vidalovesspice's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
- Spice Lvl - 2 or 3, I dunno. Shit was so fucking boring and not memorable.
- FMC - Noemi
- 1/5 - soft bland tofu. No soy sauce, just water.
- MMC/LI - Connor
- 1/5 - a walking eggplant. Sometimes fried sometimes frozen.
- Red Flag Rating - 4/5
- Stupid Scale
- So Stupid
- Tropes - organized crime, arranged marriage
- Trigger Warning - crime, abuse (not between the main characters, unless you count stupidity and toxic ass behavior), violence, selective mutism due to trauma
- Kinks - virgin bride, giant eggplant (one of those "oh, my hand couldn't wrap around the eggplant fully), fingerbang gang, I can't remember the rest cause I was so bored with all the sex scenes
Another SpicyTok recommendation. I loved the premise: traumatized FMC who pretends to be mute to protect herself and her idiot brother from her POS abusive father, while a rival gang member, Conner, needs to find a bride to strengthen the gang alliances. Conner is interested in Noemi because of her beauty and the fact that she is silent. I thought to myself "oh yah, that sounds good. Thanks, SpicyTok!"...
The Good
- Nothing. I liked nothing about this book. I hate read the shit out of this book. On the bright side...there was no Third Act Break Up...? I think, I dunno.
The Bad
- Noemi - Noemi has the personality of soft tofu. Flavorless, 0 personality, 0 ambition, and generic goals. I don't care that the author wrote "oh she's not meek". No, she's dull, boring, and has 0 character development let alone brain cells. I feel like I'm victim blaming Noemi as she is definitely an abuse victim and is traumatized after the death of her mother. I feel for her, but holy shit she is so dumb. Noemi does absolutely nothing to help herself. She wants to protect her brother, but has no plans. She relies so heavily on toxic ass Connor who is so hot and cold, she develops absolutely no agency for herself and instead molds herself into what she thinks Connor wants. Noemi is mentioned to have ambitions, but what they are I have no idea except to save her brother and ride Connor's eggplant of glory. I was so fucking over her.
- Connor - Connor is your typical alpha male macho macho gangster. Loves violence, revenge, and getting his way. I liked him at first as I thought his tete-a-tete with Noemi in the first act was intriguing. He seemed to respect boundaries and seemed cool at first. But that quickly goes out the window as the chapters progress and he thinks with his GIANT EGGPLANT instead of his other head (we will get to this in a minute). Connor is so hot and cold with Noemi. He throws fits when Noemi is unable to communicate with him her feelings, and I feel like he corners her or guilts her into telling him her feelings. Then he makes her problems about him and then doesn't properly communicate with Noemi, which leads her to do even dumber shit. Connor is also super possessive to the point it just got annoying. . Like, chill the fuck out dude. That shit is cute in small doses. Not every fucking chapter.
Spoiler
He even goes as far to be jealous with his own family over Noemi - The Giant Eggplant - Then there's that whole "giant eggplant trope" going around with the whole "I couldn't wrap my hand completely around his eggplant." Sis, are you okay? Do you have tiny hands? I hope you have tiny hands. Even the aftercare scenes were "hey, we'll only do it once. Take this aspirin and clean up. Deuces." Romantic. I gave this a 2/5 spice level because, TBH, the sex scenes were so bland and not memorable, I couldn't remember any of them.
- The other characters - moving on to the other characters...holy shit are they super secondary or just dumb. Noemi's brother, I can't be bothered to look up his name because I don't care, is so dumb and naiive. Like, bruh, you're 17 years old and you There's naivety and then willful ignorance and stupidity. Her brother is 100% the latter. I did not give a shit about him.
Spoiler
WITNESSED your father hitting your older sister. And you have the audacity to say "Oh, dad's just trying to protect us." Then you snitch to your dad about Noemi sneaking around with Connor and then feel justified in your actions even when your sister desperately tries to tell you not to. You don't see how terrified your sister is? - Inconsistent storyline - There are so many inconsistencies in this book. The one I can remember is MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!
Spoiler
at the climax when Connor's gang comes to a standoff with Noemi's father, Noemi's father says that Connor is manipulating Noemi's brother and is telling lies. Um, but sir, didn't you JUST fucking say the chapter before that you never needed your children AS YOU HELD YOUR SON AT GUNPOINT?! - The weird ass sex scenes & how they deal with intimacy
- OMG, listen, I came for the smut but like...don't insert that shit everywhere. There are so many instances where Noemi is trying to tell Connor something serious.
Spoiler
There is one scene where Noemi finally opens up to Connor about her mother being murdered by her father, and you know what Connor Giant Eggplant does? He decides to fuck her brains out. Because murder's so HOT, AMIRITE?! This happens a few times in the book where Noemi confesses something big and important on what traumatized her, and Connor's response is to fuck her brains out...My brain cells hurt. Spoiler
There's another scene where Noemi and Conner finish having sex and Noemi asks if he's clean. That's fine and dandy, safety first...BUT DIDN'T YOU JUST SUCK HIS EGGPLANT AND SWALLOWED IN THE LAST CHAPTER?! Kinda late asking about if he's clean.
- OMG, listen, I came for the smut but like...don't insert that shit everywhere. There are so many instances where Noemi is trying to tell Connor something serious.
- Does not pass the Bechdel test
Am I going to read the rest of the series? Maybe. Just call me a trash panda because I do enjoy dumpster diving. Definitely a hate read for me.
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Cursing, Murder, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
pritenpink2's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and Confinement
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Death
sienasummerrreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a great read and audiobook. I really enjoyed the plot and characters. With Noemi, she was very mysterious and I loved how strong to an extent she was, as a lot has happened in her life recently. Connor is very protective of what is his. He stands by his family and will do anything to make sure they are okay. Connor can be sweet and caring but boy can he make you get hot and bothered as well.
Just a couple of things. I wanted a little more spice as I was obsessed with Noemi and Conner. I also thought Noemi would try more often to convince and warn her brothers with him pushing back to cause more tension. The final scene where everything went sideways felt quick to me. The narration was great just I struggled a little with the male narrator on this audiobook but that is a personal preference.
If you love:
🔹Mafia Romance
🔹Rival Families
🔹Mysterious Mute Character
🔹Family Issues & Secrets
🔹Possesive & Loyalty
🔹Great Spice
Genre/Type: Mafia Romance 18+
APK: Kindle & Audiobook
Pages: 350
Audio Length: 9hrs 8mins
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️.5
Series or Stand Alone: 1st Book In The Byrne Brothers Series
Tropes or Themes: Mafia, Arranged Marriage, Age Gap (8 Years), Protective MMC, Virgin, He Falls First, Adopted Character, Sexual Content, After Care, Cursing, Verbal & Physical Abuse, Jealousy, Abandonment, Family Drama, Rival Families, Violence, Blood, Guns, Alcohol, Car Accident, Intimate Tattoos, Mute Character, Murder & Death
Check Triggers ⚠️
All Round Romance Reader
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
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Graphic: Car accident, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Abandonment
ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and Confinement
Minor: Death, Torture, War, and Sexism
janenoriejane's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
nene119's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, and Car accident
luce_36's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual content