Forbidden (Medieval Series, 2)

This is just another example of Elizabeth Lowell's remarkable work. In my opinion, this book was not as great as the first one, but it is great nonetheless.
Amber the Untouched and Duncan the Scots Hammer are a memorable couple. And I love how Lowell has Duncan remember bits and pieces but never a whole memory. Something will trigger a memory, but as quickly as it came, it is gone. The only thing I thought that would make the book more, would be if Amber was a little stronger. Though, I can understand why she did many things the way she did.
This book also has one of the most memorable scenes from any book I have read. The scene where Cassandra *teaches* Duncan the true power and pain of Amber's "gift".
I HIGHLY recommend this series of book, though I would also recommend reading them in order of sequence.

This is a splendid tale. A tale in which you are taken into a dark world of Learned and Sorcery. I found this novel to be quite intriging.
Amber The Untouched. Duncan The Scots Hammer. He came to her in shades of darkness. Upon first touching him, Amber feels light and pleasure such as she has never known before. For Amber has known only darkness in touching another human. She could scry the truth from another person, but in doing so, it only brings her pain. Forbidden.
Duncan awakes in the beautiful Ambers care. He has lost his memory. He cannot remember anything of his past life. Only the love from Amber saves him from the dark seething memories without answer.
They forge a love, despite Duncans uncertainty with his past. But it is as if their lives are inexplicably entertwined. Amber is almost certain who Duncans true identity is. Yet she is afraid to reveal. When Duncan finally realizes who he is, he feels such betrayal from the Amber beauty. She had known, and in doing so, keeping it from him, she had forsaken him.
Betrayal, hurt and anger fill them both. Will Ambers love be enough to heal the Scots Hammer? Or will Duncans immense feelings of anger and betrayal destroy all that they have? Including his precious Amber?
This is a great story. You will love it.

I am not sure why I would want the h being stuck with this guy. In the end he uses the h, humiliates, tortures and even dehumanizes the h all for his own selfish purpose. Even though he does this because he believed he had been wronged, the degree to his cruelty was not that of a H or a decent human being. At first he excuses his behavior by claiming ignorance to how much he is hurting the h. But even when he is fully aware of the pain he is causing her, he continues to use her and exploit her gift. Just when you do not think he could be any more cruel, he degrades her even further in front of his people and her family. I am at a loss as to how this character would be considered "honorable." Then the only thing he has to do to get his HEA is go and retrieve the h back from where she has ran away. The h has no second thought of being with a man that could behave so callously towards another human being. No thought to the degree of his cruelty to her or how much his hatred could rule his behavior.

If you would like to read a book with a similar plot where the H feels that the h betrayed him read [[ASIN:055329430X Lady Gallant]]. In this book the H also behaves badly but the difference is that the readers sees the change in the H once he realizes how much he has hurt the h. Once he realizes the damage he is inflicting, his behavior begins to change. The h also realizes the kind of man that the H is and tries to distances herself from him. There is no easy resolution and the author does a great job of vindicating the H. At the end of the book, the readers know that the H is indeed a man of character and that the h is strong person that will not allow herself to ever become a victim again. A vindication that this book was sorely missing.

I have often found Elizabeth Lowell to be a somewhat inconsistent author when it comes to achieving the emotional depth that she strives for; however, Forbidden is a definite success.

It is the story of Amber, called the Untouched, because her birth was accompanied by a dire prophecy and a gift/curse. She has the ability to discern truth or falsehood in a person's statements and read their emotions by touch. The price of this gift is that she is unable to touch anyone, ever, without feeling pain. She was raised by a "Learned" woman, protected by the Lord of the keep, and taught to nurture her spiritual gifts in an attempt to thwart the possible effects of the prophecy. The prophecy said that a man would come to her without a name, cloaked in "a thousand shades of darkness" and she would be able to touch him. But should she give him her heart, body, and soul death would be the result. One day her protector brings to her an unconscious, naked man who was found beneath a sacred tree adorned with her symbol. For the first time in her life she is able to touch someone .... Amber must decide between life and DEATH; physical death, spiritual death, and emotional death on many levels for herself and for all of those she loves.

