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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
this was alright, a run of the mill mafia romance but entertaining. I will say the first half was kind of hard to get through cause I really felt like Cristian genuinely did not gaf about Natalia. And I’m all for a broody jerk of a hero but like… this man genuinely did not care if she lived or died for like 50% of the book
Natalia is seeking safety from her ex, Vinny, when she runs to her best friends father, Cristian, for help. Only his help comes with a price. Natalia knows she made a mistake when it comes to Vinny, but she isn’t going to give into Cristian and his demands easily.
The chemistry between Natalia and Cristian is off the charts. I love that Natalia isn’t afraid to stand up to Cristian and isn’t afraid to make her own demands when it comes to end. Cristian is definitely one that isn’t for relationships and he is all about running his Family, however, I loved seeing how he softens slightly when it comes to Natalia throughout the story, but still has the alpha personality.
There is just so much to love about this book. I couldn’t get enough of it and struggled to put it down. I’m definitely intrigued by Benny, so I can’t wait for his story!
If you’re looking for a dark, mafia, age gap, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, forbidden romance this is one to check out.
The chemistry between Natalia and Cristian is off the charts. I love that Natalia isn’t afraid to stand up to Cristian and isn’t afraid to make her own demands when it comes to end. Cristian is definitely one that isn’t for relationships and he is all about running his Family, however, I loved seeing how he softens slightly when it comes to Natalia throughout the story, but still has the alpha personality.
There is just so much to love about this book. I couldn’t get enough of it and struggled to put it down. I’m definitely intrigued by Benny, so I can’t wait for his story!
If you’re looking for a dark, mafia, age gap, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, forbidden romance this is one to check out.
My oh my! The first 2 lines of this book got me hooked immediately. First thought: WOW
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an interesting read and I was never quite sure what Natalia was going to do next. Cristian stays consistently dark from start to almost finish, and his darkness is exactly what she wants. I like that Natalia is an FMC who owns that red flags and what some might consider questionable behavior turn her on. It makes her attraction to Cristian and the way they cross the line much more believable, and much more fun. This isn't some inexperienced virgin, this is a woman who knows from moment one she's in trouble on a lot of levels, but craves the trouble anyway.
These two are hot together, even if Natalia frustrated me a lot. The start was a little rough for me but as the plot picks up, I had to stay up late reading to finish because I needed to know how this played out. There's real danger and high stakes, and a betrayal that made me gasp out loud. This was the fun kind of over the top mafia drama and it kept me reading.
I loved the family dynamic - Natalia is best friend's with Cristian's daughter Gigi, and I can't wait for her book. The interactions with his son and heir, Benny, were also fantastic and provided some needed comic relief at times. The teaser for Benny's story was wild and I cannot wait for that rollercoaster.
These two are hot together, even if Natalia frustrated me a lot. The start was a little rough for me but as the plot picks up, I had to stay up late reading to finish because I needed to know how this played out. There's real danger and high stakes, and a betrayal that made me gasp out loud. This was the fun kind of over the top mafia drama and it kept me reading.
I loved the family dynamic - Natalia is best friend's with Cristian's daughter Gigi, and I can't wait for her book. The interactions with his son and heir, Benny, were also fantastic and provided some needed comic relief at times. The teaser for Benny's story was wild and I cannot wait for that rollercoaster.
Natalia is in a bit of a bind. Her ex-boyfriend and his mafia family don’t like her floating around with family secrets post breakup… so they have some sort of hit on her. The only thing she knows to do is turn to her best friend Gigi’s father, Cristian Marchetti, and he’s even scarier than her ex. She calls him a monster, a gorgeous monster.
Cristian has ulterior motives when he takes Natalia in at first, but he quickly learns she is something he can’t resist and doesn’t want to. He’s a mafia boss and protects what is his, and he’s making Natalia his.
I was obsessed with this book from start to finish. The words that came out of Cristians mouth elicit steam alone. He is alpha to the core and demands what he wants. He doesn’t take talk back and will dish out punishment (in a delicious way for it).
Fantastic. So different than anything else I’ve read from Charity Ferrell but 100% I want more! I can’t wait for Bennys book, Gorgeous Prince.
Cristian has ulterior motives when he takes Natalia in at first, but he quickly learns she is something he can’t resist and doesn’t want to. He’s a mafia boss and protects what is his, and he’s making Natalia his.
I was obsessed with this book from start to finish. The words that came out of Cristians mouth elicit steam alone. He is alpha to the core and demands what he wants. He doesn’t take talk back and will dish out punishment (in a delicious way for it).
Fantastic. So different than anything else I’ve read from Charity Ferrell but 100% I want more! I can’t wait for Bennys book, Gorgeous Prince.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
“My problem is that red flags are my favorite attribute in a man. I can’t blame it on daddy issues because my father is kind. I’m just attracted to power-hungry, crazy-ass men.”
The blurb really intrigued me. The prologue was immediately engaging and hooked you right in. This is the first book in a new mafia series following Cristian, the head of the family, and his children Benny and Gigi.
This is definitely a more basic mafia story. The nitty gritty you find in other stories isn’t here. There is some blood and gore but it’s clear this isn’t the author’s comfort genre. We are told so frequently that Cristian is a “monster” but he just sort of seems like your basic mafia don to me, nothing worse than that. Morally grey, kills his enemies, “don’t touch what’s mine vibe” etc. Nothing new there.
