Sara knows her life would be easier if she married a man of her faith, but when has love ever been easy?
Raised by her immigrant Iranian parents, she’s been taught that a good daughter makes decisions based on her family’s approval, and she’s spent most of her life in their good graces. Until she meets Maziar, and her world is turned upside down. An instant electricity ignites between them, and it seems like fate when she discovers he’s also Iranian. Just as her mind begins to soar with the possibilities, he shatters her hopes.
Sara is Muslim. Maziar is Jewish. Will faith tear them apart?
Despite centuries of unrest behind them, Sara and Maziar embark on a forbidden love affair, attempting to navigate through cultural and religious prejudices.
Deep within the trenches of their battle, Sara finds herself more empowered and careless than ever before, but will her love and newfound life be worth the ultimate cost—her family?
I've read Forbidden by Faith a while ago but I needed some time to process it because I've never experienced what I did when I was reading this book. This is the first time I've hated the beginning of a book but ended up loving it. I usually waste no time DNFing when it happens but I was stranded in the country with my family and no wifi, I was in a MAJOR book slump and I really wanted to read this story because the topic is so interesting.
I love when books break the usual romance structure, I really enjoy reading romance books about troubled relationships, I know some people prefer to read about the process of falling in love but sometimes it's refreshing to read about a couple fighting for their relationship to work and dealing with external stuff. I loved the Spiral of Bliss series by Nina Lane for example, it was SOOOO good but I digress.
When I started Forbidden by Faith I thought that it was such a shame that this book had the potential to get me out of my book slump but that I just HATED the writer's style. It starts with Sara and Maziar meeting at a party, nothing wrong with that, but I didn't like the fact that the narrator was telling us about the beginning of their relationship rather than showing it. I also hated how absent Maziar seemed. I didn't know if it was on purpose, I had no idea how I was supposed to feel about him but I was pissed at him because he seemed super passive especially when Sara met his family for the first time. I wanted to shake him during that moment, I was super frustrated by the lack of his POV because it made him seem weak and indecisive. I think that's when I seriously considered DNFing, but I remembered that I was bored and had no wifi and I needed to know what happened next so I guessed it was a good sign. I really don't want to spoil anything but I'm really happy I continued, it's already one of my best 2018 reading decisions.
What was interesting here is the fact that both characters were Iranian but with a different religion and it was enough to create tension realistically.
I knew it was probably the only romance book about an interfaith relationship I would get this year, so I decided that was going to try to get into it and Maziar decided he was going to SHOW UP big time for his girl and it was AMAZING guys. He stood up for her, loved her fiercely and gave me all I needed and more. I also loved that Sara never waited for him to get there, she lived her life, grew as a character, I was pleasantly surprised by both characters growth. It was beautiful to see them realize what was really important for them, what they were willing to compromise with and what they couldn't sacrifice in order to be content with their life. It was surprisingly inspiring to be honest, I didn't expect to learn so much from this book even though it was obvious from the start that it was an important story to tell for Negeen Papehn . It's her culture and it was loosely inspired by her relationship with her husband.
I decided to write this review to support this author because I really want more story representing the USA's different cultures. It's a shame that this diversity that makes this country so interesting is barely represented in this genre. I definitely enjoyed it and ended up rooting for the couple and their love. It was entertaining and thought provoking enough to keep me engaged until the end. Forbidden by Faith still has all of the flaws you can expect from a first book but at some point I just let go and started to really love it and I can honestly write that I don't regret finishing it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoy reading romance with characters of different religious, cultural or/and racial background. Give it a chance, I promise you won't regret it !
4 stars!
You can purchase a copy at a reasonable price on Amazon. The paperback version is still available as well!
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