love how the disclaimer for this book really says:
"Sebastian Garcia is not the 'sweet kind of guy'. If you are not into strong-willed
1.5 stars ✩⋆
love how the disclaimer for this book really says:
"Sebastian Garcia is not the 'sweet kind of guy'. If you are not into strong-willed men, you will be by the end of this book."
and you're probably wondering, is this Sebastian Garcia dude really not the 'sweet kind of guy'? weeelll lemme show you what Sebastian (H) says the third time he meets the heroine // WARNING for all the poor, unfortunate innocent souls out there this quote ⤵ is NSFW //
"Get on your knees and suck my dick, you dirty whore."
sooo, you be the judge of whether or not this Sebastian Garcia dude is the "sweet kind of guy" while i go bleach my eyes please and thx.
honestly, i'm glad the disclaimer was there in the beginning because holy shit. the annoyance? the anger? the infuriation? the annoyance (had to repeat this twice)? it was UN-fucking-PARALLELED. i just wanted to slap both Sebastian Garcia (H) and April Bennett (h) with my slippers the whole entire time and i'm not even exaggerating.
『 P L O T (??) 』
and as for the plot? well, as the wise words of the almighty withcindy said, BITCH, WHAT FUCKING PLOT?! WHERE IS IT?? WHERE'S THE FUCKING PLOT?!? YOU LOOK ME IN THE EYES RIGHT NOW AND YOU TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF PLOT THERE WAS! just know that 1 horny idiot + another horny idiot = this whole book. okay? okay.
but ughhh fine if you wanna know,
↳ all that ever happened was April has a crush on Sebastian when he goes to the cafe she works at and visits only a couple of times, she accepts a job from a "gentleman's club" (y'all know what this means) then the manager for that place was like nuh uh honey you're gonna be one of our Escape Girls (don't pretend you don't know what this means), her first and only client is - surprise, surprise - horny idiot #1: Sebastian Garcia. they have sex for 7 days, miscommunication happens and then BOOM- a six-year time jump occurs.
and what do they do when they meet again? THEY FIGHT AND HAVE SEX. that's it. i'm not even joking this is all they ever do for the entire book it was exhausting oh my god.
『 C H A R A C T E R S 』
but moving on, let's talk about April Bennett (h) shall we? first of all, can we just take a moment and acknowledge the fact that she really said this about Sebastian: "He looks like he may be European or something." and i genuinely got confused because wait a damn minute-
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you're in London... London is in Europe... Europe = European... ... of-fuckin'-course he's gonna look "European" you dumbass ?!?
but this isn't the only quote where i questioned my sanity because y'all look at these:
↳ “This is true. Speak tomoz. xoxo."
seriously. who the f says toMoZ? tell me one person who says this right now. i'm waiting.
↳ "I have an alias now. How gangster."
sounds about ʸᵗ
↳ "He looks like he may be European or something."
yes, i'm repeating this because if i suffer, y'all need to as well ...more
you know, i read this whole damn series for Rose and Connor but i ended up still reading it for Daisy and Ryke. i didn't even know they exist3.5 stars
you know, i read this whole damn series for Rose and Connor but i ended up still reading it for Daisy and Ryke. i didn't even know they existed before i started this series but now this book was my most anticipated read for the series because i mean-
the age gap? mutual pining? forbidden romance?? the angst? sunshine/grumpy asshole trope?? two characters FINALLY being together after impatiently watching them be a couple even though they're not a couple for 4 books??
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and does anyone else see the resemblance between AelinRowan and DaisyRyke dynamic?? because i do.
↳Exhibit A: Daisy/Aelin both flirt with Rowan/Ryke just to annoy the shit out of them even though they shouldn't flirt with them because it's ~forbidden~
↳Exhibit B: Daisy/Aelin are both crazy (respectfully) and Ryke/Rowan both have sticks up their asses and just lets their women do whatever the f they want while smiling proudly at them.
see?? do y'all see the resemblance? no, just me? ok moving on.
i have been waiting- WAITING for this book since i read Ricochet because, well, i have a weakness for the whole sunshine, happy-go-lucky heroine and broody asshole Hero trope. plus i'm a little biased because Ryke and Daisy became my favorites but did i like this tho? ehhh.. mostly, about 75% of it??
