25 Best 「forbiden romance」 Books of 2024| Books Explorer

In this article, we will rank the recommended books for forbiden romance. The list is compiled and ranked by our own score based on reviews and reputation on the Internet.
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Table of Contents
  1. Swoon: A Brother's Best Friend Standalone Romance
  2. Slammed
  3. Break the Rules: A Brother's Best Friend Romance
  4. Twisted Games (Twisted, 2)
  5. The Unrequited
  6. Beautiful Bastard
  7. Priest
  8. Loving Mr. Daniels
  9. Forbidden
  10. Praise (Salacious Players Club, 1)
Other 15 books
No.1
100

Growing up, I knew my older brother’s best friend thought of me as “Logan’s kid sister.” For me, though, our next-door neighbor, Colin, felt like anything but a sibling. Whenever I spied on him through my bedroom window, as he banged away, shirtless, on his drum kit, I felt sensations inside me I’d never felt for my actual brother. But when we moved away and Colin’s band took off like a rocket, I knew my tweener fantasies would never become a reality.\\nFast-forward nine years to my brother’s wedding, when I saw Colin again and we shared a secret, drunken kiss that rocked my world. The next morning, Colin blamed the alcohol. Said we should pretend the kiss, and my unfortunate text afterward, never happened.\\nNow that I’m heading to LA to work for Colin and crash at his place, though, all bets are off. I’m determined to make Colin swoon for me, the same way I’ve always done for him. Because no matter what he insisted, Colin’s body during our kiss, and the shocking thing he whispered into my ear right afterward, made it clear he doesn’t really think of me as his little sister, any more than I do.\\nSwoon is a friends to lovers standalone romance with no prior reading required, set in the same world as River Records and The Morgan brothers.

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No.2
94

Slammed

Hoover, Colleen
Simon & Schuster Ltd
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No.3
92

She's my best friend's kid sister.Now she's not a kid any more.As a forest ranger, I believe in the simple life. I prefer cabins to apartments, trails over freeways, and trees to people. My life is orderly, predictable, and quiet.Until it's hit by a woman I never saw coming -- Hurricane June.She's fierce. She's feisty. She has a laugh like the first day of spring, and she's so pretty that I can't breathe when I look at her. June will only be in town for a few months-just while job-hunting. She won't last until winter, but how can I resist?Except I have to. She's my best, oldest, and most loyal friend's baby sister. Betraying him would be the worst thing I've ever done. Not betraying him might be the hardest.Especially once we start working together on a secret project. All this spending time together, sneaking around at night, and lying to her brother about what we're doing sure feels like more than friendship.June might break my heart. Her brother might break my nose.But I guess some things were made to be broken.

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No.4
89

From New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation Ana Huang comes a contemporary royal romance!Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever.He has never once been tempted to break those rules...until her.Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She's nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed.Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defenses until he's faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to ruin her. Take her.Because she's his.His princess.His forbidden fruit.His every depraved fantasy.***Regal, strong-willed, and bound by the chains of duty, Princess Bridget dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.But when her brother abdicates, she's suddenly faced with the prospect of a loveless, politically expedient marriage and a throne she never wanted.And as she navigates the intricacies-and treacheries-of her new role, she must also hide her desire for a man she can't have.Her bodyguard.Her protector.Her ultimate ruin.Unexpected and forbidden, theirs is a love that could destroy a kingdom...and doom them both.Do not become emotionally involved. Ever.

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No.5
88

The Unrequited

Kent, Saffron A.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

NOTE: Please be aware that this book deals with sensitive topics like cheating. 18+ Only. Layla Robinson is not crazy. She is suffering from unrequited love. But it’s time to move on. No more stalking, no more obsessive calling. What she needs is a distraction. The blue-eyed guy she keeps seeing around campus could be a great one—only he is the new poetry professor—the married poetry professor.Thomas Abrams is a stereotypical artist—rude, arrogant, and broody—but his glares and taunts don’t scare Layla. She might be bad at poetry, but she is good at reading between the lines. Beneath his prickly façade, Thomas is lonely, and Layla wants to know why. Obsessively.Sometimes you do get what you want. Sometimes you end up in the storage room of a bar with your professor and you kiss him. Sometimes he kisses you back like the world is ending and he will never get to kiss you again. He kisses you until you forget the years of unrequited love; you forget all the rules, and you dare to reach for something that is not yours.

