littlemisscass's review
3.0
Well-written, mildly-engaging book with likeable, relatable characters. I think its biggest issue was that it tried to involve too many (unnecessary) characters and it was just a bit much to keep track of when they weren't integral to the plot (in retrospect, this is part of a series and maybe they were important in previous books?). Not a favourite but not disliked.
pn_hinton's review against another edition
5.0
I really was totally on the fence about starting this series due to how much it was hyped up, but I am really glad I gave it a chance. This series got better with each novel, and this one was my favorite by far. Maybe because I have a soft spot for really tall heroes but whatever the reason this one just really sealed the deal for me and I thought it was a wonderful way to end the series.
I admit that the revelations that were revealed here were not exactly what I was expecting so I was surprised by all of those. One of the strongest themes in these books was the idea of family and what that means. It is also not even only the family that you are born into but the family that you make along the way and how strong those bonds can be. There were a few scenes here that made me tear up as it showed the ways our families, specifically our parents, can harm or heal us and that there can be others there to pick up the pieces.
I also enjoyed Gabe and Eve's relationship and how it progressed. I don't feel it was too fast or too slow and their love scenes were extremely hot! Like, fan-worthy, tall cold glass of water hot. But it didn't drive the story which I really liked since, as much as I enjoyed the other two volumes, I feel that it was the sex that drove most of the story. To be fair those, in the first one it had been an established relationship that broke up because of a meddling father, and the second one they were friends and there was a bit of a taboo about their relationship. So, in a sense this is the only one where the hero and heroine had to get to know each other outside of the box they had assigned each other to earlier in life.
I heartily recommend all three books and I may end up buying these for myself at some point since they were all library loans since I am 'bookin' on a budget', and if I do this will, hands down, be the one that will be the most read. All the thumbs up for this one!!
I admit that the revelations that were revealed here were not exactly what I was expecting so I was surprised by all of those. One of the strongest themes in these books was the idea of family and what that means. It is also not even only the family that you are born into but the family that you make along the way and how strong those bonds can be. There were a few scenes here that made me tear up as it showed the ways our families, specifically our parents, can harm or heal us and that there can be others there to pick up the pieces.
I also enjoyed Gabe and Eve's relationship and how it progressed. I don't feel it was too fast or too slow and their love scenes were extremely hot! Like, fan-worthy, tall cold glass of water hot. But it didn't drive the story which I really liked since, as much as I enjoyed the other two volumes, I feel that it was the sex that drove most of the story. To be fair those, in the first one it had been an established relationship that broke up because of a meddling father, and the second one they were friends and there was a bit of a taboo about their relationship. So, in a sense this is the only one where the hero and heroine had to get to know each other outside of the box they had assigned each other to earlier in life.
I heartily recommend all three books and I may end up buying these for myself at some point since they were all library loans since I am 'bookin' on a budget', and if I do this will, hands down, be the one that will be the most read. All the thumbs up for this one!!
readingwithhippos's review
5.0
Read the whole thing in a day. Alisha Rai is the queen. Contemporary romance isn’t really my jam—I much prefer my love stories to be set in a different time in history or in a fantasy world. However, I will make all the exceptions for Alisha Rai. This series is the ultimate comfort read. They’re the books you pick up when you need to see realistically messed up characters get their happy ending. Usually with contemporary romance I get taken out of the story by unrealistic situations or cringey dialogue, but Rai’s characters always ring true for me. This book is about Eve, the buttoned-up, socially anxious daughter of the Chandler fortune, and Gabe, a hulking, red-headed tattoo artist. They’ve had some awkward encounters in the past and there are unspoken feelings on both sides, but now they’re in a wedding party together. Eve and Gabe show up at a mansion upstate for a week’s worth of festivities, but oops—turns out due to scheduling conflicts, they’re going to have some time to themselves. What will happen, I wonder? ;)
what_alice_saw's review
3.0
Scribd Audiobook
The romance was sweet, but there was too much going on. The stories were kind of all over the place.
