Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Darkest Temptation

I'm not sure if any of you read mafia x reader stories when you were a child, but it's pretty much that, including the "I'm so different" pampered rich girl as a main character and the "I'm going to punish you but I can never bring myself to cause I have a soft spot for you" male lead. Only now also featuring veganism, because you can't hurt animals, but dating a guy who abuses you and forbids you from saying no to his sexual advances and murdered people is completely fine. Also the main character was the dumbest main character I have ever seen in my life.
I'm rating this 2 stars because the spice was okay and because it was sometimes funny.
Now, so you know what you're getting into, here are some of the worst parts in the book:

"He smiled. "Three thousand six hundred and fifty-two is a sum I could only aspire to meet-that is, if we're taking leap days into account. If not, minus two, and I may have a better shot."
Did he just do the math in his head? God, that was... hot."
- Yes, because being able to calculate 365×10+2 is truly a hard calculation.

"She was giving Ronan those big dark eyes that would be impossible for even Hitler to resist."
- Do I have to add anything?

"I can take your IUD out in this alley, and we can get started right now."
- No.

"I could fight him, but now his masculine scent surrounded me and confused my senses. His warmth soaked into my skin, forcing the resistance to melt within."
- Having sex with someone you don't want to have sex with because he smells good and is warm.

A last note: This book needs trigger warnings for the shit it light-heartedly drops on you.

Content Warnings

one_more_chapter96's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Great bratva romance, enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, kidnapping, he’s obsessed with her tropes. I liked the beginning of the story and how she has no idea about what was happening at first, it was a nice twist on the usual mafia romance. Really enjoyed the dynamic between Mila & Ronan and all the notes (so cute)! Some cliche parts but overall enjoyed and the spice was great.

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naviareadinghub's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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danyclarice's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Where do I even start with this one?

I personally found it too difficult to suspend my disbelief when it came to Mila and Ronan's relationship. Up until about 75% into this book, the plot revolved around Ronan's sick sexual fantasies and Mila's daddy issues. I mean, cool, great- very twisted and dark- but fine I can get round that. Just please, please add something else to the plot! Everything was rushed and wrapped up at the end leaving the middle incredibly boring that made it hard to keep going.

There were a lot of side characters and side plot lines like Mila's mother, Nadia, Albert; I would have loved to have delved deeper into these characters to flesh out the main plot.

Ronan is a an absolute psychopath, and unlike Christian who took himself to therapy and showed genuine compassion, I just couldn't bring myself to root for Ronan and Mila to end up together. Fine, yes, the ending was incredibly sweet as expected of the author in this series but overall, definitely this book is an outlier in this series.

Spice Rating: 3/5

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rutosgalaxy's review against another edition

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3.5

giving it 3.5 stars cuz yes the book was amazing but i do draw a line at the subtle sexual assault.
danielle lori has cast a spell on me with her made series and thats the only excuse im giving this book a solid 4 star knowing how fucked up it is.
so ronan and mila. they meet in moscow when mila is running away from her father cuz she was "protected" by him for a long time and wishes to know more about her father who is not at home days on end. now that mila has met ronan in moscow she is slowly falling in love but life comes crashing down on her when she is kidnapped for one of her father's mistakes
honestly i remember clearly till like 55% of the book i despised ronan. he is the worst kind of person ive seen. the things he did to mila were just ugh. if i wasnt reading fiction i wouldve already gagged one too many times. that goes to say this book i fucking dark nd twisted. i havent read many dark series in my life but this one takes the cake for now.
the plot was very bsic imo. its the way it was delivered. its the way we saw ronan change for the good. somewhere in my heart i knew ronan would change. he is the main lead duh. and he did change for the best in the best posible way. he might've done some really fucked up things but when he came to acknowledge his feelings in a sane mind he gave mila ample time to think about her life and even approached her thinking he would be turned down. ronan needs some therapy and some tight hugs along with some hot choco. trauma doesnt come by overnight so i dont blame him entirely. if i had to argue christain was traumatized too but handled things better than ronan, everyone deals with trauma differently. (and yes i did argue on that with someone lmao) i couldnt believe what mila went through in all of this. she as used by everyone and then getting discarded by everyone but the person who kidnapped her was the one ho made her feel safe and protected.
ps : why did they have to add a severed headed dimitri bro i kinda liked him from his description-

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