My rating: 4/5 stars
The Forbidden Men Series is one of my all time favorites and after reading 8 books, why not read the 9th one right? Especially after hearing that the hero is going to be Colton, Brandt’s little brother. Oh, I feel like Colton grew up in front of my eyes and I can’t believe he is finally old enough to have his story and find his HEA (yeee).
His lady is Juliana, Brand’t colleague that had a crush on him in Priceless. We all know that is was only one sided, because Brandt loved Sarah and was only meant to be with her. But Juliana’s crush lingered and became like a mini obsession, something that was forbidden for her.
The book begins with Brandt and Sarah’s wedding reception, when all the family is reunited and having a blast. All of them besides Juliana, which is miserable seeing Brandt married to somebody else. Colton is brought in the picture as a distraction, making Juliana not stare at Brandt any more and make things uncomfortable.. Well, that will be a trigger point for the 2 of them, because some pretty interesting things happen that night, that will make Juliana reflect on her feelings and realize her crush for Brandt was nowhere near as intense as the feelings she is developing for Colton.
The plot is not as complex as in the other books, but you have certain aspects that make you reflect on life as such. The most important one is the awareness it brings to interracial relationships and the way it is treated in the book. Personally, this was my first love story between a black woman and a white man, and I loved every minute of it. I connected to Juliana very much on her disbelieves and fears regarding her apparel, the way she wanted to seem perfect in order to not seem fragile and out of place. Appearances were everything to her, because in that way she felt safe, not criticized and could go on living a normal life, in a society that condemns you for your skin color.
Colton was the opposite of Juliana mainly because he liked to be spotted, soak all the attention and get people to notice him. He was funny, easy to talk to, besides his obvious looks and everything. He constantly flirted with Juliana and although we thought they don’t like each other, they did, and a lot:) He didn’t have any issue with Juliana being black, because he read her like an open book, understood her like no one else and made her feel unique. Colton was very straightforward with his feelings towards her and nothing could make him change his mind about them and about their relationship.
I liked the way they loved each other while fighting, the way they clicked while being so different, but those were the things that spiced up their love story and made it interesting to read. Besides, did I mention that Colton is 3 years younger than Juliana?:)) That was a bonus to the already forbidden affair.
I recommend this book not only for its characters but for the valuable life lesson that Linda offers us. It is amazing to see that love could surpass so many obstacles and be as invincible as ever even when a lot of people oppose to it, mainly because of an issue that not many can justify. No matter the color of our skin, we love, we hate and feel the same, and it is not up to nobody to judge and to dictate how we should live our life. I know that living in this society can be hard, but maybe this book will pass on a very important message that everybody should read and focus on.
Ramonisme 