Tropes: enemies to lovers, assassin/target
Feels: 3.5/5
Steam*: 3/5
Kinks: rough sex, sex in public places, choking
Angst: medium
HEA: HEA
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings/representation: third act break up, murder, torture, drug dealing, rejection by family, homophobia
Cheating between MCs: No
Any cheating: No
Other person drama: Alessio gives Giulio an anonymous b****** at a club when they are strangers slash while he's stalking Giulio. Giulio gets a few more anonymous BJ's from other men after, before Alessio and he meet more "formally". After that, there are no references to either of them with other people. They both are intent on each other, and then heartbroken during a brief break up. There are references to Giulio loving and losing his first love Paolo, who was murdered.
4 stars
Alessio is an elite assassin, who used to be in the military. He is bisexual. He first spotted Giulio 4 years ago when he was contracted to kill Giulio's father. He was distracted by his attraction to Giulio and missed, he failed to kill his target for the first and only time. 4 years later, Alessio has been hired to assassinate Giulio. He stalks him for weeks, too attracted to him to actually kill him. He meets him "formally" and they parry back and forth for a while threatening to kill each other, Giulio is really no match for Alessio and the only reason he is alive is because Alessio is too enamored to kill him. They call a truce for a month to indulge their attraction, and then Alessio will give Giulio a head start to run. But s*** goes sideways and feelings develop, and next thing you know they want to protect each other. But Giulio doesn't know that it was Alessio who almost killed his father, and when it comes out he feels betrayed and lied to. But there are so many threats still, and feelings, and staying apart just isn't going to work.
This was a really vibrant story. There was a lot of tension both sexual and otherwise. I liked the battle between them, and I liked how Alessio was such an impenetrable force but such a simp for Giulio, willing to do whatever for him. These men will rule the mafia world together.
I wasn't a huge fan of the breakup, I felt like Giulio shouldn't have taken it so personally, he knew Alessio was an assassin and just the hired gun, not the one who wanted his father dead. He shouldn't have been surprised that Alessio was silent, it really wasn't the betrayal he thought it was. Alessio was always the one making sacrifices, suffering, and it felt like Giulio didn't quite deserve him at times. But then again it was very sweet when Giulio would cook for Alessio even when he was mad at him.
It was also unpleasant that Giulio hooked up with others after Alessio blew him, but they really didn't know each other at that point. Poor Alessio stalking him and watching though, ouch.
Some notable moments:
"Mouth dry with nerves, I licked my lips. “If I kiss you, will you punch me again?” “Honestly, I’m not sure.” “Then I’ll just have to risk it.” I dropped my rifle on the ground and moved in to cup his jaw with my good hand. My injured hand rested on his hip. He was warm and solid and right here. Fuck, I’d missed him. I moved my face closer, giving him plenty of time to stop me. He didn’t. My stomach was in my throat, nerves popping and fizzing in my veins, as I gently brushed my mouth over his. He didn’t move, but his breath gusted over my skin. I couldn’t decipher the swirling emotion in his gaze, so I closed my eyes and let myself sink into the joy of kissing him once again. I increased the pressure, molding our lips together. I went carefully, slowly, needing to soak in every moment. Every second. If this was truly the last time, then I wanted to make this kiss a memorable one."
"“If I am cooking for you, then open a bottle of wine.” I scratched my jaw and wondered how to break the news. When I didn’t move, he stopped what he was doing. His expression turned wary. “Are you telling me there is no wine in this house?” “Whoever came in . . . .” “Took all my good wine? Ma dai, these Scots. Go.” He waved me away. “Go and find some wine, assassino. And tell Mrs. Campbell I want Italian wine, not French.”"
"Alessio’s fingers wrapped loosely around my throat as he leaned into my face. “Hear me now, Giulio. I. Am. Coming. With. You.” My heart kicked in my chest at his deep growl. I wished I had time for us to work all this anger out in the bedroom, but I didn’t. And I wasn’t sure bringing him with me was wise. “Why?” “I’m not letting you out of my sight, not until we figure out whatever is happening between us.” He released me and stalked across the floor toward the hall. “And I won’t allow you to get hurt in Málaga. So wherever you go, I go.”"
*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.
**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.