"A Love Forbidden" Review

"A Love Forbidden"
by Kathleen Morgan

Publisher: Revell
Release Date: May 1, 2012

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:  

Moved by the desire for adventure and a yearning to help the Ute Indians, twenty-year-old Shiloh Wainright impulsively accepts a teaching position at the White River Indian Agency in northwestern Colorado. The new job, however, isn't what she imagined it would be, and Shiloh soon finds herself caught in the cross fire between the Utes, their unyielding Indian Agent, and the unrealistic demands of the US government. Her unexpected encounter with Jesse Blackwater, an embittered half-breed Ute and childhood friend, only complicates matters as they battle their growing feelings for each other amidst the spiraling tensions threatening to explode into a catastrophic Indian uprising.
Set amongst the wilds of the Colorado Rockies in 1879, this is a tale of a forbidden love and a faith tested in the cauldron of intolerance and the harsh realities of life on the untamed frontier. Bestselling author Kathleen Morgan deftly explores themes of mercy, fidelity to one's beliefs despite what others think or do, and compassion for those different from oneself as she plumbs the depths of the human heart and the healing power of God's love.

My Review:

I was really drawn in by the summary of this one, I really like reading this type of story in this time period and setting. However, the story seemed a little slow for me. I really wanted to like it, but I kept finding myself trudging through lots of political facts when i wanted to read about the feelings of the characters. The book is based on real events, so I can see how the author got caught up in explaining all the facts of the situations. However, I would have preferred those events to have been the backdrop for the love story instead of the other way around.

Even though I didn't really think there was enough of it, I thought that the romance was extremely well done. I really felt the chemistry between Jesse and Shiloh. I loved that they had a history together, and I think that really strengthened their bond. Their scenes together were so believable and it was easy to be caught up in their love story. Unfortunately, the rest of the book moved rather slowly for my tastes.

Wow, was Jesse stubborn! There was one part of the book where another character advises Shiloh that if Jesse didn't fight for her then that tells her that he's not that interested. And honestly, there were only one or two times where I felt like he did stand up and fight for her, and all the other times he ran fast in the other direction. He asked Shiloh to give up a lot and never really showed her how much he wanted her. Interesting things to ponder in my opinion.

I liked seeing Shiloh show real emotion about her sister, Jordan, who had done some very bad things. A lot of times in inspirational fiction, the characters aren't shown to have such real feelings of resentment and anger. It was nice to see her have real feelings instead of glossed-over and goody-goody feelings. It was more real and meaningful when she was able to come to terms with her sister and their past.



Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 4/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: I thought that I would enjoy this book more, since I really like reading about the setting and era. However, I did have fun seeing the sparks fly between the two leads.