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mmstfuattdlagg 's review for:
When She Loves
by Gabrielle Sands
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice/Steam: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Relationship: MF
Tropes/Triggers: Mafia, enemies to lovers, age gap (~8years), dubcon, DV and SA mentioned from the past (not MC’s)
Series: When She Loves - Fallen #4
Synopsis
FMC Cleo is the youngest daughter of a mafia don. Her older sister, Gemma, is arranged to be married to the young don of another mafia family, which will save their own family from ruin. Cleo has purposely cultivated a poor reputation for herself as an attempt to prevent the same fate. But, when Gemma tells her that she is pregnant with another man’s baby, Cleo decides to sacrifice herself and take her sister's place in the arrangement.
MMC Rafaele is a young and successful mafia don. His emotions were trained out of him when he was a child in order to be a successful and ruthless don. He is secretly pleased that he will get to marry Cleo instead of her sister, as he has lusted for her.
Rafaele believes he can tame Cleo's wildness and cannot wait to possess her but she has other plans. As in every dark romance, they slowly fall for each other but a secret and decisions made under duress threaten to tear them apart.
Review
The story has slight overlap with When She Falls, in order to provide more backstory. While this can be read as a standalone, I 100% recommend reading the entire series.
Rafe and Cleo are my favorite couple of the main series. He is very much a ruthless, possessive, and cold don but he shows a gentleness for Cleo when it matters, even before he completely falls for her. And after he falls for her, he treats her like the most precious treasure.
Cleo shows a lot of growth by dealing with her trauma and deciding to stop hiding behind her poor reputation. They see the real versions of each other and help overcome their poor examples of love and family.
As with the other books, I would prefer more spicy scenes but I loved the plot so much that it didn't matter to me anymore. I could not put this book down, I had to see how the threat was neutralized and how the fallout was resolved.
The author has a way of introducing minor characters in a way which makes you want to know more about them. My heart was broken by the fallout but my heart can go on because there's a spinoff which will hopefully resolve it.
Spice/Steam: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Relationship: MF
Tropes/Triggers: Mafia, enemies to lovers, age gap (~8years), dubcon, DV and SA mentioned from the past (not MC’s)
Series: When She Loves - Fallen #4
Synopsis
FMC Cleo is the youngest daughter of a mafia don. Her older sister, Gemma, is arranged to be married to the young don of another mafia family, which will save their own family from ruin. Cleo has purposely cultivated a poor reputation for herself as an attempt to prevent the same fate. But, when Gemma tells her that she is pregnant with another man’s baby, Cleo decides to sacrifice herself and take her sister's place in the arrangement.
MMC Rafaele is a young and successful mafia don. His emotions were trained out of him when he was a child in order to be a successful and ruthless don. He is secretly pleased that he will get to marry Cleo instead of her sister, as he has lusted for her.
Rafaele believes he can tame Cleo's wildness and cannot wait to possess her but she has other plans. As in every dark romance, they slowly fall for each other but a secret and decisions made under duress threaten to tear them apart.
Review
The story has slight overlap with When She Falls, in order to provide more backstory. While this can be read as a standalone, I 100% recommend reading the entire series.
Rafe and Cleo are my favorite couple of the main series. He is very much a ruthless, possessive, and cold don but he shows a gentleness for Cleo when it matters, even before he completely falls for her. And after he falls for her, he treats her like the most precious treasure.
Cleo shows a lot of growth by dealing with her trauma and deciding to stop hiding behind her poor reputation. They see the real versions of each other and help overcome their poor examples of love and family.
As with the other books, I would prefer more spicy scenes but I loved the plot so much that it didn't matter to me anymore. I could not put this book down, I had to see how the threat was neutralized and how the fallout was resolved.
The author has a way of introducing minor characters in a way which makes you want to know more about them. My heart was broken by the fallout but my heart can go on because there's a spinoff which will hopefully resolve it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape