1.75- 2 stars. I'm shocked at how vastly different of a reading experience I had than so many others who loved this book. I read Forbidden based on a recommendation from a friend. She gave it such a sparkling endorsement and we are usually so aligned with our tastes in books that I couldn't wait to dive in. Unfortunately, I asked myself several times throughout the course of the book if I was reading the same book she did. I even double checked. 
 I will start by saying that this book is a bit taboo as the book is about consensual sibling incest. Forbidden is about a brother and sister who fall deeply in love as teenagers. Perhaps some may think I'm too liberal and too non-judgmental, but I really don't have a problem with this and I believe that love is love. Obviously there are exceptions based on coercion, abuse, and their ages and all of that, but those things did not occur here. The circumstances of their relationship were completely understandable. 
 The premise of this story was good. It was clear why Lochan and Maya were more like equals and parents than they were siblings. They raised their younger siblings completely. Their mother was an alcoholic who abandoned them for partying and relationships and was gone for days and weeks at a time. Ultimately the mom moved out entirely to live with her boyfriend and showed up just to give Lochan and Maya money so they could keep afloat enough to keep up appearances to avoid social services. 
 Lochan and Maya did everything a parent would do while still attending school themselves. They fed the kids, bathed them, helped with homework, taught them things, walked them to school, took them to the doctor, did the shopping, paid the bills, cleaned the house; you name it, they handled it as a partnership. Through all of this, they realized that their feelings for each other were very different than typical sibling love. They fell in love and it was beautiful and bright in their otherwise hard and dark life. 
 Outside of feeling like there was something missing and there were two separate but connected competing main storylines, the neglect/family issues and the incestuous relationship forming, there were two primary downfalls for me with this book. First, I was bored stiff. It was really hard to even get into the story but once I did, it was just not enough to really captivate me or even hold my attention thoroughly. The story was good but it fell flat. It was mediocre at best because the writing just didn't do it for me. This really did have the makings of a great story but try as I might, I couldn't get sucked in. I did skim at several parts because I knew I wouldn't get through it otherwise and I absolutely hate to DNF anything. Finally, the last nail in the coffin (no pun intended) was the ending. I fucking hated the ending. Loathed it. Absolutely despised it. I wish I could rant about it, but I don't want to give anything away. Seriously though, I'm still pissed. I unloaded with a string of f-bombs and curses that would make a sailor blush once I finished this book. When the blurb says there is no happy ending, they weren't kidding. After everything that Lochan and Maya went through to take care of their siblings and each other and hold their family together, THAT is the ending we get... No. Just. No.