Desperate Forest by Cece Louise

From Goodreads:

Enter a forest full of danger, secrets, and romance . . . 

 For nineteen years, Princess Roselynn's life has been safe and comfortable. Until her father is murdered, and she discovers a plot to end her life. Hoping to find safety in the arms of her betrothed, she flees to the perilous Eternity Forest—only to be captured by a brash outlaw named Jay.

With no choice but to join forces with his group, Roselynn soon discovers everyone there has their own purpose—and secrets. Torn between her disdain for Jay and growing attraction to him, she strives to solve the mystery behind his tough exterior and shadowy past, especially when he tells her she can’t trust the man she promised her hand to.

As the lines between enemy and ally blur, Roselynn must question what she knows and where her heart lies. Can she discover the truth in time to save her kingdom, or will she lose everything to the dark forest?

My Take:

Note: I read the series backwards, so ended with book one. 

This one was the hardest book for me to read since I had already read book three and knew more about Jay and Darius's relationship than if I had read book one first. It made me anxious. I won't say too much because I don't want to give anything away, but it all plays out well enough to set up the story for book three while giving a satisfying ending for our couple here.

It's really quite a complicated tangle of heartache that is beautifully written. Just know that I recommend you read the entire series. We have another great cast of characters with flaws that make them relatable and annoyingly human. They are easy to root for and at times quite slappable. :)

I give Desperate Forest 4 stars and a Clean rating.

1-5 scale and what it means:

1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad

2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing

3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive

3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love

4: Solid mind candy / worth reading

4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read

5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure

Movie Ratings in relation to my review:

Clean--Hallmark movies, some kissing, no nudity, no intimacy on or off "screen"

PG--Some innuendo but nothing kids don't hear every day, intimacy is all closed door

PG-13--some language (swear words not related to intimacy), more talk about intimacy, heavy petting, removal of clothing on screen, but intimacy is closed door.

PG-14—somewhere between PG-13 and R. Not erotica, but at least a paragraph of on-screen intimacy

R--swearing (F-bomb, on “screen” intimacy, sometimes feels like the whole story is about the intimacy and not the relationship or some other plot, but not always