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pattyfgd's review against another edition
4.0
Dark Ruler
The Bennett Duet, Book 1
By: Xavier Neal
Narrated by: Joy Beharie, Tom Haire
Xavier Neal definitely knows her way around mafia romantic suspense! Spicy, action packed and a little softness in the couple, I was caught up in the story. Chantal, feisty, confident and unafraid burst into the office of the new capo, Beni and captures his attention immediately. Yes, he has motives. He needs to find a wife and carry on the family name, but this bolt of lightening was not in the cards. Now he will make her his. But in true mafia fashion, nothing is easy, and everything is dangerous, and not only for Beni. This couple is so well paired. I love the dominance of Beni, but I also love that he will give over his control to Chantal in private. They are both extremely driven and full of determination. The one thing that did interrupt the story was the Italian to English translations. I don't think it added much to the story, and would have been good with less. And the ending! Oh my! I am left wanting to know more! Bring it on Xavier Neal! I am ready!
A wonderful cast brings this to our ears! Joy Beharie is new to me, and I enjoyed her voice. It's rich and full, giving us the true feeling of Chantal's personality. Tom Haire is amazing as Beni. Alpha charged, a little growlie and easy to love. This was a good pairing for this story.
The Bennett Duet, Book 1
By: Xavier Neal
Narrated by: Joy Beharie, Tom Haire
Xavier Neal definitely knows her way around mafia romantic suspense! Spicy, action packed and a little softness in the couple, I was caught up in the story. Chantal, feisty, confident and unafraid burst into the office of the new capo, Beni and captures his attention immediately. Yes, he has motives. He needs to find a wife and carry on the family name, but this bolt of lightening was not in the cards. Now he will make her his. But in true mafia fashion, nothing is easy, and everything is dangerous, and not only for Beni. This couple is so well paired. I love the dominance of Beni, but I also love that he will give over his control to Chantal in private. They are both extremely driven and full of determination. The one thing that did interrupt the story was the Italian to English translations. I don't think it added much to the story, and would have been good with less. And the ending! Oh my! I am left wanting to know more! Bring it on Xavier Neal! I am ready!
A wonderful cast brings this to our ears! Joy Beharie is new to me, and I enjoyed her voice. It's rich and full, giving us the true feeling of Chantal's personality. Tom Haire is amazing as Beni. Alpha charged, a little growlie and easy to love. This was a good pairing for this story.
lsgway04's review against another edition
5.0
Whew chile......my lil heart
This story started off with a bang! Loved Chantal strength and Beni was ALL alpha! Like a little over the top but he knew other way. Sitting on pins and needles for the next book because we were thrown for a loop of epic proportions! Oh, and Miko is bae❤
This story started off with a bang! Loved Chantal strength and Beni was ALL alpha! Like a little over the top but he knew other way. Sitting on pins and needles for the next book because we were thrown for a loop of epic proportions! Oh, and Miko is bae❤
amandabooks17's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first book by Xavier Neal and I’m happy to say, I thoroughly enjoy her writing. To me her writing style was different from what I typically read. It was like a breath of fresh air.
Dark Ruler was intriguing. The story instantly draw you in with the commanding billionaire Benicio. He is set in his ways of how things have fun for his personal and professional life. So when a beautiful Chantal stumbles into his office, those ways start to quickly change. There is so much mystery they have to deal with that has you on the edge of your seat. The chemistry between these two is steamy. Such a strong attraction that they both don’t want to lose. Benicio and Chantal both put in some strong dedication for their relationship to work. There are ups and downs the entire time but they both know what they want.
This books was a good start to these two as for they did end on a cliffhanger. However, this cliffhanger definitely keeps you wanting more and curious to see what happens next. I’m excited to see where this story goes next!
Dark Ruler was intriguing. The story instantly draw you in with the commanding billionaire Benicio. He is set in his ways of how things have fun for his personal and professional life. So when a beautiful Chantal stumbles into his office, those ways start to quickly change. There is so much mystery they have to deal with that has you on the edge of your seat. The chemistry between these two is steamy. Such a strong attraction that they both don’t want to lose. Benicio and Chantal both put in some strong dedication for their relationship to work. There are ups and downs the entire time but they both know what they want.
This books was a good start to these two as for they did end on a cliffhanger. However, this cliffhanger definitely keeps you wanting more and curious to see what happens next. I’m excited to see where this story goes next!
jamiesbookaddiction's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first book by Xavier Neal and all I can say is WOW! I really enjoyed this. I immediately fell in love with Benicio and Miko. Then all of a sudden here's Chantal and she's great! I loved the dynamic between all three of them. Chantal and Luther have some great banter back and forth as well that had me laughing. I knew the ending had a cliff hanger. However, I was not expecting the one we got! Overall this was a great book! Can't wait to read more from Xavier Neal! I'm a fan!
bookspaced's review against another edition
4.0
Dark Ruler is the first book I‘ve read by this author. I didn‘t really know what to expect other than mafia romance which is obviously shown in the cover and title.