The romance was sweet, but there was too much going on. The stories were kind of all over the place.
leslielikesthings's review
5.0
A very satisfying conclusion to this trilogy. All the family secrets were revealed, and this was probably my favorite romantic pairing of the three.
landragraf's review
4.0
As posted on Smitten By Books Blog
I’m loving the books coming from Avon authors this year. No doubt about it the contemporary genre has a ton of awesome, diverse author voices and they are worth every penny.
Hurts To Love You is like Dynasty with a little best friends little sister, add a touch of class warfare, and a dark family secret. The drama abounds. Not to mention both hero and heroine are like flame to kindling once the walls they’ve built up come crashing down. Being on a wedding party retreat without the wedding party will do that to a person.
As far as characters go, hero Gabriel is a tatted, bearded delicious hulk of a man. He’s been trying his best to not give into what he considers an inappropriate attraction to our heroine, Evangeline. She’s the younger sister of what was once an enemy, the Chandler family. Gabriel grew up as a part of the Oka-Kane household, though on the fringes of it… and he’s got a big, bad secret. One that makes him believe he’s truly not worthy of anything, outside of what he’s earned on his own.
Evangeline is a woman after my own heart. She grew up in a verbally abusive household and has fought long and hard to overcome those challenges. At the same time, she’s nursing a crush born from years of watching Gabriel from afar. Taking advantage of the opportunity of being alone with him, she works to close the gaps and see if her attraction is just one sided.
These two light up the pages. Between their desire for one another, their drive to overcome years of guilt, secrets, and hiding parts of themselves I couldn’t put this book down. I’m a little sad to be coming into this series on the last story and plan on playing catch up with the others. The characters are so diverse, well-rounded and I actually thought I was watching my beloved romance meet high drama with a big payoff.
For readers who love drama rich stories like Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
I’m loving the books coming from Avon authors this year. No doubt about it the contemporary genre has a ton of awesome, diverse author voices and they are worth every penny.
Hurts To Love You is like Dynasty with a little best friends little sister, add a touch of class warfare, and a dark family secret. The drama abounds. Not to mention both hero and heroine are like flame to kindling once the walls they’ve built up come crashing down. Being on a wedding party retreat without the wedding party will do that to a person.
As far as characters go, hero Gabriel is a tatted, bearded delicious hulk of a man. He’s been trying his best to not give into what he considers an inappropriate attraction to our heroine, Evangeline. She’s the younger sister of what was once an enemy, the Chandler family. Gabriel grew up as a part of the Oka-Kane household, though on the fringes of it… and he’s got a big, bad secret. One that makes him believe he’s truly not worthy of anything, outside of what he’s earned on his own.
Evangeline is a woman after my own heart. She grew up in a verbally abusive household and has fought long and hard to overcome those challenges. At the same time, she’s nursing a crush born from years of watching Gabriel from afar. Taking advantage of the opportunity of being alone with him, she works to close the gaps and see if her attraction is just one sided.
These two light up the pages. Between their desire for one another, their drive to overcome years of guilt, secrets, and hiding parts of themselves I couldn’t put this book down. I’m a little sad to be coming into this series on the last story and plan on playing catch up with the others. The characters are so diverse, well-rounded and I actually thought I was watching my beloved romance meet high drama with a big payoff.
For readers who love drama rich stories like Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
ethrone's review
5.0
y'all this was sooooo good ughhhhhhhhhhhh i loved this series so much i never want it to end
brokenrecord's review
4.0
I didn't like this as much as the first two, but it was still solid and good! The main issue was that I never really felt invested in Eve and Gabe. But I did like them! I liked the thing where both characters think they're pining unrequitedly for the other but it turns out it's actually very requited. I also loved how Basically, this was just good. I like these characters and the family dynamics, and even though I wasn't super invested in the romance, Gabe and Eve were sweet.
Spoiler
Eve thinks Gabe is going to yell at her for riding on horseback by herself and then getting thrown off the horse in the storm and Gabe's just like, "No, it's fine, it could've happened to anyone!" because you see in romances a lot where the alpha hero is kind of controlling and overly protective (much like Nick's reaction!) but Gabe was totally reasonable. And it was great that she ended up standing up to Nick as well.mayvisin's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0