Hale

by K. Webster

He’s my everything.
I would die without him.

Because he infects me.
My brother.
He’s inside my mind.
My thoughts are black and bruised.
Twisted and wrong.
A secret that eats me alive, but one I’ll take to my grave.

And then it happens.
He sees inside me.
Understands the darkness.
Loves what he finds.

I’m contagious.

It’s true.
Now, he’s sick too.

**********************************

Note this book is only available for purchase from K Webster's website, which can be found on the author's GR page.

Warning:
This book is an epic, emotional, raw love story…
between a brother and sister.
Many won’t be able to handle that.
But if I don’t tell their story, who else will?

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Dark, Forbidden Love, Erotica, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

305 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2018

About the author

K Webster is a USA Today Bestselling author. Her titles have claimed many bestseller tags in numerous categories, are translated in multiple languages, and have been adapted into audiobooks. She lives in "Tornado Alley" with her husband, two children, and her baby dog named Blue. When she's not writing, she's reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and researching aliens.

Join K-Club for exclusive, secret forbidden books like the Forbidden Flings stories! https://reamstories.com/authorkwebster

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Can't find a certain book? Maybe it's too hot for Amazon! Don't worry because titles like Bad Bad Bad, This is War, Baby, The Wild, and Hale can all be found for sale on K's website in both ebook and paperback format.
Website: https://authorkwebster.com/

Reviews

[Ｄｒｅｙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars!

... Sick af.

Warning: This is not your traditional romance.

It's official. K. Webster can write the most corrupted taboo romances that I've ever read. I am definitely aware of the theme of the story. Brother and sister romance. But I wasn't expecting the content. I wasn't expecting the damage that it inflicted in my already damaged mind. I'm completely and utterly "HALED." Now, I'm sick too, period.

Note: This is an extremely taboo romance.

"Will you tell me the secret cure for the sickness in my heart and the blackness in my head?"

To my GR friends who recommended this book to me, y'all so so bad. It's y'all fault that I ended up enjoying it. I want to forget what I've just read so fuckin' bad. But how can you forget something that is unforgettable?

"A love like ours transcends the simple minds of those who occupy this world. Our love is too powerful to exist in such a place."

Is it sick that I considered Hudson and Railey's relationship romantic? Is it sick that I found their love and devotion for each other so goddamn beautiful and pure? Is it sick that I was gladdened because they had their happily ever after instead of ending it like the "Forbidden" by Tabitha Suzuma? I don't condone what this book implies. It's fiction, nothing serious. I purchase books to have a good time. Is it really that bad to say that I enjoyed Hale?

I do NOT recommend this to those who dislikes: incest in any way, shape, or form.

I recommend this to those who likes: K. Webster, taboo, dark, erotic, slow burn, emotional read, and a happily ever after.

“We’re not a tragedy,” Hudson says, ... “We’re a happily ever after. Just a complicated one.”

Trigger Warnings: Vivid depiction of suicide and incest.

[len ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life is unfair. It stole our parents and pushed us together in a way no two siblings are supposed to love. And we can’t have it. We’re all we have left and we’re still as alone as can be.

How do you even begin to rate a book like Hale?

Out of curiosity, I looked up the incest laws of the two states I live in. Wikipedia says (because let’s be honest, that’s everyone’s first search), that in New Mexico, the penalty is up to 3 years and a $5,000 fine. In Colorado, the penalty is much higher, more aggressive, and overall scarier: the penalty is 2 years to 6 years with a $2000-500,000 fine. Aggravated incest is 4-12 years of punishment with the fine being $3,000-$750,000. This law also means any type of incest will result in a sentence of supervision for their lifetime, which means “Electronic tagging is a form of surveillance that uses an electronic device affixed to a person.”

I have to give it to K. Webster for writing this and, truth be told, make me question my moral beliefs and question what is wrong and what is right.

There’s something Hudson asks in Hale that makes me question reality as well. He questions how it’s fair that incest ends up receiving almost the same punishment as rapists. How many rapists walk away while sibling lovers are locked up? Which one is worse?

Incest is still seen as normal in my parents country. My own aunt asked me one day if she wanted me to be paired up with her grandson (who ends up being my cousin). Clearly I told her no and got disgusted because that’s the son of my auntie’s daughter.

I have a cousin whose mother and father are a related. My aunt had a romantic and sexual relationship with my grandma's brother (her own uncle). You do the math.

I have cousins who are married to their cousins, and they know it. They have children and a life of their own and together. They know the person they’re with are family, don’t deny it, and don’t care.

I have cousins (on my dad’s side) who have wanted to get with my dad.

There’s more, but the amount of relatives I have dating other relatives would cover up this entire review. Clearly, incest runs around in my family, and all of them don’t really care. There’s also been instances where family members have gotten together without knowing they were family (apparently, and I say apparently because we’ve caught them up on how and why they’re family and ask them how they didn’t realize it before). While last names may disappear and be forgotten, blood isn’t, and while that hasn’t really happened in my family, there’s no denying that at some point, it can.

“The universe dealt us a shitty hand, but we figured out a way to win.”

Whether you call it love or not, I constantly go back and think about Hudson when he stated, “It’s fucking unfair that aggravated rape only pulls in one more year in prison for a punishment but loving your sister is nearly an equal crime. What Rylie and I want to do is consensual. Safe. Doesn’t harm fucking anyone. According to the website, she’s of legal age of consent anyway. She’s just born with the wrong last name. The same last name. The same damn genetic makeup.”

I don’t know what that says about me, but while incest is such a tricky and sensitive topic, viewed as immoral by many and considered a sin, I think about my own family members, especially from back in time. He knows someone back in his home country who has more than 5 daughters. In his country, many men still need to ask permission to date their daughters. This said man has rejected permission from guys asking to date his daughter(s) because, and I quote, “he hasn’t slept with her yet.”

