Book Synopsis:
"The unexpected happens in an instant. On her way to work, secretary Docia Waverley hurtles into a crashing crossroads, and she quickly begins to suspect that things will never be the same. Then, when a tall, blond, muscular stranger intervenes on her behalf, telling her it is his duty to protect her at all cost, what is just a feeling turns to proof positive. That is, as long as Docia’s savior doesn't turn out to be a crazed kidnapper.
When Ram finds Docia, he has no doubt that she is his queen. But as this golden warrior sweeps in to protect her, he feels something more than body heat every time they touch. He is overwhelmed by a searing connection that goes deep into the twin souls inside him. A desire rises in him that is forbidden—this woman is his queen, the mate of his king, his leader, his best friend. And yet Docia is so vulnerable and attractive that she awakens a hunger in Ram that is undeniable, a carnal craving he cannot yield to . . . not without risking the very survival of the Bodywalkers." -from Goodreads.com
What I Thought:
Forbidden takes place in the world of the Bodywalkers. This book is a spin-off of Jacquelyn's Nightwalkers series where the Bodywalkers are mentioned, but from what I've been told not a whole lot is said about them. I have yet to read any of Jacquelyn's other books, so I wasn't too sure how I felt about jumping into this one.
I was pleasantly surprised though! It was very easy to understand, as you didn't need any of the information from the other series to get this one. The world building in Forbidden is amazing, there is so much detail that it brings it all together quite nicely. Jacquelyn's writing style flows well, and she uses some very eloquent words. I like that in a book, as it actually had me looking up a few words! Learning while reading is always a plus.
Now on to the actual story.
Docia is the regular American girl; single, working an office job, tries to keep up on fashion, likes cute stuff, etc. At first I wasn't too sure how I felt about her, she just seemed a tad too girly for me. through out the book though her personality came out more and more, and she actually is a pretty intelligent woman. Strong willed to boot.
On her way to work one morning she decides to cross over a bridge. She usually doesn't walk to work but her car is broken so she had to. While crossing the bridge some crazy guy decides to take the corner and the bridge at a super fast speed, causing Docia to jump up out of the way onto the railing. Well, that seems like a great idea and all, but then the crazy guy shoves her over the edge. Docia suffers traumatic injuries and she shouldn't have lived. Her soul lands in this place called the Ether, which is basically like limbo. there she meets this beautiful Egyptian woman that offers to share Docia's body in exchange for staying alive.
At first I didn't understand how the whole Bodywalker thing was going to work. I thought that the Bodywalker was going to posses the person and totally take over. That's now how this works thankfully! The Bodywalker soul comes back to Earth with the person they have chosen and shares the body with the person. The two souls eventually blend together, and they become one. It takes a few weeks to get to this point though, and the Bodywalker is the most vulnerable at this point.
The Bodywalker that inhabits Docia is the Queen of the Bodywalkers, Hatsheput The Queen and King of the Bodywalkers rule over their people, except for the group of renegades called the Templars. The Templars have a high priestess and she wants to be the one in charge of the Bodywalkers. Templars were all the priests and priestesses of Ancient Egypt, the ones that performed the mummification process. This is the reason why the Bodywalkers exist, mummification caused the soul to become immortal and to stay in the Ether.
I really loved the Ancient Egyptian mythology in this book. I had some slight issues with the actual histories of a few of the pharaoh's, but that is only because I have studied these things extensively (I wanted to be an Egyptologist for like..10 years..) The little issues I had were not enough to deter me though, and I looked past them and actually LOVE this book.
This book has the perfect amount of romantic suspense going on between Docia and Ram, an awesome story line awesome world building, perfect amount of tension between the Templars and other Bodywalkers, and it has a great sibling love thing to it as well. I don't want to give too much away, the synopsis I posted above this explains most of the story. There are quite a few surprises in this book, it will keep you on your toes!
Frank has really done paranormal romance in a new way, at least in my mind. There were no vampires in this book, no shifters, no demons. There were Bodywalkers, Garagoyles, and Djin. It was very refreshing to read a paranormal romance with a new take on the whole idea.
I highly suggest this book if you love paranormal romance and have been looking for something refreshingly new in the genre. I can't wait for the next one! I'm super excited for this series!
Now I'm going to go out an buy myself a copy, because I got this from Netgalley! Thanks Netgalley!
Rating:
5 Inky Hearts out of 5!
I Loved It!
Where To Buy:
I really want to read this and I been tempted to buy on both occasions when I went to the store, but I have not read any of her other books and thought I should probably start there
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of the other books myself! I really liked this book a lot, and the background information in it is detailed enough so that it works fine to start off at.
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