Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Forbidden

Bro I ate this thing up. How is this YA? This stuff was rough. Poor kids.

I found myself rooting for the two of them even though. yknow. You want them to be happy!!! The family needs to stay together!!! That pivotal moment the reader has been waiting for yet dreading is when shit hits the fan and it hurt so bad.

I really enjoyed the writing. Nothing really felt cringey (which is hard to find, personally, when reading romance novels, especially ones that depict sex) so big thanks for that.

I wish there was less focus on their physical desire as it got repetitive and instead a greater look into their emotional dependency due to parental abandonment. It was touched on a few times but I was vaguely dissatisfied.

Content Warnings

bambicat234's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Im a bit conflicted because I am uncomfortable with the overt romanticization that this novel gives in its themes but I want to give this book a fair literary review anyway. It feels almost like a defense for incestuous relationships. While this isn't the first novel I've ever read that features a relationship like this (*cough* flowers in the attic) it is the first one I've read to write it as if it is somehow... desirable? It's a strange approach. It almost feels as if it was written JUST to be taboo, there doesn't feel like there really is any other point to it other than to be shocking. The epilogue also feels a but unnecessary.
The kids spent a lot of time talking about how wrong their relationship was and what the consequences could be only to keep on doing it anyway, and the consequences they did receive felt more like a reprieve or an escape than a punishment.

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valreadsallnight's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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simonlorden's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Damn, that was a lot.

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litandlayne's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I had to sleep on it to have an accurate review for the book destroyed me that much. I didn't cry while reading it like I thought I would, but ten minutes after finishing it, I was more than a little misty-eyed as I thought about what happened in this book.

This book has so many content warnings that it's just not going to be for everyone. More importantly, this story is a tragedy. There is no 'happy ending.'

The two main characters, Lochan and Maya, really had no chance in life. Their parents abandoned and neglected them, and that kind of abuse left its mark on them both. This is a character-driven story where at some points, the characters feel like they're 45 dealing with adult problems, but then the rest of the time are acting like the teenagers they are.

I really hated this ending. I hate it a lot. But looking back through the story, the ending fits the book. I just really, really hate it. The story does feel very unsatisfying because of it, but I can't help to think that's what the author wanted to happen.

My only other concern with this story is how sexualized this YA book was. If it is YA it should be fade to black and this one wasn't.

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black_tea_books_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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