Review: Forbidden (Jana Oliver)

Forbidden by Jana Oliver

Publisher: MacMillan Children's Books (2011)
Format: Paperback | 416 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Description (GR): "Riley's beginning to think being a demon trapper isn't all it's cracked up to be. Her dad's been stolen by a necromancer, her boyfriend's gone all weird and she's getting warm and fuzzy feelings for someone who's seriously bad news. It's tempting to give it all up and try to be normal, but that's not an option. Because the demons have plans for Riley. And they're not the only ones."

And... the plot thickens.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be disappointed with this second book or not. Even if I only gave 3 and half stars to the first book I actually think these are very original and cool stories for young adults. My main problem with "Forsaken" was the lack of background story in some parts, but the author resolved that in this second book. I liked "Forbidden" well enough too, I just wasn't convinced with Ori. I get why Ori and Simon are in Riley's life but honestly I just wanted her to get rid of them and move on (you readers of this series know who I'm talking about, eheh). None of them were very appealing, from the start.

In this second book, Riley Blackthorne has even more problems to contend with. After the attack on the Trappers' Guild suspicions are high, especially because her father appeared a few moments before they were ambushed... so now Riley has to deal with the other trappers thinking she betrayed them in addiction to being the first (and only) female trapper. Then there's the fact that a fiend is after her and Ori, the mysterious demon hunter is following her everywhere.

So in "Forbidden" Riley's life takes a turn for the worse. She was already looked at funny for being a female trapper and now people think she's in league with the fiends. As I said, the plot thickens.

I felt like the story moved very slowly (as in the first book). While a lot of stuff happens to Riley, nothing significant happens in terms of plot except in the final chapters (as with the first book). You get a sense that there is something more to the story but there is no real development, which is frustrating.

So why the four stars? Well, just because the story moves at a snail's pace it doesn't mean it wasn't an entertaining book. It was. Riley is a very likable character and I really liked the fact that we also have Beck's perspective on things (Beck is a great character). Oh and Peter is very cool too.

Plus, Oliver does give us a lot more information about her world in this book and I was pretty happy with that. Still think it's a weird set up for a young adult series (it reads like adult UF most of the time), but it's really good nonetheless.

So, basically, while the plot seems to be shaping up to be pretty interesting (if the author manages to gives all the proper background story it needs), the strong point of this series are its charismatic characters (including the Magpie, eheh) and the original and complex (for an YA book) world. I admit Ori spoiled it a bit for me (and the fact that there was almost but not quite insta-love in this book as well), but in general I liked this book.

Overall "Forbidden" was another engaging read. The characters seem to have depth and the story is engrossing. There are a few YA tropes at play (like all the yummy-licious guys after the heroine), but I think the story is very well-thought and the world building is top notch for YA books. The author really is trying to write more than a paranormal romance and I think that's positive. Perhaps it won't appeal to everyone since the romance is definitely secondary but for everyone who's looking for a nice urban fantasy story reminiscent of the Kate Daniels' series, The Demon Trappers books won't disappoint, I think.

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