Forbidden audiobook

His invitation to dinner had been surprising and, yes, insulting, if she were being truthful. Did he believe she thought so little of herself that she'd keep time with a man engaged to be married? She supposed with his looks and money some women might have jumped at the chance to take him up on the offer, but she was not one of them. Did he often dally with women outside his race? Was he one of those men who slaked their lust with women of color but treated their own women like fragile regal queens? Was that why he proposed what he had? Eddy doubted she'd ever get answers to the questions, but decided she was okay with the not knowing. Her new life didn't include him anyway.Actually this book was great. Jenkins sets her black historical romance novel in the Old West. I love the Old West. The book is strong - she weaves an excellent plot and the romance isn't weak, either.Eddy (I was never sure whether to pronounce this in my head as ee-dee or eh-dee) is making her way to California to open her own restaurant. On the way she meets a lot of people, including a fucking piece of shit who poses as a Catholic priest who takes all her money, orders her to have sex with him, and when she refuses he strands her in the middle of the desert.That's how Rhine finds her, near-dead. He and his business partner, Jim, take her back home to their rooms above the saloon so she can recover.Rhine is a rich, politically active saloon-owner with eyes on running for office. Everyone thinks he's white, and he's been passing since after the Civil War. But he really was born a slave, a product of rape between the plantation owner and his slave mother. As a result, he has both black and white siblings.Despite the strong attraction between Eddy and Rhine, she knows they can never be together because he is a white man. (Or at least everyone thinks he is.) Not to mention, he's engaged to be married to a white, rich woman. Hence the title: FORBIDDEN.Let's break this down.PROS: -Old West setting. Exquisite. I don't know about you, but I love fantasizing about this time period. The reality was awful, I wouldn't want to live there - but the idea of cowboys, saloons, whorehouses, shootouts, sheriffs, horses, Native Americans, and train robberies is very exciting to me. Just a very exciting setting, especially for a romance. - History. I learned a lot from this book. Jenkins cites her sources in the back. Prepare to be educated - but not in an annoying or preachy way. I really enjoyed this. The time is 1870. Grant is president. - Black and white tension. The tension between the relatively newly freed black people and the white people who don't know how to deal with this new reality makes the book really pop. The looming threat of everything Rhine would lose if he were exposed as a black man gives everything a more exciting edge and makes Eddy and Rhine sneaking around to meet in secret necessary. I also like how Jenkins stresses and illustrates how passing for white allows Rhine to do so much good for the black community. He gives loans, he mortgages property, he uses his saloon to host black celebrations (weddings, etc.) when there was no other possible way for people to get these things. He serves on councils and is active in politics and fights hard for civil rights and keeping schools desegregated. As a black man he'd never be able to do these things.The idea of someone passing as a different race is fraught with all sorts of dangers, but I think Jenkins did a good job of showing both the pros and cons of our hero passing for white. - The Heroine. I really like Eddy. She is a fighter. I like how she fights everyone. She refuses to allow the scumbag any sexual liberties and instead takes a chance she will die in the desert. When found by Rhine and scooped up, she's yelling and fighting him even though she's nearly unconscious and close to death. We know how hard she's been working all her life."I've worked six days a week since I was twelve years old, and I've never been bedridden in my life. This lying around is hard for me." she informs Rhine. When asked about her hobbies, she"Do you have a hobby or a favorite pastime?""Yes. Sleeping," she said with amusement."Sleeping?""I worked fourteen-hour days. I'd go home, grab a bite to eat, and go straight to bed because I had to get up before sunrise and do it all over again. There wasn't time for pastimes or amusements."This is my kind of woman. I really feel her when she says, She thought back on how achingly weary she'd been day after day during that first year and how scary life had been. Her hands