All The Forbidden Things

REVIEW: 4 STARS
“This man. He’s been so very badly broken, and yet, still, he has so much love to give.”

So in the beginning, I struggled with this one in more than one way and that didn’t bode well for my first experience with Miss Jones’ writing style. This review also started out on a whole other foot. I ended up putting it down and walking away because I was thisclose to DNF’ing it. I loved the actual storyline and I knew there was more to it, so I knew I needed to step away for a minute and come back to it. I am SO glad I did. Because, let’s be honest, the general storyline? I really liked the idea of it. I liked that it was a best friends younger sister trope as that is one of my favorites and I gravitate towards them. Forbidden with reality is one of my favorites…it just is. And so, here I stand corrected and happy that I gave it another go. I really am so happy.

I did have a laugh at myself with myself in the beginning. All the different words, the phrasings, the sayings they use over there – the variables between our languages made me double take at some of the words and it gave me pause and a chuckle and put a smile on my face. Some I didn’t even know what was being said, but it still made me giggle.

While it took me a bit to actually warm up to the story, the voice, the style, once it picked up, I was golden. Because when Billie and Max see each other again after all those years….that’s when the sparks flew and that’s when the story took a turn and I became glued to my kindle. The story became one that I couldn’t put down. I love when artistic types of men are portrayed as strong but very in-tune with their feelings – and I feel like Jones nailed Max’s character. His visual, his actions – they all worked so well for me and I was able to connect with him and Billie quite easily. It’s not always an alpha, growling man taking charge – but sometimes it’s the more possessive type with the moody, broody eyes and the heart of gold that pull at your heartstrings. I’m good with both. And the cover most definitely lent a ‘picture’ as she described everything Max was doing within the book….and it was a nice visual, I won’t lie.

Billie went through…..some shit. Legit, life changing drama that did pull at my heart. There was some honest emotion within the pages of this book, and her strength shined for me. So, between Max and Billie and their own craziness that they dealt with, their coupledom was a great one to watch unfold.

MY TRUTH: it truly frustrates me when I’m not loving a book or an author’s voice as much as others are. When they’re raving about how much they loved it, or how it affected them and I’m just not feeling it – that’s really hard to swallow sometimes. I know we all love to ‘feel’ our books, and we love the journey they put us on….but sometimes that journey gets muddied for me by other mitigating factors. It’s never generally my mood because I am not a mood reader, but I would be a liar if I said that didn’t influence how I perceived a book every once in a while. Usually it’s the style of writing, or the way the author inflects the tone with her words. So, for me, this one started out okay, but about one third of the way through, it picked up exponentially and I couldn’t put it down after that. The most frustrating parts for me were when I would get repetitive passages. I didn’t need a memory from one character and a then a full recount from another – about the same memory. So that made this book seem a whole lot longer than it should have in some spots, and for that I was really bummed. Thankfully, it was short lived, because it seemed to stop and the story had a better flow once we got into the crux of the storyline.

I AM VERY ON BOARD NOW. I cannot wait for more books in this world, and I am looking forward to the next book that has been hinted at because, again – #FORBIDDEN.

“Our us involves all of the forbidden things.”
~BEE

Absolutely love the characters in ATFT. Lesley Jones is a wonderful author and makes her characters come to life. I highly recommend this book.

I was hooked before the first chapter! Max is a rocker who was struggling to care for his four week old daughter. His wife Whitney refuses to care for her. She causes so much drama for Max. Billie is his best friend and band mate’s little sister. She works as a nanny and has just returned home after a horrible thing happened at her last job. Max hires her to be his nanny and things go from there. Billie is a wonderfully strong woman and falls in love with little Layla and her dad. This book has all the feels and had me laughing at the fast and witty banter and sobbing at the tragic things that happened. You feel so strong about what happens to these characters. Lesley Jones draws you in and keeps going to see what happens next.

There is no denying I love a Rock Star, but it takes more than just being a Rock Star to make my fav list, it takes an exceptional Rock Star!!! and OMG I did not expect this book and these characters to leap right into my Top Favourites !!!!
I tell you .. a hot rock star, single dad, devoted to his baby !! omg ovary overload!! Not only that, he’s a man who has be sooo darned hurt and wronged and he isn’t scared to show how damaged it has left him. It takes a man to say he needs help and it takes amazing friends and family to give those we love the support to pull them through !!! This book has it all and i mean IT ALL!!!
Throw yourself into the pages and get taken on a journey you won’t want to end.
Billie has been through hell, she’s Max’s band mate Cal’s little sister, and they are perfect together, despite the age difference.
Both their lives have been shattered, but when Billie returns and steps in as nanny for Max’s baby, the fireworks begin.
With everything in their lives as it is, and their age gaps, never mind being the Best Friends little sister, you just know this is going to be a huge rollercoaster !!!!! All does not go smoothly, but if ever a couple deserved an H.E.A!!!
I LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!! and i am so excited because we all need more!! YES MORE !! WE need Jake!!!

