"Forbidden" by Tina Smith

We were approached by the author of Forbidden to read and review her book.  While we received a review copy of this book for free, please note that all opinions are Tami's and (for better or worse) are honest.

Image from Amazon.com

Summary:  After her parents bitter divorce, Lila and her mother move from the big city to the small town of Shade, where her mother grew up.  While she's not happy about the move to the strange town in the middle of nowhere, Lila tries to make the best of it when she shows up to her first day of school.

Except the school is weird.  The other students don't talk to her, but she can feel their scrutiny in class and in the halls.  And then Samantha, gorgeous leader of the popular clique corners Lila in the lunchroom and everything changes overnight.  Lila is drawn into the close knit and tight lipped circle of popular kids, but the more time she spends with Sam and the gang, the more she feels as if there is a secret she must discover.  When the school's bad-girl-weirdo Cresida starts to stalk her, Lila is torn between loyalty to her new friends and her desire to dig to the bottom of the truth, a truth that only Cresida can show her.

Will Lila remain loyal to her new friends, or will she listen to Cresida....and herself....and get to the bottom of the secret.

What I Liked:

• The premise of the story, a modern day telling of the Greek myth of Atemis and the wolf, is clever and interesting.  After reading the introduction I was excited to read the rest of the story.
• The author kept true to the main character.  Lila starts off as a self-conscious, slightly depressed teen and her responses to the popular kids' interest in her is genuinely described.
• The main characters progression throughout the story was believable and I appreciated that she actually grew into some self strength towards the end of the book.
• The ending was a little unexpected and closed out in such a way that I'm curious to see what's next.

What Drove Me Nuts:

• The story reminded me a lot of Twilight.  Average girl moves to small town and starts a new school.  She meets a gorgeous, exclusive teen clique and unwittingly joins them.  Average girl has forbidden romance with gorgeous teen until a secret almost destroys them.
• I felt like there were a lot of plot points, but also a lot of missed opportunities.  For example, the beginning of the book mentioned that Shade was Lila's mother's home town.  I honestly expected to learn more about Lila's mother, and perhaps a family secret of Lila's own.
• I felt like this book could have used a bit more polishing - perhaps from a professional edit.

Rating:  I'm not a big fan of this type of supernatural romance (don't want to give the secret away) but if you are interested in the supernatural genres related to vampires, shapeshifters or magic, you may like this book.

Also Read By:  N/A

Reviewed By:  Tami