Banished (Forbidden #2)

This story picks up where Forbidden ended. Jayden is living on her own in the desert, and she is determined to find Kadesh, the man she believes was killed by her betrothed, Horeb, because she has heard rumors of someone who looks and acts like him being in the area. The story begins with her being attacked by one of Horeb's men, and she kills him to save herself. From there, she is reunited with Kadesh, and the two of them begin traveling to Kadesh's homeland, Sariba. Conveniently, they are able to convince Jayden's father and grandmother to travel with them. The sad part is that her grandmother dies while on the trip, and Jayden is left as the only woman in the entourage.
Eventually, the group makes it to Sariba, Kadesh's kingdom, but they are barely there before Horeb and his army catch up to them. Predictably, one of the Edomites who was supposed to be helping Kadesh was working for Horeb, and as a result, Horeb is able to stay closer to them than they expected. I was a little shocked that the author killed off the traitor, but not the other Edomite who was helping him.
The first story was a little more entertaining to me than this one was. The characters in this book were more predictable than they were in Forbidden, and I kept waiting for a bigger conflict to happen than what actually did happen. Jayden continues to be an insecure teenage girl who is naive and a little too trusting, while Kadesh is still the typical prince (knight in shining armor) who can do no wrong. I was a little tired by the end of the story because no matter how many times Kadesh told Jayden he loved her, she still didn't believe him.
The other part that bothered me about this one is the power that the "Goddess" holds over the people in Kadesh's kingdom. I know that in ancient Mesopotamia there were various religions, and that the people of Abraham tried to remain true to their God, but the power that the author gives to the other religions is a bit much, in my opinion. The villain in this story is the Queen of Sheba's half-sister who wants to rule Sariba and turn it into a stronghold for the Goddess. My problem with this is that I know that during these times the culture was very patriarchal, and I cannot see a religion who worships a woman having as much hold on a community as the author makes this one have. I would find it much more believable for the religion of Ba'al to have more hold in a kingdom than the religion of a Goddess.
By the end of the story, Jayden and Kadesh have conveniently put aside all of the misunderstandings, and they are ready to be married. But, of course, there is a shocking conflict during the wedding, which is where the story ends so there can be a third book in the series. I will read the third one just to see how the author ends the series, but at this point, I feel like the entire story of Kadesh and Jayden could have been covered in one book, and the author is simply milking it for what it's worth to get more money. While I would recommend Forbidden to those who enjoy historical fiction/romance, I wouldn't recommend this sequel unless you're like me and you hate to not finish a series after you have started it.