by Morgan Andrews (link)
Genre het, romance, erotica, drama
Pairings Isaac/Nikki, Taylor/Natalie, Zac/Kate, Zac/OFC
Length 44 segments and epilogue
Status Completed (first in a series of three)
I’ve noticed over the last few years that an adulterous Zac is a common trope in stories. While the title might make Forbidden Love sound like a slightly different sort of story, it treads fairly familiar cheating Zac territory, and if you like that trope, chances are you’ll find something to like in it.
If you don’t buy into the idea of love at first sight, Zac and Emily’s relationship might not be entirely believable to you. Tigress also changes a few details about Hanson’s history, including how young Zac and Kate got married, so you’ll want to pay close attention to those changes. Emily has an overly dramatic, abusive backstory that could push her into Mary Sue territory, but Zac’s story, with his loveless marriage, is nearly as sad. Kate’s ruthless desire to cling to that marriage or destroy Zac, whichever suits her mood best, make her a somewhat interesting character, although a sudden switch to her point of view (in general, the switches away from Zac and Emily add little to the story for me) doesn’t make her any more intriguing or sympathetic.
In spite of all that, Zac and Emily do have good sexual chemistry that makes all of the sex scenes–of which there are quite a few–very fun to read. She incorporates just a little kink, enough to spice things up, and the non-consensual scenes that form the climax of the story and the meeting of Zac and Emily’s dramatic backstories are tough to read but purposefully so.
The legal aspects of the story may not be entirely believable (I don’t know the law well enough to say), but the drama created by both Zac and Emily having problems that prevent them from easily being together makes for an interesting story that is sometimes rather heart rending; it’s difficult to see any way the characters can make it out happy or, indeed, even alive at times. Although Morgan Andrews could use a little editing and a tighter perspective to make my emotional connection to the story stronger, the combination of erotica and drama make me curious to see what she comes up with next.
Review by Bethany (website)