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Veiled in Hate
Veiled in Hate
Veiled In Hate is a standalone Dark Mafia Romance based on Luca from SHAW: STORM ENTERPRISES Book 1.
Luca
I’m filled with darkness, thriving on the only thing I feel, hate.
The blood I’ve shed to avenge my sister’s death has done nothing to appease me.
When my don creates an alliance between our enemies to create peace, I’ve no choice but to comply.
That doesn’t mean I’ll make it easy for her—the Ricci Princess.
She will be the perfect target for my hate.
Hate has never felt so good.
In blood we’re bound. In trust we live.
Camille
He hates every fiber of my being.
Luca Varros tried to end my bloodline in a quest for vengeance. He refuses to listen to reason.
When we’re forced together as part of an alliance, he turns his hate toward me.
But I see beyond his darkness, I see a glimmer of a man I will him to become.
And when my own veil of hate is about to slip, I’m reminded of the truth.
Luca Varros feels nothing. His quest for vengeance will always come first.
In blood we’re bound. In truth we live.
The book features dark elements and triggers so please check the authors website for details.
Veiled In Hate is a standalone Dark Mafia Romance based on Luca from SHAW: STORM ENTERPRISES Book 1.
Luca
I’m filled with darkness, thriving on the only thing I feel, hate.
The blood I’ve shed to avenge my sister’s death has done nothing to appease me.
When my don creates an alliance between our enemies to create peace, I’ve no choice but to comply.
That doesn’t mean I’ll make it easy for her—the Ricci Princess.
She will be the perfect target for my hate.
Hate has never felt so good.
In blood we’re bound. In trust we live.
Camille
He hates every fiber of my being.
Luca Varros tried to end my bloodline in a quest for vengeance. He refuses to listen to reason.
When we’re forced together as part of an alliance, he turns his hate toward me.
But I see beyond his darkness, I see a glimmer of a man I will him to become.
And when my own veil of hate is about to slip, I’m reminded of the truth.
Luca Varros feels nothing. His quest for vengeance will always come first.
In blood we’re bound. In truth we live.
The book features dark elements and triggers so please check the authors website for details.
504 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 16, 2023
900 people are currently reading
4641 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 615 reviews
September 18, 2023
It is not right how he treats her.
My thoughts!!!!!
My thoughts!!!!!
September 28, 2023
Much in the way of mafia families, 21-year-old Camille Ricci is promised to Luca Varros in a modern day arranged marriage as a way to strengthen the family ties.
With no love lost between the Ricci’s and Varros’, the abhorrence between the two is palpable. Yet as the days wear on, they each begin to see glimpses of the other’s true character. When long-buried truths are revealed, there is no longer reason to hide behind the hatred.
DANG! Luca is a tough one!! I knew he’d get there, but it was not an easy path from the hardened mafia leader to the husband Camille deserved. The struggle made it that much more worth it though. I think I can even take it a step further and say that Luca is my favorite hero of BJ’s to date. He definitely won’t be for everyone though.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩🤬🥵🥺😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap (12), Alphahole, Arranged Marriage, Enemies-to-Lovers, Jealous/Possessive, Mafia/Bratva/Organized Crime, Revenge, Rival Families, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: 🍑, Branding, Cum Jammer, Degradation, Discipline/Punishment, Domination, Spanking
⚠️ Warning: This steamy read will leave your panties wet and reaching for BOB.
🚩 Safety Squad: There are potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Veiled in Hate is a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
With no love lost between the Ricci’s and Varros’, the abhorrence between the two is palpable. Yet as the days wear on, they each begin to see glimpses of the other’s true character. When long-buried truths are revealed, there is no longer reason to hide behind the hatred.
DANG! Luca is a tough one!! I knew he’d get there, but it was not an easy path from the hardened mafia leader to the husband Camille deserved. The struggle made it that much more worth it though. I think I can even take it a step further and say that Luca is my favorite hero of BJ’s to date. He definitely won’t be for everyone though.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩🤬🥵🥺😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap (12), Alphahole, Arranged Marriage, Enemies-to-Lovers, Jealous/Possessive, Mafia/Bratva/Organized Crime, Revenge, Rival Families, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: 🍑, Branding, Cum Jammer, Degradation, Discipline/Punishment, Domination, Spanking
⚠️ Warning: This steamy read will leave your panties wet and reaching for BOB.
🚩 Safety Squad: There are potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Veiled in Hate is a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
July 22, 2023
3.5 stars
I didn’t see this one coming. I read a few BJ Alpha books earlier this year. The first one I read, one of her very early books, was bizarrely, insanely terrible. The next attempt was a duet and I didn’t retain the details but it was also pretty terrible, though her writing skills had improved. Here we are and I’m actually surprised it was written by the same person. The writing here is a substantial improvement.
This book has popped off quite a bit in my dark romance groups today and everyone had all the nice things to say. I found myself being pulled in and then I saw the magic world. *Grovel*.
A decent grovel is so hard to come by. Readers who thirst for a proper grovel typically have to make do with scraps. So telling me there’s a grovel is a sure way to end up on my kindle.
Is there a grovel? Not really 😩. I saw it characterized as about 20% of the book and it was most certainly NOT. However, if hate to love mafia romance is your thing and you can deal with an H you fantasize about violently murdering through the first half the book then step right up. In all seriousness, I actually *do recommend* this book if you can handle the previous statement.
I’m sure I’ll drop spoilers past this point so proceed at your own risk. Safety details at the bottom. This is a fairly safe read though. No cheating and extremely mild OW drama that is insignificant.
So H believes that h’s brother raped and murdered his baby sister. Mind you, h’s brother is also dead at this point. Their mafia bosses want peace and thusly a forced arranged marriage is the only possible solution 😉. God, I love mafia romance.
When I tell you that you’ll fantasize about murdering this H, I’m not playing. I’ve read a lot of hate to love, enemies to lovers and dark romance but this H gave them all a run for their money. This man has all the audacity. He’s needlessly cruel and revels in the h’s pain. He screams at her, calls her names, degrades her and doesn’t have an ounce kindness for her.
This heroine is about 90% doormat. She sasses some, she has lots of fiery flashes in her eyes and defiant glares but she backs down IMMEDIATELY 100% of the time. She submits immediately to every sexual demand no matter how violent, cruel and unreasonable he’s being.
At first, there is no pleasure in it for her. He can’t be bothered. Despite there being ZERO reason for h to enjoy his rape-y attention she does anyway. Thats dark romance novel magic for you because she absolutely wouldn’t be enjoying it in real life. Mind you, there is never any noncon because of h’s total and instant submission but the vibe is mad rape-y. He comes very close to straight up abuse a time or two.
The *sole* thing working in this man’s favor is that despite him spluttering hate with every breath and trying to beat the h down he’s obviously obsessed with her. He’s bristles with feral jealous rage anytime men look sideways at h. He hates it and it’s a small bit of revenge. Now, I do not think this excuses his behavior. It doesn’t but it’s something.
Around 44% we see H attempting to hurt and humiliate h by bringing the OW over to talk business with his mafia BFFs. This doesn’t actually go that great for H. The h tells OW she hopes H is pleasing her because he’s never been able to please his wife. *shots fired*
Ouch. No lies were told though.
Needless to say H now has something to prove and all sexual encounters moving forward now include orgasms for the h. It has an effect of softening H some more too. From there he’s still a rage inducing asshole but he tones it down sometimes.
Predictably the orgasms seal h’s fate. She was already kind of digging him even though he gave her every reason to be plotting his murder so once orgasms are on the table she’s on the fast track to love. It helps that he goes from 100% asshole to about 75% asshole. Those must be some great orgasms.
So they continue with H trying to keep his hate shield in place and being somewhat less successful. He just keeps learning about h and all the reasons he should actually not hate her. Poor guy, just wants to hate his wife and the universe is conspiring against him. Don’t you feel sorry for him?
