Review: Forbidden by Claire Cullen
SYNOPSIS:
All his life, Jonah’s been warned about wolves.
The last of a dying species, hiding amongst the humans, Jonah accepts his lonely life, knowing one day he’ll lose himself in the call of the sea. And then a pack of werewolves moves in next door. Wolves are dangerous, cunning, and vicious. He knows he has to chase them off before they discover the truth about what he is. But he hadn’t counted on Nate, their ruggedly handsome alpha. No one warned him wolves could be so… captivating.
As the lone alpha left, he’s their only chance of survival.
After an attack leaves his pack on the run, it’s up to Nate to lead them to safety. He brings them to the one place they won’t be followed, a place wolves don’t dare go. At first, the Cove seems like a haven and stories of monsters lurking in the shadows sound far-fetched. Jonah, the local vet, and their new neighbor, is just the sort of distraction Nate needs. When danger closes in on all sides, Nate must do what he can to keep his pack, and his new favorite human, safe from harm. But is Jonah all he appears to be?
The truth will tear them apart.
When Nate turns up at his door with an injured wolf cub in his arms, Jonah doesn’t have the heart to turn him away. He knows he’s playing with fire, letting himself be drawn further into the shifter’s dangerous world, risking discovery with every word, every kiss. Self-preservation be damned.
REVIEW:
This was an intriguing read, Claire Cullen is a new to me author and I decided to give her a go. The synopsis with a mix of sirens and werewolves was a unique combination that I couldn’t pass up. The romance was very much insta-love but I was captivated by the larger story at play, which had me turning the pages time and time again.
So the story can be split into two segments and I will first start with my feels on Jonah and Nate’s relationship. The whole relationship lacked any substance or depth, which isn’t uncommon in shifter books. As Nate and Jonah are instantly drawn to each other, their attraction continues to grow as the story progresses. But they never seem to have any deep conversations or form a true emotional connection. I desperately wished that they had because this layer of depth would have taken the story to the next level for me. Aside from that, these two work well together, they compliment each other and I appreciated seeing both of their strengths come into play as different types of shifters.
Then there is the whole reason that Nate arrives to begin with. This is the part of the story that hooked me. Nate and what’s left of his pack are on the run from the Alpha Prime, who is honestly a horrific monster of a leader. This part of the story was filled with suspense, will the Alpha Prime find them, how will things play out, and I truly enjoyed it. The ending was some swift satisfaction, not closure but definitely enough to show the Alpha Prime that the Cove is off limits.
In terms of the ending for Nate and Jonah, it was unexpected, a little rushed, but cute. I was glad to see they got their HEA as Jonah definitely deserves it. But I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Jonah’s brother, Harlan returns and I can’t wait to see how his story plays out.
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