Review: Beautiful Savage by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

February 3, 2026 by · Leave a Comment

BEAUTIFUL SAVAGE
Series: Dark Empire #2
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Author: Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
Release Date: July 20, 2020

A dark, mafia standalone from Wall Street Journal #1 bestselling authors Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

I’ll destroy them all to make her mine…

I want to forget the man I used to be. But violence just keeps calling my name. To avenge her, I’ll become that savage again.

Dark.

Corrupted.

Brutal.

Hers.

She was broken by the men who took her, so now I’m going to make them bleed.

I might be her saviour, but I’m no valiant knight.

There’s only one thing I want in return for helping the girl I found in the wilderness. And that’s her.

Winter may not remember who she is, but she’ll soon realise that the only thing she needs to be is mine.

I’m the shadow of two men and the total of none, though she might be what I need to rebuild myself.

So once I lay their heads at her feet, I’ll cast my tattered soul down with them.

And I’ll paint her a happily ever after in their blood.

Nicoli and Winter’s story is a Stand-Alone Dark Mafia Romance with revenge themes and a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains heat, passion and explosive steamy scenes for readers who enjoy mature content. For the best reader experience, start with book 1 Beautiful Carnage.

AMAZON

I’ll be your warrior, Winter. Because you need vengeance and I need redemption.

You know that feeling when you absolutely LOVE and devour the first book in the series and you are so giddy to read the next one, only to end up rage reading it to spite yourself? Yeah? I didn’t either, but I sure do now. Because what a disappointment this book was. It was like night and day from book one and I’m still bitter that I forced myself to finish it. I kept thinking that surely it will get better. Right? WRONG. I have bitten off my nose to spite my face and I have all the regrets. Le sigh.

After the curve ball of a twist we get at the end of Beautiful Carnage, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Nicoli’s book. And I remained excited right up around 20%, and then the excited began to rapidly wane. And annoyance and cringe entered the chat. First of all, the nicknames in this book gave me a nervous tick. The amount of times he called her “savage girl” and “Baby doll” was like nails on a chalkboard after a while. One overused nickname is enough, but two just about did me in. He calls her “baby doll” 83 times and “savage girl” 64 times. And yes, I counted.

But that aside, there was just something about this story that just didn’t land. Winter’s character had so much potential but she was flat. There was nothing more to her outside what was described. I couldn’t connect with her for the life of me. Her connection with Nicoli also felt flat. The chemistry was just not there. I felt like every nuance of this book was a tell instead of show and it just didn’t land. The spice began to take over the plot and by the 60% mark, I was skimming over every sex scene because it just got repetitive and boring. It also got eye roll inducing cliche of we’re in danger so therefore we must bang.

Considering how much I loved the first book, this one fell so flat. I regret forcing myself to finish but I did enjoy the additional POV of the rest of the brothers. I do hope we get books for them eventually, because I’m super intrigued. But this book was sadly not it for me.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , , , ,

Review: Beautiful Carnage by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

February 2, 2026 by · Leave a Comment

BEAUTIFUL CARNAGE
Series: Dark Empire #1
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Author: Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
Release Date: January 4, 2020

A dark, mafia standalone from Wall Street Journal #1 bestselling authors Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

His family killed my brother, so I stole his bride…

I was there to murder her father, but then I saw her walking down the aisle.

She’s been my secret obsession for too long. The sinfully beautiful Calabresi princess.

Sloan was the perfect payment for their crimes.

Now she’s mine.

Mine to claim.

Mine to possess.

Mine to destroy.

Her fiancé is still hunting for us, but his bride might not be so innocent by the time he tracks her down.

I’m lining her family up like dominoes. And she’ll be the first to fall.

Unless I fall prey to temptation and decide to keep her for myself.

Rocco and Sloan’s story is a Stand-Alone Enemies to Lovers Dark Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains heat, passion and explosive steamy scenes for readers who enjoy mature content.

It all began with letters. Every word he wrote etched itself into my mind, into my soul.  
I had no choice but to fall for him. Was it really so bad that the letters were part of a penpal program … for prisoners? Or that they weren’t addressed to me? 
 
