The Forbidden | Sawyer Bennett

I love a good Hatfeild and McCoy decades long feud when families have forgotten long ago why they even dislike one another.  The Kentucky Blackburns and Mardraggon are exactly these families.  When we met these families in The Feud I 100% picked a side,  and that side would be the Blackburns.  The family is so warm and close knit, and there is clearly so much love there.  However, Kat Blackburn also seemed a little lost to me in the previous books (Code Name; Omega & The Feud).  Like she was trying to find her footing, a solid place in the family, and a partner.  With her twin sister hundreds of miles away living her life and her brothers busy and sort of up in her business she needed something for herself.  While she loves to train horses and this fulfills her, she needed someone to appreciate and see her for who she is.  

Gabe Mardraggon was such an unexpected surprise in this book, while we saw in previous books that Gabe has the ability to be caring and loving he is also a ruthless businessman with a sharp tongue.  But Gabe proved to have a strong moral compass and obviously loves hard when he finally lets people in.  His definite soft spot for his niece Sylvie continues to shine in this book and the way he loves her is so amazing.  It is clear they have a special relationship and the last tie that Sylvie has to her mother, Alaine.  And Gabe clearly sees so much of his sister in Sylvie.  Both of them grieving the loss of her. As for Kat, it is obvious that the bond that they had in college is still there, but needed a little more time and maturity to build a friendship once again.  The foundation was still there, the respect, and the chemistry, but they just needed to get to know who one another is today.  

Normally flashbacks are hard, but the flashbacks in this book were done so well and so very necessary to get a sense of Kat and Gabe’s relationship in college.  How they left things and the hurt that they each caused one another.  I really like how they moved back into a friendship and worked together for the benefit of Sylvie, she was always the common focus and they both loved her fiercely.  But the more time they spent with one another the more their relationship grew.  While this is one of Sawyer’s less steamy books, it really would not have fit these two.  While they have an amazing friendship and chemistry their relationship focuses on working through deep emotions and their long standing family feud.  Additionally, Kat really became Gabe’s support as he works through the conflict within his family and changes being made in the family business.  I loved this book so much, and my heart was so happy that these two found their way back to one another after growing up and experiencing the world a little.  If you love a well written second chance with some amazing banter and a little rivals to lovers feel this definitely needs to be on your TBR list!