The Forbidden
by Jodi Ellen Malpas
August 8, 2017; Forever trade paperback
original; $15.99
A new
story of dangerous temptations from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of
the This Man trilogy.
Annie
has never experienced the 'spark' with a guy-that instant chemistry that
renders you weak in the knees. That is, until a night out brings her face to
face with the dangerously sexy and mysterious Jack. It's not just a spark that
ignites between them. It's an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he
fully delivers on that promise.
Overwhelmed
by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel
room. She is certain that a man who's had such a powerful impact on her must be
dangerous. She has no idea that he belongs to another. That he's forbidden.
“Every kiss, every sexy scene, every word between this pair owned a piece of my soul. I could read this book a hundred times and still react as if it was the first time. The Protector is a top 2016 fave for me.” –Audrey Carlan, #1 bestselling author of The Calendar Girl series
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Hot, sexy, emotionally raw and oh, so forbidden. These are the words that flew around my mind
as I was reading The Forbidden. Ms.
Malpas has written about a subject that is controversial and during the story, seized
that line between black and white and obliterated it into many different shades
of beautiful, vibrant colors.
The Forbidden I’m sure will
receive many mixed reviews due to the nature of the story. Some will put on their holier-than-thou attitudes
and condemn the author for seemingly promoting this taboo subject. But some, like myself, will realize that this
is a work of fiction, and really dig deep into the story and really understand
that no marriage is perfect and we really have no idea what goes on behind
closed doors. We don’t know what makes a
person do what they do. As
you read this story, perhaps you will understand that the heart will always
trump the mind and that fate will always intervene.
This is
an intense story that grabbed my complete attention from page one and refused
to let go until the very last page. To
say that it consumed me is a major understatement. The
Forbidden is a riveting read with amazing characters and a superbly written
story line. It’s an unforgettable story
that will stay with me for quite some time.
Kudos to Ms. Malpas for giving her readers this amazing story!
4 stars
“Thank you for your help,” I say
quietly, studying him, definitely detecting that he’s deep in thought. Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask. I need to get back into my apartment without engaging with
him, which could prove tricky when he’s blocking the doorway and looking like
he has no intention of shifting to let me in.
“Annie,” he breathes. “I’m struggling so
badly.”
“I’m not doing this.” I swallow, pushing my
way past him. He grabs me by the top of my arm and holds me in place. “Let me
go, Jack.”
“I’ve already told you I can’t do that.
Annie, I’m drowning here. I’m going out of my mind, and the more time I spend
with you the fucking worse it’s getting. Listening to you, talking to you,
sharing a passion with you that goes way
beyond the amazing time we had in bed together.”
“You have to forget!” I yell, knowing anger
is the only way forward. Be angry with him. Let it dominate me and rule me,
because the alternative scares me to fucking death.
He pushes me into the hall and slams the
door behind us, forcing me to back up. “No,” he says, straight and even. “No,”
he repeats, moving one more step forward, except this time I don’t retreat.
Because I can’t. Because he has me locked in place with those grey eyes, and
now they’re back to their full glory. Sparkling, even if it’s with anger. He
reaches for his shirt and starts unbuttoning it before shrugging it off and
throwing it to the floor, revealing the chest that’s haunting me.
I quickly look down at the pile of
material, my mind reeling. His chest. His perfect damn chest. “What are you
doing?”
“I have no fucking idea.” He reaches for me
and slides a hand around my neck, pulling me to him. Our chests meet, and my
determination to repel him vanishes under our connection. Wrongs turn into
rights. Conflict turns into craving.
“I can’t get you out of my head, Annie.”
His forehead meets mine, his palm massaging away the tightness in my neck
muscles, softening me up until I relax in his hold. “I want you all over again,
and I can’t even find the will to worry about how much more that’ll make me
want you.” He breathes down on me. “I’ve played that night on repeat. I’ve
dreamed of holding you in my arms again. I’ve craved the sound of your voice,
the feel of your touch, the softness of your lips on mine. I know I shouldn’t
want you. But I do. Nothing has ever made me feel this insane with need.
Nothing has taken up so much space in my head. I can’t fucking help it, Annie.”
His grey gaze sinks into me, my heart steadying to an even thrum. His head
starts to shake mildly, his splayed hand moving up to the back of my head and
fisting my hair. “I don’t want to help it,” he growls. “I want you. I don’t
care how wrong it is.” His clenched fist tightens, gripping my hair harshly. “I
know I’ve been on your mind since I fucked you every which way in that hotel
room. Stop denying it. Don’t insult me and tell me you don’t crave that amazing
feeling all over again. I can see it in your eyes every damn time I look into
them. You. Want. Me.”
It’s me who moves in first. All me. I lunge
forward and smash my lips to his, the magnetic force winning. His words
winning. Jack winning. My heart winning. I coax his mouth open with hard,
hungry kisses. I’ve lost my mind to a craving too powerful to fight off. And,
like Jack, I don’t care how wrong it is.
Lost.
Yet as he walks me backward until my back
slams into the wall, I feel found again.
I cry out, and Jack moans. We’re clumsy and
desperate. He’s pushing me up the wall with the force of his kiss, then he’s
rolling away, taking me with him until it’s his back slamming into the wall.
It’s the elevator all over again. The atmosphere is sizzling. I’m on fire. He
scoops me up, pinning me to him, and carries me into my bedroom. I focus on
him. Only him and the return of feelings that I’ve fantasized about since that
unforgettable night. All the guilt is abandoning me, and I let it, unprepared
to let anything stop me from taking the forbidden.
Jodi Ellen Malpas was born and raised in the Midlands’ town of
Northampton, England, where she lives with her two boys. Working for her
father’s construction business full-time, she tried to ignore the lingering
idea of writing until it became impossible. She wrote in secret for a long time
before finally finding the courage to unleash her creative streak, and in
October 2012 she released This Man. She took a chance on a story
with some intense characters and sparked incredible reactions from women all
over the world. Writing powerful love stories and creating addictive characters
have become her passion, a passion she now shares with her devoted readers.
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