Eventually h discovers she’s pregnant despite the birth control. There may have been a broken condom early on. After verifying for certain that H was never going to stop unfairly punishing her and hating her for something she had ZERO part in she decides to pull a runner around 80%.
The next 13% is H realizing he’s fucked up and h is gone. During this time frame he finds evidence that h’s brother did not, in fact, rape and murder his sister. He finds the actual person who raped and murdered her. Oopsy.
He eventually tracks down h much later. I’m not sure precisely how far along h was when she bounced but she now has a 7 week old son. The H rolls up with his metaphorical hat in hand looking a bit sheepish.
Here’s your grovel. Numerous verbal apologies and *drumroll* he gets down on his knees. Cue the fireworks and hallelujah chorus. The man bends the knee. I think I was supposed to be filled with awe and emotion and wipe a solitary tear from my eye 🥲. Yeah, that’s not what my face looked like. It was more like this 😒😑.
Despite the abysmal lack of grovel I did enjoy the book. Even when I was imagining all the terrible ways I’d like annihilate the idiot H. Did I forgive the h and think he was redeemed? No, I didn’t BUT I understand why the heroine does. She was dumb enough to fall for him while was mistreating her so it would have been out of character to actually hold him accountable for his many, many misdeeds. And I mean *he got on his knees* for her. That definitely erases everything bad he did. Someone should be sure to tell all the others groveling heroes. Revolutionary information!
Safety - this is actually pretty safe. There is some mild OW drama when H is trying to make h jealous. It’s not much, a female lawyer for the family who H had been with in the past was touchy-feely with H and all smirking and smugness when h walks in and sees. Then h throws down a gauntlet so H has something to prove and we never see OW again. H tells his subordinate to fire OW in the next scene.
H realizes after a BJ from h that she had clearly given head before. Seething with jealousy he tries to get the name from her. She refuses to tell him. He kills a different guy because he needs to kill someone to assuage his rage
I didn’t see this one coming. I read a few BJ Alpha books earlier this year. The first one I read, one of her very early books, was bizarrely, insanely terrible. The next attempt was a duet and I didn’t retain the details but it was also pretty terrible, though her writing skills had improved. Here we are and I’m actually surprised it was written by the same person. The writing here is a substantial improvement.
This book has popped off quite a bit in my dark romance groups today and everyone had all the nice things to say. I found myself being pulled in and then I saw the magic world. *Grovel*.
A decent grovel is so hard to come by. Readers who thirst for a proper grovel typically have to make do with scraps. So telling me there’s a grovel is a sure way to end up on my kindle.
Is there a grovel? Not really 😩. I saw it characterized as about 20% of the book and it was most certainly NOT. However, if hate to love mafia romance is your thing and you can deal with an H you fantasize about violently murdering through the first half the book then step right up. In all seriousness, I actually *do recommend* this book if you can handle the previous statement.
I’m sure I’ll drop spoilers past this point so proceed at your own risk. Safety details at the bottom. This is a fairly safe read though. No cheating and extremely mild OW drama that is insignificant.
So H believes that h’s brother raped and murdered his baby sister. Mind you, h’s brother is also dead at this point. Their mafia bosses want peace and thusly a forced arranged marriage is the only possible solution 😉. God, I love mafia romance.
When I tell you that you’ll fantasize about murdering this H, I’m not playing. I’ve read a lot of hate to love, enemies to lovers and dark romance but this H gave them all a run for their money. This man has all the audacity. He’s needlessly cruel and revels in the h’s pain. He screams at her, calls her names, degrades her and doesn’t have an ounce kindness for her.
This heroine is about 90% doormat. She sasses some, she has lots of fiery flashes in her eyes and defiant glares but she backs down IMMEDIATELY 100% of the time. She submits immediately to every sexual demand no matter how violent, cruel and unreasonable he’s being.
At first, there is no pleasure in it for her. He can’t be bothered. Despite there being ZERO reason for h to enjoy his rape-y attention she does anyway. Thats dark romance novel magic for you because she absolutely wouldn’t be enjoying it in real life. Mind you, there is never any noncon because of h’s total and instant submission but the vibe is mad rape-y. He comes very close to straight up abuse a time or two.
The *sole* thing working in this man’s favor is that despite him spluttering hate with every breath and trying to beat the h down he’s obviously obsessed with her. He’s bristles with feral jealous rage anytime men look sideways at h. He hates it and it’s a small bit of revenge. Now, I do not think this excuses his behavior. It doesn’t but it’s something.
Around 44% we see H attempting to hurt and humiliate h by bringing the OW over to talk business with his mafia BFFs. This doesn’t actually go that great for H. The h tells OW she hopes H is pleasing her because he’s never been able to please his wife. *shots fired*
Ouch. No lies were told though.
Needless to say H now has something to prove and all sexual encounters moving forward now include orgasms for the h. It has an effect of softening H some more too. From there he’s still a rage inducing asshole but he tones it down sometimes.
Predictably the orgasms seal h’s fate. She was already kind of digging him even though he gave her every reason to be plotting his murder so once orgasms are on the table she’s on the fast track to love. It helps that he goes from 100% asshole to about 75% asshole. Those must be some great orgasms.
So they continue with H trying to keep his hate shield in place and being somewhat less successful. He just keeps learning about h and all the reasons he should actually not hate her. Poor guy, just wants to hate his wife and the universe is conspiring against him. Don’t you feel sorry for him?
Eventually h discovers she’s pregnant despite the birth control. There may have been a broken condom early on. After verifying for certain that H was never going to stop unfairly punishing her and hating her for something she had ZERO part in she decides to pull a runner around 80%.
The next 13% is H realizing he’s fucked up and h is gone. During this time frame he finds evidence that h’s brother did not, in fact, rape and murder his sister. He finds the actual person who raped and murdered her. Oopsy.
He eventually tracks down h much later. I’m not sure precisely how far along h was when she bounced but she now has a 7 week old son. The H rolls up with his metaphorical hat in hand looking a bit sheepish.
Here’s your grovel. Numerous verbal apologies and *drumroll* he gets down on his knees. Cue the fireworks and hallelujah chorus. The man bends the knee. I think I was supposed to be filled with awe and emotion and wipe a solitary tear from my eye 🥲. Yeah, that’s not what my face looked like. It was more like this 😒😑.
Despite the abysmal lack of grovel I did enjoy the book. Even when I was imagining all the terrible ways I’d like annihilate the idiot H. Did I forgive the h and think he was redeemed? No, I didn’t BUT I understand why the heroine does. She was dumb enough to fall for him while was mistreating her so it would have been out of character to actually hold him accountable for his many, many misdeeds. And I mean *he got on his knees* for her. That definitely erases everything bad he did. Someone should be sure to tell all the others groveling heroes. Revolutionary information!
Safety - this is actually pretty safe. There is some mild OW drama when H is trying to make h jealous. It’s not much, a female lawyer for the family who H had been with in the past was touchy-feely with H and all smirking and smugness when h walks in and sees. Then h throws down a gauntlet so H has something to prove and we never see OW again. H tells his subordinate to fire OW in the next scene.
H realizes after a BJ from h that she had clearly given head before. Seething with jealousy he tries to get the name from her. She refuses to tell him. He kills a different guy because he needs to kill someone to assuage his rage
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2023
He was such a toxic man, exactly like a man you encounter on a daily basis or read on news about (you know what news I am referring to heer). Only he mattered, his feelings, his anger, his hurt, his sadness...
If your sister was raped you would definitely not treat another girl, especially your wife like that (If you are having doubts whether you treat her like a rapists does, then... NEWSFLASH... you are a f***ing rapist!!).
He only started to reciprocate or started taking care of her pleasure when she called him out on it and because his ego was hurt.
He continues to rape her at the start, and she takes it like a good little wife she is. Her personality was completely 180 degrees after marriage, I thought she would show spine somewhere, but no, she continues to suffer. If that wasn't enough when he is literally beating her with a belt OUT OF ANGER!!! What does she do?? She f***ing takes it and even cuddles with him afterwards because he gave her a bath (WTF!!). I don't know how she started to even like him or love after that belt scene.
