Review: Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai

I have found one of my top books of 2017. Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai is top-notch, amazing romance from start to finish. It was breathtaking. Full of sexual and emotional tension, I was on tenterhooks to see how Livvy and Nicholas would handle their past and current relationship.

Livvy Kane and Nicholas Chandler usually hook up once a year. They have a wild night of sex and then each goes on their way again. These two cannot be together, at least in a public, because of a deep family betrayal. They were once happily in love, but when Nicholas’s father swindled the Kane family business out of their hands, everything changed for the worst. Now Livvy and Nicholas can only see each other on the sly, and even that is taking a chance.

Nicholas simply lusts after Livvy. When she shows up in their home town, he doesn’t know what to think. All he knows is that Livvy makes him come alive again, from head to toe. He feels everything for her but knows it will not lead anywhere.

Livvy is back in town to take care of her mother. She is working at a local tattoo shop for awhile and it is there where she reconnects with Nicholas. But nothing for this couple is easy and putting the past behind them once and for all may be nearly impossible. The tension is excruciating!

Hate to Want You captured my attention from the first page. Alisha Rai is a powerful

Forbidden Hearts #1

and dynamic writer and those qualities take center stage as she begins to create Livvy and Nicholas. I hate to resort to the onion cliche, but honestly, it felt like every page, I learned a bit more about these two and more of their vulnerabilities and their pasts were exposed. Both of these characters have a fragile air about them, though they would be swift to kick me in the pants for even thinking that.

The past is a major part of this story but I never felt like it intruded either. It was a necessary back story for these two, so readers can understand the heartache and anger that remains between the Kane and Chandler families.

Also, the sex? SUPER DUPER AMAZING HOT. Just wow. Their is such strong passion between these two! It really resonates off the page. Nicholas is clearly deeply in love with Livvy.

I also really appreciated how Alisha Rai handled another aspect of Livvy’s character. She has dealt with deep depression and it was not easy for her. As someone who has depression and knows what it feels like, I think Alisha Rai handled this really well. Obviously it is not going to be an exactly true portrayal for everyone but the heart of depression, the deep pain and loneliness it causes in one’s life, that part felt so real for me. I really think many readers are going to connect with Livvy.

And as an aside, I just loved the Kane family and I am super interested to see what book two brings in the Forbidden Hearts series.

Hate to Want You is exemplary romance. This book stands heads and shoulders above the crowd compared to a lot of what I’ve read this year. This is a book you need to get your hands on. It will leave you wanting more, wanting an instant re-read, and basically wanting to get your hands on everything Alisha Rai has written.

This book is available on July 25. Get your pre-order in now because damn. You need this book.

ARC provided by publisher for review.

Other reviews:

All About Romance

Hate to Want You
Forbidden Hearts #1
By: Alisha Rai
Releasing July 25, 2017
Avon

Alisha Rai, one of contemporary romance’s brightest stars, makes her Avon Books debut with the first novel in the sexy Forbidden Hearts series!
One night. No one will know.
That was the deal. Every year, Livvy Kane and Nicholas Chandler would share one perfect night of illicit pleasure. The forbidden hours let them forget the tragedy that haunted their pasts—and the last names that made them enemies.
Until the night she didn’t show up.
Now Nicholas has an empire to run. He doesn’t have time for distractions and Livvy’s sudden reappearance in town is a major distraction. She’s the one woman he shouldn’t want . . . so why can’t he forget how right she feels in his bed?
Livvy didn’t come home for Nicholas, but fate seems determined to remind her of his presence—and their past. Although the passion between them might have once run hot and deep, not even love can overcome the scandal that divided their families. Being together might be against all the rules . . . but being apart is impossible.

Follow the tour! | Add on Goodreads | Goodreads Series 

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google | iTunes

 

Giveaway!
An Avon Romance Print Prize Pack

 

Alisha Rai pens award-winning, sexy, contemporary romances and is the first author to have an indie-published book appear on The Washington Post’s annual Best Books list. She spends most of her time dreaming up sexy heroes and heroines, traveling, and tweeting. To find out more about her books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

 

Tagged: Alisha Rai