✧ plot
↳so this is Ryke (H) and Daisy's (h) story (a year or so after Kiss the Sky). these two have been circling each other for YEARS but they can't do anything because of the 7-year age gap and Daisy was only 15 when they first met. 3 years later, Ryke is still a bit hesitant because of Lo (his brother) being overprotective when it comes to Daisy, and of course her problematic mother. but then they realized that they just wanna be together and they were like ehh fuck it. consequences be damned.
again, this story is more character driven so there's no "plot" BUT this does have the whole road trip storyline for the most part.
*∘✧WHAT I LIKED✧∘* ➵ Connor & Ryke bromance y'all know i love the whole enemies to lovers trope right? well these two do it PERFECTLY. they hated each other back then (don't really know why) and now Connor is all like,
"... Your brother's existence caused your parent's divorce, and yet, you gave up most of your time and energy to help him through his sobriety. How can you possibly think you're a pain in their life? What you've done for them, it's nothing short of heroic, and if you can't see that, then you're blind my friend."
oooooohhhh my god. he said "my friend" awww. these two are so cute. i love the development of their friendship because you can just see their respect for each other grow throughout the whole book. and honestly... i liked reading their bromance more than the main romance of this book (because of my pre-existing salty mood of course but we'll talk about that later).
➵ road trip timeeee anything that has a storyline where road trip is a big thing, well, i fucking love that. i don't know, i guess it just reminds me of The Lightning Thief and that book was my childhood so im pretty sure i associate road trips to that book hence why i love this trope... but ANYWAYS. my favorite part in this road trip is the bromance and can we talk about the bonding time this group had when the girls swam in a lake full of leeches? *sigh* good times.
the banter and slowburn in this was frustratingly ~ immaculate ~
also, the tropes here are chef's kiss material because, well, i'll list them4.5 stars
the banter and slowburn in this was frustratingly ~ immaculate ~
also, the tropes here are chef's kiss material because, well, i'll list them out:
→ slowburn (mariana zapata type of slowburn if you know what i mean) → great banter // heroine is the funny, playful and carefree type of character while Hero is the grumpy, stay tf outta my way or i'll beat your ass type of character → age-gap (10 years i think??) → NO OW/orgy scene. halle-fucking-lujah !!! → soulmate trope // there is a little bit of insta love here from the heroine but i didn't mind it because it made the banter so funny → "unrequited" love → forced proximity trope (Gavin is Ginny's "bodyguard" and all that) → found family trope // Hero bonds with heroine's brothers (aww) → and a little bit of a road trip and "bed-sharing" trope
you do have to read the first book before reading this because this starts right after the end of the first one. also, you won't understand Ginny and Gavin's soulmate connection in the previous book. but a little backstory,
⤷ Ginny (h) and Gavin (H) are soulmates but they haven't met until Ginny's secret blood sister's wedding, singing her song about losing her soulmate and lo and behold she finally sees him. after 10 years of being raped and tortured, and when he was rescued 2 years before, Gavin no longer exists, thus, Reaper is introduced. in this book, Gavin/Reaper protects Ginny from her stalker while also finding out who her stalker is.
Ginny always believed in "soulmates" and once she saw Gavin, she had no qualms in letting him know that they are meant to be together but because of what happened to him in the past, he was all like ha ha ha. no... ˡᵒˡ ʲᵏ ⁱ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵒᵒ ᵇᵇ ᵍⁱʳˡ..
— tw (spoilers): Gavin/Reaper is Viper's (viper's run // 2nd book) younger brother and from his book, we all know that everyone thought he "died" until he was rescued in train's clash // 9th book. He was raped, drugged and tortured the whole 9 years or so, and there's also suicidal thoughts and attempt.
// characters // i really liked both Ginny and Gavin. them and this trilogy is probably my favorite out of ALL the last riders books because i have a weakness for the soulmate trope, plus, their connection is more on the emotional side than physical side. also, even though Ginny has characteristics found in a last rider heroine (she's an innocent virgin), she actually has a lot of backbone and gives Gavin shit when he's being mean, though, she is a little forgiving and she spoils him a lot BUT i could understand why because of what he went through and all that.
// "OW/ex" drama (spoilers) // first of all, i never thought i'd see the day when a last riders book does NOT have OW/orgy scene. thank fucking god for that.
OW drama in the first book
⤷ since the first book is about Ginny and Gavin's story before they even meet and Gavin was 25 and Ginny was 15 before he was kidnapped, he was "in love" with Taylor and asked her to marry him. there were 2 intimate scenes between them there and he used her image and their future plans as a way to survive his torture (don't worry about this little tid bit. he'll explain in this book why that's a mistake. trust the process y'all). he even begged her to stay with him once he was rescued but it was not about love, it was more about Gavin trying to hold on to a piece of himself before he was kidnapped.
in this book, there is a bit of this drama but the ex never even shows up and it's more of Ginny (h) thinking that he still loves the ex (but he really doesn't, he even admitted that he won't get back with her). Gavin/Reaper (H) thinks he still loves her but really, he's just using the idea of the ex to protect himself. he was never pining after her (even though Ginny thinks he is) but his comparisons of the ex and Ginny were annoying tho.
his comparisons were like backhanded compliments where Ginny was the innocent looking girl who you bring home to your parents but also friendzone, while Taylor (the ex) had that oomph aka sex appeal that every man wants and you'll feel like you did a touchdown during a super bowl once you had sex with her (yes, this is what Gavin said). but whatever. at least with his comparisons, it always ends in a bad note when it comes to Taylor. also i felt more tolerable about this just because i liked how extreme his emotions are whenever Ginny smiles at him or when she tells him she'll give him space soo oh well.
this book does end in a cliffhanger so if you're impatient like me, it's best to wait for the third book but im a dumbass so i didn't wait and now i feel empty ughhh
so basically, this is like the Target version to twisted hearts' Walmart version- a little better, but... it's not Costco.
ever since i read twisted pride (remofina) i was salivating for this book. boy was i READYYYY. like- are you kidding me???
⤷ Sofia (h) being infatuated with her older sister, Serafina's, ex fiance, Danilo (H) (before she got kidnapped by Remo of course), then Sofia becoming Danilo's new fiance making her feel like the consolation prize/second best but of course nothing happens for years because they were betrothed when she was only 11 years old but Sofia is still pining over Danilo while he's still hung up on his failure??
yes, yes, and YES.
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though while i was expecting ✨ flavor ✨, all i got was an unseasoned romance. the whole time i was wondering, where was the spice? the flavor?? why is it unseasoned??? this needs more paprika or maybe even sriracha. the first half kinda annoyed/pissed me off because, well, nothing happened.
— SOFIA MIONE (h)
"I'd tried to imitate her, but an imitation would never be the original. I was an echo of the perfect melody. A shadow of an immaculate image. Always less. Never enough."
my girl needed a hug, like, yesterday. listen, i felt bad for her in the beginning as she felt insecure the whole time because of not only Danilo but also her family and she felt like second best and the consolation prize. though, as the story progressed... uhh... she did some fucked up things- to put it lightly - which was honestly kinda annoying to me.
— DANILO MANCINI (H)
"I wished I could turn back time. I'd spent so much time regretting the past and what was lost that I hadn't focused on what fate had given me."
*cough* yes you should've you lil bishh *cough*. anywho, straight up, just wanted to punch this dude in the first half and i would've if i could've, but i couldn't so i shouldn't. when he was doing what he was doing, you know... with all the blondies, i was just like
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im sorry but i couldn't. i cannot for the life of me like this dude because he was just so BLAND. i don't even know what to say about his character because that's how uninterested i am of him. i just know this dude likes blondes and didn't have any genuine feelings towards Sofia until the wedding which happens at 50% mark by the way.