Last but not least, all the chapters did not have to end on that phrase. It felt repetitively annoying.
I have read Dark romance, but the transition from enemies-to-lovers was just not there for me in this book. I just couldn't get out of his behaviour towards her and how she meekly took it.
If your sister was raped you would definitely not treat another girl, especially your wife like that (If you are having doubts whether you treat her like a rapists does, then... NEWSFLASH... you are a f***ing rapist!!).
He only started to reciprocate or started taking care of her pleasure when she called him out on it and because his ego was hurt.
He continues to rape her at the start, and she takes it like a good little wife she is. Her personality was completely 180 degrees after marriage, I thought she would show spine somewhere, but no, she continues to suffer. If that wasn't enough when he is literally beating her with a belt OUT OF ANGER!!! What does she do?? She f***ing takes it and even cuddles with him afterwards because he gave her a bath (WTF!!). I don't know how she started to even like him or love after that belt scene.
Last but not least, all the chapters did not have to end on that phrase. It felt repetitively annoying.
I have read Dark romance, but the transition from enemies-to-lovers was just not there for me in this book. I just couldn't get out of his behaviour towards her and how she meekly took it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2023
I miss reading mafia romance which gives me butterflies.
December 31, 2025
1 STARS
I genuinely can't remember the last time I gave a book one star. But when I finished this in a plume of rage, morbid curiosity, and the last shred of sanity I had, I simply couldn't rate it anything higher. Because oh my god the way I hated this book. And speaking of the word "hate", that was used 140 times. Yes, you read that right. 140 times. And that quote above? 14 times.
As a predominantly dark romance reader that loves mafia romance and red flags of MMCs who happen to be super mean, this blurb read like absolute trope candy to me. But the actual story? Well that read like a mix of low budget porn and pure shock value. I also love a mean MMCs and the whole revenge plot, but this was straight abuse porn. Nothing hot, sexy or entertaining about it. I feel like I have PTSD after finishing it.
The characters had absolutely no depth or character development. The MMCs has two moods running on rotation; homicidal rage and horny. That's it. Nothing more. When he's not raging, he's horny, and when he's not horny, he's raging. Although sometimes he was both.
How a book could feel like it goes on forever and too quick at the same time is beyond me. But this did. Because we spend 90% of this book with the MMC essentially abusing the FMC for daring to share the same blood as her now deceased twin brother who allegedly raped and killed Luca's sister. And the FMC being both a virginal ingenue and master d*ck sucker at the same time. Every time I thought she grew a backbone and would sass him, she would then turn around and let him basically crap all over it. She forgave him the most atrocious things and I just couldn't deal.
We go back and forth in this cloud of hate sex and Luca repeating ad nauseam just how much he hates Camille. And Camille just taking it while at the same time kinda sorta enjoying it but not really. Then Luca does something so atrocious at the end that short of crawling on his knees in broken glass to beg Camille's forgiveness, nothing less would do. Sadly, all that happens is that she runs away, he find her, admits his love, and she forgives him. At that point, I think I would have preferred him getting hit by a bus rather than a HEA and I feel sick just saying it out loud. But never has a character deserved a HEA less than Luca.
There was nothing truly dark about this book. It was pure shock value with way too many sex scenes as filler and some of the cringiest dirty talk I have ever read.
And as a reader who has the memory of a gold fish, I wish I could forget this book. But alas, it's now etched in my memory banks for the foreseeable future. Which I suppose deserves at least one star for that.
Le sigh.
Find me on:
In blood we’re bound. In trust we live
I genuinely can't remember the last time I gave a book one star. But when I finished this in a plume of rage, morbid curiosity, and the last shred of sanity I had, I simply couldn't rate it anything higher. Because oh my god the way I hated this book. And speaking of the word "hate", that was used 140 times. Yes, you read that right. 140 times. And that quote above? 14 times.
As a predominantly dark romance reader that loves mafia romance and red flags of MMCs who happen to be super mean, this blurb read like absolute trope candy to me. But the actual story? Well that read like a mix of low budget porn and pure shock value. I also love a mean MMCs and the whole revenge plot, but this was straight abuse porn. Nothing hot, sexy or entertaining about it. I feel like I have PTSD after finishing it.
The characters had absolutely no depth or character development. The MMCs has two moods running on rotation; homicidal rage and horny. That's it. Nothing more. When he's not raging, he's horny, and when he's not horny, he's raging. Although sometimes he was both.
How a book could feel like it goes on forever and too quick at the same time is beyond me. But this did. Because we spend 90% of this book with the MMC essentially abusing the FMC for daring to share the same blood as her now deceased twin brother who allegedly raped and killed Luca's sister. And the FMC being both a virginal ingenue and master d*ck sucker at the same time. Every time I thought she grew a backbone and would sass him, she would then turn around and let him basically crap all over it. She forgave him the most atrocious things and I just couldn't deal.
We go back and forth in this cloud of hate sex and Luca repeating ad nauseam just how much he hates Camille. And Camille just taking it while at the same time kinda sorta enjoying it but not really. Then Luca does something so atrocious at the end that short of crawling on his knees in broken glass to beg Camille's forgiveness, nothing less would do. Sadly, all that happens is that she runs away, he find her, admits his love, and she forgives him. At that point, I think I would have preferred him getting hit by a bus rather than a HEA and I feel sick just saying it out loud. But never has a character deserved a HEA less than Luca.
There was nothing truly dark about this book. It was pure shock value with way too many sex scenes as filler and some of the cringiest dirty talk I have ever read.
And as a reader who has the memory of a gold fish, I wish I could forget this book. But alas, it's now etched in my memory banks for the foreseeable future. Which I suppose deserves at least one star for that.
Le sigh.
Find me on:
July 29, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
''Our hearts seem to beat in tandem''
Safety warnings:
- H 33 / h 21
- No cheating
- Slight OW drama
- No OM drama
- Mention of r*pe/assault
- Descriptive torture/d*ath
- Violence
- Degradation
- BDSM
- Dub con
- HEA
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
For anyone that read ''Shaw'' would be familiar with our MMC Luca and the revenge he has been seeking over the brutal death of his sister.
You see Eleanor was raped and murdered and the culprit was Christian, the son of another mafia family. Luca is on a rampage to avenge his sister and blood is spilled from both sides for years. Being sick and tired of this war, the leaders on each side decided to end it and have a peaceful union. Luca will be marrying Camille who is Christian's twin sister.
Obviously, this book is about how much Luca HATES her and despises her to the point where he treats her like shit for quite a good chunk in the book until a pivotal moment turns things around and he starts to be more caring though still holding the hatred he never can give up.
Slight OW drama: Luca allows one of his past fucks to flirt with him and Camille sees this though we know from his POV he feels nothing, and he is only doing it to hurt her, he does not react and it's merely useless. Though this moment causes Camille to throw her own hurt back and claims that the girl will probably get a better chance of being satisfied by her husband then she ever has.
The sex scenes were so good, and he was a dirty talker throughout the entire book. His obsessed had no limit and she was all he needed and wanted. We also find out he has never gone down on a woman ever and he always sleeps with almost fully clothed.
Luca and Camille have intense chemistry and despite their daily hatred for each other being present they cannot deny their sexual appetite for each other and how much they crave one another every second of every day. Luca is basically OBSESSED and OTT. He cannot function without being with her and they constantly have sex. Though he is adamant that she never gets pregnant as he does not want to mix their blood since she is poison, and she is on the shot.
Whenever Camille thinks they are in a better place, Luca does or says something to destroy it so when she finds out she is pregnant she knows she needs to leave as he will never accept it or be happy. She plots her exit, and it goes smoothly but it leaves Luca feeling dread and searching for her. He misses her and is NOT seeking OW or even thinks about it but wallows in his sorrow and loneliness by himself and drinking whilst searching for her relentlessly.
