Forbidden (Medieval Trilogy) (Medieval Trilogy)

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Forbidden (Medieval Trilogy) (Medieval Series #2)

by Elizabeth Lowell

3.89 · rating details · 814 ratings · 37 reviews

ForewarnedThroughout the Disputed Lands she is called "Amber the Untouched" - a chaste, golden-haired beauty fleeing the remarkable love that was prophesied at her birth?and the death that must inevitably follow.ForeseenHe comes to her in darkness, as had been foretold - a wounded warrior with no memory...a promised lover seared by passion's fire, irresistibly dr...more

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Published August 20th 2008 by Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged (first published 1993)

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Jan 18, 2012

Meredith rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: english-historical, dnf, romance

Oh, man. This one was rough. I'm pretty sure I have read and liked her stuff in the past but after this one it's hard to see why.

Admittedly, I don’t like medieval romances as a rule—I didn’t even like “For My Lady’s Heart” by Laura Kinsale, and people have puppies over that one. Everyone has the things they like in books and this time period isn't one of my favorites. So I was a bit disposed to dislike this from page 1.

Basic Premise: Amber the Untouched is cursed. When she...moreOh, man. This one was rough. I'm pretty sure I have read and liked her stuff in the past but after this one it's hard to see why.

Admittedly, I don’t like medieval romances as a rule—I didn’t even like “For My Lady’s Heart” by Laura Kinsale, and people have puppies over that one. Everyone has the things they like in books and this time period isn't one of my favorites. So I was a bit disposed to dislike this from page 1.

Basic Premise: Amber the Untouched is cursed. When she touches people, she is able to read their truthiness. She can’t touch anyone without pain, either, because people are mean and mean thoughts hurt.

Duncan is a man with no past—he’s found naked in a sacred grove, and he has no idea who he is or how he got there. So of course the first thing the lord of the manor does is bring this huge naked man to Amber so she can take care of him in her little isolated hut. Because, of course, she’s untouched. While this is clearly a major plot point, it is also a giant plot sinkhole that cannot be overcome.

Duncan turns out to be the only person Amber can touch without pain—in fact, it feels superfragilistically awesome.

I normally don’t feel the need to give a heroine a smackdown until I’ve read at least a quarter of the book –but not Amber. I was ready for smackdown on page one, when she “gasps” because naked Duncan is wearing an amber pendant. Just like her name. Amber. Oh my god, it must be fate. There’s just no getting around it, he’s special. And not in the way that most guys who run around a field naked are “special”.

But what really put me over the top on this one was the atrociously purple prose.

For example, when Duncan is trying to touch Amber’s "ehem"(which by the way, restores his memory): “I won’t force you,” Duncan said in a low voice, “but I shall die if I can’t at least touch you. Open your warm keep to me. I shall be a most gentle guest.”

Oh yeah, Rico Suave. Good Lord.

And then, later on, Amber reciprocates with supremely awful dialogue: “I can feel your hunger gathering like a storm….I can’t feel the sword emerging from it’s sheath” (clearly, she’s not standing close enough) “but I can sense you feeling your own maleness sweep through you…and I can feel my own body crying out to know the sweet stabbing of the sword within the sheath.”

Duncan replies: “No more…”

Oh, I totally agree. I gave up on page 258, feeling like if I went any further I was risking irreparable brain damage. (less)

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Nov 08, 2011

Shannon rated it

· review of another edition

Rating: Buy it...necessary addition to personal library.

First Line: He will come to you in shades of darkness.

Based on my first couple book selections it may seem as if all I read is fluff fiction, but I swear that is not the case. The deal is that when my life is particularly stressful, I turn to easy fiction as an escape. Considering I am attempting to pay off a little under $150,000 in law school loans through my job as a bartender while volunteering at the Public Def...moreRating: Buy it...necessary addition to personal library.

First Line: He will come to you in shades of darkness.

