Forbidden French by R.S. Grey: There has always been something about Emmitt Mercier that has 
fascinated Lainey Davenport, when they were kids at the same elite boarding school, he was the one light in an otherwise dark time. The only person that somewhat gave her the time off day while everyone else made fun of her, but all of that was just childhood infatuation barely scratching the surface. Fast forward to present day and the quiet little wallflower is all grown up, grant Lainey is still on the reserved side, but this time when Emmitt Mercier walks back into her life, one thing has changed this time round Emmitt is just as fascinated by Lainey as she has been by him all these years. Now more than ever he is determined to figure out what lays behind her placid good girl exterior. However the only danger in dancing too close to a flame is that you always wind up getting burnt and that is exactly what happens with Lainey and Emmitt.
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! Forbidden French was easily the best book that I have ever read by R.S Grey. This book was everything that my heart has always wanted and so much more, I think it is safe to say that I will be thinking about Lainey and Emmitt for a long time to come. I have to say that this was Grey’s most emotionally wrecking book to date, there was just something so heartbreakingly beautiful about this book that has easily placed it in my all time top five favourite books ever! Grey has really hit it way out of the park in this slightly darker than her normal romance, I loved the fact that she combined the unrequited crush trope with a bit of enemies to lovers all wrapped together in a forced marriage.
The thing I loved the most about our two main characters was how similar they were. Both Lainey and Emmitt were beautiful birds in gilded cages. Where Lainey was meek and quiet, Emmitt leaned into the power that his name afforded him. I loved the sense that they were essentially facing the same thing but handled it so differently. As much as I loved Lainey, I wished that she would have stood up for herself sooner. Her fear of losing her grandmothers approval and really her only remaining family truly stifled her. A lot of times especially at the start of the book there was this dark almost suicidal, checked out feeling about her. She was a very heavy character that had to deal with a lot at such a young age and this really broke my heart. Where as our hero Emmitt always knew what was required of him and for a large part he had accepted this and really just made the best of the hand he had been dealt. There was something very alluring about this cold, powerful French persona that Emmitt wore. He too had been through a lot and his closed off heart was largely due to how jaded his parents had made him.
I loved the connection between Lainey and Emmitt, their connection and chemistry went way beyond just being something physical. I loved that they were almost two peas in the same pod, both understanding each other better than anyone else really could. I absolutely loved the parts when they were together, there was just something so captivating and magical about these moments. It was as if no one else existed aside from the two of them. Even with all the intense chemistry between them I hated that Emmitt winded up hurting Lainey in his mission to annoy his father, but gosh did this only help our girl find her voice and finally stand up for herself! I loved seeing this growth in Lainey and that it really gave Emmitt the push to wake up and gosh was his gravel golden! I loved the way he wooed her and proved his true feelings. This just made an already brilliant book all the more perfect for me!
There was so much that I loved about this book that I almost don’t even want to say more, purely because I don’t think I can truly do this book justice! The amount of detail that Grey has put into explaining the art and art history in this book was incredible. I just loved the sense of Regency that was so prominent in the Davenport household and the way their entire society was portrayed. I will say that it did take me a moment to warm up to Faye Davenport aka Lainey’s grandmother, at first she came across as this cold controlling woman but towards the end of the novel when we got to really see her true intentions, I could not help but like her. As for the Mercier family, the only one that I liked was Alexander, I liked him in Emilia’s book and I could not help but love him a bit more in this book. I really hope that he gets his own story soon!
Forbidden French was just perfection, this book has left me with one huge book hangover and only just cemented the fact that Grey will always be my favourite author. This heartbreakingly beautiful slow burn romance is a MUST read!
Book Info:
Publication: November 10th 2022 | Pub: R.S. Grey |
Once upon a time, Emmett Mercier was the golden boy of St. John’s Boarding School. The crown prince of his father’s vast business empire, unapologetically attractive…oh, and fluent in French.
At school, I kept a picture of him hidden beneath my pillow, a tiny token of my adolescent infatuation, but I might as well have been worshiping a distant demigod. He was hardly aware of my existence. I was far too young, and he was far too consequential—until one day we found ourselves alone together in the dark library and struck up a friendship…of sorts.
But in the years since leaving St. John’s, I’ve no longer bothered yearning for Emmett. What a useless dream. I would have gone crazy trying to keep up with his jet-setting life. Which Parisian hotel is he calling home now? Is there some new lithe model draping herself across his lap today?
My negligence comes back to bite me. I’m ill-prepared the day he strides into my art gallery. There’s only a mere trace of the boy I once knew. Self-assured, handsome, intoxicating—Emmett is more man than I can handle.
There’s no room for him in my gilded cage. My life is planned to a T. From where I go to how I dress, it all depends on the calculated whims of my grandmother. Soon, I’ll even dutifully walk down the aisle toward a man of her choosing.
Emmett can’t stand my obedience. Now that we’ve rekindled our friendship, he’s intent on unearthing my heart’s true motives.
And therein lies the problem: I was doing just fine without him, but now that he’s rattling the bars of my cage, I’m forced to acknowledge the truth.
Once upon a time, Emmett Mercier was all I wanted. The midnight wanderings, the whispered nothings, the unbearable longing—they etched indelible marks on my soul. Even now, after all these years, my heart is only fluent in one language.
Forbidden French.
