laurenjrichards's review
5.0
If you are looking for a plus sized mafia romance with arranged marriage, forced proximity, strong fmc who isn’t ashamed that she’s plus sized; look no further. This book is one of the best books that CC has written. I loved that Emelia loved her body & wasn’t afraid to show it. Nico is the typical made man who doesn’t know that he’s missing his queen. CC had a story that drug me in and I finished it in one sitting, I never wanted their story to end.
ninas_booknook's review
5.0
Emelia is the daughter of a mob boss. She is forced in an arranged marriage to marry the most feared mob boss in Seattle, Nico. Her father is expecting her to send back information so he can destroy Nico. That is what Emelia plans to do, but Nico has other plans.
First off, I have followed C.C. Monroe on TikTok and knew that I needed to read this book soon as I could get my hands on it and let me say for my first book by C.C. this did not disappoint! I was hooked from the start and binge read this whole book, I may have stayed up way late and only got a few hours of sleep to finish it...but so worth it. I love how Emelia didn't hide who she was, she had sass and she showed it no matter what. She stuck up for who she was and didn't want to be "locked up" in another cage during this marriage, she made sure she had her voice. Nico, wow. I love how annoyed he gets with Emelia I laughed at the parts where she pushed his buttons. There is definitely spice, chemistry from the beginning with both of them. Plus, if you love a good touch her and die mafia man then Nico is it. The last 80% of the book...so good but omg! I enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more by C.C. Monroe.
"We created our own love language Emelia. We didn't do anything conventional."
Tropes:
- Dark Romance
- Mafia
- Touch her and die
- Plus size FMC
- Enemies to lovers
First off, I have followed C.C. Monroe on TikTok and knew that I needed to read this book soon as I could get my hands on it and let me say for my first book by C.C. this did not disappoint! I was hooked from the start and binge read this whole book, I may have stayed up way late and only got a few hours of sleep to finish it...but so worth it. I love how Emelia didn't hide who she was, she had sass and she showed it no matter what. She stuck up for who she was and didn't want to be "locked up" in another cage during this marriage, she made sure she had her voice. Nico, wow. I love how annoyed he gets with Emelia I laughed at the parts where she pushed his buttons. There is definitely spice, chemistry from the beginning with both of them. Plus, if you love a good touch her and die mafia man then Nico is it. The last 80% of the book...so good but omg! I enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more by C.C. Monroe.
"We created our own love language Emelia. We didn't do anything conventional."
Tropes:
- Dark Romance
- Mafia
- Touch her and die
- Plus size FMC
- Enemies to lovers
bookishmorgann's review
4.0
spicy, intense, and the enemies to lovers was giving
i ate this up. cc never fails for me and she is a spice QUEEN
i ate this up. cc never fails for me and she is a spice QUEEN
smutbook_cami's review
4.0
How does one love if never felt love before?
Emelia comes from a mafia family who despises her, shows her no love. Being married off to a rival mafia family for supposed peace.
Nico a Mafia mob boss, has plans of his own with this arranged marriage.
Emelia. She is a firecracker full of hate, bottled up emotions, and no way to release her feelings. Her spunk and brattiness comes out in SPADES ♠️.
Nico is a dominating man who can talk so filthy it’s sexy reading the words. His ability to run his outfit and manage Emelia is a feat in itself.
“I know she’s a firecracker waiting to be lit, to skyrocket into a spiral. To fly free from her confines and let whoever is in her way feel years of pent-up wrath.”
These two were a bomb waiting to go off. AND DID IT EVER!
“You’re about to be broken. Damaged. Ruined beyond repair. Are you sure you’re ready for what that means?”
“Get this one thing, Nico. Don’t ask me—take me. Do things to me. Degrade me. Praise me. And be the man who can do what I won’t let you outside this bedroom. Which is in control of me.”
Absolutely loved this book.
I did receive an ARC for my honest review.
smutbookhussler Instagram/TikTok
Emelia comes from a mafia family who despises her, shows her no love. Being married off to a rival mafia family for supposed peace.
Nico a Mafia mob boss, has plans of his own with this arranged marriage.
Emelia. She is a firecracker full of hate, bottled up emotions, and no way to release her feelings. Her spunk and brattiness comes out in SPADES ♠️.
Nico is a dominating man who can talk so filthy it’s sexy reading the words. His ability to run his outfit and manage Emelia is a feat in itself.
“I know she’s a firecracker waiting to be lit, to skyrocket into a spiral. To fly free from her confines and let whoever is in her way feel years of pent-up wrath.”
These two were a bomb waiting to go off. AND DID IT EVER!
“You’re about to be broken. Damaged. Ruined beyond repair. Are you sure you’re ready for what that means?”
“Get this one thing, Nico. Don’t ask me—take me. Do things to me. Degrade me. Praise me. And be the man who can do what I won’t let you outside this bedroom. Which is in control of me.”
Absolutely loved this book.
I did receive an ARC for my honest review.
smutbookhussler Instagram/TikTok
jessica3's review
5.0
Mafia romance, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers and so good!! I really enjoyed this one!
I received an arc and this review is my own.
I received an arc and this review is my own.
bookstagramming_through_life's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This dark mafia romance was everything!!! I absolutely loved the characters from Nico to Emilia to Giulio.
Why you should read it:
Why you should read it:
- Great character development
- The spice is top notch
- Lots of action and romance
Tropes:
- Arranged marriage
- Mafia/dark romance
- Gun/knife/breath play
- "My Wife"
- Touch her and die/ultra-possessive alpha male
- Strong FMC with a soft side
Favorite quote:
“We could never be just fucking friends. You awaken too much in me. You make something warm spark through the coldness inside me.”
