TOUGH TRAVELING | Forbidden Love

Tough Traveling is a fun meme that aims to tour all the tropes big and small, abhorred and loved that are littered across the fantasy landscape. It was conceived of and is hosted by Nathan at Fantasy Review Barn and here's how it's explained on the blog: 

Each Thursday, our copy of ‘The Tough Guide to Fantasyland’ in hand, we shall tour the mystical countryside looking for adventure and fun (and tropes) from all over fantasy.

This week's trope is Forbidden Love:

Even in Fantasyland parents are not always happy with their children’s choice of partners.

This topic totally rocks my socks so I'm sad that I couldn't really find many examples amongst my reading.  I am looking forward to other people's lists because I'll either a) kick myself for all the books I spaced ('cause that's fun) or b) add a bunch of new books to my TBR.  Probably both. Just like every week.

• Penryn and Raffe from the Penryn and the End of Days series by Susan Ee

This one is literally forbidden love - like forbidden by the big kahuna himself.  If Penryn (human) and Raffe (angel) get together they will create horrible monsters called Nephilim.  Not to mention that the angels in this book are almost universally great big jerks. 

• Seraphina and Kiggs from the Seraphina series by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina and Kiggs are kept apart out of loyalty to a friend.  Kiggs is engaged, in a royal arrangement, to his cousin Princess Glisselda.  Seraphina is Glisselda's music teacher and becomes her good friend.  Seraphina and Kiggs fall in love with each other but they don't want to hurt Glisselda.  In the end they resolve the problem by entering into a polyamorous sort of relationship which was pretty refreshing to see in a YA novel.  

• Marco and Celia from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Marco and Celia are meant to be engaged in a battle of magic that must end in one of them dying.  So it's kind of inconvenient when they fall in love.

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• Yeine and Nahadoth from The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Nahadoth is a God of darkness and is pretty darn dangerous and all around probably bad news.  Yeine knows she shouldn't have the hots for him but she totally does. 

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• Clary and Jace in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

They briefly think they are brother and sister and incest is icky.  Spoiler Alert: they are not so it's all fine.  

• Ladyhawke (1984)

So I know this is a movie and not a book but I love it and it includes the ultimate example of forbidden love.  Navarre and Isabeau are in love but they have been cursed so that Navarre is a wolf at night while Isabeau is human and Isabeau is a hawk during the day when Navarre is human.  There's a few seconds at dawn and dusk where they are both human and it's heartbreaking and so sad. *sniff*  Matthew Broderick is reluctantly in the middle of it all.  I'm pretty sure I have not seen this movie since the 1980s so it may not be as good as I think it is BUT I'm going to stick with my belief that it is awesome.

So what are some of your examples of forbidden love in fantasyland?!  If you'd like to see other folks' picks, head on over to Fantasy Review Barn.