Forbidden Romance Books that are must read novels!

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

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HERE ARE SOME OF MY OTHER BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS LISTS

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I’ve been an avid romance reader for many years now. And one trope out of all makes me pick up a book faster than any other and that’s the FORBIDDEN ROMANCE. Sometimes it’s not even that FORBIDDEN or taboo, but even a little vibe of the forbidden makes for some awesome reading.

I love forbidden romances!!

I’m not going to lie the trope is fascinating. Sexy. Full of tension and forbidden attraction. And it always makes for unputdownable reads.

Below, I collected all of the forbidden romances that stood out over the years. Also, some of these books SIZZLE – so just be aware. Forbidden romances can be quite SEXY!

So, if you are like me, a forbidden romance lover, here are my favorites for your tbr.  I’ve read them all, and if you have any questions, just shoot me an email.

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

FORBIDDEN ROMANCE BOOKS
GROUPED BY TROPE

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

SEXY

LOVER BY MARNI MANN, GIA RILEY

Ok this book sounded at first way out of my comfort zone, but as soon as I started it I was totally invested and loved heck out of the forbidden vibe!

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The attraction was undeniable.
I couldn’t escape him. 
lI didn’t want to. 
I was his. 
He was mine. 
But he wasn’t my husband. 

My once treasured marriage was now flawed and imperfect. 
By the time the guilt set in, it was too late. 
Reality was trying to keep me away from my obsession. 
My husband was that reality. 
My obsession was West. 

But West was forbidden. Taken. Married. 
We were swingers. 
It was the perfect arrangement.

Until I fell in love… 
With West.

AFTER THE NIGHT BY LINDA HOWARD

My most favorite Linda Howard and the forbidden, sultry, and sexy vibe was right up my ally! I would consider it a cult classic, just alone because of the publication date. It’s and OLDIE but GOODIE!!! SO GOOD!!!

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FAITH DEVLIN: A poor, outcast child in Prescott, Louisiana, she’d always adored the town’s golden boy from afar. But he called her white trash that sultry Southern night when his rich, respected father disappeared, along with her pretty Mom. Now Faith wanted to hate Gray Rouillard…not to feel a powerful surge of desire. But she couldn’t quench her passion, any more than she could hide the truth about the past she had waited so long to unravel. 
GRAY ROUILLARD: Even when he raised hell, he did it with style. Reckless, charming, and backed by Rouillard money, Gray controlled the town of Prescott — and Devlin was a name he never wanted to hear again. But when he gazed at Faith Devlin, all he saw was a swirl of tangled sheets and her silken flesh beneath him. To care for her was impossible, unthinkable…because Gray Rouillard planned to use all his power to ruin her.

TURBULENCE BY WHITNEY G.

Oh boy, this book started it all!! It’s still the one I would recommend the most just to shock everyone – lol. Fantastic banter, a major jerk as hero, sexy times, and just something overall DIFFERENT!!!!!!! Go and grab yourself a copy!!!

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ATTENTION the author changed the title to MISTER WESTON

Fuck me recklessly
Kiss me harder.
Take me again and again…

He and I met under a cloud of clichés:
Boy meets girl. iBoy charms girl. Boy fucks girl.
Our story was supposed to end right after the orgasms, right after we went our separate ways.

But then we saw each other again…

And neither of us could walk away.

Our rules were simple.
iOur passion was scandalous.
Our hearts were supposed to be safe…

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

STEP-BROTHER

FALLEN CREST HIGH (FALLEN CREST HIGH #1) BY TIJAN

Ah, the step brother trope, and let’s not forget that this series is CULT!!!!! I read them in 2014, it feels so LONG ago, but I never looked back. On the other hand this series is a commitment, seven books, one big HEA, major book hangover alert, and lots of DRAMA (capital letters, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you) but I would consider TIJAN the QUEEN of YA/NA drama. And her books are always hella entertaining!!!!

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Mason and Logan Kade are two brothers who did their own thing. They were rich and expected to attend her school, Fallen Crest Academy. iThey chose public school and now Samantha has to live with them. The problem is that she doesn’t care at all: about them, about her friends, about her cheating boyfriend, or even about her parent’s divorce. But maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe change is a good thing.

_{Trigger: school bullying}

PAPER PRINCESS: A NOVEL BY ERIN WATT

It’s been so long since I read this series, and I remember that the wait between books was AGONY!!!! Good thing for you, they are all out now and there is no more wait! Just enjoy great writing, an entertaining plot and some over the top YA drama. All of it makes for some great reading!

