Book: Vow in Vain: Forbidden Forma by Andrea Huston
Reviewed by Michelles_Cosy_Booknook
Rating: 4/5
4.25 ⭐'s with 2.5🌶️'s
This may be book three in the Forbidden Forma series, but it's also book one of the Tancredi Trials duology. While it begins a new storyline, I would definitely recommend reading the first two books beforehand. Not only will you have a much better understanding of The Family and its world, but you'll also have the background needed to understand exactly why our MMC, Rocky, is the man we meet here.
Rocky is one of the best homicide detectives on the East Coast. He's also a member of The Family, with his own seat at the table — and a man who has absolutely no time for love.
After having his heart ripped out by the woman he believed was "the one", he settled into an arranged marriage that he now desperately wants out of. He's emotionally guarded, complicated and carrying more baggage than he would probably ever admit to.
Then there's Stevie.
Stevie works as a cocktail waitress at a local strip club and already has more than enough on her plate. She's trying to move on from a long-term abusive relationship while caring for her mother, who has Alzheimer's, dealing with her irresponsible older sister, and desperately trying to earn enough money to cover her mother's medication and their mounting expenses.
The LAST thing she needs is more trouble.
Unfortunately, trouble arrives in the form of a body in the woods... followed shortly afterwards by one man-mountain of a homicide detective.
Andrea Huston has done it again.
This is the third book of hers I've read this week, and at this point my sleep schedule has simply accepted defeat. Once again, I found myself sitting up until gone 2am chanting "one more chapter" despite knowing full well that I was lying to myself.
I'm completely hooked on the characters Huston brings to life. They're deeply flawed, emotionally messy and often incredibly dark, but there's always this sense that somewhere beneath all of those defences is a tiny flicker of light just waiting for the right person to find it.
I particularly enjoyed the slower burn between Stevie and Rocky. Their relationship is allowed time to develop, and that yearning and restraint added another layer to their growing feelings and chemistry. Throw in the murder mystery running alongside the romance, The Family and all of its complications, morally grey characters and plenty of spice, and there was so much here to keep me invested.
There was one element I wasn't quite as keen on, and that was the change in attitude of one major character from the previous books. Considering everything that had happened before, their change in outlook frustrated me somewhat. Apparently perspectives can shift remarkably quickly once you're the person who has it all...
And then we need to discuss that ending.
Actually, no.
I don't want to discuss that ending.
It was DIABOLICAL.
Was it effective? Yes.
Did it leave me desperate for the next book? Also yes.
Am I happy about having flown through the first three books only to discover that I now have to WAIT to find out what happens next with Stevie and Rocky?
Absolutely not.
If you enjoy murder mysteries woven into your dark romance, slow burn, yearning, secret societies, morally grey men and spice, then this series absolutely deserves a place on your TBR.
Please check the trigger warnings before reading, as the book contains potentially distressing content, including SA.
Thank you so much to Andrea Huston for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy. All opinions are entirely my own.