I think the Old West was a great setting for Forbidden. The Old West is often associated with new beginnings and fresh starts - which is exactly what many freed slaves were looking for. Rhine and Eddie may have arrived with different goals in mind, they both were looking for something new.

There are two reasons this wasn't quite a 5-star read for me. 1) There is a bit of a savior mentality where Rhine is saving Eddy - which I'm glad he did - but it also would have been nice to see her save herself. She's a very strong woman, and as times it felt like Rhine didn't understand that. 2) The way Rhine spoke to her about sex (and maybe that's what they thought in the 1800s). It was a little to "educational" and, again, somehow made her seem less than she really was.

Their relationship, the city, the people around them - all amazing and well written. You could see the community and feel the rifts.