It’s not as if we’d ever meet. It’s not as if I’d ever get to look into Beau’s eyes that yearn for the ranch he left behind. Or that I’d ever get to feel his work-roughened hands dominating my body just as he does my fevered dreams. What harm could there be? 
 
Until one afternoon when I find myself standing in front of Beau—pretending to be someone I’m not. But the joke’s on me because for all my pretenses, his deception is much crueler … The hardened, dangerous, impossibly beautiful man is nothing like the man in the letters. 
 
And it’s too late for me to run. 
 
Content Guidance: 
The contents of this dark romance book may be triggering to some readers. It contains explicit sexual content and a morally gray hero. 
 
Trigger warnings: false identities, stalking/obsession, revenge/retribution, abduction, drugging, blackmail/coercion, forced marriage, violence, bondage, knife play, gun play, dubious consent, non-consent, off-the-page domestic abuse set in the past, off-the-page murder set in the past, parental grief 

AMAZON

I didn’t think I could hate anyone more than I hate you,” she breathed as the silence stretched between us.
A dark laugh escaped me and I leaned forward in my chair, moving so close to her that she had no choice but to turn and look at me. “I don’t think that’s true, bella,” I said in a low voice.
“You don’t think I hate you?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at me like I was insane.
“I think you hate me so hard, it eats you up. You hate me so hard you dream about me and all the awful things I might do to you. But I think that in those dreams you don’t actually hate it so much when I do them…”

Oh the giddy excitement that I devoured this book with. OMG. I have wanted to try more of their books since I read and loved Forget-Me-Not Bombshell but I’m not yet adventurous enough to delved into their series. Don’t judge me. I have the attention span of a fly. But I digress. I was in the mood for a true enemies to lovers dark mafia romance but everything I would pick up was just sort of BLAH. Ya know? Like it just wouldn’t hit the right way. I’ve had this one on my TBR for a while and 5 DNFs and 1 star later, I thought, why not. What do I have to lose. Apparently my entire day is what. Because it was an absolute blur as I devoured this book.

It had me hooked from the very first page. And I mean HOOKED. We’re talking true enemies to lovers where these two first meet when Rocco comes after her family but for some reason decided to spare her life. A few years later, Sloan is back to where it all started. She’s not the same 18 year old girl who was almost a victim. SHe’s a fighter. But one thing that she can’t fight, is her father’s plan for her. Which is to marry Nicoli, his protege. And it’s her duty to agree. But the wedding goes off with a bang when Rocco and his brothers crash it. And what’s a man to do when his revenge plan to kill a rival family doesn’t go as planned? Kidnap the bride, of course. DUH. And here, my friends, is where the real fun begins.

Because Sloan is not some easy prey. She gives as good as she gets and the banter between these two was EVERYTHING. This book had everything; a dark and gritty story, a slow burn romance full of tension and chemistry, delicious spice when it finally hits, and two main characters that I couldn’t get enough of.

If you love dark mafia romance and you haven’t read this one yet, do yourself a favor and grab this one. You won’t be disappointed!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , , , ,

Review: Sins of the Father by Isabel Lucero

December 19, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

SINS OF THE FATHER
Author: Isabel Lucero
Genre: Dark, MM Romance
Release Date: November 17, 2025

He comes to me through a lattice in a confessional booth in my church.

He’s brash, vulgar, and confessing to things that would send him to hell, and yet, I find myself intrigued by the mysterious man.

His sinful words thrill me. His way of life, so different from my own, has me coveting excitement that’s long been missing. The more I’m around him, the more I realize how long I’ve been deprived of so much, and the more my own deviance begins to emerge.

On paper, nothing about the two of us makes sense, and there are many reasons why I should keep my distance. I try to be pious, but if anyone were to find the skeletons in my closet, I’d be excommunicated from the church.

When something from my past reveals itself, I find myself being pulled into a way of life I didn’t think would be in my future, and now I straddle the line between right and wrong. Morality vs necessity.

I’m a priest. He’s a murderer. But we’re both sinners.

AMAZON

You got me on my knees, Father. Should I make a confession?” I nod once. “I’m about to ruin your life.”

