Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

From Amazon

Product Description:

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 Take: 

From the moment I heard about Forbidden, I knew I had to read this book. I'm the kind of person who wants to find stories that  force me to step outside of my comfort zone, and this one does it nicely. From the start it should be stated that Forbidden is a book that tackles various themes, and the main one is incest. However, I found myself sympathizing and understanding through the eyes of the characters.

First there is Lochlan, who is such a heartbreaking character right from the very beginning. As the oldest in a family of five, he is the acting father figure since both parents are basically out of the picture. He tries to be strong for them all, but he struggles in school daily from a condition that leaves him in fear of being called upon. His only comfort is his sister Maya, who he looks too for the mother figure in their family.

Like Lochlan, Maya is also heartbreaking in that she tries her best daily to care for her younger siblings and to be there for her brother when it gets to tough for him. They lean on one another, and it's not long before lines get blurred between them. Having pushed anyone else out of their lives, all they have is one another to rely on and too truly love. It seemed fitting that they're love should only grow as it did.


When I got to the final two chapters though I cried, because like the blurb said this story doesn't have a happy ending. This book takes you on an extremely difficult and emotional journey, one that is almost tough to get through only because it's so sad. All in all, I definitely recommend Forbidden for a read or two.