The beginning of Beni and Chantals story is a pretty slow one. At least for me. It felt like there was alot of unnecessary dialog and dialog in other languages that didn‘t even get translated for example the german dialog. I speak german so it wasn‘t hard for me but if I couldn‘t speak the language I‘d need to google translate and it takes away alot of reading pleasure for me.
I liked the overall writing of the book and characters. They all had alot of depth to eachother and their relationships with family members was portrayed nicely. There is also alot of mystery stuff happening which I really enjoyed. Especially the cliffhanger at the end makes me want to know what happens next.
3.5 ⭐️
The beginning of Beni and Chantals story is a pretty slow one. At least for me. It felt like there was alot of unnecessary dialog and dialog in other languages that didn‘t even get translated for example the german dialog. I speak german so it wasn‘t hard for me but if I couldn‘t speak the language I‘d need to google translate and it takes away alot of reading pleasure for me.
I liked the overall writing of the book and characters. They all had alot of depth to eachother and their relationships with family members was portrayed nicely. There is also alot of mystery stuff happening which I really enjoyed. Especially the cliffhanger at the end makes me want to know what happens next.
3.5 ⭐️
shedevilreads's review against another edition
4.0
Dark Ruler by Xavier Neal is a dark mafia romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Joy Behare and Tom Haire. This is the first book in The Bennett Duet.
This is the third series of Xavier's that I have read and it won't be my last. The relationship between Benicio and Chantal is a bit messy as they figure out how their relationship will work. But you can't help but root for them. I really enjoyed getting both of their points of view throughout the book. It really brought the story to life.
The book ends on a great cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next book in the series Dark Reign to be released on audio so I can get the rest of their story.
Joy and Tom did a great job on the narration. I look forward to listening to more of their work in the future.
I would recommend this book if you like dark romances, mafia romances, or romantic suspense.
The Flock Team
This is the third series of Xavier's that I have read and it won't be my last. The relationship between Benicio and Chantal is a bit messy as they figure out how their relationship will work. But you can't help but root for them. I really enjoyed getting both of their points of view throughout the book. It really brought the story to life.
The book ends on a great cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next book in the series Dark Reign to be released on audio so I can get the rest of their story.
Joy and Tom did a great job on the narration. I look forward to listening to more of their work in the future.
I would recommend this book if you like dark romances, mafia romances, or romantic suspense.
The Flock Team
africreole's review against another edition
3.0
I hate cliffhangers
That really got to me. Besides that, I struggled with this book. I just did not feel Chantal and Beni's relationship. I didn't get the warm fuzziness with their relationship. I don' mind the Italian and then the interpretation afterwards. I would be looking up the translation as I go anyway so that was helpful to me.
I've read many books by Xavier. She's one of my one click authors but she missed her mark with this one. I enjoyed certain parts in the book. I enjoyed seeing Chantal taking Beni to task about taking her for granted but she still needs to recognize that he heads an international family business. I guess I'll have to read the next book to see what happens next. At least I do have the next bookand don't have to wait weeks, months if not years for the next installment.
That really got to me. Besides that, I struggled with this book. I just did not feel Chantal and Beni's relationship. I didn't get the warm fuzziness with their relationship. I don' mind the Italian and then the interpretation afterwards. I would be looking up the translation as I go anyway so that was helpful to me.
I've read many books by Xavier. She's one of my one click authors but she missed her mark with this one. I enjoyed certain parts in the book. I enjoyed seeing Chantal taking Beni to task about taking her for granted but she still needs to recognize that he heads an international family business. I guess I'll have to read the next book to see what happens next. At least I do have the next bookand don't have to wait weeks, months if not years for the next installment.
allbookedup_'s review against another edition
1.0
Usually if a book ends in an cliffhanger, as this book does I would feel so unsettled and need to rush to read the second. But, since I spent half the time reading this on using Google translate and therefore not bonding with any characters I can just forget about reading it.
instinctgirl22's review against another edition
2.0
Eh
Saying something once in Italian and then again in English just isn’t that interesting. This book is very slow to take off and seems like it’s mostly filler with the dialogue repetition. Heroine’s too stupid to live syndrome was hard to swallow. Someone’s tried to kill her multiple times in a variety of ways and she’s still throwing fits because she can’t go out to dinner. I wanted to kill both of them myself.
Saying something once in Italian and then again in English just isn’t that interesting. This book is very slow to take off and seems like it’s mostly filler with the dialogue repetition. Heroine’s too stupid to live syndrome was hard to swallow. Someone’s tried to kill her multiple times in a variety of ways and she’s still throwing fits because she can’t go out to dinner. I wanted to kill both of them myself.