Customer Reviews

Forbidden (Harlequin Temptation (Unnumbered))

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A title like "Forbidden" immediately brings to my dirty mind either a) a sordid extramarital affair (something I definitely do *not* want to read about in my romances) or b) some kinky sex (something I really wouldn't mind reading about :). This love story contains neither scenario. What it does contain is a healthy and loving relationship based upon years of friendship and trust. This is exactly the type of love story that I love most.

Police Office Josh has been love in with Paige for ages but it was his best friend Anthony who won her heart and her hand in marriage. He has since settled with becoming Paige's good friend and has kept his unrequited love for her a secret. When Anthony is murdered and Paige's life is put in jeopardy Josh risks not only his life but his heart when he goes under cover, posing as her lover, to keep her safe.

The mental anguish facing both of these characters is deftly drawn and makes them both very easy to empathize with. Both behave like adults throughout the story and neither are arrogant fools (like far too many romance characters) and can admit when they are wrong. I really liked that about these two. Josh is simply one of the kindest romance heroes that I've come across, wearing his heart on his sleeve but he never losing his sexy "edge".

While the romance is strong the same can't be said for the secondary suspense subplot and the dull, stereotypical villains. Fortunately, this subplot never overshadows the romance because the couple remain together throughout it. If you're in the mood for a tender love story between friends you shouldn't miss this one.

I have read all of Janelle Denison's books and they keep getting better. This book was the best yet. Josh is strong, sexy and so in love with Paige. Paige loses her husband and finds out just what type of man, he really was. She has always had feelings for Josh and now they finally get together, and the fireworks start. GREAT BOOK. A MUST READ...

YOWZA! Keep the oven mitts handy for the love scenes in THIS story! Josh and Paige have been friends for several years even though she is married to another cop. Her husband has been cold and cruel to her but Josh has been her rock through it all. After Anthony is murdered, Josh has the unpleasant task of telling Paige the truth of his murder and the results of the police investigation. That first sizzling love scene shows all the emotions she has been holding inside...the pain of betrayal, the angst of all the years of her cold marriage, the fear of being a cop's wife, and so on. She rages at Josh and slaps and punches him, then collapses on his shoulder and sobs. Finally, she tells him she NEEDS him to make her feel loved again and he can't refuse her because he has loved her ever since he met her. The heat that is generated singes the pages!

Josh and Paige then embark on a sting with police to catch the criminals involved in Anthony's murder. Josh assigns himself as Paige's live-in lover so he can protect her. He tells Paige that he loves her but she is afraid of being involved with another cop. Josh decides to let her go back home after the case is wrapped up if that's what she wants. He's shot (does anyone hear music from 'The Bodyguard' here?) and she finally faces the fact that she can't live without him in her life.

FORBIDDEN is a sensual book about a healing unconditional love. FORBIDDEN is an engaging read and one which I recommend if you can't resist strong, sensitive heroes. Josh is one of the sweetest romance heroes I've ever come across. He's sexy, supportive, patient, tender and wears his heart on his sleeve. He's not afraid to confess his love even though he knows it may not be returned, and he's even willing to give up the heroine if that's what she wants. He's, in a word, wonderful.

Janelle Denison does it again with Forbidden, and the emotionally gripping romance between Josh and Paige. Denison will give you a thrill ride with edge of your seat suspense in a sizzling romance. I couldn't put it down!

With FORBIDDEN, Ms. Denison has outdone herself. A wonderful and deeply romantic story, full of intrigue and suspense, FORBIDDEN is a page turner until the end. Her writing presents characters with a strong sense of passion and a loving respect for each other. No-holds-barred in the loves scenes -- they are definitely hot!