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From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. 

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees. 

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

AGE GAP

SCANDALOUS (SINNERS OF SAINT, #3) BY L.J. SHEN

Oooh one of my favorite #hotholes!!!

Honestly, if you haven’t read this series yet, start with VICOUS and don’t look back. These major JERKS will steal your heart! Also be prepared for some major book hangover!

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They call him The Mute for a reason.
Hard, cold and calculated, he rarely speaks.
When he does, it’s with disdain.
When he does, his words aren’t meant for me.
iWhen he does, my stomach flips and my world tilts on its axis.
He is thirty-three.
I am eighteen.
He’s a single dad and my father’s business partner.
I’m just a kid to him and his enemy’s daughter.
He’s emotionally unavailable.
And I am…feeling. Feeling things I shouldn’t feel for him.
Trent Rexroth is going to break my heart. The writing isn’t just on the wall, it’s inked on my soul.
And yet, I can’t stay away.
A scandal is the last thing my family needs. But a scandal is what we’re going to give them.
And oh, what beautiful chaos it will be.

BIRTHDAY GIRL BY PENELOPE DOUGLAS

I must admit I expected more FORBIDDEN when it comes to a Penelope Douglas book, but was pleasantly surprised by the overall enjoyment I got out of this book. I think this one will please the majority of romance readers and it’s a great book to start this trope with.

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He took me in when I had nowhere else to go. He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. lHe listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work. 

I have to stop this. lIt can’t happen. 

My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one. 
I am. 

PIKE

I took her in, because I thought I was helping. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to. 

But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight. 

And her boyfriend’s father. 

Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

UNDENIABLE (UNDENIABLE #1) BY MADELINE SHEEHAN

Oh wow!!! I remember when this author RULED the MC romance world in 2013. She was the QUEEN of motorcycle-club–romance!! Her books were in your face and unapologetically real and raw!! So many taboos, and so many emotions!

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***Warning*** (This book contains several aspects of the uglier side of life; it is not for everyone.)

The story of Deuce and Eva…

An undeniable connection that stands the test of time.

Unforgettable moments.

Love and pain and everything in between.

I was five years old when I met Deuce, he was twenty-three, and it was visiting day at Riker’s Island. My father, Damon Fox or “Preacher”, the President of the infamous “Silver Demon’s” motorcycle club -mother chapter- in East Village, New York City, was doing a five-year stint for aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon. It was not the first time my father had been in prison and it wouldn’t be the last. The Silver Demon’s MC was a notorious group of criminals who lived by the code of the road and gave modern society and all it entailed a great big f**k you.

“Never forget the day Eva came bouncin’ into my f**ked up life, shakin’ pigtails, singin’ Janis, wearin’ chucks and sharin’ peanuts and straight up stole any decency I had left which wasn’t a whole lot but she f**kin’ took it and I’ve been hers ever since.”

HOTHOUSE FLOWER (CALLOWAY SISTERS #2) BY KRISTA & BECCA RITCHIE

Oooh one of my favorite author couples!!!!

I could talk about their books all day!!!! Besides them giving me one of my favorite romance couples, Rose & Connor (Kiss the Sky) I could fangirl all day long about these two – COUPLE GOALS!!!!! But they also gave me a family that is now in its second generation – hello my darlings Maximoff and Farrow 💕 and I just can’t get enough of them. But as one of the original couples, Ryke and Daisy were the ultimate forbidden couple, her being so much younger than him, but also so into him, and Ryke giving a fig about anyone anyway – dream team!!!!!!

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Ryke Meadows, meet Daisy Calloway … she’s all grown up.

Twenty-five-year-old Ryke Meadows knows he’s hard to love. With a billion-dollar inheritance, a track-star resume, and an alpha-male personality—he redefines the term likable asshole. But he’s not living to make friends. Or enemies. He just wants to free climb three of the toughest mountains in Yosemite without drama or interruption.

And then he receives a distressed call from a girl in Paris—a girl that he has never been allowed to have.

Daisy Calloway is eighteen. Finally. With her newfound independence, she can say goodbye to her overbearing mother and continue her modeling career. Next stop, Paris. Fashion Week begins with a bang, and Daisy uncovers the ugly reality of the industry. She wants to prove to her family that she can live on her own, but when everything spirals out of control, she turns to Ryke to keep her secrets. 

As Daisy struggles to make sense of this new world and her freedom, she pushes the limits and fearlessly rides the edge. Ryke knows there’s deep hurt beneath every impulsive action. He must keep up with Daisy, and if he lets her go, her favorite motto—“live as if you’ll die today”—may just come true.

