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sk_09's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It wasn't cringe, and kept me entertained. What else should I expect from a mafia romance?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
linnea_tornblom's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Gore, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Blood, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Death, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
saoreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Miscommunication tropes, enemies-to-lovers literal dramatics, and the rough tone of language, considering the age, were quite immature. There's this immediacy that was toxic to a relationship to start off, but it was easily consumed for the most part due to the short chapters. I'm not a big fan of the violence, and the storyline was a bit lackluster; the scenes were short, and if it was fast-paced, it was just that it was detailed on parts I don't like that much. Overall, there were areas that could have been improved and some side characters to be given spotlight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Stalking, Confinement, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Murder, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
ariana_m's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was good! This was really entertaining overall. This is also very fast paced which I loved. I liked how this was truly enemies to lovers. I love Aida from the start, I think she's amazing. She's a firecracker lol but she's really smart and I loved that. I also liked she shows people who underestimate her wrong. I know some people don't like her but I did. Callum on the hand, took some time for me. I thought he was kind of annoying in the beginning lol but I understand why. I also liked the whole "touch her and I'll kill you" vibes, it never misses. I'm really interested in the rest of the family members as well so I'll be reading the next book sometime soon. Really enjoyed this one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Murder
natafiguu's review against another edition
i do not recommend this at all, literally do not read this.its just. so bad. everything about it. i genuinely cannot think of a thing i like about this book. the characters are flat stereotypes, the women aren't allowed to do shit and are seen as possessions, and don't get me started with the weird shit about the wax? that's where i stopped reading, i literally just can't anymore. i think that was about four chapters in, but i haven't seen such lackluster writing before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
melb_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
First off: I absolutely adored the illustrations! I wish more authors would do this, as it gave such fun insight into the author’s world-building.
This book had me hooked from the get-go at the potential for an angsty arranged marriage mafia romance with political intrigue. Aida, the take-no-prisoners daughter of Chicago’s Italian family was a clear match-made-in-hell for the stoic, proper, and politically ambitious Callum, only son of Chicago’s Irish family.
The pacing felt rushed in their enemies-to-lovers journey, and the angsty push-and-pull that one expects with this trope didn’t have the depth it could have given the characters initial meeting and insta-hate. The tension just seemed to dissipate so easily and quickly. Though this absolutely does not stop the spice from being out of this world.
Plot-wise, there was a lot going on at once, and some of the conflicts resolved a little too cleanly given the drama of the situations/surrounding circumstances. That said, the supporting characters and overall “gangs of Chicago” story had me going straight to the next book in the series.
I received an ARC of this book from Bloom Publishing and am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping and Torture
Minor: Sexual harassment
carla20's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking and Torture
kathis_wonderland's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark is the first book in the Brutal Birthright series. After Aida (accidentality) sets her family's rivalling family's library house on fire, she is forced to marry their eldest son Callum. Both hate each other's guts, but they have to play along to their fathers' wishes. The more time they spend together the more attracted they are to each other. But other families are pissed and they have to be cautious.
I received this book for free through an online read club and I desperately needed a quick read yesterday. Here, the book did not disappoint. I read it in one go. It was not a mafia story I expected. The ones I read previously, I did not enjoy at all. Usually they are just to brutal. Sophie Lark did a better job here. We had a lot of action, but there was no real harm done to the children of the mafia bosses from the families themselves. I loved Aida's brothers. They are quite the gang and would do anything for their siblings. The same goes for Aida. She is not some damsel in distress. She is quite a good fighter and knows what she is doing. I liked that about her. Callum's family is not my favourite. We don't read so much about them as we do with Aida's. Callum himself is not my type of guy either. But we will come to that. There were really steamy and sexy scenes. Callum's and Aida's chemistry was really good! But here comes my problem.
Callum kept talking about breaking Aida and making her submit to his rules and lifestyle. He kind of threw out most of her clothes, because he did not like how it was different from his standards. The first sex scene and another one later on were quite borderline. Especially the spanking scene - no consent, just some angry dominating scene. Those two scenes did not sit well with me.
The book was okay. It was not the mafia story I expected, but it was even better, because my previous experience with that trope did not go well. There were some scenes and character traits which I did not ilike at all. But it was not a bad read.
I received this book for free through an online read club and I desperately needed a quick read yesterday. Here, the book did not disappoint. I read it in one go. It was not a mafia story I expected. The ones I read previously, I did not enjoy at all. Usually they are just to brutal. Sophie Lark did a better job here. We had a lot of action, but there was no real harm done to the children of the mafia bosses from the families themselves. I loved Aida's brothers. They are quite the gang and would do anything for their siblings. The same goes for Aida. She is not some damsel in distress. She is quite a good fighter and knows what she is doing. I liked that about her. Callum's family is not my favourite. We don't read so much about them as we do with Aida's. Callum himself is not my type of guy either. But we will come to that. There were really steamy and sexy scenes. Callum's and Aida's chemistry was really good! But here comes my problem.
Callum kept talking about breaking Aida and making her submit to his rules and lifestyle. He kind of threw out most of her clothes, because he did not like how it was different from his standards. The first sex scene and another one later on were quite borderline. Especially the spanking scene - no consent, just some angry dominating scene. Those two scenes did not sit well with me.
The book was okay. It was not the mafia story I expected, but it was even better, because my previous experience with that trope did not go well. There were some scenes and character traits which I did not ilike at all. But it was not a bad read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Alcohol, and Death of parent
apolen's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Stalking, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cursing, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Infidelity
tiana_king's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Grief and Stalking
Minor: Animal death