Review: Hurts To Love You by Alisha Rai

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Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave. 

 Heiress Evangeline Chandler knows how to keep a secret . . . like her life-long crush on the tattooed hottie who just happens to be her big brother’s friend. She’s a Chandler, after all, and Chandlers don’t hook up with the help. Then again, they also don’t disobey their fathers and quit their respectable jobs, so good-girl rules may no longer apply.

 Gabriel Hunter hides the pain of his past behind a smile, but he can’t hide his sudden attraction to his friend’s sheltered little sister. Eve is far too sweet to accept anything less than forever and there’s no chance of a future between the son of a housekeeper and the town’s resident princess.

 When a wedding party forces Eve and Gabe into tight quarters, keeping their hands off each other will be as hard as keeping their clothes on. The need that draws them together is stronger than the forces that should shove them apart . . . but their sparks may not survive the explosion when long-buried secrets are finally unearthed. ~~Goodreads

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I loved this book. It's an Alisha Rai book, so it's sexy and sweet and smart with a diverse cast and a wonderful love story that just feels good to read. But it also has a feisty heroine who has a brand of social anxiety that feels so painfully real to me that I found tears running down my cheeks at times because the author got it! She understood Eve's irrational pain and the best part was she gave Eve a support system who understood what she was feeling and why, who helped Eve grow into the strong, brilliant woman she was meant to be. I could go on and on about how moved I was by Alisha Rai's handling of Eve's anxiety, but I won't. I'll just say thank you for putting into words the things we often won't let the world see. 

 This was a superb contemporary romance with problems that felt real, two main characters who were keeping secrets and pretending everything was fine while open conversation would have solved everything (my favorite plot device, really!), and melt-your-face-off chemistry that sparked into hot hot sexy times. It was exactly the kind of romance that we all need these days, a book with a guaranteed happy ending that just feels good to read. 

 I also adore the Chandler-Oka-Kane families so much. This entire series is a wonderful tale of how one man's pettiness can ruin the best of relationships, but that love can always be healed when problems are faced and dealt with. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this fractured clan come back together and heal themselves through honesty and love. Just brilliant. 

 PS I can't be the only one who would like to see what's happening with all these people, especially Rhiannon, and I want prequels about the parents and grandparents. I'm such a greedy little reader!

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