One of my favourite things to
read about is a forbidden romance. The secrecy. The danger. The tension. The
intensity. The threat of consequences. Oh, it makes me happy dance! Here are
the ones that have kept me on the edge of my seat during the agonising ups and
downs of their forbidden love:
Forbidden, Tabitha
Suzuma
Definitions|3rd June
2010
Lochan and Maya are young,
beautiful and head over heels in love. They’re also brother a sister. Juggling
school, running the house and caring after their younger siblings in the flaky
absence of their mum have moulded Maya and Lochie into firm partners. It only
seems natural to them that it would evolve.
Thought I’d through you in at the
deep end with Forbidden. This novel
is astoundingly beautiful and even though I read it five years ago, it’s still
one that I find myself thinking about every now and then. It can be difficult
to read and there are definitely bits that will make people uncomfortable, but
you’ll be missing out if you avoid this novel for the content. The battle
between your heart and head for both the reader and Lochie and Maya is one I
haven’t encountered anywhere since. It’s gloriously heart-breaking.
If You Could Be
Mine, Sara Farizan
Alonquin|20th
August 2013
Sahar has
been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were children. They have
a relationship of secrets, promises and stolen moments because in Iran a girl
in love with a girl can mean imprisonment, beatings and even execution. When
Nasrin’s parents announce a planned engagement for Nasrin, Sahar begins to
seriously consider sexual reassignment surgery – legal and accessible – to save
her love. Is changing herself worth saving her relationship?
This is
an emotional and thoughtful read and I really loved it. LGBT rights have been
getting some more much-needed attention lately but it’s still focused on the
Western world. Farizan’s debut opens up about sexuality and gender and the
complications of not fitting into traditional roles in the Middle East with
grace, sensitivity and a hefty dose of thought. I’d never considered a lot of
the problems that Sahar and Nasrin encountered – it was enlightening. Highly
recommended.
Perfect Chemistry, Simone
Elkeles
S&S|1st April 2010
Head cheerleader Brittany Ellis
and gang member Alex Fuentes are worlds apart, but when assigned as lab
partners they’re forced to get along. Both of them completely taken aback when
sparks start to fly between them, but they come from different sides of the
track and being together isn’t going to be an easy ride.
The Perfect Chemistry trilogy is one of my very, very favourite
trilogies and Alex is one of my top book boyfriends – I could read this book
over and over and not get bored. Him and Brittany have a tonne of sizzle and I
was championing them from the start. Alex is a gang member and his relationship
with Brittany poses a serious danger to both of them. I loved watching the
effects they had on how the other sees the world and made it a better place to
look upon. There are some stomach-in-your-throat moments in this book where
Brittany and Alex’s relationship, and lives, hang in the balance and it only
makes it all the sweeter.
The Luxe, Anna
Godbsersen
Puffin|3rd
July 2008
Welcome
to New York City. It’s 1899 and society’s elite bring glamour, gossip, secrets,
scandal, beauty and revenge as they weave a tangled web of love and lies.
Welcome to The Luxe.
This
series is one I discovered and fell head over heels in love with before I
started blogging. I’ve never been a huge fan of historical fiction – it takes
something really special to pull me in, and The
Luxe did that tenfold. Though not as major part in the first books as they
are later on in the series, the main draw for me (apart from the decadence and
scandal of the world they live in) Diana and Henry were my draw. I don’t want
to spoil anything, but they really shouldn’t have anything to do with each
other; they have quite a few impossible obstacles that only get more impossible
as their story develops. I was rooting for them tirelessly, even though maybe
they weren’t quite right together.
Bloodlines, Richelle
Mead
Puffin|25th August
2011
Sydney belongs to the Alchemists,
a secret organisations that work to keep the vampire world a secret from
humans. They protect them, keep their secrets and clear up after them and
Sydney has been assigned to keep watch over the sister of the Moroi queen,
Lissa Dragomir, while her life is at risk from those wanting her family knocked
from the throne. Being accused of sympathising with vampires is akin to treason
for the Alchemists and now Sydney is about to move in with a group of them –
will her teachings stay strong?
The series that Bloodines is a spin-off from, Vampire Academy, could easily have made
this list with the relationship between student and mentor, Rose and Dimitri,
but this series doesn’t get nearly as much love as VA. In buildings friendships
with Jill, Adrian and Eddie, Sydney risks her career, by falling in love with Adrian
she risks her life. I love Sydney’s battle against her feelings and teachings,
the chemistry between them and the sparkly banter, all against the threat of
the Alchemists discovering Sydney’s new allegiances and the potential deadly
consequences.
Stolen, Lucy
Christopher
Chicken
House|4th May 2009
Gemma is
kidnapped while on a changeover at Bangkok airport and whisked away to the
deserts of Australia. Taken away from everything she knows, he expects her to
love him. This is Gemma’s letter to her captor.
Now, this
is a little different to the other novels in this post but it’s still very much
worth a mention. Stolen is easily one
of the beautifully written books I’ve ever read. Set against the desolate beauty
of the Australian outback, Gemma gets to know Ty and learns why he took her. This
is another story where your head and heart collide. Ty did something very, very
wrong and I kept wanting to hate him but I couldn’t! I really loved how Gemma
Stockholm Syndrome extended to the reader. You should read it for a wonderful
scene where Ty reveals his beautiful art to Gemma alone. Stunning.
What are you favourite forbidden love
stories?
Sophie
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