HURTS TO LOVE YOU
Series: Forbidden Hearts #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Alisha Rai
Release Date: March 27, 2018
Being bad never felt so good, in the third novel in Alisha Rai’s sexy Forbidden Hearts series!
Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave.
Heiress Evangeline Chandler knows how to keep a secret . . . like her life-long crush on the tattooed hottie who just happens to be her big brother’s friend. She’s a Chandler, after all, and Chandlers don’t hook up with the help. Then again, they also don’t disobey their fathers and quit their respectable jobs, so good-girl rules may no longer apply.
Gabriel Hunter hides the pain of his past behind a smile, but he can’t hide his sudden attraction to his friend’s sheltered little sister. Eve is far too sweet to accept anything less than forever and there’s no chance of a future between the son of a housekeeper and the town’s resident princess.
When a wedding party forces Eve and Gabe into tight quarters, keeping their hands off each other will be as hard as keeping their clothes on. The need that draws them together is stronger than the forces that should shove them apart . . . but their sparks may not survive the explosion when long-buried secrets are finally unearthed.
Hurts to Love You, the final book in Alisha Rai’s Forbidden Hearts series, puts the youngest Chandler and Gabe Hunter. It also ties up some story threads from the previous books in the series. It also gave readers all the answers that we’ve been asking ourselves about one particular event that started the Kane-Chandler fued all those years ago.
Gabe Hunter has secrets. Secrets that he has to keep because it could change everything from his standing among the Kanes and his relationships with Jackson and Livvy. And his attraction to Eve complicate things. So he tried to stay away but with Nicholas and Livvy’s upcoming destination wedding coming up, his plans of staying away from Eve became even more challenging.
Eve is shy, a bit timid but not lacking in courage despite growing up emotionally abused by her father. Her long time crush on Gabe is just that: a crush. She doesn’t think he feels that way for her. But Eve is tired of being held back by her past. She has plans and one of those plans involve Gabe. And her brother’s upcoming wedding is the perfect opportunity for her to convince Gabe that she’s not the little girl he once knew.
I felt for Evie’s unrequited feelings for Gabe. I was rooting for her to get the guy. And it was so satisfying when everything finally lined up for her and for him as well. Alisha Rai took her own sweet time with these two characters but the payoff was well worth it. The romance, once it got going, was hot. Gabe was definitely hiding his growly, dirty talking, alpha self underneath his man-bun. The things he said to Eve during their sexy times will make your toes curl.
Overall, I liked how this book brought everything full circle for these two families. After all the betrayals and secrets, it’s nice to see these characters win especially Gabe! His secret was quite obvious to those who have read the previous books, at least to me they are. And that’s quite okay because this book isn’t really about the “secret.” It’s more about the characters and their journey.
IRON PRINCESS
He’s big and forbidden, but somehow, that makes him infinitely more striking. And he’s struck me so hard as to knock me completely off-balance.
Sweet mother of god! I feel like I need a xanax, a hug, and a room with padded walls after that ending. How? HOW?! How does Meghan March continue to come up with these mind blowing cliffhangers? Every time I think it was crazy in one book, the next one comes along and BAM! Head exploding!
A New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels, Meghan March has been known to wear camo face paint and tromp around in woods wearing mud-covered boots, all while sporting a perfect manicure. She’s also impulsive, easily entertained, and absolutely unapologetic about the fact that she loves to read and write smut. Her past lives include slinging auto parts, selling lingerie, making custom jewelry, and practicing corporate law. Writing books about dirty talking alpha males and the strong, sassy women who bring them to their knees is by far the most fabulous job she’s ever had.
LOCKED BOX
Stop what you’re doing!!
BIRTHDAY GIRL
When I saw that Penelope Douglas was coming out with a surprise release, I didn’t even blink before adding the book. When I read the blurb, I think a small part of me cringed, while a bigger part of it was screaming GIMME!! See, I love a forbidden romance. But there’s something about the whole father thing that just gives me the blehs too. It takes an immensely talented author to pull off a story like this without making it torrid, pervy and cringe worthy. Luckily for me, Penelope Douglas is that rare unicorn of authors that can not only pull it off, but make you fall in love with it too.
I’m a sucker for a sexy Cajun, and it just doesn’t get any sexier than Remy Guidry. Remy is a great friend, and an even better Dom, but when it comes to affairs of the heart, jaded is an understatement. He doesn’t believe in forever anymore and relationships are most definitely a no go. It also doesn’t matter that he’s unbelievably attracted to Lisa Daley, a previous Sanctum trainee. She’s hands off. He doesn’t do shy little rich girls. He’s had more than his fill of her type in his life.
Two of my favorite authors combining their world and their words into one amazing novella? Could it get any better?! If you’ve read 
Julie Kenner (aka J. Kenner and J.K. Beck) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over forty novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
THE REAL
My heart. Oh my poor, cold black heart. It will never be the same again because Kate Stewart stole it with this incredible story. This is hands down, my favorite book by this author to date, and easily one of my favorite reads of the year. I still can’t stop thinking about it.
Reeling from a terrible breakup with a man she grossly misjudged, Abbie is not eager to jump into another relationship any time soon. She’s afraid to trust again and worst of all, she’s afraid to trust her own judgement. But when a handsome stranger’s message air drops onto her Mac in a coffee shop, what begins is one of the most memorable meet cutes and wooing non-dates I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Cameron is devilishly handsome, patient, sweet and everything that Abbie wants but doesn’t trust herself to have. Their relationship isn’t rushed but the depth of it is unexpected for both of them.
FAST BURN
It’s been entirely too long since I read a Lori Foster book. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even bother to read the blurb before adding this book. When I’m in the mood for a steamy contemporary romance with a dash of suspense, Foster always hits the spot. Now here’s my confession…
*pause for dramatic effect*
ESCORT
THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON
Before I get into all the fantastic things about this book, I want to address the one negative piece. I’d like to get it out of the way with, because if I’m being perfectly honest, something that I thought could ruin the story for me actually ended up being nothing but a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. So confession time. I actually DNFd this book originally. Twice. Now, now, stow away those pitch forks and tomatoes and allow me to explain. See originally, I stopped reading at 20%. I felt compelled to push myself and ended up getting to 37%, only to stop again. As beautifully lyrical as the writing was and as unique as the story itself was, the amount of detail and the somewhat verbose nature of the first half of this book was difficult for this picky reader to get past. The story follows the main characters over the span of 18 years. And the reader is privy to every minute detail of their life. While it sets the stage and truly allows you to get to the heart of who these characters are, for this reader that has a penchant for instant gratification, it was a struggle. So what I’m telling you is, it’s definitely a me thing. If this level of detail and description doesn’t bother you, you won’t bat an eyelash at this. But for me, I felt like a good 20% of the overall book could have been trimmed and not lost anything in the process. But again, that’s a ME thing.
The author warned that this is completely different from her usual dark romance. And it totally was. Though I will say, it did have that touch of the signature dark undercurrent that Winters carries in her writing style.
This is not a romance, though it carries undercurrents of one. This is the set up of what’s truly looking to be one epic romance in the second part of the duet. But what this book does is set that stage. It builds the blocks of the foundation that their feelings are based one. It takes you into the dark underbelly of the horrors that these characters survived and came out stronger from. It spares no detail. It leaves no stone unturned. And it’s not afraid to give the gritty, emotional, and painful detail of the mistakes that both Della and Ren make along the way.
LOVE AND OTHER WORDS
I don’t typically read women’s fiction, unless of course it’s penned by the talented duo that is Christina Lauren. Then I don’t even think twice about jumping into the story. Though truth be told, while the story encompasses friendship, life and loss, the romantic element is very much at the heart of everything. So even though it wasn’t the steamy romance that I’m used to from theses authors, the emotional connection that I developed to these characters and their story was more than enough to make up for it.
