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sdupont's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is the strongest Brutal Birthright book so far! I loved Riona and Raylan. They have great banter with their grumpy sunshine vibes in the midst of a mafia/bodyguard romance. I loved the complexities of Riona and the sweetness of Raylan they balanced each other out so well. This is perfect for fans of small town cowboy romances but with a side of action. I definitely recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent and Car accident
midnightrose_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.75
Broken Vow is the 5th book in the Brutal Birthright series. It focuses on the oldest Griffin daughter Riona. In the beginning of the story someone sends a assassin to take out Riona while she’s doing laps in her condo’s pool. She stabs the attacker with one of her hair pins and manages to get away. Callum her brother and Dante Gallo her brother in law come over after she calls them. They investigate who it could of been by watching the security footage of the attack. Riona goes to her parents house for a bit. Dante calls his friend and old army buddy Raylan Boone to help guard her. She’s very resistant to having a bodyguard anyway but specifically Raylan, since they got off on the wrong foot when they met briefly in the previous book. After another attack later on (where her condo was set on fire), Raylan takes her to his family’s ranch in Tennessee, to help keep her safe.
Once she’s there, Riona surprises herself with how much she comes to likes certain aspects of the ranch and Raylan. They grow closer. The assassin manages to find out where she is at the ranch but ends up dead. Riona goes back to Chicago thinking that the threat was eliminated, not realizing that her Uncle and mentor was the one who hired the assassin. Her Uncle Oran also had framed her coworker so that it looked like he had taken a large amount of money from the South Shore project when it was in fact him. He was mad because he thought that the Griffin empire should have been his since he’s the oldest brother (he and Fergus have different mothers). After Riona figures all this out and confronts him at his office Oran forces her to take a bottle of pills to make it look like a suicide. Before passing out completely, she manages to shoot him. Raylan goes back to Chicago determined to tell Riona how he feels about her. He goes to her office building and discovers her passed out on the floor and Oran lying dead on the carpet. He takes her to the hospital where they pump her stomach. She stays in the hospital for 3 days recovering. Afterward they talk to each other about the fact they love each other, and Riona surprises Raylan by telling him she bought a office in Knoxville. She wants to start her own law firm there. Now he can be close to his family’s ranch also. The book ends with Dante and Simone Solomon getting married. A sexy fun read!
Once she’s there, Riona surprises herself with how much she comes to likes certain aspects of the ranch and Raylan. They grow closer. The assassin manages to find out where she is at the ranch but ends up dead. Riona goes back to Chicago thinking that the threat was eliminated, not realizing that her Uncle and mentor was the one who hired the assassin. Her Uncle Oran also had framed her coworker so that it looked like he had taken a large amount of money from the South Shore project when it was in fact him. He was mad because he thought that the Griffin empire should have been his since he’s the oldest brother (he and Fergus have different mothers). After Riona figures all this out and confronts him at his office Oran forces her to take a bottle of pills to make it look like a suicide. Before passing out completely, she manages to shoot him. Raylan goes back to Chicago determined to tell Riona how he feels about her. He goes to her office building and discovers her passed out on the floor and Oran lying dead on the carpet. He takes her to the hospital where they pump her stomach. She stays in the hospital for 3 days recovering. Afterward they talk to each other about the fact they love each other, and Riona surprises Raylan by telling him she bought a office in Knoxville. She wants to start her own law firm there. Now he can be close to his family’s ranch also. The book ends with Dante and Simone Solomon getting married. A sexy fun read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Car accident
karina_dreamsinwords's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Sophie really said ”save a horse, ride a cowboy” in this one babes 🤠🔥
I freakin loved this installment of the Brutal Birthright series! In the previous books, we got to see bits of Riona in passing so I was interested to get to know more of her character in this book. Riona is the type of person with a permanent RBF, cold exterior who doesn't let anyone see her true emotions. Raylan has a smart mouth and is first introduced in Bloody Heart, when Dante Gallo enlists the help of his very meticulous military training to rescue Dante's beloved. When our characters (R&R) first meet, we see his snarky sarcasm as a complete turnoff for the ever poised Riona Griffin.
Fast forward to Broken Vow and Raylan has been hired by the Griffin/Gallo mob Family to serve as Riona's personal bodyguard when she barely escapes with her life after being attacked.
Seeing the brief introduction of these two characters in the previous book, I knew that this book would have lots of tension and delicious angst. Miss Sophie did not hold back on that front ya'll, trust me. The amazing chemistry between Riona and Raylan led to a big payoff! I won't be able to stop thinking about all the spiciness in here.. the stream & the barn scenes?! I just— 🥵😮💨
anyways read this book. READ THIS SERIES, thank me later.
Giddy up, here I come baby Seb!
I freakin loved this installment of the Brutal Birthright series! In the previous books, we got to see bits of Riona in passing so I was interested to get to know more of her character in this book. Riona is the type of person with a permanent RBF, cold exterior who doesn't let anyone see her true emotions. Raylan has a smart mouth and is first introduced in Bloody Heart, when Dante Gallo enlists the help of his very meticulous military training to rescue Dante's beloved. When our characters (R&R) first meet, we see his snarky sarcasm as a complete turnoff for the ever poised Riona Griffin.