had cracked and bled from all the lye, and her knees had fared no better from being on them constantly, but her skin had toughened up and so had she."It must have been hard.""It was. In many ways it still is, but if I don't work, I don't eat. It's pretty simple if you think about it."WORK OR DIE. Hmmmm, such reality. I love it and I love it even more because I know that wealthy Rhine is going to ease her burden and even though she will keep working and earning money (something very important to her), she will be able to relax finally and enjoy herself a little. The reader will be excited and looking forward to this, all the sweeter because Eddy has had such a hard life.She always fights. She stands up to men who say rude things to her. She's honest about her romantic interests and doesn't bother lying to men. At one point she brains a man with a whisky bottle (he deserved it) and she never backs down from anything."Good morning, Eddy."She didn't look up. "Good morning."He came over to the table. "You know, it's a shame your skin is so dark. You're well-spoken, clean, mannerly. You'd make someone a perfect wife, but - "She did look up then. "Do you always insult women with knives in their hands, Mr. Brown?"Upon viewing the gleaming blade, his eyes widened. "Uh, um..."She pointed said knife at the doorway. "Leave.""I wasn't trying to insult you. I was just stating fact.""Go!"He bid a hasty retreat.Wondering where he'd been when the Good Lord began handing out brains, she went back to what she'd been doing.Even the hero - especially the hero - doesn't escape her straight talk.As she moved on to the second cake, she saw him reach into his coat and extract some money. She froze. "And that is for?""I convinced [spoilers removed] and he gave me all he had."She relaxed. "Oh.""What's wrong?"She shook her head. "Nothing. Thank you.""Did you think I was trying to buy your services?"She told the truth. "Yes.""You're not a whore, Eddy.""I know that but I wasn't sure you did."He sat back. "Damn woman."She shrugged. "Like you said: hard nut to crack. I've no experience with a man like you, Rhine, or truthfully, any man." She looked away. She was a novice at this and he needed to know that."Will you at least give me a chance to prove myself?""To what end? A few days ago you were [spoilers removed], and now you want me to believe you're genuinely interested in me as something other than a dalliance."This is at 59%! This book is definitely a slow burn. They don't have their first kiss until 60%.CONS: - I think this could have used both a little more sex and a little more sexual tension. Even if Jenkins didn't want to put more sex in here, I still think she could have amped up the sexual tension a bit. This could have been SUCH a sexually charged book in about 80 ways, but it just wasn't. She didn't milk it for all it was worth, and I personally think she should have. I would say mild sexual tension instead of the 'intense' tension I wanted. There WAS sexual tension - it wasn't completely absent, but I feel like she could have cranked it up a few notches. - The female villain in this novel was a little hard to believe. Jenkins has her (view spoiler)[completely flip out (hide spoiler)] by the end of the book. I was like o.O I just didn't see that as keeping with her character, but I guess Jenkins wanted the book to end very dramatically. I wasn't buying it.How was the sex, Carmen?I have a lot to say about this. Let's break it down.1.) I liked "I'm going to carry you in my arms" and "I am not going to hurt you, don't worry."2.) I liked the little romantic scenes and dialogues between them."That's the first time you've ever used my given name."Looking up into his pleased and oh so wickedly handsome face, she fumbled for a reply, "I needed your attention.""You have it."Oooh. :)3.) Then we have a little bit of a mixed bag: The reason Eddy capitulates to having dinner with Rhine is because she is afraid if she doesn't seize this chance, she might die a virgin and unloved.I could buy this. She does have a lot of suitors, as a very attractive woman who works with the public (cooking for a boardinghouse), but many of the men she is not attracted to, and those she are have problems - like forbidding her to work if she married them etc.However, when she says this to RhineIf he still wanted to have dinner with her, she would. As she'd told Sylvie, she hoped it would be the cure she needed to move on with her future, but more importantly, looking down the road of her life, she saw no opportunities for her to experience what it meant to be with a man who desired