I liked the concept and most of the execution here, but I had a really hard time with the author’s writing style. The stream of conscious/every thought is a new line style threw me off and was difficult to read. The first 30% of the book is what drags the rating down for me. The last 70%, and in fact the last 30% to be exact, is the most engaging and best part of the book. If the first part had been stronger, this could’ve been rounded up to a 4.
The spice was on point and I enjoyed the chemistry between Natalia and Cristian. There were some really great moments in this book that I enjoyed - drunk Natalia going on a taco run, Oreos in bed, walking in on Benny… those moments helped bump this up half a star.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. I didn’t love it, but I liked it enough that I will read Benny’s book when it’s released. The end of this one definitely has me intrigued on how Benny is going to get to his HEA.
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
SPICE: 2.5
READ IF YOU LIKE:
Age gap
Best friend’s dad
Mafia romance
Alphahole who falls hard
Marriage of convenience
*I was gifted an advanced copy of this book via Wordsmith Publicity and the author. All opinions are my own.*
The blurb really intrigued me. The prologue was immediately engaging and hooked you right in. This is the first book in a new mafia series following Cristian, the head of the family, and his children Benny and Gigi.
This is definitely a more basic mafia story. The nitty gritty you find in other stories isn’t here. There is some blood and gore but it’s clear this isn’t the author’s comfort genre. We are told so frequently that Cristian is a “monster” but he just sort of seems like your basic mafia don to me, nothing worse than that. Morally grey, kills his enemies, “don’t touch what’s mine vibe” etc. Nothing new there.
I liked the concept and most of the execution here, but I had a really hard time with the author’s writing style. The stream of conscious/every thought is a new line style threw me off and was difficult to read. The first 30% of the book is what drags the rating down for me. The last 70%, and in fact the last 30% to be exact, is the most engaging and best part of the book. If the first part had been stronger, this could’ve been rounded up to a 4.
The spice was on point and I enjoyed the chemistry between Natalia and Cristian. There were some really great moments in this book that I enjoyed - drunk Natalia going on a taco run, Oreos in bed, walking in on Benny… those moments helped bump this up half a star.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. I didn’t love it, but I liked it enough that I will read Benny’s book when it’s released. The end of this one definitely has me intrigued on how Benny is going to get to his HEA.
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
SPICE: 2.5
READ IF YOU LIKE:
Age gap
Best friend’s dad
Mafia romance
Alphahole who falls hard
Marriage of convenience
*I was gifted an advanced copy of this book via Wordsmith Publicity and the author. All opinions are my own.*
POV: First person / Dual
Genre: Mafia / Age Gap / Best Friends Dad / Marriage of Convenience / Heroine in Danger / Enemies-to-Lovers
When Natalia breaks up with her mafia boyfriend, the last thing she expected was for him to LITERALLY want to kill her. So she seeks help from her best friend's father, who just happens to be the head of one of the biggest mafia families, Cristian Marchetti.
To begin with, Cristian is completely indifferent to Natalia, he doesn’t hesitate to hand her over to the enemies, to threaten to send her to her death, or marry her off to someone else. To him, she’s a means to an end, but little by little things change.
I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of Natalia and Cristians relationship, their chemistry and banter was top notch.
As for the characters, Cristian was an ultimate anti-hero with a dominant and possessive side. Whilst he does redeem himself, he doesn't apologise or change from the ruthless, dark filled man that he is. Then we have Natalia, who despite being in danger, had a fierceness that drew you in, she had a smart mouth and didn’t back down from Cristian. She was impulsive but had a kind heart and a naivety that gave her a wonderful softness. Together they were exactly that the other needed, and perfectly balanced each other out.
Gorgeous Monster was an extremely well written enemies-to-lovers romance, it had a fantastic array of emotion, wit, banter, chemistry, stream and in the end, love, the Mafia element was packed with action that led to an thrilling and compelling page turner.
Genre: Mafia / Age Gap / Best Friends Dad / Marriage of Convenience / Heroine in Danger / Enemies-to-Lovers
When Natalia breaks up with her mafia boyfriend, the last thing she expected was for him to LITERALLY want to kill her. So she seeks help from her best friend's father, who just happens to be the head of one of the biggest mafia families, Cristian Marchetti.
To begin with, Cristian is completely indifferent to Natalia, he doesn’t hesitate to hand her over to the enemies, to threaten to send her to her death, or marry her off to someone else. To him, she’s a means to an end, but little by little things change.
I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of Natalia and Cristians relationship, their chemistry and banter was top notch.
As for the characters, Cristian was an ultimate anti-hero with a dominant and possessive side. Whilst he does redeem himself, he doesn't apologise or change from the ruthless, dark filled man that he is. Then we have Natalia, who despite being in danger, had a fierceness that drew you in, she had a smart mouth and didn’t back down from Cristian. She was impulsive but had a kind heart and a naivety that gave her a wonderful softness. Together they were exactly that the other needed, and perfectly balanced each other out.
Gorgeous Monster was an extremely well written enemies-to-lovers romance, it had a fantastic array of emotion, wit, banter, chemistry, stream and in the end, love, the Mafia element was packed with action that led to an thrilling and compelling page turner.