Forbidden Love

Without a doubt, Karen Robard's understanding of the human heart and its disquieted yearnings for taboo love make her characters disarmingly believable, sympathetic and appealing. However, what clearly distinguishes Ms. Robard's writing of erotic fantasy from those of other romance novelists is her ability to articulate honest naked expressions of passion and love without resorting to crude, prosaic hackneyed phrases which would otherwise trivialize the purity of the love between her protagonists. Ms. Robard possesses a unique ability to elevate sex beyond raw, desperate hunger into something beautiful, heavenly, almost sacred. Even the adulterous affair becomes forgivable, acceptable and desirable. Readers of "Forbidden Love" will come away longing to be a character - any character - in the novel if only to briefly witness the heart retching aches of the star-crossed lovers and secretly wish that their love does prevail.

This is one of my favorite novels. I read it years ago when it was first published and would never dream of parting with it. It has everything you could want in a Romance: love, passion, obsession, jealousy, heartbreak, and ultimately a fairytale ending.

This book is an old fashion bodice ripper. I enjoyed it and it took me a day to read. Yes he is a totally Alpha male but she is strong and stands up to him. This is my favourite Karen Robards book. I think you will either love this book or hate it - no middle ground here!

Just finished reading Forbidden Love. Couldn't put it down. Justin has been Megan's guardian since she was 5. But he has he has seldom seen her during his guardianship. Now she is grown, and very beautiful, but wild. After she runs away from school again, Justin follows her to his home in Ireland. From the moment he sees her dancing on the table, he is smitten. After he breaks his leg when his horse throws him, Megan spends a lot of time caring for him, and the sparks fly, igniting a fire in Justin that he can't put out. He is a fantastic lover, and she is an eager pupil. This book has an uncommon twist in that the hero is married, a fact the 17-year old Megan did not know. Otherwise, Justin, at 36, is perhaps somewhat less of a rake than most found in Regency romances, but he has been one and he knows the kind of men who pursue Megan when she makes her social debut in London. He is in pure agony when she persists in seeing the very men he has warned her against. He knows he can't have her, but is insanely jealous, and will allow no one else to touch her, even though he has already ruined her. He is a dead shot with a dueling pistol, and doesn't hesitate to defend her "honor" when she is threatened by one of the men he had forbidden her to associate with. One can sympathize with both Megan, who is desperate for love and for a family, and Justin, whose wife doesn't even live with him. He hates himself for what he did to Megan, but he simply can't stay away from his beautiful young girl, and is miserable away from her. Everything works out in the end (as is possible only in a novel). Great book!

An alluring story of unbridled passion, young love, betrayal, a real page-turner & what a turn on ! The huge gap in age reminded me a bit of Jane Feather's characters. So what if Justin is cruel & heartless on the outside ? He's only embracing his belief that if he can't have Megan, no one can either. Just my kind of hero, a tortured soul, he put his heart up on his sleeves & came roaring back when he couldn't have her anymore. He did what his desperate mind told him to do, the only way to bind Megan to him is by kidnapping her. A rape is too harsh a description (Mrs. giggles' review) for Justin's lovemaking to the reluctant-but-as-much-in-love Megan. I just wish there were more authors as magnificent as Ms. Robards out there. Plenty of heart-pounding battles of will & toes-curling sex with an ending that'll leave U sniffling for a box of kleenex !