I love forbidden romance! From the moment Max and Billie saw each other their connection was intense and HOT! There was so much going on I couldn’t put the book down. The build up to Max And Billie finally getting together was so intense. Great job Lesley Jones! I really hope Kenzie and Jake get a Book too!
I wrote this review based on an advance reading copy that the publisher sent me.

I love how in touch the MMC is with his feelings. The steamy scenes are super vague, but the focus on the plot is a nice change. This is a wonderful romance/suspense age-gap read that ends with a HEA and all the feel goods.

My only complaint?! It wasn’t long enough. I’m a big fan of Lesley Jones writing and this is no exception! Twists, turns and romance…opening chapter has a big bang and just gains ground from that point on! I really loved it and if you’ve read any of Lesley’s Carnage series, you’ll enjoy a few character appearances! Marley is always good for a laugh! Seriously though, fantastic story!

This book was amazing. I have been a fan of Lesley jones for years ever since reading carnage. I was super excited when she announced this new book and it did not disappoint defiantely in my re read list

I always tell my students that when they come up with a title for their papers that they need to think about their audience as well as the content of the piece and then create one that not only represents what readers will be heading into but also name it something that will lure them in from the start.

I can wholeheartedly say that Lesley Jones definitely knew who her audience was and created a title that would make readers want to quickly see and understand what all of those forbidden things were! And believe me, they were aplenty.

I loved how Jones crafted Max and Billie’s characters. Max is an edgy rocker, but he’s also a caring man and loving father and that’s what is clearly conveyed in the pages of this story. And, it’s not that he doesn’t have a sorted past or indulged in the things that rock stars are known to – drugs, drinking, women – but he’s more of a seasoned veteran at this stage in his life, so he has his priorities where they need to be and although his burgeoning feelings for Billie complicates his already dramatic life, sending things spiraling even further, she becomes essential to his and his daughter’s lives.

What I admired about both Max and Billie is their fortitude and the way they see things, even when they’re crumbling. Neither of them would give up; of course, they feel every single emotion involved when it comes to what they’re coping and dealing with, but they understand what matters and go about containing the chaos in ways that won’t affect the sweet little girl who has come to mean almost as much to Billie as she does to her father.

Because I’ve read several of Jones’ stories in the past, I thought I was mentally prepared for the amount of angst that would be included as the hero and heroine try to get on the same page and deal with outside circumstances, but the complications that occur in Max and Billie’s story are even more dramatic due to the fact that there’s a 16 year age difference between them and Max’s wife is an untrustworthy witch who seems to only be alive to make Max’s life as miserable as possible. There are also a litany of factors involved in sabotaging anything that Max and Billie could build: his fame is a factor…the paparazzi and tabloids are a factor…his WIFE is more than a factor because she’s her own brand of drama llama…and all of these factors pose a huge threat to not only a relationship between Max and Billie but also Max’s image in the public eye.

Jones never allows her characters to have an easy go of things; in fact, at times, I feel like she torments and tortures them in as many ways as she can, not necessarily for sport, but to show them just how strong they truly are and to offer true examples of perseverance in the face of adversity. And let me tell you, Max and Billie will have to fight with everything that they are for their loved ones, for each other, and for themselves.

All Things Forbidden is one heck of a bumpy and dramatic ride, but it’s also one that has a great cast of characters with a bevy of poignant, sweet, and steamy scenes and readers will absolutely be smitten with Max – the dad, just as much as they will with Max – the rock star.

4.5 Poison Apples

I read for entertainment. Take me away from this world we are in full of hate and take me to a place where I shut off my mind. This book is one.

I will just say this, when words that are typed out into a book can GRAB you, make you FEEL, make you happy and giddy for a fictional character, make you hate a character like that, when words can give you compassion and pain all in one, then you KNOW you are reading a good book!!! It’s the words that dance into your heart, that make you love your characters and make them your book boyfriend. When you love the heroine for healing your book boyfriend’s heart…and you feel it. THAT IS AN EXCELLENT WRITER!!!