Review: The Forbidden Claim by Kelly Gendron

US Marshall Jinx Collins is an outspoken, free-spirited, and earless woman. It’s that same fearlessness, however, that tends to get her into trouble. Jinx questions her life prior to being adopted. When those questions lead her to a murderer who’s about to be transported into the witness protection program, Jinx decides to kidnap him to see if she can uncover the truth. Jed Kane has worked undercover in the human trafficking ring for years. When Jed accepts a job to disguise himself as one of his worst enemies and take a ride from the correctional facility to a secured location, he certainly had not planned on being abducted by Jinx Collins. Jed’s uncertain as to how he feels about her touchy-feely hands and loose lips—unsure if they irritate him or if they are awakening his badly behaving desires. Jed knows he must first find out what the fanatical little lady wants with a murderer before he can act on whatever he’s feeling.

Straight away Jinx is attracted to the resilient and enticing Jed Kane—the only man who hasn’t backed down from her candor. While Jinx discovers that the questionable criminal may be able to assist her in finding out the truth about her past, Jed vows to save Jinx from her daring self. Once Jinx starts to understand what Jed feels for her—he wants to own her—she demands that he succumb to the raging frenzy. Jed allows himself

Review:

Jinx Collins is trying to piece together her past from before she was adopted at a young age. All she has to go on is a photograph of a girl and memories that have been popping up. She is a US Marshall, and so she has the skills to get what she needs done. She is every strong minded, but this tends to get her in plenty of trouble. While in search for the girl in the photograph she kidnaps a known murder, who is pictured as well, so that she can find the connection and the identity of the girl. Or she thinks she kidnaps him and ends up kidnapping Jed who is undercover posing as the man. Jed knows the girl in the photo but is suspicious as to Jinx’s reasons for searching for her.

Jed Kane has been investigating undercover human trafficking for many years now. At the age of 17 he was found by an undercover agent hunched over a man he had killed, and had been hunting down those involved with trafficking humans. He is so caught up in his cover that he thinks of himself as one of the bad guys. Jed has so much rage built up and works hard to have a control over it, but something about Jinx stirs it up and many other emotions he thought locked up that it confuses him.

Throughout, we see glimpses of a boy that is a captive in the human trafficking world. We see from his perspective what he is experiencing, what role he plays, and what his fears are. He’s been shut up so long that he doesn’t see himself as human, that he doesn’t even have a name anymore, he just goes by Boy. His role in the story breaks my heart, but lifts it at the same time.

This story was very good and kept me hooked. I loved the tension, between Jinx and Jed and how Jinx just can’t keep herself out of trouble. Jed really broke my heart with such a negative view of himself and his struggles with breaking down the walls to his emotions and allowing himself to feel he deserves happiness. Overall, WHOA! I don’t want to give anything away so that’s all I have to say. I didn’t see that twist at the end coming. It totally left me in shock and thinking how I did NOT see that coming. I thought this was a great, dark story but what is revealed towards the end, bumped up my opinion of this book. It is definitely worth it to read this!