The second I saw the blurb for this book, I knew it would be my first Isabel Lucero read. I am a sucker for the forbidden and the dark, and when you throw some mafia in? Stick a fork in me, I’m done!

A priest and a killer for hire? Yes please and gimme!

You can’t have sex, and I want to be the one to fuck you. To make a priest break his vow,”

While I enjoyed the story, I feel like I may have let my expectations also get the best of me. Carlo’s character development never quite clicked for me. The priesthood element felt glossed over and just thrown in for the plot, but never really fully touched. I missed the depth of the internal struggle and that never really happened. I understand that Carlo’s choice of the church wasn’t really a choice, but being in it for as long as he was, I expected at least some internal struggle. But it just felt like a switch was flipped and he no longer thought of it. And then the direction he took at the end, felt super off. I just couldn’t buy into it. I don’t want to ruin the twist, so I won’t spoil it, but I lacked the connection to really believe or buy into the direction of Carlo’s character.

As for Javi, I absolutely loved him and his filthy mouth. I do wish we got a bit more of his backstory development, but it was also just enough to connect me with him.

And while the chemistry was there, I felt like there wasn’t enough to really make the romance element believable. It went too quick too fast, that it just sort of happened, but lacked the development and the angst I’d expect.

If you like a dark mafia romance, this would hit the spot. It probably could have been done without the priesthood element and been just as good if not better. But again, my expectations got away from me with this one. Did I enjoy it? For the most part, yes. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark, MM · Tagged With: , , , ,

Review: The Pawn by Natasha Knight

October 31, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

THE PAWN
Series: War of Hearts #2
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Natasha Knight
Release Date: October 29, 2025

I rule a kingdom built on blood.

Brutality is my legacy.

The moment I saw Allegra Moretti, I knew I had to have her.

The night I planned to make her my wife, my enemies attacked.

They took her from me.

They did not know the monster they unleashed.

I burned the world down to bring her home.

Now, I’ll go to war for her.

I will tear our families apart and I will deliver her enemies to her in pieces.

Allegra is my queen and I will destroy any man who dares hurt her.

AMAZON

I still hate you,” I tell him what I’ve told him before although it’s not true. I know that now. “You can hate me all you want. It won’t make you any less mine.”

The heart pounding conclusion to the War of Hearts is here and WOWZA. What an ending. I think I may have spent the entire book with my jaw on the floor.

Angry kissing. Angry fucking. It’s our love language.

Cassian was impossible not to love as a villain in book one. But as a man desperate to rescue the woman he realizes means more to him than revenge? BE. STILL. MY. HEART.

If you haven’t yet read book one, don’t read my review, because it will reveal some mild spoilers of the first book. I’ll try to limit it to the bare minimum, though. Allegra is violently kidnapped and wakes up in her waking nightmare, facing the depths of a betrayal she had assumed but never realized the full extent of. And oh how deep it goes. This woman survives hell a second time over and my heart broke for everything she goes through. But her fierce warrior heart shines through every moment and I loved her character arc and her growth. Because she goes from surviving in her world to really being her own hero and I loved that. This is not a woman afraid of death and violence and doesn’t shy away from making her enemies pay.

Now Cassian. Man. I didn’t think it was possible to love this man even more than I did in book one when he was mean and pushing Allegra away. But Cassian who has comes to terms with his feelings and will protect his woman at any cost? SWOON.

It’s not often that a book takes me by surprise with a plot twist but this one managed to completely blind side me. When I tell you I was reeling, I mean jaw on the floor and completely blown away. I didn’t see that coming at all and I love that it took me by surprise that way.

This was an epic conclusion to a deliciously dark and gritty duet and I sincerely hope we’ll get more in this world because I NEED Jet’s book desperately. 

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Scorned Beauty by Victoria Paige

October 8, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

SCORNED BEAUTY
Series: Scorned Fate #5
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mafia
Author: Victoria Paige
Release Date: September 26, 2025

She can never be seen on his arm in public because she’s the hired help.

Sloane Scott has a reputation.
She’s the go-to cleaner for the New York mafia.
Discretion is unspoken if not written in blood.
No sleeping with my clients is her unwritten rule, so why the hell does the arrogant boss of the De Lucci crime family play a starring role in her steamy dreams.

