Long before he started helping her renovate her bakeshop, Sam Bravano noticed Harper Brennen, but she refuses to believe that he’s interested in an older woman. He’s doing his best to charm her when they make a grisly discovery together. Someone is very unhappy with their budding relationship. Sam wants to protect Harper, but his attraction to her might make him a deadly threat.
This story is a part of a four book romantic suspense series. Even though the story is a continuation, the romance is the main plot of this book. I loved how this young man became the hero to an older independent woman. The passion between them was heartfelt, and sweet. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the honor of reading this advanced reader's copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Harper hired Sam to renovate her bakeshop. Although she is older than him she can't help but find him attractive and knows that the age difference will possibly be a problem. When someone left something for her to find its clear that someone isn't happy about their relationship and now its becoming evidently clear that she's no longer safe.

You know I really enjoyed this book I really thought it was more of a romance than anything I mean it's clear that there's a dark undertones with the Scarecrow and stuff but with how fluffy it started I almost forgot that this is going to be a mystery suspense kinda novel. I enjoyed seeing the romance though I didn't care too much about the age difference I mean they're both adults it's not like he's 18 years old where could be seen as a bit creepy. While there were meddling family members kind of understandable but again they're adults so it was interesting seeing how that played a part and the relationship with making things complicated. Then there was the whole side character who clearly didn't appreciate the relationship and it's killed before and now his sights set on Harper kept wondering when that would become a thing and wondering if it was apart of the scarecrow thing. Overall this was a pretty enjoyable book highly recommend.

Carla Cassidy's "Guarding a Forbidden Love" is a gripping romantic suspense novel that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The story follows two individuals entangled in a dangerous web of secrets and forbidden desires. With her skillful storytelling and well-developed characters, Cassidy weaves a compelling narrative filled with heart-pounding suspense and sizzling romance. Readers will find themselves captivated by the forbidden love and rooting for the characters until the very end.

Good older woman/younger man story. The story opens on Harper's forty-fifth birthday. Her friends have canceled on her, so she's celebrating on her own and feeling rather sorry for herself. Her husband divorced her for a younger woman, which has done a number on her self-esteem. In mid-wallow, Sam arrives to put in his bid to do the renovations on her bakery. He has a piece of cake with her and sings Happy Birthday before going on his way.

I liked the development of the relationship between Harper and Sam. There were sparks between them from the start. But Harper can't believe that a man as young and handsome as Sam is interested in an "old lady" like her and laughs off his advances. Sam is tenacious and doesn't give up. It's sweet to see how he flirts with her and pays attention to her. He's not sure why he's so drawn to her, but he won't let a little thing like age stop him. When she finally agrees to a date, she plans for it to be a one-and-done, but she enjoys his company.

When another victim of the Scarecrow Killer is found behind Harper's bakery, Sam's protective instincts are aroused. After she also receives threats, Sam is there to act as her bodyguard. I enjoyed the depth of their connection and seeing them get to know each other as Sam pictures a life together. When the sparks lead to more, it looks like Sam might get his wish. But outside interference plays on Harper's insecurities, and she pulls away from Sam. I wanted to shake her for listening to the naysayers instead of her heart. I ached for Sam, who was devastated by her withdrawal. It takes a near-death experience for Harper to wake up and realize that life is too short not to seize love when she finds it.

The suspense was good. We get a brief look at the Scarecrow Killer and his plans and motivation after his latest victim was found behind the bakery. Continuing efforts to find and stop him have been unsuccessful, and we see the sheriff's frustration. Meanwhile, someone doesn't like that Harper is seeing a younger man. First, she has a disturbing doll and a note on her door; later, someone attacks her at her home. Harper's fear is tangible, as are Sam's guilty feelings for being the reason for the attacks. There is a feeling of impending trouble as the reader waits to see what happens next. The ending is intense as the attacker makes his move. I was glued to the pages until it was all over. The resolution was a little anticlimactic but still satisfying. Hopefully, the next book will resolve the issue of the Scarecrow Killer.

Guarding a Forbidden Love by Carla Cassidy is one of the first May-December romances I've read in which the older character is the woman, and I had high hopes for the romance between Harper Brennan, who owns The Sweet Tooth bakery, and younger man and carpenter, Sam Bravano, whom she hires to renovate the exterior of her shop, but while I liked both characters at the outset, I had several problems with this novel, which I'll get to, but while I liked it at the outset, by the time it ended ended, I could only give it a 3-star rating.

First problem, Harper. When we first meet her, she's at home, celebrating her 45th birthday by herself, since her two closest friends cancelled at the last minute. She divorced her husband who ran off with a much younger woman several years ago, but did Ms. Cassidy really have to make her seem so hopeless and pathetic? Then, younger man, by a little more than a decade, Sam arrives, in answer to her ad for a carpenter. He's handsome, sweet, hunky, sexy, kind and empathetic, and he's attracted to her, but she treats his interest in her as if he's joking--and she does this throughout the novel. Her constant habit of putting heself down as not young enough, not pretty enough, not interesting enough, not fun enough, not sexy enough, left me wanting to shake some sense into her--45 isn't all that old, and Sam is in his 30s, not his teens. While she's received several responses to her ad, she hires Sam on the spot, and it's not long after that when he makes his intention to date her clear. She still treats it like a joke, and when she finally agrees, as a one-off.

Second, rather than her supposedly good friends encouraging her to give Sam a chance, they do everything they can to discourage her from dating the younger man, and when she finally agrees to go out with him, they desert her. The nosy townspeople andbregular customers who frequent her bakery also seem outraged and annoyed at her dating a younger man--some friends! Then, after meeting his family, even Sam's older sister tells Harper that she's too old for him. Sheesh!

Finally, this is supposed to be a novel a romantic suspense, and while there's an ongoing serial killer in the area in this series, a posed and mutilated corpse found behind Harper's bakery, creepy treats left on her door, and more than one attempt on Harper's life, the suspense took a back burner to the endless discussion and her waffling about the age difference between herself and Sam, and is really only addressed in the epilogue.

While this novel was well-written and the topic interesting, it desperately needed some serious editing to make Harper seem less pathetic, and to ramp up the suspense aspect of this novel. It wasn't a bad read, but I expected better from Ms. Cassidy, whose novels I've read for years.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

I was a bit disappointed in this romantic suspense. To much emphasis on the age difference between the main characters. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. I liked the storyline but I was so annoyed with the female characters attitude toward younger man and her own age. It wasn't that big of an age gap. Everytime she put herself down it lessened my interest in the story.

This is a Romantic Suspense, and this is the second book in the Scarecrow Murders series. I liked the characters, but I really did not love how the age gap romance was done. I hated that in this book it kept bringing up the big age gap between the two characters, and I was so sick of hearing about the difference in the ages of the characters. I also wanted more suspense and less about the ages of the characters. I enjoyed how everything was wrapped up in this book, and the twists were done well. Overall, I liked this book, but I did not love it. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.