I laugh at Alabama jokes and memes and wonder how it came to be one of the states with the biggest representation of incest. It feels morally wrong to even think about, let alone accept it, but considering Hale is a fictional book, I decided to put my moral beliefs and logic to the side. I won’t even lie and say that I tried imagining the two as childhood sweethearts or something instead, but every time their parents were brought up or called each other brother and sister during sexual encounters, the mood was thrown down.

This all takes me back to Hudson and his comment. There are a couple things I agree and disagree with, but how do you compare rape with incest? If there’s a relationship between two siblings and it’s non consensual, it’s not incest, it’s rape. Incest is consensual, yet it suffers a similar punishment as rape, or even worse in many ways. How do they add up?

The relationship between Hudson and Riley can come off as disgusting and wrong for so many on so many levels, yet I found myself enjoying it . . . to an extent

Hale is about a complicated love story between two siblings who had no one but each other. Two siblings who faced the same tragedy together, where their parents were killed and put in a position to rely on each other. It’s full of emotion in every way. Webster’s writing is beautiful and dark, captivating and entertaining nonetheless. Every heartfelt piece had an expressive and sad emotion surrounding it in between, and you end up finding yourself rooting for the two Hale’s that you soon realize there is no right or wrong being questioned in the book, just them.

For starters, Riley broke my heart too many times. From trying to end her life and cutting her wrists to the comfort she found in the person she’s least likely supposed to be involved with, I rooted for her. I wished she continued fighting, one way or another, and was worried the darkness surrounding her would soon envelop her completely and swallow her. Hudson was the only person she had close to her, and the only family member left. She seeked refuge in him and found love through him. She made me cry and feel emotion through her because in ways, I could relate to her. I could relate on how she would bleed and no one would notice.

Sometimes I think God made a mistake. Accidentally stuck me on this earth when I was better suited for some dark hole of existence.

On the other hand, while Hudson wasn’t alone, he also found a different sense of love through Riley. There’s nothing about Hudson that made me feel emotional, but I will say that I throughly appreciate the love he started showing Riley before their attraction for each other became evident. In a way, he reminded me of my brother because of how my brother has regretted his past with me, moments lost between siblings, a love that was almost broken. Hudson wanted to be there as the older brother for Riley, and while the relationship became much more after, his emotional and personal connection with her was evident. Hudson knew everything he was doing and thinking was wrong and illegal. He tried staying away, but the sickness Riley was afraid would consume him had already marked him, and it was too late to turn away.

However, understanding Hudson’s character was difficult in how I couldn’t understand how and why his attraction began. While he first started off as comforting his little sister to soothe her, he started finding desire and attraction in the way the two were with each other. Feelings for each other were becoming mutual. Yet, with that being said, I feel as if not trying to look into them as individuals but instead as a pair is better to understand the story. Their relationship was emotional for me in some ocassions. The loved they shared for each other was wrong and illegal, and they were aware of the consequences if they were found out, but the love they felt though each other didn’t stop them. It was a mix of soft and comforting to rough and aggressive.

Can I bear to be driven back into the darkness? A leper because of the way my heart bleeds for someone deemed untouchable? Two souls desperate for the other and life’s the puppet master who says they can’t be together.

I also have to say that the relationship between the two was more sexual than romantic. While Riley already liked Hudson, Hudson started seeing his sister as a woman and become sexually attracted to her. Most of their scenes together are about them making love to each other, one way or another, and they end up yearning for each other in a lustful way as well. There's not much about the romantic aspect of this, and I believe part of it has to do with how the two are siblings and already know each other. This can falter anyone's enjoyment because there's no development between the two other than their sexual arousal and attraction to each other. Sex is a plot device used for them as a "cure," and it became something I noticed as a quibble because it got to the point where they felt like fuck buddies only. This led to my first quibble and what I noticed became the first object in the way of my enjoyment.

I also didn't like how the book started to ignore Riley’s mental health at a random and sudden moment. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and struggled with depression. Webster points out how the medications she takes for her depression are for her to take as if they’re going to heal her, and while I do think this is common in a lot of societies when it comes to mental health, I didn’t think it was something that should have been easily ignored. Adding on to that, her bipolar disorder was hardly ever discussed. I know the book doesn’t primarily focus on mental health and mental illness, but it does play a big part in Riley’s character and her overall development. Not only that, but Rylie finds her comfort in Hudson sexually, and it's as if their sickness is cured through sex. Everything around the world would be forgotten through it, but not even in the romantic way, just in a way how everything happening the two individually would be thrown away as if it was never there to begin with. Example: Rylie's mental health and how Hudson became a cure for her.

It’s even mentioned in the ending and how Riley is worried about her mental illness being inherited genetically which, yes, can happen, but the aspect of mental health was ignored and misrepresented because of how Hudson became the cure the meds were supposed to become. This is nothing but stereotypical, which the love cures all bullshit. Ignoring her bipolar disorder and not bringing it up again definitely threw me off more. It wasn’t something I could just easily and ignore and put logic aside because it wasn’t connected to the relationship between Hud and Ry.

Another quibble I can point out is the ending and how underdeveloped it felt. It was as if nothing between the family members had happened, and it threw it off for me with everything that happened between Hudson and Riley. I feel like it wasn’t furnished enough, especially after what happened before with both Riley and Hudson. While Hudson’s issue was definitely unrealistic, I wished there had been either more development or scenes about Riley’s. Maybe it’s because the mental health aspect already felt off for me before, so I was hoping for some sort of redemption to make up for the lack of it, but then I think about how it was already failing me to begin with, so I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.

Not only do we have the love and attraction and chemistry between a man and a woman, but we also have the same history and familial experiences added on top. Maybe that’s why incest is frowned upon. A double dose of love. A lethal amount of love. But too much love seems like a good problem to have.

