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The Forbidden Man
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An epic standalone forbidden age-gap sports romance from the New York Times Bestselling author of The Play and My Life in Shambles
Starting over was her only option.
Forty-years old and still reeling from a public and painful divorce, Thalia Blackwood is looking for a fresh start, somewhere far away from her upside down life. When she’s offered a new job as the sports th ...more
Starting over was her only option.
Forty-years old and still reeling from a public and painful divorce, Thalia Blackwood is looking for a fresh start, somewhere far away from her upside down life. When she’s offered a new job as the sports th ...more
Kindle Edition, 2nd Edition, 502 pages
Published
December 16th 2019
(first published December 11th 2019)
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5 stars!
Wow. This was so good. Emotional, sensual, forbidden, beautifully written, and one of the best age gap romances I've read in a long time. It gave me the same kind of feels of my all time favorite Karina Halle romances (The Play, Love in English, etc) and I loved it so much!
Thalia is a forty year old recent divorcee looking to get away from her current life drama, so she takes a job in another country. She is a physical therapist ...more
The bigger the love, the greater the risk.
Wow. This was so good. Emotional, sensual, forbidden, beautifully written, and one of the best age gap romances I've read in a long time. It gave me the same kind of feels of my all time favorite Karina Halle romances (The Play, Love in English, etc) and I loved it so much!
Thalia is a forty year old recent divorcee looking to get away from her current life drama, so she takes a job in another country. She is a physical therapist ...more
NOTE: there has been a title change for The Younger Man. Alejo and Thalia's romance is now called THE FORBIDDEN MAN, which more accurately reflects their epic love story. As a result, you may see the book referred to as either title on Goodreads or elsewhere :)
You can read a few excerpts of The Forbidden Man below:
**Excerpt is exclusive for you guys and totally unedited and unproofed and subject to change**
I walk over to him, conjuring up the confidence. I played softball and tennis as a young g ...more
You can read a few excerpts of The Forbidden Man below:
**Excerpt is exclusive for you guys and totally unedited and unproofed and subject to change**
I walk over to him, conjuring up the confidence. I played softball and tennis as a young g ...more
Forty-years old Thalia Blackwood, gets a second chance to start again as the physiotherapist of Real Madrid football team. ⚽️❤
A new country, a new language – in a world that belongs to men… she has a lot to prove and a lot to lose, so she doesn't need any distractions. 😱
Certainly not a distraction in the form of a handsome, Spanish, young, 23-year-old football player named Alejo Albarado – who could ruin everything she built for herself. 🔥🔥🔥
📚 "𝐓𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐨, 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬. ...more
I'm at the scene where Luciano is accepting an award and our hero and heroine are in the coat closet having sex. Is this woman 40 or 18? Also, just because the Hs have loads of sex doesn't mean they have any sexual chemistry....more
In addition, the author clearly took creative licence with the info on European football clubs or maybe she just didn't do enough research..but, whatever, it's fiction. Ultimately, it was the boredom that got to me and I think I sleep-read majority of the book. Oh, well.
If
I AM STILL TRYING TO CATCH MY BREATH. Whew baby, Karina Halle BRINGS IT with The Forbidden Man! This book absolutely wrecked me. It was angsty and sexy and decadent and forbidden and heartfelt and beautiful and romantic and dreamy anddddddddd ... I could keep going on and on for days. I'm IN AWE of Alejo and Thalia. These characters are so special. They are MORE THAN memorable. They are the kinds of characters that leave a mark on you and I'm not sure how I will get over them.
I mean, my word! Th ...more
I mean, my word! Th ...more
2.5 stars
This was...Boring?
I really wanted to like this book. I’ve discovered Karina Halle’s books last month, and I binge read her Royal romance series. They were so fun and enjoyable to read. So I was kind of excited to read this book, but oh man this was so boring!! It’s such a big book where nothing is really happening. I was just so freakin uninterested in the story/plot. It was just so boring!! And I hated that I had to push myself to finish it! I was Indifferent towards the characters. Th ...more
This was...Boring?
I really wanted to like this book. I’ve discovered Karina Halle’s books last month, and I binge read her Royal romance series. They were so fun and enjoyable to read. So I was kind of excited to read this book, but oh man this was so boring!! It’s such a big book where nothing is really happening. I was just so freakin uninterested in the story/plot. It was just so boring!! And I hated that I had to push myself to finish it! I was Indifferent towards the characters. Th ...more
5 ⭐️
I loved it. I abso-freaking-lutely loved it.
I’m gonna go into the why’s in a sec, first I gotta say that I don’t wanna sell it as this perfect book, this unicorn you absolutely have to go see(in this case read). This one is a case of to "each their own".
Sometimes you read something and you have no bloody idea how or why but you are gripped, and it touches you and you think about it often in the aftermath of reading it.
That’s this book for me. Maybe it’s because I’m familiar with the world ...more
I loved it. I abso-freaking-lutely loved it.
I’m gonna go into the why’s in a sec, first I gotta say that I don’t wanna sell it as this perfect book, this unicorn you absolutely have to go see(in this case read). This one is a case of to "each their own".
Sometimes you read something and you have no bloody idea how or why but you are gripped, and it touches you and you think about it often in the aftermath of reading it.
That’s this book for me. Maybe it’s because I’m familiar with the world ...more
I was looking forward to this book so much. I always love younger man/older woman trope. I also like Karina Halle's writing. But this book is such a huge disappointment. I am so very upset :(
*********************************************
First of all, it is boring as hell. I waited and waited for it to get interesting or captivating but nope, it doesn't. It is boring in the extreme!
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Secondly, the hero and heroine has ZERO chemistry. Zero, zip, zilch, nad ...more
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First of all, it is boring as hell. I waited and waited for it to get interesting or captivating but nope, it doesn't. It is boring in the extreme!
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Secondly, the hero and heroine has ZERO chemistry. Zero, zip, zilch, nad ...more
❤ 5 STARS❤
I loved it so much, so nice to be back in Mateo and Vera’s world but this time with Thalia and Alejo who where fantastic! I loved their romance so much!
Super hot, sensual, emotional ,sweet and it has the perfect amount of drama! I fall in love with each character and it felt like I was a part of their story! I swoon and melt with these two! They make me feel warm!
This has everything I wanted and even more.I loved how the relationship between Alejo and Thalia developed and I liked th ...more
I loved it so much, so nice to be back in Mateo and Vera’s world but this time with Thalia and Alejo who where fantastic! I loved their romance so much!
Super hot, sensual, emotional ,sweet and it has the perfect amount of drama! I fall in love with each character and it felt like I was a part of their story! I swoon and melt with these two! They make me feel warm!
This has everything I wanted and even more.I loved how the relationship between Alejo and Thalia developed and I liked th ...more
5 Stars
Karina Halle’s spin on a soccer player’s fall for a female staff member was EXCELLENT! I adored the manner in which the hero the “younger man” was written. Alejo Albarado is the twenty-three year old soccer star who was so refreshing and uniquely portrayed. He spoke from the heart, acted impulsively at times, and was so genuine, not to mention sexy as hell. On the other hand, our heroine Thalia, is a forty year old newly divorced woman whose career and reputation could be destroyed if ...more
Karina Halle’s spin on a soccer player’s fall for a female staff member was EXCELLENT! I adored the manner in which the hero the “younger man” was written. Alejo Albarado is the twenty-three year old soccer star who was so refreshing and uniquely portrayed. He spoke from the heart, acted impulsively at times, and was so genuine, not to mention sexy as hell. On the other hand, our heroine Thalia, is a forty year old newly divorced woman whose career and reputation could be destroyed if ...more
dnf @ 5%
life's too short to read stuff that bores you. this didn't start off horribly and in fact the premise is pretty original. older woman is head physical therapist for soccer team in madrid. falls for one of the players.
i can tell this is the kind of angsty emotional story that a lot of y'all will like. i'm just not real big into older woman/younger man stories and soccer is the one sport i reallllllly don't give a shit about. ...more
life's too short to read stuff that bores you. this didn't start off horribly and in fact the premise is pretty original. older woman is head physical therapist for soccer team in madrid. falls for one of the players.
i can tell this is the kind of angsty emotional story that a lot of y'all will like. i'm just not real big into older woman/younger man stories and soccer is the one sport i reallllllly don't give a shit about. ...more
Karina Halle delivered a soul crushing romance that was forbidden, sexy, passionate and full of love. I had no idea what I was going to get with a forbidden sports romance with the leading female being older, but I have to say that I really enjoyed this one.
