Heartless

Forbidden #1

by Suzana Thompson

My best friend's crush is going to be my stepbrother. I can't stand him, but now I have to live with him. It's a good thing that I'm not attracted to him, because that would make everything so much worse.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance

407 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

I love to write, but quitting my day job is not an option. I survive on coffee and too little sleep. This is a habit from my teens when I used to stay up most of the night reading books.


Website: http://www.suzanathompson.com/

Reviews

[Devz Milady · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cant say I hated it but its not the best book either.

There is some cheating involved (not the full sleeping together, but kissing) and neither Cade nor Lexie are very like-able people.
Lexie has some serious social issues considering how badly she interferes in her friends life - either trying to discourage her friend's new love or trying to match make, and how she is too forward with Logan - a guy she openly admits to being attracted to, even though she is in a relationship with Cade.

The way the story ends - with Cade storming out of the house just cos his step mom is pregnant (wow, what a shock considering his dad n her are married & obviously having sx!!!) and accusing Lexie of being a gold digger - is just so awkward and stupid.
Cade seems a bit too focused on his inheritance -which is another minus mark against him

Then we have weirdos like Morgan and Blaine - desperately clingy characters and the usual amount of crazies like Morgan's sister and Lexie's ex-best-friend.
Logan is the only character who is truly interesting and unfortunately he is not the main guy.

Overall - I have no plans to read part 2, if there is any and taht says it all!

[Lelee Dow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this book I couldn't put it dow I can't wait to read book 2 in the series!

[Shayay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining story and I love the forbidden premise. I don’t really find it forbidden though. They don’t grow up together, so the whole stepbrother forbidden romance doesn’t really seem like a problem to me. Liked the enemies to lovers scenario too. Also, the narrator did a good job, so I liked the audio. What didn’t work for me was just how unpleasant the female lead is. She puts her nose into everyone else’s business, she’s judgmental and is a horrible friend. She’s really a mean girl trying to act like a nice one. She is a teenager, so I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt for her immaturity, but it’s tough. I did like that she comes out and tells the truth to her sort of friend when she made mistakes; I just wish she had more positive qualities. Another thing, I also was really grossed out by Cade’s past. I don’t want to give spoilers, but it was just unnecessary to include that in the story. It didn’t add anything to the story. It’s just gross and sad. At least he thought with more than his penis; I really appreciated that. In the end, I liked him. I wish the author focused more on the build up of the relationship between Lexi and Cade and not so much on side stories with Lexi’s friends. Too much story of Lexi meddling into other people’s business. I enjoyed the connection between Lexi and Cade; there are some really sweet moments. I also enjoyed some of their banter too. They are both quite sassy. The writing is good too. My like of characters is really important, so I ended up going with a 3 star. It’s a high 3 though and Lexi may not bother others as she did me. I have the next book already and I do want to see where the characters end up.

[Natalie Darby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Suzana Thomspon for providing me with a free audiobook in return for an honest review.

Heartless is a Forbidden romance book, the story of a stepbrother and step sister Cade and Lexi. Lexi and her mother are moving in with Cade and his father after their parents announce their engagement.

I quite like step-brother romances and Cade and Lexi do have a great relationship where Lexi switches between growing feelings for him and trying to hate him to distance that feeling. I also liked secondary characters, Morgan and Logan. One thing I struggled with was how relaxed people were when they found out about Cade and Lexi’s relationship. Not once did a friend act like it was strange or wrong.

When I got into this book I got pretty hooked. The pace was quite steady but I enjoyed the goings-on and antics between the two.

The end of this story was a bit confusing to me, with Cade getting angry at Lexi for something that obviously wasn’t her doing and leaving home, the family than acting like everything was fine. I’m intrigued to carry on through and find out where this story will go to next.

I really enjoy Suzana’s writing and look forward to reading more of her work.