In my opinion, reading these books is like trying to interpret some sort of philosophical view—How do we know what’s wrong? Who decides that? What is free will? When is the free will humans inherently have taken away from them? Can societies views change depending on how much agreement people have?

I’ve mentioned this before, but sometimes you just gotta put your morals to the side and let the dark and weird shit take you in. Enjoy the ride. Life is too short.

Enjoying it isn’t the same as agreeing to it. And besides, we’re all fucked in the head in some way.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY REVIEW can also be found on my blog:
KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS

HALE: Is a full length stand alone forbidden romance novel by K. Webster. In this we meet siblings Hudson & Rylie



Hudson had three life goals pretty much set in concrete for as long as he could remember, play ball, graduate and marry his long term girlfriend Amy. But when tragedy struck things all started to change. Now his sister Rylie is going to need him now more than ever.

Rylie has psychological needs which requires medication and regular therapy to deal with her depression she was diagnosed with.

I feel like somewhere since my parents death. We crossed a line. We crossed a line that normal brothers and sisters don't cross.

Without going into this too much just leave your inhibitions at the door, go in with an open mind, this is a very taboo tale, lines blur quickly, then are crossed and from that point onwards there is no turning back.

Oh god I am sick sick sick!! When it's my time I'm definitely bypassing heaven and going straight to hell!! This was completely me jumping out of my comfort zone, before this book it was child's play of me tiptoeing around forbidden books but this one was me all in.
God where to start, I did read it in one sitting, let me tell you I did cringe a-lot, like a lot!! There were many many hot parts that were unbearably hot, where I had to reign myself in and slap myself a few times. Because ewwwww!! But I think for me this is as forbidden as I've ever gone *god help me*

Some naive part of me was even expecting a plot twist to jump out at me surprise your not related!! Yeah that didn't happen!!

This is where this author stands above all the rest, this is her calling, no one does it as good as her where she pushes her readers out of their comfort zones, and boy does she ever, but what other author does?

     

[Mareeva · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars - dnf 73% and it started out so well...

Reason for dnfing: I'm bored.

I came here for a story of a misunderstood, taboo couple that convinces me their love is so once in a lifetime it can be found nowhere else.

If not that, then at least some hot incest porn with good acting.

Instead, I got a plot that was trying so hard to be emotional and failed. Bad writing. Rushed romance. Smut that was almost the saving grace until the actual sex started and ended in 3 seconds total. A creepy, bland hero and one dimensional characters. Don't tell me the heroine's bratty behaviour caused by a bipolar disorder made her interesting because all it did was make me roll my eyes. But hey at least we have mental health rep, albeit shitty but still there.

What I didn't like specifically: The sister had been "sick" which is a code word for "wanted to fuck her brother" for a while now, meanwhile the brother had a long term relationship and only started lusting after the sister following their parent's death.

The problem is it came out of absolutely nowhere. Every thought he had regarding his sister was laced with irritation. The guy essentially treated her in a purely platonic/brotherly way while also lowkey not being able to stand her. Then she attempts suicide and dude finally tries to understand her emotions & spend more time with her.

Which is fair, even if written badly.

Except the next thing we know is he's getting a boner while cuddling her........lol what the fuck.

Basically all this book did is make me realise that incest might be creepy after all.

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly I enjoyed this one a lot. Well, not TOO surprising since I love almost everything K Webster writes, but not too long ago I read a book where the hero and heroine were first cousins and romantically involved, and I was utterly grossed out the entire time I was reading it. However, I had NO issue with this one and the fact that the hero and heroine are brother and sister...go figure (lol).





Anyway...the writing was excellent. It was well paced. The plot was engaging and obviously taboo. But I also found it to be a rather sweet story. The sex was hot. The characters likable, and the ending was beautifully complicated. So yea, I liked it a lot...

[D.L. Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 2/17/23

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

What’s interesting to me is that Rylie is afflicted with bipolar disorder and the hot or cold way that Hudson always treated her mirrors that.

Honestly, Huds being a total dick makes the way their relationship grows even more beautiful. The realization that all they have left is each other so of course they wanted to stick each other into every relationship. Like a square peg in a round hole. If you just keep trying it’ll eventually wear down and fit.

Rylie is the perfect mixture of brash and in your face and just so fucking sad and miserable that you couldn’t help but root for her and him no matter how fucking wrong it was.

The chemistry between them was desperate and needy. Equally heart wrenching as it was salacious. I couldn’t get enough of them which explains why I’ve read it a handful of times. Nobody does taboo like K Webster.


Original Review 2/3/21

Rylie breaks my goddam heart and everyone else is just irritating me. Walk a mile in her head and see how you handle this shitshow that is her life now.

“I’m reminded that my happiness can’t be fixed with a pill or thirty. My happiness is something that sits in the bottom of the commode, just waiting for someone to come flush it all away.”

“In my world, I exist alone, surrounded by people.
A nightmare. A paradox. A harsh sentencing for a crime I didn’t commit.
Blackness swarms around me like a cloud of angry bees.
It stings inside and out. All over.
Blackness doesn’t drown me, it poisons me.”

This is my first K Webster book and I just had no idea it would be so emotional. I think taboo and I think so many other things and emotional isn’t one of them. I’ve spent most of this book choked up or crying. Who knew?

Love has no bounds, love conquers all and all that jazz. Kristi laid a concrete foundation to show how messy, how unhappy Riley was and how Hudson, even though he is her brother, loving her made all the difference. I’ve said it before in other reviews, I don’t care in what form she gets it but Riley needed someone to love her unconditionally. And if it has to be him, so be it.

“In my arms, she doesn’t feel like my sister. She feels like a tiny piece of the Hale heart that’s left. My piece isn’t much bigger now that our parents are gone. But together, we can be something. We can survive and fucking thrive. I just know it.”

