booktribe's review
fast-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
I really loved this book! Against my will actually. I tried to DNF it twice because Damien was A LOT in the beginning🤦🏽‍♀️ But every time I put it down, I kept coming back. I was ADDICTED! The character development was so amazing. The character growth was amazing. Seeing the character’s progression and the story’s progression was just perfection. How do you write a 700+ page book that’s fast paced and un-put-down-able??? I couldn’t get enough of this story. 750 pages wasn’t enough, I need even more! But I’m very satisfied with the way the book ended, so I guess I don’t need more, but I just miss these characters already and it hasn’t even been an hour since I left them.
Spoiler
There was one thing that I didn’t like though. I’m not a fan of the surprise pregnancy trope in any capacity anyway, but what bothered me was that Damien basically FORCED Dream not to get an abortion. If she had came to that conclusion on her own, cool. But I don’t like that Damien’s threat was the main reason she didn’t get an abortion. It’s her body, so I wish it had been completely her decision to keep the baby (or not if she didn’t want to) without Damien’s influence. And because I was upset about that plus I don’t like surprise pregnancy, that part of the book dragged a little for me. But as you can see by my 5 star rating, it wasn’t enough to take away my love for this book! Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Pedophilia
now_booking's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have a lot of thoughts about the way this dark, mafia romance was presented. On the one hand. I’m in awe of this author’s ability to stretch this story out for over 750 pages and have action on every single page and not let it drag for one minute. On the other hand, I don’t think this book needed that many pages to tell this story as well. Indeed, to me, it could have benefited from being split into 2 books by character/plot line. As it was, sometimes it felt like we were getting very single character’s POV and I don’t think that was needed I did appreciate the author’s ability to weave together the almost separate storylines and POV’s of the two protagonist sisters’ coming of age plots in a violent, organised crime context.
The premise is that Dream is her crime family’s fixer and after her brother offends the biggest crime boss in the area by eloping with his daughter, she is forced to sacrifice herself entering into a 1-month arranged situation with the closed-off, intrinsically-damaged from a traumatic childhood, cold-as-ice, Damien/Demon (the brother of the crime boss her family offended). Sparks fly as the two clash in every way in that one month where family and safety are on the line, and violence and murder are the order of the day. Dream’s sister, Dayana, also features heavily in this as a subplot with Demon’s only friend, Smoke, Dayana’s foolish ex-fiancée, and an assorted cast of bodyguards, villains, cute kids, and broken people.
Overall, I liked this as a dark mafia romance. It is VERY dark and not for the faint of heart. There’s on-page violence, assault, torture, child abuse, murder, gun violence, the list goes on. I don’t think it needed to be quite as gratuitous as it was, but within the context of being a darker romance, it was good. The length of the book really allowed you to follow the characters on their journey of growth so that you felt part of their character trajectory. This solid character development was probably my favourite part of the book. I also enjoyed the adorable epilogue. This book is inherently problematic in the way of dark, mafia romance. The characters do and say awful things and deeper issues are brought up but never dealt with responsibly. E.g. the abortion plot angle.Â
In all, I enjoyed this author’s writing. It’s my first book by them and I thought they did a wonderful job keeping this ticking along and to blending an ensemble cast of characters and giving us different POVs without getting lost. Personally, I don’t mind a dark, mafia romance but this is representative of the very dark side of that sun-genre, so you may want to keep that in consideration if you’re checking this out. I recommend this for the right reader- the one who is willing to “just go with it” and read some deeply problematic people who’ve been through a lot of trauma find love even amidst murder, mayhem, brutal violence and craziness. Nobody in this book is alright and it’s so compelling!
The premise is that Dream is her crime family’s fixer and after her brother offends the biggest crime boss in the area by eloping with his daughter, she is forced to sacrifice herself entering into a 1-month arranged situation with the closed-off, intrinsically-damaged from a traumatic childhood, cold-as-ice, Damien/Demon (the brother of the crime boss her family offended). Sparks fly as the two clash in every way in that one month where family and safety are on the line, and violence and murder are the order of the day. Dream’s sister, Dayana, also features heavily in this as a subplot with Demon’s only friend, Smoke, Dayana’s foolish ex-fiancée, and an assorted cast of bodyguards, villains, cute kids, and broken people.
Overall, I liked this as a dark mafia romance. It is VERY dark and not for the faint of heart. There’s on-page violence, assault, torture, child abuse, murder, gun violence, the list goes on. I don’t think it needed to be quite as gratuitous as it was, but within the context of being a darker romance, it was good. The length of the book really allowed you to follow the characters on their journey of growth so that you felt part of their character trajectory. This solid character development was probably my favourite part of the book. I also enjoyed the adorable epilogue. This book is inherently problematic in the way of dark, mafia romance. The characters do and say awful things and deeper issues are brought up but never dealt with responsibly. E.g. the abortion plot angle.Â
In all, I enjoyed this author’s writing. It’s my first book by them and I thought they did a wonderful job keeping this ticking along and to blending an ensemble cast of characters and giving us different POVs without getting lost. Personally, I don’t mind a dark, mafia romance but this is representative of the very dark side of that sun-genre, so you may want to keep that in consideration if you’re checking this out. I recommend this for the right reader- the one who is willing to “just go with it” and read some deeply problematic people who’ve been through a lot of trauma find love even amidst murder, mayhem, brutal violence and craziness. Nobody in this book is alright and it’s so compelling!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Pedophilia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Abortion, Child abuse, Rape, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, and Infidelity
Minor: Classism, Trafficking, and Body shaming
bookswhitme's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Mind blowing! It was dark, it was wild, it wasn't what I expected, but damn was it good. Two urban/dark romances wrapped in one? Genius. there were so many twists and turns that it was hard to keep up. I loved that though. It was also very hot and y’all know I love a spicy read. I just couldn’t put this down. Smoke and Demon were definitely unhinged, but they loved their women and would burn the world down for them. That’s just how I like my fictional men. Over 700 pages for a romance? Yeah I thought it was crazy, but actually it was WORTH EVERY PAGE!Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Cursing, Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pedophilia
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