☞︎ SPOILERS AHEAD ☜︎
➳ WHAT I LIKED can we appreciate the friendship between Sofia and Anna please and thanks?? the way Anna would be on Sofia's side no matter what, being her ride or die and being her biggest hype man is just so sweet and cuuute.
"Be selfish for once, Sofia. In this world, we women get so few choices, so little freedom. We have to grasp happiness by the collar and drag it with us. We can't hope for happiness to jump into our lap. Be selfish. You deserve it."
AWWWW STOP
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so cute.
Danilo and Emma were cute too. love seeing sibling relationships in books and the only time i could appreciate Danilo's character was him being protective towards Emma but i wish there's more scenes of them tho. aaannd the last few chapters where there's actually romance. i thought FINALLY Danilo and Sofia are fucking cute. maybe. i don't know. though, was i convinced with Danilo's feelings? nahhh.
oh and let's not forget about Santino and Anna of course. they're the ones who made this book at least bearable. aaaand Remo pointing a gun at Danilo while protecting Serafina ...more
『 reread update 』aight it's been like 5 months and my og review is still not here so imma just try and remember what i said and r3.5-3.75 stars ✩⋆
『 reread update 』aight it's been like 5 months and my og review is still not here so imma just try and remember what i said and rewrite everything because i'm a dumbass and didn't save this anywhere sooo i decided to reread this again because i'm a perfectionist and i have nothing else to do i guess ...more
this is the most "chill" mafia book i've ever read.
why you ask?
well, let's just say this did NOT give me stress, it did not make my blood pressure go this is the most "chill" mafia book i've ever read.
why you ask?
well, let's just say this did NOT give me stress, it did not make my blood pressure go up, i didn't wanna smack anyone in the head and throw hands, i didn't yell at the characters for being idiots, etc. so you bet your ass i was relaxed as hell, drinking a cup of tea while snuggling under my blankets reading this.
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and you know what else? it did not have any stupid OW drama/scene, stupid cheating drama, and no douchebaggery and dumbassery (well maybe a little bit). so yeah, the best way to describe this book is it's just really c h i l l.
im not really into mafia but the tropes here (age-gap, arranged marriage, and single dad with cute kids) are just *chef's kiss*. like this is the shit i live for. but did it work tho? mehh. it was ok.
characters: — Cassio Morretti (H):
“I was dead inside, going through the motions of every day, living for work, for building a future for my kids. While doing that I forgot about the present, about living. You showed me how important it is to live in the moment, to experience my children’s life and not just plan for their future.”
this dude belongs in the 50s/60s era because he made his wife, the h, do EVERYTHING at home. he just really annoyed me in the beginning because he just kept saying "Giulia is a teenager", "teenager is Giulia", blah blah blah. he also tried to force the h to dress up the way HE wanted to and he was mean to his pet dog! no one is gonna be mean to a dog. nuh uh. BUT i did like his development tho. he was actually pretty sweet and affectionate to his wife from the beginning which i found surprising since he's supposed to be the most ruthless Underboss but i didn't really get that vibe.
— Giulia Rizzo (h):
“I won’t become someone else only because you don’t like who I am. You chose to marry me. You can’t form me into the wife you want. You can’t control everything, even if you think you have to.”
now this bishh... i really liked her! she stood up for herself against Cassio whenever he would try to change her, she was so wise, kind, and smart, she was really good to the kids, and honestly this girl did everything and she was the one doing all the fighting let's be real here. so whenever she stayed her true self and never changed for anyone i was like [image]
what didn't work? the development was there and i thought it was good but not believable?? at least in Cassio's side. i believed in Giulia's feelings but not really Cassio's since his pov almost seemed so emotionless to me. and when he finally said "i love you" i was like whaaat? when—? so yeah the chemistry didn't really work for me because of this and their romance was just meh. and the beginning where they did the "bloody sheets" tradition? yeah... let's not talk about that. it was NOT romantic or sexy at all.
and this is really small but i wish there were more cute scenes with the kids !!! when i heard this was gonna have kids in them, i was so excited cuz kids in books are 100000x cuter than in real life but there was just a little bit here. however when Daniele called Giulia "mom"? I FELT THAT.