Coming off of a heartbreaking divorce, Thalia is trying to pick up the pieces of her life and start over. With a new job in the works and the chance to re establish her career, things are starting to look a little bit better for this newly fo ...more
Dec 05, 2019
• Jodi Bibliophile •
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
5-star,
2019-favourite
I don’t even have the right words to express how I’m feeling right now.
Karina has literally FLAWED ME!
The second I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I found myself thinking about it before bed and waking up feeling so giddy AF to jump back in.
I LIVED for this story and these characters.
Most of you know how picky I am and when a book consumes me as much as this book did, can only means it was BEYOND AMAZING. Like it was fucking incredible and I don’t throw that word around often.
Forbid ...more
Karina has literally FLAWED ME!
The second I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I found myself thinking about it before bed and waking up feeling so giddy AF to jump back in.
I LIVED for this story and these characters.
Most of you know how picky I am and when a book consumes me as much as this book did, can only means it was BEYOND AMAZING. Like it was fucking incredible and I don’t throw that word around often.
Forbid ...more
Author: Karina Halle
Genre: Contemporary (Sports) Romance
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:
A messy divorce forced Thalia Blackwood to completely overhaul her life. Moving to Madrid was supposed to be the fresh start she desperately needed. However, falling for Alejo Albarado’s impossible to resist charm was the last thing she ever expected and it became a complication neither of them was willing to face.
I love the older woman/younger man dynamic because it’s not very common for an ...more
Genre: Contemporary (Sports) Romance
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:
A messy divorce forced Thalia Blackwood to completely overhaul her life. Moving to Madrid was supposed to be the fresh start she desperately needed. However, falling for Alejo Albarado’s impossible to resist charm was the last thing she ever expected and it became a complication neither of them was willing to face.
I love the older woman/younger man dynamic because it’s not very common for an ...more
Phwar! Steamy, angsty, emotional, and filled with amazing tension! Thalia and Alejo will pull you deep into their stunning romance and leave you with a guaranteed book hangover.
~SIGH~ This could have been epic!
(view spoiler)
(view spoiler) ...more
(view spoiler)
(view spoiler) ...more
4.5 to 5 Stars
I loved this book! It’s become one of my favorite sport romances.
I loved this book! It’s become one of my favorite sport romances.
This started off like gangbusters!
My first Halle and I was thinking to myself, 'self, you're a dumbass for not reading her writes before now'. I'm kind of a sucker for the sekrit lub stories so I was kind of dancing a jig.
Thalia and Alejo had fantastic chemistry going on that turned hotter than a forrest fire when the sexy times started.
I was not mad at it.
Both of the characters and their emotions read realistic to me. I didn't want to put it down. Really, things were going swimmingly. I mean, ...more
My first Halle and I was thinking to myself, 'self, you're a dumbass for not reading her writes before now'. I'm kind of a sucker for the sekrit lub stories so I was kind of dancing a jig.
Thalia and Alejo had fantastic chemistry going on that turned hotter than a forrest fire when the sexy times started.
I was not mad at it.
Both of the characters and their emotions read realistic to me. I didn't want to put it down. Really, things were going swimmingly. I mean, ...more
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
The Younger Man is a very sensual, and straight to the point contemporary (a little bit taboo) romance. I loved that there was a big age difference (17 years) between Thalia and Alejo. What I also really liked was that you could sometimes really feel that there was an age difference. Even though Alejo is a young football player, he has been through a lot and had to mature earlier than most people. I think that was the main reason why he and Thalia ...more
The Younger Man is a very sensual, and straight to the point contemporary (a little bit taboo) romance. I loved that there was a big age difference (17 years) between Thalia and Alejo. What I also really liked was that you could sometimes really feel that there was an age difference. Even though Alejo is a young football player, he has been through a lot and had to mature earlier than most people. I think that was the main reason why he and Thalia ...more
Jan 13, 2020
Sharon ∞❥ is an emotional book junkie ❥∞
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
emotional-angsty-books,
read-in-2020
4 ⭐'s
“I can be your someone.”
This is an older woman/younger man forbidden romance and I just love when the younger man knows exactly what he wants.
Thalia has been through a rough divorce with her cheating husband and since they both worked for Manchester United she quits and gets a job with Real Madrid. That's where she meets Alejo.
Alejo is taken with her right away but there is a no fraternization policy and he is seventeen years younger than Thalia...not that it bothers him at all!
Thalia t ...more
“I can be your someone.”
This is an older woman/younger man forbidden romance and I just love when the younger man knows exactly what he wants.
Thalia has been through a rough divorce with her cheating husband and since they both worked for Manchester United she quits and gets a job with Real Madrid. That's where she meets Alejo.
Alejo is taken with her right away but there is a no fraternization policy and he is seventeen years younger than Thalia...not that it bothers him at all!
Thalia t ...more
3 Stars
Overall Opinion: I was enjoying this and then the last quarter happened. I ended up not liking the h that much because I felt like she was all over the place and I didn’t understand her behavior. She was a mess and I think she hurt the H unnecessarily. In a way, 'I think she acted too immature for him! I also wanted more with the ending. While it was cute and offered closure (and I’m sure we will get more of them in the next book), I didn’t feel like it was enough. Overall, it was just al ...more
Overall Opinion: I was enjoying this and then the last quarter happened. I ended up not liking the h that much because I felt like she was all over the place and I didn’t understand her behavior. She was a mess and I think she hurt the H unnecessarily. In a way, 'I think she acted too immature for him! I also wanted more with the ending. While it was cute and offered closure (and I’m sure we will get more of them in the next book), I didn’t feel like it was enough. Overall, it was just al ...more
5 'El sol de mi corazón' Stars!
ARC provided via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.
And that is how a gripping age-gap romance is written! Karina Halle surely knows how to end this year with a bang because The Younger Man was simply an unputdownable read from start to finish. Trust me when I say you’ll want to meet Alejo and read his and Thalia’s journey to fall in love for each other. It’s oh-so-worth-it!
So, The Younger Man is Karina’s newest standalone release and it focuses o ...more
ARC provided via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.
And that is how a gripping age-gap romance is written! Karina Halle surely knows how to end this year with a bang because The Younger Man was simply an unputdownable read from start to finish. Trust me when I say you’ll want to meet Alejo and read his and Thalia’s journey to fall in love for each other. It’s oh-so-worth-it!
So, The Younger Man is Karina’s newest standalone release and it focuses o ...more
I am completely and utterly speechless. Feels upon feels upon feel. My heart feels so full. Karina has floored me and I was beyond consumed with the story that she so eloquently and beautifully penned.
From the second I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. Every other thought I had was about this book, this story and these characters. I tried to pace myself from finishing reading in one-sitting, but the more I read the more I was sucked in and I couldn’t stop. I lived for this story and fo ...more
From the second I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. Every other thought I had was about this book, this story and these characters. I tried to pace myself from finishing reading in one-sitting, but the more I read the more I was sucked in and I couldn’t stop. I lived for this story and fo ...more
6 Hala Madrid stars!
I am completely swept away right now by this book! Thalia & Alejo will be a couple that is written in the history books, as far as the book world goes. This book was extremely well written, and hit every single place in my heart. So much raw emotion, angst, passion, romance, and lust! I truly don’t want to leave this world. I love forbidden romances, and this one is my favorite!!
“So this is Alejo Albarado. Number 28.”
Hello top book boyfriend for 2019, and top 5 of all time! T ...more
I am completely swept away right now by this book! Thalia & Alejo will be a couple that is written in the history books, as far as the book world goes. This book was extremely well written, and hit every single place in my heart. So much raw emotion, angst, passion, romance, and lust! I truly don’t want to leave this world. I love forbidden romances, and this one is my favorite!!