What a setup - and the book lives up to its premise to the very last page. It is a sensual story set in an atmosphere of medievil mysticism. Like "Excalibur" the magic is mixed with early Christendom, knightly concepts of honor, the sanctity of vows, and the strength of the sword.

Without spoiling the story I will say that the characters find themselves in a turmoil of forsworn vows and the threat of war. The decisions made by both of the main characters are heartrending. They are caught in a lose-lose situation and the depth of their emotions as depicted through Amber's "gift" just pours from the pages.

I found myself saying "Wow. That was GOOD!" at the end.

Let me tell you, I read all genres of books and have been reading romance novels for the better part of 10 years. This is one of the best I have read! Fantastic! If you like the idea of true love, everlasting love, romance or magic. This is the book for you. You will love the all the characters. They are well written and the storyline is lovely. If you are contemplating buying just one book, get this!

It is truly too, too bad that I cannot stand Amber. Pardon me for saying so, but she has to be one of the most arrogant and conceited women I have ever read of, excluding all of the descendants of Bertrice Small's Skye O'Malley.
Duncan is lusicious, of course. I admit I was surprised to find that the proto-villain from Untamed had returned to become the anti-hero in Forbidden. It was a nice twist.
But as for that Amber wench, I must say that any girl who thinks that a person belonged to her simply because he was wearing a piece of jewelry deserves a hearty reality-check. And then there was that nonsense about being touched. . . (I'll admit I'm wary about that because after me best friend in high school read this book she started claiming to develop symptoms of Amber's condition)
The best part about this entire book was Simon's "proposal" to Ariane, Duncan's original intended bride. Remove this scene from the book and toss the rest of it in a garbage can.
Definitely on the lower end of Lowell's works.

It is truly too, too bad that I cannot stand Amber. Pardon me for saying so, but she has to be one of the most arrogant and conceited women I have ever read of, excluding all of the descendants of Bertrice Small's Skye O'Malley.
Duncan is lusicious, of course. I admit I was surprised to find that the proto-villain from Untamed had returned to become the anti-hero in Forbidden. It was a nice twist.
But as for that Amber wench, I must say that any girl who thinks that a person belonged to her simply because he was wearing a piece of jewelry deserves a hearty reality-check. And then there was that nonsense about being touched. . . (I'll admit I'm wary about that because after me best friend in high school read this book she started claiming to develop symptoms of Amber's condition)
The best part about this entire book was Simon's "proposal" to Ariane, Duncan's original intended bride. Remove this scene from the book and toss the rest of it in a garbage can.
Definitely on the lower end of Lowell's works.

Several times I found myself speed reading to get through it faster. I did not care for the plot which was about a man with amnesia, who falls in love, hates her after he regains his memory, but returns to her in the end. Maybe this plot would be ok if done by another author, but it was not enjoyable the way it was done here. I also found the ending too abrupt. I would have preferred knowing what their life was like after they got together and how the alliances among Dominic, Erik and other warlords worked out. This is the second book I've read by this author. The first book was The Secret Sister which I also did not like. I don't plan to read any more books by this author. Sexual content: moderate.

I loved this story from beginning til end. I could not put it down and read it in 1 day.

It's lacking just a LITTLE here in "Forbidden," and wasn't quite as breath-taking as Lowell's first book "Untamed." I almost felt as though Lowell had difficulty getting inspired for the 1st few chapters. The details, descriptive language, and conversation between the characters just wasn't quite the quality of "Untamed." By conversation, I mean that the characters were speaking too modern for the time era. For example, here's a quote from the book:
"I don't know" he said flatly. "But I know that I have met them."

More authentic and true to the time era (AND Lowell's talent) should have been:

"Nay, I know them not, yet I feel we are met before.

You get the idea! For those of us that are lovers & connoisseurs of medieval romance novels, the use of too modern language irritates and detracts from an excellent read. However, the good news.... Lowell's talent & inspiration seems to pick up in later chapters.

I would still recommend reading the book, because it was satisfying, and personally I like to finish book *series* when I start them. I am ordering "Enchanted" today, and I will hope that Lowell was fired-up to max potential in her writing for the last book in the series.