Per the norm, Katee Robert will always hold a permanent place on my bookshelf! I absolutely adore the writing style and these stories are great for quick reads.

I’m going to use the first paragraph of my review for some housekeeping, so to speak, about the placement of this book. It is listed as Volume II of the Make Me series. The Make Me series is a series of books approximately 150 pages each. Mills & Boon published them under their Dare imprint in 2018 and 2019. This rerelease comes in two volumes with two stories in each volume. I haven’t read any of these stories so I requested and received ARCs of both volumes from NetGalley. Of course, I started with the first volume, but I couldn’t help feeling the story (Make Me Yours) was not actually the first book in the series. It may have been okay to read first, but that’s not how my brain works so I looked into it. Sure enough, for some reason, Harlequin is releasing Volume I first with the 3rd and 4th stories in this series and Volume II in January with the 1st and 2nd stories. (This info is as of 9/1/24) I don’t know if this is a sloppy mistake or if it’s being done on purpose but I cannot read books out of order without it inducing anxiety. Okay, on to my review…

Make Me Want

In a way, this is a second-chance romance. Although Lucy and Gideon were not in a romantic relationship in the past, they were great friends whose friendship ended when things fell apart for Lucy. Now, Lucy reaches out to Gideon to help her find a husband. It’s kind of a blow for Gideon who has always loved Lucy, but he’d do anything to help her to find happiness.

In the meantime, Lucy also feels she needs to rediscover confidence in herself in the bedroom. She asks for Gideon’s help with that, too. How can he say no? Her ex really did a number on her self-esteem and Gideon has some guilt about that as her ex was his best friend at the time.

Gideon and Lucy have fantastic chemistry and she definitely finds her mojo again. As honest as these two are with each other, they aren’t telling the whole truth when it comes to their feelings for each other. This is one of those stories that does not need a “break up”, so it was unfortunate that it was given one. The couple had enough to work through without having to hurt each other just to turn around and get back together. I was still invested but disappointed the HEA had to be withheld those few extra days.

4 stars

Make Me Crave

Did I love Allie? Yes. Did she drive me bonkers? Yes. Allie has such a huge heart. She opened a gym and fed the profits from the gym to a women’s shelter she also founded. But Allie didn’t have it easy growing up (hence the woman’s shelter) and doesn’t trust anyone. In her mind, if she wants something done she has to do it herself. Not only that, but she absolutely cannot give up any control to anyone else regarding those things she loves. Both of her endeavors are in dire financial straights, but she doesn’t trust that any investors would have the well-being of the women she helps at the top of their priority list. But she’s running out of options…

Did I love Roman? Yes. Was he a bit stalkerish in the beginning? Yes. It turns out that Roman is actually a very good guy. He has the standard NDA that is keeping him mum about a fantastic investor for Allie’s gym and shelter. She doesn’t trust him or the situation, naturally. Even once Allie gets to know Roman she cannot seem to give up that control and trust him to not hurt her to make a buck for himself.

I love how these two meet (sans the stalker issue) and was all in on their chemistry. I’m also a fan of the two main characters seeking each other out at the same time to grovel. They both make mistakes, when it comes down to it, so I like that they both fess up to their faults.

4 stars

My overall rating for the book is 4 stars.

✨Book Review✨

Forbidden Games - Katee Robert

📖 This book is two short stories packaged together, as their characters go hand in hand. The first book was previously titled Make Me Want and follows Lucy and Gideon. Lucy and Gideon knew each other years ago, and now Lucy has hired Gideon to use his skills as a headhunter to find her a husband. Make Me Crave follows Allie and Roman…all the way to a remote, luxury island. Roman tracked Allie down because he has a business deal to discuss with her and she keeps avoiding him.

📚 These stories were spicy and right to the point. I love the way the plot is carried along quickly in each of these setups. I also appreciated the unique situation that each of the characters found themselves in. I was able to read this book ahead of its publishing date of January 14, 2025. Special thanks to Katee Robert and @NetGalley for making this available for me!

🌟 If you like smutty spice and relationships that you are cheering for then you’ll want to add this to your TBR!

#NetGalley #GoodReads #ForbiddenGames #KateeRobert #BookRecommendation
#Bookish #BookLover #Bookstagram

The first set of novellas for the Make Me series was a solid start that sets the pace for the series. Fast paced and steamy with character growth this is a NSFW series that is more than just sex. Katee’s writing style is one of my favourites, she pulls you in and keeps you engaged in the story and invested in the characters. If you like your smut to have character development this is for you.

Incredible stories, with the perfect amount of spice. Could work as standalone reads or in the series. Left me wanting more.

