Forbidden French

By: R.S. Grey

Narrated by: Lilly Drake, Alexander Dunham-Wood

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2022 R.S. Grey (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

It was okay

I usually really enjoy R.S. Grey books but this one just didn’t do it for me. The MFC should have grown a back bone a little earlier. I didn’t like the relationship with the grandma, I found it unreasonable. Just a lot of eye rolling on this one. Narrators were good.

Angsty, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers Romance!

Lainey Davenport lost her parents at a young age, and is now being raised by her wealthy grandmother. Lainey is always trying to make her grandmother happy to prove she isn't wild like her mother, which her grandmother never liked. She gives in to the old fashioned demands her grandmother requires of her. That means she is shy and never stands up for herself at her boarding school when she gets picked on. One bright spot is her crush on an older popular boy, Emmet. Emmet has his own stressful demands from his father. He sees the quiet Lainey and is intrigued by her. They have meetings in the library where Lainey hides, and connect instantly with their shared interests in books and art. After Emmet graduates, they lose touch with each other. Now a decade later, they have a chance meeting at the art gallery where Lainey works. Lainey stands up to Emmet over art, and he remembers how he loves that about her, that she only does that with him. They start to rekindle their friendship, as well as their long buried feelings. But when their families start to meddle, they lose their trust in each other, and are heartbroken over losing the one person who sees them for their true self. This is an angsty, slow burn, friends-to enemies-to lovers romance. I really enjoyed the narration by Lilly Drake, and Alexander Dunham-Wood as they brought this story to life. They are both new to me which is always fun to discover new voices to enjoy. Drake did a great job bringing out both Lainey's mousy and bold, seductress sides. I loved Dunham-Wood's deep voice, which was perfect for the older Emmet, and his French accent was wonderful.

Liked it

I liked it but I wasn’t in love and parts even annoyed me. I loved the narrators they were fantastic, but the story itself didn’t fully hit the mark for me. I feel like a lot of time was waisted on things that didn’t really add to the story so that frustrated me. For example what was with all the clothing descriptions? It didn’t add to the story and got bring. I did enjoy the ending though and much of the love story was fun to listen too. I love me an HEA.

Forbidden French

Oh Lainey! A young lady meeting Emmett at boarding school of the elite in the east coast. Lainey is kinda like a wall flower, unfortunately loses her parents at a young age. Now living with her grandmother who wants to control her every move, what she looks like and the proper way to act. Anyways she covets the handsome Emmet from a far. But one night at the library they meey and form an unlikely friendship. After school they part ways until he walks into her art gallery. What will happen next?

The woman who read for Lainey, I felt was perfect. As for the male actor it was alright, well when reading for the older Emmett his voice was perfect.

*I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this book*

Good

Loved this one! It was good, if a little slow in some parts but overall I liked it. Would definitely recommend!

Great listen!

Having picked up this up last year i was so glad that this audiobook was releasing so i could experience this story again! Ms.Grey has become a go to of mine over the years and i've been wanting to get into more of her audiobooks so this was an awesome chance to do so. I started looking forward to this listen right away. I got right back into this story as soon as i could. I really enjoyed this listen!

I've listened to Lilly Drake's narration many times before, but i was new to Alexander Dunham-Wood so that had me looking forward to this audiobook even more so! Both Lilly and Alexander were quick to capture my attention as Lainey and Emmett! They captured the wanting, the connection, the spice, and the feels in such awesome ways with their narration! I so enjoyed what Lilly and Alexander brought to these characters and this story. They both had me feeling many things from start to finish with this listen!

Once again, i got into Lainey and Emmett's journey quickly! It's at St. John's Boarding School where Emmett catches Lainey eye and the crushing begins. As they are brought back into each other's lives at Lainey's art gallery, can they take a chance on how they feel? or will other forces rip them apart?

I really liked the relatable moments, especially when it came to what others expected of them and getting to see how everything would unfold for these two again. Trying to find your way and taking chances isn't easy and i really enjoyed getting to see how Lainey and Emmett would tackle everything. The chemistry between these two was so good! They definitely had me going through different kinds of emotions throughout this listen. It isn't quite easy for these two. I was glad that i got to dig deeper with them as well!

With Forbidden French, Ms.Grey has created a great story with many feels that i wanted to keep listening to! From the characters to the narration, It was fun getting to experience this story again in this new way! I am so looking forward to getting into more of this author's audiobooks and listen more to Lilly and Alexander's narration in the future!

Oooh lala to this audiobook

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Review ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗  
 
📚 Title: Forbidden French  
⭐️ Rating: 3.5/5 
✍🏼 Author: RS Grey 
📖 Genre: Romance 
🗣️ Narrators: Lilly Drake & Aiden Snow  
 
Blurb:: 
A second chance romance about Lainey and Emmett who knew each other in boarding school. Lainey had a crush on Emmett and never thought she could be part of his world. Until one day , years later he shows up to her art galley and sparks fly. Only problem is how would Emmett now fit into Lainey’s perfectly curated life? 
 
Review::  
I am a huge fan of Lilly Drake and Aiden Snow and think they did a great job narrating this story. It started out a little slow for me and was more on the serious side of romance , I usually love a little light heartiness in a rom/ com setting but I think it was different from my usual listens and enjoyed it overall.  
 
 
Tropes:  
✨ Second Chance Romance  
✨ Marriage of Convenience  
✨ Billionaire love  
✨ Age Gap 

Enjoyable Listen, but Story Fell Flat

I haven’t read an R.S. Grey book in a while and was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The book is split into two parts - part 1 takes place when Lainey and Emmett are teens, and part 2 is over a decade later. Part 1 actually made me a bit uncomfortable since Lainey is 13 and basically obsessed and stalking Emmett (who is 18 and about to graduate). I understand it was an unrequited crush, but I also didn’t feel any friendship or kinship in the few interactions they shared. It made it awkward when these “moments” were referenced later in the book and the reader is meant to swoon/feel that bond. I just never felt any true chemistry between Lainey and Emmett. Both were so childish and Emmett’s 180 after Lainey’s declaration made me roll my eyes. I wish more time had been spent developing the relationship between the main characters instead of describing their clothes, accessories, and how rich they were.

The narration was wonderful, though I did find Alexander Dunham-Wood’s voice somewhat odd when he voiced teenage Emmett. His voice was much better suited to adult Emmett. Lilly Drake was a great Lainey and her voice fit with the character very well. I also loved all the French words and sayings. Overall, this was an enjoyable listening experience, but sadly it couldn’t save this story.

Audiobook Review
Overall 3 stars
Performance 4.5 stars
Story 2 stars

CW: parental abandonment & death (past), parental infidelity, drug/alcohol addiction (secondary character), bullying (past)

*I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this book*

♥️♥️♥️♥️

Love this story!!!! Great characters and moving story lines!!!! Highly recommend this author, she is amazing!!!!

Forbidden French

Forbidden French is a story that starts in the mc's younger years and then to adulthood. The storyline is split into two portions with the teenage years first and then as adults ten years later. The world building descriptions and settings are well established. The plot intrigued me but the story moved a bit slowly. I enjoyed the angst and romance of the characters. The ending was really good.

Lilly Drake, Alexander Dunham-Wood dual narration was really well performed. Lilly's inflection fit Lainey's character and she brought her emotions. Alexander deep tone was good for adult Emmett's character.

Overall, a entertaining listen.