Wrong to Need You: Forbidden Hearts

This book is the perfect example of why I try to always continue a book series even if I didn't 100% care for the first book. I enjoyed the first book enough but I really, really liked this book! First of all I love Jackson. He is broody, and protective but also quiet and such a cinnamon roll. Basically the best kind of hero. Sadia is a character I was really excited to read about from the first book and she did not disappoint. Together they were definitely my favorite couple of the series so far and im sure it'll stay that way even when I read the last book. This book like the first is pretty dang steamy, but unlike the first book the scenes made sense to me. I could really feel the connection and chemistry with Jackson and Sadia, unlike how I felt in the first book.The small town drama and all of the friends and family are still present which is great, but also there is a lot of Sadia's family too (not going to lie I was so excited to be able to "meet" Sadia's little sister Jia who is in the moden love series as well). This book sets up the next book, which I'm excited for because I really like Eve.

Alisha Rai continues to reveal more and more complicated backstory of the Oka-Kanes vs Chandlers family issues in this second installment.Rai gets the main couple from the first book out of the way by having them go on a trip "to talk things over". Meanwhile, widowed Sadia has a Kane legacy cafe to run, no chef, and a younger sister wanting to drop out of med school in a rehashment of her own family issues with defining success.And Jackson, her wayward brother-in-law who was arrested for arson and didn't come back even for his brother's funeral, is back in town.Rai gave the first book couple a long relationship by having them meet up every year, in this book, Sadia has continued emailing Jackson the whole time, using the emails as a kind of diary of her life. Now that he's back, he knows everything about her, and she knows nothing about him.Most of this book is Jackson going around to members of the extended family and being greeted and loved on (except for family matriarch Tani Oka-Kane, but she's got her own depression and secrets to handle). Sadia and Jackson are consenting adults not afraid to ask for what they want. The theme of slight domination again comes up in their steamy times but with Sadia taking the lead in a nice gender reversal of the first book.Rai's greatest strength in this book is the psychological healing of past family issues and tragedies without giving easy answers other than making time for family. Not only do we get some Oka-Kane/Chandler family bonding, but we also get to peek into the highpowered family Sadia comes from, and touch on first-generation immigrant story about success and working hard and achieving.Even though the third book's characters are not my favorite (Eva doesn't seem like an interesting personality) I'll probably go on reading because its the extended family that makes these books worthwhile and I'll want to find out what happens to them :)

I don’t know what it was but the description of Jackson was as just so damned sexy. This Kane/Chandler family drama is like Dynasty or something, secrets everywhere. I’m seeing a common thread with these characters, they all seem to have emotional or social issues that many times exacerbate their problems. Interesting series about an interesting family

Sadia and Jackson were best friends, in childhood and adolescence, until Jackson left town following family tragedy and an arrest for a crime he didn’t commit. Ten years later, Sadia is a single mother, widowed after the death of Jackson’s brother Paul, and Jackson has returned, still in love with Sadia.Wrong to Need You is a contemporary romance with an exceptionally sweet slow burn. Sadia is a complex and competent heroine with a strong sense of responsibility and a serious set of organizational skills. Jackson is a gentle giant, a shy and introverted hero with a well-defined sense of social justice and extremely nurturing tendencies towards people he cares about. Jackson’s previously unrequited love for Sadia and Sadia’s newfound attraction to Jackson must overcome societal expectations and the shadow of past tragedy. The development and progression of their relationship does not occur in a vacuum. As they navigate their way towards loving each other, they also deal with family issues (parental expectations and familial support), life-work balance (single parenthood and business ownership), and mental health (panic attacks). These are two wonderful people whose happy ending I was cheering for the whole time.Wrong to Need You is the second book in the Forbidden Hearts series, but I think it can be read as a standalone. I still recommend reading the first book, Hate to Want You, for additional background on the cast of characters (and because I loved that book.) A quick note regarding comparing the two books: it’s an apples and oranges comparison. While they are both complex, beautifully written stories, the emotional tone and pacing of each one felt quite different to me. Hate to Want You is an emotional grinder, full of really big feels. Wrong to Need You is sweeter, more tender, and therefore can seem muted by comparison. I think personal tastes, preferences, and the reader’s mood while reading will likely play a large factor in which book a person likes more.

5 stars because it’s the best in the series. The characters are real. They read like real people. This book is sexy and serious.....without being one of those “awful dark secrets of the past will rip their love to shreds!” The drama from their past is there, but it doesn’t overtake the love story that’s actually happening in the present. Sadia, the main character is a BOSS, and Jackson is no slouch either. But Sadia......swoon!

[ARC provided by Edelweiss and publisher in exchange for an honest review.]This was a perfect conclusion to Alisha Rai's Forbidden Hearts series, and I already miss all of these characters so fucking much.In "Hurts to Love You" we follow Nicholas' younger sister Eve and the Kane's housekeeper son Gabe in yet another love story deeply tangled in the Chandler/Kane family feud. While not as complicated as Livvy and Nico or taboo as Sadia and Jackson, there's enough baggage and miscomunication to fuel a lot of sexual tension and make Eve and Gabe understandably hesitant to surrender to one another.Gabe is 12 years older than Eve and has comfortably fallen into a "several-night-stands" role, while Eve has been nurturing a teenage crush on Gabe for years and has just quit her job at her family's business. Following in the previous books' fashion, they both have a lot to work out about their past and their own ideas of themselves before being able to truly open up to one another.The story takes place during Livvy and Nico's wedding week, which in my opinion made the plot a bit clunkier than the previous books, but both Eve and Gabe's characterization and character development are excellent, which really makes up for it. Also the setup makes sure all of our faves show up multiple times (I especially appreciate Eve and Livvy's relationship and Jackson's entire existence). I was expecting some family drama considering this is the end of the series, and boy this book does not disappoint. I literally missed my bus stop reading one of the chapters because there was so much happening and I couldn't put the book down.If you haven't read the previous two books in the series, I advise you to finish them before reading this one. Not only will it provide emotional heft necessary to make Eve and Gabe's story much more appealing, but also dammmmnnn these books are amazing. I got really invested in both families' story, not only the couples's, and I absolutely loved how it ends. I would count the entire series among my favorite romance novels for sure.PS: I know I won't be the only one who would kill for a solo book starring Gabe's sister Rhiannon, who is simply the greatest.

I really enjoyed Rai's "Hate To Want You", the previous story in the sequence, for the excellent depiction of mental health issues, family dysfunction, and complicated emotional situations, as well as the thwarted longings of the couple. This story features two of the side characters in that novel, and is beautifully written, with sweet and sexy moments, as well as excellent characterisation and complex issues that both are and aren't resolved, much in the way of reality. Sadia's situation - on the verge of economic exhaustion - coupled with her pride made for a gutsy and realistic read, and Jackson's struggle regarding the love he's always held for his sister-in-law and his family situation show how complicated relationships - family and romantic both - can be.

Took a long time for the book to get interesting. Had a hard time getting into it

I loved this book. I worried I wouldn’t like it as much as the first but it is so good. So many things just casually slipped in there like it’s no big deal, like Sadia being bi. Often these topics can be clunky and out of place but Rai does a great job at weaving them in.