Review Of All The Forbidden Things

I would go with 4.5 stars for this 'come back' book by Lesley Jones. She had done a phenomenal job with this book and I am so glad that the Carnage author is finally back with a blast writing for the genre that I personally feel suits her the most - rockstar romance. Carnage was the book that introduced me to the lives of the Rockstars and what a book that was! Guess it has been 4+ years since I last read it and it still sits as the one of my fav angst book ever!!! Though I don't want to compare this book to that, there are quite a lot of commonalities and Carnage characters are referenced every now and then. The deep dive it takes into lives of Rockstars is the best part of this book. It shows all the Rockstars - Max (in this case) in a different light altogether and downside to fame and money, highlighting on the kind of life they live, the image they are obliged to maintain in public and how the 'Paps' ruin their lives. Though I have read a lot of books about Rockstars, at least in the recent past, no book comes close to depicting their lives to such perfection as this one does. So definitely full points for that. Coming to the actual story. This is a taboo romance but not THAT taboo (the kind I am used to reading) but more like forbidden in the eyes of the media and it works for the settings and storyline chosen. But then again there is a lot of buildup and it takes a lot of time for the actual love story to start. I suppose till 25-30% Billie (the female protagonist) is not even introduced. The first few chapters are nice in setting up Max's storyline and introducing his character but then again was it absolute essential? I don't think so. If the same story were to be recapped as a part of a conversation, I would still empathize with Max and Love him. I felt more like this was Max's story rather than being Max and Billie's love story. Billie was more like an important character in Max's life whom he happened to fall in love with rather than the actual female lead with her own character arc. I did like Billie and I get why Max loved and her and they even made for a good couple but their love was more like the insta love and Attraction (when they first meet after many years during which she has actually grown up) and though it kind of worked for this book given the past that they have shared, if done a little differently and actually giving more time and scenes for their love to evolve could have made it even better. The pace was a little slow but after Billie showed up it quickened a little and after Whiteney's re-entry the shit hits the fan and everything becomes interesting. I hated Whiteney's character but it was her presence that brought about some well needed drama and tense moments in the book. In typical Lesley's style, there were quite a bit of WTF moments and twists the ends that kept me hooked to the book. I loved the whole bond between Max and Layla and also Layla and Billie. They made a cute and sweet family and Max was an adorable dad to Layla. I also loved the whole extended family and friends (band) and the interaction between all the characters is awesome and super fun to read !! I also love how they are always stand by each other and like a true family help each other out in every sticky situation. Those moments really stand out in this book and there are plenty. Overall I would go with 4.5 stars and can't want to the read the next book that the author has teased us about in the epilogue:)