I love that these books are quick and easy reads. These short stories are about a group of friends and how they each find their own love story. Love how easy they are to get through when you want something light to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Feature for the arc of this book.

Katee Robert could write a grocery list and I would read it. Seriously. I love her work, I love the rebinding of this older story, and I love love love devouring her writing.

Oh so spicy and the perfect little reads. Two in one which was great. Fast reads and great little stories.

They are short and fast and steamy and were easy to get into and enjoy. I love when they're about a group of friends each finding their love story. They aren't super plot heavy based on length but were just enough to keep me engaged.

i think the writing and plot were pretty strong, but I really enjoyed the characters. i think the character development was super strong. definitely gonna add this to my collection

I have been reading Katee since Neon gods and this one was just up my alley. I absolutely loved this! I loved Lucy's story and Gideon was chefs kiss. I think Gideon truly fit the bill for her needs. I love how it all turned out. Also loved Roman, like seriously, Allie was pretty spot on for him and I loved the chemistry, These books were just exactly what I needed to get back into spice and just fun romance! They are short and fast and steamy. Both of these stories were great and thoroughly enjoyable! Loved them!

I enjoyed both of the stories in the Forbidden Games series included in this arc. While all for main characters are nothing I can personally relate to, I had Fun watching them fall in love and especially enjoyed the steam. Katee always brings the smut and these were no exception.

3.75/5

Short and sweet spicy romances! Loved that you get two stories in one book. I devoured both and they left me wanting more! Lucy was my fav 🫶🏼 As always, I love morally gray men who will do anything for the women they love.

I loved these two novellas even more than the first two in Illicit Temptations! I felt much more connected to both Lucy and Allie - and I really enjoyed Gideon as a male lead in particular. These were steamy, hot, and full of rich men hand-waving away challenges so we can just enjoy the ride.

My only hang-up is why the two new collections were released as Illicit Temptations first with Forbidden Games second when the two novellas in Forbidden Games come first, timeline-wise. I didn't click with Becka at all during her story in Illicit Temptations but really enjoyed her presence in these stories. I think I would've understood Becka's story much better if I had the context from these two stories to back up her characterization.

Regardless, all 4 novellas are so much fun to read! Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my TOP FAVORITE READS of the month!!!! Wow I was invested from beginning to end. Absolutely amazing read

I love love loved this easy read! Honestly Katee can write no wrong but this one sucked me in from the start and I stayed up all night to finish! I would love for there to be a Gideon irl! This was a two part story and his friend Roman got a story as well as the pair of them are just *chefs kiss*

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
This book had to deliciously spicy stories so I will review them separately.


-make me want.
I really enjoyed this one. Lucy is such a bright impressive lawyer but needs a husband for a promotion. I hate that that's the reality alot of women face. I wanted to punch Jeff in the face the whole time. How dare he make a woman feel like sex is a chore and make her feel like she's bad at it! He also seemed to crush her spirit, thankfully Gideon is man enough to help her rebuild it. Gideon sees her for the treasure she is and she sees past his gruff exterior. I was disappointed that Gideon listened to Roman, I thought he was more strong willed than that, thankfully he came to his senses quickly. Also a round of applause for Becka going into Gideons office and reaming his butt for the way he broke things off with Lucy! I really strong women characters who don't take men's shit.



-Make me crave
I immediately loved Allie and what she's doing for those women in her shelter/ gym. I found myself frustrated with Allie and her bullheaded nature, I get why she was so stubborn about it though. The on page chemistry between Roman and Allie was great, they just fit together so perfectly. I do wish they had been better at communicating with each other. The whole time I was shouting in my mind "you are both adults act like it"!

I also appreciate that the intimate moments are so realistic with the positions, the talking, the small chuckles when one is surprised by another. The research and effort that must go into these books is amazing and I thank Katee for doing it, for always writing captivating books with phenomenal well developed characters.

As always I was blown away and I'd read Katee grocery list if she published it. 5 stars

2 quick and spicy stories in one and they were great.

From Lucy and Gideons history, to Allie and Roman’s vacation affair it was easy to lose myself in each couple.

I will say I’m confused by the order as this one should be read before the first one due to the timelines of the stories.

Overall

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Katee Robert's work is always good, but their short stories really shine. They undoubtedly have the formula for a story that's spicy and fun to read without sacrificing vivid characters and emotional intelligence down.

Katee Robert forever!

Having read and enjoyed several of her slightly more non-contemporary/paranormal books, as well as a couple of her "taboo" books, this book was okay, but just none of the wow factor of her more recent works. Very quick read & nothing wrong with it, but I just didn't love it. Part of it might be due to I don't like miscommunication/lack of communication & trust trope. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC opportunity. Forbidden Games is new packaging that included Make Me Want & Make Me Crave.