Based on my first couple book selections it may seem as if all I read is fluff fiction, but I swear that is not the case. The deal is that when my life is particularly stressful, I turn to easy fiction as an escape. Considering I am attempting to pay off a little under $150,000 in law school loans through my job as a bartender while volunteering at the Public Defender's office and taking the occasional personal client, I would say characterizing my life as stressful would be an understatement. In addition, I read these types of books extremely quickly. Finally, since I am attempting to stay true to the spirit of my blog and review the books in the order in which I am reading them, I feel it would be disingenuous to throw in the weightier material I have tackled recently without first reviewing the mindlessly entertaining novels that came before it. This is not to say that I am embarrassed of my penchant for romance novels. At least not completely embarrassed, since I am reviewing them and not hiding them from the blog in the same way that I do on my bookshelf. I do seem to feel the need to defend my reading of the genre though, more so than I would if I were reviewing War and Peace. For me, reading, among other things, is an escape. I love getting lost in another world. One completely dissimilar to my own. I guess that is why I prefer historical or science fiction over the modern variety.

At any rate, Forbidden can definitely be characterized as an escape to another world. I gave the book the "buy it" rating despite teetering between that and the lower "rent it" option, because I actually did buy it at one time and I did keep it when I pared down my collection of books prior to my last move. I consider Forbidden a more engaging story than Untamed despite it being the second book in the trilogy written by Elizabeth Lowell. Forbidden is the story of Amber, the untouched, a woman with the uncanny ability of determining the truth or falsity of someones words through simple touch. Unfortunately, this gift is equal amounts curse in that the touch causes feelings of discomfort or even intense pain in relation to the emotional state of the person she is touching. A prophesy attends Amber's birth stating that a man will come to her "in shades of darkness" and that this encounter will result in love or death. In order to avoid the darker side of that equation, it is suggested that she remain untouched. Unfortunately, the man that comes to her in shades of darkness is an extremely attractive...did I mention naked?...warrior who has lost all memory of his former life. He is found in a place considered sacred by the Learned, which is the mystical sect Amber is a member of, and is wearing an Amber pendant. The Lord of the holding where Amber resides brings the man to Amber in hopes that she will be able to determine his identity and the present state of his loyalties. The Lord, Erik, needs strong knights to help him defend his land from the encroachment of Dominic Le Sabre. Whispers have reached Erik's ears that Le Sabre has deeded his lands to Duncan of Maxwell, a man who swore fealty to Le Sabre at the point of a sword. (For more on the back story between Duncan and Dominic refer to Untamed.)
Despite the political undertones, all Amber can think about when she first touches the unconscious man is that she feels only an intense pleasure at the contact. When the man awakens with no memory of his past, the prophesy seems to be coming true. Amber and the man, who she names Duncan, are immediately drawn to each other. Duncan mistakes the pleasure Amber exhibits at his simplest touch as an example of her passionate nature and assumes she is not so "untouched" as she would have everyone believe. Though he is at first frustrated with Duncan's lack of memory, Erik eventually sees the potential benefit to him if he is able to induce Duncan to swear fealty to him before determining if his loyalties lie elsewhere. Erik, who serves as Amber's protector, of sorts, gleans a promise from Duncan that he will marry Amber, memory or no, if he takes her virginity. Believing Amber's virginity is a thing of the past, Duncan accepts these terms. Of course, at this point in the story Erik is reasonably sure that Amber's chosen name for the man with no memory is his true name as well. Amber has come to a similar conclusion concerning Duncan's identity, though she keeps the secret from Duncan in hopes that the love that is developing between them will be strong enough to overcome the anger he will eventually feel when he finds out he is a pawn in Erik's political game. I am sure you can see where this is going. Anger, rejection, a few intense scenes followed by love and reconciliation between Amber and the true Duncan. The story takes a few unexpected twists towards the end, that I will not ruin for the eventual reader, but does finish up in the land of happily ever after.
I did still enjoy this book, despite the fact that I have read it multiple times in the past. Much like Untamed, I found some of the seduction scenes to be too long and drawn out, but I did enjoy the sensual nature of the story as a whole. I remember being intrigued, the first time I read it, by the idea of "seeing" someone through touch. If you were to take the pain or discomfort out of the equation, it would be interesting to be able to experience other people in that way. To see their past and sense their personality and the thoughts they are not actually expressing. The story unravels at a quick pace and the supporting characters are well drawn and intriguing all on their own. Which is good thing since there is a third book that continues the story. I would recommend Forbidden if you are seeking a story with equal parts mysticism, passion and political intrigue.
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Sep 28, 2010

