Forbidden Hearts

Forbidden HeartsBy: Corinne MichaelsNarrated by: Zachary Webber, Desiree KetchumI love, love, loved everything about this book, from Corinne Michaels’ impressing writing style to the fabulous characters and original storylines she created to the perfectly cast narrators who bring it all to life from the pages to your ears. I also loved the originality of this story, and while these tropes have been done before, none were quite like this, which made it even more refreshing and enjoyable. Asher Whitlock is a single dad who he co-parents with Sara, the mother of their nine-year-old daughter Olivia, who is Deaf. Sara has a job opportunity that is taking her out of the country, so Olivia will stay with him. Asher is the local sheriff and works odd hours so they hire a live-in nanny to help and they requested one with specific skills, one who knows ASL and can communicate with Olivia. Except that nanny is not coming and with Asher in a bind, he calls his chief to take off, but his chief comes up with another solution. His daughter, Phoebe, who knows sign language and came home from college early, can watch her. There was no way he would trust Phoebe Bettencourt with his daughter again. The last time she babysat, it turned into a disaster, but she was sixteen at the time and much more responsible. With no other options, he had no choice, but he planned on keeping a close eye on her. Phoebe made some bad choices in college, scandalous choices, and because of that, she needed to leave school early and rethink her future. She took the job despite not being thrilled about working for Asher the grump, but she could get some great experience working with Olivia since she is an audiology major and plans on working with the deaf community in the future. Phoebe and Olivia got along well, and it was a perfect pairing, except she needed to gain Asher’s trust and show him she was much more responsible. Some scenes were hilarious and Phoebe gave the overprotective Asher a run for his money, and eventually, he saw how great she was with his daughter and took it down a notch. The one thing he was not counting on was the chemistry between him and Phoebe, but she should be off-limits since she was the daughter of his boss, was much younger than him, and she was her daughter’s nanny. But chemistry like that can not be denied and it does not take long for them to give in to their desires. They come up with a plan, he is not looking for a relationship and she was leaving to go away to another college so they will just enjoy each other’s company and bodies. But they were kidding themselves and that plan goes out the window as soon as feeling get involved, feelings neither one wants to admit. This beautifully plotted story has it all, a perfect balance of drama, angst, humor, charm, heartwarming moments, heartfelt emotions, and a wonderful romance. Corrine Michaels, thank you for this amazing story and emotional rollercoaster ride. 🎧📚🎧 And for the amazing narration, Desiree Ketchum and Zachary Weber had a complete understanding of who they were portraying and their character voices were fitting, and they were believable in every role they played. Webber’s take on Asher was perfection, grasping every side of his personality, from his grumpy side to his overprotective and caring side. Ketchum did the same for Phoebe and was absolute perfection in that role. Both were just as fabulous performing the roles of the secondary characters too. They set the perfect tone for the story, captured all the character’s emotions and projected them into their performance and had you feeling every single one. These entertaining storytellers are versatile voice artists and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another exceptional listen.

There’s nothing better than starting a new series with new characters to get to know and love. With this first book in Corinne Michaels’ Whitlock Family, Forbidden Hearts we’re off to an amazing start!!Phoebe Bettencourt is back in Sugarloaf returning early from her first year of grad school with little explanation. Given that she’s got no concrete plans, her father the Chief of Police for this small town volun-told her she was going to nanny for Asher Whitlock’s nine-year old daughter Olivia since Phoebe is studying to become an Audiologist and Olivia is Deaf… seems like a win – win right? Not so much… Asher isn’t too fond of Phoebe thanks to a previous babysitting debacle. But he’s between a rock and a hard place because Olivia’s mom is across the world for a job, so accepting Phoebe’s help is what he does.I love, love, love Asher so much… he’s loyal to a fault, isn’t bad on the eyes and his daughter is his top priority no matter what. I especially admire how he and Sara, Olivia’s mom co-parent this little girl… they’re polar opposites but it works! What he’s not looking for is a relationship of any kind especially with his daughter’s nanny who happens to be fourteen years younger than him… but sometimes fate has other plans.This book takes on a journey of love, redemption, caring, protecting those a person loves and along the way, there’s witty banter that had me laughing out loud thanks to Phoebe’s sometimes lack of filter and some crazy super hot sexy times that had me fanning myself.I loved the way Phoebe loves Olivia. They have a connection that is undeniable and as their summer progresses, we get to see Phoebe stand up for this little girl in ways others outside of Liv’s circle haven’t done in the past. I think that’s a turning point for how Asher feels about this girl that’s come crashing into his life. And let me tell you, the build up to their first coming together is combustible!!There’s a pivotal turning point in this book that had me on tenterhooks because I wondered how Asher would handle the things outside of his control. And man oh man, talk about turning alpha… I freaking loved it! Speaking of alpha, we get introduced to Asher’s siblings, Grady, Rowan and Brynlee. There are some fabulous laugh out loud moments when they’re all together and their bond knows no end.When everything comes to a head in this book, I was cheering on our H/h hoping they’d find their HEA even if it’s what neither of them were looking for. Along the way, we get a little bit of a crossover to a couple of other series. I was so excited to see how this book ended that I actually woke up at 2:00 am so I could finish the book before getting up to go workout and get ready for work…. I’d do it again too! I’m definitely going to love spending more time in Sugarloaf!