Dominic “Dom” De Lucci has a reputation.
He’s the scion of two prominent crime families and New York’s most eligible villain.
Sought after for alliances, he has his pick in an arranged marriage.
But no one makes his blood simmer more than the off-limits beautiful cleaner for the mob with a voice made for seduction and a body made for sin.

When their attraction sparks to explosive levels, they give in and agree to certain rules.
What they have isn’t a relationship.
No dating. No giving gifts. No drama.
And, especially, no falling in love.
Just sex exclusively with each other.

So when Dom takes another woman as his “fake” date to formal events, Sloane understands because it helps cover their affair.
And their arrangement works for a while, until the most important rule is broken.

AMAZON 

I wanted to fight her demons, even if one of her demons was me.

When a grovel is listed as one of the tropes, you best believe I will be all over it. And all over it I was. I binge read this story in one sitting!

Debating what to do with you,” I murmured. “Debating what to call you. Girlfriend sounds so immature.”
“And what have you decided?”
“Wife sounds better.”

Sloane is a nurse student by day and a cleaner for the mafia by night. Her troubled brother inadvertently ensuring that she continues to stay in the crosshairs of the Russian Bratva, while her friendship with Bianca kept her in close proximity with the Italian mafia.

Dominic is Bianca’s cousin and a man who’s been obsessed with Sloane. I loved his single minded intention with her even though I wanted to throttle him for always keeping her at arm’s length. Sloane is not exactly looking for the complications of a relationship herself, so when Dom offers her a mutually satisfying arrangement that centers around multiple orgasms, she agrees. Though she keeps him at arm’s length herself.

But then Dom screws up and he does so epically. And as the dominoes of his mistake begin to fall, they unravel the man he knows himself to be. To say that he’s tortured by what happens is an understatement. I loved the way the author chipped away at his human side with the regret of his choices. But I will say, it made his grovel so much more satisfying.

I would call this mafia light. It touches on some dark undertones but doesn’t fully get immersed in the dark depths of it all. There is a sassy dialogue and witty banter with humor that adds another lighter layer which helps offset some of the darker themes and topics that are touched on in this story.

I loved Dom’s grovel to his HEA with Sloane and I loved the way that Sloane made him work for it. If you’re looking for a sexy mafia romance with a possessive MMC who messes up big but grovels bigger, definitely give this one a shot!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance · Tagged With: , ,

Review: The Lost Kings by Ashley Munoz

September 27, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

THE LOST KINGS
Series: Rake Forge Royals #1
Author: Ashley Munoz
Genre: Dark, Mafia Romance
Release Date: September 26, 2025

From the creator of the bestselling Stone Riders series comes an all-new romantic suspense described as “John Wick meets The Summer I turned Pretty,” with an angsty love triangle between twin brothers.

I was always told people grew roots where they were planted.

But mine developed between the hearts of two brothers.

For as long as I could remember, they were my protectors, living on the opposite end of the manor.

It was when I turned eight that I realized the truth. The twins were never supposed to protect me. It was the other way around and I would grow up to be the one that kept our family safe.

As time went on, they were forced to watch while I was broken and reshaped into the weapon needed to break us free from the cage our family had been forced into.

I always assumed the twins understood.

But when I became old enough to accept my fate, they slapped it away and tried to show me a different choice.

Even with my heart in their hands, I tried to make them see that there was no other path for me to walk.

They left, abandoning the family and destroying those roots that had kept us together.

Without them, we were forced to align with a powerful enemy.

But the twins returned when it was discovered how close I became with our rival.

I assumed it was to reclaim my heart, but it was to declare war.

We stood on opposite sides, but somewhere in the middle was my broken heart, still held between two lost kings.

AMAZON

I just simply couldn’t understand the draw of being with one man when two was an option.

If you’ve read Ashley’s Rake Forge University series, you’re going to love the next gen spinoff featuring the daughter of The Joker.

I have been eagerly devouring any hints into this book for months now. It’s an MFM and it’s a love triangle and I was desperate to find out more. Is the love triangle between the twins? Or is the love triangle between the twins and another man? And after reading this book, I’m still desperate for answers.

