Book Review -- Forbidden by Time by Negeen Papehn

I can't believe this is the end. This series is so important to me, I remember when I couldn't stop reading the first book even to sleep, and when I was in a major book slump and the second book got me out of it. 

This one follows Bita story, it's funny because I usually dread when a character I disliked in a series end up getting their books. Bita frustrated me so much in Forbidden by Faith when she didn't support Maziar and Sara that I thought it would be hard to get into her book. I was so wrong !

Bita and Ramtin are so good together, their chemistry,their passion and their connection is EVERYTHING I wish it would be when I read the blurb. Everything happened organically between them, they felt good together, couldn't help but be around each other and it deepened their connection until it became impossible to deny their powerful attraction. I love that even though I knew they would happened i felt every single thing, it was like I was Bita and i couldn't help but feel frustrated when Ramtin took a step back, her joy everytime she felt that something was happening between them. Until their very first kiss I could feel the uncertainty. 

With age gap in relationships the difficulty is to not feel the bittersweetness because the older person has more experience and in this case Ramtin is divorced and has two daughters and a very present ex-wife. It's not the same feeling when you have a young couple that get to live their firsts together but Ramtin and Bita's love never felt tainted by their age difference or by the obstacles they had to face. 
I felt the excitation of their blossoming love even if they were hiding; and when their secret was discovered I firmly believed they could overcome her family's disapproval. When the topic of children came I felt Ramtin's conflicted stance it didn't cheapen his love for Bita.

I can't believe it's over, I'm certainly not ready to say goodbye to these characters. You won't regret reading this series, love stories are universal but reading about other cultures and perspective is definitely important. I may not be from Iran but the topic addressed, the sense of community and the cultural and generational clash is something I could totally relate to and it felt GREAT to be able to connect more with the characters. 

FIVE STARS !

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Review - Forbidden by Destiny by Negeen Papehn

Nothing is better than this feeling, when you read the first pages of a book and you just know it will consume you. 

I don't want to give anything away, because this book can stand alone but it's still part of a bigger arc. I think you won't be able to appreciate the depth of this story unless you've read the first book. You need to experience the love triangle between Sara, Maziar and Ben to truly get what is at stake when Leyla, Sara's best friend and Ben Sara's ex-boyfriend fall for each other. 

I for example felt my heart breaking for both Sara and Leyla because the author did an amazing job at portraying a meaningful, solid friendship between two girls in their twenties. I also could understand how conflicting the situation was for Leyla because of Negeen Papehn stellar character development. In theory the choice between a man and your closest girlfriend is easily made but I got Leyla, this was not just lust it was a once in a lifetime love, a love she never felt, a love she never dreamed of feeling. 

What I love the most about Papehn is the fact that you can tell that each of the books of this series is written with passion and that it's not just another book to sell to eager readers.He stories are never predictable, she writes about heavy subjects and it's not always easy to read but it's also never gratuitous, everything on her characters journeys happen for a reason. 

As a french girl whose parents are first generation of immigrants I felt truly connected to this cast of characters and their family dynamic. I'm not Iranian but I felt the story was authentic and resonated with my own experience. 

When I finished reading Forbidden by Destiny I became a fan of her work, I can't wait to get my copy of Forbidden by Time, the next book of the Forbidden Love series.

This is an arc I was generously offered in exchanged of a honest review but I want you guys to know that I loved it so much that I'm gonna buy my own copy on February 19th. 

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Review— Forbidden by Faith by Negeen Papehn

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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