Fast forward to Broken Vow and Raylan has been hired by the Griffin/Gallo mob Family to serve as Riona's personal bodyguard when she barely escapes with her life after being attacked.
Seeing the brief introduction of these two characters in the previous book, I knew that this book would have lots of tension and delicious angst. Miss Sophie did not hold back on that front ya'll, trust me. The amazing chemistry between Riona and Raylan led to a big payoff! I won't be able to stop thinking about all the spiciness in here.. the stream & the barn scenes?! I just— 🥵😮💨
anyways read this book. READ THIS SERIES, thank me later.
Giddy up, here I come baby Seb!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent
valeria_gzz's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
5.0
5 STARS THIS WAS GREAT AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. Holy shirt Raylan was so forking hot. Also this plot had what Nero’s book wanted to have 11/10 freaking AMAZING.
Barn scene?? Yeah that’s gonna live in my head rent free for a while. (And apparently Mr Lark said he realized Sophie borrows when he read this scene🤭 I love them)
Do I have a boyfriend? Of course not, but if I did he would be dumped just for not being Raylan.
Also the way Riona talked about men in her head reminded me of me and although I wouldn’t say I’m similar in personality to her I thought it was so funny to have that in common with her. I was reading that and going “YEAH EXACTLY!!!!”
Barn scene?? Yeah that’s gonna live in my head rent free for a while. (And apparently Mr Lark said he realized Sophie borrows when he read this scene🤭 I love them)
Do I have a boyfriend? Of course not, but if I did he would be dumped just for not being Raylan.
Also the way Riona talked about men in her head reminded me of me and although I wouldn’t say I’m similar in personality to her I thought it was so funny to have that in common with her. I was reading that and going “YEAH EXACTLY!!!!”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death of parent
josephinecatherine's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Here we go!
There is just something about this book. It was a genuinely enjoyable read and one which features characters I now adore.
Raylan (excuse the awful name) is almost a dream hero. He departs from the sort of male character Sophie has written in the past, but not so much so that her signature style is not there. Raylan is well read, a good cook, family-oriented and protective. He is a good guy but not a boring one. That sometimes can seem impossible in these sorts of books.
What I adored most, however, was Riona's character arc and her reaction with Raylan's family. Bo is a queen I will say it now and forever. It was wonderful to see a headstrong, independent caricature so often described in romance developed into an actual character with, say it with me, DEPTH.
There is a line by Riona's father, Fergus, which describes the sentiment of loving your children equally, but finding it difficult when they accept love to different degrees. Hearing that just described Riona so perfectly.
Fine tuning could be done for this and a longer editing process, but I feel satisfied with this book and understand the love for Broken Vow.
There is just something about this book. It was a genuinely enjoyable read and one which features characters I now adore.
Raylan (excuse the awful name) is almost a dream hero. He departs from the sort of male character Sophie has written in the past, but not so much so that her signature style is not there. Raylan is well read, a good cook, family-oriented and protective. He is a good guy but not a boring one. That sometimes can seem impossible in these sorts of books.
What I adored most, however, was Riona's character arc and her reaction with Raylan's family. Bo is a queen I will say it now and forever. It was wonderful to see a headstrong, independent caricature so often described in romance developed into an actual character with, say it with me, DEPTH.
There is a line by Riona's father, Fergus, which describes the sentiment of loving your children equally, but finding it difficult when they accept love to different degrees. Hearing that just described Riona so perfectly.
Fine tuning could be done for this and a longer editing process, but I feel satisfied with this book and understand the love for Broken Vow.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse
romanceschmomance's review
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Another book down! This was different than the others in the series. Not really immersed in the mafia world in this one, but the suspense is absolutely there since someone is coming after Riona.
I've been waiting for Raylan's return and what a man he is.
I guess you can say that this is much a opposites attract. Riona has steel walls up for days and will never let a man tell her what to do. But Raylan loves doing everything that he can to tear those walls down.
Even though everything was set up perfectly, there was something missing. However, the whole time, I was like this would make an epic romance movie. But for some reason didn't completely work for in book form.
Don't get me wrong, still very much enjoyed it, just needed something a bit more.
Onto the last book of this series!
I've been waiting for Raylan's return and what a man he is.
I guess you can say that this is much a opposites attract. Riona has steel walls up for days and will never let a man tell her what to do. But Raylan loves doing everything that he can to tear those walls down.
Even though everything was set up perfectly, there was something missing. However, the whole time, I was like this would make an epic romance movie. But for some reason didn't completely work for in book form.
Don't get me wrong, still very much enjoyed it, just needed something a bit more.
Onto the last book of this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Domestic abuse
Domestic abuse happens with a side character.andeng's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent
psydneigh's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked this one. Usually I feel like romance series end up falling into the same patterns a couple books in, but all of these books have felt different from each other. I really appreciate how the ending was handled… how Riona still kept her career and still doesn’t want kids. I was afraid she was going to end up pregnant or give up her life completely to be with him.
Im interested to see where this next one goes since its been built up to since book 1.
Im interested to see where this next one goes since its been built up to since book 1.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
sam019's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I loved the characters and the story but I barley felt any tension and they got together so quick, I would have enjoyed a slow burn a lot better but that's just my opinion! Plot was also pretty predictable which I hate. But the book was okay and the story was good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Murder
kim03's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse
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