I have to say that right before Camille leaves him, he confesses in his POV that was going to tell her to make it work with him and that he would never hurt her but his actions the next day (yelling at her) pushed her to leave without a look back.
Camille however has finally been able to let Luca know the TRUTH about his sister’s death, one she found (though Luca puts together the part where Camille did not get to find). Christian was gay and had a lover, in the mafia it's forbidden, and his family knew but instead of outing him as gay they allowed him to be labeled as a rapist, but the proof Camille reveals (through a third part MONTHS after she has left) shows that that Christian was innocent, and his death nor Eleanor’s death was the way it was made out to be.
You see Luca has an adoptive brother who is the one who raped and killed her. He claims they were in love, but she would not go through with his proposal and out of anger he raped her and killed her, and the only thing Christian was guilty of was trying to stop him, but he died too. Maxim is BRUTALLY tortured and killed. I did NOT see him being the guilty party, I actually thought it would be Enzo (he seemed too loyal, but I guess he truly was).
Luca is still searching for Camille, and it's been over 9 months before he finds her and when he does, he sees the little boy who looks like him and knows why she left.
He confesses his love for her and gets on his knees to grovel for forgiveness (once claiming to NEVER bow or get on his knees for a woman).
I have to say his grovel should have lasted longer but I understand why Camille forgave him so easily, he was coming from a place of darkness and hatred. His emotions were fucked because he was falling for his enemy and yet he needed to end the war with her family’s blood.
We get a nice epilogue of them three years later with another child and still having hot sex.
I should mention we get a few cameos from other characters that BJ has written books about and I have not read them but it's nice that there weren’t many spoilers about them.
''Our hearts seem to beat in tandem''
Safety warnings:
- H 33 / h 21
- No cheating
- Slight OW drama
- No OM drama
- Mention of r*pe/assault
- Descriptive torture/d*ath
- Violence
- Degradation
- BDSM
- Dub con
- HEA
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️
For anyone that read ''Shaw'' would be familiar with our MMC Luca and the revenge he has been seeking over the brutal death of his sister.
You see Eleanor was raped and murdered and the culprit was Christian, the son of another mafia family. Luca is on a rampage to avenge his sister and blood is spilled from both sides for years. Being sick and tired of this war, the leaders on each side decided to end it and have a peaceful union. Luca will be marrying Camille who is Christian's twin sister.
Obviously, this book is about how much Luca HATES her and despises her to the point where he treats her like shit for quite a good chunk in the book until a pivotal moment turns things around and he starts to be more caring though still holding the hatred he never can give up.
Slight OW drama: Luca allows one of his past fucks to flirt with him and Camille sees this though we know from his POV he feels nothing, and he is only doing it to hurt her, he does not react and it's merely useless. Though this moment causes Camille to throw her own hurt back and claims that the girl will probably get a better chance of being satisfied by her husband then she ever has.
The sex scenes were so good, and he was a dirty talker throughout the entire book. His obsessed had no limit and she was all he needed and wanted. We also find out he has never gone down on a woman ever and he always sleeps with almost fully clothed.
Luca and Camille have intense chemistry and despite their daily hatred for each other being present they cannot deny their sexual appetite for each other and how much they crave one another every second of every day. Luca is basically OBSESSED and OTT. He cannot function without being with her and they constantly have sex. Though he is adamant that she never gets pregnant as he does not want to mix their blood since she is poison, and she is on the shot.
Whenever Camille thinks they are in a better place, Luca does or says something to destroy it so when she finds out she is pregnant she knows she needs to leave as he will never accept it or be happy. She plots her exit, and it goes smoothly but it leaves Luca feeling dread and searching for her. He misses her and is NOT seeking OW or even thinks about it but wallows in his sorrow and loneliness by himself and drinking whilst searching for her relentlessly.
I have to say that right before Camille leaves him, he confesses in his POV that was going to tell her to make it work with him and that he would never hurt her but his actions the next day (yelling at her) pushed her to leave without a look back.
Camille however has finally been able to let Luca know the TRUTH about his sister’s death, one she found (though Luca puts together the part where Camille did not get to find). Christian was gay and had a lover, in the mafia it's forbidden, and his family knew but instead of outing him as gay they allowed him to be labeled as a rapist, but the proof Camille reveals (through a third part MONTHS after she has left) shows that that Christian was innocent, and his death nor Eleanor’s death was the way it was made out to be.
You see Luca has an adoptive brother who is the one who raped and killed her. He claims they were in love, but she would not go through with his proposal and out of anger he raped her and killed her, and the only thing Christian was guilty of was trying to stop him, but he died too. Maxim is BRUTALLY tortured and killed. I did NOT see him being the guilty party, I actually thought it would be Enzo (he seemed too loyal, but I guess he truly was).
Luca is still searching for Camille, and it's been over 9 months before he finds her and when he does, he sees the little boy who looks like him and knows why she left.
He confesses his love for her and gets on his knees to grovel for forgiveness (once claiming to NEVER bow or get on his knees for a woman).
I have to say his grovel should have lasted longer but I understand why Camille forgave him so easily, he was coming from a place of darkness and hatred. His emotions were fucked because he was falling for his enemy and yet he needed to end the war with her family’s blood.
We get a nice epilogue of them three years later with another child and still having hot sex.
I should mention we get a few cameos from other characters that BJ has written books about and I have not read them but it's nice that there weren’t many spoilers about them.
December 16, 2023
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tropes: arranged/forced marriage
Angst: 😱😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Definitely going in my faves of 2023 pile - highly recommend!
Luca Varros is being forced by his Don to marry Camille, the daughter of his enemy. The twin of the dead man that killed his sister when he would rather their whole family be wiped off the face of the earth. He is being denied the proper justice for her and with no other outlet for his hate, he plans on making Camille pay for it all. But at what point does he become the beast he accuses her brother of being? How far is too far? Especially when Camille is professing things didn't go down quite like he thinks. Especially when he's having to work harder and harder not to catch feelings for his little toy.
What in the holy he🏒🏒 did I just read, guys? I could 👏🏼 not 👏🏼 put 👏🏼 this 👏🏼 down! Luca was hateful and vile and all the things, but I somehow ended up loving him and forgiving him for everything 🙈. The storyline was great, moved quickly, had tons of action and plenty of twists and turns. BJ Alpha's writing just continues to get better and better. Luca is nuts. The death of his sister has completely twisted him in knots, but he can't help being jealous, obsessed, and completely possessive of his new wife. Camille is hanging on by a thread. She's been ripped away from the life she wanted, studying medicine, to be forced into marriage with a hurt, angry, and paranoid man. But somehow, his pain still manages to call to her. She can't help but to push and push, trying to regain control through through forcing him to lose his. This book is dark and gory and Luca's relationship with Camille definitely won't be for everyone - there is some serious co-dependent dysfunction going on, lol. The smexy times were super hot and definitely pushed the envelope of my comfort zone, but 🤷🏻♀️, I loved it anyway! If you're a sensitive reader this may *not* be the book for you. But if you're a fan of dark, bully romances with irredeemable or barely irredeemable heroes you're going to love this as much as I did!
Veiled Hate is a standalone dark mafia book based on Luca from STORM Enterprises book 1. There are also characters from her Secrets and Lies series. It is told in first person, from multiple perspectives.
⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes be spoilers
Tropes: arranged/forced marriage
Angst: 😱😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Definitely going in my faves of 2023 pile - highly recommend!
Luca Varros is being forced by his Don to marry Camille, the daughter of his enemy. The twin of the dead man that killed his sister when he would rather their whole family be wiped off the face of the earth. He is being denied the proper justice for her and with no other outlet for his hate, he plans on making Camille pay for it all. But at what point does he become the beast he accuses her brother of being? How far is too far? Especially when Camille is professing things didn't go down quite like he thinks. Especially when he's having to work harder and harder not to catch feelings for his little toy.