Thank you to The Author Agency and C.C. Monroe for the chance to ARC read this. All opinions are my own.
danireads1225's review
5.0
I freaking loved this book. Mafia romance. Marriage of deception. Family drama. Kick ass female main character. Spice - lord, the spice!!!
Emelia’s father is a mafia boss who is a truly awful person. He forces Emelia to marry Nico under the guise of an alliance between the two families.
Nico has his own agenda, unbeknownst to Emelia. But…he also shows Emelia how a woman should be treated.
Emelia’s father is a mafia boss who is a truly awful person. He forces Emelia to marry Nico under the guise of an alliance between the two families.
Nico has his own agenda, unbeknownst to Emelia. But…he also shows Emelia how a woman should be treated.
_elliereads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 (see spice scale on my instagram)
“Don’t you ever threaten to leave me, Emelia. You are mine, and I would hunt you down to the ends of this fucking earth if you ever tried to hide.”
Emilia, a mob boss’s daughter is forced to marry Nico, a mob boss himself. Emilia’s father wants to use her to get information on Nico’s outfit so he can destroy it from within. However, Emilia having been abused by her father since forever, quickly finds some sort of safe haven with Nico and doesn’t want to help her abusive father anymore. Emilia and Nico hate each other but are also crazy attracted to each other.. will there marriage become real and will they survive their enemies?
Boy did I love this book! Nico is HAAAAWT!! I absolutely loved Emilia en Nico together. Their banter is A+ and there is so much sexual tension between these two. Sparks fly when they get together. And when he threw in a “my wife” I was done.
I’m a big mafia romance lover and this was everything a good mafia romance should be. Do check trigger warnings before reading this as it is on the darker side.
Plotwise it made me think of Cora Reilly‘s Bound By Honor which is one of my all time favorite books so that’s high praise coming from me 🤣
The thing with dark mafia romance is that you can’t take it to seriously… I feel like a lot of people think it’s over the top or that there’s no storyline but you’re just reading it with the wrong mindset. A forced marriage between a mob princess and a mob boss who definitely do not like each other. The marriage is obviously just a means to an end and then suddenly they start to like each other more than lust for each other (although the lust never dies). The guys are always smoking hot and so extremely sexy in a crazy dark way. And the women usually very feisty.
This book had all of that along with some crazy mafia related scenes (⚠️ TW)
The sex was often, spicy and a touch darker. There was a scene with a gun and a window.. just dropping that here to end this review.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 (see spice scale on my instagram)
“Don’t you ever threaten to leave me, Emelia. You are mine, and I would hunt you down to the ends of this fucking earth if you ever tried to hide.”
Emilia, a mob boss’s daughter is forced to marry Nico, a mob boss himself. Emilia’s father wants to use her to get information on Nico’s outfit so he can destroy it from within. However, Emilia having been abused by her father since forever, quickly finds some sort of safe haven with Nico and doesn’t want to help her abusive father anymore. Emilia and Nico hate each other but are also crazy attracted to each other.. will there marriage become real and will they survive their enemies?
Boy did I love this book! Nico is HAAAAWT!! I absolutely loved Emilia en Nico together. Their banter is A+ and there is so much sexual tension between these two. Sparks fly when they get together. And when he threw in a “my wife” I was done.
I’m a big mafia romance lover and this was everything a good mafia romance should be. Do check trigger warnings before reading this as it is on the darker side.
Plotwise it made me think of Cora Reilly‘s Bound By Honor which is one of my all time favorite books so that’s high praise coming from me 🤣
The thing with dark mafia romance is that you can’t take it to seriously… I feel like a lot of people think it’s over the top or that there’s no storyline but you’re just reading it with the wrong mindset. A forced marriage between a mob princess and a mob boss who definitely do not like each other. The marriage is obviously just a means to an end and then suddenly they start to like each other more than lust for each other (although the lust never dies). The guys are always smoking hot and so extremely sexy in a crazy dark way. And the women usually very feisty.
This book had all of that along with some crazy mafia related scenes (⚠️ TW)
The sex was often, spicy and a touch darker. There was a scene with a gun and a window.. just dropping that here to end this review.
amberraex's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I have previously only read a few books by CC Monroe and I follow her on all her socials where I saw all the sneak peeks for months regarding this book. I have never read a mafia romance and was super excited for her to be releasing this trope as I am a fan of her writing style.
I was blessed by CC to receive an ARC copy to read and review.
Let me tell you - I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED!
CC does it again with an amazing plot with plus size representation and all the romance. The shmut in this book is *chefs kiss* top tier. Emelia and Nico are one of my favorite couples for 2023. He is a super protected alpha that will do anything to protect his Queen. My only complaint is the voyeurism scene. I wish we would have gotten more from that scene (if you know, you know). Other than that, the book was great. 10/10 recommend.
This book is very different from her normal writing style, which proves she can tackle multiple tropes.
Please check trigger warnings before proceeding.
*mafia
*confident plus size FMC
*primal play
*knife play
*gun play
*voyeurism
I was blessed by CC to receive an ARC copy to read and review.
Let me tell you - I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED!
CC does it again with an amazing plot with plus size representation and all the romance. The shmut in this book is *chefs kiss* top tier. Emelia and Nico are one of my favorite couples for 2023. He is a super protected alpha that will do anything to protect his Queen. My only complaint is the voyeurism scene. I wish we would have gotten more from that scene (if you know, you know). Other than that, the book was great. 10/10 recommend.
This book is very different from her normal writing style, which proves she can tackle multiple tropes.
Please check trigger warnings before proceeding.
*mafia
*confident plus size FMC
*primal play
*knife play
*gun play
*voyeurism