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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Loved Maeve & Cam’s story so freaking much. The hate-filled lust that turned to love was *chefs kiss*. My favorite part though was Maeve’s character development. Loved seeing her become an empowered baddie who took charge and took what she wanted!
arranged marriage
So how do I get my own Cam? Maeve may have had to deal with the ripple effects of what Esther did but girl was strong! Can I grow up to be her? This was filled with so many twists and the growth between these two were unreal. I didn’t think it could get better than book one but this one defy topped it.
So how do I get my own Cam? Maeve may have had to deal with the ripple effects of what Esther did but girl was strong! Can I grow up to be her? This was filled with so many twists and the growth between these two were unreal. I didn’t think it could get better than book one but this one defy topped it.
Forced to wed Maeve is determined to burn his world down. Maeve doesn’t realize Cam’s dad has some skeletons and she does a little too much digging and gets herself in some trouble
Some spicy spicy scenes
Some spicy spicy scenes
This was ok. I didn't feel any real chemistry between the mc's. Also might not be a big deal to most but I can't stand when they don't put the ages of the mc's in the book. I didn't read the first book so maybe I might have known based off of the first book but this says it can be read as a standalone. I have no Idea at all how old they were.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read Jan. 2024/Listened Sept. 2025
Audiobook and Book Review
🖤 Arranged marriage
💙 Mafia romance
🖤 Badass FMC
💙 Hate to love
🖤 Enemies to lovers
💙 Forced proximity
🖤 Rival families
💙 Touch her/him and ☠️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I just DEVOURED this audiobook in one sitting. Like it was everything I needed in this moment. I first read the book a year and a half ago and fell in love with Cam and Maeve. Listening to it narrated by new to me Zoe Blake and James Joseph had me falling in love with the story, these characters, all over again! My gosh, what a great book! Effie Campbell is my go to for dark mafia romance and this series has me in a chokehold all over again! Dark Enemies is a true Hate to Love, Enemies to Lovers romance, that is an absolute MUST READ!
This book picks up after Dark Escapes. It follows Maeve, the youngest of the McGowan family and Cam the son of Harold the bast@rd Thompson. Since Harold couldn’t have Esther, Maeve will do, but he settles for her marrying Cam. Neither Cam or Maeve want this sham of a marriage, but the latter does so to save her brother and to have an “in” to destroy Harold. They’re sent to the Thompson’s secluded island for their honeymoon. Stolen glances are had, a temporary truce is made, but when they return home, brutal reality hits. They are enemies from rival families, they can never be happy.
All Maeve had ever wanted is to be seen. To be acknowledged as a contributing member of the family and not just some pawn. Cam has only ever known brutality. He has had to protect his sister from his father’s wrath. Cam and Maeve can be what the other needs, if only Harold wasn’t in the way. Can they overcome Harold’s wrath to find their HEA? Or are the families doomed to be rivals forever?
I freaking loved everything about this book, AGAIN. The second time around may have made me love it even more! This is my first time hearing Zoe Blake. She did an incredible job being the vulnerable, yet takes no shit Maeve. What a force to be reckoned with! I loved her performance so much! James Joseph. Whew 😮💨 he had me on the edge of my seat 🫠 with this narration. I mean he was the perfect Cam! That line between dominance, confidence, and uncertainty. Plus the steam was steamin’. Wowzers, I have no eloquent words to say that he was amazing. I loved Blake and Joseph, and I’m absolutely going to need to hear more from them!
A massive thank you to Effie for letting me listen to this audiobook and review it. I have loved her since I first laid eyes on her words nearly two years ago, and I’ve never looked back. She is my kind of people, my kind of author, and a great human being who happens to have a filthy mind. 🤣 If you haven’t read/listened to any of Effie’s books yet, you’re totally missing out. So go read!
💍‘I was going to wipe the floor with the Thompson men.’
🔪‘I hadn’t expected her to show up in a dress that made me want to rip it off of her.’
💍‘Hell, he was kind of dreamy when he wasn’t awake to ruin it.’
🔪‘You wanted it rough and dirty, didn’t you, Maeve? Not nice and gentle and teasing. No, you want it from your enemy, not a lover.’
💍‘I was doing a shit job of hating her.’
🔪‘That’s it Princess, you’re doing so well, showing me just how badly you need it.’