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No.6
88

NYT and USA TODAY BESTSELLER An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling.Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He's exacting, blunt, inconsiderate--and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family's massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who'd been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative--completely infuriating--creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he's never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe's so tempting he's willing to bend the rules--or outright smash them--if it means he can have her. All over the office.As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they're willing to lose in order to win each other.Originally only available online as The Office by tby789--and garnering over 2 million reads on fanfiction sites--Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.

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No.7
87

Priest

Simone, Sierra
Bloom Books

From USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Sierra Simone comes her steamy, TikTok-famous Priest series, in which sinners and saints alike test the bonds of religion, love, and lust.\nHe's a priest, and here is his confession.\nThere are many rules a priest can't break. A priest cannot marry. A priest cannot abandon his flock. A priest cannot forsake his God. Tyler Bell has had no problem playing by the rules for the last three years after a family tragedy set him on the path to priesthood. That all changes when the delicious, sultry voice of Poppy Danforth sinks its claws in him through the screen of his confessional booth, and he can't get her sins out of his head.\nIt should be easy to put his impure thoughts of her to rest, considering the vows Tyler has taken. It should be nothing to overcome what the sight and sound of her does to him, when his life with the Church means everything. But once he has his first forbidden taste of those red lips, Tyler can't help but break all his rules for Poppy―no matter what it might cost them both.

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No.8
86

Loving Mr. Daniels

Cherry, Brittainy C.
Amazon Digital Services

To Whom it May Concern, It was easy to call us forbidden and harder to call us soulmates. Yet I believed we were both. Forbidden soulmates. When I arrived to Edgewood, Wisconsin I didn’t plan to find him. I didn't plan to stumble into Joe's bar and have Daniel's music stir up my emotions. I had no clue that his voice would make my hurts forget their own sorrow. I had no idea that my happiness would remember its own bliss. When I started senior year at my new school, I wasn’t prepared to call him Mr. Daniels, but sometimes life happens at the wrong time for all the right reasons. Our love story wasn’t only about the physical connection. It was about family. It was about loss. It was about being alive. It was silly. It was painful. It was mourning. It was laughter. It was ours. And for those reasons alone, I would never apologize for loving Mr. Daniels. -Ashlyn Jennings

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No.9
86

Forbidden

Suzuma, Tabitha
Definitions
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No.10
86

She's a good girl, but she's falling for the wrong man.\nBroken down by her emotionally neglectful ex, all Charlie Underwood wants is someone to tell her she's good enough. Then she stumbles into a new job with a boss who brings her to her knees―literally.\nAs an owner of the Salacious Players' Club, Emerson Grant knows exactly what he wants and isn't shy about his particular tastes. But when he mistakes Charlie for a candidate to be his new submissive instead of his son's ex-girlfriend, he immediately tries to correct the situation. He offers Charlie a job as his secretary and nothing more…\nYet now that Charlie has seen a glimpse of what can happen when she's honest about what she wants, she makes it clear that all she wants is Emerson. He might be twice her age and her ex-boyfriend's dad, but he's also the only man who can give her everything she desires.\nHow far will she go to hear his approval?

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No.12
86

The Boy and His Ribbon (Ribbon Duet)

Winters, Pepper
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

“What do you do when you meet your soul mate? No wait…that’s too easy. What do you do when you meet your soul mate and have to spend a lifetime loving him in secret? I’ll tell you what you do. You lie.” REN Ren was eight when he learned that love doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth. His mother sold him and for two years, he lived in terror. But then…he ran. He thought he’d run on his own. Turned out, he took something of theirs by accident and it became the one thing he never wanted and the only thing he ever needed. DELLA I was young when I fell in love with him, when he switched from my world to my everything. My parents bought him for cheap labour, just like they had with many other kids, and he had the scars to prove it. At the start, he hated me, and I could understand why. For years he was my worst enemy, fiercest protector, and dearest friend. But by the end…he loved me. The only problem was, he loved me in an entirely different way to the way I loved him. And slowly, my secret drove us apart.