* * *
anyways, this book was, again, very c h i l l because 80% of this book is the MCs doing mundane things and im not complaining because im a sucker for those, though, i know some people would find boring. and there's little to no mafia things going on here but this was still very good and wholesome!
i really did appreciate all the emotions and passion the MCs had for those 5 days they spent together but i just can't forgive the H for what2.5 stars
i really did appreciate all the emotions and passion the MCs had for those 5 days they spent together but i just can't forgive the H for what he did (marrying sister and stayed married with her for 4 years). i HATE him. he didn't wanna be a coward? well he was that. i can't believe they never acknowledged this. if he wants the h he should divorce his wife BEFORE getting it on with the h. he should FIGHT for h but he never did by NOT divorcing the sister before he went after her. his excuses for his mistakes was about him being a "man" and i disagree because his actions completely contradict his belief.
being a "man" means you have the courage to do what you want and what is essentially "right" and fight for it, even if it is wrong in other people's eyes (i don't know where i got this quote but i read it somewhere and i completely agree!!).
actually wanting to marry the older sister/OW and wanting to spend the rest of your life and make babies with her, knowing you're crushing the "love of your life's" heart is the most "unmanly" thing you could EVER do. i know he was being a martyr but he was just being selfish and dumb and probably thinking with his nether region.
out of billions of women in the world, why the hell would the H choose the love of his life's SISTER?! the ffffffuuuuuuck?
like, if h was living good and living her dreams like he wanted, he wouldn't have gone after her! but nope. he had to find out she was not living well and then he started going after her... aight. what a lovely H.
how could H possibly even think that h would want to be with him after how he treated her and how much he hurt her?! the audacity !!! i can't even imagine the pain the h felt. i wouldn't even wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy! and can we talk about the ?! the hell?. like, WHY? why did she have to be celibate? that's like the worst thing you could write about since H was definitely not celibate during his marriage with the sister. thank god she was with OP during the second separation.
- - -
— safer than the previous book but when MCs were finally together, the OW/h sister tells H she's pregnant ...more
i love age-gap romance and some of my fave books of all time have this trope, ie. Kulti and Birthday Girl.
but anyways, i just3 stars
meh. this was ok.
i love age-gap romance and some of my fave books of all time have this trope, ie. Kulti and Birthday Girl.
but anyways, i just didn't really connect with the characters here but i was still hooked with the story though just because i wanted to see if there was gonna be more drama but unfortunately, it was all solved so quickly.
the forbidden aspect of this was meh. nothing really happened. the whole book is just them having sex in his cabin sooo....more
okay but whyyy is there a "game of thrones" death kind of scene in every book in this series so far??? oh my god i am emotreread (aug 2020) — 3 stars
okay but whyyy is there a "game of thrones" death kind of scene in every book in this series so far??? oh my god i am emotionally traumatized helppp.
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like, write a warning before i get attached to characters that will end up getting killed off because i aint ready for that shiii
anyways moving on. im glad i enjoyed reading this the second time compared to the first time because when i first read it?? well, i don't know. i guess i was in a bad mood or something because this wasn't bad at all.
also, i guess i was in the mood for smut instead of emotional connection so there's that. and speaking of the smut... HOLY- oh my god. it was dirty. dirty in a sense that i feel like bathing in holy water because look at this:
WARNING: if you're not used to smut or romance please move along and ignore this quote cuz i don't wanna be responsible for damaging y'alls pure, innocent souls. thank you.