I didn’t want him looking at her. I didn’t want him falling for her. He couldn’t. Not when I was fairly certain I already had.

Presley is the daughter of Kyle “The Joker” and with the weight of her father’s empire and sins on her shoulders. From the time she was old enough, she was training to take it over and all the dangers that come with it, including her father’s enemies who never stop coming for him.

Gio and King are the twin sons of Taylor and Juan from King of Hearts and are Presley’s best friends. And from the time they’re old enough to recognize the emotion, they’ve been in love. Though the odds are forever stacked against them with who Presley’s family is.

The story is told in equal parts of past and present. Though I’m not usually a big fan of a lot of flashbacks, it really worked here to give you just enough understanding of their past in order to connect with what is happening in the present.

It was an angsty, slow burn of a story that tugged on the heartstrings right before it ripped them to absolute shreds. I have no idea what I’m going to do with myself until the conclusion. I love the usual spin on mafia male heir with Presley being the tough queen that she is. Her training at the hands of her father’s uncle was ruthless and she grew into a fiery woman but one who can still get her heart crushed by the two men who she never got over.

If you love a forbidden romance with plenty of angst, emotion, and heat, then you’re not going to want to miss this one!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , , , ,

#DGRFave & Review: Beautiful Torment by A. Zavarelli

September 26, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

BEAUTIFUL TORMENT
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Author: A Zavarelli
Release Date: September 26, 2025

They call him Il Diavolo

When the devil dressed in black crashes my wedding

I know he didn’t come to offer me his blessing

He came to collect what was always his

For months, he’s watched me from the shadows

Haunting me

Biding his time

Planning his revenge

Before he was King of the Cosa Nostra

I was fated to be his queen

I promised him forever

Now, he’s here to remind me what forever really means.

 

AMAZON

Beautiful torment. That’s what he is.

The way I have been waiting for this story! If you’ve read Zavarelli’s Society Trilogy, you may remember Angelo. And if you’ve read Kingdom Fall then you should definitely remember Angelo as Alessio’s best friend and a man set on revenge to find those who are responsible for setting him up and stealing years from his life.

He radiates darkness—the kind most people cross the street to avoid. It’s in the way he moves, the unmistakable imprint of danger some men carry in their DNA.

They call him Il Diavolo for a reason. He’s ruthless, methodical, soulless. His only focus is his vengeance. Once upon a time, Angelo and Abella were everything. And then she became his ruin and he became her most cherished memory.

Something feral lives inside him. It’s more than obsession. It feels like starvation laced with fury.

You will also remember Abella from Kingdom Fall and I loved being inside her head in her own. Even though she knows the fate of a woman inside the society is to be nothing more than an ornament, she’s made peace with it. Or at least in the only way she knows how. She’s engaged to a man who she will never love because the only man she ever did is lost to her forever. Until he shows up at her wedding to steal her away and to make her pay for the role she played in his downfall years ago.

Now let me tell you, the chemistry between these two was INCENDIARY. The way that Angelo hates that he wants her and yet can’t stay away from her is simply delicious. I couldn’t get enough of the push and pull between them.

Oh God,” she whimpers.
“I like it when you remember to say your prayers,” I tell her. “Such a respectable Italian principessa.”

I absolutely devoured this book. And I mean DEVOURED. I finished it in one sitting both needing answers and dreading being done. A Zavarelli’s books are simply my crack and I will never get enough. And now a new Society series spinoff? I am SHOOKETH and obsessed.

If you love dark mafia/secret society romance with an obsessed stalker, touch her and die vibes, and all the steam, look no further!

She was the softness to my brutality.


A. Zavarelli is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of dark and contemporary romance.

When she’s not putting her characters through hell, she can usually be found watching bizarre and twisted documentaries in the name of research.

She currently lives in the Northwest with her lumberjack and an entire brood of fur babies.

