09/25/2017 Rai follows her Forbidden Hearts series launch (Hate to Want You) with well-drawn characters and a plot that heats up with the mutual attraction between Jackson Kane and his brother’s widow, Sadia Ahmed. Sadia’s family believes money is the only reason she’s pulling double evening shifts as a cocktail waitress at O’Killian’s Bar; the Kane Cafe, a breakfast and lunch spot that she inherited from her deceased husband, isn’t providing enough for the single mom and her son. She doesn’t tell her relatives that cocktail waitressing also yields a constant stream of no-questions-asked anonymous sex partners. When Jackson returns to Rockville, N.Y., from self-imposed exile, Sadia’s yearning for him, which she’s suppressed for a decade, comes roaring back. As if to further tempt her, he shows up at the cafe, offering to fill in as the chef she desperately needs. Romance and passion grow between them, but the rest of the town still holds a grudge for the fire they believe Jackson started 10 years ago, so if he wants to stay for Sadia’s sake, there are amends to be made. This is addictive reading for fans of family sagas and romance. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Agency. (Dec.)
Another emotional, passionate, and psychologically complex love story in a gripping series that follows the fates of two warring families.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“It’s not an easy journey, but watching Sadia and Jackson overcome each obstacle in order to claim their HEA is incredibly rewarding!” — RT Book Reviews (top pick)
“well-drawn characters and a plot that heats up with the mutual attraction... This is addictive reading for fans of family sagas and romance.” — Publishers Weekly
“as deliciously soapy as a CW drama with a far more diverse cast and a heartfelt, sensitive eye for issues... With her inclusive, multi-cultural supporting characters, smoking hot love scenes, and keen eye for plotting and family dynamics, Rai crafts some of the best romance writing of the year here.” — Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)
“gripping and passionate” — Bookish (Autumn 2017’s Most Swoon-Worthy Romance Books)
It’s not an easy journey, but watching Sadia and Jackson overcome each obstacle in order to claim their HEA is incredibly rewarding!
RT Book Reviews (top pick)
as deliciously soapy as a CW drama with a far more diverse cast and a heartfelt, sensitive eye for issues... With her inclusive, multi-cultural supporting characters, smoking hot love scenes, and keen eye for plotting and family dynamics, Rai crafts some of the best romance writing of the year here.
Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)
gripping and passionate
Bookish (Autumn 2017’s Most Swoon-Worthy Romance Books)
as deliciously soapy as a CW drama with a far more diverse cast and a heartfelt, sensitive eye for issues... With her inclusive, multi-cultural supporting characters, smoking hot love scenes, and keen eye for plotting and family dynamics, Rai crafts some of the best romance writing of the year here.
Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)
gripping and passionate
Bookish (Autumn 2017's Most Swoon-Worthy Romance Books)
Lucy Rivers and Jeremy York narrate the second installment of a dramatic family tale. Sadia Ahmed is struggling to put her life back together after the death of her husband. Jackson Kane was accused of arson 10 years ago and was cleared but left town afterward. York does a good job conveying Jackson’s seemingly blunt nature, while falling short at portraying Sadia’s precise control. Similarly, Rivers easily depicts the warm yet sometimes contentious bond between Sadia and her four sisters but has difficulty capturing a believable range of male voices. Both flounder somewhat in their portrayal of Sadia’s young son, but Rivers’s depiction is the more off the mark, making the 6-year-old sound like a teenager. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
Lucy Rivers and Jeremy York narrate the second installment of a dramatic family tale. Sadia Ahmed is struggling to put her life back together after the death of her husband. Jackson Kane was accused of arson 10 years ago and was cleared but left town afterward. York does a good job conveying Jackson’s seemingly blunt nature, while falling short at portraying Sadia’s precise control. Similarly, Rivers easily depicts the warm yet sometimes contentious bond between Sadia and her four sisters but has difficulty capturing a believable range of male voices. Both flounder somewhat in their portrayal of Sadia’s young son, but Rivers’s depiction is the more off the mark, making the 6-year-old sound like a teenager. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
★ 2017-08-06 A young widow juggling single motherhood and a small business faces her past and creates a new future when her ex-brother-in-law returns after a decade's absence.The second book in Rai's (Hate to Want You, 2017) Forbidden Hearts series brings Jackson Kane back to the upstate New York town that turned on his family and accused him of arson. Traveling only with what he can stash on his motorcycle, Jackson has become a pop-up chef of international renown, but he can't outrun the pull of his family or the strong feelings he has always had for his brother's widow, Sadia Ahmed. Sadia, the product of a family of physicians, struggles to keep her late husband Paul's cafe afloat while defending her choices to her disapproving but loving parents: "I've tried to be perfect. I've worked really hard at it, and never really quite succeeded…I never get to be…average old me." She may never be able to forgive Jackson, her closest childhood friend, for staying away when she desperately needed support. When Jackson shows up at the bar where Sadia pulls extra shifts to support her young son, her anger and hurt are palpable. But she reluctantly accepts Jackson's offer of help in the cafe while processing her anger and intense attraction to him. Jackson must come to terms with the role his own family played in the tragedy that unfolded years ago. An intensely introverted man who "never turned down a socially acceptable exit," he must find the line between self-preservation and selfishness. He cannot appreciate Sadia's pain until he allows himself to feel his own. A potentially awkward romance between former in-laws is handled with sensitivity, as Rai manages to weave Sadia's marriage into the narrative of her relationship with Jackson in a way that detracts from neither. Another emotional, passionate, and psychologically complex love story in a gripping series that follows the fates of two warring families.