D A N N E R (H)
↳ “There’s a new steel butt plug at home with your fuckin’ name on it. Gonna use it to open up your sweet ass while I give my cock to your pussy, then I’m gonna give us both a treat by sinking my thick cock in your ass, four fingers in your cunt, my tongue in your mouth so you’re taking all of me, everywhere you can. Only then, when you’re takin’ all I have to give you like the good girl you are, am I gonna fuck you until the only thing you remember is how to scream my name”
Danner, dude. stop. lemme pray for you. dear heavenly father-
and now moving on to the ~ cheating ~ aspect of the book. don't worry, Danner technically didn't cheat on HR (though, he did kiss one of the OWs after they've been together but he was undercover sooo) but he did cheat on not one, but TWO of his girlfriends!! and yes, the OWs were full on girlfriends. one of them is a colleague from his work and the other is a "biker chic" he needs to date because he's undercover so it's fake (doesn't stop him from sleeping with her tho because she was one of his "submissives").
but yeah... so basically he cheated on the first OW with the biker chic, then he cheated on the biker chic with the police officer, THEN he cheated on both of them with HR... i-
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hmm... this is c o m p l i c a t e d
and it was kind of glossed over?? which is kinda understandable tho since the biker chic's relationship was fake and it wasn't talked about as much since HR is "confident that she's the only one in his life". but still.
i feel bad about the other OW tho. the police officer one. she was nice and he broke up with her over the phone aww. i guess the main thing that annoyed me is the lack of remorse that both characters felt when it came to the cheating.
anywho this does have the age-gap (9 years), forbidden, star-crossed lovers (heroines family is MC and Hero is a cop), unrequited tropes, but because they got together pretty easily and all they did was have sex, i didn't really feel any of the longing or the angsty vibes i was looking especially withe tropes above. i wish there was more push and pull between them and the "before they have sex and become a couple" stage was longer but oh well.
as i've said before, this book is based on where i live and with that in mind, if guys like Zeus actually existed here?? reread (aug 2020) — 3.5 stars
as i've said before, this book is based on where i live and with that in mind, if guys like Zeus actually existed here?? i- i would proudly ✨simp✨. no joke. i would give up reading (well, ok no) and go outside... and simply simp.
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✧ tropes
↳ MC romance, age gap (19 years), forbidden (heroine's dad is Hero's rival), sick heroine, star-crossed lovers (maybe?? idk).
anywho. the reason why i enjoyed rereading this is because of Zeus (H), of course, but also because of the cute penpal moments we got in the beginning. Lou (h) was soo cute as a 7 year old oh my god. i just wanted to adopt her.
now let's get into the SPOILER TALK
➪ there's a little bit of OM drama here where Lou was dating Reece after meeting Zeus for the first time after 10 years. they "dated" for at least 4 months but were never exclusive. they apparently did "hand and mouth stuff" and- wait sorry, forgot to say they did that a lot. and yes, she cheated on him because she was thirsting over Zeus and was in a full-on relationship with him before she even broke things off with Reece.
➪ as for OW drama, Zeus just makes out with someone in front of Lou the second time they meet again to let her know he's not there for romance or flowers because he's a monster blah blah blah.
➪ also!!! i wish we actually get to see the development of Lou's character from Louise Lafayette to Loulou Fox because that development happened with the OM (Reece) and, well, i wanted to see that change with Zeus. and also, this was told and not shown.
➪ and y'all know i love a good romantic development and honestly, i didn't really like it here because it felt kinda fast. i just wanted a little more push and pull between the two as i was craving more drama and angst especially since this has the age-gap, forbidden romance tropes. i don't know... i just get bored easily nowadays but ehh they got together fairly quick. i thought the reunion would also be mindblowing but ehh it wasn't.
➪ when that Mute scene came up? i...
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yeah... let's not talk about that. it was depressing.
