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its_ellie28's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kac469's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
manimick's review against another edition
1.0
Did not finish- first 2 chapters have major 2016 wattpad vibes and it shocked me too much that this was written in 2022 so I will be shelving for now and coming back later lol
sobstory's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
lilywhite0789's review against another edition
2.0
This is a cluster fuck rolled in ridiculous mind games with a neutered Mafia King and infuriatingly annoying heroine. The plot is so thin, shit just happens because the author needs to set it up that way.
First, I don’t feel like I ever truly got an understanding of what exactly Grandma was doing for Bastian’s father and how Morina is now supposedly in danger when Grandma dies. There is no information on what exactly happened that made Grandma this supposed badass to the mafia, making her some powerful person in their world. She provided protection to the town and Morina, but how?? What would’ve happened if someone put a hit on Grandma and killed her? She wasn’t some untouchable force to be recon with. She would’ve just been a dead old lady, so either this was all just glossed over, or all the Mafia shit went over my head.
Bastian and Morina’s is a toxic cluster fuck. I really couldn’t contact with Morina. I found her to be extremely annoying and naive. She starts off being purposely difficult and disagreeing for the sake of being petty. The constant back and forth, throwing herself at Bastian, claiming she wants him and needs him, but then it’s “this is an arrangement. this is fake, we aren't doing this,” and/or telling him that she'll find someone to do the job. She says she's gonna tell him she loves him, then immediately suggests they take nights apart, and brings up the idea of sleeping with other people.
And he’s not any better. Constantly hot then cold, shows interest and then blows her off. A dance of “I’m not going to have sex with you, but if you even look at someone else I'll fucking kill them,” but then they have sex and he blows her off and makes her jealous with some other woman. Then gets pissed when she does it right back. Bastian ping-pongs between aloof and sincere. This "I want her, but can't have her" masochist bullshit. I'm still not sure why he 'can't have her.' Because they are so different? Come from different worlds? Because he didn’t want to mix business with pleasure?
It all felt very disjointed. Things are all over the fucking place and not making a lot of sense. But then after fucking in the library at the gala, which was random and out of nowhere, they get married the next day, go look at the oil refinery whatever, and now things are all fine and dandy at home. Oh but not for long, we need to continue the mind games and making each other jealous. At some point they keep saying how they've fallen for the other one in their POVs and I don’t know when and how that happened. Their relationship has been so confusingly fucked up, it doesn't make sense. All I can tell is they have an intense sexual attraction. But sex isn't love and I'm haven’t felt the love in any way, shape, or form from either character.
And Morina continues to be an annoyingly naive little girl. And this crap of "I want Sebastian Armanelli, head of the mob, a man of violence and danger that takes what he wants and dominates. Not Bastian, sweet and accommodating and treats people with decency," is just fucking ridiculous. She's apparently got a "treat me like shit" kink and only wants part of the whole of who this man is. Bastian wants what is best for his family, for her, for the town. He didn't want to be his father, forcing people into submission out of fear and threats. But she's pissed he won't do that? She's a selfish naive little bitch that needs to grow up and see there is more than just her in this world. And when she gets just a glimpse of the mob boss in action and she's scared. Tucking tail and backtracking her statements. She asked for him to remove the mask, and then regretted it. She judged him for what was under it even though she practically demanded to see the darkness within him. Her trying to bring out the other side of him because it turned her on more was selfish.
She has no understand of his life and what he’s experienced. And when she thinks she does, it sounds backhanded. “I had no idea, but you can’t bottle up these emotions. You gotta let the bad guy out sometimes because your aura is all fucked up.” Side note- Fuck your holistic crystals, essential oils, energies, auras crap. That’s all fucking made up bullshit to sell shiny rocks and smelly shit to stupid people. It took her way too long to acknowledge and see where he came from and why he conducted himself in the way he does. The peace in him was his way of fighting. He fought with alliances and peace and wanted happiness instead of hate.
Overall, the characters were underdeveloped, their dynamic was shit and the overall plot just fell flat. It was lazy writing, where the author needed something to happens, so here's a lame ass excuse as to why it's happening. A case of *plop* not fully developed but necessary plot point to move the story where author needs it to be.