Jane Stewart rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-historical-romance

The story drags too much. Several times I found myself speed reading to get through it faster.

I did not care for the plot which was about a man with amnesia, who falls in love, hates her after he regains his memory, but returns to her in the end. Maybe this plot would be ok if done by another author, but it was not enjoyable the way it was done here. I also found the ending too abrupt. I would have preferred knowing what their life was like after they got together and how the all...more

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Feb 11, 2011

Bronwyn rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 19, 2011

Mary Balconi rated it

· review of another edition

I love books of this time error and I stumbled onto her 1st book of this series through the digital libary. Glad I read/listened to them and hope and can get the 3rd. She does a great job pulling together the plot, descriptions are so alive with color and feeling you feel like you are right there with the characters. When you have to stop the book, you only wish when coming out of that world that you were right back in it. Its a great old world romantic story/series.

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Dec 14, 2009

Mrs.soule rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal

Forbidden was a pleasant surprise – I expected it to be a fluffy historical romance which I usually hate, but it was surprisingly heart-wrenching in dealing with themes of betrayal and hope. The fighting was intense and the last several chapters seriously suspenseful. Only three stars because the language was a bit stilted at times and they seemed to be falling out of their clothes in open fields an awful lot considering the time period was not the 1970s. This is the middle book of a trilogy so ...more

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May 03, 2011

Kathie (katmom) rated it

· review of another edition

I LOVED this! THIS is what love scenes should be...wowza...

And there's ROMANCE and MYSTERY and just a touch of HEART FAIL.

I totally wanted to smack "Duncan"...the boy was just too honorable for his own amnesiac self...GROWL!

The only "hole" in the story was how to deal with the unwanted bride...I had THAT figured out long before THEY did...lol

The UST here was amazing and then it was RESOLVED...and again I say: WHOA...seriously....more

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Aug 10, 2010

Sara rated it

· review of another edition

I'm thinking if I had read this instead of listening to it I would have enjoyed it even more. I found it a BIT repetitive only in it's phrasings and sayings, and that got a bit annoying. I was going to give this one a 3 star rating about half way through, but I found myself sucked into the story 3/4 of the way, and my ipod hooked to my arm while I did chores so I could finish it. :-)

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May 09, 2010

Kim rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: romance

Once again, Elizabeth Lowell didn't disappoint. I hadn't read any of her historical romance stories before. I like them, although not as much as her jewel (modern day) ones. This one has a bit of the mystical in it (I guess that's what to call it). It wasn't too much for me, but might be a turn off to some.
Good characters and nice romance.

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Apr 04, 2010

Melina rated it

· review of another edition

One of the worst books I've ever read. I understand that many romance novels will be trite and full of all the countless genre cliches, but this one was extremely ridiculous. The ending also left me angry and not at all filled with lovely thoughts of a a great, true love story. It was just poo poo all around.

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Nov 24, 2010

F. rated it

· review of another edition

Like the rest of this series, this book is another one of those romances in which the hero is astonishingly unlikable and the heroine gives women a bad name. I wouldn't recommend reading of the books from this series.

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Jan 19, 2011

Ruth rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: romance-historical, romance-paranormal

I Really liked the plot line (I keep trying to remember this was first pub in 1983), but..... the euphemisms used in the sex scenes almost had me ROTFL.

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Jan 30, 2012

Lady of the Lake rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: medieval-romance, medieval-fiction, ficton, historical-romance

This is more of a 3.5* read ....I liked the first one a little better... Will move on to the third in the series tho... Nice easy reading for stress filled days!