[Sky- A hopeless romantic girl :D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because i am weird like that and besides cheating and sharing nothing stops me from reading dark reads!

And if you wanna unfriend or unfollow me!
Go Ahead buddy but i ain't hiding what i am reading

[♂️Must Have Book Boyfriends ♂️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

DEAD.
DEAD.
ALLLLL. THE. DEADS.
OHMYGAWDDDD.

This is the most taboo book I've ever read. My first KWeb read and I. COULDN'T. STOP.

IT IS VERY RARE for me to spend the day MOSTLY off social media just to read. And that's what I did today. Well, fuck. My heart squeezed so hard in my chest. My mind was all over the place while reading this story. I got turned on. A LOT. A LOT turned on. But man my emotions. My love for Hudson and Rylie is HUGE. I didn't want this story to end.

OMFG. I'M DEAD OVER THIS LOVE STORY. FUCKING. DEAD!!!! I really do not know what else to say. I will be back a bit later with a proper review! God, I love Hudson so much. He's one of my FAVE book boyfriends ever. *cries*

[❤️ Nanda ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was highly recommended to me by a bunch of my favorite people in the book world....
Add this to the fact that it was banned from Amazon, and I was instantly hooked!

Sooooo what was the deal with Hale, that put everyone in a frenzy mood?
Well... The oldest of all the taboos over there... Incest!



Rylie Hale is the problematic little sister of the golden boy, college baseball star, Hudson Hale. She's depressed, diagnosed with bipolar and mentally complicated. But they have lovely and supportive parents... Until they don't.
After a tragic accident, they only have each other left, and having Hudson so close, is everything that Rylie secretly, always wanted.

I won't dive deep into the story with this review, but I'll say how I feel while I was reading...

Socially we're raised to believe in what is right and what is wrong. A relationship between brother and sister, is socially wrong. Socially disgusting. Socially unacceptable. Socially equal to a murder or rape.

But what if we removed the Social obstacle?

I don't have brothers, only sisters...  And we fought like hellcats while growing up, so I can't imagine myself in this scenario.

But I could totally understand Rylie and Hudson environment, connection, need, necessities, love, feelings, grieve... I could just get them!

This book wasn't what I was expecting, but it did surprised me in a good way. It made me think about what's right and what's wrong and more then that, in why is it so wrong?

The author wrote their love story in a way, that I just couldn't stop reading! Every thoughts, every doubt, every bit of shame and embarrassment that they've felt, I've felt it too!

And even if the end looked a loooot like the end of a rom-com book, full of pregnant women and kids running around, I loved the Hales too much to not give 5 stars for them!

▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️

‼️ Info: Since this book is banned from Amazon, you can find it on K. Webster webpage or with Eden Books.

[Birjis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This content is not for everyone. I'm opened minded when it comes to taboo reading, this romance has incest. It has highly taboo subject which is very explicit and open to sexual matter.
I enjoy stories when the romance is highly unconventional, how against society this pairing is. Reading about the wrongness of their relationship and their struggle to come in terms with their feelings, I like how the author took this topic as a challenge and made a story out of it.

'He’s the golden boy and I’m the fuck-up. The end.'

[Kay's Blushing Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hale by K Webster
GENRE: Dark Taboo
NARRATION: Dual POV
BOOK DETAILS: This book can only be purchased through her website.https://www.authorkwebster.com/
AUDIO AVAILABLE? No

MY THOUGHTS:
This is a dark forbidden/ taboo love story and I must state this is in no way a romance story.

I was apprehensive going into this admittedly, as I like to think I have an open mind when it comes taboo, but incest is such an unusual and forbidden topic, one that I have never read nor wanted to read about before. It draws a thick and predominant line between right and wrong for me. In saying that though, being a devoted and loyal fan of K. Webster, I knew that her skilled writing ability would deliver the story it in a meaningful and insightful way so I had to give it a chance.

This book is not for everyone, it takes a certain type of reader to be able to digest the content of it, not only because of the highly taboo subject matter but also for the explicit and graphic sexual details and dialogue that it incorporates with in that. Yeah, I know gross, right? Or wrong, depends on your views I guess? That’s for you to decide.

I do not have a brother so I cannot relate in any way to the characters or their situation but it still had that ewh factor for me because that is the perception that society has instilled in us throughout generations, it has always been very black and white.

This story is shamelessly well told and brilliantly written. Kristi has a writing ability that captures her audience regardless of the subject matter. There is something extremely admirable about a writer that is unapologetic in their story telling. This book would have truly taken some balls to publicly publish.

So why did I continue to read it If I was morally disturbed by the content you ask? It spiked my curiosity to put it simply. I know that K Webster does her research well when it comes to any subject matter she writes about, for example My Torin (Autism and mental illness) and The Day she Cried (mental illness and suicide) So I knew I would be hearing an educated and different perspective. It is fascinating getting into the minds of those who society doesn’t understand and therefore judges. Challenging our beliefs values and morals and really as a reader isn’t that what you want from an author? A story that touches you, evokes emotions from you, has you thinking about it long after you have finished reading it. That’s what K Webster achieves from me and that is why I will continue to read her stories.

I respect the fact Kristi was compelled to tell the story and had enough guts to follow through with publishing it all the whilst knowing she would be opening a debatable can of worms. I can foresee extremist making this book into an issue (like Wild) and creating heated online discussion about the morals surrounding it. I say each to their own. If this subject matter and book offends you then remove yourself from it, don’t read it, don’t participate in online chats about it.

Sensitive issues such as mental illness and grief play a predominate part in this story and it’s these type of stories that can give us a different point of view, help us better understand that which we cannot comprehend.