What in the holy he🏒🏒 did I just read, guys? I could 👏🏼 not 👏🏼 put 👏🏼 this 👏🏼 down! Luca was hateful and vile and all the things, but I somehow ended up loving him and forgiving him for everything 🙈. The storyline was great, moved quickly, had tons of action and plenty of twists and turns. BJ Alpha's writing just continues to get better and better. Luca is nuts. The death of his sister has completely twisted him in knots, but he can't help being jealous, obsessed, and completely possessive of his new wife. Camille is hanging on by a thread. She's been ripped away from the life she wanted, studying medicine, to be forced into marriage with a hurt, angry, and paranoid man. But somehow, his pain still manages to call to her. She can't help but to push and push, trying to regain control through through forcing him to lose his. This book is dark and gory and Luca's relationship with Camille definitely won't be for everyone - there is some serious co-dependent dysfunction going on, lol. The smexy times were super hot and definitely pushed the envelope of my comfort zone, but 🤷🏻♀️, I loved it anyway! If you're a sensitive reader this may *not* be the book for you. But if you're a fan of dark, bully romances with irredeemable or barely irredeemable heroes you're going to love this as much as I did!
Veiled Hate is a standalone dark mafia book based on Luca from STORM Enterprises book 1. There are also characters from her Secrets and Lies series. It is told in first person, from multiple perspectives.
⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes be spoilers
August 20, 2023
i hate this book more than the amount of times the word hate is used in this book. more than the amount of times it's used in one chapter. and each chapter is 2 pages. jus sayin
December 9, 2023
what the hell did I just read
This was lowkey torture. He literally dawged on her brother for “raping his sister” but he’s doing the exact same fucking thing. I get it “dark romance” but you shouldn’t be romanticizing rape. Also it felt so slow but so fast at the same time. 95 percent of the story was him being a shitty ass person and the last 5 percent was her missing, then him finding her. Like the plot shouldn’t be started and resolved in the last 75 pages. He’s a shitty ass man and I get it after he found out the truth he was a “better” person, but literally all he said was sorry bc he found out THE TRUTH and found out he has a son. She also took him back way too fucking quick, almost like the author just wanted to finish the story and gave up. I didn’t like how Camille just kind of let him do this stuff too, like grow a little backbone. “Oh well he would’ve hurt her” bro she talked back to him a million other times about the most random shit, she can tell him that she didn’t wanna be raped!!! He always thought “I’m not a monster I’m not a rapist I won’t hurt her”, so if she expressed that he would’ve listened, right??? If not then HE IS ALL OF THOSE FUCKING THINGS.
This was lowkey torture. He literally dawged on her brother for “raping his sister” but he’s doing the exact same fucking thing. I get it “dark romance” but you shouldn’t be romanticizing rape. Also it felt so slow but so fast at the same time. 95 percent of the story was him being a shitty ass person and the last 5 percent was her missing, then him finding her. Like the plot shouldn’t be started and resolved in the last 75 pages. He’s a shitty ass man and I get it after he found out the truth he was a “better” person, but literally all he said was sorry bc he found out THE TRUTH and found out he has a son. She also took him back way too fucking quick, almost like the author just wanted to finish the story and gave up. I didn’t like how Camille just kind of let him do this stuff too, like grow a little backbone. “Oh well he would’ve hurt her” bro she talked back to him a million other times about the most random shit, she can tell him that she didn’t wanna be raped!!! He always thought “I’m not a monster I’m not a rapist I won’t hurt her”, so if she expressed that he would’ve listened, right??? If not then HE IS ALL OF THOSE FUCKING THINGS.
December 7, 2025
Not good
When you choose one of BJ Alpha's books is like choosing from a selection of wildly different explosives. Sometimes they obliterate their target (Deception) and sometimes it explodes in your hand (Shaw)
This one was the latter.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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When you choose one of BJ Alpha's books is like choosing from a selection of wildly different explosives. Sometimes they obliterate their target (Deception) and sometimes it explodes in your hand (Shaw)
This one was the latter.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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July 22, 2023
Well. This was disappointing. I read and really loved Oscar by this author, but this book just didn’t hit for me. It very much reminded me of the Fierce King series by Sadie Kincaid, like incredibly similar. Which in my opinion, that one was executed better and only further enhanced my issues with this book.
You have Luca who just automatically hates Camille for crimes her dead brother did (he assumes**** he did) and then Camille who is kind of just bland? A few times during the book she had a backbone, but very far and few between. I liked her job, and that she decided to pursue education, but especially for someone who helps abuse victims escape bad relationships I didn’t have much respect for her until the end when she finally did leave.
First, the details were incredibly sparse, especially for Cami. Where were her parents? Why couldn’t she just tell Luca about her brother being gay? Why did Luca never look at the crime scene photos in the first place? I didn’t realize how little information he actually had on the situation until the end. Nor did I understand why Cami gave the truth to Justin to give to Luca. Didn’t make much sense to me.
Second, I can handle dark romance and possessive men and noncon/dubcon all day long. What I can’t handle, for someeeee reason, is when a FMC actually gets HURT by the MC, like psychically hurt during sex and then act like nothing happened after and forgive them. Not only does he brand her neck, he throws her brothers necklace into the fire, and then proceeds to have extremely painful/unprepared anal with her. How did she not even need medical attention afterwards? Then she cuddles him. Like if that wasn’t the final straw to not be meek 😑😑😑. This is when he spent more than 40% of the book of not caring if she orgasmed (she didn’t) and hardly giving her any type of pleasure for the rest of it.
I also have discovered I very much dislike the word spittle when it’s being used in every smutty scene.
Anyway. She finally leaves him when she finds out she’s pregnant to protect her child (as she should!!!). The best part of this book was the 9 months or so he suffers without her because he never deserved her in the first place. Finally, he finds her and discovers they have a child but he’s ready to be a changed man now that he knows he punished her for absolutely no reason the whole entire book. Why was this only like two chapters? I still am never understanding why authors think we don’t want to see the grovel / a man working for it, because she just willy nilly takes him back after almost a year. And honestly, he still wasn’t even speaking to her very kindly at the end. 🙄🙄🙄
Overall this will be some people’s cup of tea, just know you have a H who truly doesn’t redeem himself and a h who does what’s right by leaving but takes him back super quickly.
You have Luca who just automatically hates Camille for crimes her dead brother did (he assumes**** he did) and then Camille who is kind of just bland? A few times during the book she had a backbone, but very far and few between. I liked her job, and that she decided to pursue education, but especially for someone who helps abuse victims escape bad relationships I didn’t have much respect for her until the end when she finally did leave.
First, the details were incredibly sparse, especially for Cami. Where were her parents? Why couldn’t she just tell Luca about her brother being gay? Why did Luca never look at the crime scene photos in the first place? I didn’t realize how little information he actually had on the situation until the end. Nor did I understand why Cami gave the truth to Justin to give to Luca. Didn’t make much sense to me.
Second, I can handle dark romance and possessive men and noncon/dubcon all day long. What I can’t handle, for someeeee reason, is when a FMC actually gets HURT by the MC, like psychically hurt during sex and then act like nothing happened after and forgive them. Not only does he brand her neck, he throws her brothers necklace into the fire, and then proceeds to have extremely painful/unprepared anal with her. How did she not even need medical attention afterwards? Then she cuddles him. Like if that wasn’t the final straw to not be meek 😑😑😑. This is when he spent more than 40% of the book of not caring if she orgasmed (she didn’t) and hardly giving her any type of pleasure for the rest of it.
I also have discovered I very much dislike the word spittle when it’s being used in every smutty scene.
Anyway. She finally leaves him when she finds out she’s pregnant to protect her child (as she should!!!). The best part of this book was the 9 months or so he suffers without her because he never deserved her in the first place. Finally, he finds her and discovers they have a child but he’s ready to be a changed man now that he knows he punished her for absolutely no reason the whole entire book. Why was this only like two chapters? I still am never understanding why authors think we don’t want to see the grovel / a man working for it, because she just willy nilly takes him back after almost a year. And honestly, he still wasn’t even speaking to her very kindly at the end. 🙄🙄🙄
Overall this will be some people’s cup of tea, just know you have a H who truly doesn’t redeem himself and a h who does what’s right by leaving but takes him back super quickly.
