The ties that bind us are the ones that can break us…
Jessica Hamilton is 25-years-old and born into a strict, white, Christian family. One that does not believe in interracial relationships under any circumstances. She meets Ajay Sharma at work, an associate director for Lansdale and Down Communications. There is only one problem – he is a Hindu. Jessica and Ajay fall irrevocably and … and irreparably in love with one another. A perfect love they have to conceal from all those around them for fear of reprisal from their unforgiving families… families that are imprisoned by their own cultural constraints. They are both faced with unimaginable and unforeseeable obstacles that leads Jessica to a near fatal accident, one that changes their lives forever. Jessica has no memory of the events that led to her tragic accident or why she was alone at ridge point on that fateful night. Will Ajay find justice for Jessica? Will Jessica’s memory return and reveal the truth?
– FORBIDDEN –
more
*****Romeo and Juliet in Modern Times
Talk about an exciting opening! A woman clinging to the side of a cliff? We then go back in time to find out why she has ended up there. The woman is Jessie, who comes from an all white, highly conservative background. She falls for co-worker Ajay, a handsome, dark skinned man originally from India with an equally traditional background. And like in Romeo and Juliet, both families are violently opposed to their union.
But Jessie and Ajay continue on, lost in the first glow of their new love. Then things start to go wrong. Ajay’s job is suddenly in jeopardy and Jessie tries to give homage to Ajay’s mother in the special Indian way, which fails miserably. It seems both mothers and siblings don’t care about the couple’s happiness. They only want what they feel is ‘right.’
The twosome then goes to India for their work and Jessie relishes the beauty and different culture there. Descriptions of New Delhi traffic, architecture, folklore, and history create a whole new world for her—and the reader.
Meanwhile, sinister plots are unfolding, heating up the couple’s tensions. Then we move forward in time to see Jessie back on that cliff, about to fall off. Will she survive? And if so, will their love survive? Oooh. Read it to find out! Definitely recommended.
Can Love Conquer All?
“Forbidden” begins with Jessica Hamilton hanging for life onto the side of a cliff. Earlier, she had called her boyfriend, Ajay Sharma, to come to the clifftop. When Ajay arrives, he hears her call for help and reaches for her hand to rescue her, but Jessica slips from his grip and falls down the cliff. Ajay’s mind races. The woman he desperately loves lies motionless in the canyon below. Who would lure Jessica to the cliff?
To find the answer, the story moves back to the time before Jessica and Ajay became a couple. Jessica gets a new job at Lansdale and Down Communications and meets Ajay, an associate director. They feel an immediate attraction to each other, but neither one makes a move until they attend a party birthday. Due to their cultural differences and the colors of their skin, they conceal their relationship from their families. Jessica is white and comes from a strict Christian family. Ajay is black and a Hindu. The story has a Romeo and Juliet feel to it. Both families are against interracial relationships.
From snooping in Jessica’s bedroom, her mother, a powerful business woman, discovers her daughter’s involvement with Ajay and sets out to destroy him.
Ajay and Jessica travel on business to India. Away from their families, their love grows and blossoms, but what they had feared could tear them apart surfaces. Unbeknownst to them, a spy lurks in the shadows. Is their love headed for a tragic ending?
This is a well-executed heart-wrenching love story. The author skillfully brought the characters to life. I felt for the anguish that both Jessica and Ajay faced when they were forced to make hard lifetime decisions. This well-plotted, captivating read is an engaging first book in the Hamilton/Sharma Novel. Highly recommended!