Loved this book. It was so well done you will loose y yourself in the story. Loved the main characters as they really made you care about what happens in the plot line.

I really disliked Navia and that made the book difficult to get through. The spicy scenes were great but she kind of ruined the whole book for me. Talon could be a jerk but he wasn't even that bad. Swing and a miss for me unfortunately.


Thanks so much to Netgalley and the Author for the e-arc!

DNF'd this book. The writing was difficult to get through and the plot was absolutely awful. The characters felt very shallow and very young for the content this book was dealing with. Do not recommend.

Very spicy read. Forbidden love. Taboo love. Sound interesting.

Unfortunately the characters felt a little flat and one dimensional. The only real personality they showed was about this obsession between one another.

There were a few scenes where the boundary of consent was kind of pushed a little too much. I really didn’t like the idea of just doing this and waiting for her to like it and it made me really uncomfortable.

Holy spice! 🔥🌶🔥🌶 I will admit that the cover is what made me want to read this one. Can we say aesthetically pleasing or what! This book was a great love story with some great suspense throughout. There are some explicit sex scenes that I could have done without, and that was probably the only reason I did not give this five stars. But I know there is strong following for that stuff so I won’t let it take away from the rest of the book!

The story involves the love between 22 year old Talon Ashford and his 19 year old sister, Navia. Yes, I said sister. However, Navia was adopted by the Ashford family when she was thirteen years old, so technically they aren’t true bro and sis, just in the eye of the law they are! There are five total brothers that basically run the town of Rosavale, and about mid-way thru we are introduced to someone that wants to take them down by any means possible. Quite the suspense and buildup they create.

This book is the first book of the series, and my understanding is that the second book will pick up with the eldest brother, Devan and his love story. Reading the next one ASAP!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

I was interested in this book when I first heard of it due to it being a darker romance, and the cover being beautiful. Since I have been loving romance lately, I was hoping this would be something I’d really like.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. There were several main things that made me not like this book. The first and most important is that there is a lack of consent in this book. During two of the sexual scenes, the main character clearly says “no” but the male character continues on anyway until he is able to convince her that is what she wants. This felt very rape-like to me. I also felt sick to my stomach when the male character had fingered her so hard he hurt her, made her bleed and cry, and gave little remorse for hurting her. The incident is also never talked about again. The way these things are portrayed as “normal” and “romantic” and “sexy” really made me uncomfortable while reading this book. I don’t ever mind reading about difficult subject matter, but this needs to have some sort of voice to argue against this sort of sexual relationship proving this is not normal or okay.

I think this book could be decent, as at least the side characters have their own personalities, and I did like the small town feel. However, the main two lovers were as bland as a Great Depression chicken and had no discernible personality traits themselves.

I will not be continuing on with this series, and I think I will avoid picking up books with this subject matter in the future as I did not enjoy it.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review--if you're looking for a new adult romance with quite a bit of spice and an okay subplot, this could be for you.

So, we're introduced to the powerful (and by description, utterly beautiful) Ashford family, which includes 5 brothers and their step-sister, Navia. Turns out, one of the bro's, Talon, and Navia have always shared...feelings. This is the first step-sibling romance I've read, and while I was certainly taken aback in the beginning, the author does a good job of keeping the lines clear, and, in the end, I found myself rooting for them.

While the forbidden romance certainly takes centerstage in Willa Watkin's debut novel, there is a subplot surrounding the origin story of Navia. Mysterious threats pop up and the Ashford family gets put on blast. I've actually gone on to read the second book in this series, which focuses on a different Ashford brother, and the plot there is much stronger and tied in more cleanly. For this one, read if for the romance, not for the evil farmer drama. A fun read, especially for those who like a series that will eventually cover the entire hot fam!

3.5 stars out of 5

I love a good smutty book as much as the next person, but this by far was not what I had expected. The main characters were bland and besides their mutual "obsession" with one another there really wasn't much to work with.

The romance is definitely taboo as it focuses on Navia's relationship with her brother (adopted siblings).

Honestly, I love a good forbidden love trope but this just wasn't it for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Willa Watkins for allowing me to read this.

I found this story line really intriguing. Not like the usual "stepbrother" trope.
The Ashford brothers are honest, hardworking, and totally protective of those within their sphere. From the time Navia was adopted by them at 13, they protected and loved her. In particular, Talon was in love with her from the moment she entered their home and many years later they finally create their relationship. the characters are certainly deep, and at one point I wanted to smack Talon! However, looking back on it, a book has to be extremely good to make you feel emotions you would direct towards a real person!

I was provided this book in exchange for an unpaid, honest review.

Forbidden love, suspense, smut, romance, what more can you ask for? Honestly, I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this, and looking back I am definitely not the intended audience. You lost me at cowboys.

But that aside, the premise was interesting enough and I enjoyed the alternating point of view, I think it gave the novel more depth and managed to answer some questions, especially towards the end. The story maintained a great pace for the first 3/4, so it made for a very quick and easy read, the ending, I found, to be incredibly rushed.

The romance was Taboo, yet not uncomfortable (adoptive siblings).

I just found our main characters overly bland, they didn't have much to offer other than their obsession with each other. I found that I was more interested in the brothers, they all managed to have more personality than our two MC combined. I do think that it has set great foundations for future books, especially Devans!

