Hurts to Love You: Forbidden Hearts

Written by Alisha Rai

Narrated by Lucy Rivers and Jeremy York

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062899514

Alisha Rai

Alisha Rai is an author and attorney who pens award-winning adult and young adult romances. Her novels have been named Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post, NPR, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus, and Cosmopolitan magazine. When she's not writing, Alisha loves to spend time with her husband and son. To find out more about her books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit alisharai.com.

Reviews for Hurts to Love You

[Leia Davis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoy Alisha Rai's books, would recommend! This is my second (first was The Right Swipe), she's good it mingling a healthy dose of body positivity, positive representation, and independence, along with very relatable codependence and other romance novel tropes. They still follow romance novel formula, something is keeping them apart, whether it be circumstance, pride, or stubbornness, followed by miscommunication... But it's traditional because it's real and relatable even if on a less grand scale. The two I've read aren't perfect, but they're fun and feel a few steps above the average romance novel easy reading.

[ssperson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a satisfying conclusion to the series.

[samnreader · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Wow, that really pooped out there at the end didn’t it?

I’ll just go ahead and spoiler my whole review. I kind of think this book was a mess.


Alisha Rai is one of the most talented authors writing in this sub-sub-genre. Somehow, she writes complex characters for her flipping short erotica. So, this, then, is why I am so completely and wholly unsatisfied.

Cause WHO THE FUCK IS GABE?
Sure we know tidbits. Seems a drinking problem is increasing (is it a problem? It’s forgotten by the end)… Adopted into loving home. Bad start. More is revealed later. Puts on a charming facade (I didn’t see it)…but we didn’t see the development and backstory for him the way we did for others

Eve was well fleshed out, but I had more trouble connecting to her than anything. Which is fine. I still think it’s awesome to have a complex heroine whose not totally sure of herself, yet still fairly kickass.

But all I wanted is for this book to be over. Hidden and mistaken identity plot lines usually give me heartburn. I find them unbelievable.I find them too deceptive. I don’t enjoy it as a source of tension. Besides this point, I didn’t really get where the hero and heroine knew each other. Let’s set aside a somewhat gag-worthy age gap (again, how it’s presented) and look at what exactly their relationship is founded on: drunken/mistaken identity cab rides, only seeing each other for the past couple of years—awkwardly—and you know, growing up around each other. At one point the hero says “I was in junior high when you were born.” Which is totally fine, but he was AROUND. So, why then, did it seem that this romance was just a subplot?

I’ll tell you why. Nicholas and Livvy. While I adored them in their own books, my god, if I were in that family i’d end up venting to my in-laws or other siblings how it’s always about them. Wait till they have their first child. They’ll be epic levels of insufferable. Make no mistake, this series is THEIRS. Couples this annoying in subsequent novels exist all over in romance—chief among them—two I didn’t like to begin with (Marcus & Annabelle, TYVM) but I think they’ve surpassed them. And when these two had me so book drunk in their own novel, it makes me want to scream “YOU RUINED IT.”

Gabe and Eve were cheated. I don’t know them. There was an entire chapter (or more) from Livvy’s POV. And this book, despite how I felt, isn’t that long. The family drama overshadowed the romance in an annoying, badly paced way, leaving us with a little underlying erotic tale without much substance. I found this completely unsatisfying, and frankly, just wanted it to end. END. I swear every time I looked, more chapters got added.

And no, you do not get to skip over a bunch of substance in a relationship with a cute epilogue. FOUL!

(Sidenote: I’ll always take more Jackson. He still has the best jokes.)

[rabidgummibear-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I took my time getting to this finale. I did not want it to end, but Alisha Rai delivered.
Plenty of closure for everyone's story. Also my favorite couple ever is Eve and Gabe now.

[beckymmoe_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

OH MY GOSH, THIS BOOK. THIS SERIES.

If you've read the other books in this series, all of the plot threads are tied up at the end of this one--and some of the reveals are pretty huge. If you haven't read the other books, these secrets won't have as much of an impact as they will for those who have been wondering for two books what really happened the night Robert Kane and Maria Chandler died, but even if you're starting here Eve and Gabe's story packs one heck of a wallop. If you're not acquainted with the other series characters already, you'll still enjoy the roles they play here--the relationships in this series are amazing. (Confession time--I still need to read book one, Hate to Want You , but even so this book really got to me. I have the audio version--it's on the list...)

Though on the surface the romantic conflicts here appear to be their age differences (twelve years), their social status (wealthy heiress vs tattoo artist), and the dreaded "brother's best friend"--each of which could have been "the" issue keeping them apart--instead the real one is actually a secret that Gabe has been keeping for years from almost everyone he knows. The fact that he doesn't reveal his deepest self to anyone outside of his sister and parents has contributed to his not seeing himself as the kind of guy who's "good" at relationships--which obviously means that starting something with "Baby Chandler" is definitely out.

But when Eve figures out what he's been hiding? Watch. Out.

Mixed in with the heavy drama and heady chemistry, though, is some really fun stuff. Kareem's puppy with the ever-changing name, "ButtGate" (OMG--LOL), and lines like this: "You're a dirty talker. Like sex closed-captioning" had me grinning like a loon just a page or two away from a much more series part of the story. And Nico and Livvy's wedding vows will make you sigh even if you haven't read their book yet. (I know, I KNOW. I WILL!)

Oh, this series! So sad to see it end, but really looking forward to seeing what Ms. Rai has in store for us next...

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.