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Review

4 angsty, secretive, chemistry-filled stars. I loved it!

I freaking love this series. Love. It! Not every book is a 5 star read but the love stories are unique and well written with lots of chemistry, emotion and sexy, heart-warming romance. Each book builds on the previous one with lots of involvement from the whole cast of characters, so though you could read these books as standalones, it’s always going to be more enjoyable if you know the characters and their dynamics before diving in. Either way, you can be confident that you’re going to get a great read.

This is book seven and is finally Asher’s story! OMG, I’ve been waiting for this one! The hot rocker/bartender has been in the background of the last few books, but ever since he set his eyes on a girl wearing an Incubus t-shirt and singing karaoke at Forbidden nightclub – where he and the rest of the boys of the series work – he has been obsessed with finding her, and I knew the intensity between him and his girl was going to be electric. And I was right.

Remy Curran loves music and wants nothing more than to join a band where she can play her drums and live the life of a musician, playing before a crowd, absorbing herself in the music she is so passionate about. When Asher Hart’s band, Non-Castrato, auditions for a new drummer, she shows up fully intending to blow them away with her skills. But she isn’t expecting to be thrown out of the audition the moment she walks in the door purely because she’s a woman. Broken hearted but determined, her roommate convinces her to try the audition again, this time dressed as a man. So, donning a mask, wig and manly clothes, and calling herself ‘Sticks’, she goes back, blows the boys away like she knew she would, and is offered the job. But she’s hit with a complication when she finds herself wildly attracted to lead singer, Asher.

Asher has had a really rough upbringing. Though he has been accepted into the Forbidden family, he lives a mostly isolated life, working hard to make a living out of his music. When Sticks joins the band, the two of them share an immediate bond, having so much in common, and he easily opens up to his new friend, feeling like he’s finally found somebody who really ‘gets’ him.

Of course he has no clue who Sticks really is. And as if their situation is not complicated enough, things become even more complex when Asher sees Remy without her costume and, not recognising her as either his bandmate and friend, or the mysterious Incubus t-shirt girl, he is instantly smitten with the sexy Latino.

“Whenever I look into your eyes, I feel like there could be more, so much more. Like there could be everything.”

Remy never expected her lie to get this far. But she’s finally doing what she loves, and when the band starts to gain success she doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardise that. And then she goes and totally falls for Asher and though she knows it’s unavoidable, the last thing she wants to do is hurt him.

“I freaking fell in love with him. I mean, I honest to God love everything about Asher Hart. He’s the best man, best lover, best friend I ever had.”

It’s a bit of a cheesy set-up, and very angsty with all of the deception going on, but the whole thing is really well written. So many times I kept wondering ‘how could he possibly not know?’ but I was enjoying the story so much that I was able to suspend belief and just go with it. But the whole time I was reading with a sense of dread in my belly, feeling sick for Remy as she unwillingly sank deeper into her complicated deception, and growing increasingly sad for Asher, just knowing how broken-hearted he would be when the truth comes out.

The inevitable confrontation is perfect. Full of anger and devastation, I could empathise with both Remy and Asher, and the whole thing is really well done, and I thought that the way the story played out from that point was realistic, and I revelled in every electric moment of it.

“You gave me everything I wanted most. I just couldn’t figure out it was all coming from the same person.”

There is a random storyline woven through the book that adds a bit more drama, but honestly I thought it was overkill and completely unnecessary. There was enough going on in the story without having to add more, and the climax to that particular plotline was unrealistic and just had me rolling my eyes…

But I found that whole aspect of the story so unimportant, that I just glossed over it, not really interested, concentrating instead on the romantic drama, and the goings on with the rest of the crew.

The Forbidden guys and their girls all play a part in the unfolding drama – Ten, in particular is freaking hilarious, and I loved that we got to see so much of Pick. He’s definitely my favourite of the boys, and it was such a treat to spend time with him again and see his story progress. There’s some big developments happening for Mason, and then there’s the hint of things to come for Brandt and Sarah – OMG, their story has the potential to be amazing!

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and full of chemistry with great character interaction and a unique yet beautifully developed, super passionate love story – and an awesome epilogue just to tie everything off.

I loved it – 4 stars.

The Forbidden Men series