Forbidden by Syrie and Ryan James

6:36 PM


ForbiddenTitle: Forbidden 
Author: Syrie and Ryan James
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release: January 24, 2012
Pages: 410
Series: None
THANKS TO WUNDERKIND PR FOR THE REVIEW COPY.
Synopsis:


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?

Review:
Being familiar with the name Syrie James, but having never actually read anything by her, I didn't know what to expect going into the book. I hadn't read any angel books as of late, so I was quite looking forward to the book for just that reason.

I love the cover of this book! It's very different than other books of the angelic variety; this one had less of a dark feel to it and more of a feature on blue and green tones. It also didn't show what the cover model was thinking or what emotion she was portraying, giving the book an air of mystery. Apart from the model, the theme wasn't a super simple, modern look. It was more of a fantasy and older feel, giving it a romantic vibe. There's also the little swirl at the bottom of the second 'd' in the title that really tied the cover together.

Character-wise, the book had it's few drawbacks. I loved the two main characters Alec and Claire a lot, but I felt that some of the secondary characters were very undeveloped. Alec was amazing; supernatural and hot, he was a perfect combo. He also had the feeling of uniqueness that is hard to find in characters. Claire was also fun, she made a good protagonist and had a strong feeling to her. The relationship between the two was slow going and not instant, making me enjoy it even more. Apart from select secondary characters, the rest of the characters were enjoyable and well written.

Honestly, I didn't know who wrote what. Often with dual authored books it's fairly simple to tell where one's writing begins and where the other ends, but it simply wasn't that easy in this book. The writing was phenomenal, but the story was even better. It was well paced, but perhaps more romantic than adventurous.  I'd recommend this book to anyone who has either lost faith in the angels of YA or who would like to try the genre out. I give Forbidden a 4/5.


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4 comments

  1. This is a great review and I know what you mean about the authors. I was unable to tell who wrote what as well. This was actually my first ever angel book and I loved it! I can't wait to read more of her books(:

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  2. I'm glad I stumbled on this...I just started Forbidden today! I'm not very far in yet, but so far, so good. I usually don't care for dual authored books, but this one seems pretty seamless.

    Great review!

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