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

TEACHER/COACH

MISCONDUCT BY PENELOPE DOUGLAS

This one hit all the right marks for me!! I love the teacher/student trope but understand that it’s just not the right one for everyone, in that case you might be interested in a teacher/parent forbidden romance novel that was SEXY, well written and all in all just really well done!

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Former tennis player Easton Bradbury is trying to be the best teacher she can be, trying to reach her bored students and trying to forget her past. What brought her to this stage in her life isn’t important. She can’t let it be. But now one parent-teacher meeting may be her undoing…

Meeting Tyler Marek for the first time makes it easy for Easton to see why his son is having trouble in school. The man knows how to manage businesses and wealth, not a teenage boy. Or a young teacher, for that matter, though he tries to. And yet…there is something about him that draws Easton in—a hint of vulnerability, a flash of attraction, a spark that might burn.

Wanting him is taboo. Needing him is undeniable. And his long-awaited touch will weaken Easton’s resolve—and reveal what should stay hidden…

ON THE ISLAND BY TRACEY GARVIS GRAVES

Ooh, I must admit the older woman/younger man trope is not often the right one for me. But this one – WOW!!! There is a reason why it’s rated at 4.12 out of 75,576 ratings on Goodreads. It’s incredibly well written. And will pull you in and leave you wanting more!

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When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family’s summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He’s almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn’t bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family—and a stack of overdue assignments—instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.’s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter.

Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

A PLACE WITHOUT YOU BY JEWEL E. ANN

This author is a favorite of mine, and her books are always emotional. She knows how to rip out your heart and put it back together. Just have tissues ready when you read her books. Also the forbidden vibe was right up my alley, and as always, her books are never predictable.

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The Law of Henna and Bodhi: 
When love breaks, fall inward, fall together, and fall hard. Then let time pick up the pieces. 

Everything feels temporary when you’ve experienced tragedy—until Henna Lane meets Bodhi at a music festival. 

Young and spontaneous, they have a lust for seizing the moment, falling hard and fast. 

When Bodhi is forced to leave without a goodbye, Henna thinks she’ll never get over him. But then she meets Mr. Malone, her sexy, new guidance counselor. 

They are reckless. 
They are forbidden. 

When their secret is discovered, Henna has to choose between finishing school—banned from seeing Mr. Malone—or dropping out to follow her nomad dreams. 

Henna chooses her dreams. 

Over time, she learns that life is not a destination or a journey, some things are more than temporary, and the forbidden can never be ignored. But if she returns for him, will he still be hers? 

A Place Without You is an emotional story of young love, shattered dreams, and impossible decisions.

DARK NOTES BY PAM GODWIN

Wowzer, this one was SEXY!!! So be ready for some darker undertones, and some sexy spanking anyone?

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They call me a slut. Maybe I am.
Sometimes I do things I despise.
Sometimes men take without asking.

But I have a musical gift, only a year left of high school, and a plan.
With one obstacle.

Emeric Marceaux doesn’t just take.
He seizes my will power and bangs it like a dark note.
When he commands me to play, I want to give him everything.
I kneel for his punishments, tremble for his touch, and risk it all for our stolen moments.

He’s my obsession, my master, my music.
And my teacher.

SCORING WILDER BY R.S. GREY

One of my favorite romance novels and a perfect combination of sports romance and forbidden romance – her a student athlete and him a temporary coach – it checks ALL MY BOXES!!!!

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What started out as a joke— seduce Coach Wilder—soon became a goal she had to score. 

With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He’s a professional soccer player, America’s favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.

A face that makes girls weep – check. 
Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) – check. 
Enough confidence to shift the earth’s gravitational pull – double check.

Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits . Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. “Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you’ll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.”) But that just makes him all the more enticing…Besides, Kinsley’s already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

OFFICE ROMANCE

MR. PRESIDENT (WHITE HOUSE #1) BY KATY EVANS

Woohoo, I think I might even re-read this one soon. The timing is right. I read it around the last election and only felt crushed afterwards, when I compared fiction to reality. Anyway, it was REALLY good and gave me all the right vibes.

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He’s won the hearts of millions. But is he willing to lose his?

I met the president’s son when we were both young. Matthew Hamilton was handsome, polished, and intelligent. I’d never met a guy like him.

He promised me that he’d never run for president. I promised that if he did, I’d be by his side.

