{"id":4945,"date":"2015-06-24T19:58:33","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T02:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=4945"},"modified":"2017-03-08T14:04:49","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T19:04:49","slug":"review-with-every-heartbeat-forbidden-men-4-by-linda-kage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=4945","title":{"rendered":"Review: With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men, #4) by Linda Kage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\n
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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/b><\/p>\n
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

A slow build up to 4 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m 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\u2019t racing to get to it. Now that I\u2019ve 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\u2019m a little in both camps, but Linda Kage\u2019s sensational characters drive this story and ultimately that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Quinn is the quiet one of the bunch. Shy, sweet and kind, he had a rough childhood and is a bit socially clueless<\/i>. 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\u2019s best friend. Escaping her controlling and abusive father, she has run to Cora\u2019s side \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

These two characters are different from your usual NA read. They\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

I was developing feelings for my best friend\u2019s boyfriend. This was worse than awful. It was devastating.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But they can\u2019t stay away, and as they start to open up to each other more, they grow even closer, and things start to get complicated.<\/p>\n

I knew exactly why I shouldn\u2019t 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.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is not a unique storyline. Yes, it\u2019s a love triangle, yes, it\u2019s angsty, and yes, it\u2019s 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 \u2013 from heartbreak to laughing out loud to wanting to hurl my kindle in anger and disgust to totally swooning. I felt it all.<\/p>\n

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\u2019re all together, the banter and sense of family between them is amazing, and every moment spent with them is absolute gold \u2013 whether they\u2019re dealing with their own stuff or being dragged into what they can all see is going on between Quinn and Zoey.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s not to love? He\u2019s 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\u2019s best friends, getting his take on the situation between Quinn and Cora was freaking hilarious!<\/p>\n

She murmured, \u201cThank you,\u201d 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.
\nPrime opportunity to kiss her, I wanted to tell him.
\nKiss her already.
\nWhy wasn\u2019t he kissing her?
\nGod, what a pansy.
\nInstead of kissing, they just kept staring until Ham blinked and then grinned. \u201cStaring contest?\u201d he offered.
\nDear fuck. <\/i>Really?.
\nI groaned and covered my face. I was going to have to work on my boy big time \u2026 I might actually have to defriend him after tonight.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you \u2026 With every beat of my heart, I am yours.\u201d <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Granted, there is some eyebrow raising behaviour…<\/p>\n

<\/span>Spoiler <\/div>
Let\u2019s just skip over the fact that Quinn is sleeping with Cora the whole time he\u2019s falling for Zoey because\u2026 damn.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Then, it\u2019s only a few days later when Quinn sees Cora\u2019s true colours \u2013 literally seconds before he proposes to her. He breaks up with her, goes and gets drunk and then two hours later he\u2019s 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\u2019t happy with it, and I thought that Zoey deserved better, so I didn\u2019t feel their big \u2018coming together\u2019 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\u2019t feel alone in my outrage on Zoey\u2019s behalf. But I so didn\u2019t want it to happen for them that way. (Even if Zoey\u2019s first time ended with a simultaneous orgasm followed by a night of mind-blowing, multi-position sex that lasted all night\u2026 *sigh*).<\/div><\/div>\n

…but I thought the aftermath of all of it was handled really well. And really, they aren\u2019t to blame for most of the angst in this book. Let\u2019s blame Cora-the-Whora for the drama-fest because oh my fucking God. She\u2019s the epitome of selfish, entitled, bitch-troll. Just when I thought I couldn\u2019t hate her more, she\u2019d do something else to make me hate her more. I\u2019m totally with Ten\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThat fucking bitch \u2026 I\u2019m going to go find her and punch in her the fucking lady parts.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a wildly emotional ride, and there\u2019s a whole lot of wtf-ery at the end, but I ended up loving Quinn and Zoey\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

And, as a bonus, there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

I (eventually) loved it \u2013 4 stars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Forbidden Men series<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Price<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"To<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"Be<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"With<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Worth<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"The\u00a0\u00a0\"Priceless\"\u00a0\u00a0\"consolation-prize\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Price of a Kiss (#1)<\/strong>\u00a0(Mason & Reese)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

To Professor, With Love (#2)<\/strong>\u00a0(Noel & Aspen)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Be My Hero (#3)<\/strong>\u00a0(Pick & Eva)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

With Every Heartbeat (#4)<\/strong>\u00a0(Quinn & Zoey)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

A Perfect Ten (#5)<\/strong>\u00a0(Ten & Caroline)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Worth It (#6)<\/strong>\u00a0(Knox & Felicity)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Girl’s Got Secrets (#7)<\/strong>\u00a0(Asher & Remy)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Priceless (#8)<\/strong>\u00a0(Sarah & Brandt)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Consolation Prize (#9)<\/strong>\u00a0(Colton & Julianna)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Price of Mason (#10)<\/strong>\u00a0(Mason POV)
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback Review A slow build up to 4 stars I\u2019m a huge fan of this series. I have loved each and every book so far, but after seeing mixed reviews for this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[297,52,13,9,29],"tags":[269,268,48],"class_list":["post-4945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angsty","category-drama","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-forbidden-men","tag-linda-kage","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/With-Every-Heartbeat.jpg?fit=150%2C224&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-1hL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}