_______________________________
all in all, i think i enjoyed this more the first time i read this but again, they got together kinda fast so i got kinda bored after unfortunately. nevertheless, my mans Zeus? yeah he's mine sooo. i call dibs sorry.
also, i learned some interesting facts here as well like British Columbia has the best wEeD... hmm.. didn't know that. interesting. what to do with that kind of info..
I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of this year. It's a page-turner, there's drama e5 STARS
I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of this year. It's a page-turner, there's drama every chapter, the MCs are both amazing in their own way and not at all annoying. What's not to love?
Francesca Rossi (19) is the daughter of an Italian mob boss and she was raised to be the perfect little princess whose only job is to make babies and to be an arm-candy to her future husband (she doesn't know that tho, her father is manipulative). Ever since she was a child, all she ever wanted was to marry her childhood friend/love, Angelo Bandini. He was the prince in all her fantasy. According to the notes written by her ancestors from a wooden box, the love of her life is going to be her first kiss. She planned Angelo to be her first kiss at the night of the masquerade ball BUT instead, the man who kissed her wasn't the prince she always wished for, it was the villain.
Senator Wolfe Keaton (30) HATES Arthur Rossi, Francesca's father, because he is the sole reason why his loved ones are ALL dead. He's tired of corrupt police and crime bosses taking over everything and all he ever wanted was to serve justice and vengeance and that's what he's going to do.
Hmmm, so how do you ruin the life of one of the most formidable crime bosses in Chicago? Take away his most prized possession of course! And that one thing he cared about the most is FRANCESCA. So, what does Wolfe do? Steal his daughter away from him and make Francesca his by marrying her... And the DRAMA BEGINS.
I really loved Francesca here. As you can tell, Francesca is VERY innocent, like closeted nun innocent. She's never been kissed, have sex and she never even touched herself! And I know a lot of readers don't like heroines like that but honestly, I didn't mind it at all. I found her naivety and innocence so funny and her inner monologue made me laugh cuz she can be ridiculous (in a good way!) sometimes. Like, she talks to her PLANTS people. I find that kinda adorable and I was NEVER annoyed with her.
Wolfe, on the other hand, can be cruel and way outta line sometimes but he is the perfect anti-hero for me! He really is a good person, imo. He just has so many walls and his heart is made of steel. He's not corrupt and everything that he's done and is going to do is for justice and to remove ALL criminal organizations. Before meeting Francesca, he was cold, crude, and the typical asshole manwhore but he is WAY more than that. Obviously, he is mean but I love his sweet moments. I loved the fact that he didn't know he was falling in love with Francesca, but he actually was.
Wolfe might've made her his prisoner but he gave her one thing she never had: freedom. - - - SPOILERS (safety):
(view spoiler)[Since Francesca is "in love" with someone else, obviously there's a good amount of OM drama here and a little bit of OW drama.
There is "cheating" here but it's not what you think. It's SUPER complicated because their situation is hella weird. It's like they're in a relationship because they're engaged but obviously they're not. When Wolfe and Francesca got engaged, she was his "prisoner" and they were strangers.
First party they went to as a "couple" (this is like a week or just days after they met), Francesca runs into Angelo, then they were holding each other intimately, then Wolfe catches them thinking she's sleeping with him but in reality, she isn't (she is a virgin after all). So as revenge, he sleeps with Angelo's date. He did this so it was kind of like an eye for an eye. She sleeps with Angelo, so he's gonna sleep with someone else. Equality is important after all, am I right? *eye roll*
I found this ANNOYING because I HATE when H sleeps with OW after meeting the h BUT I was craving the drama and, again, their situation is WEIRD. Thank God he only did this once and after Francesca and him agreed to be loyal to one another, he's loyal to the core, even when they weren't in a real relationship and they hated each other.