I am not going to add my usual ratings to this review because it really doesn’t fit into the hero/heroine review category and it’s definitely not romance. Its an immeasurable and complicated, forbidden and questionable. I truly believe this is one of those books that is completely up to each person as an individual to decide if this story is a tragic, sick minded and twisted one or one that is about a beautiful forbidden yet unbreakable love.

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[Patty ~ Wrapped Up In Reading Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

*****THREE STARS*****


First off, what possessed K. Webster to approve the cover of this book?
It's a horrible cover? Was it chosen on purpose to indicate that this story was sick because it's a romance between brother and sister? Not sure.

This isn't a hard limit for me.
In fact, I read a beautiful & heartbreaking story years ago about a taboo relationship between a brother & sister titled "Forbidden" by Tabitha Suzuma.

I don't care that this story was just "meh" and seriously nasty.
I still love K. Webster. If I can forgive her for what she did to Benny in "Pretty Lost Dolls", then I can overlook this book as well. :)

[❁ lilyreadsromance ❁ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was right. This is more taboo than The Wild and The Free. I was pleasantly surprised.

However, I didn't expect the bleakness from Riley. I should've obviously but she floored me. Her inner thoughts were sometimes painful to read, I had even managed to complete another book whole trying to come to terms with her emotions. My heart ached for her.

[Heather❀Kiss The Pages❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this book left me disturbed and grossed out...



I kept reading, cause curiosity and all that.



Then I found myself actually rooting for this couple to defy the odds and be together???!!!



By the end I was smiling because we got a fairytale finale. Thank you K Webster for once again completely messing with my mind!



Let's connect!

[Dilek VT · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book, HALE, is not for everyone because it has a taboo plot line. It deals with incest – it is the love story between a brother and a sister.

I am not going to say that I disliked this book because I couldn’t handle them being brothers and sisters. I am not going to say that I couldn’t get over the incest. I just don’t go into a book if it is my hard limit. Why should I? What is the use of it if you can’t handle incest and read this book just to trash it? I see no point in it. If you can’t handle it, just don’t read it.

However, if you think you can handle it only if it is dealt with in a delicate manner, then DO NOT read this book, instead, go read Tabitha Suzuma’s FORBIDDEN. It also deals with incest but it is an epic book. It is one of the best books I have read in all my life. It deserves more than the 5-stars I have given it. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry all over again for those two poor souls.

However, this book, HALE, is unfortunately a very unsuccessful attempt at a love story between a brother and sister. It is done all wrong. The way the incest trope is introduced and dealt with is all wrong. It has left a bitter taste in my mouth – not because of the incest, but because of the way it has been dealt with, the way it's presented...

To make a wrong story of love feel right no matter what, you need to be extra careful about how you are dealing with it.

To deal with such a delicate subject and make the readers feel invested in those characters and their feelings, you need to be extra-talented.

Tabitha Suzuma is. She has done it. And maybe no one else should try it again because they cannot even come close to what she has achieved. Her way was the only right way of doing it.

Ms. Webster’s way was dirty and nasty.

The concept of love between a brother and sister feels very wrong so, in addition to it, if the way you deal with is also wrong, then, these two wrongs make it a bloody awful read. And that’s what it was: HALE was a bloody awful reading experience for me.



The heroine, Rylie, is bipolar. She suffers from severe depression most of the time. She tries committing suicide twice in the book. For so many years, she has had inappropriate feelings for her brother but no one knows about it.

The brother, Hudson, has a girlfriend. They have sex. The sister sometimes hears them having sex in her brother’s room and she feels all hot. She wants to be the one doing it all with him. She talks to him on the phone and touches herself while talking to him on the phone.

The brother has no idea about it. He doesn’t feel anything towards her in that way. In fact, he is not even a good brother. Rylie’s depression causes him to stay away from her. He is not even a caring and helpful brother. He thinks she is a nuisance, a bother. He resents her. He doesn’t try to understand her illness but instead he thinks she doesn’t try hard to be better. He thinks she is just being dramatic.

*********************************************

Then one day, they lose their parents in an accident. The pain of death brings them closer. And while hugging and consoling each other, their physical closeness turns into sexual touches and more.

It all felt wrong… Hiding behind the illness, and hiding behind the pain of the death of their parents felt like a coward move.

The brother had no illness, by the way, so what about him?

And also, many siblings lose their parents but they do not commit incest. So why them?

Nothing about their situation felt convincing. I am not saying it felt wrong, I am saying it didn't feel convincing.



The writer should have found another way… this one, hiding behind all these things, was no good excuse.

The writer should have found another reason for them feeling this way. Rylie has always felt like this but him suddenly seeing “the pain in the ass-sister” as an attractive woman he wants to f*ck was absurd – nope, not convincing at all.

*********************************************

Being bipolar and having an on-and-off depression is something serious and the book shows their "incestuous love" as some kind of a cure along with the therapy and pills. I am not buying that!

*********************************************

And worst of all, the incestuous love story that is presented in this book mostly focuses on their sexual desires and that makes it feel nasty and ugly.

Instead of focusing on sex, it should have focused more on their feelings and dilemma maybe because their lots and lots of careless sex sessions while friends or relatives were in the same house made the whole thing feel even dirtier.

*********************************************

All in all, I am giving this book 1 star not because it deals with incest but because it fails in dealing with incest and turns out to be just some trashy and cheap story.

*********************************************

Well, here are some examples of why I didn’t like this book

He doesn’t understand. And clearly doesn’t feel the same way. But because of my sickness, I can’t push him away and find someone or something else to focus on. Just him.

***

When Mom and Dad aren’t home, he lets Amy come over and they lock his bedroom door. I can hear them having sex each time. It’s dirty and embarrassing, but I can’t not go to his door each time they do it. The sound of their skin slapping together is the most delicious sound I’ve ever heard.

