Book-Thirsty Thursday: Wrong to Need You, Alisha Rai

Alisha Rai’s Wrong to Need You surpasses the first book in the Forbidden Hearts series, and that’s saying something, because the first one was quite good.

This past summer, yours truly was sent Hate to Want You from Alisha Rai, and proceeded to attempt to explain how it actually made me enjoy a contemporary romance when I normally don’t. Although summer has turned to fall and we’re now anticipating Christmas, suffice it to say my general opinion of contemporary romance hasn’t changed, but I also immediately asked for an advance copy of Wrong to Need You from Avon, and was granted that request. So I had high hopes and expectations.

Considering that I also read through Wrong to Need You in less than 24 hours, worried about the fact that I was reading it where other people could see and possibly judge me for my reactions when I’ve long since given up on caring about reading romance novels in public and also put the book down only to pout that it was done, I think it met those expectations.

To assemble my thoughts, Wrong to Need You picks up almost immediately after Hate to Want You, and, frankly, I appreciate Rai’s willingness to commit to serialization. Not all series are willing to do that — more often than not, it’s okay to read books out of order. This one can work that way, too, but it’s much better as a pair. Jackson Kane’s back in town mostly for the sake of his sister, but he’s having trouble resisting Sadia Ahmed, now single mom and widow of his brother. These two have a past, and it’s about to come to haunt them.

Again, Rai doesn’t shy away from letting her characters have serious issues. I praised it when I talked about Hate to Want You, and I’ll praise it again now, because both Jackson and Sadia are confronting some real things. Words like depression and panic attacks are used — not thrown around unnecessarily, but as a confrontation head on of what these characters are dealing with. Even though romance always has a certain degree of escapism to it, Wrong to Need You feels very realistic and open in how it talks about these issues and presents things like going to therapy as sometimes very necessary to grow as a person.

But if you’re worried that this book won’t have anything satisfying in terms of the physical romance, don’t be. This is not a book for children, and it’s not afraid to go for the not-safe-for-children spaces, which I also applaud … even if it does not ease you in, much like the previous novel. That’s a benefit and a drawback at the same time.

Speaking of children, though, Sadia is a parent, and Kareem, her son, fits into the narrative wonderfully. He’s not just there to be a plot device; we see him changing just as he develops a relationship with Jackson and changes his relationship with his mom, Sadia. In fact, family in general plays a big role in the narrative. Sadia has four sisters; Jackson has a sister (Livvy, of the previous novel); their person in common is Sadia’s husband and Jackson’s brother, the deceased Paul.

But Rai doesn’t leave that thread hanging, either. Wrong to Need You deals pretty well with the aftereffects of losing someone and how different people process that, too.

Next: Should Johnny Depp stay in Fantastic Beasts?

Ultimately, Wrong to Need You is a great romance — a nice treat of a story to escape into that also deals with some particularly realistic issues.