First, I don’t feel like I ever truly got an understanding of what exactly Grandma was doing for Bastian’s father and how Morina is now supposedly in danger when Grandma dies. There is no information on what exactly happened that made Grandma this supposed badass to the mafia, making her some powerful person in their world. She provided protection to the town and Morina, but how?? What would’ve happened if someone put a hit on Grandma and killed her? She wasn’t some untouchable force to be recon with. She would’ve just been a dead old lady, so either this was all just glossed over, or all the Mafia shit went over my head.
Bastian and Morina’s is a toxic cluster fuck. I really couldn’t contact with Morina. I found her to be extremely annoying and naive. She starts off being purposely difficult and disagreeing for the sake of being petty. The constant back and forth, throwing herself at Bastian, claiming she wants him and needs him, but then it’s “this is an arrangement. this is fake, we aren't doing this,” and/or telling him that she'll find someone to do the job. She says she's gonna tell him she loves him, then immediately suggests they take nights apart, and brings up the idea of sleeping with other people.
And he’s not any better. Constantly hot then cold, shows interest and then blows her off. A dance of “I’m not going to have sex with you, but if you even look at someone else I'll fucking kill them,” but then they have sex and he blows her off and makes her jealous with some other woman. Then gets pissed when she does it right back. Bastian ping-pongs between aloof and sincere. This "I want her, but can't have her" masochist bullshit. I'm still not sure why he 'can't have her.' Because they are so different? Come from different worlds? Because he didn’t want to mix business with pleasure?
It all felt very disjointed. Things are all over the fucking place and not making a lot of sense. But then after fucking in the library at the gala, which was random and out of nowhere, they get married the next day, go look at the oil refinery whatever, and now things are all fine and dandy at home. Oh but not for long, we need to continue the mind games and making each other jealous. At some point they keep saying how they've fallen for the other one in their POVs and I don’t know when and how that happened. Their relationship has been so confusingly fucked up, it doesn't make sense. All I can tell is they have an intense sexual attraction. But sex isn't love and I'm haven’t felt the love in any way, shape, or form from either character.
And Morina continues to be an annoyingly naive little girl. And this crap of "I want Sebastian Armanelli, head of the mob, a man of violence and danger that takes what he wants and dominates. Not Bastian, sweet and accommodating and treats people with decency," is just fucking ridiculous. She's apparently got a "treat me like shit" kink and only wants part of the whole of who this man is. Bastian wants what is best for his family, for her, for the town. He didn't want to be his father, forcing people into submission out of fear and threats. But she's pissed he won't do that? She's a selfish naive little bitch that needs to grow up and see there is more than just her in this world. And when she gets just a glimpse of the mob boss in action and she's scared. Tucking tail and backtracking her statements. She asked for him to remove the mask, and then regretted it. She judged him for what was under it even though she practically demanded to see the darkness within him. Her trying to bring out the other side of him because it turned her on more was selfish.
She has no understand of his life and what he’s experienced. And when she thinks she does, it sounds backhanded. “I had no idea, but you can’t bottle up these emotions. You gotta let the bad guy out sometimes because your aura is all fucked up.” Side note- Fuck your holistic crystals, essential oils, energies, auras crap. That’s all fucking made up bullshit to sell shiny rocks and smelly shit to stupid people. It took her way too long to acknowledge and see where he came from and why he conducted himself in the way he does. The peace in him was his way of fighting. He fought with alliances and peace and wanted happiness instead of hate.
Overall, the characters were underdeveloped, their dynamic was shit and the overall plot just fell flat. It was lazy writing, where the author needed something to happens, so here's a lame ass excuse as to why it's happening. A case of *plop* not fully developed but necessary plot point to move the story where author needs it to be.
kairathebookish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
carla_123's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fricken Gorgeous
khaleesimod93's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Unlike the other two books, this one didn't have much of an actual story. It's crazy to me that this book was over 400 pages. It could have been a lot shorter, and it would have worked better. I did like both main characters, and their stories are both so sad. They work well together and are totally opposites of each other! It's so funny reading Bastien, lose it over how carefree Morina is. Opposites attract, and it's so obvious with these, too. While the story was boring, I really enjoyed reading about Morina and Bastien together.
hanarmatta's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
75ayla's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0