FORBIDDEN PROMISES (The O’Malleys #4) by Katee Robert-Review, Guest Post & Giveaway

FORBIDDEN PROMISES
The O’Malleys #4
by Katee Robert
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romantic suspense

Forbidden Promises

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 30, 2017

All Sloan O’Malley ever wanted was a simple life—and now she’s finally got it. She’s left everything behind in Boston—her family, her money, even her name—and set herself up in a tiny seaside town in Oregon. What she doesn’t plan for? Her mysterious and painfully attractive neighbor, Jude.

Jude MacNamara has been many things in his life—pampered son of a prestigious family, only surviving heir to a lost legacy, hit man—but now he’s out for revenge on the man responsible for the death of his father and brothers—Colm Sheridan. He’s tracking Colm’s sister when he encounters Sloan living with her in her beach house. He’s a patient hunter and he’s willing to sit back and wait for his prey…he just doesn’t expect for this woman to give rise to emotions he hasn’t felt in years.

He doesn’t want to see Sloan hurt, but in order to protect her, he will have to turn his back on the one thing he’s spent his life pursuing—revenge. Even then, there’s no guarantee either one of them will make it out alive.

•••••••••

REVIEW: FORBIDDEN PROMISES is the fourth installment in Katee Robert’s contemporary, adult THE O’MALLEYS erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on three warring underground families of the Boston’s Irish mob, and the Russian mafia run by the Romanov family. This is mercenary for hire Jude MacNamara, and Sloan O’Malley’s story line. FORBIDDEN PROMISES can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story lines is revealed where necessary although I recommend reading the series in order as there is an ongoing premise throughout.

Told from several third person perspectives including Sloan and Jude FORBIDDEN PROMISES follows the forbidden romance between Sloan O’Malley and Jude MacNamara. Sloan O’Malley is on the run from her own family, and a father who is determined to marry off his daughters to men of his choosing. Sloan knows that both of her sisters have defied their father’s demands, and our heroine is determined not to fall ‘victim’ to her father’s ways. Hiding in plain sight, Sloan will fall for her neighbor, Jude MacNamara, never realizing that Jude’s history with the Irish mob is deadly and dark. What ensues is the building relationship between our leading couple, and Sloan’s determination to protect the family she loves from a hired gun.

Jude MacNamara is h*ll bent on revenge, hoping to take down any surviving members of the family that destroyed his life. But meeting Sloan O’Malley puts all things into focus when Sloan reveals the truth about the people Jude is hoping to destroy.

The relationship between Sloan and Jude is one of instant attraction between a woman on the run, and a man keeping secrets about his intentions and goals. Their quick building romance is spicy and sexy; our heroine was a virgin until Jude MacNamara came into her life. The $ex scenes are intimate, provocative and intense.

There are a large number of secondary and supporting characters including most of the O’Malley clan: Teague and Callista O’Malley (The Marriage Contract #1): James Halloran and Carrigan O’Malley (The Wedding Pact #2),; head of the O’Malley caln Aiden O’Malley, and their sister Kiera, as well as the return of Dimitri Romanov who continues to seek vengeance against the O’Malleys and the Sheridans. There is a quick introduction to former police officer Charlotte Finch. Charlotte and Aidan’s story is next in Undercover Attraction.

The world building continues to look at several underworld families, and sins of the past: revenge, vengeance, betrayal and loss, and the interconnected lives for everyone concerned.

FORBIDDEN PROMISES is a passionate story line; an intense and fated romance; a suspense filled look at two people whose destinies collide on diverging paths. The premise is energetic; the characters are colorful, spirited and tenacious; the romance is rebellious, impulsive and captivating. FORBIDDEN PROMISES reveals the depths of familial honor when one of their own falls in love.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Marriage Contract
The Wedding Pact
An Indecent Proposal
Forbidden Promises
Undercover Attraction-November 2017

Copy supplied through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Guest Post

KEEPING THE STORY LINE REAL WITHOUT SACRIFICING CONTENT

There’s a line in contemporary romance that most authors have to dance around. With paranormal and fantasy and sci-fi, the author has the ability to create the world and the rules within the world. With contemporary, we’re putting together stories in a world that the readers already know intimately. There are rules, and we have to follow them or we’re in danger of readers throwing the book across the room in a fury (and rightfully so).

So how do you keep the story line real without sacrificing content?

The trick is grounding the story in details that we all recognize. It allows people to enjoy the story and embrace some of the less likely elements, because the line of disbelief hasn’t been crossed.

In Forbidden Promises, the story is grounded in the heroine, Sloan, trying to find her feet after living with her family for her entire life. She’s faced with trying to find a job she’s not qualified for, moving to a town she’s not familiar with, and attempting to make friends and find a place for herself. All these are elements that the average person has dealt with at one time or another. We recognize the struggle to fit in, the fear of where the next paycheck is coming from, the click when we find our place.

Those elements make it easier to accept the more fantastical ones that show up—mainly that her next door neighbor (who never seems to wear a shirt) is a hit man who is just as connected with the Boston underworld as she is.

It’s a delicate balance, but it’s so much fun to play with. In the midst of exterior threats closing in, there are quiet moments of two people slowly falling

~~Katee~~

Forbidden Promises teaser

excerpt

Forbidden Promises Excerpt
Copyright © 2017 Katee Robert
“I won’t hurt you, Sloan. I promise.”
There was no logical reason for her to trust him, but he’d been careful with her up to this point. Perhaps he’d be careful with her with what came next. She nodded mutely, watching as he rolled on a condom that he’d retrieved from his pocket. Her body hummed in anticipation and trepidation, but she didn’t let it show as he moved back to join her on the bed.
Jude palmed her between her legs, his big fingers exploring her. It didn’t seem possible that he could spark pleasure with a few specific touches, but it didn’t take much to have her relaxing, letting him once again take the lead. He kissed her neck. “Feels good, huh?”
“Well, I—oh.” Her eyes went wide when he pushed a second finger into her. It stretched her, the feeling not entirely pleasant at first, but he merely waited, pulsing the slightest bit, until pleasure took hold once more. She clutched his shoulders. “Kiss me again. Please.”
“You don’t have to ask twice.” He took her mouth like he owned it—like he owned every part of her. Jude slid between her legs, his body rubbing deliciously against hers. His hard length slid through her wetness, creating a friction that sparked a tide of desire deep inside her. Again? I couldn’t possibly…
He nipped her bottom lip and then soothed the slight ache with his tongue. “Ready?”
There was no mistaking his meaning. She nodded. Despite the earlier orgasm and how good it felt to have him moving against her, she was so incredibly empty. Instinct had her hooking a leg around his hips and arching up to meet him, needing more, so much more.
Jude reached between them, and then he was at her entrance. He kissed her, tongue twining with hers as he pushed into her, just a single inch. It was too much and not enough and she couldn’t help but thrash, pinned in place by his big body, overwhelmed by her helplessness and what he was doing to her. “Jude, I—”
“Shh. I’ve got you.” He rolled, taking her with him. One second she was on her back, finding it hard to breathe, and the next she was straddling him where he sat with his back against the headboard.
Sloan looked down, daunted by the sheer size of him. “I don’t know if this is going to work. You’re too big.”
He laughed, deep and full-throated, the sound rolling through her like the tide. “You can take every inch of me, sunshine. I promise you that.”

About The Author
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension.” When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.