The Younger Man

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1. THE FORBIDDEN MAN by Karina Halle

SYNOPSIS

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 therapist for a football (soccer) team, she jumps at the chance. This is just what she needs to leave the heartbreak and shame of Manchester behind, trading it in for the warmth and hopeful vibrancy of Madrid.

He was her only desire. Twenty-three-year-old Alejo Albarado is rising up the ranks in his career. As the charming forward for the Real Madrid team, Alejo’s life revolves around women, parties, and being a tabloid darling, that is until the new sports therapist joins the team.

Their passion could not be ignored. What starts out as a strictly professional relationship between Thalia and the young Spanish player, slowly evolves into something more. Much more.

Their relationship was forbidden. But their combustible chemistry and simmering sexual tension can only go so far—should Thalia give into Alejo’s advances, she’s at risk of not only losing her job but succumbing to a much younger man will drag her through the spotlight again. Alejo might be worth that risk. Unless he breaks her heart in the process.

BOOK REVIEW

Karina Halle once again created a soul-crushing contemporary romance that was full of steamy passion and forbidden love, deliciously sexy, yet super cute. In addition, it’s a sports romance, which is always a huge plus, at least for me. The main characters were so well-rounded and so well-written. They had a particularly unique feel to them (Alejo felt very much Spanish, I was pleasantly surprised). I loved an age-gap aspect in their relationship, and I appreciated that a female character was much older, once for a difference. And I absolutely adored the setting for the story.

Coming off of a heartbreaking divorce (SPOILER! Infertility problem and cheating are among the most common grounds for a split in marriage), forty-year-old honestly bitter Thalia was trying to get her shit together and start all over in a new city, focusing on a new respectable job for Real Madrid (kudos to the author, this is my favourite football team, not an English one haha). She was was strong and resilient. Did I mention that the heroine was an amazing physical therapist working in a majorly male-dominated environment, and her professional skills were top-notch? How kick-ass is that! Anyway, life couldn’t be that simple, am I right or am I right? Things got really complicated when a very young star player of the team, totally off-limits, fell hard for Thalia. At the same time, I fell in love with Alejo, a charming, assertive, and romantic man, not a boy, who was more emotionally mature than the heroine who had many more years on him.

“Listen to me, mi Corazon... I love you. I love you for the person you are now and the person you will be. I’m very aware that you’ll change and so will I. But what I feel for you won’t. Don’t you see what we have? This,” I press my lips to hers before pulling back and searching her eyes, “this goes beyond looks. This is about a connection of the souls. It’s how we knew we were meant for each other the moment we laid eyes on each other. And that connection, that’s not going to go away with age. It’s only going to strengthen.”

The two had undeniable chemistry together, scorchingly hot (SPOILER! OMG the sex scene in a steam room was so filthy I needed a moment to cool off). The forbidden aspect only added to all the feels, having me holding my breath in hopes for their genuine but very complicated love for one another to overcome everything (Thalia’s low self-esteem, Alejo’s hot blood, violated work ethics, social and peer pressure, and many more).

I honestly enjoyed every single aspect of The Forbidden Man. The secondary characters were extremely raw and likable. The food and drinks, the sightseeing and the free Spanish lessons, the excitement of the football games made it feel excitingly real. I simply couldn’t put this book down, and highly recommend you check it out.