Forbidden by Lori Adams

The Basics:
Forbidden by Lori Adams
Flirt
Book One in the Soulkeepers series
New Adult (Young Adult?), Romance
Published April 15, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca

Why I picked up this book:

I was on board for a high school girl moving to a small town with secrets that she's instantly in on, plus being caught between sexy Guardian Angel who wants to resist her and Demo Knight who is actively courting her....


Blurb:

When Sophia St. James learns that she’ll be moving from Los Angeles to a podunk town somewhere in Connecticut for her senior year of high school, she isn’t expecting an otherworldly encounter. But there is more to Haven Hurst than meets the eye: it’s home to a family of Guardian Angels, and she is the only one who can see them in spirit form. Sophia soon realizes she wants to see much more of Michael, an irresistible yet volatile Guardian who seems drawn to her too.

As Michael battles his forbidden desire for the beautiful young newcomer, one of Hell’s most notorious Demon Knights arrives. Handsome and charismatic, Dante has come to claim the reincarnated soul of his lost lover trapped in Sophia. Cursed with the demon of Persuasion living inside him, Dante will use his seductive charms to lure Sophia into a dangerous game that ends with the kiss of death—unless Michael, who has captured Sophia’s heart, can now capture her soul.

My thoughts:

One of the things I really want to see in the New Adult genre is blending with other genres the way that YA has done, but remaining true to some of the characteristics that I've come to expect of New Adult.

So Forbidden intrigued me because it's got that paranormal bent to it - HOWEVER, we're dealing with high school students here, and I really think this book belongs in the YA category.  

Having gotten that off my chest, Forbidden started off terribly for me, and then improved vastly through the middle and the end.

There's a lot of hostility going around at the beginning of the book, and that made it an uncomfortable read for me at first. I think once the story picks up, it gets better but I still couldn't quite shake the prickliness that all the initial distrust inspired.

Sophia and Michael were suitable as romantic leads. I wanted a bit more from Sophia - what draws Dante to her so strongly? It might have been helpful to have a flashback from their initial relationship. I also wanted Dante to be more likeable so I would be more conflicted over both his situation as a Demon Knight but also the potential love triangle with Michael.

Sophia's friends also made me cringe. Perhaps their use of slang, but definitely something in the way that they spoke that irked me.  

Despite these issues, I did enjoy the story. I liked the reveal, I liked some of the powers that the various characters had and how they were used. I'm curious to see where the story will go in the second book, and hopeful that Dante will shape up into a more worthy potential romantic interest. 

Bottom line:

A flawed but fun entry in the paranormal not-quite-full-adult (whether new or young) genre. Pick it up if you're a fan of this type of book, particularly if you go in for the angel/demon conflict.

3.5 stars
For fans of angels/demons, young love triangles