DNF
I made it almost all the way to the end and then just gave up. I didn't understand what was going on most of the time and to be honest I just didn't care about either of the characters, particularly the "hero", who couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to have sex with the "heroine" or kill her or both. The book had potential, but it just didn't live up to it.

Alexandrine Marit is in mortal danger, she's wearing a talisman which is doing something to her, given to her by her father and it doesn't appear to be doing her any good. Her brother comes to her and he's going to try and help her, he passing her on to Xia, who hates witches. However this witch is making him twitchy. Alexandrine and Xia have to work together quite closely to keep both of them alive and what they do will have consequences.

It's interesting but there were times when it felt like the author was pushing the characters into situations rather than letting things develop. I didn't dislike it but it didn't make me too enthusiastic about reading many more in this series, as I have another it might change my mind. ( )

I gave this a 3-1/2 star rating, but I stayed up all night reading it and then dreamed about the characters during the very little sleep I did get last night, so take that 3-1/2 with a grain of salt. The only reason I didn't give it a 4 was because occasionally the action got a little confusing ~ Jewel packed so much of it in that I'm sure it was kind of difficult to write as clearly about it as I would have preferred. Also, I thought the change in the characters' reactions to each other toward the beginning was a little abrupt and, well, silly, considering the situation they were in at the time. Finally, I admit to skimming over some of the sex bits, because frankly I am tired of so much sex (stopped reading many of my favorite series *cough Riley Jensen cough Anita Blake cough* because of all the sex scenes.

I won't say much about the plot, because a lot of other reviewers have done a good job of that, but I will say that I haven't read such great dialogue in a long time, notwithstandign the cursing. In fact, only once did I cringe a little at one exchange; the rest of the time, I thought the dialogue was quite fitting for the character of the characters.

Obviously, I liked it a lot, since I stayed up so late to finish it, and will be looking for the first in the series. ( )

A paranormal romance the likes of which I haven't read before. MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE by Carolyn Jewel was passionate, no doubt about that. What made it unique was the story; a well developed plot full of twists and turn that took me toward the unexpected at pretty much every turner. MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE was a nice change, a foray into the wild side of paranormal romance.Alexandrine Marit is a witch; well, sort of anyways. She has magic, sure enough, but unfortunately, her ability to access it is so limited that apart from some limited premonitions she's really no different than your average, every day Joe. What makes her special is the talisman that she wears around her neck; a talisman that should supposedly hold great power but does absolutely nothing for Alexandrine's limited magic. Imagine her surprise when her brother, long believed to be dead, shows up and insists that her very life is in danger due to the innocent-looking necklace. He brings along with him Xia, an ex-mageheld, and one very angry demon.I really loved Xia's character as he is part of what made MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE so unique. It's hard for me to put a finger down on what special attribute he has, but I think I love him because he is the ultimate bad boy. It's no secret that we women tend to fall for the tall, dark and handsome bad boys out there. That fits Xia to a T, and he is definitely not ashamed to admit it. He absolutely hates Alexandrine with an intense and undying passion. Only problem is that her body and her magic are terribly arousing to him. What is one to do when you despise what another is and yet find yourself attracted to him or her at the same time? Well, try to get them in bed of course!There are two things that make a great romance for me. One is a strong heroine, and the other is a strong hero. MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE holds both of those. Alexandrine is the type who is unwilling to take crud from anyone and she will sure as heck let Xia know when she thinks he is out of line. Of course, even when he is out of line, he's still intensely attractive so Alexandrine finds herself attracted to the demon just as much as she despises him. This conflict creates an amazing degree of depth that should allow for enjoyment throughout multiple rereads.Jewel does a fantastic job with building the tension throughout MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE. Very seldom would she immediately give us what we wanted. Instead, she'd tease us, pulling us along just to the snapping point and then she gently release us, only to start the process all over again. This made the book quite difficult to set down and in fact, I only found four spots where I could set it down. When the tension is so delicious that you can't help but to keep reading and experiencing the story, you know you've got a great book in your hands.The one thing that caught me up a few times were the few disconnects in the story. There were a couple times where it felt like I must have skipped a paragraph or two because the transition from one event to another seemed to be lacking something. The few times I reread the section I discovered that I hadn't missed anything. The best way I have to describe it is like trying to write this huge research paper but being told that you have to keep it to a short word count. You write the paper up, discover it's too long and then have to cut sections out. Only problem is that everything flows together so well, there's nothing that can be cut out. You do it anyways to stay within the limits of the paper and end up with something that is less stellar than the original product. Now, I'm not at all saying that these disconnects were due to editor overzealousness, that's just the best way I have to describe the feeling that I got those couple times. Really, it did not detract from the book too much and obviously I still loved MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE.Fair warning time: You probably don't need this warning as it should be obvious, but just the same, I'd be remiss if I didn't give it. This book has strong adult themes and scenes. I would give it a sensuality rating of four with the only difference between four and five being the choice of words used. Jewel takes romance to a whole new level here; I suggest a cold drink, or perhaps a cold shower in between chapters.The passion between Xia and Alexandrine is palpable. There are a few twists and turns in this relationship that make it quite unique, but I'll refrain from explaining them here to avoid spoilers. The originality of the book was also amazing. The same twists and turns that I just mentioned created a whole new atmosphere that I had not yet experienced. The highly developed characters added to the recipe for a great plot and made this story something special. I really loved where Jewel took MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE and think that her plot choices helped to make this book as phenomenal as it is. ( )

Alexandrine is in terrible danger. She is still in shock after finding out her brother, Harsh, is alive. It’s been years since she’s heard from him - but it gets even worse when he tells her that her biological father wants her dead. It seems she has acquired a Talisman that he wants and will stop at nothing to get it... even if it means killing his daughter for it. In order to protect her, Harsh asks his friend Xia for help in protecting his sister. The problem with this scenario is that Xia hates her for being a Mage (or witch). He especially doesn’t like Alexandrine because her father was the Mage who enslaved him for years. Due to honor and the respect he has for Harsh he agrees to protect Alexandrine not knowing the danger she’d be to his own heart.

I liked this story. It was not your average paranormal romance. It had plenty of new concepts that I found quite unique and interesting (i.e. magehelds and blood-twins, etc.) - with a nice, little glossary at the front to explain same. Xia is the epitome of the bad boy and I really enjoyed him as a character. Alexandrine was the perfect mate for him. They were both strong, intense, flawed, yet also very likeable. I really loved the dialogue and interaction between them.

This was a fantastic introduction to Ms. Jewel’s writing and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more titles from her. This is required reading for any paranormal romance lover. ( )