Review: Forbidden Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 21, 2014
“Temptation had come to visit, and her steely determination would likely destroy us both.”From all the teasers and snippets I had read I couldn't wait to get my hands on Veiled Innocence, student/teacher romances are becoming my guilty pleasure. It's not that I condone the situation, far from it, but there is something intriguing about this taboo subject.The prologue grabbed my attention immediately flashing back to a tragic event that still currently haunted Addison, the main character. Addison was starting her senior year at school; she set herself up for the usual mundane task of school that included rumours and whispers of her past and her obsessive quirks and tendencies that stemmed from it. That is until she comes face to face with her newest history teacher Mr. McKendrick. Addison is obsessed by him almost immediately and the fact that he is her teacher and should be off limits does not phase her at all. She sets her sights on him and makes her attraction known,Addison was in no way a shy and retiring student, she wasn’t coerced or groomed and she done most of the relentless pursuing. I liked that Addison was a strong character, she was still dealing with her past and had a lot of self-blame and hatred to overcome. This showed a vulnerable side to her. For some reason she seen something in Mr. McKendrick and didn’t stop until she got what she wanted.Mr. McKendrick aka Grayson had his work cut out with Addison. He returned home for family reasons but never did he think for a minute that Addison would take him on a dangerous journey of lust, passion and love. For being a teacher in charge of Addison’s welfare, he didn’t put up much of a fight and it wasn’t long before his desire took over.When I read student/teacher romances, I try to read them objectively but there always seems to be a barrier that stops me connecting with the male characters. I never see them as book boyfriend material and Grayson was no exception. I did feel for him and what he was going through with his dad but there was always a voice at the back of my mind saying he should be the strong one putting a stop to it. Of course, it wouldn’t be half as fun if it wasn’t forbidden.The book alternates between past and present and I really liked the format. From the present chapters it is obvious something big happened so throughout the book we are slowly tortured with the past chapters as the events are pieced together. Having the story told this way held my interest throughout the book. The suspense continued to build and I had an overwhelming urge to skip to the end to find out what happened between the Addison and Grayson. However, I held strong and made it through the book in once piece. The delayed gratification was totally worth it.It took me a while to get into the writing, the story was told from both Addison and Grayson’s point of view but it flipped very quickly without labels so I had to re-read a few paragraphs at the start but I quickly got used to it and appreciated it being told from both sides. I liked Addison and Grayson separately but I didn’t feel their deep connection. Don’t get me wrong, the scenes they shared were hot but there weren’t many scenes between them that displayed it was more than an illicit affair. I think if I were tied to them emotionally, it would have had a bigger impact on me.The other main character in the story was Doc; he was a real friend to Addison and didn’t once judge her. He was there to help her through the darkest times. The last scene they shared was so heart warming and I really liked his character and the role he played in the story.This is my second book by Ella Frank and I really enjoyed the different themes of love and history that were intricately woven throughout. The history of Cupid and Psyche and the symbolism behind it, I felt added another dimension to the story and was very fitting indeed.I really enjoyed Veiled Innocence, it was very well written and my interest was held throughout. I was expecting a little bit more towards the end, for being a student/teacher book I thought something more dramatic would have occurred but it seemed to be more character driven rather than focusing on the plot and it seemed to work for this story.If you enjoy student/teacher romances then you will love Veiled Innocence. You’re opinions and emotions will be put to the test and the outcome you are rooting for may just surprise you. ~Ava*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*