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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was really digging it. Then the love story got a little bit much. Then the mafia aspect drew me back in and since it ends on a cliff hanger I have to read the next. But it’s not one I’d have to read again or necessarily recommend
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I think this book was a great start to my mafia romance journey! I also think that this was the perfect brain candy for after Onyx Storm emotionally sodomized me. I started out physically reading this one and ended up doing about 75% audiobook. I think the audiobooks are the way to go with this series, they make it a little more entertaining and engaging.
Great book! First mafia romance I’ve ever read and honestly, it was cool as hell. I could not stop reading. Their relationship was so enthralling and the plot kept pulling me in. I read the entire thing in a day and ignored all my responsibilities, which I don’t even regret.
Nat was a solid main character. She felt real. She was grieving, pissed off, sarcastic, emotionally messy, and didn’t fall for Kage immediately. She literally tried to pepper spray him when he showed up out of nowhere and honestly, good for her. Respect. And then Kage, oh man. What a character. He’s huge, terrifying, quiet, and super intense in that “I’ll kill for you without blinking” way. But also weirdly soft? The man set up an entire painting studio for her in his house like it was no big deal. I actually had to pause reading and just sit there like… wait, am I swooning over a mafia hitman?
The book was way funnier than I expected too. The banter was great and there were moments that genuinely made me laugh. Sloane is unhinged in a fun way, Nat’s inner monologue was sarcastic and relatable, and the pacing kept it all moving. Was it a little insane? Yes. But also very entertaining.
Okay spoiler time. If you haven’t read the book yet, you should probably stop here unless you enjoy chaos.
First of all, THE HAIRBRUSH SCENE. I was not prepared. I’ve never read a book where the man is the one getting spanked and it was done in a way that was actually hot and kind of emotional? I don’t know what that says about me, but I respected the hell out of Kage after that. He was confident enough to be vulnerable, which somehow made him even hotter. Like wow, this man kills people and also lets his girlfriend whack him with a hairbrush? King.
Then Nat finding Damon after five years and he’s just… married? That part had my jaw on the floor. He said he waited for her for “years” but really it was like a year and then he just gave up and married someone else? Sir. What. And the new wife just walks in like this is totally normal. That entire scene felt like a telenovela in the best possible way.
And then Kage shows up, all calm and intense, and fixes everything by basically murdering his way through the mafia world for her. He starts an actual war. He kills his boss. He becomes the head of a criminal empire just so she and her emotional support dog can live a peaceful life painting in a fancy house. That’s love. That is Shakespeare with a body count.
The only thing I didn’t really vibe with was Nat and Sloane’s whole “girl power but make it cringey” routine. The stuff like “he’s in the rear view now” just didn’t hit. It felt like something you’d hear from a girl who keeps a list of her body count in her notes app. I get that they were going for funny and empowering, but it didn’t really land for me.
Besides that though, I loved the rest. Over-the-top in the best way. Super fun. I will 100 percent be reading the next one because this mafia soap opera owns me now.
Nat was a solid main character. She felt real. She was grieving, pissed off, sarcastic, emotionally messy, and didn’t fall for Kage immediately. She literally tried to pepper spray him when he showed up out of nowhere and honestly, good for her. Respect. And then Kage, oh man. What a character. He’s huge, terrifying, quiet, and super intense in that “I’ll kill for you without blinking” way. But also weirdly soft? The man set up an entire painting studio for her in his house like it was no big deal. I actually had to pause reading and just sit there like… wait, am I swooning over a mafia hitman?
The book was way funnier than I expected too. The banter was great and there were moments that genuinely made me laugh. Sloane is unhinged in a fun way, Nat’s inner monologue was sarcastic and relatable, and the pacing kept it all moving. Was it a little insane? Yes. But also very entertaining.
Okay spoiler time. If you haven’t read the book yet, you should probably stop here unless you enjoy chaos.
First of all, THE HAIRBRUSH SCENE. I was not prepared. I’ve never read a book where the man is the one getting spanked and it was done in a way that was actually hot and kind of emotional? I don’t know what that says about me, but I respected the hell out of Kage after that. He was confident enough to be vulnerable, which somehow made him even hotter. Like wow, this man kills people and also lets his girlfriend whack him with a hairbrush? King.
Then Nat finding Damon after five years and he’s just… married? That part had my jaw on the floor. He said he waited for her for “years” but really it was like a year and then he just gave up and married someone else? Sir. What. And the new wife just walks in like this is totally normal. That entire scene felt like a telenovela in the best possible way.
And then Kage shows up, all calm and intense, and fixes everything by basically murdering his way through the mafia world for her. He starts an actual war. He kills his boss. He becomes the head of a criminal empire just so she and her emotional support dog can live a peaceful life painting in a fancy house. That’s love. That is Shakespeare with a body count.
The only thing I didn’t really vibe with was Nat and Sloane’s whole “girl power but make it cringey” routine. The stuff like “he’s in the rear view now” just didn’t hit. It felt like something you’d hear from a girl who keeps a list of her body count in her notes app. I get that they were going for funny and empowering, but it didn’t really land for me.
Besides that though, I loved the rest. Over-the-top in the best way. Super fun. I will 100 percent be reading the next one because this mafia soap opera owns me now.
It’s cute! Not completely original but a good palate cleanser.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Natalie, a school art teacher, is still mourning the disappearance of her fiancé, who vanished the day before their wedding 5 years prior. On the yearly anniversary, Natalie drowns her sorrows in alcohol in the safety of her home. However, when her best friend Sloane convinces her to go out to a bar on the 5th year anniversary, Natalie's life will never be the same. While at the bar, they encounter Kage, the mysterious and muscular newcomer who just moved in next door to Natalie. It turns out, Kage, the second in command for the Russian mafia, is in town to collect a debt and kill Natalie. But once he sees her, he cannot fathom anything less than making her his, mafia obligations be damned. As the pair explore their connection, a war within the mafia blooms and bodies start dropping around them.
I didn't read the excerpt, so I had no idea I was starting a mafia romance. However, I do think Geissinger writes them well. The spice was spicin and Kage is down bad for Natalie. As someone who thought he would be alone forever and didn't do romance at all, he had good growth as a partner, although his methods are a bit extreme. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so naturally I'll have to read the next book.
I didn't read the excerpt, so I had no idea I was starting a mafia romance. However, I do think Geissinger writes them well. The spice was spicin and Kage is down bad for Natalie. As someone who thought he would be alone forever and didn't do romance at all, he had good growth as a partner, although his methods are a bit extreme. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so naturally I'll have to read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Murder