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?

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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.

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Review: When She Unravels by Gabrielle Sands

June 2, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

 

WHEN SHE UNRAVELS
Series: The Fallen #1
Author: Gabrielle Sands
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: August 30, 2022

He’s the most powerful man in Ibiza, and he’ll do anything to make me his.

I’ve been raised to be the perfect mafia wife, but when my marriage turns into a horrific nightmare, I have no choice but to leave everything behind and start a new life.

I find myself alone in Ibiza—a place that swallows innocent girls like me alive. I’m robbed the day I arrive, left with nothing but a few euros and the clothes on my back.

My desperation leads me right to Damiano De Rossi. He rules over this island with an iron fist and beneath his strikingly handsome face lies a wicked darkness. I ask him for a job. He gives me far more than that—degradation, jealousy, and toe-curling lust.

When my resistance to him is all but gone, a secret is revealed, and we fall apart like a house of cards.

I know what I have to do. Run.

But when I try, I discover…he’s already got me bound.

Note: When She Unravels is an 18+ dark mafia romance with mature themes, profanity, and plenty of steam. It’s book one in The Fallen series but can be read as a standalone.

AMAZON

You’re a pig.”
He stands up and steps into my space. “No, I’m a wolf. And you’re a sheep that wandered into the wrong pasture.”

When I read Be With Me earlier last week, I was immediately kicking myself for not finding this author sooner. To say that I was hooked was an understatement. I immediately had to find and start her backlist. And when I tell you that I binge read this book in one night, I mean I BINGE read it. As someone who is constantly on the hunt for a good dark mafia romance, they get harder and harder to find. But I hit the jackpot with this author who is now an absolute auto buy for me.

Now if the blurb alone isn’t delicious enough to hook you, I’m not sure that we’re reading the same blurb. Because GAH.

Damiano and Valentina were absolutely sizzling together. Valentina is mafia princess who finds herself married to a monster due to a marriage contract set up by her don father. But when pushed too far, she escapes and finds herself hiding in Ibiza. With nothing to her name and in hiding and unable to use her real name, Valentina needs a job. And a popular nightclub seems to be the perfect solution. Unfortunately the nightclub is owned by a man who is as infuriating as he is handsome.

The push and pull between these two was absolutely delicious. I love their antagonistic start. But Damiano is not who he appears to be and when Vale realizes that she just walked into the lion’s den, she has nowhere left to run.

I thought I loved the first half of this book but it was nothing compared to the second half. I devoured it and couldn’t bring myself to set it down for even a minute. I loved these characters. I loved this story. And if you’re a fan of dark mafia romance like me, prepare yourself for your new addiction because this series IS IT.

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DGRFave & Review: Be With Me by Gabrielle Sands

May 14, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

BE WITH ME
Series: House of Ferraro #1
Author: Gabrielle Sands
Genre: Mafia Romance
Release Date: May 14, 2025

She’s the mayor-to-be’s perfect daughter. He’s the ruthless villain set to ruin her.I’ve spent my life putting others first. So when my father runs for New York City mayor—on a promise to take down the city’s most notorious crime family—I do what I always push my own dreams aside to help him win.

Until I wind up at the wrong party. Trapped in a bedroom with Romolo Ferraro—the dangerous, merciless youngest son of the man my father has sworn to destroy.

He terrifies me. He fascinates me. Six foot four and covered in tattoos, he’s everything I should avoid.

When he starts pursuing me, I know I’m just a pawn in his game. A means to an end. And yet… part of me wants to play along.

I tell myself it’s to protect my father’s campaign. But I’m not thinking about politics when Romolo’s rough hands slide over my skin, teaching me how good it feels to burn.

They say good girls don’t fall for the villain.

But maybe, I’m tired of being good.

~

Be With Me is book 1 in House of Ferraro, a series of interconnected standalones following the Ferraro brothers, where dark and sensual romance plays out against a backdrop of family secrets and mafia intrigue.

AMAZON

Mia Morales had infected my black heart with a virus that compelled me to do right by her. Fuck knows if I’d ever recover./i>

First of all, how is this my first Gabrielle Sands book and what rock have I been living under? An immediate binge on her backlist is incoming because I have been sleeping on this author and now kicking myself. My fellow mafia romance lovers, if you haven’t yet discovered Gabrielle Sands, you need to crawl out from under that rock right along with me. When I tell you that I binge read this book in one sitting, I mean I was GLUED to the pages from cover to cover.

I excelled at many things, but there was one thing I discovered a long time ago I was particularly good at—destroying people’s lives. Sometimes, I barely even had to try./i>

If you love a Romeo and Juliet vibe with a good girl/bad boy trope thrown in, prepare yourself because OH MY GOD. And if you love a good tortured antihero, then really prepare yourself because Romolo was IT.

Romolo is the Ferraro brother who gets sent in to get information no matter the cost; whether it be his fists, his manipulation, or something else entirely. And he’s damn good at it. Mia’s father poses a threat to his family because his entire campaign trail is on the platform of bringing organized crime down with a focus specifically on the Ferraro. And what better in than his daughter? But what he doesn’t anticipate is the sizzling connection between the two of them.

What exactly are you proposing?”
“Simple. You. Me. A sturdy bed with a headboard, and a box of condoms. Remember how you said I hadn’t earned you moaning my name? Let me fucking earn it.”/i>

Mia is the epitome of good girl with her savior complex when it comes to her friends and her agreeable nature at any cost when it comes to her father. While at first I thought these qualities would annoy me (because usually they would), they were somehow endearing with her. She just wanted love and a part of me really connected with that.

But what I loved even more is her unwilling attraction to Rom, no matter how hard she tried to fight it. Their chemistry was absolutely incendiary and I couldn’t get enough of them.

It’s eleven. If we leave now, you’ll be screaming it by midnight,” he said roughly./i>

As a huge mafia romance fan, I am so excited to find a new to me author to obsess over.

I read it obsessively and still find myself thinking about it days after finishing. It was everything I love in a mafia romance; gritty, action packed, and with just the right amount of steam. The story was addictive and the romance was sizzling. I’m completely obsessed and can’t recommend it enough for all my fellow mafia romance lovers out there!

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Review: His Dark Vendetta by Katelyn Brehm

May 1, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

HIS DARK VENDETTA
Series: Bonded in Blood #2
Author: Katelyn Brehm
Genre: PNR
Release Date: May 1, 2025

SIOBHÁN

Once upon a time, I thought he’d be my happily ever after. Now, I’m not sure I’ll survive his dark vendetta.

I’ll never be safe. My found family is as dangerous as the one I escaped. I need to run, but Luca Moretti has other plans. My family murdered his father, and he wants me to pay the price.

Kidnapped and trapped by the man I wanted as a lover but is now my enemy, I wait for him to break me like he broke my heart.

We’re a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. Except in our version, Romeo tries to kill Juliet.

LUCA

Desire. Obsession. Revenge. The end of my blood feud is within reach. And it starts with her.

The New England dons granted their blessing—if I play by the rules, vengeance is mine. One life for my father’s.

But blood demons need Sources, and as a capo, I need to earn. Even with the feds breathing down my neck.

Each day I dodge bullets and the law, she chips away at my walls until there’s nothing left but the truth. An unwanted truth that shatters my resolve to break Siobhán Connelly and instead make her mine.

******

HIS DARK VENDETTA is the second book in the Bonded in Blood series. Each book is an interconnected standalone Paranormal Mafia Romance with a guaranteed HEA.

AMAZON

I’ve spent my whole life trying to get away from this world, and you keep running to it.”

If you haven’t started this series yet, this is your sign. If you like mafia and pnr, and you like your romance spicy, this is definitely your sign.

While this is a standalone in an interconnected series, I highly recommend reading in order. You will get a much better appreciation of the backstory of Luca and the betrayal that costs him everything. This book starts out in the aftermath of that, and if you haven’t read the previous book, you may not fully appreciate the redemption arc that takes place here.

I love the unique spin of vampires with the blood demons of this series. But I especially love the combination of dark mafia with spicy paranormal. Luca is a made man who has lived and breathed his revenge for years. He’s made mistakes that have cost him everything, including almost his life. And now, his vendetta is just a breath away. And the woman he once was drawn to is his ultimate Judas. Or so he thinks anyway.

I love a Romeo and Juliet vibe, and this brought it in spades. Luca and Siobhan are meant to be enemies. After all, Siobhan’s family is behind the death of Luca’s father. So what’s a man to do? Kidnap the woman he once lusted after with every intention to kill her, obviously.

This was such a wild and quick paced ride. I loved the warring families dynamic and I loved Luca’s redemption arc. The romance was romancing and I loved the slow burn of it.

If you’re looking for a unique PNR read, definitely check this out.

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Review: Savage Reign by Monica Kayne

January 31, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

SAVAGE REIGN
Series: Bratva Kings #2
Genre: Dark, Mafia Romance
Author: Monica Kayne
Release Date: January 31, 2025

Bratva kingpin Nikolai Zhukov is the devil in a tailored suit—lethal, ruthless, and utterly irresistible.

