valerie_amanda09's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing
I loved it. I can't wait to read the next book. This series has me on edge. I can't wait to see what happens next.
I loved it. I can't wait to read the next book. This series has me on edge. I can't wait to see what happens next.
mdb8199's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first book from this author. I’ve been on a mafia kick lately and this did the trick. Samara and Lino have been childhood best friend. Both having feelings for one another, but never having acted upon them. When Samara needs Lino’s help, he comes running and offers her his protection in the only way a mafia man could. I enjoyed this book. I will definitely read book 3 next. There is mention of the first book and their characters a lot in this, but it’s not so bad that you need to read that one first.
fairyyeah's review
3.0
Samara and Lino have been friends
I liked this book a lot more than the first book for some reason. It had the overbearing alpha male character of course, but I felt that Lino allowed Samara to be her own person rather than forcing himself into her life in every single way without allowing her any opinion of her own. Of course, again, these are overbearing men so duh he and Matteo (from book 1) are both very much the "I'm going to make decisions for you" type of man, but again I don't know what it was about Lino that was just...kind of better. To be fair, I also have this thing where I usually don't like the first man in a standalone multiple book series for some reason, although it's really just a coincidence that that happens. Anyway, an okay book.
I liked this book a lot more than the first book for some reason. It had the overbearing alpha male character of course, but I felt that Lino allowed Samara to be her own person rather than forcing himself into her life in every single way without allowing her any opinion of her own. Of course, again, these are overbearing men so duh he and Matteo (from book 1) are both very much the "I'm going to make decisions for you" type of man, but again I don't know what it was about Lino that was just...kind of better. To be fair, I also have this thing where I usually don't like the first man in a standalone multiple book series for some reason, although it's really just a coincidence that that happens. Anyway, an okay book.
chaotic_sidenotes's review
5.0
Lino stole my heart fighting for his little dove. His steadfastness and unwavering love have really set the standard for bad boy heroes. They deserve every bit this twisted HEA delivers.
sanderson0516's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
daniela_endless_tbr's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/6.
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.
Friends to lovers is a hard trope for me because the characters just can’t see what’s in front of them and choose to bury their head in the sand through a lot of the book.
I was having a good time and I had really no complaints until half of the book. After the 50% mark Samara runs away for something dumb because it was obvious what the other woman was trying to do and she sort of knew it but she wanted to end everything with Lino just because this woman talked sh*!. 🙄
Lino was a solid character and his love was unwavering so after everything he said and did, for her to act like this without talking to him was a no for me. It immediately brought my rating down.
I don’t see why she didn’t notice at all through all these years that he didn’t want to be just best friends. It was glaring obvious not only for me but to everyone involved in their lives.
Bottom line is: I’m happy Lino got what he wanted and he’s happy. Samara earned some brownie points with me after that specific scene above but it wasn’t enough for me.
I’m very excited for the next book though so I’m reading that soon.
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.
Friends to lovers is a hard trope for me because the characters just can’t see what’s in front of them and choose to bury their head in the sand through a lot of the book.
I was having a good time and I had really no complaints until half of the book. After the 50% mark Samara runs away for something dumb because it was obvious what the other woman was trying to do and she sort of knew it but she wanted to end everything with Lino just because this woman talked sh*!. 🙄
Lino was a solid character and his love was unwavering so after everything he said and did, for her to act like this without talking to him was a no for me. It immediately brought my rating down.
I don’t see why she didn’t notice at all through all these years that he didn’t want to be just best friends. It was glaring obvious not only for me but to everyone involved in their lives.
Bottom line is: I’m happy Lino got what he wanted and he’s happy. Samara earned some brownie points with me after that specific scene above but it wasn’t enough for me.
I’m very excited for the next book though so I’m reading that soon.
samanthaaa90's review
4.0
"Courage doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. It just means you do it anyway."
Doesn't matter how many times I read this series every time I pick up the book they still surprise me with how much I love them. This is book 2 of the Bellandi Crime Syndicate series by Adelaide Forrest which follows Leo and Samarra this is a Friends to Lovers with a HEA I suppose you could read it as a standalone but for the best experience I highly suggest reading the series in order. Obviously if you are going to go into these books they are Mafia Romances so check for trigger warnings before hand.
Doesn't matter how many times I read this series every time I pick up the book they still surprise me with how much I love them. This is book 2 of the Bellandi Crime Syndicate series by Adelaide Forrest which follows Leo and Samarra this is a Friends to Lovers with a HEA I suppose you could read it as a standalone but for the best experience I highly suggest reading the series in order. Obviously if you are going to go into these books they are Mafia Romances so check for trigger warnings before hand.
a_root's review against another edition
3.0
I know when I started reading that it is a mafia romance and I was ready for some toxic catnip however two books into the series and the H in both the books took “alphahole” to a whole new level and i hate how the h is made to give up everything she was before the relationship and whenever something went wrong it would be a result of the h trying to resist giving up something. (Again this situation applies to both books) so I don’t think I will be continuing this series anymore but i still want to read other things written by the author