booktastic21's review
5.0
Nice that this is a new author for me to discover. Fun that it is the beginning of a series. Love how Aaron and Stella both bring their stories alive from the first moment until the end. Nice to see all the layers of the journey of friendship between Gabe and Maggie. Fun to add the element of raising the children together.
hrtlss_grl's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Death
Minor: Classism and Murder
shanbreads's review against another edition
4.0
. It was a great read. I laughed out loud at the one-liners that absolutely and perfectly broke the tension that Ms Hearst would build throughout her book. Her writing is addictive and witty, and on the whole, I enjoyed the characters of Gabe and Maggie. There were several sub-plots on the go, as well as the main undercurrent of the series where the family is wanting to find out whether the car crash that killed Gabe’s older brother, and heir apparent to the family business, and his wife, Maggie’s sister, was an accident or not. Possible suspects and motives are put forward for discussion,
torilovesheas16's review against another edition
3.0
I saw this marketed as mafia comedy and think that's pretty apt. I wanted to love this one, but there were just some things that I felt missed the mark for me. But I'll tell you what I loved first.
I really liked that while this is a mafia family, they discuss the fact that in the 21st century, things aren't as brutal as they used to be due to technology. I love suspending disbelief when I read mafia romance, but that was really different and nice to hear! I loved the big, loud family that Gabe has. The Marchionni brothers each have their own thing (bar owner, restaurant owner, etc), and it really helped me tell who was who. I liked that Gabe and Maggie were pretty much living in a little ready made family with their nieces and nephew and Gabe's newborn (Gabe's brother was married to Maggie's sister). It was so cute to see them try to reform a relationship among the chaos of four kids under the age of 13.
What I didn't so much like was that we're kind of dropped into the aftermath of the accident that killed Gabe's brother and Maggie's sister. It felt like there were things we were just supposed to know. I really got confused at certain points because I had no idea why this person or that person was important to the plot line. I read so many times about how Gabe and Maggie had this big love affair before they broke up, but after Gabe moves in with her, I just...never felt it?
Also, Gabe's mother needed to absolutely get her ass whooped. My god. She's taking Maggie to court trying to get custody of the kids because she wants them under her roof. Even though Maggie is an excellent care giver at such a young age. She's only 24!!! There's a moment during a court hearing where Gabe's parents' lawyer question Gabe over the fact that the two youngest kids sometimes crawl into bed with him after having nightmares. HIS PARENTS. I was just baffled at that as a plot device because it's never brought back up. Like you just accused your son of being a predator because his niece and nephew seek comfort after their parents died in a wreck?? and it's just forgiven and never mentioned again? I was mindblown about it. Also, his parents made all the brothers stay away from the kids after the accident. One of the kids tells Gabe that she thought he went to heaven with her mom and dad because she didn't see him or his brothers after the accident!! On his parents orders!! I hated his parents and could not find it in me to forgive their behavior.
Overall, I thought this would be for me, but I just couldn't overlook several things. I won't be continuing the series.
I really liked that while this is a mafia family, they discuss the fact that in the 21st century, things aren't as brutal as they used to be due to technology. I love suspending disbelief when I read mafia romance, but that was really different and nice to hear! I loved the big, loud family that Gabe has. The Marchionni brothers each have their own thing (bar owner, restaurant owner, etc), and it really helped me tell who was who. I liked that Gabe and Maggie were pretty much living in a little ready made family with their nieces and nephew and Gabe's newborn (Gabe's brother was married to Maggie's sister). It was so cute to see them try to reform a relationship among the chaos of four kids under the age of 13.
What I didn't so much like was that we're kind of dropped into the aftermath of the accident that killed Gabe's brother and Maggie's sister. It felt like there were things we were just supposed to know. I really got confused at certain points because I had no idea why this person or that person was important to the plot line. I read so many times about how Gabe and Maggie had this big love affair before they broke up, but after Gabe moves in with her, I just...never felt it?
Also, Gabe's mother needed to absolutely get her ass whooped. My god. She's taking Maggie to court trying to get custody of the kids because she wants them under her roof. Even though Maggie is an excellent care giver at such a young age. She's only 24!!! There's a moment during a court hearing where Gabe's parents' lawyer question Gabe over the fact that the two youngest kids sometimes crawl into bed with him after having nightmares. HIS PARENTS. I was just baffled at that as a plot device because it's never brought back up. Like you just accused your son of being a predator because his niece and nephew seek comfort after their parents died in a wreck?? and it's just forgiven and never mentioned again? I was mindblown about it. Also, his parents made all the brothers stay away from the kids after the accident. One of the kids tells Gabe that she thought he went to heaven with her mom and dad because she didn't see him or his brothers after the accident!! On his parents orders!! I hated his parents and could not find it in me to forgive their behavior.
Overall, I thought this would be for me, but I just couldn't overlook several things. I won't be continuing the series.
peachani's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Vomit
Minor: Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Classism, Gun violence, and Violence
shanbreads's review
4.0
. It was a great read. I laughed out loud at the one-liners that absolutely and perfectly broke the tension that Ms Hearst would build throughout her book. Her writing is addictive and witty, and on the whole, I enjoyed the characters of Gabe and Maggie. There were several sub-plots on the go, as well as the main undercurrent of the series where the family is wanting to find out whether the car crash that killed Gabe’s older brother, and heir apparent to the family business, and his wife, Maggie’s sister, was an accident or not. Possible suspects and motives are put forward for discussion,
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