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colourful_kenyan's review against another edition
3.0
*2.75 Stars*
I thought for a moment it would've been about royalty but I guess I enjoy mafia too. The mafia parts are a little mild and not the main focus of the book.
Aida is young and reckless while Cal is old- in Aida's eyes- and frigid. They get off on the wrong foot from their first meeting but are forced to get married when their fathers decide to put centuries worth of feud behind them.
-I love seeing family dynamics shown in books or novels. Interactions between the fam and the MCs is sth I always give credit. I liked how Aida interacted with her brothers. They were very supportive and different. It did not feel like they were a carbon copy of each other. Cal's interactions with his family are a reflection of his personality.
-With both POVs, it was great to see what the other character was thinking. The narrators honestly made this more enjoyable. They did a great job.
-I liked that we got little history lessons here and there about both families.
What I did not really enjoy
- The way we are pushed back in time. Like in the first chapter we meet Aida and we follow her short arson stunt but the next chapter does not begin from where we left off. Rather, as I was forced to endure Cal's time before the fire before being yet again thrust into the fire scene. I wish the author found another way of telling us what was happening at the party rather than having to go back in time because it just disoriented me.
-I liked their interactions but they were a little shallow. I found that I hated how they avoided to communicate yet are adults. I hate the miscommunication trope. It frustrates me beyond measure.
A good example would be that if my boyfriend meets his ex, I would like to know how that went. No matter how much it will hurt to tell me, I'd rather hear it from my partner than from friends or anyone else. I'd also hate it if my boyfriend spied on me which is what Cal does rather than talk to her.
-I could see why Cal liked Aida but not the other way other than the great sex he gave and commanded her ass around.
-I'm not the greatest fan of violence so watch out for that if you are skimish.
-The villain in the book barely raised the stakes.
I thought for a moment it would've been about royalty but I guess I enjoy mafia too. The mafia parts are a little mild and not the main focus of the book.
Aida is young and reckless while Cal is old- in Aida's eyes- and frigid. They get off on the wrong foot from their first meeting but are forced to get married when their fathers decide to put centuries worth of feud behind them.
-I love seeing family dynamics shown in books or novels. Interactions between the fam and the MCs is sth I always give credit. I liked how Aida interacted with her brothers. They were very supportive and different. It did not feel like they were a carbon copy of each other. Cal's interactions with his family are a reflection of his personality.
-With both POVs, it was great to see what the other character was thinking. The narrators honestly made this more enjoyable. They did a great job.
-I liked that we got little history lessons here and there about both families.
What I did not really enjoy
- The way we are pushed back in time. Like in the first chapter we meet Aida and we follow her short arson stunt but the next chapter does not begin from where we left off. Rather, as I was forced to endure Cal's time before the fire before being yet again thrust into the fire scene. I wish the author found another way of telling us what was happening at the party rather than having to go back in time because it just disoriented me.
-I liked their interactions but they were a little shallow. I found that I hated how they avoided to communicate yet are adults. I hate the miscommunication trope. It frustrates me beyond measure.
Spoiler
A good example would be that if my boyfriend meets his ex, I would like to know how that went. No matter how much it will hurt to tell me, I'd rather hear it from my partner than from friends or anyone else. I'd also hate it if my boyfriend spied on me which is what Cal does rather than talk to her.
-I could see why Cal liked Aida but not the other way other than the great sex he gave and commanded her ass around.
-I'm not the greatest fan of violence so watch out for that if you are skimish.
-The villain in the book barely raised the stakes.
Spoiler
Also, the Butcher being murdered and us not seeing anything is very anti-climatic and robs the reader of drama that would have raised the low stakes. It also seems that this was done with the intention of setting the scene for the next book.artsyjonesie's review against another edition
I apparently don’t like mafia romance. Not a fan.
shansreads's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
angxlicsoul's review against another edition
1.0
Never trusting booktok for books. Period.
Absolutely wasted time. I’m really disappointed I won’t lie. When I heard the book was illustrated that intrigued me as I have never seen something like that in an adult book. I loved the art style but hated the characters. The arranged marriage happening because of the stupidest little thing made my blood boiling I swear. The main character Aida is just a child and Callum so not far away from that (even though he is 30 years old). The book is really poorly written and the spice made me want to throw the book out of the window. I am very disappointed as I had some expectations of the book and the story. Definitely will give the next book a chance but I won’t have any expectations this time so I don’t get that disappointed.
Absolutely wasted time. I’m really disappointed I won’t lie. When I heard the book was illustrated that intrigued me as I have never seen something like that in an adult book. I loved the art style but hated the characters. The arranged marriage happening because of the stupidest little thing made my blood boiling I swear. The main character Aida is just a child and Callum so not far away from that (even though he is 30 years old). The book is really poorly written and the spice made me want to throw the book out of the window. I am very disappointed as I had some expectations of the book and the story. Definitely will give the next book a chance but I won’t have any expectations this time so I don’t get that disappointed.
jessicakusisto's review against another edition
2.0
TW for domestic abuse
This book really solidified for me that I do not like dark romance. It basically deals with two families in Chicago who are not quite the mafia but like one step above that. They run the construction scene and are wrapped up in politics. So, they aren't quite wrapped up in shady dealings like you'd think of with the mafia, but things can still get quite dark. Anyway, these two families have been feuding for decades. And one day, our female main character from the Gallo family — Aida Gallo — decides to sneak into a Griffin family party. There, she ends up starting the home on fire.
Aida's dad needs to get out in front of this, so he arranges for Aida to marry Callum Griffin. These two hate each other, so much so that Aida tries to poison Callum on their wedding night. And things kind of go from there.
I did not like this book very much because the relationship was so toxic. Aida tried to poison Callum and then Callum tried to drown Aida. And then they ended up getting it on in the shower 30 minutes later. I know a lot of people love this book and I'm not trying to shit on it, it just wasn't for me. I just can't root for a couple when stuff like that is going on.
This book really solidified for me that I do not like dark romance. It basically deals with two families in Chicago who are not quite the mafia but like one step above that. They run the construction scene and are wrapped up in politics. So, they aren't quite wrapped up in shady dealings like you'd think of with the mafia, but things can still get quite dark. Anyway, these two families have been feuding for decades. And one day, our female main character from the Gallo family — Aida Gallo — decides to sneak into a Griffin family party. There, she ends up starting the home on fire.
Aida's dad needs to get out in front of this, so he arranges for Aida to marry Callum Griffin. These two hate each other, so much so that Aida tries to poison Callum on their wedding night. And things kind of go from there.
I did not like this book very much because the relationship was so toxic. Aida tried to poison Callum and then Callum tried to drown Aida. And then they ended up getting it on in the shower 30 minutes later. I know a lot of people love this book and I'm not trying to shit on it, it just wasn't for me. I just can't root for a couple when stuff like that is going on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
myrranda5002's review against another edition
4.0
What a great true enemies to lovers. I also think Aida is like my true spirit character. I've honestly never connected so much to a character in my life than I did with Aida. Def a great first and def not last read by Sophie Lark
martineo's review against another edition
4.0
Although this was predictable, I had SO much fun reading this. It was actually so funny and Lordy, I loved the bants between Aida & Cal! I’m a slow burn girly, so when they got to the feels of it all, it threw me off a bit. Loved it anyway