Some lines should never be crossed . . . not even for love.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert delivers the next book in her sizzling O'Malleys family series, hailed as "The Godfather meets Romeo & Juliet." FORBIDDEN PROMISES features Sloan O'Malley and her mysterious new next-door neighbor, Jude MacNamara.
Add FORBIDDEN PROMISES to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an EXCLUSIVE (and totally hawt!) sneak peek at FORBIDDEN PROMISES. Also, be sure to enter the giveaway for an O'Malley heroes candle set + a $30 Amazon gift card. Three (3) runner-up winners will get their choice of an eBook from Katee’s backlist.
Title: Forbidden Promises
Author: Katee Robert
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Grand Central/Forever
Series: The O’Malleys
Page Count: 336 pages
Format: Digitial and Print
ASIN: B01KT7YSJM
ISBN-13: 9781455597031
Synopsis:
Some lines should never be crossed . . . not even for love.
Sloan O'Malley just left her entire world behind-her family, her wealth, and even her real name. For the first time in her life, she's free. She can live the "normal" life she's always wanted. A life without fear. But there's nothing safe about her intensely sexy next-door neighbor.
Jude MacNamara has no room for innocence in his life. Only revenge. Still, he's never been able to walk away from the forbidden, and Sloan-who is every inch of pure, mouthwatering temptation-has forbidden written all over her. Only after it's way too late does he discover the real danger: claiming Sloan as his puts a target on her back. To protect her, Jude is willing risk everything . . . and to hell with the consequences.
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Enter to win an O'Malley heroes candle set + a $30 Amazon gift card. Three (3) runner-up winners will get their choice of an eBook from Katee’s backlist.
Forbidden Promises Excerpt
Copyright © 2017 Katee Robert
There was no logical reason for her to trust him, but he’d been careful with her up to this point. Perhaps he’d be careful with her with what came next. She nodded mutely, watching as he rolled on a condom that he’d retrieved from his pocket. Her body hummed in anticipation and trepidation, but she didn’t let it show as he moved back to join her on the bed.
Jude palmed her between her legs, his big fingers exploring her. It didn’t seem possible that he could spark pleasure with a few specific touches, but it didn’t take much to have her relaxing, letting him once again take the lead. He kissed her neck. “Feels good, huh?”
“Well, I—oh.” Her eyes went wide when he pushed a second finger into her. It stretched her, the feeling not entirely pleasant at first, but he merely waited, pulsing the slightest bit, until pleasure took hold once more. She clutched his shoulders. “Kiss me again. Please.”
“You don’t have to ask twice.” He took her mouth like he owned it—like he owned every part of her. Jude slid between her legs, his body rubbing deliciously against hers. His hard length slid through her wetness, creating a friction that sparked a tide of desire deep inside her. Again? I couldn’t possibly…
He nipped her bottom lip and then soothed the slight ache with his tongue. “Ready?”
There was no mistaking his meaning. She nodded. Despite the earlier orgasm and how good it felt to have him moving against her, she was so incredibly empty. Instinct had her hooking a leg around his hips and arching up to meet him, needing more, so much more.
Jude reached between them, and then he was at her entrance. He kissed her, tongue twining with hers as he pushed into her, just a single inch. It was too much and not enough and she couldn’t help but thrash, pinned in place by his big body, overwhelmed by her helplessness and what he was doing to her. “Jude, I—”
“Shh. I’ve got you.” He rolled, taking her with him. One second she was on her back, finding it hard to breathe, and the next she was straddling him where he sat with his back against the headboard.
Sloan looked down, daunted by the sheer size of him. “I don’t know if this is going to work. You’re too big.”
He laughed, deep and full-throated, the sound rolling through her like the tide. “You can take every inch of me, sunshine. I promise you that.”
Praise for The O’Malleys Series
"It can be hard to make a ruthless assassin into a sympathetic character, but Robert handles the task with ease. She also deftly shows Sloan’s transformation from a pampered and protected naïf to a strong woman with a backbone of pure steel. A tension-filled plot full of deceit, betrayal, and sizzling love scenes will make it impossible for readers to set the book down."—Publishers Weekly on FORBIDDEN PROMISES
“You will finish it in one sitting and die after you’re done because the next book isn't out yet. This was one sexy ride!”—Reviewer Top Pick, Night Owl Reviews on FORBIDDEN PROMISES
“Two story lines end up converging into one explosive finale at the end. A great read from the talented Robert!” —RT Book Reviews
“Katee Robert's has created a fictional underworld of such veracity, that one almost expects the characters to turn up on the front-page news. It never feels over the top or implausible; the author writes extremely well-crafted stories… The romance between Cillian and Olivia is very beautiful, tender and real.”—Fresh Fiction on AN INDECENT PROPOSAL
“Will keep you turning pages.”—RT Book Reviews on THE WEDDING PACT
“If you like angsty reads, this book is right up your wheelhouse.”—Heroes & Heartbreakers on THE WEDDING PACT
"Dark, dirty, and dead sexy."—Tiffany Reisz, bestselling author of The Original Sinners series, on THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
Other Books in The O’Malleys Series
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
THE WEDDING PACT
AN INDECENT PROPOSAL
UNDERCOVER ATTRACTION (Coming soon!)