Three terms later, an invitation to join Matthew Hamilton’s campaign is the most exhilarating opportunity I’ve ever experienced. I’m determined to make a difference; he is determined to win. 

Focused on his goal, Matt is steadfast, ruthless, and disarming. All eyes are on him and his popularity is surging. But soon, the next possible president of the United States is possessing me in more ways than one—and despite the risks, I’m helpless to resist. 

We’re stealing touches, stealing moments, and stealing away at night. But our chemical connection is quickly becoming dangerously combustive, putting not only my heart, but Matt’s chance at the presidency on the line. 

Winning will take everything. Walking away will be the hardest thing of all. 

BEAUTIFUL BASTARD (BEAUTIFUL BASTARD #1) BY CHRISTINA LAUREN

One of my favorite sexy office romance, which fits perfectly into the forbidden category! SEXY with capital letters people!!!! Just be prepared for some sexy office shenanigans.

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An ambitious intern. iA perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling.

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.

Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family’s massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office. 

As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they’re willing to lose in order to win each other.

DIRTY HEADLINES BY L.J. SHENDIRTY HEADLINES BY L.J. SHEN

Ah, another favorite office/forbidden romance!! SO GOOD!!!!!! A five star read and a book I’ve already read multiple times!!!! Don’t wait anymore, pick it up!

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Célian Laurent.
Manhattan royalty.
Notorious playboy.
Heir to a media empire.
…And my new boss.

I could have impressed him, if not for last month’s unforgettable one-night stand.
I left it with more than orgasms and a pleasant memory–namely, his wallet.
Now he’s staring me down like I’m the dirt under his Italian loafers, and I’m supposed to take it.
But the thing about being Judith “Jude” Humphry is I have nothing to lose.
Brooklyn girl.
Infamously quirky.
Heir to a stack of medical bills and a tattered couch.
When he looks at me from across the room, I see the glint in his eyes, and that makes us rivals.
He knows it.
So do I. 
Every day in the newsroom is a battle.
Every night in his bed, war.
But it’s my heart at stake, and I fear I’ll be raising the white flag.

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

MM

DAMAGED LIKE US (LIKE US #1) BY KRISTA RITCHIE, BECCA RITCHIE

My darlings!!!!!! I love them SO MUCH!!!!! And what a fantastic plot, falling in love with a sexy bodyguard, one that understands Maximoff like no other – I swoon every time I read these books!! The BEST kind of forbidden romance!!!

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Don’t date your bodyguard. 
It was the one rule he had to break.

Maximoff Hale is a force of nature. A ship unwilling to be steered. Headstrong, resilient, and wholly responsible — the twenty-two-year-old alpha billionaire can handle his unconventional life. By noon, lunch can turn into a mob of screaming fans. iBy two, his face is all over the internet. 

Born into one of the most famous families in the country, his celebrity status began at birth. 

He is certified American royalty. 

When he’s assigned a new 24/7 bodyguard, he comes face-to-face with the worst case scenario: being attached to the tattooed, MMA-trained, Yale graduate who’s known for “going rogue” in the security team — and who fills 1/3 of Maximoff’s sexual fantasies. 

Twenty-seven-year-old Farrow Keene has one job: protect Maximoff Hale. Flirting, dating, and hot sex falls far, far out of the boundary of his bodyguard duties and into “termination” territory. But when feelings surface, protecting the sexy-as-sin, stubborn celebrity becomes increasingly complicated. 

Together, boundaries blur, and being exposed could mean catastrophic consequences for both.

HEATED RIVALRY (GAME CHANGERS, #2) BY RACHEL REID

This is probably THE BEST FORBIDDEN AND ENEMIES TO LOVERS ROMANCES I EVER READ!!!!!!! I apologize for the capital letters but it had to be done! Love this book so much, and can’t wait to get more Shane and Ilya!!

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Nothing interferes with Shane Hollander’s game—definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate.

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE BY CASEY MCQUISTON

Aww, sweet RW&RB!! At this point I don’t know anyone who has not read this book yet. If you haven’t, just get it and welcome to the club!!!!

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First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

CAPTIVE PRINCE (CAPTIVE PRINCE #1) BY C.S. PACAT

THIS TRILOGY IS AMAZING!!!! I get it, it’s not for everyone, but it’s SO GOOD that it gives me a book hangover EVERY TIME I read it!!! And I often read it once a year and it NEVER gets OLD!! So if you read it, and don’t love it, please don’t tell me you’ll crush my heart!!!

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Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master, Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.

For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else…

MORE TO COME…

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books

The BEST Forbidden Romance Books