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No.13
85

Torn

Cole, Carian
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

When I was five years old I told Toren Grace I was going to marry him when I grew up. When I turned eighteen I made it clear I still felt the same. The problem? He's fifteen years older than me, and he's my father's best friend. Toren Grace. My father's best friend. My pseudo-uncle. He's always been my rock. The one I should never, ever want. But I do want him, and I love him. I always have. He loves me too.Tor's one of the good guys. Loving. Devoted. A strong moral compass. One kiss between us rocked him clear off his axis. Now we can't forget how that kiss felt, and what it changed. Nothing will ever be the same between us. I know he's struggling with his feelings, but I'm determined. I'm not a little girl anymore, and we can't deny we were meant to be together. The heart wants what the heart wants, and it doesn't care about age or how we met. My father cares, though. And he's the one person neither one of us can stand to hurt. We're all being torn apart, and I don't know how to make everyone see that the wrongs are actually right.* Torn can be read as a single book.

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No.14
85

I’ve been harboring a dark secret for two long years. I’ve been fantasizing about my fiancé’s father, thinking filthy thoughts that a good daughter-in-law should not be indulging in. So when I catch my fiancé cheating on me, there’s only one revenge that will fulfill all my needs. I’m going to seduce his father. It’s dirty and it’s wrong, and I don’t care. I want him, so I mean to have him.After this weekend, my ex won’t be the only one who calls his father Daddy.

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No.15
85

The Sweetest Oblivion (Made)

Lori, Danielle
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

She’s a romantic at heart, living in the most unromantic of worlds . . .Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint.They say first impressions are everything . . .In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome.She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice.And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another.Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man . . . right?This is a standalone forbidden romance.

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No.16
85

Thoughtless

Stephens, S.C.
Gallery Books

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author S.C. Stephens comes a powerful and emotional contemporary romance featuring a young woman in a new city who finds herself torn between her handsome, reliable boyfriend and a sexy local rock star.For almost two years now, Kiera’s boyfriend, Denny, has been everything she’s ever wanted: loving, tender, and endlessly devoted to her. When they head off to a new city to start their lives together—Denny at his dream job and Kiera at a top-notch university—everything seems perfect. Then an unforeseen obligation forces the happy couple apart. Feeling lonely, confused, and in need of comfort, Kiera turns to an unexpected source—a local rock star named Kellan Kyle. At first, he’s purely a friend she can lean on, but as her loneliness grows, so does their relationship. And then one night everything changes…and none of them will ever be the same.

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No.17
85
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No.18
85

Tempting (Inked Hearts)

Kaswell, Crystal
Crystal Kaswell

He’s my best friend’s older brother, off limits and incredibly tempting.I shouldn’t peak into Brendon’s sketchbook, even if the tattoo artist is as brooding and stoic as the day is long. I can’t help myself. I peel it open, run my fingers along the paper, soak up every ounce of him.His drawings are as beautiful and bold as his dark eyes and his cocky smile. Only, there, on the third page--that’s no tattoo mockup. That’s me.Naked.Ready.Waiting in his bed.There’s no denying it--those are my blue glasses, my green eyes, my flushed cheeks.Brendon wants me.The smoking hot, ten thousand miles out of my league bad boy wants me-- a good girl virgin with thick glasses and no game.It’s perfect.Only it’s not.He’s my best friend’s older brother. He’s off limits.But damn is he tempting.*A standalone romance with a best friend's brother theme*

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No.19
85

It Ain't Me, Babe (A Hades Hangmen Novel)