February 26, 2024
One of the worst books i ever read sorry to the author but what the actual fuck ?, like the hate he feels for her is overrated he is mean and rude not a way we all love i mean like any mafia-dark romance ,
no this one is soooo rude like the way he forces her to have sex w him and she is literally not wet for it and he’ll get mad for it .. he always treats her a something to fuck like where’s your respect for women?
I’ve read many dark romance books but this is a no i feel there’s no chemistry between them all i feel is his deep hate for her and jealousy that doesn’t make scenes
I didn’t finish reading the book because in every chapter i was cringing asf it just gave me ick
Rating: -10/10 i cant 💀
no this one is soooo rude like the way he forces her to have sex w him and she is literally not wet for it and he’ll get mad for it .. he always treats her a something to fuck like where’s your respect for women?
I’ve read many dark romance books but this is a no i feel there’s no chemistry between them all i feel is his deep hate for her and jealousy that doesn’t make scenes
I didn’t finish reading the book because in every chapter i was cringing asf it just gave me ick
Rating: -10/10 i cant 💀
August 11, 2023
mob, arranged-forced marriage , vh, enemies to lovers, secret baby, grovel
April 27, 2024
Numerous and VERY detailed scenes with him torturing and killing people (which he enjoys) and raping and abusing his heroine A LOT and IN EVERY WAY (which he also enjoys, her not so much until she does, not sure why).
This man is sick and stupid. The heroine is blah and stupid. The book is awful and stupid.
This man is sick and stupid. The heroine is blah and stupid. The book is awful and stupid.
July 25, 2023
when i saw people were giving 5 stars to This. i grew concerned. very concerned. this makes me want to deduct a star because this book has no business having more than a 4 star average!!!! it’s not good!!!! alas my reviewing integrity will not let me
FIRSTLY, this man needs to go to anger management classes and also to learn how to respect people but especially women.
he’s literally never redeemed, never nice, never good. he just sucked!!
and she has a lot of nerve working with abuse survivors while BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP!!! because it was!!!! very abusive!!!!! borderline rapey!!!
also, it fucking bothered me that she has an OFFICE and she’s a VOLUNTEER??!!! what kind of utopic family law center is this??
finally, the author needs a good editor. “misogynism” isn’t even a word and i had to read it with my own two eyes in this book. also the phrase “undulated passion” LMFAOOO i think she meant undiluted 🤷🏻♀️
anyways 2 stars for the spice (it was degrading but sadly, it was good) and for i guess
FIRSTLY, this man needs to go to anger management classes and also to learn how to respect people but especially women.
he’s literally never redeemed, never nice, never good. he just sucked!!
and she has a lot of nerve working with abuse survivors while BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP!!! because it was!!!! very abusive!!!!! borderline rapey!!!
also, it fucking bothered me that she has an OFFICE and she’s a VOLUNTEER??!!! what kind of utopic family law center is this??
finally, the author needs a good editor. “misogynism” isn’t even a word and i had to read it with my own two eyes in this book. also the phrase “undulated passion” LMFAOOO i think she meant undiluted 🤷🏻♀️
anyways 2 stars for the spice (it was degrading but sadly, it was good) and for i guess
November 29, 2024
Whoever enjoys this needs help. Dnf at 18%
July 22, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Luca Varros is being forced to marry Camille Ricci, the twin of Christian Ricci that killed his sister, Eleanor. Luca can now take his pent up anger toward and the family and put it towards Camille and make her suffer. So what happens when he starts falling harder and faster for Camille? And what happens when he finds out Camille has been heading something from him?
This book….🔥
Luca was this strong alpha jealous asshole who was hateful and vile and damn if it didn’t make you want him more and more.
From the start, hating him was not really an option. He was a character to fall head over heels for. Camille knew her destiny but the life that she wanted was ripped away from her only to marry a man with rage, hate and what he put her through…well she deserves an award! So, in my opinion, she was such a strong female character to read. Luca and Camille have a great love story, even though they hated each other for the majority of the book, the love still showed through that hate. And those spicy scenes?!? Well spank my ass and choke me, they were fantastic!!
When Luca would push her and punish her, she pushed for more!! *blushing*
The plot in this book was amazing, the character development in this was amazing.
Everything was just 👌🏼
This a dark romance read, so I highly recommend checking the TW before reading.
Also, if you’ve read BJ Alpha books - some of her characters do cross over!
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Luca Varros is being forced to marry Camille Ricci, the twin of Christian Ricci that killed his sister, Eleanor. Luca can now take his pent up anger toward and the family and put it towards Camille and make her suffer. So what happens when he starts falling harder and faster for Camille? And what happens when he finds out Camille has been heading something from him?
This book….🔥
Luca was this strong alpha jealous asshole who was hateful and vile and damn if it didn’t make you want him more and more.
From the start, hating him was not really an option. He was a character to fall head over heels for. Camille knew her destiny but the life that she wanted was ripped away from her only to marry a man with rage, hate and what he put her through…well she deserves an award! So, in my opinion, she was such a strong female character to read. Luca and Camille have a great love story, even though they hated each other for the majority of the book, the love still showed through that hate. And those spicy scenes?!? Well spank my ass and choke me, they were fantastic!!
When Luca would push her and punish her, she pushed for more!! *blushing*
The plot in this book was amazing, the character development in this was amazing.
Everything was just 👌🏼
This a dark romance read, so I highly recommend checking the TW before reading.
Also, if you’ve read BJ Alpha books - some of her characters do cross over!
July 17, 2023
Im not sure where to begin with this review but this book was so good. When I started the book I was clueless as to who Luca was but the further I went I realized who he was. When I realized it the story made more sense. Luca was a hard character to understand because of his anger but further in you understand it. The hurt this man felt you begin to feel it also. When you read Camillas point of you all you can do is hurt for her. This story is heart breaking and honestly I cried. If you know me thats a hard thing to do. I had to remind myself that they do get their happy ending. The twist that happens you will be left with your mouth open. Didn't see it coming. In the end you will fall in love with this couple I can promise you that. Well worth reading.
August 13, 2023
The MCs were more deranged than me! The writing was not good and I couldn’t buy their love but there were nice moments such as when she said the OW about how H could not please her in bed!
December 23, 2023
• 2.5-3 ִ ࣪𖤐 The entire book is either him angry at basically anything or him fucking her after every 3 pages 🙂 could’ve been a very good book but too much smut is a thing y’all
July 14, 2023
ARC REVIEW:
Quotes:
“Never be who people expect you to be. The only person you need to be is yourself.”
“Only for my woman will I kneel.
Only for my queen.”
I was lucky to get to be on the arc team and man this book blew me away!
Luca is a mafia man through and through! He’s shrouded in hate and vengeance for the death of his sister. He loves few, yet expects loyalty from his men and those that are close to him. If you break that trust, you WILL be on the receiving end of his hatred!
Camille isn’t a regular mafia princess. She has goals and ambitions. She also won’t bow down to the way her world works. She’s not a meek or quiet woman. She’s seeking to make a place in the world for herself.
The organization decides to seek peace with their warring families by having Luca & Camille get married.
I loved this book because you get to see the growth of Luca as he comes to realize the destruction his hate has caused. He struggles to let Camille in and learn from his mistakes.
Camille fights for what she wants and the truth of the situation they’ve been placed in.
This was a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the best way possible.
The spice was through the roof! Their chemistry is off the charts.
It’s a very dark romance, so if you have triggers double check before reading. But ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Quotes:
“Never be who people expect you to be. The only person you need to be is yourself.”
“Only for my woman will I kneel.
Only for my queen.”
I was lucky to get to be on the arc team and man this book blew me away!
Luca is a mafia man through and through! He’s shrouded in hate and vengeance for the death of his sister. He loves few, yet expects loyalty from his men and those that are close to him. If you break that trust, you WILL be on the receiving end of his hatred!
