639 reviews for:

Deviant Hearts

Jagger Cole

3.71 AVERAGE


This was a fun little read. I really like Mafia romance and while this one was decent, it wasn't my favorite. There wasn't enough Mafia to it. I don't even know how to describe it. It basically felt like a normal couple learning to love each other.

Neve was fine. I couldn't quite understand how she grew up in this mafia life but isn't educated on how to protect herself. You know there is a good chance you'll always be in some kind of danger but you don't bother to actually learn how to keep yourself safe? Like come on.

Area was fine. I couldn't ever understand why he was so rude to Neve in the beginning. It's like the author wanted him to come across as this grumpy mean guy but we got chapters from his perspective so we knew all along that he was sweet and kind.

The spice was pretty fucking great. Ares can talk to me any day. Damn.

This was a decent little story but I was hoping for more.
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

o b s e s s e d
crossing all my fingers because i'm fairly confident that jagger cole is going to be an auto-read author for me because this was so insanely good and i'm so happy it's a series!
dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
janeelleee's profile picture

janeelleee's review

5.0

4.5 stars!!
dark funny lighthearted 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
dark medium-paced
adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Mafia romance x Marriage of convenience

If you've ever wondered (like me) what it would be like to read a Mafia romance written by a male author then please go no farther. This book (or if you prefer to continue with the rest of the series) is the answer.

What I liked most is that there is plenty of action happening in the story which is rare to find in other books based on this similar trope. And the sequence of events are well orchestrated by the author. Unfortunately, all of the suspense besides the mafia stuff leads to nothing; the climax was totally unsatisfactory for me.

In the beginning the lead characters seem to be giving an impression of dislike for each other then on the wedding night they didn't waste a second to jump into the bed. Dislike be damned! Also the portrayal of the heroine, Neve, was grating on my nerves, yes she's a ball buster but she was described to be pouting, bad mouthing the hero, doing impulsive shit like a freaking teenager instead of being a person in her twenties. Ares, the hero seems to be a rather mature, sensible guy. But the mention of Greek mythology was too repetitive for my taste and it was unclear to me till the end why, besides his namesake of God of War what he's actually done to be crowned with that title?? The emotional bonding between these two leads was non-existent, one moment they're having sex while hating each other and then suddenly they're professing love for each other. Basically there wasn't any gradual development in their relationship, it went from 0 - 100. Even they seem confused about this sudden change!

Oh yes, there were plenty of spicy scenes but all those were written from the female POV. I really would've liked to read some scenes from Ares' POV. Regardless of that, you could actually tell it was written by a male author (no shade to the author though), because if it's written by a female author then those scenes would've turned out differently. Besides that the supporting characters definitely brought a lot of warmth and colour to the story- the camaraderie between Neve and her family as well with her sister-in-law and her bodyguard was really good. Even Ares also had a good relationship with his family but a little bit more interactive scenes would've been nice. 

All of the mafia goodness and the thrilling elements had me going till the end but I would've preferred the writing style to be a bit more refined. 



Expand filter menu Content Warnings

This was my first Jagger Cole book and I can honestly say I had a good time with it. This kind of story written by a guy definitely felt a little more simplistic, yet raw at the same time, but not necessarily in a bad way. The plot gave what it needed to give and the spice was yummy too. I enjoyed the whole “I hate you but I also want to rip your clothes off” vibe that this gave. I found the FMC’s resistance to the MMC to be just the right amount before she gave in to her true desire, so I’m gonna call this a win for me. 

I’d recommend if you’re looking for a quick and dirty little mafia romance, marriage of convenience, that turns into all out love for the both of them. Perfect smut fix right after a lot of high fantasy. Enjoy! 🤙🏼💕