A review by abetterpaige
Mafia Captive by Julia Sykes

dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

⭐️⭐️ 
- 
For a book with two men on the cover and “mafia” in the title, there was very little mafia and even less MFM in this book - I get that it’s a trilogy but I stronglyyyyy think it could’ve just been one book. 
- 
Ashlyn is a college sophomore at Harvard and has a crush on the hot bartender (Joseph) at the dive bar she and her bestie frequent - the tension is palpable but she’s too shy to make a move. One night, a frat bro corners her and won’t let go of her arm when her bartender crush saves the day. They quickly fall into a fast and deep romance… until one day he’s mysteriously whisked away by a domineering man in all black. A month later, Ashlyn wakes up in a strange room in a strange house after being drugged and kidnapped, only to find out that the same domineering man that made Joseph leave her is the one that kidnapped her… and brought her back to Joseph. 
- 
Other than brief mentions of Joseph and Marco (the stranger) being in “the mafia” and being “mobsters,” we don’t really see any of the inner workings… which is fine, I guess, but also leaves me wondering why I care about it at all. There’s also no MFM in this book so don’t let the cover fool you lol. 
- 
My biggest BIGGEST issue with the entire book was how the FMC was described. She’s constantly referred to as innocent, small, pure, angelic… her size is CONSTANTLY referenced and her blatant disgust at some pretty commonly known things (especially for a 20 year old in college…) is weird to me. 
- 
I won’t be reading the other two books in the series because there are just so many books to read but if you’re looking for a relatively light mafia romance, I think this is a good choice! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings