Ever since I finished the Trinity Academy series by Michelle, I have been so ready to read the spin off series starring their kids, and the kids from the Enemies to Lovers series, and I can’t believe it’s all over. The crossover of these two worlds began in the final two books of the Trinity Academy series and I was excited to see all the kids grown up and ready to have their own HEAs. Forbidden Heir is book 8, and the final book in the Heirs series but can be read as a standalone, and I am incredibly sad to see this group of characters go.
Danny and has always dreamed of a family, so watching all her cousins, siblings and friends settle down around her has been hard. Her dream man is Ryker West, who is 7 years younger than her, which means, as far as she is concerned, he’s way off limits. But Ryker has harboured a crush on Danny since he was a teenager and he used to hang out with his best friend, and Danny’s brother, Tristan. Now colleagues at Indie Ink, an unexpected business trip only the two of them go on brings this secret attraction they’ve had for years to the surface and shows that if they wanted it, the chance of a relationship is possible. But some life changing news means that the road to a future may not be easy, or even a reality, and they will have to fight with everything they can to have their dream life together.
Michelle has outdone herself on the emotional roller-coaster of a storyline in Forbidden Heir, at one point I genuinely could not see a happy ending for this couple, but I should’ve kept the faith and known that Michelle would pull Ryker and Danny through. Each of the books in this series highlighted some fairly difficult subjects, and spoke about them well, but the literal life or death situation in Forbidden Her was one of hardest to read, and I am so glad this plot was left for last so it had the most impact.
Danny had always worried about what her family would think if she attempted a relationship with a younger man, but she learnt quickly during this book to not take every day for granted and to go after what you want with everything you can, because being happy for a short time is better than nothing. Her strength was nothing short of incredible, constantly thinking of others, putting their feelings first when she should’ve been focusing on her own, was so brave, but it just showed how perfectly Ryker balanced her out. He took over when she couldn’t, was her backbone when she needed to fall apart, but that didn’t mean he didn’t break with the stress and strife the situation provided, he just got his strength from his family. His love for her was infinite, I don’t think even he realised the depth of his feelings until the threat of not having Danny in his life for good was in front of him. The whole plot proved how close knit this family were, as if the previous 10+ books hadn’t demonstrated it enough, but this felt different, they all banded together in an even deeper way, coming together to be each other’s support systems during a time that even they couldn’t control or prevent.
I feel like at the start there is a lot of focus on the almost forbidden aspect of Danny and Ryker’s relationship, at least that’s how Danny sees it, but it doesn’t take much for Ryker to convince her no one will care, or for other things to prove how insignificant those thoughts were. The plot teaches you to not take things for granted, to live every day as if it’s your last, to love hard and deeply and to always go after what makes you happy.
Michelle has written such a well-balanced series, it had every single romance trope you could want, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, older man, older woman, friends with benefits, honestly the list goes on. By the end, every single member of that family felt like your own, because you experienced both generations finding their happily ever afters and settling down. Each of them faced their own adversaries, whether they were external forces, or their own insecurities, but they all fought hard to be with the ones they loved, and each story will remain special to me in its own way. I am so sad to see this group go, but Michelle gave readers way more than expected, and I can’t wait to see what she’s working on next!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*