Cole, Tillie
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Sinning never felt so good…A fortuitous encounter. A meeting that should never have happened. Many years ago, two children from completely different worlds forged a connection, a fateful connection, an unbreakable bond that would change their lives forever… Salome knows only one way to live—under Prophet David’s rule. In the commune she calls home, Salome knows nothing of life beyond her strict faith, nor of life beyond the Fence—the fence that cages her, keeps her trapped in an endless cycle of misery. A life she believes she is destined to always lead, until a horrific event sets her free. Fleeing the absolute safety of all she has ever known, Salome is thrust into the world outside, a frightening world full of uncertainty and sin; into the protective arms of a person she believed she would never see again. River ‘Styx’ Nash knows one thing for certain in life—he was born and bred to wear a cut. Raised in a turbulent world of sex, Harleys, and drugs, Styx, unexpectedly has the heavy burden of the Hades Hangmen gavel thrust upon him, and all at the ripe old age of twenty-six—much to his rivals’ delight. Haunted by a crushing speech impediment, Styx quickly learns to deal with his haters. Powerful fists, an iron jaw and the skillful use of his treasured German blade has earned him a fearsome reputation as a man not to be messed with in the shadowy world of outlaw MC’s. A reputation that successfully keeps most people far, far away. Styx has one rule in life—never let anyone get too close. It’s a plan that he has stuck to for years, that is, until a young woman is found injured on his lot… a woman who looks uncannily familiar, a woman who clearly does not belong in his world, yet a woman he feels reluctant to let go… Dark Contemporary Romance/New Adult Novel. Contains sexual situations, violence, sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and mature topics. Recommended for age 18 years and up*

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No.20
85

Sweet Dandelion

Smeltzer, Micalea
Micalea a Smeltzer LLC

Dandelion Meadows is cursed.Horrible name.Horrible luck.At eighteen she should be headed off to college, all smiles and naivety.Instead, a victim of a school shooting, she's starting her senior year in a new city and living with her brother.Nightmares of that terrible day haunt her, affecting her daily life and the relationships around her.Forced to meet with the school counselor, Dani finds him chipping away at the walls she's built around herself, and even her heart.Lachlan Taylor doesn't know what to make at first of the broken student he's tasked with helping. She's survived a trauma he's not sure he can save her from, but he knows he has to try.The more time they spend together, the more they learn about what it really means to live.Some things are forbidden.Some things are necessary for survival.Their love is both.

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No.21
85

Defy

Shen, L J
L.J. Shen

Defy is a smutty, insta-love, insta-lust short novella. Defy is a prequel to Vicious (Sinners of Saint #1). It is recommended, but unnecessary, to read Defy before reading Vicious.My name is Melody Greene, and I have a confession to make.I slept with my student, a senior in high school.Multiple times.I had multiple orgasms.In multiple positions.I slept with my student and I enjoyed it.I slept with my student and I’d do it all over again if I could turn back time.My name is Melody Greene, and I got kicked out of my position as a teacher and did my walk of shame a la Cersei Lannister from the principal’s office, minutes after said principal threatened to call the cops on me.My name is Melody Greene, and I did something bad because it made me feel good.Here is why it was totally worth it.

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No.22
85

Unconditional

Tyler, Q.B.
Independently published

It only takes one moment to change the course of someone's life.One moment to link two souls forever.That moment came when I pulled her out of her darkest hour.The tragedy that threatened to swallow her whole and shatter her innocence.Save her.Protect her.Love her.I vowed.Ten years later, my vows are the same.But I'm differentShe's differentWe're different.And the feelings threatening to break free have the power to destroy everything.I'll stop at nothing to keep her safe, but what if the very thing she needs protection from...is me? *This book contains elements of taboo and is intended for mature audiences.

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No.23
85

Scoring Wilder

Grey, R. S
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Top 100 Amazon Bestseller--What started out as a joke-- seduce Coach Wilder--soon became a goal she had to score.With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He's a professional soccer player, America's favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.* A face that makes girls weep - check.* Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) - check.* Enough confidence to shift the earth's gravitational pull - double check.Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits. Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. "Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you'll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.") But that just makes him all the more enticing...Besides, Kinsley's already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term "team bonding."

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No.24
84

Birthday Girl

Douglas, Penelope
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

From New York Times Bestselling author Penelope Douglas comes a new forbidden love story…JORDANHe took me in when I had nowhere else to go.He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He doesn’t treat me like I’m nothing, take me for granted, or make me feel unsafe. He remembers me, laughs with me, and looks at me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work. I have to stop this. It can’t happen. My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one. I am. PIKEI took her in, because I thought I was helping.She’d cook a few meals and clean up a little. It was an easy arrangement. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to. The more I find my path crossing hers, though, the more she’s becoming a part of me. But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight. And her boyfriend’s father. Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house. *BIRTHDAY GIRL is a stand-alone, contemporary romance suitable for ages 18+.

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No.25
84
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