The Forbidden Man

Overall Grade: There is nothing like reading a romance about a forbidden relationship. For me, I both hate turning the page while feeling a deep need to turn it. I know as the page turns more is revealed, and the hero and heroine are always one step away from discovery and the potential destruction of their relationship. When an author writes this type of romance well, you feel it deep in your stomach. It makes your heart race. It makes you feel alive as you progress through their story. Even more, what makes a forbidden relationship romance important is its resolution. For most of these types of romances, the characters realize their happy ending, and the tension you felt as you read the misses of their relationship is released into the happiness for the characters. Karina Halles The Younger Man (TYM) epitomizes this situation. Honestly, as I was reading TYM, it felt as though I was moving slowly through the pages. Halle does a brilliant job of slowly building the story between Thalia and Alejo. Yet, at the same time, she compels you forward. These characters are special for two very reasons. Heres the deal: For me, Alejo is the true star of this book. Honestly, THE STAR. From the first chapter where we meet him, I fell. Vi Keeland wrote a book earlier in the year, All Grown Up. Like TYM, its an older woman/younger man taboo romance. What I found interesting about that book, as well as in The Younger Man, is the hero, who is obviously younger than the female, is more emotionally mature than the heroine who has many more years on him. Its been astounding to read this type of hero. As Keeland did, Halle easily accomplishes this with Alejos background. It makes sense that hes mature for a twenty-three/twenty-four-year-old. What I love about him is his ability to feed Thalias soul. Hes a lion in bed. When these two couple, its hot AF, like steam up your glasses hot. Yet, what Alejo does that I love in swoony heroes is he sees Thalia, and he feeds her emotional need. Its this part of his character that I fell in love with the most. Yes, hes an attractive, talented professional soccer player, but its his emotional depth and his ability to use that depth to help Thalia heal and find her strength again that is the highlight of this book. Thalia. Halle crafts her character to remind her readers to live in their truth, I think. Thalia has endured loss in a variety of ways, and it has left her unmoored. It would be reductive to say that Alejo completes her or makes her less broken. Because that isnt the reality that Halle is creating here. Instead, as she finds internal strength again through her career and with the inspiration of Alejo, Thalia heals. She holds the power over this; Alejo simply supports and recognizes her in a way that challenges her to see herself more distinctly. I think its Halles way of showing us that a true love inspires; it doesnt fully define you. As a reader, how do you know you should be reading Karina Halles The Younger Man? Well, this reader, for one, isnt a soccer fan. Im intrigued by it, but I dont tune in to watch it. However, I was entranced with Halles storytelling of this world. I found myself looking up teams and players for reference. Secondly, I am interested in the older woman/younger man trope as I dont see it written often enough. Given the breadth of age for romance readers, I find that we should read this trope more often. For me, finding yourself represented in romance seems essential. No, Im not youthfully beautiful in my late 40s, but I recognize the struggle to determine my happiness and my future characterized in Thalia. Thats my intersection with her representation. I imagine there are plenty of women like me who would love to find some part of them in the characters or the story. And this sub-trope, I think, would go further to make that connection. Halle has written this well. Thalia and Alejo are 100% believable, and you cant help but root for them as they struggle to find their happiness together. Yes, there were several times when, like one would do when watching a horror movie, I wanted to peek through my fingers at the page. I invested myself easily into Alejo and Thalias story because Halle insisted it be so with her storytelling. Knowing that pain would be a part of their romance, still, I forged ahead, and it has a huge payoff in the end. Halle has crafted a story in The Younger Man that forces us to recognize the truth that love is love is love whether its between an older woman and a younger man or whether its a love for ourselves.

Hit me with a prologue like only Karina can write and I\’m a goner. From that point on, Alejo was on my radar. How was his past going to play into his future? I\’m going to keep this review short since my love for these two characters and other characters in the story is too vast. This book is a beast and it\’s a slow and passionate build up of a relationship that seems very real to me. Their connection, their friendship, their passion and their love of their careers fueled my heart. Thalia and Alejo are two very different people at different points in their lives. Not only are they many years apart in age, but their relationship is forbidden by their careers. How do two people that have so much love for their careers and for one another make anything work? Something\’s got to give. \”The bigger the love, the greater the risk. Our love is shaping up to be the biggest risk of all.\” And if this beautiful age gap romance isn\’t enough, we get a sports romance that is exciting and full of big time soccer games. In Spain! With Real Madrid!! Some play by play that gets your heart pounding. It\’s almost like we are in the crowd. You get to feel the excitement of the players and the people in the stand. Your heart will beat for the action. My heart is still in my throat and my heart is still a little fractured after going on this journey with Thalia and Alejo. It wasn\’t one full of drama, but a journey you could feel and understand. It was filled with action, camaraderie, family and most of all…passion. I\’m still reeling in it. \”The truth that hurts the most is the truth that needs to be told.\” Thank you, Karina for bringing us back to Spain and getting a little bit more of Vera and Mateo (read Love in English to get their story) and introducing us to a whole slew of fun teammates. I could see a particular Portuguese soccer (ftbol) player getting a book of his own at some point. Pretty please with a GOAL on top? With that said, if you\’re in the mood for a longer book with some amazing character development and some very hot sexy scenes with an older woman and younger man (believe me, it works and it\’s off the charts), then you\’ve hit the jackpot. Karina Halle brings us into a world and shows us the city and the lives of the people who inhabit it flawlessly. She\’ll make you a soccer lover and want to go to Spain for your own Younger Man. Seriously. She\’s THAT good! 😉 4.5 stars

I have been waiting all month long for a five star read and finally I found one during the final few days. As soon as I started reading this book, I just knew it was going to be a good one. What with it containing two of my favourite tropes (forbidden and age gap romance) and it being set in Spain, a country that I hold dear to me as my husband and I were married there. So you see, I pretty much thought that this one was going to be a winner and I was right. I loved Thalia and Alejos story so much. There wasnt one negative thing to say about it. From the characters, to the development of the relationship, to the passion and the steam. It was perfection. Every time I put my kindle down, or had to stop listening to the text-to-speech, I couldnt wait to return. I was excited to fall back into the pages and once again become lost in Thalia & Alejos love. This is easily one of my favourites from Karina Halle. Recommended.

I\’ve been in a bit of book slump lately waiting for favourite authors to bring out new releases or sequels to previous books. I chose this one to read on a whim and I can honestly say it is one of the best books I have read. I absolutely loved this story of Thalia a 40 year old divorcee and Alejo a 23 year old Real Madrid Soccer Star. This is the type of romance that I love to read, forbidden love scorching hot sex scenes that will make your hair curl and bring on hot flushes ( that\’s probably just me being menopausal Ha Ha) what\’s not to like so go grab yourself a copy now. I have just downloaded Love In English which is about Vera and Mateo a couple who featured in this book. Note to Author I would love to read more about team mate and captain Luciano please.

I\’ve read quite a few Karina Halle books and enjoyed them. Unfortunately not this one! Skipped pages at the end as it seemed to lose the plot a little. The two main characters started out so well but the ending was long winded and I got bored. Other books by her I would recommend though.

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