Books like Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins
Rhine Fontaine, an African American man leading a successful life in Nevada, has spent years passing as white to secure his future. His world is upturned when Eddy Carmichael, a fierce young woman he saves from a desert blaze, arrives in town. Eddy’s defiance, beauty, and free spirit stir feelings in Rhine that challenge his guarded existence. As they grow closer, Rhine must confront the cost of revealing his true self and the risk of losing everything he has earned. The story explores themes of identity, love, and the lengths one will go to protect their place in a world that demands conformity.
First publish date: 2016
Genre: General Fiction/General Fiction
Authors: Beverly Jenkins
★
★
★
★
★
5.0 (1 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to Forbidden (20 similar books)
Twin African American sisters flee their hometown after their father's murder—one chooses to pass as white while the other stays true to her identity, exploring race, family, and the complexities of self through generations.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Celestial and Roy, a young couple embodying the American Dream, are torn apart when Roy is wrongfully convicted and sent to prison. Five years later, his conviction is overturned, forcing Celestial to confront the fractured life she must rebuild.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel Passing explores the life of Irene Redfield, a married Harlem woman whose world is disrupted when her childhood friend Clare Kendry—now passing as white—reappears.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Two college friends discover that love can span continents and a decade when they reunite after life‑changing choices thrust them apart.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Hester Wyatt, a former slave who now guides runaway fugitives on Michigan’s Underground Railroad, meets Galen Vachon—known as the Black Daniel—when he hides in her cellar. Their shared commitment to freedom and growing affection confront danger, betrayal, and the lure of past lives.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Lost Lady tells the story of a gifted woman whose personal growth mirrors the changing American Frontier, set against a backdrop of railroads, pioneer life, and the constraints of marriage in late 19th‑century Nebraska.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
James Weldon Johnson’s autobiographical novel traces the life of a mixed‑race narrator who, able to pass as white, struggles with identity and injustice in early 20th‑century America.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
After escaping a cruel husband, Serena Riverton embarks on a perilous journey that leads her to Lord Francis Middlethorpe, where a single night of passion threatens to unravel both their lives.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Riverland follows sisters Eleanor and Mike as they hide beneath Eleanor’s bed during family turmoil, only to be swept into a magical world where dreams and nightmares clash, forcing them to discover their own power to protect each other and their home.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
When two middle‑school girls in Red Rock are almost kidnapped, the quiet town is shaken and a race begins to protect the children and uncover the truth behind the break‑in.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Loreli Winters relocates to Kansas to care for two orphan nieces and encounters the stoic, ranch‑hand Jake Reed, sparking a romance that challenges both their convictions and desires.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Jude Samson, long‑time family servant of the Woodley clan, feels an irresistible pull toward Lady Audrey. At their country estate, passion erupts, but a hidden secret threatens to shatter everything.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1876, Vivid Lancaster, an African‑American doctor, sets up practice in the small Michigan town of Niles. Facing prejudice, she confronts the town’s stubborn mayor Nate Grayson as they navigate professional ambitions and forbidden attraction.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A collection of short stories that depict the American Westward expansion, featuring journeys on the Oregon Trail and the Oklahoma Land Run, with diverse voices including a native girl, an African‑American family, and a young protagonist facing tragedy.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In Plum Bun, Jessie Redmon Fauset tells of Angela Murray, a young Black girl who moves to New York after her parents' death and discovers she can pass for white, only to realize that gender and class add new challenges to her search for opportunity.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In Willa Cather’s tale, 19th‑century Virginia society is examined through the marriage and jealousy of Sapphira Dodderidge toward her enslaved wife, Nancy.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Forbidden follows business mastermind Sebastian Hawk as he protects a daring princess, only to find his own reservations tested.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1849, Chinese American girl Samantha seeks to escape tragedy, disguising herself with runaway slave Annamae as male adventurers on the Oregon Trail toward California’s gold rush.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
Bride of the Water God by Yong Won-suA Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Brown Girls Guide to Liberating Yourself by Megan Phelps-Roper
Girl A by Gillian Flynn
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!