2.5 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

What in the actual f**k is this book and who could come up with the plot? First of all this feels weird how even though the couple is a couple of years age different in the start of the book the female character is an underage virgin of 17. The male is super protective to the point of obsession and pretty much everyone in their small town knows he is in love and wants to sleep with her. One thing I did enjoy was the father figure in story, Henry was lovely character to read. He is a long haul truck driver and sets up a plan for his “kids” in the event that things go downhill after his passing. This book feels like it was written in the early 2000’s instead of 2021. It was like a train wreck you couldn’t look away and a lot of the the later half of the book I skimmed through. Also the whole Vegas storyline is just a whole lot of f**kery and messed up. If you have read it you know what I mean.

My thanks to NetGalley and Katerina Winters for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I admit, I am not a huge romance reader. Since this crazy thing called the Pandemic, I have turned towards books with a guaranteed happy ending, as I needed some escape from the real world. I am also trying to read more romance books, as our customer base is heavy on the romance reading and I like to have different things to suggest to our customers, even if what they read isn't my favorite genre. Not knocking romance, it has it's place and it has been helping me through a tough time.

That being said, this didn't really work for me. It was ok until the Deus Ex Machina of the impossibly young Russian mobster was introduced. Then the shark was jumped and I just couldn't go with it anymore. It would have made more sense if the adopted not-biologically related, but raised as brother and sister couple came to the (obvious) realization that they were into each other on their own while they were on the road.

I could buy the going the way of dementia mother choosing her biological POS druggie son over her good, but not biologically hers, kids. Shitty thing to do, but believable. I could kind of squint my eyes and pretend that they wouldn't have acted on anything physical between them until after they left the house, denial is a powerful thing.

But when the Russian mobster got into the picture, I just couldn't. Now, I know that there are those out there who enjoy reading mob love stories, in which case, this could be a good springboard into the series this author seems to have. I admit, while I didn't like the "fairy Godmother" mobster, I AM interested in learning his and his henchman's backstory and would like to see them both have a successful love arc, so this book did interest me in this author's other works, even if this one didn't do a lot for me.

So, I would recommend it for those who are into mob love stories and don't mind that that story thread doesn't come into the picture sooner and is more of an intro than anything else. Also if you don't mind the "raised as brother and sister, but have anything but brotherly/sisterly feelings for each other" trope. It didn't bother me, as they were clearly not related, though the H really needed to cool his possessiveness. That was a bit much.

2, it wasn't for me but I will recommend it at the store and to others, stars. It wasn't written badly and I want to take a look at her other works.

This was a DNF for me. I stopped about 15% in. Gideon was WAY too possessive and a but creepy to be honest.

Also Gideon seems to dislike VERY large parts of Jade’s personality? Like he’s constantly upset about something she did it said, that he then notes is normal for her?

Also got a bit weirded out by “with practiced moves” taking about him sneaking into her room, when she seemed surprised that he was in there? She seemed upset too that he would invade her space so eww. The parents also planning to keep him away when Jade went on a date because they knew he would freak and get angry— no thank you a bit too creepy for me. But what really got me is that Jade referred to Gideon as her brother in her head so it made me uncomfortable to think about that changing— at least on Gideon’s end it seems like he didn’t accept that but Jade seems to.


Thank you for the opportunity to review.

This book was very interesting! A quick read with red hot chemistry and a very unique twist, I definitely wasn't mad at it!

Good book for those who enjoy slow burn romances.

I DNF'd this book unfortunately as I was uncomfortable with the idea of them being siblings by adoption, it's just not my cup of tea! I tried my best to finish it for the sake if giving a review but the subject matter wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the earc in return for an honest review.

My main issue with this book is that while our main characters are not related by blood they are also not step-siblings. In the eyes of the law, they are siblings because they were both adopted from foster care by the same parents. It is also an added issue that these two were children when they met. Jade was eight. In step-sibling romances, they are usually adult age or very close to it when they first meet and they have not been raised together. This made me somewhat squeamish. Taking out that aspect it was a great read, thrilling and fast-paced. There is sexual abuse and also forced sexual encounters so if the characters familial relationship doesn't out you off that might.
I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have not read this Author before. Unfortunately, I was not 100% comfortable with the subject and it ended up affecting my review for this book.

Jade and Gideon are foster children. They were legally adopted by the Lattimores and are not related by blood. Jade is 17 and Gideon is 20. They are extremely close for siblings and Gideon is ultra-protective of his "sister". When they are kicked out of their adoptive home after their Father dies, they take Gideon's truck on the road and travel the country doing deliveries.

If you can get past the sibling love part, the story would be fantastic. Two siblings travel the country together is a great premise. However, Jade really lacked a personality. She seemed closer to 14 rather than 18. She seemed to lack any kind of common sense and logic. The character of Gideon was very much wasted on her.

Though the idea that siblings would be attracted to each other has been done before, however, in this novel, I had a hard time feeling this attraction. Gideon seemed smart, determined, and accomplished. I could not see why he was in love with Jade and why.

A Love So Wrong just did not catch me. It was a slow burn, which was good because I felt a strong sense of anxiety at these two eventually hooking up with each other. The last part of the book seemed very far-fetched and didn't fit in at all with the rest of the story. The one thing I did like about this is that it sped up the story, which moved as slowly as Jade and Gideon did. The story had some great things about it but in the end; it disappointed me. Katerina Winters has amazing writing. I just felt the story lacked.

I really enjoyed this slow burn forbidden romance. There is a lot of build up to the relationship that allows the reader to really get to know the characters. You can't help but become invested in the lives of these two. Once things take a turn it becomes a steamy, sexy story. I loved the way it ended and it left me wondering about several characters that I look forward to seeing more of. This was my first read by this author and it won't be my last.

Okay so I absolutely LOVED this slow burn read. So much so that I’ve already one clicked another 3 of her books.

It’s got a beautiful flow to it and I loved the constant small glimpses into each characters thoughts. While it’s low on heat until the last section of the book the tension & chemistry had me just as hooked.

The plot twist in Vegas was SOOOOO GOOD! I cannot wait to read more from this author.

I loved the characters created and the storyline. This started off as a slow burn, sweet romance, but about 2/3rds in a twist occurs and it turns into something more more steamy and different.

The author gives us a glimpse into a world I’m not so familiar with and I loved the details around that.

The only thing that kept this from a 5 star read from me is that when the twist came it felt like it came out of nowhere and it took me a bit to be able to switch gears.

I also felt like - even though this is clearly a stand alone and NOT a cliffhanger, there were a few loose threads at the end so I’m curious if this is going to be part of a series and we will see more of some of the characters we meet here in later books.

Very highly recommend this author and this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was intrigued by the concept of this--I love a good taboo romance that doesn't rely on fetishizing marginalized folks or dubcon/noncon--but I really couldn't get into A Love So Wrong. The plot moved incredibly slowly, and at the 30% mark, Jade was still 17 years old and in high school, and the plot mentioned in the book description had only just started to happen. It didn't even feel like the plot had moved slowly so that we could get to know the characters better; it was mostly just Gideon being jealous and Jade hanging out with her friends, with small mentions of their father's health declining. This also had a very unsympathetic depiction of mental illness and addiction.

It's I good book. I was little lost when who in the book was talking and wasn't it felted like it people in this book just ran together..