Originally posted at Riffs and Reviews

Forbidden by the mother-son writing team of Syrie James and Ryan M. James is currently not part of a series – but I really hope it becomes one! In this angel/nephilim story we meet Claire Brennan, an honors student at the élite Emerson Academy (which, by the way, sounds like the type of school I would have been overjoyed to attend), and Alec MacKenzie, a young man looking to lead a normal life after years spent watching nephilim and eliminating them if necessary.

When Alec MacKenzie decides to go AWOL from his job of watching nephilim and determining if they have aligned themselves with the forces of good or evil, he relocates to Los Angeles and the Emerson Academy. There he meets Claire Brennan and her best friends Erica and Brian, who immediately take him under their wings and welcome him to their school. Not used to socializing with others, but desperate to be “normal” and have friends, Alec joins their little group and starts to experience everything he’s denied himself – pizza, homecoming…and love. At first unimpressed by Alec, Claire slowly finds herself falling for him. But Claire has a secret – she has started having visions when she touches objects. She is also having random visions of a woman who appears to be trying to warn her about something. Is she going crazy? Or is there a more heavenly answer?

Told in the third person narrative, Forbidden switches viewpoints between Claire and Alec so that we are able to get to know each of them better. I really liked both characters; Claire has a great deal of confidence which she has had to build through years of leading a nomadic existence with her mother, while Alec is socially impaired after his years of service. Claire made a great heroine. She is intelligent and hard-working, loves her friends and mother, and has a good self-image. I liked how she felt she could tell her best friends Erica and Brian about the visions she started having, and how supportive they were in return – especially when they provided practical solutions to the problem. In fact, Erica and Brian turn out to be Claire’s main support system since she is reluctant to tell her mother what is happening because she is afraid her mother will pack them up and move them again. Since the authors were careful to illuminate this fear in the very first chapter, Claire’s reluctance flows naturally with the story.

Alec won me over immediately as he struggled to fit in with Claire, Erica and Brian. Truly allowed to be himself for the first time, he has no clue how to interact with others without an ulterior motive and is painfully aware of his social ineptitude. Unfortunately, this does not help him make a good first impression with Claire, whom he is surprised to find himself very attracted to. To complicate matters, he can see that Claire is nursing a crush on the school’s golden boy, Neil Mitchum, and does not even notice Alec’s attraction to her. Knowing that a relationship with Claire is dangerous, Alec tries to see her only as a friend. But even their friendship is threatened when Alec is dragged back into the life he has tried so desperately to leave behind.

Secondary characters are just as interesting as our two primaries. Erica and Brian are “theater people,” so they are dramatic, articulate and smart. Neil at first appears to be just thrown in to create romantic tension, but is gradually fleshed-out a bit more and becomes part of Claire’s group as he starts to notice her. The only secondary character we actually meet from Alec’s side of the equation is his godfather Vincent who has been dispatched to find the rogue watcher. Manipulative and cunning, Vincent brings an edginess to the proceedings and has an agenda all his own that I didn’t see coming. Adding a hint of danger, as well, is a group of Goth teens known as the Fallen – nephilim who have sided with darker forces and who are out to convert other nephilim to their cause. Their leader, Celeste, looks like a force to be reckoned with, but is used lightly here; I would have liked to see a bit more of her because what I saw intrigued me. She may be on the side of darkness, but she is smart and patient – waiting for an opportunity to strike that is not given here.

Pacing is just right throughout. The romance builds quietly and naturally, since Claire first has to move beyond her crush on Neil and Alec has to overcome his awkwardness and fear of discovery. The revelation of why Claire is having visions is not dragged out, but what they all mean is more deliberately paced. The identity of the woman Claire sees in her visions turned out to be a nice surprise at the end of the story. Bits of action and tension are spaced carefully to keep everything flowing quickly, but nothing feels too fast or too slow. There are some loose ends left hanging at the end of this story, which seems to indicate the authors would like to continue with these characters; hopefully, they get the opportunity because I’d really like to know where Claire’s father is, why Alec’s godfather Vincent is after him, and what is going to happen to Alec and Claire in the future.

Syrie and Ryan James’ first YA paranormal collaboration is a very solid entry into the angel genre. Nicely paced, with interesting characters and just enough tweaks to make it feel fresh, Forbidden was entertaining and left me rushing to find a sequel. Although the option for a second book doesn’t seem to have been picked up yet, there is enough story left to tell that I’m hoping it will be. As a stand-alone novel, though, it is perfectly fine and any questions left open at the end can definitely be filled in by your own imagination. I think fans of the YA angel genre will thoroughly enjoy Forbidden.