Connect w/A. Zavarelli: 

Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter | Mailing List | Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Bookbub 

Check out more information on the books and authors coming this fall HERE—> https://under-world-kings.com

Keep up-to-date with all things Underworld Kings in the Reader Group HERE—> https://bit.ly/3ArB5vx

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Dark · Tagged With: , , , ,

Review: Brutal Reign by Monica Kayne

September 12, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

BRUTAL REIGN
Series: Bratva Kings #3
Genre: Dark, Mafia Romance
Author: Monica Kayne
Release Date: September 12, 2025

Hope King was supposed to die by my hand. Instead, she became my obsession.

For five years, I’ve hunted the Triad princess. The daughter of my enemy. The woman who haunts my every waking moment.

When I find her on her wedding day, I don’t eliminate her like I was ordered to—I marry her instead.

She thinks I’m the monster who destroyed her world, and she’s right. But she also shattered mine—carving a void in my soul that only she can fill.

Now she’s trapped in my compound, in my bed, in my life. She can fight me all she wants, even plan her escape. But Hope is mine now, and I’m never letting her go.

Brutal Reign is a dark mafia romance that includes forced marriage, accidental pregnancy, and a secret child. It has no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. Can be read as a complete standalone.

AMAZON 

“You can run from me, angel moy. I love to chase. But when I catch you, and I will, I won’t let you go.”

Oh but I am loving this series. Monica has quickly become of my favorite dark mafia romance authors and this book hit every spot, even those I didn’t know I had.

Hope and Pavel’s story was deliciously addictive. A Triad princess and the Bratva king? Yes please!
Pavel’s syndicate and the Triad ran by Hope’s father have been at war, until everything comes to a deadly end one night. When the syndicate realizes that the woman who managed to escape was the daughter of the now dead triad leader, Pavel is sent in to eliminate the threat. But when he comes face to face with Hope, he knows he can’t kill her, so he lets her go. Only to come crashing back into her life on her wedding day to the next Triad leader and marry her instead, whether she wants it or not.

The story was such a thrill ride of a story. It had non stop action and I loved the dynamic between Hope and Pavel so much. The way that he’s so ruthless and deadly but will burn the world down for her? Swoon. And while she hasn’t yet come to terms with her reality, you see her feelings for the brutal man who’s fiercely protective of her bleed through every passing day.

And the mouth on this man? Lord have mercy. The dirty talk was definitely hitting. I also loved Hope’s tenacity. She wasn’t brash or impulsive, but quietly thoughtful. I appreciated that she wasn’t the cliche FMC in a forced marriage that runs into danger at the slightest inconvenience. I loved her balance of vulnerability and understated strength.

If you’re looking for a dark and sexy mafia romance with great characters and an addictive story, look no further!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Dark, Dirty Talkers · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: The Kingpin’s Call Girl by Annika Martin

July 25, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

THE KINGPIN’S CALL GIRL
Series: Moonlit Ridge #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Annika Martin
Release Date: July 25,2025

I’m not a call girl; I’m a college student—playing dress-up to find my sister.

One night. One assignment.

Get invited to the table. Memorize names. Get out.

Easy—until he walks in.

Luka Zogaj isn’t just powerful.

He’s lethal. Savage. Worshipped and feared like a god.

And when he sees me, he buys me.

Not for a night. For two weeks.

Now I’m living a double life—student by day, owned by a monster by night.

He doesn’t know I’m living a lie.

But every time he touches me, I forget who I am.

He’s the last man I should want.

And the only one who’s ever made me feel like this.

AMAZON

I just paid you for fourteen nights with a few grand extra thrown in. You’re mine, same as that jacket there. If you try to hide, I’ll find you. If you leave town, I’ll find you even faster. For the next two weeks, you are mine and mine alone.”

Oh Annika, you sure do know the way to a girl’s heart.

Now it’s been a minute since I read a book by this author, and I have no idea why. I forgot that Annika was THAT girl when it comes to writing some of the most delicious MMCs. If you didn’t know, just read Dark Mafia Prince and thank me after. But I digress.

The second Annika released the title to this book, I was immediate intrigued. But when I read the blurb, I absolutely had to have it. A dangerous criminal and the innocent college girl he buys thinking she’s a call girl? TAKE. MY. MONEY.

When I tell you that I devoured this book in one sitting, I mean I gobbled it right up.

