Book Review: Savage Lover by Sophie Lark

This was a bit of a stepdown. It just felt a lot younger than the previous books. Camille and Nero are both around 25 but they act like they’re in high school. 

I feel like this was supposed to be a bully romance, but it actually isn’t. I like that because I usually have issues with bully romances. 

Camille was easy to like and connect with. She rides the line of “not like other girls.” Nero is a manwhore with a heart of gold. He’s definitely all about the mafia life and supporting his family. But they also weren’t quite as developed as I would’ve liked.

Speaking of under-developed: when did Nero and Camille fall in love? I enjoyed the steamy scenes, but I don't know why they ever actually got together. It kind of just happened. 

Even though this wasn't my favorite, I plan on continuing with the series.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Devil of Dublin by B.B. Easton

I have a lot of feelings about this one. I’m hoping I can explain them and work through how I feel.

First, this cover stopped me from reading this book for a while. The guy on the cover screams F-boy. I had to prepare myself for that type of hero. Kellen is definitely not that character. He’s a quiet and damaged man. I just get a different vibe from the cover than the story actually has. 

The use of the past storytelling was very well done. It doesn’t always add to the story. This one did work and I quickly grew close to Darby and Kellen. I actually started crying around 25% in the middle of my hair appointment. 

There’s a lot of trauma being dealt with here by both characters. Most of it occurred off-page but some was on-page. Ms. Easton has detailed content warnings on her website. Because of these traumas, I would’ve preferred more time to pass. It just made me feel like the relationship was a bit unhealthy. Easton does address this eventually which I appreciated. 

This was definitely dark and there were high stakes. I was curious how Easton was going to resolve the conflicts she set up. I was fairly satisfied with it. 

I found some of the intimate scenes to be a little off. I was occasionally confused about what was going on. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention, but I re-read several pages so I don’t think so. Maybe it’s because the characters were disassociating. 

Overall, I enjoyed this. But I would’ve liked some things to be more finished. I would recommend this. And I would read more B.B. Easton, but I’m not running out to pick up her backlist.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark

I finished this in one sitting and stayed up until 2 AM. I haven’t done that in years so I felt I had to write a review. This was also my first Sophie Lark book.

This is a true enemies-to-lovers story. Like Callum and Aida legitimately hate each other because they’re from rival mafia families. Apparently I’m reading mafia romance a lot now. They basically try to kill each other even after they get married. They’re forced to marry by their fathers to bring peace to the families.

Initially, I thought this was slow. But it actually makes sense. There’s true animosity between Callum and Aida. It would be unrealistic for them to fall in love or move on from those feelings. That time really helped me buy into the romance. It also doesn’t stop them from having some spicy hate sex.

Callum and Aida grew to have a very strong romance. They understood and pushed each other in ways the other people in their lives didn’t. I especially loved when Callum would show respect to Aida. They had these little sweet moments.

I was intrigued by both of their siblings. That’s probably a good thing because the other books in the series are about them. I’m into the family dynamics here.

I would’ve liked an epilogue or something, but I always do. I do get why she didn’t do that. I’m hopeful I’ll get to see these two in future books. I’ll definitely keep reading the series, but I want to finish the other mafia romance series I’m reading right now.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: The Marriage Contract by Katee Robert

This was fast and I cared about the characters more than I expected. It’s a little short and the romance was a bit rushed. I would’ve liked an epilogue, but I always would like an epilogue.

This is set around Boston Mob (all Irish I think) families, but the series follows the O’Malley siblings. Callie and Teague are getting married to consolidate power. They also both have some secrets. 

Callie and Teague are immediately attracted to each other. That’s not the same as insta-love, but it did feel like it moved quickly. I was mostly fine with it though. There’s some not talking to each other. Normally, I hate this, but it actually made sense why they kept their secrets.

I did grow to care about these characters and their families. I’m interested to see what happens with Teague’s siblings. They have a lot of different personalities so it’ll be fun to read their stories. This one wasn’t too dark or heavy although it does have sad stuff. But I think the future ones will be worse/darker. 

Overall this felt like Katee Robert, but a little more tame. I liked the audio especially because it included accents. Now, I have to decide if I want to pay to buy the rest on audio-I’m sure they’ll never go on sale.
Thanks for reading!
Holly