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, … 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.
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The third & final book in Alisha Rai’s Forbidden Hearts trilogy, this book is a must-read for fans of sexy but heartwarming contemporary romance. Features a baby sister of a rich family trying NOT to fall in love with her brother’s friend–a brother who is totally wrong, totally inappropriate and totally, totally smoking hot.
If you haven’t read the first two books yet, check out Hate to Want You and Wrong to Need You first! This third book wraps up all the family secrets and mysteries, and you won’t want to miss it.
Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai is book Three in The Forbidden Hearts series. This is the story of Evangeline Chandler and Gabriel Hunter. I have read the previous book but feel this is easily a standalone book.
Eve is the younger sister who has stayed in the shadows but she always seem to have a crush on Gabe her brother’s friend. But even though he has made a name for himself as more than just the housekeeper’s son she didn’t try to be anything more. Gabe too has liked Eve but always thought she was to young and and he is never let him mind forget he was the housekeepers son.
But Eve has an a chance to be seen as something more and wants Gabe to see her as something more.
This has been a great series and this story just added to my love of it. Really enjoyed Gabe and Eve’s story!
It feels like it’s taken me a long time to close this series out (it has) but I think that even though I didn’t like all the secrets that Gabe and Eve were keeping from each other, or how this was maybe a bit too Nicholas and Liv centered despite them having their own book, this was my favourite couple in this series. The writing and the audiobook bumped this up for sure for me. I still wish there was more in this series, but I liked how everything wrapped up. Gabe was for sure the best male character in this series. I liked Eve well enough.
“If something brings you joy and hurts no one else, I don’t see the harm in indulging yourself every now and again.”
At this point, I know it’s redundant for me to say, but Rai is a favorite author. Her writing and heroines are always a pleasure, and Eve is for sure one of my favorites. When a character acknowledges that “Virginity is a social construct.” I want to cry tears of joy. And I love Even and Gabe when they’re together and separate.
My only tiny gripe is that it started off slow. But it quickly picked up and once I got into it, I finished the majority of the book in one day.
I really liked Gabe’s character and felt for the difficult position he’d been in most of his life. I will admit, I was even more intrigued by all of the family drama. I also loved the kaleidoscope of ethnicities in the story. It truly reflected the melting pot that we as a society are.
I loved all three books in this trilogy, and recommend reading them in order although you don’t strictly have to. In this one, Eve has been driving Gabe around via manipulating a ride-sharing app, keeping her identity hidden. That part was super sexy to me, that she knows exactly who he is when he has no idea about her. From there, the two keep tangling with each other. Rai keeps the heat level high and offers so much emotional and sexual tension here. They are each also deeply committed to their families, with Gabe having kept a secret about his identity his whole life, and their extended clans play a major role as they all gather, with the two of them trying to keep their feelings on the down low. An excellent contemporary romance! Be warned, though, it will suck you in and you may not get much else done while reading it.
I love each book of this series more and more, getting more engrossed with the drama of two feuding families. Emotional and sexy.
Realistic romance with real characters who are aware of their issues but are able to work with them to achieve happiness.
Emotionally charged words, steamy angst filled encounters, and two characters who weren’t meant to be together… Hurts to Love You is forbidden romance done right. This one has a little bit of everything to keep readers engaged and flying through the pages, once you meet these two you will have trouble letting go! Highly recommend!
Compared to the first book in the series (I haven’t read the second one yet), Hurts To Love You was way less on angst, but the story still maintained a level of emotion and family drama I was hoping for. Eve and Gabe’s romance fell on the sweet side, but their journey together had its own hiccups.
Even with drama, this became a feel good read. Eve learning to come into her own, Gabe facing his biggest fears, the Chandler and Kane families getting a second chance to come together…definitely feeling warm fuzzies!
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Ruthie –
This is the third book in the series – and I would say that you absolutely MUST read the first two books to get the underlying story sorted out in your head. In fact, I would recommend that now they are available, you read all three in succession as there is a lot of detail and complexity which can be forgotten over time. I kept having flashbacks, as Ms. Rai helped fill in the blanks that had appeared over the months between reads. As always, the writing is smooth and well-paced, making it a very easy read.
Maybe because I was playing catch up in my mind, the initial portion of the book did not work as well as the previous ones have, when I have been utterly enthralled. I am sure it was partly purposeful, but the situation between Gabe and Eve was very clunky. Whilst Jackson in the previous book was taciturn, he was still expressive. These two really struggled to overcome their pasts to deal with the possibilities of their futures. They are a lovely pair of people, and we learn even more about their tenacity and strength of will as the book progresses, but they do nothing to boost each other, even given the examples of their siblings. I guess I just couldn’t connect with them as well as the other couples. Still a really good romance, but just not as blown away. When I have time, I will reread them all together, as I have a feeling that may be part of the issue.
I was very happy overall with this book, which ties so many loose ends together – even more than we might have expected – but there are still some mysteries that could be resolved methinks. Certainly, we get a good vibe about how the Chandler-Kane feud is finally over, but Brendan is still left as an issue in my opinion. It was fun to see just how many happy endings could be achieved though!
Mary Jo –
3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4 stars
A classic tale of a well-to-do young woman who has feelings for the boy from across the tracks. The boy has done well enough, but he believes he will never be good enough for the princess in the tower.
Not only that, Gabe has a secret, one that he’s been carrying most of his life. He’s afraid that if the truth comes out, it will ruin his relationships with his family and friends.
Gabe must come to terms with how past secrets not only affect his past, but his future as well. Once he makes peace with his demons, can he embrace the light that is Evangeline.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Hurts to Love You (Forbidden Hearts #3) by Alisha Rai to read and review.
Hurts to Love You is a wonderful conclusion to a fantastic series. Secrets are revealed, all loose threads tied up neatly. Eve and Gabe’s romance was front and center despite the number of characters converging, especially in the end. At times funny, other times angsty, Hurts to Love You always brought out the reader’s emotions. It’s also, as per usual with Alisha Rai, incredibly hot and sexy. Five contented stars.