Edie is desperately searching for her missing sister and manages to get herself into quite the pickle. The pickle being her being forced to pretend to be a call girl to try to gather information on some dangerous people. Get in and get out. Until she catches the eye of the most dangerous man in the room, Luka Zogaj. And oh Luka, the savage that he was.

You hate me, don’t you? I’m an awful man who takes whatever he wants without paying. A beast who hurts the good people of the world just because he can. And now you belong to me, and I’m gonna make you come again, and I’m gonna make you crave me, and there’s not a goddamned thing you can do about it.”

Now did I want to judge Edie for her naiveté at times? Sure! But then I remembered that she’s on her own, desperately searching for her sister, and my judgy braid would just shut off. I loved how she wasn’t afraid of Luka almost as much as I loved the way he got off on her scorn and sass.

Somewhere along the line, somebody messed with your head and left you high and dry. Probably your daddy…
I’m your daddy now,” he says, entering me slowly, stretching me over the sink and working me how he wants

This story had everything; the grit, the suspense, the chemistry and the sizzling romance. The villain was somewhat predictable, but I think it may have meant to be with plenty of hints thrown along the way.

It was one of those books that I devoured in one sitting and was thrilled to see would be a series, because I desperately need more. If you love a sexy and gritty mafia romance, you need this book in your life. Trust me on this now and thank me later, mkay?

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Caught Up by Navessa Allen

July 24, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

CAUGHT UP
Series: Into Darkness #2
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Navessa Allen
Release Date: June 10, 2025

I wanted this woman, and I was a man who always got what he wanted.

Nico ‘Junior’ Trocci knows Lauren Marchetti is off limits. She is sweetness and laughter, whereas Junior exists in a world of violence and depravity. Men like him don’t get to have women like her. It’s why he pushed her away back in high school and has kept his distance ever since.

But when Junior looks Lauren up online, he discovers the shy, bookish girl he remembers is gone. In her place is a strikingly beautiful woman whose social media is filled with scantily clad pictures of herself and a connection to a nearby play club. Junior’s innocent curiosity quickly turns into a dark obsession. But watching Lauren from a distance isn’t enough; he needs to make her his.

He’s ruthless; a walking red flag. Good thing red is my favorite color.

Lauren is intrigued by the mystery man who keeps showing up at her club, who tempts her white-hot desires. But as their flirty online messages stir up a deeper form of connection, Lauren worries she’s developing real feelings for this brooding stranger. As their combined desire ratchets up to a breaking point, who will seduce who? And will they survive the fall?

Caught Up is a fast-paced dark romance with a morally grey male lead. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the content warning at the beginning of the book.

AMAZON 

The power of Christ compels you,” I muttered, desperate to expel her from my body.
Junior’s lips twitched. “You trying to exorcise me, Lo?”
“I heard that’s what you’re supposed to do when the ghost of an ex shows up.”
He glanced down again, to where I was still arching into him. “Doesn’t look like it’s working.”

Did I like it? Sure. I just didn’t love it.

Lights Out was a top favorite of mine and I tried to manage my expectations for this book. I didn’t want to compare it to the first one and allow it to stand on its own. Which it did. I liked the story. I liked the characters. But it was also missing that special sauce that book one seemed to bring. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was exactly, but it just didn’t pull me in like the first book.

I enjoyed Lauren. I always love a sex positive FMC and I loved her sass and the way she made Junior work to get back into her good graces. I liked Junior too, but it wasn’t the intense obsession I had with Josh. Maybe I’m just a bit over the TikTok reference? We had masktok in book one and bikertok in this one. It’s cute, sure, but also couldn’t help feeling like the story just relied on that schtick too much. It worked for book one, but I suppose this one just felt like it needed more.

The humor was there and so was the steam, but again it just didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped.

I do love a good second chance romance so the dynamic between Lauren and Junior was fun. I almost wish we got to see them a bit more in the past rather than seeing that unfold off the pages.

If you’re looking for a fun and steamy read, this one will fit the bill. And while I didn’t love it, I did still enjoy it and can’t wait for the next one.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Bikers, Dark · Tagged With: , , ,
Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

%d bloggers like this: