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cherry_reads's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
romecca's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
rachelabel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
3.75
meggie82461's review against another edition
4.0
(ARC provided in exchange for an honest review, publication expected July 12th)
4 Stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was actually my first Claire Contreras, but when it was delivered to my kindle and I saw the HOT cover- and the fact it was a mafia romance- I immediately jumped in. I wasn't disappointed, either- I stayed up far too late just to finish this, and even though it's my kid’s birthday and a national holiday, I have zero regrets!
"Some men pretend they want control. They play with handcuffs and floggers and remind you continuously that you're theirs. Men like Loren don't need to play games to remind you that you're at their mercy."
The story is told primarily from the POV of Catalina AKA "Cat". She is a 28-year-old ballerina. She found out years ago that her family was heavily involved in the mafia by turning on a late-night special on organized crime. Her mom ran away from the family, tragedy happened, and ultimately, her brother Gio is in deep, whereas Kat and her sister Emma distanced themselves from the family both physically and emotionally. However, as we all know, the mafia is in your blood, and it's damn near impossible to hide from people that make a life of living above the law. Enter Lorenzo- the less I say about him, the better. There are a few chapters sprinkled in from Loren's POV. From the outset, his suspect motives and dark edge make the reader leery of him, but his sex appeal? That shit is clear as day. Damm, I think he forced me to ovulate a week early. While Loren doesn't operate on the right side of the law, and his genuine interest in Cat is often called into question, there's no denying the explosive chemistry that exists between the two of them from the very beginning.
"...and yet, that's how this man makes me feel- a little awkward in his presence and yet somehow worse in his absence."
From their (orchestrated) first encounter, the sparks fly between Cat and Lorenzo, and nowhere are they more plentiful than in the bedroom. Jesus, these two scorched up the pages when they were alone. It's insta-lust, not insta-love. I didn't blame Cat in the slightest for falling for his games, but I did feel awful that she unknowingly fell for the type of man she had spent her whole life running from. I knew Lorenzo was keeping things from her- that's obvious from the very beginning- but even I was surprised by the truth when it was uncovered. I don't think I would've given in and forgiven him as quickly as Cat did, but the truth is that she was never equipped for these types of games. There's a reason she ran from that life. Also, he's fucking hot, so there's that. Cat was somewhat of a doormat, but it wasn't like she only gave in to Lorenzo. She took care of herself and everyone else, often shying away from confrontation in the process, so the fact that she didn't stand up to Loren like she probably should've wasn't as frustrating as I would've expected. After all, her life was jam-packed full of lies and betrayal, especially involving the people that claimed to love her.
When it comes to men like Loren, mysterious and dangerous, I'd have to accept that love and fear come in one shiny, fucked up package.
I try not to judge ARC's based on grammar or technical errors, since they aren't the final product. Regardless, there weren't many, and the ones present didn't affect the story. However, there were plot holes, as well as a few details that were a bit too far-fetched for me. For example, when we find out Lorenzo's tie to Cat, I found it very hard to believe that Cat would've never seen him before in her life. Also, the overall organized crime structure was blurry; I had no idea where the majority of the characters stood in the hierarchy, nor did I ever really get a good handle on what exactly Lorenzo did for a living (we'll just say he wore a few different hats and leave it at that). That being said, the people and their complicated relationships with one another more than made up for these small problems. All of the characters were intriguing; I genuinely cared about the majority of them. They were humans that made mistakes, but that made them all the more relatable. These people were not caricatures; their involvement in organized crime didn't insulate them from the things that come with being human. They struggled with a lot of the same things we do each and every day, just with a lot more violence and betrayal sprinkled in for good measure. The plot was suspenseful enough to make me stay up way later than I should've, mostly so that I could know how the story ended for each and every one of them. Finally- and maybe most importantly- was that the characters largely stayed true to themselves. Criminals don't turn into saints overnight, after all, especially when they have been raised a certain way. Love can change how you look at things, though; everyone knows that. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and hope that your love together is enough to keep the wolves at bay. As for me, I'm hoping that we get to read more stories from this world, because there are a few characters that deserve their own happily ever after!
"You can't catch a butterfly and expect to keep it in a glass jar forever."
The words weigh heavily on my chest. I wasn't trying to keep her in a glass jar. I was just trying to keep her- period. I'll build a fucking atrium if that's what it takes.
4 Stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was actually my first Claire Contreras, but when it was delivered to my kindle and I saw the HOT cover- and the fact it was a mafia romance- I immediately jumped in. I wasn't disappointed, either- I stayed up far too late just to finish this, and even though it's my kid’s birthday and a national holiday, I have zero regrets!
"Some men pretend they want control. They play with handcuffs and floggers and remind you continuously that you're theirs. Men like Loren don't need to play games to remind you that you're at their mercy."
The story is told primarily from the POV of Catalina AKA "Cat". She is a 28-year-old ballerina. She found out years ago that her family was heavily involved in the mafia by turning on a late-night special on organized crime. Her mom ran away from the family, tragedy happened, and ultimately, her brother Gio is in deep, whereas Kat and her sister Emma distanced themselves from the family both physically and emotionally. However, as we all know, the mafia is in your blood, and it's damn near impossible to hide from people that make a life of living above the law. Enter Lorenzo- the less I say about him, the better. There are a few chapters sprinkled in from Loren's POV. From the outset, his suspect motives and dark edge make the reader leery of him, but his sex appeal? That shit is clear as day. Damm, I think he forced me to ovulate a week early. While Loren doesn't operate on the right side of the law, and his genuine interest in Cat is often called into question, there's no denying the explosive chemistry that exists between the two of them from the very beginning.
"...and yet, that's how this man makes me feel- a little awkward in his presence and yet somehow worse in his absence."
From their (orchestrated) first encounter, the sparks fly between Cat and Lorenzo, and nowhere are they more plentiful than in the bedroom. Jesus, these two scorched up the pages when they were alone. It's insta-lust, not insta-love. I didn't blame Cat in the slightest for falling for his games, but I did feel awful that she unknowingly fell for the type of man she had spent her whole life running from. I knew Lorenzo was keeping things from her- that's obvious from the very beginning- but even I was surprised by the truth when it was uncovered. I don't think I would've given in and forgiven him as quickly as Cat did, but the truth is that she was never equipped for these types of games. There's a reason she ran from that life. Also, he's fucking hot, so there's that. Cat was somewhat of a doormat, but it wasn't like she only gave in to Lorenzo. She took care of herself and everyone else, often shying away from confrontation in the process, so the fact that she didn't stand up to Loren like she probably should've wasn't as frustrating as I would've expected. After all, her life was jam-packed full of lies and betrayal, especially involving the people that claimed to love her.
When it comes to men like Loren, mysterious and dangerous, I'd have to accept that love and fear come in one shiny, fucked up package.
I try not to judge ARC's based on grammar or technical errors, since they aren't the final product. Regardless, there weren't many, and the ones present didn't affect the story. However, there were plot holes, as well as a few details that were a bit too far-fetched for me. For example, when we find out Lorenzo's tie to Cat, I found it very hard to believe that Cat would've never seen him before in her life. Also, the overall organized crime structure was blurry; I had no idea where the majority of the characters stood in the hierarchy, nor did I ever really get a good handle on what exactly Lorenzo did for a living (we'll just say he wore a few different hats and leave it at that). That being said, the people and their complicated relationships with one another more than made up for these small problems. All of the characters were intriguing; I genuinely cared about the majority of them. They were humans that made mistakes, but that made them all the more relatable. These people were not caricatures; their involvement in organized crime didn't insulate them from the things that come with being human. They struggled with a lot of the same things we do each and every day, just with a lot more violence and betrayal sprinkled in for good measure. The plot was suspenseful enough to make me stay up way later than I should've, mostly so that I could know how the story ended for each and every one of them. Finally- and maybe most importantly- was that the characters largely stayed true to themselves. Criminals don't turn into saints overnight, after all, especially when they have been raised a certain way. Love can change how you look at things, though; everyone knows that. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and hope that your love together is enough to keep the wolves at bay. As for me, I'm hoping that we get to read more stories from this world, because there are a few characters that deserve their own happily ever after!
"You can't catch a butterfly and expect to keep it in a glass jar forever."
The words weigh heavily on my chest. I wasn't trying to keep her in a glass jar. I was just trying to keep her- period. I'll build a fucking atrium if that's what it takes.
mels_reading_log's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
She’s a ballerina and uses her mother’s last name so no one can connect her to the life and past she ran away from. Her father’s last name is very well known, he is a powerful mob boss. She wants nothing to do with that life, but her past comes to haunt her, now she has to try to keep everything separate and everyone safe. My only real issue with the book is that I listened to it and the audiobook narrators did not give the same accents to the same people. So one of them spoke in stereotypical Italian mobster accents when voicing some of the characters and it was horrible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Stalking, Murder, Blood, Grief, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Car accident, and Abortion
Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Vomit
dariusroxy's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5) the served so hard in the beginning but that didn’t last
torixreads's review against another edition
3.0
It had all the ingredients for a great story but kind of fell flat. Disappointing
addydeejreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
theeuphoriczat's review against another edition
4.0
So it about a girl who is a daughter of a mob family and falls in love with a guy Lorenzo fucking hot Loren 🔥🔥😋
This is just very sexy and hit and a must read.
This is just very sexy and hit and a must read.