About Katee Robert
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it 'a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension." When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram
Review
While Forbidden Promises can be read as a standalone, I wouldn't go so far as to say easily read as one. As with any well developed Mafia Romance series, the MCs may change from book to book, but there is a continuing storyline with plenty of past events that you will need to be caught up to date on. While I was able to differentiate between the different members of each of the warring families, and their connections to each other, it took me some time to get there. Honestly, that did slow down my reading speed. Once I got situated, I was firmly entrenched with this forbidden love story and the surrounding hate-filled violent vendetta.
The O'Malley family members had taut expectations set on them from birth. Love matches weren't to be accepted, a union to bolster family power was the custom. Anybody who resisted what was considered to be their duty was shunned and exiled. Associating with "the enemy" was another unforgivable black mark against you, though her brother Teague's marriage to Callista Sheridan formed a new alliance with their previous adversaries.
Twenty-four-year old Sloan has always been the biddable and pliant sibling. She's not what you would view as a tough heroine in the beginning, but breaking off from her family's Boston empire and striking out into the unfamiliar world was the most courageous thing she could have possibly done. She's completely naive and inexperienced. Not only with men, but making her own decisions. With surviving on her own. She had no idea what kind of dangers already lurked in Callaway Rock, where she began this new, independent chapter of her life.
Living right next door to her was Jude MacNamera, the last remaining member of his family. After his father and brothers were murdered in cold blood by the Sheridans, his mother met a misfortunate and tragic death years later. Now, nothing will satisfy his fury except sending those responsible to their own untimely fates.
His honor had died with the rest of his family. Any chance he’d had of resurrecting it had died with his first mark when he was twenty-one.
Jude is not a knight in shining armor, in fact, quite the opposite. He may have standards about killing innocents, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he's a stone cold assassin. He's self-serving, because there's no one in his life to care about or make him weak. He's also a man of many skills, and as smart as a whip, but his people skills leave something to be desired. He doesn't regret the path his life has taken, because it aimed him directly towards the direction he sought, nothing else was allowed to rule his heart or conscience. After having everything of value ripped away from him, he has nothing left to lose except the one thing that gives his life meaning. Revenge.
I was not Jude's biggest fan in the beginning of the book. He's not the most likable character, using the heroine towards his end goal (view spoiler). The heroine I wasn't crazy about either, as she seemed to take his treatment without much pause simply because he turned her on. There wasn't enough backbone for my taste, but I figured there was plenty of room for growth, and that thankfully ended up happening on both sides.
A quickly igniting passion led to an unexpected wrench in both of their plans for the future. And their break from the reality of their past was sadly, short lived. They were hunted, as several players in the game moved their chess pieces into position. These two fought to survive together by any means necessary, and their emotions made an unexpected entrance into the equation. She helped him see the possibility of a future free from the ties that have bound him for his entire life. And he doesn't know what to do with that.
“You’re a man, Jude. You have a more colorful past than most, but I mostly understand your reasoning for wanting Colm to pay. I just don’t think you should run around murdering people.”
“An eye for an eye.”
“Leaves the whole world blind.”
What started out as a purely physical relationship soon became much more. Personally, it seemed rushed in my opinion, considering the progression happened after sleeping together for about a week. Jude became very possessive and protective, which felt abrupt compared to his recent behavior. Not that his growing respect was unwelcome, but they seemed to be moving at light speed.
The odds where overwhelmingly stacked against these two. Dmitri Romanov, the head of the New York Russian empire was playing puppetmaster in the Sheridans' destruction. Jude was backed into a corner by the Russian, and forced to make the most difficult decision of his life. Love or Vengeance. Even if he chose the woman he was falling for, it could be his ultimate downfall. On the opposite side, Sloan's family was unpredictable and underhanded. She discovered that not everyone was to be trusted with her back turned. Because she could easily have a knife plunged in her back when she least expected.
This story was action-packed, and had an elaborate storyline that had me hooked the deeper I dove in. By the end of the book, though I felt somewhat detached from the two MCs, I did grow to respect and like them. I just didn't love them as I should have. I was fascinated by all of the interconnected story arcs, particularly Aiden and ex-cop Charlotte Finch's tease for the next addition to the series. I would definitely read their book Undercover Attraction in November. If you're already a fan of this series, this will be a must read. If not, you could start here as I did, but be prepared to have an adjustment period. Recommended for fans of mafia lovers, and redeemable heroes.
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