I loved this book! I’m a sucker for the single dad/nanny trope, and this book hit it out of the park!Asher and Phoebe didn’t like each other at first. He thought she was some irresponsible kid who definitely wasn’t equipped with the skills to be his daughter’s nanny. She thought he was some grump who works too much and never has fun. When they start to hang around each other more, Asher realizes that she’s grown up a lot and is super smart and freaking beautiful. He starts to develop feelings he should not have, not only because she’s his boss’s daughter but also because he's 14 years older than her.Before Phoebe came home from college, she got into a mess that made her embarrassed and made her swear off love. When she gets to know Asher, though, she sees that he’s really a wonderful family man who would do anything for them and her.Asher and Phoebe try to keep it professional, but the feelings they have for each other are just too strong. They have to keep the relationship a secret for many reasons, but they both don’t anticipate how strong their feelings are until it’s almost time for Phoebe to leave.One of the best parts of this book was the relationship Phoebe has with Asher’s daughter Olivia. She treats her with love and kindness and tries to make her life as normal as possible even though she’s Deaf. She never once made her feel like a burden and defends her fiercely when people are rude to her.There was a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming, and it made me love Asher even more. The way he reacted to new information made me tear up because that solidified that his feelings were so strong for Phoebe. Any girl would be lucky to find a guy like Asher Whitlock!

I don't know what it is about single dad and nanny trope, but I'm totally a sucker for it. This book is about Asher & Phoebe. I just loved how Asher is so understanding, responsible, how he handles his daughter, a giant softie. On the other hand, Phoebe is young but equally mature. It was nice to see how the author describes her confusions, mistakes, vulnerabilities, fears, heartaches. But the face off between Jonathan and Asher is very anticlimactic, so is her father's reaction to it. I feel like some heat was needed in that aspect. And most importantly there is no break up which is a win for me.

I haven’t read one of Corinne’s books in a while and I don’t know why because this one was just lovely. It is everything you need in a small-town romance. With a mushy single dad of a cute kid who’s a cop, a much younger nanny - the daughter of his boss, and a family of side characters you know you want stories for, you just can’t go wrong with FORBIDDEN HEARTS.I loved the representation of the deaf community in this book. It’s rare that disability is written in such a way that it’s integral to the story and completely normalising and authentic at the same time. Liv is Asher’s 9-year-old deaf daughter and she is just adorable.This story has an enemies-to-lovers vibe too as in the beginning, Asher hates Phoebe, so when her dad suggests she be his temporary nanny he is not thrilled. But underneath he is lusting after her big time. I think it’s always interesting to see how authors write that moment where the fighting turns to loving and Corinne nailed it. Also, the spice is nice in this one!I have to say I wasn’t a major fan of the plot twist but, saying that, it was written well, and I can appreciate that others will enjoy it. It just wasn’t my jam. Even with that, I’d definitely recommend this book as overall it was great.With Desiree voicing the slightly lost, but strong underneath, Phoebe and Zach embodying the hugely protective Asher with the marshmallowy centre, you have a delightful listening experience.Now I’m curious to read the other Whitlock tribe’s stories.

A great storyline, sad in parts but interesting. Phoebe leaves College after an affair with her Professor who makes out that she has been chasing him, a married man which comes as a shock to her. She gets a bad rep there and leaves before her term finishes and goes home. Asher, a cop, who works with her dad the Chief suggests his daughter as a nanny for his 9 year old daughter Olivia as her mother his ex is going abroad for 6 months with her job and her usual nanny has left and the Agency hasn’t anyone who can sign because his daughter is deaf and needs someone with sign language which Phoebe can do as she is hoping to be an Audiologist. Due to the fact that Phoebe babysat 6 years ago when Olivia cut half her hair off he didn’t want her to be the nanny but had no choice. Thats when the story really gets interesting. He doesn’t want her to stay as he is attracted to her and is quite grumpy. A romance eventually develops between them but they keep it quiet because of her dad. There is a big reveal further in the book which was quite a shock. Well worth the read would definitely recommend it and looking forward to reading book 2.

Okay when I say I devoured this, I literally read it in one sitting I could not stop. This may be my fave single dad book ever, it was that good. Corinne knows how to write a swoon worthy man and Asher just topped the list.Asher is in need of a nanny who knows ASL and can support his daughter who is deaf, which leads him to reluctantly hiring Phoebe, his boss' daughter. And the two of them together, the way Phoebe supported and defended Olivia was just beautiful. Asher really had no hope in not falling for her. The layers and complexity of the characters was so well written, I was immediately sucked in.And can we talk about the chemistry and banter between Asher and Phoebe? Because WOW it had me hooked from the start! She is a ray of sunshine and despite feeling lost and struggling with her past, she doesn’t let his grumpiness get her down.The road to their happily ever after isn’t smooth, but I loved the way they dealt with it and worked through it together. Plus did I mention there’s no third act breakup? Making this book perfection for me 👌This book had it all..- Single dad / nanny- Small town- Grumpy / sunshine- Spice 🌶️- Age Gap- Forced Proximity- A twist I didn’t see coming

Nanny, bosses daughter, age gap, all tropes I love, and I did love the second half of this book once things got going, however the first half for me was a bit boring, I struggled with it, it wasn’t holding my attention and to be honest, I nearly gave up. I’m pleased I persevered because the second half of the book I really enjoyed, and loved where the book ended up.There’s quite a bit of a twist in this book, and you’re either gonna love or or hate it, I must admit at first I was a bit annoyed, thinking it was unnecessary, but as the book develops further, I actually thought it cemented their relationship further. I liked the characters in this book, I’m intrigued by some of the side characters and can’t wait to read their books.Overall this is a good book, but the first half does drag a bit, although the second half of the story and the end do make up for it, I would have liked to see the epilogue a bit further into their relationship. I can’t wait for the next book.