Another thing is Angelo keeps showing up and causing trouble but once Francesca becomes intimate with Wolfe, it was only Wolfe in her mind. Though, AGAIN, Wolfe keeps thinking she's sleeping with him, which causes problems for the couple. One time when cheating was actually cheating was when Francesca let Angelo kiss her even after Wolfe and her got married and we're actually in love with each other (without them knowing, of course). Her reasoning was understandable and I get why she did it but STILL I was frustrated. (hide spoiler)] - - -
If you love enemies to lovers, "arranged" marriage, a good anti-hero, and just an overall entertaining/page-turner book, I recommend this 100%....more
I love the kind of romance novels that are slow burn, that's LONG but it doesn't feel long or slow because instead, it feels fast and you never5 STARS
I love the kind of romance novels that are slow burn, that's LONG but it doesn't feel long or slow because instead, it feels fast and you never want it to end. Well, MZ always has these type of books, so, of course imma drop everything and read this.
So, did I read this book in one sitting instead of studying for my finals? Hell yes. No regrets, man. NO REGRETS.
The Hero, Lucas Ripley (Rip), is Luna's, the heroine, boss at Cooper's Collision and Customs. She's a mechanic/painter (sorry, don't really know the title of her job but she does a lot when it comes to fixing cars) and has been working there for almost a decade. She was only 17 or so when the owner of CCC, Mr. Cooper, took her in and basically adopted her. One of the reasons I love MZ books is because it doesn't just focus on the romance but it also focuses on the character, their familial relationships, and friendships. And we definitely got that here. I was so invested in every character's story and the relationship between the h and everyone around her.
This book definitely has an office romance in a way, and enemies to friends to lovers trope. AND that's all I'm going to say because this book needs to be READ.
I don't want to give anything away and reveal too much about the plot but the main thing is, there's definitely a bit of angst here that I was not expecting and a buttload of romance that develops slowly, but realistically and I'm all for it. Oh! There's a bit of groveling here too and who could say no to a groveling H?
I definitely grew attached to the main leads, so of course, anyone who treats them like shit... imma want to punch em. And there's plenty I wanted to punch here. NO ONE HURTS LUNA. She's honestly the most precious h I've ever read.
Luna Allen is definitely one of my favorite heroines EVER. She is genuinely strong and a badass. Typically, I don't like bitchy heroines AT ALL but I really wanted her to be mean JUST FOR ONCE because this girl is just TOO GOOD and a lot of people definitely deserved to have their asses kicked here.
But did she tell them off and beat them up like I wanted her to?? Nope. She KILLED THEM WITH KINDNESS
She is one of the most mature h I've ever read and even though I wanna beat the shit outta the ppl who treated her like dirt (yes, even some of her sisters) she STILL rises above them in a way that shows how understanding and patient she is. Like GIRL. She's a good person-no, the BEST person- because she doesn't want to treat people the way she was treated her whole childhood. She knows the feeling of being unwanted and unloved and she doesn't want to spread that kind of negativity to EVERYONE, even those who wronged her.
And her being a "mom" to her little sisters since she was 17? Wow. Honestly, her perseverance, selflessness, and hard work are definitely admirable.
There were times I wanted to hug her and offer my shoulder to cry on because this girl went through A LOT. She was hurt (emotionally and physically) and was betrayed so many times that I just wanted to go all Rambo on everyone that didn't treat her like the Queen she is.
Well, good thing Rip was there, eh?
Oh man... Rip? I love this dude. Sure, he was such an a-hole in the beginning and sure I low-key hated how he treated the heroine at first BUT we slowly see his character develop and see all these subtle hints on his true feelings towards the h.
He has got to be somewhere up there in my favorite MZ heroes because even though he really is an a-hole, he's really just a freaking teddy bear with a heart of gold. I love seeing his character develop AND how us readers knew how he really felt without the h knowing.
MZ is really good with all these subtle hints that make the readers KNOW that the H is in love with the h even though the h is like huh, what? He's in love with me? Nahhhh bish.
ANYWAYS, this is definitely worth the read and I have ZERO regrets of prioritizing this first, instead of studying for my sociology final, so, WOO!
I hope her next novel is about Luna's best friend, Lenny. A heroine who kicks ass for a living? Yesss sign me up. ...more