The Forbidden Man

July 6, 2015
Wright’s debut contemporary relies on emotional drama that’s diluted by pedestrian prose. When Sydney Williams discovers that her fiancé, Caden “Den” Smith, has been sleeping with another woman, the wedding is called off. Den’s brother, Morgan, had long felt “his life wouldn’t be complete” without Syd, but he has no intention of starting something they “may never be able to come back from,” because of the potential for complications in their close circle of friends and family. As Morgan and Syd erratically veer from angry screaming fights to tearing off each other’s clothes, the two find there’s no point in fighting their attraction, even as they fear revealing the truth. Given that Den is almost cartoonishly wrong for Syd and Morgan is transparently right for her, the lovers’ refusal to tell their friends the truth about their relationship, or admit it to themselves even as they become more deeply involved, soon becomes tiresome. Agent: Sara Camilli, Sara Camilli Agency.