Review: With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men, #4) by Linda Kage

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Review

A slow build up to 4 stars

I’m a huge fan of this series. I have loved each and every book so far, but after seeing mixed reviews for this book I wasn’t racing to get to it. Now that I’ve finished it, I can understand people loving it, and people having some issues. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of angsty, drama-filled books, and there are some potential red flags in this one, so I’m a little in both camps, but Linda Kage’s sensational characters drive this story and ultimately that’s what pulled me through. And the mix of romance, humour, and the fantastic interplay between the characters balances out the drama and I ended up loving it.

Quinn is the quiet one of the bunch. Shy, sweet and kind, he had a rough childhood and is a bit socially clueless. But he is starting to find his place, has a great group of friends, and his very first girlfriend, Cora, who has opened his eyes to all things sex. Zoey is Cora’s best friend. Escaping her controlling and abusive father, she has run to Cora’s side – knowing that her friend needs her, but also taking the opportunity to finally break free and live her own life. She moves in with Cora, and signs up for her Freshman year at the same College that Cora and the rest of the crew attend.

These two characters are different from your usual NA read. They’re both so pure, innocent, good and kind. I was worried I was going to get bored with them, especially as the beginning of the story is a little slow building as they spend time together and get to know each other. They very quickly they realise that they have feelings for each other, but they both recognise that nothing can happen between them.

I was developing feelings for my best friend’s boyfriend. This was worse than awful. It was devastating.

But they can’t stay away, and as they start to open up to each other more, they grow even closer, and things start to get complicated.

I knew exactly why I shouldn’t be her friend. This was no mere attraction. What I suffered from was total, debilitating awareness. Every freaking inch of me tuned in to her.

This is not a unique storyline. Yes, it’s a love triangle, yes, it’s angsty, and yes, it’s infinitely annoying to see two people who so clearly belong together not being together. But I liked the way this one played out. There are some really interesting dynamics which make the whole situation very intense, and I went on an emotional rollercoaster while reading – from heartbreak to laughing out loud to wanting to hurl my kindle in anger and disgust to totally swooning. I felt it all.

And the thing that saved this book for me when I was despairing was the rest of the cast of characters. OMG, I love these guys! I want them I my life! The couples from the previous books, along with scene-stealer, Ten, absolutely make this book. Whether one on one, or when they’re all together, the banter and sense of family between them is amazing, and every moment spent with them is absolute gold – whether they’re dealing with their own stuff or being dragged into what they can all see is going on between Quinn and Zoey.

And Ten deserves his own shout-out because, OMG, what a highlight he is! The arrogant manwhore with a heart of gold, and some deeply buried, heartbreaking secrets. What’s not to love? He’s funny, crude, and has absolutely no filter. I loved his every appearance in the book, and was pleasantly surprised to get a couple of chapters from his POV. As one of Quinn’s best friends, getting his take on the situation between Quinn and Cora was freaking hilarious!

She murmured, “Thank you,” and stared at him with a pair of longing green eyes that made me want to reach across the table and thump Hamilton on the back of the head. Hard.
Prime opportunity to kiss her, I wanted to tell him.
Kiss her already.
Why wasn’t he kissing her?
God, what a pansy.
Instead of kissing, they just kept staring until Ham blinked and then grinned. “Staring contest?” he offered.
Dear fuck.
Really?.
I groaned and covered my face. I was going to have to work on my boy big time … I might actually have to defriend him after tonight.

It’s when Quinn and Zoey start to come into their own that this book got really good for me. I loved the character development. Because honestly, I found them both a bit doormat-ish at the beginning, but with all that they go through, they grow stronger, they gain confidence, and they are prepared to fight for what they want, and I really enjoyed seeing that. And the result is an absolutely beautiful (and surprisingly steamy) love story.

“I love you … With every beat of my heart, I am yours.”

Granted, there is some eyebrow raising behaviour…

Spoiler
Let’s just skip over the fact that Quinn is sleeping with Cora the whole time he’s falling for Zoey because… damn.

Out together one night, Quinn and Zoey get all flirty and turned on together. They share more than one intense moment, and then in comes Cora and Quinn proceeds to take out all of that pent up passion on her, leaving Zoey in the dust. Yeah, he was drunk, but still. Not cool. And then, after having to listen to them have sex all night, Zoey was heartbroken, but still so ready to forgive him. Grrrr.

Then, it’s only a few days later when Quinn sees Cora’s true colours – literally seconds before he proposes to her. He breaks up with her, goes and gets drunk and then two hours later he’s all over Zoey and takes her virginity in what is a sweet and tender love-making scene (all the while talking about flowers, which I honestly found a little weird :\). I wasn’t happy with it, and I thought that Zoey deserved better, so I didn’t feel their big ‘coming together’ as much as I wanted to. Once Quinn woke up sober in the morning he felt the same way, and I was happy that I didn’t feel alone in my outrage on Zoey’s behalf. But I so didn’t want it to happen for them that way. (Even if Zoey’s first time ended with a simultaneous orgasm followed by a night of mind-blowing, multi-position sex that lasted all night… *sigh*).

…but I thought the aftermath of all of it was handled really well. And really, they aren’t to blame for most of the angst in this book. Let’s blame Cora-the-Whora for the drama-fest because oh my fucking God. She’s the epitome of selfish, entitled, bitch-troll. Just when I thought I couldn’t hate her more, she’d do something else to make me hate her more. I’m totally with Ten…

“That fucking bitch … I’m going to go find her and punch in her the fucking lady parts.”

It’s a wildly emotional ride, and there’s a whole lot of wtf-ery at the end, but I ended up loving Quinn and Zoey’s story. They are so gorgeous together, and even though their journey was angsty and painful, it brought them to a place where they were stronger and better, and their story ends beautifully.

And, as a bonus, there’s some great story continuation for the other couples, and a wonderful set up for Ten and Caroline – I watched each of their interactions with excited anticipation and I cannot WAIT to get my hands on their book.

I (eventually) loved it – 4 stars.

 

The Forbidden Men series

Price of a Kiss  To Professor, With Love  Be My Hero  With Every Heartbeat  A Perfect Ten

Worth It  The Girl's Got Secrets  Priceless  consolation-prize  

Price of a Kiss (#1) (Mason & Reese)
Review
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To Professor, With Love (#2) (Noel & Aspen)
Review
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Be My Hero (#3) (Pick & Eva)
Review
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With Every Heartbeat (#4) (Quinn & Zoey)
Review
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A Perfect Ten (#5) (Ten & Caroline)
Review
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Worth It (#6) (Knox & Felicity)
Review
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The Girl’s Got Secrets (#7) (Asher & Remy)
Review
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Priceless (#8) (Sarah & Brandt)
Review
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Consolation Prize (#9) (Colton & Julianna)
Review
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The Price of Mason (#10) (Mason POV)
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