Forbidden Love

By: Karen Robards

Narrated by: James Clamp

With one sweet, seductive kiss, Megan Kinkead is no longer the impudent child Justin Brant remembers. She was a girl when she left Maam’s Cross Court for school, but she has returned a woman, body and soul. Once Megan’s guardian, Justin, the sixth Earl of Weston, is soon her heart’s obsession. Desire smolders between them, and then he tells her he is married….

Set against the lush green hills of Ireland, Karen Robards’s classic tale will captivate your imagination and set your soul ablaze as a stubborn young beauty and her aristocratic paramour are caught between loyalty and Forbidden Love.

©1997 Karen Robards (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Good, after you get over the awkwardness.

It was kind of weird to get over the fact he used to be her gaurdian. I know the age difference isn't that big of a deal but it would have been better if he was just slightly younger. Ha! At least from a young girls perspective!

Good story, not favorite

Good story, but not my favorite of her stories. Performance was good, not stellar, sometimes read too quickly.

Different and yet interesting

I love Karen Robards and she went to places that I have not seen in any other romance. That made me a little uncertain. I wouldn't say it was good or bad just interesting. I am glad I listened to it. But it wouldn't be one I'd listen to again.

A Bit Too Much Angst

The story revolves around an affair between a 17 year old girl and her 36 year old guardian who has been unhappily married for 15 years. On the surface, this plot line could have provided the basis for a very good book(i.e. a similar story written by Anita Shreve in which the young girl is very precocious and mature beyond her years). Sadly, the girl in this novel is so immature (for example, she doesn't know what a penis is) and unrealistic that it is hard to believe the guardian could feel more for her than lust. The guardian himself has a bad temper, is very controlling, and is so self-centered he appears downright clueless sometimes. Most of the book is full of self-recrimination, angst, anger, and misunderstanding. The resolution toward the end leaves one feeling like "hell, why didn't the guardian do this a long time ago." The narrator is unpleasant and difficult to listen to. This is not a terrible book, but it is not one I would recommend.

My first Robards, but not my last.

Re: the audio. James Clamp did a good job of narrating. I don't normally like men narrating romance, because their female voices always make me think of a big strapping woman with 'man hands'. Of course, some females do an equally poor job with the males. YMMV, I'm sure/

The story was nice and 'forbidden', which was what I was looking for. As her ward, the H legally had all the power of a father over the heroine. Plus he was almost 20yrs older than she. Then there's the tiny little fact that he's already married.

I normally wouldn't read something with a already-married H, but I could swallow it here. The H hadn't had sex with his wife in years and that's how she wanted it. It would have been different had she been pining away for him, but she couldn't have cared less. As far as she was concerned he could have all the mistresses he wanted as long as he was discreet and left her alone. The only thing she wanted was his title/money.

I really did like the h. She wasn't perfect, but she was 17 and sheltered and she acted like it. Robards really made you feel her loneliness and pain at having had no one in her life who cared for her. I'm still not sure who she was though. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention. I took it that she was an orphaned 5yr old on the H's Irish estate when he took her on as a ward. There was some hint that he may have had something going on with her mother, but well after the h was born.

Meagan may have been reckless in how she pursued the romance with Justin, but she was desperate for love and attention AND she didn't know about the Countess. Yes, some have said that's hard to swallow and I agree it was unrealistic. However, within the context of the story, I have no doubt that Meagan did not know and that's what is important to me.

The first half was a little slow to me at times and I'd rate it a 3.5. It was your basic people falling in love with 'seemingly' no great conflict aside from the H being much older and feeling he should be a father figure not a lover. Of course, at that time a 17yr old and a 36yr old wasn't that unheard of. We do know that Justin has a wife and he knows more is at stake, but that's all conveniently pushed under the rug for the time being. The H does give the h a slight spanking (3 whacks) at one point, so that was kinda kinky (or completely DNW depending on your point of view).

But, oh, the last half was filled with crazy and that's what I came here for :) Justin goes nuts once Meagan tries to find a husband within the Ton. She still loves him, but has to convince him she wants to marry another because she's pregnant and knows Justin will not allow her to marry if he knows. She chooses the child over Justin and I respected her for that. She knew Justin would keep her and the child in luxury, but the child would still be a bastard and that was a huge thing at the time.

The last half was a 5 for me, thus the overall 4.5 I gave to the book. However, that's because I wanted a bodice ripper with a healthy dose of crazy and angst. The H is very unlikeable in much of the latter half. He rapes the h several times (to me it was more of a hardcore forced seduction). Little Meagan just couldn't control that traitorous 'inner goddess'. Even when he was being rough and calling her cruel names (slut, whore, bitch) she was still helplessly melting for him. I really wish she'd have at least pretended indifference once, dude needed a little more guilt piled onto his side of the ledger. *evil grin*

He also abducts her, holds her prisoner, and slaps her once - and I won't even get into that scene as it's a HUGE plot point.

This was my first Robards, but definitely won't be my last.