kfriend's review against another edition
5.0
Just did a re-read, and still love this story so much. Parker has a fresh and addictive take on mafia romance- and I am here for it! Excellent chemistry, engaging plot, emotional and psychological intensity, and riveting steam. My favorite book of hers!
alyram4's review against another edition
5.0
This is such a slow burn romance and I really enjoyed it! It was a great read, but i did have some issues closer to the middle-end of the book. Mostly with pacing but I was able to get over it. But yeah! Really liked it!
bryckk's review against another edition
Asher & Lucy: No Where Near A Match
Well, this is my first DNF of 2023. I tried very hard with this story. At 48%, I couldn’t take any more. This plot had potential but the story was preposterous.
I found Lucy to be very silly, immature, and draining. I could stand to be trapped in her brain any longer! She annoyed the f*ck out of me and her background story has too many holes and makes absolutely no sense. For someone who had such a hard life as hers, I’d have thought she had more sense and backbone. She possessed neither.
Asher had so much potential to be a bad-ass Alphahero but he fell flat. He wasn’t threatening to say the least and ended up being dragged into Lucy’s silly bubble and acting just as flakey as she.
These two had no sexual chemistry and this book read more like a parody than a romance. I’m done.
If I recommend anything it’s that you don’t waste your time in this one.
Well, this is my first DNF of 2023. I tried very hard with this story. At 48%, I couldn’t take any more. This plot had potential but the story was preposterous.
I found Lucy to be very silly, immature, and draining. I could stand to be trapped in her brain any longer! She annoyed the f*ck out of me and her background story has too many holes and makes absolutely no sense. For someone who had such a hard life as hers, I’d have thought she had more sense and backbone. She possessed neither.
Asher had so much potential to be a bad-ass Alphahero but he fell flat. He wasn’t threatening to say the least and ended up being dragged into Lucy’s silly bubble and acting just as flakey as she.
These two had no sexual chemistry and this book read more like a parody than a romance. I’m done.
If I recommend anything it’s that you don’t waste your time in this one.
tomberly's review against another edition
5.0
I didn’t want this book to END...that’s how good it is!!!! Lucy and Asher are my perfect slow burn OTP!!!! Highly recommended!!!
fairyyeah's review against another edition
4.0
This was actually quite different from other mafia related books (even though its TECHNICALLY not mafia related but also yes it is) just because I wouldn't really classify it as an enemies to lovers. It technically did have the forced marriage trope, but they also negotiated the marriage early on before anything was signed so I could argue that it was a mutual transaction too. From the very beginning, the two had a mutual level of respect towards each other that isn't seen in plenty of other mafia arranged/forced marriage books. This respect and their attraction towards one another only grew over time, and again unlike many books of this nature, there wasn't a miscommunication trope which I LOVED. Overall, cute and kind of surprising read.
theoriginal_b00k_nerd's review against another edition
4.0
Asher Black - The Five Syndicates #1 - Review
Couple: Asher Black & Lucy
Author: Parker S. Huntington
Tropes: enemy to lover, fake relationship, dark romance, mafia romance, grumpy/sunshine, antihero
Review: AHHH another mafia romance! This book kicks off the series by Parker that aims to unite the five families in this mafia world. Asher Black will always be my favorite book in this series and I only wish we had some chapters from Asher’s POV.
The book is written in first person and only from Lucy’s POV. This book is a feel good, fake relationship to lovers romance that makes you want a man like Asher for yourself. I thought the development in the couple was done expertly and it makes you think about how their fake relationship was never truly fake but founded on a friendship that was unbreakable. While the arrangement initially started off as a contract, it quickly became real when Lucy refused to bow to Asher’s whims and proved just how intelligent she was.
Lucy is FMC who embodies the intelligence of a woman in a man’s field. I loved how Asher brought her up and encouraged it rather than trying to douse it. I also really enjoyed how he always treated her as an equal even when she did not think he was. The book is a slow burn in the spice level but the attraction and bond these two have in the pages is truly amazing to read.
Both have past horrors that made them into who they are and I loved how Lucy faced her past and came clean to Asher about who she was. I also like how she stood up for him when he was targeted and made herself a queen.
This book is not quite as long but it packs a punch and will leave you needing more.
Rating: 8/10, wanted Asher’s POV!
Couple: Asher Black & Lucy
Author: Parker S. Huntington
Tropes: enemy to lover, fake relationship, dark romance, mafia romance, grumpy/sunshine, antihero
Review: AHHH another mafia romance! This book kicks off the series by Parker that aims to unite the five families in this mafia world. Asher Black will always be my favorite book in this series and I only wish we had some chapters from Asher’s POV.
The book is written in first person and only from Lucy’s POV. This book is a feel good, fake relationship to lovers romance that makes you want a man like Asher for yourself. I thought the development in the couple was done expertly and it makes you think about how their fake relationship was never truly fake but founded on a friendship that was unbreakable. While the arrangement initially started off as a contract, it quickly became real when Lucy refused to bow to Asher’s whims and proved just how intelligent she was.
Lucy is FMC who embodies the intelligence of a woman in a man’s field. I loved how Asher brought her up and encouraged it rather than trying to douse it. I also really enjoyed how he always treated her as an equal even when she did not think he was. The book is a slow burn in the spice level but the attraction and bond these two have in the pages is truly amazing to read.
Both have past horrors that made them into who they are and I loved how Lucy faced her past and came clean to Asher about who she was. I also like how she stood up for him when he was targeted and made herself a queen.
This book is not quite as long but it packs a punch and will leave you needing more.
Rating: 8/10, wanted Asher’s POV!