her.Believable.Knowing she'd probably chop him up and season him like the chicken she was still working on, he asked anyway. "Have dinner with me.""Fine."He almost fell off the chair. "You're saying yes?""Yes.""Why?""Because I want to know what it means to be desired."Eyeing her wondrously he paused. "Say that again.""You heard me the first time. I want to know what it means to be desired."He was admittedly speechless. Still filled with wonder, he scanned her slowly. The thought of fulfilling her wish made his groin tighten with appreciative anticipation.She shot him a sly smile. "Am I too bold?""No. Not at all." Still studying her, he crossed his arms to keep himself seated because he wanted to pick her up, carry her home, and take his time showing her just what being desired meant."You look pleased," she said."I'm more than pleased."My problem isn't with this, it's that afterwards the two of them often refer to what they are doing sexually together as "tutoring" "lessons" and "learning" which is utterly disgusting to me. I hate this teacher/student shit in bed. I HATE IT. I don't care if she is a virgin and he's... not a virgin. I feel like this kind of talk is humiliating. If this was a kink it would be one thing (one thing I would hate, but still understandable) but in a relatively vanilla relationship it is a huge turn-off for me. Yuck.4.) I like that he asks her permission before touching her vulva. This is considerate and shows good manners and I like that he's giving her a choice instead of just doing stuff to her without seeking her permission.5.) I like the fact that he fingers her to orgasm a lot. He gets her alone, fingers her to orgasm, and then just takes her home. He doesn't demand any kind of sexual favors in return, and he's 'saving' oral sex and p-in-v sex for (view spoiler)[when they get married. (hide spoiler)] I found this really sweet and so nice to do for her. What a mensch.6.) He has some nutty ideas about sex, though."I probably don't have time to treat you to an orgasm, but then again you were quite quick last night.""Is that a bad thing?" she asked, her face serious."No darlin'. Not at all. In fact it was beautiful. You'll have more stamina the more we play."I have some serious problems with this. One, there's nothing wrong with a woman being able to cum quickly. It's a blessing. Two, there's absolutely no reason for her to build up her stamina. Why on EARTH would she want to do such a thing? Three, it's false that the more they make love, the more difficult it will be to bring her to orgasm. THE END. Is Rhine just unaware women are capable of multiple orgasms?!!??!!?!? Inquiring minds want to know.7.) "Are you ready to come?" he asked in a voice as dark and hot as the night.Dear Heroes, Please stop talking during sex. PLEASE. You don't have anything to say that is going to add here! It's very rare a book has dirty talk that pleases me. In most cases, I just want everyone to shut the fuck up, but heroes are usually the main culprits. Jeez Louise. JUST MAKE LOVE TO HER. Stop saying stupid shit while she's trying to enjoy herself. FFS.Love, Carmen.8.) "I've never sat on a man's lap before. Can you feel me shaking?""I can, so just relax. We have all evening."OKAY, but isn't he feeling nervous about this seduction? Uncertain? Unsure? Worried he's doing the wrong thing, pushing too hard, going too fast?Why are women the only ones nervous about sex in romance novels?I know if I was seducing a virgin, especially as one as easy to hurt and damage as this one, I'd be fucking nervous.I hope this isn't one-sided. It would be refreshing if a romance author admitted a hero was a little shaken and nervous about what he and the heroine were going to do in bed, and perhaps wondering if it would go well and if he'd be able to please her. This would be interesting and also humanizing for the hero. Right now heroes are always written as if they are gods, with no doubts or fears about their sexual prowess and their ability to give the heroine multiple orgasms the first time, and every time.Tl;dr - I'm wavering between a 4 and a 5 on this one. It was really good. It exceeded my expectations. I would definitely recommend it. However, I like my books a little sexier. This just wasn't meeting my sexual requirements. YMMV. I know a lot of people like less sex in their romance than I do, this might suit.A great historical romance, and a unique one as far as black romance goes, as well. High marks.Categories: Historical Romance, Slow Burn Romance, Black Romance, Antebellum/Civil War/Reconstruction Romance, Cowboy/Western Romance.

4.25 starsForbidden was my first book by Beverly Jenkins, but it won’t be my last. I adored this and I can’t wait to read more by this author! Eddy and Rhine’s story takes place a few years after the Civil War. Eddy is traveling to California for a new life, but due to some issues along the way, she has to stop for a while in Nevada. There, she meets Rhine. Rhine is influential in town, and though he was born to a slave, he is white passing. Rhine is enamored with Eddy and wants to be with her, but as a ‘white man’ in the town, he can’t. He has to make the choice to let the town know of his true heritage and be with her or to live the comfortable life he’s accustom to. I know I’m late to the historical romance genre, but I’m so happy I’ve been adding more into my reading. I’m enjoying them so much more than I thought I would. Audio book source: Hoopla (library borrow)Story Rating: 4.25 starsNarrator: Kim Staunton Narration Rating: 3.5 starsGenre: Historical Romance Length: 9 hours and 27 minutes

This was my first book by Beverly Jenkins and it was all I had hoped for and more! It was an awesome story, not just because of the love, but because of historical accuracy, and intentional tactfulness in which the author dealt with the time period's racial tension. I loved that world building and carefully developed, yet complex characters she gave us here.Rhine Fontaine was a son a slave master and a slave who found out around 8 yrs old that he was light enough to pass as white. So after he finished his tour in the Civil war, he moved away from his hometown and began to "pass" as white man. He built a successful life and only a couple of people knew his secret. One day, he rescued a woman who had passed out from heat and exhaustion, and thus began his introduction to Miss Eddy Carmichael.Eddy was on her way to California to build a life as a cook. Eddy was a strong and hard working woman who wanted more out of her life and she had no qualms about working towards it. On her journey to California, she was robbed of all her money and left out in the heat to die. When Rhine and his business partner rescued her, Eddy was given an opportunity to stay in town and make a little money to aid her in her dream of opening her own restaurant in California.The only problem was how she was going to fight her attraction to the green eyed white man who was always being so kind and attentive to her; a dangerous thing in these times where blacks and whites were not accepted as equals enough to be together. Eddy wasn't the only one with the dilemma; Rhine was engaged to woman from a powerful political family whom he needed to continue to push his agenda of gaining equality for the recently freed black people. He couldn't be with Eddy if he was "white" and he couldn't continue as a champion his initiatives as a Representative if he was known to be "black". What path will Rhine choose to follow?I loved this story. This time period the 1870's can be very emotional for me as I find the topics painful. I always assumed that once black people passed, their lives were carefree and they had achieved that which everyone so desperately yearns for: equality, respect and a fairer opportunity for social mobility. I found that so selfish but then again, I couldn't begrudge anyone their opportunity to be treated with dignity that they already deserved as a human being. But for the first time, the author enlightened me to the obstacles and sacrifices people who Passed made. I had never considered that before so it was interesting seeing Rhine's inner turmoil. He was a kind and compassionate person, and was working the best way he knew to change the system from the inside. What a battle it was to do so, and maintain his secret. Now Eddy made him want a different life.Eddy was such a fascinating character. She had inner strength and a tough outer shell. She had been hurt and taken advantage of before, so Rhine had to work hard to gain her trust and ultimately her admiration.The pace of the story was just right. I never felt bored, nor was I filled with angst. I loved how the love grew and wasn't one of those insta-love stories. Both characters had to let down their armor to experience this and they did! I was just looking forward to the choices the characters had to make and to see how those choices impacted the dreams that Eddy and Rhine had for themselves as individuals. The writing was just smooth as I could picture the story as a movie. This book felt so real and just resonated within me as I reflected on it. This is what I love in HRs, a history lesson and a great love story. I cannot believe this is my first book this author, but it certainly won't be my last.

4.5 stars! Why don’t more books like this exist???Taking place about five years after the Civil War, Forbidden is the story of Eddy Carmichael, a young black woman determined to move to California so she can open her own restaurant. On her way there, she is robbed and left for dead in the desert, where Rhine Fontaine rescues her and saves her life. What most people don’t know, is Rhine has been passing as white for years. He’s become a successful businessman and admired in his community. The attraction between the two of them is obvious, but is either of them willing to take a risk?First off, I’m going to throw this out there, I love everything in the book except the romance. I felt that part was a wee bit lackluster, but I loved everything else. I am a huge westward expansion fan in terms of history, and I just completely ate up this book. One thing I recently heard discussed in a key note speech was the damage of the “single story” where when one side of history is repeatedly told, it erases the history and stories of other. There were people and communities of color very much involved in westward expansion, and yet we never hear about them. And that’s what made this book so special to me, it’s a story we never really get to see. I loved all the little historical details that Jenkins wove into the story, it was seamless. While I didn’t love the romance, I did love Eddy and Rhine and I thought they were great together. I just felt the development of their relationship was extremely slow and then extremely rushed, and I wish it had been developed more. Jenkin’s strength in this book is in her character development. I love when I read a book and all the characters feel so tangible and real, and Jenkins nails it with this one. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series, and more books by Jenkins in general.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.This is the first book by Beverly Jenkins that I have read and I really enjoyed it. I do have to admit that I completely judged this book by its cover. I don't think I even read the summary until after I finished the book (I do that quite a lot actually). I assumed based on the cover that this was going to be an interracial historical romance but the story ended up being a bit different than that. The difference was probably even more interesting. This was a book that I ended up reading in less than a day simply because I didn't want to put it down.Eddy is determined to move to California and open a restaurant. She ends up in Virginia City, Nevada after almost losing her life in the Nevada desert. We learn very early in the book that Eddy is tough and resourceful. She doesn't give up even when things looks impossible. Rhine is the man that rescued Eddy when she was close to death in the desert. He is a prominent citizen in Virginia City and owns a successful business in the town. His life depends on his ability to pass himself as a white man.Eddy and Rhine are drawn to each other from the very beginning. Eddy has no plans to act on those impulses for a couple of rather important reasons. Eddy's presence in the town really makes Rhine consider some of the choices that he has made in his life and he make a few changes. I liked the chemistry between this pair and thought that they really proved how much they cared about each other through their actions.This book has a lot of excitement in it in addition to the romance. Virginia City was a wonderful little town filled with wonderful characters. Each town person in the story had their own charm and really added something to the book. It seemed like something was always happening in this town and Eddy and Rhine kept themselves pretty busy both in the town and with each other.I would recommend this book to fans of historical romance. The characters were fantastic and the plot was well executed. I can't wait to start the next book this series!I won a copy of this book from Addicted to Romance. Initial ThoughtsThis was my first Beverly Jenkins read and I really enjoyed it. Eddy and Rhine were great characters and I really wanted to see everything work out for them. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Primer libro que leo de Beverly Jenkins, gracias la #RetoRita2, y no puedo estar más contenta. Quizás falte algo más de romance y sexo entre Eddie y Shine (aunque el aguante y los dedos mágicos de este hombre sean tela marinera), pero el contexto histórico me ha parecido interesantísimo y muy cuidado, pues trata de un periodo de tiempo y una parte de la población estadounidense sobre la que he leído más bien poco. No en vano transcurre tras la guerra de Secesión y tiene como protagonistas a una mujer de color y un hombre mulato, que se hace pasar por blanco.

I’ve been trying to track down more romance novels with people of color as main characters, and it’s been dishearteningly difficult, especially in my conservative, rural community. Although I suppose I can’t blame my community when I’ve got the whole of the Internet at my disposal, and it’s not like

Everytime I read this, I like it even more💜This was surprisingly good. I loved the history in it.

So, for the fans of B. Jenkins earlier works, this is a character we've met before (his sister, Sable is the heroine from Through the Storm, I believe--1998). This story is a taboo subject Jenkins has yet to tackle: Passing. I'm not sure how she managed to make a story about passing romantic, engaging, and fun but, yeah...she did it. IMO, this isn't one of her "get swept away with these characters for a couple of hours" type of books. But it is, as always, a "get schooled for a couple of hours and not even realize it" book. And I absolutely love that about her. I'm happy this book finds us out west again with a backdrop of a developing city in Nevada. And as far-fetched as the story is (even for this genre), it was still quite an enjoyable read.

I loved Rebel, wasn’t sold on Sabel’s book but when I saw the plot of Rhine’s book, I was excited to read it. As always with this author, the introduction was captivating. Eddy's hardworking nature was really appealing and instantly made me prefer her to Valinda who received lots of favors without really earning them.One thing I want to mention though after reading 3 books is, Sally Ann was painted like a villain. I understand her racism was definitely villainous but her hatred of Rhine’s mother definitely should be understood. Her husband was cheating with the woman and giving her children at the same time he was impregnating her. They both had boys first within weeks of each other and then girls shortly after, by the same man. Only a saintly woman would not be jealous so I didn’t like seeing them vilify her for that particular fact.I think this storyline was very peculiar and interesting. Rhine’s reason for choosing to be white and the inner struggles that came with it. It was a unique take.Another thing I think I’ve come to really like about this author is how homey her books are. They’re filled more with history and growing relationships than suspense or drama. It has won me over, truly.