zc2's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: War, Genocide, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Medical content, Body horror, Car accident, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Spoiler
Okay I have many questions like what happened to the theater guy Elana was seeing? Did she ever get a drivers license? She also completely forgot about dance.megcarrick'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
3.75
Graphic: Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Drug abuse
kitsuneru's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Violence, Sexual harassment, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
g_monaghan's review
- 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
1.75
If you like dom/sub dynamics you'll like this book, but for me I wished the FMC wasn't apologising all the time for the actions of her jealous lover. I've got to admit he was so odd I kept reading out of curiosity to see what the next fucked up thing he would do or say.
However, I've heard the next one is better and yes I will be reading if ofc.
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Gun violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction
juneday's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.75
its one thing to be a kid writing shit like this but an ADULT ??? fully grown bitches writing and publishing and promoting utter garbage like its a job!! which it is i guess but honestly i would rather work shovelling animal feces or whatever than unabashedly producing something so laughably appalling 😭
and at this point discrimination isnt even a topic to be touched upon its practically a staple in this niche ass genre where crime families r as abundant as mommy vloggers and every girl eventually has her meg march arc.
tiktok “books” r a pyramid scheme coordinated by the government to siphon our brain cells for dangerous classified mission impossible level experiments and shit
if u enjoyed this book…im sorry babes a 7’11 guy with a fifteen inch cock and rock hard abs with a lopsided grin and a disregard for women (until u duh) and caskets overfilling with stacks who exclusively drinks whiskey or beer or scotch and rescues u from an arranged arranged marriage (a marriage not yet arranged but arranged to be arranged) by trapping u into yet another arranged marriage with (can u guess?!) his lordship is not gonna swoop along and lose all his so called self control (he cant even refrain from purposefully antagonising half the men in ur family to assert dominance) when he sees ur innocence and ur doe eyes and ur cute little bikini 🥺🥺
sorry girlies no alpha king coming to sexually assault u but oh its not sexual assault bc u liked it didnt u!! how fortunate.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Vomit, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual harassment
rafaelabossoni's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment
jhaneveauguste's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Stalking, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
lomesia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
brookey8888's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
michellemaas's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Second read: 4 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*First Read*
I want to premise this review by saying that I really did like this book but there were quite a few things I didn't like so just because I highlight those doesn't mean it's a bad book. In my opinion, you should definitely read the entire series since it is a top-tier mafia romance. Now that that's out of the way I'll jump right into things!
At times Nico and Elena were not good love interests. I get we're working with an edgy mafia romance with non-traditional main characters, but there was an instance where Nico described Elena as someone who "has the body of a porn star" and a scene where Elena she said she "didn't want men's respect (including Nico's)". Other than the fact that I'm pretty sure that scene set women empowerment movements back a couple of decades, both instances just rubbed me the wrong way and I couldn't get through this review without mentioning it.
Also, Elena was just a really annoying protagonist sometimes. I can't put into words why I felt that way but I did. Maybe it was the whole "pick-me" thing she had going on? Maybe it was the fact that she was attracted to and actively pursuing her sister's fiancee (even if it was an arranged marriage that's still not okay). You'll get what I'm saying once you read it.
Other than that, the sexual tension was A-plus (pool scene I'm talking about you). I liked the way the arranged marriage was resolved and the gas station scene was ICONIC (no other word for it). This book was mostly docked for missing some action. This is a mafia romance and neither of our main characters was seriously injured. I don't even think either of them got shot? I want at least one situation where I think one of my main characters is going to die (even if I know they won't).
I am going to end off by repeating that this is still a good book even if I had my gripes with it. Will definitely be rereading it soon!
*Second Read*
I had to bump up the rating after my reread because their sexual tension is EVERYTHING!! This series is by far the best mafia romances I've read (and since first reading it last year, I have read MANY others). I still agree with what I said in my original review, though I'm not nearly as bothered by those issues this time around as I was last. My biggest problem this time was the pacing. The first 60% went by in the blink of an eye, but as soon as Nico and Elena got together it lost a lot of its steam. Would still highly highly recommend if you're looking for a good Dark Romance though!
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Infidelity
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Grief