💍‘Remember what I told you. You are my wife. You have power. Use it if you need to.’ She whimpered as I reached below the hem of her dress and cupped her s*x. ‘But remember that this is mine. You are my wife and I will k!ll anyone who dares touch you the way I do.’ ‘And I’ll k!ll anyone who touches you the way I do,’ she said to me in the reflection. ‘You are mine.’
Dark Enemies by Effie Campbell is a mafia forced marriage story. There’s a lot of tropes in this book, and most of them are my favorites so this was a great book in my opinion. The following tropes are the ones I was most aware of and I might be missing some: forced marriage, one bed, forced proximity, icy male character, heart of gold male character, possessive/obsessive male character, protective male, strong woman with abandonment issues, mafia romance, mafia princess/prince, he falls first, slow burn, praise, dirty talk, and my ultimate favorite enemies to lovers.
This is a standalone story but it does reference the first book in the series a couple times. The book starts off where the sister of Maeve left her responsibility of marrying their mafia rival’s leader. Due to this, Maeve now has to marrying the leader’s son and heir Cam to make for the loss of the marriage. Maeve has been ignored by her brothers and always forced to think the only role of a woman in the mafia is to be the wife, a prize to give away, and to not have an actual opinion on the business. Cam is the icy cold son who has to protect his sister from his abusive murderous mafia father. Maeve wants to take down the Thompsons from within and show her brothers that she is strong and can be a valuable asset. She tries to work with Cam to end his father’s rule and in doing so they fall in love after trying to fight their feelings for each other. The turning point is when Maeve finds out that his dad is dealing in the one thing that’s not even acceptable in the mafia world and Cam helps her end his reign. The book then ends in a happily ever after and enough to make you want to read the next book in the series.
My favorite thing about this book is either the smut because good lord or that Cam realizes her worth for the business when she’s been so undervalued. He makes her his “queen” when he takes over and wants her to know how important she is to him and his success.
The thing I liked least about this book was that for a standalone it referenced the first book quite often. I was able to understand the book without needing to read the first one but I felt like it could have been less spoken about. If you don’t read the first book, you know that her sister left but not the real reason. You know that her dad is in a coma, but you don’t how it happened. It just is little things that are brought up throughout the story that would have been helpful to have read the first one instead of this being a complete standalone.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It has all of the tropes I like, it was a good plot, and loved the HEA ending. It would have gotten 5 stars if not for the standalone issues stated before. Highly recommend this book and very curious to read the first one and then read the next by this author.
This is a standalone story but it does reference the first book in the series a couple times. The book starts off where the sister of Maeve left her responsibility of marrying their mafia rival’s leader. Due to this, Maeve now has to marrying the leader’s son and heir Cam to make for the loss of the marriage. Maeve has been ignored by her brothers and always forced to think the only role of a woman in the mafia is to be the wife, a prize to give away, and to not have an actual opinion on the business. Cam is the icy cold son who has to protect his sister from his abusive murderous mafia father. Maeve wants to take down the Thompsons from within and show her brothers that she is strong and can be a valuable asset. She tries to work with Cam to end his father’s rule and in doing so they fall in love after trying to fight their feelings for each other. The turning point is when Maeve finds out that his dad is dealing in the one thing that’s not even acceptable in the mafia world and Cam helps her end his reign. The book then ends in a happily ever after and enough to make you want to read the next book in the series.
My favorite thing about this book is either the smut because good lord or that Cam realizes her worth for the business when she’s been so undervalued. He makes her his “queen” when he takes over and wants her to know how important she is to him and his success.
The thing I liked least about this book was that for a standalone it referenced the first book quite often. I was able to understand the book without needing to read the first one but I felt like it could have been less spoken about. If you don’t read the first book, you know that her sister left but not the real reason. You know that her dad is in a coma, but you don’t how it happened. It just is little things that are brought up throughout the story that would have been helpful to have read the first one instead of this being a complete standalone.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It has all of the tropes I like, it was a good plot, and loved the HEA ending. It would have gotten 5 stars if not for the standalone issues stated before. Highly recommend this book and very curious to read the first one and then read the next by this author.
I loved this book! Maeve and Cam’s story was so rocky but so rewarding in the end. If you read the first book you know Ester’s story and how intense it was, but Maeve’s took it farther. The intensity of this book had me addicted to reading it, I couldn’t put it down because the more I read the more I had to know what would happen next. I cannot wait for the next book!
dark
emotional
fast-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No