This is the third and final installment in Rai’s incredible soapy goodness romance series. I wouldn’t recommend reading it on its own because of the awesome buildup that comes from reading the first two books in this series. Some series are created to have each book stand on its own – I don’t feel that this one is made this way. The couple within this book – Evie and Gabe – stand on their own and get their HEA within the book and that part is definitely contained and can be read by itself. But the rest of the book is a wonderful tension that had built up in the first two books and finally exploded everywhere in this one . The last 25% of the book or so I couldn’t read quickly enough because every revelation was making my head spin and I felt like I was watching a tennis match. It truly was just like a soap opera – and I mean that in the best possible way! I loved every second of it.
Evie is the kind of heroine I really enjoy. She’s curvy, super intelligent, but also shy and insecure in a way that I could so relate to and I felt like there should be a part of every woman I know that could relate to her. She has family issues which is where her insecurity comes from but what I loved about her is that she is also clearly incredibly intelligent. There was such a clear character development arc for Evie from the very first book through the end of this one that was separate from the complexity of the familial story arc and those layers are what draws me to Rai again and again.
Gabe is an excellent hero who tries to resist Evie’s pull. My favorite thing about him is his insistence that she can is capable of doing the things she wants to do. She clearly needs that in her life, don’t we all?
This book has a lot of angsty family drama goodness and I can’t recommend it or the whole series enough. As a matter of fact I’m pretty sure my book friends are getting tired of me saying have you read Alisha Rai yet? Too bad, I’m not going to stop lol!
Alisha Rai is an unwavering feminist and I freaking love it. Her female characters scream that with every breath they take. Her male characters either scream it or the females will educate them *really* quickly on why they have it wrong. These are exactly the romance books we should be reading, loving, and recommending to every single person we know in 2018. Oh and if you’re new to Alisha Rai in the last year or so you’re in luck! She has a back list that is really great – I highly recommend the Pleasure series. It’s one of my favorites!
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewer: Melinda
Title: Hurts to Love You
Author: Alisha Rai
Release Date: March 27, 2018
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