Camille isn’t a regular mafia princess. She has goals and ambitions. She also won’t bow down to the way her world works. She’s not a meek or quiet woman. She’s seeking to make a place in the world for herself.
The organization decides to seek peace with their warring families by having Luca & Camille get married.
I loved this book because you get to see the growth of Luca as he comes to realize the destruction his hate has caused. He struggles to let Camille in and learn from his mistakes.
Camille fights for what she wants and the truth of the situation they’ve been placed in.
This was a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the best way possible.
The spice was through the roof! Their chemistry is off the charts.
It’s a very dark romance, so if you have triggers double check before reading. But ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
August 7, 2024
Good storylines, bad execution. Booooo. The pov switching every 2-3 pages was absolutely insane. I felt a little twitchy by the end. Can we just stay in one persons POV long enough to settle in and connect with that characters narration?!
This one could have been so much better than it was. I went in expecting exactly what we got but I think I was still hopeful that there was going to be more intimacy and romance between the characters. Sadly not. It’s very porn-y, very OTT in the sex especially in the degradation, veryyyy caricature-ish in Hs anger and all of that and all of that happening as soon as we started made it really hard to connect to their relationship and sexual dynamic. His hate was too strong for me to really buy his sexual need for her.
This H. Gah. He was so out of control and it wasn’t just with the h. I prefer a dude who is more stoic and in control of himself and as the book goes we seem his lose control but only with the h. This guy was just enraged all the time with everyone, it didn’t make the h seem special. The author was trying to sell us on the fact that it’s her causing this but nope we get too many scenes of him just exploding on everyone at the flip of a dime.
I don’t get why the h likes him. Everything felt very shallow from both of them. Right away he is into her sexually so it just added to the shallowness. The whole thing lacked depth and relationship development.
There’s a lot of really OTT possessive and jealous scenes that would have been amazing if these two had any actual feelings and intimacy between them. Their relationship is so sex driven that everything building between them just feels so shallow. So the scenes are fun and silly and entertaining but also cringey and not meaningful bc of the lack of actual relationship building. Anytime there is any aspect of actual romance it’s all telling verses showing, he says he’s catching feelings but what does that actually look and feel like for him?🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ It’s just a lot of the H and h being sex-matizied.
Basically I just needed more from both of them and the writing but I didn’t hate it. It was an entertaining enough read to read while I was watching the Olympics. There was one angsty scene that I actually did like a lot too.
I wish I knew more about what was going on in this mafia world with all these side characters but the author said it was a stand-alone, it didn’t feel like it though and that bugged me too. We even got a POV from a character from another series 😵💫😵💫. Sure, that’s a stand-alone. There is a lack on world building and introduction to these characters and I think it’s because we’re supposed to know them a bit from other books?!?
This one could have been so much better than it was. I went in expecting exactly what we got but I think I was still hopeful that there was going to be more intimacy and romance between the characters. Sadly not. It’s very porn-y, very OTT in the sex especially in the degradation, veryyyy caricature-ish in Hs anger and all of that and all of that happening as soon as we started made it really hard to connect to their relationship and sexual dynamic. His hate was too strong for me to really buy his sexual need for her.
This H. Gah. He was so out of control and it wasn’t just with the h. I prefer a dude who is more stoic and in control of himself and as the book goes we seem his lose control but only with the h. This guy was just enraged all the time with everyone, it didn’t make the h seem special. The author was trying to sell us on the fact that it’s her causing this but nope we get too many scenes of him just exploding on everyone at the flip of a dime.
I don’t get why the h likes him. Everything felt very shallow from both of them. Right away he is into her sexually so it just added to the shallowness. The whole thing lacked depth and relationship development.
There’s a lot of really OTT possessive and jealous scenes that would have been amazing if these two had any actual feelings and intimacy between them. Their relationship is so sex driven that everything building between them just feels so shallow. So the scenes are fun and silly and entertaining but also cringey and not meaningful bc of the lack of actual relationship building. Anytime there is any aspect of actual romance it’s all telling verses showing, he says he’s catching feelings but what does that actually look and feel like for him?🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ It’s just a lot of the H and h being sex-matizied.
Basically I just needed more from both of them and the writing but I didn’t hate it. It was an entertaining enough read to read while I was watching the Olympics. There was one angsty scene that I actually did like a lot too.
I wish I knew more about what was going on in this mafia world with all these side characters but the author said it was a stand-alone, it didn’t feel like it though and that bugged me too. We even got a POV from a character from another series 😵💫😵💫. Sure, that’s a stand-alone. There is a lack on world building and introduction to these characters and I think it’s because we’re supposed to know them a bit from other books?!?
July 14, 2023
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ( but definitely would give a lot more)
'In blood we’re bound. In trust we live'...
Camille and Luca...
What a truly amazing story! It shows how thin the line between love and hate can be ...
Camille knows what she wants and no one will ever get in her way... not even Mafia families and definitely not Luca Varros... or can he?
Luca is a true Mafia boss, looking for revenge for his beloved little sister, who would go to any length to punish the enemy...
This story is amazing, I've loved every single word I this book, there's so many emotions ...
'She left me behind'... this had me crying my eyes out...
Veiled In Hate has the very best emotions, loved the appearances of the O'Connell brothers , some other characters and it also answers the question who let the Tiger out!! You will be shocked!
I was rooting for Camille and Luca the whole way, as I could feel the love between them, even though it took them a long time to admit it to themselves, let alone to each other!
Be prepared for the hotness, the darkness, the surprises and the unbreakable, undeniable love that keeps you wanting more!
'Never be who people expect you to be.The only person you need to be is yourself'...
No truer words and these will be always connected to Luca and Camille!
Bj Alpha never dissapoints and just keeps surprising me every single time with her latest work, it just gets better and better!
Come on people, what ya waiting for?
Read this as an ARC and this is my honest unbiased opinion
'In blood we’re bound. In trust we live'...
Camille and Luca...
What a truly amazing story! It shows how thin the line between love and hate can be ...
Camille knows what she wants and no one will ever get in her way... not even Mafia families and definitely not Luca Varros... or can he?
Luca is a true Mafia boss, looking for revenge for his beloved little sister, who would go to any length to punish the enemy...
This story is amazing, I've loved every single word I this book, there's so many emotions ...
'She left me behind'... this had me crying my eyes out...
Veiled In Hate has the very best emotions, loved the appearances of the O'Connell brothers , some other characters and it also answers the question who let the Tiger out!! You will be shocked!
I was rooting for Camille and Luca the whole way, as I could feel the love between them, even though it took them a long time to admit it to themselves, let alone to each other!
Be prepared for the hotness, the darkness, the surprises and the unbreakable, undeniable love that keeps you wanting more!
'Never be who people expect you to be.The only person you need to be is yourself'...
No truer words and these will be always connected to Luca and Camille!
Bj Alpha never dissapoints and just keeps surprising me every single time with her latest work, it just gets better and better!
Come on people, what ya waiting for?
Read this as an ARC and this is my honest unbiased opinion
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2023
I have to start at the end with this one: that-freeking-ending!!!!!! The last 20% or so of this book made everything else - almost, basically - alright... things were okay now. Let me explain. So I know (but of course I know) that BJ Alpha brings a boatload of triggers with her because she does things very dark, very sexy, very hot, very brutal, and even male chauvinistic and borderline masochistic. Ok, so I know all this. But even knowing this, sometimes my buttons get pushed (which basically never happens!) when the brutality and male chauvinism and masochism just starts to teeter on that fine line - well, BJ just blows right past the line. But it's ok because hello! She warns about triggers beforehand. And this is a "me" issue. I get these guys are in the mafia and they're brutal and torture and murder people - and that's fiiiiine. But the degradation along with mental, emotional, and physical abuse towards the female characters gets to the point of pushing my limits. And yes, that is my limit...
BUT!!!! Wait, wait, keep reading. It gets better.
So I had to say that because for well into over 50% of this book, I hated Luca.