***

I can’t get the image of silencing my little sister’s moans with my fat cock out of my head. Bad, bad girl. I love her, especially when she’s bad.

***

The rain is relentless, but after a shower this morning—where I fucked my sister against the tile wall—we both agreed to visit our parents’ gravesite.

***

“What have we done?” he whispers.
I drag my fingertips across his muscled back and kiss his hair. “We found a cure. We’re not sick anymore,” I tell him. “Don’t you feel it?”
He lifts up and regards me with manic eyes. “We’re not sick.”
“Not sick,” I agree.

***

She’s my wife—my sister—my everything.

The tone of the book and the content is more or less like this and when dealt with in this dirty way, I was unable to like their story.

*********************************************

You can follow my instagram page from here

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4 Infected STARS ***

FORBIDDEN
SICK
TABOO
BAD

Tenia demasiado tiempo que no leía un libro taboo, de esos pervertidos fucked up que dices ¿que estabas pensando? ¿Por qué lees esas cosas JUST FOR FUN
Y yo que pensé que ya me había vuelto softy y rosa POOR FOOL
Pero ya ando en el mood



¿Y quieren saber de qué trata este libro? De incesto, si amigos de I-N-C-E-S-T-O de un amor prohibido entre hermanos y ¿Qué creen? Lo disfruté DON´T JUDGE ME!! Es mi mente curiosa OJO no morbosa eh!

Cuando se trata de este tipo de libro K. Webster lo sabe hacer, tenía mucho que no la leía y no me acordaba lo bien que escribe la autora como para disfrutar algo que provoca conflicto.
Precisamente empecé a leer a la autora con libro incestuoso The Wild pero ese libro no me gustó nada y no por su temática sino porque los personajes son odiosos y ME ENGAÑARON.
Pero a diferencia de ese libro este si me gustó, pude simpatizar con los personajes y llegué al punto de defenderlos y decir que se queden juntos y tengan su HEA.

Les voy a contar un poquito de la historia Hudson está en la universidad tiene una novia que ama es el chico estrella y tiene un gran futuro por delante, en cambio Rylie es una chica de 17 años solitaria que sufre de bipolaridad y casi siempre está luchando con su depresión y su enfermedad, su amor secreto por su hermano.
Un suceso trágico que les cambia la vida a ambos los vuelve más cercanos por lo que Hudson también se infecta con la enfermedad de Rylie y empieza a tener sentimientos lujuriosos y románticos hacía su hermana.

Y sí, son hermanos biológicos, no son adoptados, hay escenas de sexo explícitas MUCHAS.

Espero ya volver al camino del bien y este sea sólo un bache.
Puff BULLSHIT!! En poco tiempo se va a estrenar un nuevo libro de Sierra Simone y obviamente lo voy a leer.

[Rachel (LoverofTBR) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ‘Heathen’ 🌟

She’s just born with the wrong last name. The same last name.

Hale is a story worth reading, but with an open mind. Please go into this book after heeding all the warnings as it is not a book with safe and light-hearted story. I picked up this book after reading an amazing review from my friend, MC The Bookaholic, and thank you for gushing about this book MC!! It is about two grieving people finding their soulmates in each other after losing their parents and it just so happens that they are blood-related siblings.

“… I can barely think of anything beside you right now. If I actually had you, I’d become obsessed.”

This story was amazing, wholesome, and full of feels, taboo and all. Even knowing their reality, I just couldn’t help but be entirely invested in a relationship between Hudson and Rylie and hope for a HEA for them. The pain inside them, specifically Rylie, was almost palpable because of its intensity and I couldn’t help but be happy for her for finding her cure of sickness in Hudson.

Our love, no matter how sick it seems to others, is a cure.

I love this book and K. Webster’s writing spun a web of writing so intense and I couldn’t escape until the end, not that I wanted to. The only reason this is not a completely perfect read for me is because the problems that build up for the entire book, rather conveniently, are resolved without much difficulty considering the content of this book. However, I still love this book and this is definitely not a story that I will forget anytime soon! Highly recommended for readers who enjoy a taboo book done right with brilliant writing!

A love like ours transcends the simple minds of those who occupy this world. Our love is to powerful to exist in such a place.

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one despite and maybe because of the taboo subject matter.
It was an engaging read that I managed to consume in one sitting.
For anyone thinking of reading this a heads-up, the Hero and heroine are full brother and sister and while I originally thought this might bother me more than it did it actually didn't.
This author had a way of selling you on the unfolding story and despite knowing the taboo nature of this relationship I was rooting for Hudson and Rylie all the way.
This really did turn out to be very sweet and heartfelt read, so very emotional.
It was also extremely hot and super taboo and makes no apologies for that fact.
It's certainly not going to be for everyone but I did enjoy this very much.
The author has a flair and talent for delivering and then selling the forbidden and I for one thought she did a great job with this.
For information If you want this then you will need to buy it from the author's website as this is currently banned on Amazon.



Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

[SHOMPA · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Forbiddingly Taboo STARS!

This "morally complicated" book is not for everyone! I repeat it again, NOT FOR EVERYONE!! Yes, it has the next level taboo that will take you on a journey you might not be ready for😉. You have to be open minded to read this mind-blowing erotic book.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a long, well thought out review that I wrote immediately after finishing reading Hale. Unfortunately, sometime between then and now, something happened to my notepad because when I opened it, it was blank. My review of this book that I loved so much and had such pretty words to say about is gone. I'm so upset.

Until I can sit back down and put together another well thought out review, I will just leave some thoughts from the top of my head.

Hale is a taboo story that isn't for all readers. It will take a certain kind of reader to be willing to dive into a sibling romance. If that topic is not for you, cool, don't read it, but please don't criticize me for my love of the unconventional and taboo. I have very few lines when it comes to what I will read. I am all about the story the author tells and watching it all come together and this story was wonderful. I think the author wrote the hell out of this unconventional love story.

Hale is told is first person alternating POV for the two main characters, Rylie and Hudson.

For those who read The Wild, Hale is not as extreme. It is more romantic and a sweeter love story. My heart broke alongside Hudson and Rylie. I also got excited for them and was cheering them along as they navigated these rough waters. It was quite a journey that we went on with these characters. It wasn't always pretty but it was certainly worth it.

I think this book is perfect and I can't think of anything that I wish was different. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves taboo and who isn't easily offended by the thought of two blood relations finding everything they need within each other.

[ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

no one knows them like i do your honour.

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading February 2023, because why not!

Re-reading February 2021:



I wanted to re-read this book for weeks and now that I finished it in a day, more or less, I realize how impactful this story was for me. Compared to my first time, I have appreciated more K. Webster's writing and prose: Hudson's chapters are told in a rational way, almost cold at the beginning, given his desire to detach himself from his family's reality. This prospective changes with time, gradually, after a tragic event that takes place right at the beginning of the narration.
Unlike Hudson, Rylie is a romantic at heart, way too empathic for her own good (she's also diagnosed as a bipolar) and her only sense of stability is given when Hudson, her big brother, finds a way to solve his personal problems and step up to protect and reassure his sister.

Their relationship becomes everything for them both, the center of the entire world: they can't exist without one another, Rylie the young Giuliet and Hudson the knight in shining armor. They complete each other in a perfect idealist way. Like magnets, they can't stay away.
Watching them fall in love it's a natural process, even though I'd have preferred this book to be longer in order for us to see the day to day problems that this situation implies.

I highly recommend it, if you like dark/taboo novels. Also, a lot of trigger warnings: self-harm, mental health issues etc



First review:(2020)
Ok, I just finished this book and honestly it wasn’t so bad. It was moving and emotional in some parts, while in others I had the impression that the author couldn’t handle to portray the deepness and heaviness of the situation in general. The finale was ok, maybe a bit too rushed but acceptable.

[Betty Lankovits · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, raw, sad, emotional, real, genuine, heartbreaking.

I will read anything K Webster wants to put out here in the world. If she writes a novel, taboo novella, or a cook book, I will read it cover to cover! I am in awe of Kristi’s writing and courage. She took a taboo subject and made it one of the most heart wrenching love stories I have ever read.

Truly a beautiful book that will challenge your heart and mind.


Not for everyone!

[Elle G. Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Release Date: June 20, 2018
Genre: Taboo Romance (Brother/sister)
Actual Rating: 4 stars

This is a really great love story. The way K. Webster weaves this intense and forbidden tale had me feeling all sorts of ways. I like the way she TELLS stories and I especially like how she brings them to LIFE. Basically, it's a fantastic book with an unsettling cast of characters, but overall likable. The only reason I give it four stars is because I felt like such a perv reading it. I DON'T condone incest. Period. I think the ramifications go far beyond what people assume. However, this is a work of FICTION and I appreciate the fact that K. Webster can push the boundaries and write a story that will bother many (hence why I read it in the first place). But I also felt a little dirty while reading it. I mean I did LOVE the characters and I rooted for them all the way, but their relationship is still abnormal and made me uncomfortable. Good thing I can see a work of fiction as it is! If you are a reader with an open mind, or perhaps a reader that just liked taboo stories, then I would definitely recommend this one to you. If however a sexual relationship between two blood siblings turns your guts, then stay away. As Webster says, this book is NOT for everyone. This is a romance between a brother and a sister. Not step brother and sister but full on DNA sharing siblings.

Do you still want to read it? Many will, many won't. I personally can read just about anything without having a fit about the corruptness of it all (unless it involves horrible things happening to children and animals- these are my hard limits). If the answer is YES, then you need to buy it through K. Websters website as it is banned on amazon.

[crίѕтίŋα•●Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ●• · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 sick stars

“In my world, I exist alone, surrounded by people.
A nightmare. A paradox. A harsh sentencing for a crime I didn’t commit.
Blackness swarms around me like a cloud of angry bees.
It stings inside and out. All over.
Blackness doesn’t drown me, it poisons me.”
- Rylie Hale

* * *
“In another life, it could be us.
I don’t have to explain it to her, she knows.
Life is unfair. It stole our parents and pushed us together in a way no two siblings are supposed to love. And we can’t have it. We’re all we have left and we’re still as alone as can be.”
- Hudson Hale

* * *
“You give me everything I want and need. I don’t want what everyone else has. I want us.”
- Rylie Hale

[Mirjam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A happily ever after. Just a complicated one.




Warning:
This book is an epic, emotional, raw love story…
between a brother and sister.
Many won’t be able to handle that.
But if I don’t tell their story, who else will?



The queen of taboo has done it again. I do not want to get too much into detail, but this is a very controversial read, very! And as much as I can understand that there are people out there that are disgusted, probably even exasperated, I can see this happening in real life.
Just as much we do not have a say in who we fall for, this is way up there of things you do not want to happen.

I would recommend reading Hudson & Riley's story with an open mind, leave your inhibitions out of this and just enjoy the ride. But mostly pray hard you or your kids will never fall in the depths of this snake pit.

Such a deadbeat dad. Poor Travis.

July BotM Erotic Enchants


Blurb:
He’s my everything.
I would die without him.
Because he infects me.
My brother.
He’s inside my mind.
My thoughts are black and bruised.
Twisted and wrong.
A secret that eats me alive, but one I’ll take to my grave.

And then it happens.
He sees inside me.
Understands the darkness.
Loves what he finds.

I’m contagious.
It’s true.
Now, he’s sick too.

[Viri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues sip, a veces soy muy rarita... y la temática de este libro *INCESTO* lo confirma.

Comenzaré diciendo que no lo iba a leer. Pero Grecia me metió la espinita entre que si, entre que no y ufffff

IM SHOOK!