“So this is Alejo Albarado. Number 28.”
Hello top book boyfriend for 2019, and top 5 of all time! T ...more
“My heart,” he murmurs, “it beats for you, Thalia. Now and always. I love you. Te amo. And this love burns like the sun.”
I'm really shocked at how much I liked this book. This is my 4th book by Karina Halle and I haven't enjoyed any of her books so far. I only picked up this book because I haven't read forbidden romance and younger man - older woman for a while and the blurb sounded interesting enough. I expected to find it mediocre at best, but woah ~ I was positively surprised.
My man Toni ...more
5 passionate, swoony, epically romantic stars!
Oh, my heart! I’ve been through it all with this book, and I’m absolutely in love with this chemistry-filled, epic love story. An older woman/younger man romance with an angst-inducing forbidden twist, this book held me captivated for 500+ pages of sexual tension, chemistry, passion, angst, drama and soul-deep love, and I loved it so much.
And with a book like this, I couldn’t help but highlight my way through the book, so beware my quote-whorey revi ...more
Oh, my heart! I’ve been through it all with this book, and I’m absolutely in love with this chemistry-filled, epic love story. An older woman/younger man romance with an angst-inducing forbidden twist, this book held me captivated for 500+ pages of sexual tension, chemistry, passion, angst, drama and soul-deep love, and I loved it so much.
And with a book like this, I couldn’t help but highlight my way through the book, so beware my quote-whorey revi ...more
Forty-years old Thalia Blackwood, gets a second chance to start again as the physiotherapist of Real Madrid football team. ⚽️❤
A new country, a new language – in a world that belongs to men… she has a lot to prove and a lot to lose, so she doesn't need any distractions. 😱
Certainly not a distraction in the form of a handsome, Spanish, young, 23-year-old football player named Alejo Albarado – who could ruin everything she built for herself. 🔥🔥🔥
📚 "𝐓𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐨, 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬. ...more
Okay...where to start with this review. First I am going to tell you a little truth about myself. When I go into reading a book that I have seen a lot of hype about...I think I enter with a chip on my shoulder. What does this mean? It means this...I open the kindle with a need for the words and story to prove their worth to me. Hype can sometimes lead to hope and hoping a story will be what it is to everyone else is a tough thing to battle. This one succeeded. Alejo and Thalia were electric. The
...more
4.5-5!! I’m in loveeee!!! Alejo was literally the absolute sweetest. I adored him and Thalia so so much! Gah, the tension and angst was perfect. So happy I loved this one, and loved seeing Mateo and Vera again!
➳ Rate: 5 / 5 stars
It's always so refreshing to read an age gap romance where the heroine is the older part of the equation because I think most of this trope is always the other way around so whenever I see an age gap romance where the woman is the older one I always want to read it.
This book wasn't just refreshing for me because of what I just said but also for many other reasons: first, I feel like I haven't read practically any soccer sports romances (it always feels weird for me to say socc ...more
It's always so refreshing to read an age gap romance where the heroine is the older part of the equation because I think most of this trope is always the other way around so whenever I see an age gap romance where the woman is the older one I always want to read it.
This book wasn't just refreshing for me because of what I just said but also for many other reasons: first, I feel like I haven't read practically any soccer sports romances (it always feels weird for me to say socc ...more
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Karina Halle is a screenwriter, a former music & travel journalist, and the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of The Pact, A Nordic King, and Sins & Needles, as well as sixty other wild and romantic reads.
She, her musician husband, and their adopted pit bull, Bruce, live in a rainforest on an island off the coast of British Columbia, where they operate Raven Ri ...more
She, her musician husband, and their adopted pit bull, Bruce, live in a rainforest on an island off the coast of British Columbia, where they operate Raven Ri ...more
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“My heart,” he murmurs, “it beats for you, Thalia. Now and always. I love you. Te amo. And this love burns like the sun.”
—
3 likes
“When you’re young it just seems so much easier. You’re not set in your ways yet. The world is open to you, as are the people in it. Even though I know forty isn’t old at all, it’s old enough that little things like friendship are harder to come by.”
—
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