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Dec 28, 2008

Amy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: cheesy-romances

her modern book was good, but this goes to show: if you don't 'know' the historical period you're setting your romance in, DON'T WRITE IT.

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Feb 08, 2012

Jen rated it

· review of another edition

Points deducted for excessively repetitious use of "sword" and "sheath" not in the context of discussions of fighting/weaponry.

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Feb 14, 2010

Maureen rated it

· review of another edition

This is the second book of EL Medeivel Triology,the first being "Untamed" and the third "Enchanted".I wont go into plotdetails s it has already been done brilliantly.
Although I didnt like it as much as Untamed , it is still outstanding.

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Jan 12, 2010

Mary rated it

· review of another edition

I liked this. I didn't realize it was a sequel to Untamed until I was half-way through the book. I read Untamed years ago and then remembered the bells on Meg and Dominic training her like a falcon. This was a good book. I don't know how factual it was. But hey it's a medieval romance not a historical epic intended to educate.

I did kind of feel like the hero needed to redeem himself a bit more. I would not have been so forgiving. He was all too willing to give her up for the othe...more

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Jul 20, 2010

Valerie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: romance, fantasty-supernatural

It was to far into the world of fantasy for me. I didn't even finish it.

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Jul 19, 2011

Alison rated it

· review of another edition

Another great romance novel by Lowell. I really liked this series.

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Jun 22, 2011

Christine Landers rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: cheesy-romance, 2011

The weakest of Lowell's Medieval series. But still entertaining.

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Nov 18, 2011

Chris Bolin rated it

· review of another edition

I have only one word for this book...Beautiful. Nuff said.

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Mar 09, 2009

Lindsay rated it

· review of another edition

I didn't like this one as much as I liked the first. The characters call each other "Precious Amber" and "Dark Warrior" FAR too likely for my taste, and there is a limit for even me on the repression of eye rolls.

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Apr 02, 2010

Brainorgan added it · review of another edition

Forbidden by Elizabeth Lowell (1993)

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Oct 11, 2009

Carol rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: medieval

Amber the Untouched and Duncan the Scots Hammer

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Jan 26, 2008

penelopewanders rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

This was lent to me by Anna, and it was a great read. I had read, traded and pretty much forgotten Untamed, which I also enjoyed. I appreciated the magic element in this tale, and thought the characters were very credible. In a way I almost wished this wasn't a classic romance with the compulsory happy end - Duncan annoyed me so much I felt he didn't deserve Amber at the end.. but that would be a different genre. I still have the third in the series on my TBR, thanks to Anna... will save that tr...more

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Sep 22, 2010

C.J. England rated it

· review of another edition

My favorite series of hers.

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Mar 15, 2010

Trudy rated it

· review of another edition

Loved this book.

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Jan 19, 2011

Jessica Trapp added it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading more from Elizabeth Lowell.

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Jul 25, 2011

Hanife rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, alpha-male-character, e-books, historical-romance, medieval, er-romance, marriage, reading-english, recommendations-from-my-friends, favorite-author

I like it but first story in the series much better than this.

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Sep 05, 2007

Kimberly rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: myalltimefavorites, greatseries, historicalromance

Never to love or be touched without knowing the persons evrey thought. Never embracing anyone without their touch harming you. Until a strager comes from out of nowhere. His thoughts do not hinder you. His love embraces you comforts you.. to the point where you would give your soul to keep that one moment. To surrender all, at the cost of losing your life. That is what this book is about. I must admit that i cried during this book, and reread it often.

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About Elizabeth Lowell

In 1982, Ann Maxwell began publishing romances as Elizabeth Lowell. Under that name she has received numerous professional awards in the romance field, including a Lifetime Achievement award from the Romance Writers of America (1994). Since July of 1992, she has had 30 novels on the New York Times list. Her most recent book is BLUE SMOKE AND MURDER.

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Forbidden (Medieval Trilogy) (Medieval Series #2)

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