As soon as Romeo blushed when he was showing Juliet his crochet, I knew this was going to be good.
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES Juliet “Smith” (early–As soon as Romeo blushed when he was showing Juliet his crochet, I knew this was going to be good.
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES Juliet “Smith” (early–mid 20s) | Romeo De Luca (38)
FEATURES ∘ mafia romance ∘ hurt / comfort ∘ age gap ∘ opposite worlds ∘ protective mmc
REVIEW Okay, I’m not going to lie. I did roll my eyes a little bit when I read the blurb and saw that the main characters names were Romeo & Juliet. However, the “coincidence” doesn’t take itself too seriously and addresses the absurdity of it, so perhaps my eye roll was a bit hypercritical.
Much like His Tesoro, the representation of chronic illness in His Juliet is treated with consideration and care. With that being said, I did feel that Juliet’s coping and recovery was too dependent on Romeo. I don’t like to think about after the HEA, but here I just couldn’t stop wondering about the future. There’s a very real possibility that Romeo will die before Juliet, and then what happens to her? It was just frustrating because I know that’s not at all how it was meant to come across with how hard Juliet had fought for herself and her independence.
I did find the main characters (and the side characters) very lovable. I’m a sucker for a possessive mmc who is wrapped around the fmc’s finger. Romeo was so mushy while also being a rock. Juliet’s kindness and warmth made their pairing feel balanced. Romeo was protective of her, and Juliet was protective of him right back.
Emilia Rossi’s writing has the comfortability of being familiar while also being unique. I foresee (manifesting here) this being the beginning of a long and well-loved series. I almost wish I hadn’t found it this early so that I didn’t have to leave this world quite so soon. But alas, I am experiencing it in real-time where I’m eagerly counting down the days until the next release.
OW/OM DRAMA not really OW — Juliet sees Romeo with another woman at a gala and her insecurities make her start doubting herself CHEATING none THIRD ACT BREAKUP none ENDING HEA — month later time skip and couple is happily together in the end
POV dual / first person SPICE LEVEL 4 / 5 RATING 4 / 5...more
fell to my knees when I saw the next book isn’t coming until 2025
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES Sofiya Ivanova (21) | Matteo Rossi (38)
FEATURES ∘ mafia (fell to my knees when I saw the next book isn’t coming until 2025
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES Sofiya Ivanova (21) | Matteo Rossi (38)
FEATURES ∘ mafia (him)-bratva (her) romance ∘ arranged marriage ∘ opposites attract ∘ disability rep ∘ age gap ∘ bdsm elements
REVIEW The first 40% of this book enamored me like no other. I love when the MMC is “disinterested” yet gets jealous at the mere thought of other men around the FMC.
The book slowed for me a bit beyond that point, as Matteo had fallen for Sofiya’s charms and treated her with the adoration she deserved. The way Emilia Rossi wrote Sofiya’s experience with hEDS felt realistic and respectful. A disabled main character, especially a female lead, is underrepresented in the romance genre.
It was a fine time until we get to the final act. Now begrudgingly, I will admit the third act conflict picked up the pace, but the consequences and reconciliation deserved more time spent addressing them.
(view spoiler)[When Matteo is convinced that Sofiya is a traitor, he has her brought down to the basement for hours. Granted, he had meant to get her, but he was shot and was unconscious. During this time, Sofiya is told by the traitor (forgot his name, but it’s the really obvious one) all the ways her husband will torture her for being a traitor. She was in there so long, she ended up urinating on herself. We later discover she is pregnant.
Now obviously, this is a pretty big betrayal to Sofiya, and she was well within her rights to seek escape from Matteo. I wish she had meant it when she left, that she had taken off the tracker, but instead she wasted everyone’s time and resources in a poorly planned escape attempt. Sofiya was too kind for her own good, and Matteo was too old to be taken for a fool. I feel like we needed significantly more time to really forgive Matteo. So much happened after he locked her away that it almost lessened the fact he hurt her. I wish we could’ve seen him grovel far more and hate himself even harder. (hide spoiler)]
This subgenre of romance has a way of capturing my attention like no other. His Tesero was a great time and was everything it wanted to be. I look forward to the continuation of this series, and I do hope to see more of Emilia Rossi.
OW/OM DRAMA none CHEATING none THIRD ACT BREAKUP yes ENDING HEA — months later epilogue
POV dual / first person SPICE LEVEL 4 / 5 RATING 4 / 5...more
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