Hurts to Love You Forbidden Hearts

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Avon in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Hurts To Love You is the third and final book in the series, and I have to say that this was such a bittersweet read. I have fallen in love with Alisha Rai and her writing and I love the diversity of her characters. Especially since its so rare in romance even less so than African American style romances, so I always find reading her books to be such a delight. This is our final couple of the Forbidden Hearts Trilogy and what a fabulous trilogy it has been. It starts out with our heroine, Evangeline, who has been in lust with our hero for quite a long time. But our hero believes that he is less than her because he runs a tatoo shop and doesn't come from money like Evangeline has come from. But Evangeline is living proof that coming from money doesn't mean a thing because she has dreams and aspirations of her own. With her older brother getting married, she heads off to a estate out in the country that is part of their family's inheritance to have the wedding and spend time together as a family before the big day. But through some mishaps and runs of bad luck, Evangeline and Gabriel have the house to themselves for a bit and boy this only adds to the sexual tension that is building between them. Sometimes people need to be taught to see you as who you really are than what they think you are, you know? It's not easy. I want to say that I loved this book like I loved the previous two books but unfortunately this book lacked a few elements that I always look forward to in a good romance. I really liked seeing the side characters, and the two previous two couples get some great attention in this story. I did love seeing the growth of both of the main characters, both Gabriel and Eve we get to see a different side to. However the actual romance fell a bit flat for me. It was like hot tension between them for the WHOLE book, and at the end they like each other and then epilogue of we love each other. There wasn't as smooth of a transition as I was wanting and the ending really disappointed me so much. There of course are some fabulous elements in this story but I can't say that I loved this book as much as I wanted to. There are some fun times of course and I did enjoy see both Gabriel and Eve resolve some issues with their past, and I did love seeing Eve stand on her own more than we have seen previously. But I just didn't connect with their romance and I was left feeling like there was something missing and wanting more for the finale of this series. However I have adored this whole trilogy and I can't wait to see what Alisha Rai has up for us next!!! :)     [foogallery id="45609"]

A nice way to end the series -- the emotional catharsis around family stuff was much more central than the romance, but luckily I LOVE family stuff.

oh man I don't want this series to end

Actual rating: 2.5 stars.

After reading this final book, I think I finally know the exact reason I don’t enjoy these books as much as I want to. Eve is the heiress to the Chandler business empire, but is ready to break away from her emotionally abusive father. She’s also used to living in a shell and not breaking out of it much, but she’s going to have to do that to get what she wants, or who she wants. Although he’s friendly and charming on the outside, he’s not so good at forming close bonds with people due to his secrets. When he feels a sudden attraction to his friend’s younger sister, Eve, he finds himself feeling more vulnerable than ever. When events cause them them to be in close quarters alone, they must confront their desires as both want different things. This review will be similar to the first two in the series so I’ll do a list of things I liked and didn’t like to get to the point. Dislikes: - How dramatic everything is, just not my cup of tea - Too much focus on wrapping up family drama, not enough romance - The business side of things just bores me - It’s too long and always lags in the middle - The weird stalkerish behaviour that’s in every book, it’s unnecessary Likes: - The familial relationships - Diversity of nationalities, income status and sexualties - What we had of the romance, it was so sweet - Forced to spend time alone, I eat it up - Eve coming out of her shell but realising that it’s okay to need it from time to time - Gabe being supportive of Eve and defending her but letting her defend herself All in all, I realise that these are good romances with some pretty great characters, I just don’t care for the business side of them and how long they are. Not sure if I’ll read more from Alisha Rai.

Excellent way to end the series! Totally wish there were more, but it ended on a high note. I will definitely be reading more Alisha Rai in the future.

This book has the perfect title for it. The book centers around Eva and Gabe who are attracted to each other but are letting their past and insecurities keep them from loving each other. I thought this book was very well written. This is the third book in the forbidden heart series. I would recommend reading these in orders. I started off reading this book first, there was some characters and plotlines that I was not familiar with which came from the first two books. I loved the diversity in this, its refreshing to see multi-culture pairing, and there was even a lesbian couple in at all. I already have some pairings stuck in my head that I hope that the author continues with this series and shares their story ( Hint......Toni/Brendon, and Gabes sister). I have to admit I was kind of turned off by the slow burn in this in regards to Eva/Gabe. But I understand given the circumstance...….I don't think that it would have been realistic for them to jump into a relationship right away. I highly recommend this.

Be-still my heart, Rai truly ends her Forbidden Heart trilogy with a slow-burn that is satisfying and wonderful on so many levels. We finally get to see "Baby Chandler" Eve come into her own. We get Gabe's backstory. There's a wedding! There's family drama and bonding, and a happily ever after for pretty much everyone. Huzzah! Be warned, I would definitely recommend reading this series in order. The pay-off will be so much better. Also, I have to commend Rai, Avon, and the designers on having covers that are dead on representations of the book and the characters. LOVE them. Maybe next time a step back??? I love a good step back.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire Forbidden Hearts series. My 5 star rating may be a little biased due to the fact that I have a personal connection to the Japanese American heritage and history that plays a big part of the characters' identities. I found the inclusion of the history of the Japanese American internment camp a very unique and unexpected topic, especially in a Romance novel! I loved the family dynamics and fleshed out characters. Eve and Gabe may not be my favorite couple out of the other 2 books (I actually prefer Livvy/Nicholas and Sadia/Jackson, but gave their respective books 4 stars each), however, I felt this final book tied everything together beautifully and answered all of the mysteries of the Kane/Chandler families that were introduced in the first and second books. I highly recommend reading this series in order. I know that this series will always hold a special place in my heart!

3.5 slightly disappointing ⭐️.