jewelc 's review for:

This Life I by Cara Dee

4.5

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4.5 Stars

There aren't many authors from whom I'll read M/F romance these days, having come to prefer M/M. However, Cara Dee has proven to me over and over again that if she writes it, chances are I'll love it. That certainly held true with This Life I.

I love me a good "bad boy" romance and if the females are strong and opinionated and give as good as they get, then count me in! This Life I is chock full of strong women and I appreciated every one of them. 

"We're a bunch of liars, but we love fiercely, and we're loyal to a fault"

Finnegan O'Shea is a "bad boy" in almost every sense of the word. He's part of an Irish- American mafia syndicate, called Sons of Munster, and he has lied, stolen, killed, and done time in prison. He does what he feels he needs to, to protect those he loves. Is he a good guy? Hmmm....no, no I wouldn't say so, but he's not all bad, either. I think he does have a good heart in there somewhere, and though he is very pragmatic, he's a bit of a romantic, too. And, he does have a moral compass, it's just a bit skewed from the "normal" world. In order to advance in the SoM syndicate, Finnegan needs to be a family man, so it looks like it's time for our mobster to find himself a wife.

Emilia Porter is not quite 18 when she first encounters Finnegan O'Shea. She's young, but she's not fragile and she's not stupid. She lacks life experience, but hasn't had an easy life and had to grow up way too early. This is something I could heavily relate to. At first, Emilia is intimidated and disgusted by Finnegan, because she knows who he is and what he stands for. When he offers her a way out of her shitty, dead-end life, and offers to make sure she is set for life, if only she marries him, Emilia hesitates. Does she want out? Yes, but can she stomach the price? That question takes her longer to answer.

I was a bit surprised I warmed to Emilia as fast as I did. I mean, she's young and I was concerned, at first, that she'd act more her age than she did. There were moments when her age showed, as well it should, but by and large, she was a strong young woman with opinions she wasn't afraid to express and she gave Finnegan a run for his money, so to speak. She stood up to him from the beginning and while things were black and white for her, at first, she finds herself in a world of shades of gray (not the bad kink kind). I found that not only did I like Emilia, I respected her and she insisted that Finnegan do so, as well. Go her!

"Tá mo chroí istigh ionat."

As Emilia and Finnegan got to know each other, they found so much more than they expected. They didn't expect their chemistry to be off the charts hot, and they definitely did not expect to fall in love. I look forward to seeing what their future is like and how they as individuals, as well and as a couple, learn to adjust and grow.

Now that I've finished This Life I for the second time, I find I'm looking forward to book 2, even more than before and I suspect book 2 will be a bit darker, as well. Life is about to get really interesting for our young couple and those they hold dear.