Forbidden Kisses by Annie Rains Blog Tour

The USA Today bestselling author of the Hero’s Welcome series introduces a trio of swoon-worthy North Carolina brothers fighting for love in this novel of sand, sea, and seduction.

For years, Jack Sawyer’s family has been running their upscale seafood business like a finely tuned machine. But every machine breaks down eventually, and suddenly Jack needs a new office manager, a new kayak launch, and a new lease on life. Then Grace Donner shows up again. She’s smart, motivated, and perfect for the manager position, but if she’s anything like her mom, she can’t be trusted. And Jack has never been able to trust himself around Grace.

Grace hasn’t seen her former stepbrothers since their parents’ messy divorce, but she never forgot them—especially Jack. She misses being part of the big rambunctious Sawyer clan, and if there’s an opportunity to set things right, she means to do it. But she can’t ignore Jack’s irresistibly kissable lips, or the searing way he looks at her when he thinks she’s not looking. Their chemistry is more explosive than ever. And if the Sawyers can forgive and forget, anything is possible.

Book 1
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Jack reached for a folded blanket beside the cooler and laid it down on the open floor of the boat. “I know it’s not the most comfortable surface for lying back, but I thought we could look at the stars. It’s a favorite pastime of fishermen, you know.”

“Oh yeah?”

He reached for her hand to help her lower to the floor. She held on to his tightly, surprised at how off balanced she felt. Then they lay back together, close enough that they touched. The soft hair on Jack’s arm resting against hers aroused her senses.

Were they really just going to look at the stars?

Yes, it was all very romantic, but so was doing other things under the stars. Things she’d been thinking about since stepping aboard.

Jack pointed up at the sky and started to speak. Grace was tired of talking, though. Tired of resisting what she wanted, and right now all she wanted was Jack.

Unable to help herself, uninhibited by the wine and the romantic environment, she rolled on top of him and crushed her mouth over his.

Judging by the stiff protrusion that met her inner thigh, he wanted her just as much.

“Well, hello there,” he said, smiling against her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she said, even though she didn’t mean it.

His hand slid down her back and settled on her bottom, pulling her snug against him. “I’m not. I’d decided tonight was for romance only, but I can’t think of anything more romantic than making love to you on this boat.”

White-hot heat tore through her. She was so hot that maybe it was time to start stripping.

As if reading her mind, Jack tugged the hem of her shirt up on her back and then over her head. The rest of her clothes fell away in the wake of his needy hands until she was tipsy and naked on the floor of his pontoon boat—on a boat ride to nowhere in particular, except his body was promising to shoot her to the low-hanging full moon.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆
A sweet romance of about coming to terms with the past and how, if you let it, it will destroy your future.

There is rift between the Sawyers and Donners that has been festering for years, ever since Grace's mother, Tammy, sold off their prized possession: their deceased mother's belongings. Since then, Grace has been persona non grata with the Sawyer family and in the town of Blushing Bay. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and some of the townspeople believe that very thing.

Too bad that Grace is as hardheaded as they come. Determined to do things her own way, and to support her mother, who is in declining health, she barrels full steam ahead to do what she can to survive. After losing her job because she should wouldn't sleep with her boss, she's willing to take any job she can get, even if it is with the Sawyers.

Jack can't believe Grace is in the same diner as he is. It’s been a long time since he's seen her, since their crush back in high school, before their world came crashing down. In his head, he knows that Grace was just as innocent as him and his brothers when the battle lines were drawn, and he knew she had no choice but to support her mother when the smoke cleared.

Fifteen years is a long time to hold a grudge, to live with the what ifs and what might have been. Setting aside the past is harder than it seems but if they can learn from the past, will it save their future?


Ruthie – ☆☆☆
This is the first in a new series and so has some world building to do – and gives us some hints of future pairings.

I really could not get to like Grace very much and her mother not at all. I tried to give Grace the benefit of the doubt given who brought her up, but it was difficult. Obviously, she had her moments and couldn't be blamed for her mother's behaviour when she was married to Jack's dad. That Jack allowed chemistry to overcome good sense was a bit of a mystery to me on occasion. However, he believes in second chances, and wants to test out that spark that existed even when they were teenagers.

It was a well written story, which had some good turns of humour and romance.

Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling author who writes small-town love stories set in fictional towns on the coast of North Carolina. Raised in one of America’s largest military communities, Annie often features heroes who fight for their countries, while also fighting for a place to call home and a good woman to love. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her husband and three children, or reading a book by one of her favorite authors.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Forbidden Kisses (Blushing Bay #1) by Annie Rains to read and review for this tour.