I have always been interested in reading about the love that blossoms between two people that society or circumstances deem SHOULD not fall in love. Feelings that they both should deny makes itself known, regardless of how much they try to control their emotions and that in itself makes for a deliciously clandestine read. After reading and reviewing Ms. Denison's book Tempted which was a delightfully sensual novel, I forayed into her backlist to stumble upon this title which seemed to call out "pick me!" from the book synopsis and raised high expectations within me keeping me on tenterhooks till my precious books made their way to the Maldives from USA. This book ended up being totally different from what I expected, not that the story that unfolded was bad in anyway, but because I expected something other than what I found in the story, I ended up sort of between being happy that I did get to read a good story regardless and a tad disappointed because I didn't find in Josh and Paige's story what I really wanted from them.

The story kicks off during Paige's husband, Anthony Montgomery's funeral. Paige and Anthony had been married for 3 years, the last 2 years of which was lived in abject misery on Paige's part. It is Anthony's best friend Josh that steps in and offers her his friendship, an act which backfires on Josh when he hopelessly falls in love with the one woman he will never get to have; until Anthony is killed in his latest undercover mission bringing to light the fact that Anthony had been a dirty cop who had profited from underhand deals in the criminal worlds that he had inhibited as part of his job.

Paige had always been treated more as a possession than as a wife by Anthony and Paige had just initiated divorce proceedings when she gets the news of Anthony's death. The depth of Anthony's immense betrayal hits home 3 months later when Josh comes bearing news that Anthony had actually been killed by the mob boss of the jewelery smuggling ring that Anthony had been assigned to infiltrate because he had stolen a necklace worth millions of dollars from them inevitably putting Paige in danger.

Vulnerability and the shock of betrayal which leaves Paige reeling sends her into the arms of Josh where at last she gets the type of physical and emotional fulfillment Paige has only dreamed about till now. It is Josh's mission to protect Paige at any cost, use her as bait to draw the mob boss in and act as her live in lover whilst all this takes place. And when Josh learns of the extent of hurt and resentment that Anthony had bred in Paige's heart towards marriage to anyone working in the law enforcement, the hope that had burgeoned in his heart after Paige turned to him for comfort and they both had experienced out of this world passion with one another as a result comes crashing down leaving Josh with only one choice; let the woman who has captured his heart walk away forever if that's the only way that Paige can be happy.

I liked the overall premise of the story which is a mix of a friends to lovers story with very little "forbidden" moments thrown in to the mix of bad guys who were after the necklace which Paige's dead husband had stolen. Josh is a likable hero who has given his heart to Paige somewhere along the way when their friendship had first started to blossom, which makes him the vulnerable one in the story. Paige was likable as well because she is determined that she learn from her mistake with Anthony and is wary of trusting someone with her heart again, and though Josh shows her in all the ways how different he is from Anthony, Paige is stubborn enough to hold on to her convictions until it becomes almost too late for her change her mind.

Obviously as I started out saying, I expected something a bit more different from this story. With a title like "Forbidden" my mind conjures up stolen kisses that heat up the reader's insides, breathless passion between the hero and heroine which they both try to deny but which explodes anyway because they are two halves of one soul who have just found their way to each other. And though this story delivers in spades in the awareness department between Paige and Josh, there just didn't seem to be enough moments of the forbidden variety in the story which kind of depleted my enjoyment levels with this one.

All in all, not a bad read though I wish the story could have been a different one altogether.

Reviewed by: Maldivian Book Reviewer

Occasionally the Blaze books, billed as red-hot reads, live up to their advertising. When intimacy occurs between consenting adults, emphasis on the *adult*, when that intimacy is coupled with caring, tenderness and a desire to please the other person, then more than a BLAZE is started. Thing conflagration . . . forest fire . . . volcano. FORBIDDEN is a suspenseful, sizzling story that merits each of its four hearts. This book will put a zing in your steps.

FORBIDDEN is a well-written, enjoyable story with main characters who are strong, independent and very likable. Conflict mingles with danger in this fast-paced, sensual romance!

Solid intrigue packed with the sensual punch of a prizefighter describes Janelle Denison's FORBIDDEN. The pages turned almost by themselves as the action continues non-stop. If your tastes run to erotic, suspenseful, and tingling, FORBIDDEN has your name on it.