Once, he saved my life. Now, he owns me. As his wife. As his prisoner.

He tore me from my world and branded me with his touch, a wedding ring inked into my skin.

Trapped in his gilded cage, I’m nothing but a pawn in his brutal war—a means to an end in his deadly game against a rival syndicate.

But he doesn’t just want my submission. He wants to consume me—body, mind, and soul.

I swore I’d fight him, that I’d never give in. But with every heated glance, every forbidden touch, I’m losing ground.

Because monsters like Nikolai don’t just steal hearts.

They destroy them.

*Savage Reign is a forced marriage mafia romance. It has no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Can be read as a complete standalone.

AMAZON 

Savage Reign (Bratva Kings, #2)Savage Reign by Monica Kayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 STARS

She’s ruined me, this woman. And I don’t think there’s any way to come back.


Monica Kayne quickly shot up my goto mafia romance authors and this book is a perfect example why. It was gritty, sexy, with multilayered characters, action, and a story that had me turning the pages well past my bedtime.

Nikolai Zhukov isn’t just under my skin—he’s in my veins. And the scariest part is I’m done fighting it.


I am an absolute sucker for a forced marriage trope and this one hit so good that I never wanted it to end. Now I did my usual back@sswards thing and read book two before I read book one. And I am not sorry, okay! Though I will definitely be reading book one, I can also say that this easily reads a standalone and I had no issue being fully immersed in the story even though there’s clearly some carry over from the first book.

Five years ago, Sofiya’s parents sold her into a fate she couldn’t imagine, to be married to a brutal mafia man. Only to be rescued by the most unexpected savior in the most unconventional ways. Now five years later, Sofiya’s sister is married to the love of her life while she’s trying to figure out what to do with hers. It took her years to heal from the events of 5 years ago and she’s finally getting her life together. Only for it to take a turn when she meets a handsome stranger who isn’t quite what he seems.

Nikolai is the pakhan of the Zhukov Brava. To grow his power, he wants the contract to operate casinos across russia. The problem is that he needs the approval of the Roman from the Belov Syndicate to operate in Moscow, and considering that Nikolai’s brother almost killed Roman five years ago and there is no love lost between their fragile truce. So what’s a man to do to ensure his success? Kidnap Roman’s sister in law and lock her in a marriage whether she wants it or not.

I loved the chemstry between Nikolai and Sofiya. Even though Sofiya is younger, 22 to his 34, she’s no naive girl. She gives as good as she gets and doesn’t take anything lying down. Well, I mean, she does, but she enjoys those things immensely. But I digress.

There is tension galore and plenty of banter between these two and I loved watching them fall for each other no matter how much they try to fight it. The chemistry was hot and the steam was steaming. I devoured this story and enjoyed it immensely. I definitely need more in this series but for now I will appease myself by going back and reading book 1.

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Phantom by H.D. Carlton

January 14, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

PHANTOM
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: HD Carlton
Release Date: January 14, 2025

The married woman of the manor. The stranger outside. An intoxicating novel of dark temptation and dangerous desire by the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Cat and Mouse Duet.

November 12, 1944. This house holds on to souls for a lifetime. I thought I had given it to my husband when I vowed to love him until the end of time. I lied. Nothing could have prepared me for the day my phantom appeared outside my window. He was terrifying, yet hypnotizing, and I couldn’t deny my intrigue. I never intended to fall into a whirlwind romance with my stalker. Especially because he’s so much more than that. A criminal. A mobster. The man who offers me solace from the monster in Parsons Manor. There are many that haunt these halls, yet it’s only my husband I fear.

AMAZON 

I want you so badly, it hurts to breathe without you near,” he whispers softly…

If you’ve read the Cat & Mouse duet then you’re definitely familiar with Gigi and Ronaldo. And if you haven’t read the duet yet, I highly recommend reading that first. Gigi is Adeline’s great grandmother and the owner of the diaries that Adeline discovers as she slowly unravels the mystery of Parsons Manor.

Having read the Cat & Mouse duet I was both excited and nervous for this story having known hot it all ultimately ends. But I absolutely loved the way that HD Carlton chose to write this story and also the way she chose to end it. But I digress.

Now while I didn’t absolutely LOVE this the way I did Cat & Mouse, I definitely still enjoyed the story. However, there were just a few things that made me lower my rating to what it is. The first, is that while this book is set in the 1940s, it doesn’t really read that way. It read like a modern contemporary with some 40s lingo thrown in like “sauced”. I wanted to be fully immersed in that world and this slightly dulled the experience for me. And while I loved the all encompassing romance between Gigi and Ronaldo, it was also a bit too insta for my particular taste. I had a hard time buying into it, but I will admit that I was fully enraptured by the end.

Now look, we all know how subjective books are and just because it felt this way to me, doesn’t mean it would for you. I very much enjoyed the story and ended up reading it in one sitting. And I highly recommend it for all fans of HD and Cat & Mouse. Especially if you’re a fan of Cat & Mouse. There’s just something so special about having this story that just makes it feel complete, you know? And that is especially so with the epilogue, but I won’t spoil it for you.

If you were on the fence with this book like I was, knowing how their story unravels, I’m here to tell you that you definitely need to read and experience it. Trust me on this. And while I didn’t love it quite as much as I loved Cat & Mouse, it was still a great and entertaining read as all HD’s books are.

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Review: Misfire by Rachel Robinson

January 8, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

MISFIRE
Genre: Dark, contemporary Romance
Author: Rachel Robinson
Release Date: January 6, 2023

I never wanted to rule an empire. I was a housekeeper. A hooker. A wrecked woman with a past full of scars and secrets. A chance encounter with an Astor swept me into the hurricane of their glamorous, organized crime world. Then, I met the other Astor brother, and nothing will ever be normal again.

One brother saved me but under false pretenses.

One brother is madly in love with me, but it’s complicated.

I’ve fallen for both men for different reasons, but there’s only one way this can end—in messy, tragic destruction.

Everyone tells you playing with fire is dangerous, but they never said it would be this intoxicating.

For readers 18+

AMAZON 

I feel like all I’ve seen you do is kill people.” He laughs. “Sometimes I paint in between.”

I’ve been eyeing this author for some time and when I saw the blurb to this book, I just knew it would be my first from her. And after finishing, I can definitely tell you that it will not be my last.

As a long time romance reader, it’s hard to find something that is truly unique. Not just different but unique, and boy was this story unique. It was unlike anything I’ve ever read and it had me on pins an needles from beginning to finish constantly trying to figure out where it’s going and always being wrong. It was unlike any other mafia romance I’ve read.

Now you may be thinking this is an MFM, which I will tell you that it isn’t. But it also isn’t a love triangle either. What it is, is a very complex and unique relationship that one woman has with two men.

Drew “Destiny” is a woman who has never had it easy in life. With nothing else available to her, she is forced to sell her body to survive as she watches the talented painter next door to escape reality. Then one chance encounter gives her an opportunity she could never so much as dream of but lands her in the middle of the dangerous world of the Astor brothers.

Jesse and Riley are not brothers by blood, but they are brothers by choice. They are two sides of a coin; one dark and dangerous, and the other sunny but with a hidden danger. Neither is safe to Drew’s heart.

I won’t tell you much more about this because you really need to experience this book blind. Trust me on this and don’t seek out spoilers. I will say that I spent the majority of the book waiting for the other shoe to drop but nothing could prepare me for the moment that it did. The twists and turns had me reeling, never knowing which end was up. The ending was satisfying in a way I couldn’t imagine and I keep finding myself thinking of the story days after finishing.

If you’re looking for something that’s a bit different with plenty of danger and steam, definitely give this one a try!

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Review: Oh, Hell No by Abbi Glines

December 31, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

OH, HELL NO
Series: Mississippi Smoke #3
Author: Abbi Gaines
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Release Date: December 29, 2024

Taking her was a means to an end. The task was to weed out the man who had stolen millions from us. He may have succeeded, but he’d pay with his life. Hiding from us was a grave error he’d regret soon enough because once he found out that we had taken the one thing he cared for as repayment- he’d show up. When a man had a weakness, it was foolish to make a mistake like this. He would come for her, and when he did, he wouldn’t walk away unscathed, nor would the sister he adored.

This was my fault. I hadn’t seen his scheme. It was my mistake, so I had to fix it. However, it seemed the joke was on me. What I had thought would be an easy job proved more difficult than I’d imagined. I had underestimated the power of her big brown eyes, full lips, and sweet, sultry voice. Keeping my focus on torturing information from her- when what I really wanted to do was touch her, have her, own her- would not only be a painful obstacle but possibly my biggest failure.

Except she hated the sight of me.
But I couldn’t blame her.
I’d walked out of her nightmares as her own personal monster.

 

AMAZON

I had always enjoyed art, and she was a masterpiece. One that I needed to see every night.

I don’t know what sort of crack Abbi laces her books with but I gobble them up each and every single time. Southern mafia? Yes, please and thank you. And this 3rd installment of the series spinoff may have been my favorite so far. I absolutely loved Oz and Winslet!

Now if you’ve read any books in this series, then you already know Abbi’s formula of sweet souther females with their absolutely unhinged and morally grey men. And you know what? It works and it works well. If this series is 10586 books with 209485 spinoffs, I will never tire of it. But Oz? I think Oz just flew straight to my favorite MMCs of Abbi’s.

Winslet may be the quintessential good girl, but she’s not a pushover. This is woman who cares about others and does so deeply. But she doesn’t allow herself to be stepped on either. Growing up with an abusive alcoholic of a mother, her life has been anything but easy. She’s spent years protecting her younger brother from her mother’s drunken wrath, even at the expense of her own safety.

Perry, her younger brother, and now an entrepreneur genius is apparently not all who he seems. And when his counterfeit money lands him on the wrong side of the souther mafia, Winslet finds herself kidnapped and held in a basement for answers. And her kidnapper being the sexiest man she’s ever seen certainly doesn’t help matters.

Now when I tell you I loved Oz, I was obsessed. Sure, he kidnapped her. But when he was forced to torture her for answers, the man just couldn’t do it. The way he struggled to so much as withhold food from her and then gave her all the chocolate cake was seriously the most endearing thing. And then when he lets her go and essentially stalks her for weeks as he waits out her to have the time to forgive him was just adorable. He was this perfect combination of sweet and crazy, and I loved his unhinged possessive behavior towards her.

The story was quick paced, addictive, and a slow burn that sizzles so hard. I do recommend you suspend your disbelief with this series and just accept it for the good time that it is.

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Review: Tore Up by Abbi Glines

October 23, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

TORE UP
Series: Mississippi Smoke #1
Author: Abbi Gaines
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 23, 2024

Calculating, cold, often without emotion was how I was described by those closest to me. I had thought perhaps there was truth to their depiction until this endless searing pain took the place in my chest where my heart used to be. Vengeance now ate away at my soul. The wrath I planned to unleash would make the demons in Hell appear mild.

At least, that was until…

The twisted crux came in the form of eyes bluer than the sky on a warm summer day, a slightly upturned nose with a scattering of freckles, a pink cupid bow mouth, and a smile that made a man’s knees weak.

The events that brought us here meant I should loathe her existence for eternity, yet my need for her grows with each passing day. She’s too young, she’s vulnerable and broken, but somehow, she’s not damaged. She was the cause of what had left me with this raging agony, and yet, the balm that eased my soul. Still, I can never forgive the destruction she caused me and those I love.

I had become a mockery of my revenge because holding her at night while she slept was the only thing keeping me sane. She’ll pay the price through my cruelty, never knowing that while she dreams, I find my solace.

My story begins with my worst nightmare.
And she’s the reason behind all of it.

AMAZON

There were only so many things I was willing to do when it came to her. Forgiving her was not one of them.

If you’ve read Abbi’s Smoke and Georgia Smoke series, then you will definitely love the Mississippi branch spinoff.

Abbi’s formula just always hits the spot for me. She writes some of the best toxic, walking red flags of alpha MMCs and I am so here for it. And while the super forgiving and at times overly innocent heroines would grate on me anywhere else, in her books it just works. Don’t ask me why or how. It just does, ok.

Those eyes of hers were a weapon. The damn sky on a clear day couldn’t even compete.

This is the Mississippi branch of the souther mafia so expect some cameos from past favorites as well as the introduction of plenty of new and intriguing characters. If you’re expecting a lot of mafia elements, it’s not really that. They’re more like morally corrupt, Yellowstone kind of ‘mafia’. Ya know? And this girl has no complaints.

Now the premise of this story is a HUGE spoiler, so I won’t tell you much but I will say that my jaw was on the floor on chapter one. And it takes a lot to catch your girl by surprise.

Our MMCs is the type of morally gray fictional man that I love. He’s ruthless, cold, unfeeling, and as homicidal as they come. The man is a walking red flag if there ever was one, so naturally I fell for him. Fictionally speaking of course. Halo is her name personified. This girl is innocent and sweetness all wrapped up into one eager to please FMC. And she was the perfect balance to the MMCs craziness.

She wasn’t mine, and I had no right to do this, but I couldn’t seem to stop it.

This is a forced proximity so it also had a slow burn element to it which I loved. It burned so good, even when there were moments that I wanted to c*ck punch our MMCs. But I digress.

This pull she had on me was owning me.

There is just something about Abbi’s books that are just pure book crack for me. I read them in one sitting and while there’s definitely a formula to them, it just always hits and hits the spot. It’s quick paced, spicy, with just the right amount of grit.

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