B+

Hurts to Love You

The final book in the Forbidden Hearts series offers a deliciously awkward romance, but is bogged down a bit by the resolution of plotlines started in the prior two books. It’s still a very enjoyable read, but it’s weaker than the previous two novels because the sheer number of loose ends that need to be resolved detracted from the romance. Also, the series should be read in order.

Eve, the youngest member of the Chandler clan, has been nursing a crush on Gabriel Hunter, a friend of the Kane family. Years ago he politely rejected her, and shy Eve took it to heart. Now they’re stuck together (partially by Eve’s planning) in a luxurious family lakehouse for a wedding.

Gabe has some serious pants feelings for Eve, too, but he’s been hiding them. This romance is straight up “two dorks who want each other but don’t act on it because they think it’s unrequited” which is so much my catnip. The sexual tension here is amazing.

We also finally get the full story of all of the Chandler/Kane secrets that the series has been built upon. It’s a lot of reveals and one scene felt to me like those old mysteries where everyone is assembled in the library and the detective says, “I’ve called you all here today because one of you is the murderer” but it did wrap up all the loose ends.

I also loved that Eve is working hard on herself, and struggling to heal the scars left by her father’s emotional abuse. She has a best friend who is amazing and a prime example of women being supportive and helping other women heal. In terms of growth, Eve comes much farther in this book than Gabe.

Hurts to Love You is definitely worth the read, but you will want to read the other two books in the series first. It’s a very sexy end to the trilogy, but it wasn’t quite as stellar as the first two books.

– Elyse

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.