesh wasn’t super detailed, I loved it. It definitely felt true to the time period. It is sort of a love at first sight relationship, but I think it worked well in the book, and it wasn’t an annoying insta-love. It felt cute, sweet, and forbidden, and Jayden and Kadesh were so cute together. I couldn’t exactly fault Jayden for falling for Kadesh so quickly when I did too! I loved the forbidden aspect of it as well. Jayden shouldn’t be crushing on Kadesh because she’s been promised to Horeb, and Horeb is a major asshole who you will LOVE hating!
This might sound silly, but I think my one disappointment was finding out that Forbidden is a series (at least, I assume it is based on the ending). I went into it assuming it was a standalone, but the ending wasn’t resolved enough for me to be left thinking that was it. I’m inclined to think that there’s at least one more book to come. I just don’t like thinking that a book is going to be fully resolved (like a standalone), then find out it isn’t. It throws me off! But that being said, I am also glad we’ll be getting more from this story. There’s still so much of it that I want to read about. View Spoiler »
But if you’re looking for a unique read, definitely pick up Forbidden! The setting made this book feel so refreshing. I felt like I was stepping out of the world of “typical YA” and into something totally new.
The Verdict
I’m not big on historical, but I’ll add this to my wishlist because you seemed to love it so much! 😀
Hope you like it! 😀
You had me at unique book. So happy I got this one too.
I can’t wait to see what you think!
I was just contacted to see if I wanted to review this. I am excited about it. It sounds like a great book. And now that I see you enjoyed it, I think I will, too!
I hope you love it as much as I did. 🙂
I though this was a standalone too. Good to know it isn’t because I hate surprises like that. Everything else sounds good. I picked it up for review because it is unique in setting and it sounds like it will deliver.
Yeah I hate that surprise too. At the end, I wasn’t sure what to think…
1. Is this it? Is this the ending? And there’s no more to come? If so, I’m very unsatisfied. or:
2. Is this the first book in a series?
I just hate not knowing… But I think I saw the author confirm somewhere that it is a series and there’s at least one more book to come.
It’s all great but I think that there should always be clearly stated on cover and title page of the book series name and number. I hate when that information is missing. And as you said – we don’t know what to think…
I haven’t read this book yet, but I am super excited for it. Yours is the first review of it I’ve read! Now I am even more excited for the book. I thought this book was a standalone too, but if it is a series, I’d like to know that going in too. I hate being surprised at the end.
I hope you love it! 😀
I’m looking forward to reading Forbidden. The cover is beautiful and the setting/premise is different. I”m glad you liked it 🙂
I read this last week and really liked it. It was so sad though. I kept wanting to tell the author, no more sad stuff please!
I’m looking forward to the next book 🙂
I’ve seen this book posted on a couple of blogs now, all with good reviews. Note to self, get my hands on it.
I impulsively got this one from Edelweiss without even reading the description, but I’m glad I did. While I’m not a huge fan of historical books, this one seems to do an awesome job! I can’t wait to read it. Great review!