Review ‘The Italian Heartthrob’ by N.J. Adel

Title: The Italian Heartthrob: Forbidden Standalone

Author: N.J. Adel

Genre: Contemporary Romance

ISBN: B08426V14L

Goodreads Rating: 4.96

Forbidden is what we are... I was 10. You were 19. You wanted to be a chef. My mom made you a star. I'm 24. You're 33. You hold the record for the Sexiest Man Alive. I'm still the lost, rejected, damaged girl who can't find herself anywhere but in your protective arms. I loved you when I was 10. I love you now. You call me your best friend, and you still see me as a kid. I'm 25 with a man on one knee in front of me. You're watching through the glass. One word from you is all I need. But you hold a secret that can destroy us both. I've known you my whole life. Loved you my whole life. Never thought when I die, it will be because of you.

When I received an review request of ‘The Italian Heartthrob’ I found myself really curious about this read. I hadn’t heard about this author before, and since I love romance novels I definitely wanted to give this one a shot.

In ‘The Italian Heartthrob’ we read the story of Maggie and Mike. Maggie and Mike have been best friends for years. Mike is a family friend and nine years older than Maggie. What started as a little kids crush, has grown into so much more. But Mike is a big actor, and he definitely likes the ladies. And there are many things about Maggie and Mike that wouldn’t work. There is a lot of history, and even more secrets.

Okay, where to start?! This book was not for me. Even now, thinking about it a day later I just don’t really know what to say. I read it, every single page, but there where many moments when I found myself, eyebrows raised and thinking ‘really?’.  Maggie and Mike have secretly loved each other for a long time, but they both never had the courage to say it. And they both did things to make each other jealous.

The romance overall was nice. Maggie and Mike definitely had chemistry, and I enjoyed reading the friends to lovers bit. But I had some issues with this read. The weed, the ‘almost’ public sex people had at these parties, the depression part. It didn’t work for me. And I guessed Mike’s ‘big’ secret early on.

The impressive part about this book is, I read every single page of this book. Although I figured out this book wasn’t for me early on, the author had a way of making me want to know how things would end. So I kept reading.

This review was very hard to write. I’m not a harsh person, and hate letting people down or making people feel bad.. but this book just made me feel bad. So I had to edit this review many times to make sure this review wasn’t hurtful. Let’s just conclude.. this  book definitely wasn’t for me.

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N. J. Adel, the author of All the Teacher’s Pets, Seratis, Her Royal Harem, The Italian Heartthrob and The Night Minutes series, is a cross genre author. From chocolate to books and book boyfriends, she likes it DARK and SPICY. From dark women’s fiction and romance to sci-fi and fantasy. Bikers, rock stars, dirty Hollywood heartthrobs, smexy guards and men who serve. From steamy sexy short stories to full-length books with all the feels, heavy plots and twists and turns. She loves it all. She used to teach by day and write fun smut by night with her German Shepherd, Leo. Now she quit her day job and only writes the hot stuff.

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Maureen Bakker

Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always!  Facebook | Instagram