No se que pensar de haberlo disfrutado, porque siiiiii, su relación es súper dependiente y la condición de la protagonista no ayuda mucho.

Pero en algún momento llegué a conectar con ellos y a desearles su final feliz.

¿Es la lectura del año?

No. Pero es una lectura muy disfrutable que se lee súper rápido y que pone en entredicho a la sociedad, la cultura, lo aceptable y no aceptable entre otras cosas.

Es muuuuuuy hot, I mean, tienen mucho sexo... y la autora lo narra de forma muy explícita (así como ella sabe) la verdad yo pensé que era más soft por lo que Grecia me dijo, o igual es que yo esperaba otra cosa.

El punto es que si lo recomiendo, pero solo si vas con la mente abierta y sin prejuicios.

Si esperas algo del tipo Forbidden 🚫 mejor no lo leas, no te va a gustar. Este libro tampoco es tan profundo y desgarrador pero repito... es más o menos lo que esperaba.

Le daré 3.5 porque hoy no ando tan buena onda jajjaa y no se me hace un libro 4 estrellas 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

[Jessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a warning, this is a straight up taboo romance between a brother and sister. Not steps or halves. Full siblings. Only the lord can judge me, friends.

[MC The Bookaholic ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5++++++ taboo stars!!!

Okay so this book is extreme taboo. I decided to read it using my excuse of: If I’m going to hell, might as well enjoy the ride.

But let me tell you, hunnies, when it started getting hot, I couldn’t help the guilty feeling lol. Also, it was like I felt second-hand embarrassment even though I was feeling it first-hand because I detached my self from reality.

And yet, I said to myself, “fuck it; fuck societal standards” and thoroughly enjoyed this read.

There’s a small age gap of 4 years, there’s romance, freaking sexy smut (like super hot), and trigger warnings: this is hella hella taboo, as in like real blooded bro/sis, there’s self-harm, suicide attempts, and cheating. It can get really raw and emotional — could be too much if you’re not into that stuff.

I don’t want to give up too much but there’s an epilogue with a kind of HEA, too, in the end 💖

K. Webster did not disappoint with this read. Personally, I think it was very well written, there were no gaps in the plot, and there was absolutely nothing missing.

In all, I really loved this fantastic read! And taboo and all, but this is going on my must re-read shelf. It was just so freaking amazing that I won’t have myself feeling guilty for enjoying it. Especially since I read it all in one sitting lol.

Also, if it bothers you on some kind of moral level that I really loved this then *kanye shrug* not much I can do but you can just unfriend me, because heads up, this will not be the last taboo book I’ll be reading — there will be more to come!!💋

[✩ Mira ✩ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars for being steamy?

Oof, okay I didn't like this one :-| And it wasn't because of the the taboo topic, I knew that going in, but such an idea should be handled in a specific way so that it feels right and you can actually understand what drove the characters to get together. While I was reading Hale , I couldn't help but compare it to Forbidden. And where that one made me feel for the characters and grieve with them, Hale failed.

As I said, I have a lot of problems with this book, so much that I've decided to make a list :))))

1. The Characters

Welp, I disliked them both, especially Riley. I found her whiny, annoying and an attention-seeker. I feel like she manipulated Hudson quite a lot at the beginning. She was also super clingy and honestly, I didn't find one redeeming quality in her. I get that she is grieving (which by the way wasn't shown properly at all, or at least it didn't make me grieve with them) and that she suffers from a mental illness (we'll put a pin on that and return to it later). If I had to describe her I'd say, in love with her brother (also more on that later) and kinda-sorta-depressed when it suits the plot.

Hudson was spineless. He just went along with whatever the women in his life wanted from him, I didn't get to know his charater - what are his hopes and dreams, his best personality traits, why do all these girls, including his sister, like him. The guy is good looking but that's about it, also he spends a solid 65-70% of this book absolutely pussy-whipped, and thinks about nothing else, his life falling apart around him and him not caring at all.

2. The romance

So, they are siblings - we need a good reason why they suddenly decide they are in love with each other and this needs to be super well developed otherwise the whole book doesn't make sense. For example, in Forbidden, the main characters have been taking care of their younger siblings for years by themselves, it was mentioned many time that they never felt like siblings but best friends and acted as parents, so the progress of their relationship made sense.

Let's compare that to Hale . Hudson and Riley were never close as siblings, in fact we know that he found her annoying and acted extremely inappropriately towards her mental illness (he blamed her for it and acting differently). She always envied him for being "better" than her and supposedly has always been in love with him...why? No one tells us :)))))))))I guess he's just that hot.

Anyways, so what is their reason for getting together? Their parents die and they share each other's grief. Okay, cool, but a stupid reason, it doesn't make much sense. Most families deal with grief and remain....familial.

Moving on from that, the romance itself was super toxic . They couldn't spend one moment away from each other and their entire lives depended on the other.

I mean, Hudson, who is supposedly one of the best baseball players in his college just stopped trying because he couldn't spend time without her, got kicked off the team, fired from his job and didn't study for his exams because he just loves and misses her that much.


3. The Mental Illness
So, Riley apparently is bipolar, now I'm no expert, but all we saw was her being depressed from time to time, when she was with Hudson she was always magically cured,

NOT.
The TWO suicide attempts were used as plot devices (to get Hudson to spend time with her in the first place bacause he felt guilty and to make their aunt and uncle accept their relationship) and completely brushed over. Man, imagine being with a girl and the moment you stop paying attention to her she attempts suicide


4.The Ending
they had three kids. three. biological. kids. between a brother a sister and everyone was okay with it. Ma'am, that's illegal for a reason.

One thing I'll give to the book is that it was super steamy, oof. Also it was a quick read and it wasn't boring, it just wasn't good either.