[SWR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was captivated by the story, and then *BAM* came the ending! I wanted to scream at Suzana, "Whyyyyyyyyy!!???" Granted, I am not all about the happily ever afters, and sometimes I like to see the bad guys win, or true love torn asunder. This was not that book, though. Maybe if it was part of a series, where I knew my questions might be answered in a later book, but, alas, no, that does not seem to be the case here. Such a shame too, because there are wonderful characters that could be stories in and of themselves. Regardless, this is a marvelously written book if you like the stepsibling/enemies to lovers trope. My only complaint is my broken heart at the end.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Auda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love these YA forbitten romances with cliffhangers, love-hate relationships etc. Heartless is one of the best of this genre. Cade is one of the best main heroes I have met in these stories. Although, I really tried hard to like Lexie, but failed.. She betrayed her friend actually and fell for Cade real hard... I would like to say that I understand her, but... nooo, I don’t. Then I would like that she lied to Skylar better.
The development of characters was good, but Lexie had to be more adult, she felt like not mature enough for Cade... anyway, I liked it.

[Shannon Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really didn’t know what to expect since the blurb is so tiny and says almost nothing about the book. I’m lucky I got this as an ARC since I wouldn’t have bought it based on the pathetic excuse for a description. However, this book is fantastic! It’s a high-school, step-sibling, enemy to lover type romance. It actually reminds me of the Fallen Crest Series by Tijan. This book does however end on a cliffhanger so be warned that you’ll want to read the next one.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an Exciting Read!

FOUR STARS
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Heartless is the first book I have read by Suzana Thompson! It won't be the last thougj!!! Heartless was a breathtaking page turner that had me one clicking book two seconds after finishing book one!

Lexie and Cade's story was beautifully written and I greatly enjoyed the taboo aspect! Stepbrother romances are one of my go tos and this one did not disappoint!

[AND 1515 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love/Hate two strong emotions...
by and1515

This was quite an outstanding love/hate story between two characters who have a laundry list of problems and a boo-koo number of flaws that make them interesting while being supportive by a number of remarkable side kicks.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[SusieQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I read Heartless by Suzana Thompson. I was hooked at the first page. It's book one in the Forbidden series. Stepbrother romance is one of my favorite genres so I was excited to read Lexi and Cade's story. This story had so many twists and turns that you won't stop until the last page. Cannot wait for book two!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a good, and enjoyable young adult romance read. The story has a good story line, and will written read. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kim Grand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

What an ending. I did not expect that. A little long, but definitely worth the read. Cliffhanger ending so be prepared

[Jay Beatrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf- 12%
Didnt really care for either main character

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story with an intriguing storyline and interesting characters. I liked the drama surrounding the characters which I thought was believable and entertaining. I liked how the story played out with engaging scenes and well crafted dialogue which set the tone of the story.

I requested a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Chelsie williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I can't wait to read the next book!!! This was too good to put down. Great writing, and plot line. A+

[Melissa Bogart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good plot

I gave this book 3 stars because the plot was interesting enough for me to keep reading and for the most part the writing was good.
The characters angst was not that of high school students but more middle school. In the character's conversations they would repeat the same thing with a different sentence structure but the meaning was the same. This had me frustrated with the characters. Then I wondered if the author realized they wrote it like that. My favorite character was Logan only one who seemed to act his age.
Plot was interesting but I am not invested enough in the characters to read the next book in the series.

[Elle (literary.ya) · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I audiobooked this one. First time ever doing so for a romance. So I don’t think I really know how they are supposed to sound. I don’t think it was very good though. Background noise was an issue & in one of the later chapters there were sirens in the background (not a part of the book lol) the story was fine, I just don’t think I was a fan of this high school romance. Ending was exciting, cliffy for sure.

[Geo · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF I was intrigued by the blurb but when I actually started to read the story, I couldn't finish. Every character seems the same as the others. There's not really any diversity and some of them seem so angry or stuck up for no apparent reason.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Cade & Lexi's book. I can't wait for book 2. I got a copy of the book. And am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Apple iBooks today (4/25/2022)! 🎁

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This book ticked the boxes of a lot of the romance tropes I love - enemies to lovers, stepsiblings, high school, and a possessive/jealous hero. There was some editing issues but not as bad as I've seen in other books. This was the first book by this author I have read and I will definitely read the descriptions/samples of her other releases to see if there are other stories that meet my interests.

I will enjoy reading the next book, which will hopefully include not only Cade and Lexie but Logan, Blaine and Morgan as well.