Okay, so this story was actually really well written and I like the romance and how it develops relatively quickly. However, I personally cannot get over the fact that they are technically siblings, even if they are not related by blood. Now, obviously I knew that it would be a ‘forbidden romance’ type story and whilst most of the time I completely forgot about it, everything it was brought up that they were siblings it just made me uncomfortable. And I mean, then with everything else for all the other siblings, that was also uncomfortable for me. I’m not judging, you do you, but it just wasn’t for me.
However, like i said, the writing is actually great and the author is a great storyteller.

A budding love between a step brother and sister, a little game of hide and seek with the family to hide their little secret and a little mystery on the political side leaves you engrossed in the story to finish in one sitting.
At the end of the book I was left craving for the next book.

Definitely a must read especially if you enjoy a young love and the jitters.

This book really took me by surprise, but it was so good! I figured it was just going to be a taboo romance, but there were some ominous undertones from Navia’s birth family. We even got a glimpse into future installments into the Rosavale series. Each book in the series will focus on different family members and their intimacies.

The only issue I had with this book was that the background was a little confusing. It was hard to keep the years and ages straight. I was trying to solve a part of the mystery, but I couldn’t really try because I couldn’t keep track of the little details. That could have been just my own fault, though.

If you’re a fan of the show Yellowstone, you’ll probably enjoy with book. They give off similar vibes, minus the taboo of this book anyways. I’m super excited to read about the other family members in the future installments!

I definitely recommend this book! I’ll for sure be reading more from this author in the future and I’ll be reading all of the Rosavale series! The thrilling subplot in this series really made the book great.

Ok really loved this one. Wow! Great writing. I read this one in 2 days. Couldn’t put it down. So great!!

4,5⭐️
I do not I put this book off for so Long. This was absolutely amazing and made me laugh out loud several times. BDD was also my first step-brother romance and I can now say I like that trope. The suspend and mystery was Also a Nice addition. The writing was beautiful and i loved The chapter that followed «Us»

A forbidden taboo relationship between siblings through adoption.

Navia came into the Ashford family at 13. She is welcomed into the arms of 5 older brothers, only one of them never felt like a brother. Introducing our love interest, Talon.

He fights his love for Navia cause he thinks his family will be disgusted and hate him for it. But now they are both adults and they can't fight their feelings, both romantic and sexual.

Let's just say this book brought the steam. Descriptive and sexy. But can I just say that *FIRST* backdoor action had my eyes about bulging out of my head. I have no words. No, that's a lie, but I can't even begin to explain. Like why? It's a question for both characters. WHY?

Not only is this book a forbidden romance, but it also has a mystery element to it that had me wanting to unravel the whole thing. I will definitely read the next books in the series to see the other members of the Ashford family find hot sex and love.

Overall, I’d say well done!! By the end of this book, I was totally enthralled with the story and dying to find out more. I found it difficult to get into the story at first, however. I was confused by the build up, and I wasn’t really compelled by Talon and Navia’s relationship until Talon’s birthday party when he officially told Sammie he was off limits. I think it took me a second to get into the forbidden love between Talon and abacus but by the end I was totally rooting for them.

About halfway through the book everything suddenly clicked into place and I was excited to keep reading. I think it was a good first book, but I actually want to know more about the other siblings more than I wanted to know about Talon. So that’s great, because that means I want to keep reading! I love the set up of Devon and Belvana’s relationship is super enticing, and I want to know more!

Navia loves her adopted family. But she loves Talon, the youngest brother, in a different way. They're been fighting their desires for years but they can't anymore. An enemy threatens to pull the Ashfords apart. Can Navia and Talon convince their family to accept them while fighting another battle?

A pretty short book filled with a lot of mystery, surprises and twists. The romance and chemistry between Navia and Talon is strong. I wish there was a bit more on the mystery and the characters but hopefully it will be expanded on in the next book!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Navia and Talon have been fighting their attraction for several year, ever since Navia was adopted into his family, of five boys. Whilst his older brothers have always seen Navia as their little sister, to Talon she has been the only girl that he has ever loved. When Navia returns from university after a year away, their feelings are becoming more evident to those around them.
Talon and Navia’s feelings for each other are very intense and powerful. I read this book in one sitting, I was that enthralled by their story. After finishing this book, I found myself thinking back over the story and thinking about what would happen in future books. The underlying history that has been kept secret for years, started to emerge and will obviously be taken up in book 2. However, it did not detract from the first story, in ways, only adding to the complexity of the story.
This contemporary romance has all the ingredients for great series. A powerful and almost forbidden love intermingled with mystery and suspense. A great read.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Talon is the youngest of the five Ashford brothers. When thirteen-year-old Navia is adopted and brought into the family, no matter how hard he tries, Talon can’t see her as just a sister.

As the years pass, they succumb to their forbidden desires. But their secret isn’t the only one looming over the Ashford family. An enemy rises from the ashes to bring discord among them.

Will Talon and Navia be able to face all the obstacles and keep the family together while fighting for their love?

I love the surprises and the twists in this book. Love the romance and the chemistry between the main characters. I love how close the family is too. A wonderful book. What a cliffhanger at the end. Can't wait to read more in this series.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an arc.