I HATED him.
I thought he was vile and such an a$$ and his abuse was beyond... I hated him. I liked that BJ wrote Camille as a female who saw beyond the mafia life and even pushed the boundaries and revolted - as best she could. I loved her spine and courage. But obviously - look at the story here - she could only do so much. That said, the power dynamic between her and Luca was interesting. And their story was a page-turner.
Now! So even though I kind of understood Luca, I still hated him. I felt for Camille and I struggled with those specific triggers I mentioned above - how could I not? And my favorite book club friend and I (who were co-reading this book) discussed this very point. So then when I reached the final 20 or 25% of this book - boy did things come together!!! And I loooooved it. Honestly, up until that point in the book, I was ready to give this book a 4 star rating (3 stars even at points because I hated Luca so damn much), but here comes BJ in with that effing ending and that is honestly what pushed this book into a 5 star rating for me. I can't even talk about it... one has to read the whole thing to get all up in their feels in the ending. And get up in my feels I did! I sat in my feels for quite a while after I finished... it was just.... everything.
BJ brought me through the gamut of emotions in this one. She made me feel disgusted, disgruntled, she made me hate the main male character with a passion of a thousand suns while feeling compassion and such sympathy and respect for the main female character - then freekin' BJ made the redemption in this book so big that it propelled it from me feeling pissed off and insulted at the brutality to a point where I just about forgave Luca.... which is like the biggest feat - ever. So lemme stand up and give you a standing ovation while I slow-clap - simply for the redemption you brought to us, because that redemption and that ending.... it was everything.
BUT!!!! Wait, wait, keep reading. It gets better.
So I had to say that because for well into over 50% of this book, I hated Luca.
I HATED him.
I thought he was vile and such an a$$ and his abuse was beyond... I hated him. I liked that BJ wrote Camille as a female who saw beyond the mafia life and even pushed the boundaries and revolted - as best she could. I loved her spine and courage. But obviously - look at the story here - she could only do so much. That said, the power dynamic between her and Luca was interesting. And their story was a page-turner.
Now! So even though I kind of understood Luca, I still hated him. I felt for Camille and I struggled with those specific triggers I mentioned above - how could I not? And my favorite book club friend and I (who were co-reading this book) discussed this very point. So then when I reached the final 20 or 25% of this book - boy did things come together!!! And I loooooved it. Honestly, up until that point in the book, I was ready to give this book a 4 star rating (3 stars even at points because I hated Luca so damn much), but here comes BJ in with that effing ending and that is honestly what pushed this book into a 5 star rating for me. I can't even talk about it... one has to read the whole thing to get all up in their feels in the ending. And get up in my feels I did! I sat in my feels for quite a while after I finished... it was just.... everything.
BJ brought me through the gamut of emotions in this one. She made me feel disgusted, disgruntled, she made me hate the main male character with a passion of a thousand suns while feeling compassion and such sympathy and respect for the main female character - then freekin' BJ made the redemption in this book so big that it propelled it from me feeling pissed off and insulted at the brutality to a point where I just about forgave Luca.... which is like the biggest feat - ever. So lemme stand up and give you a standing ovation while I slow-clap - simply for the redemption you brought to us, because that redemption and that ending.... it was everything.
February 6, 2024
Book recommendations for my dark mafia lovers.!
*dark enemies to lovers
*bully vibes
* arranged marriage
*virgin
*omg moments could be triggering for some
*revenge
This author has been in my TBR for a very long time. Finally I have one of her books ago.
I won’t lie at the beginning of this story I was shocked and a little bit taken back by the violence and hatred in Luca towards Camille. It’s heavy. Their relationship is a true enemies to lovers. He is rough, dark and completely obsessed and full of hate. And he shows it. Once the story progresses and I got to know Luca more I came to liking him a lot. He redeems himself. They connected and I felt even when he was still dark toward at times.
The way BJ writer Luca had me grasping. The spice in this book once you understand this man is amazing. 5/5 for spice 🔥 🔥 there is a lot of s**
The story it self was good. Didn’t see the twist right away. It’s for a lot going on which I loved just not a romance story. The relationship is the main plot but the mafia is there.
I highly recommend this book. I do recommend checking triggers though.
My only criticism is that some sentences and words were over used. It became annoying. Like the word orbs was used a lot and a couple of quote sentences.
My quotes -
“You’re like a fucking witch putting a spell on me.”
“His words make my stomach roll, and I fight the urge to cry.”
“she wants me with as much need as I want her.”
“You’re a sadist too.”
“And you have a kink for praise.”
*dark enemies to lovers
*bully vibes
* arranged marriage
*virgin
*omg moments could be triggering for some
*revenge
This author has been in my TBR for a very long time. Finally I have one of her books ago.
I won’t lie at the beginning of this story I was shocked and a little bit taken back by the violence and hatred in Luca towards Camille. It’s heavy. Their relationship is a true enemies to lovers. He is rough, dark and completely obsessed and full of hate. And he shows it. Once the story progresses and I got to know Luca more I came to liking him a lot. He redeems himself. They connected and I felt even when he was still dark toward at times.
The way BJ writer Luca had me grasping. The spice in this book once you understand this man is amazing. 5/5 for spice 🔥 🔥 there is a lot of s**
The story it self was good. Didn’t see the twist right away. It’s for a lot going on which I loved just not a romance story. The relationship is the main plot but the mafia is there.
I highly recommend this book. I do recommend checking triggers though.
My only criticism is that some sentences and words were over used. It became annoying. Like the word orbs was used a lot and a couple of quote sentences.
My quotes -
“You’re like a fucking witch putting a spell on me.”
“His words make my stomach roll, and I fight the urge to cry.”
“she wants me with as much need as I want her.”
“You’re a sadist too.”
“And you have a kink for praise.”
July 23, 2023
I have probably said this a few times for a number of BJ Alpha books now but Veiled In Hate has been her best book yet. I mean it. I am crazy, mad in love with Luca and would do anything to have one-single-night with him for real. I mean he is everything a mafia romance lover fantasies about. Forceful, arrogant and powerful yet he has the capacity to kneel at his woman’s feet if needed. He is a smexual powerhouse and his intensity is almost intoxicating. I am buying the physical copy of Veiled In Hate as well and definitely re-read it a few times a year to live my fantasy vicariously through BJ’s words.
October 18, 2023
3/5 ⭐️
🤍 Virgin heroine
🤍 Mafia romance
🤍 Arranged marriage
🤍 Enemies to lovers
🚩no cheating or sharing, OW/OM just jealousy
It was an okay book 🙌
A pretty quick and addictive read but personally I think it was too fast paced and I couldn't really connect with the characters and the story 🙈🤭
Also the ending was a bit too rushed... I would like to know a little bit more about everything 👀✨️
🤍 Virgin heroine
🤍 Mafia romance
🤍 Arranged marriage
🤍 Enemies to lovers
🚩no cheating or sharing, OW/OM just jealousy
It was an okay book 🙌
A pretty quick and addictive read but personally I think it was too fast paced and I couldn't really connect with the characters and the story 🙈🤭
Also the ending was a bit too rushed... I would like to know a little bit more about everything 👀✨️
Read
July 9, 2025tbh could’ve done better with the grovelling (in that the FMC forgave him too easily 😕). i def wanted the MMC to work more to earn her trust esp after the abysmal way he treated her. other than that, for a book that was touted as hate to love, it def had me cackling one too many times so qudos on scoring points for humour 👏🏽
for example, this scene 👇🏽
for context the MMC was desperately trying to uncover clues to find and the other person in this scene was trying to distract him from his mission with.. uh .. something of the feline persuasion 🐱
“Would you like to stroke my Pussy?” His words startle me, and my eyes bug out in horror, because what the actual fuck?
He holds a cat up, and I step back with a disgusted grimace. Is this kid right in the head?
My eyes travel over his body to see if there’s anything that might confirm there’s something missing with the kid but nope. Not a goddamn thing. “Pussy likes being stroked.”
it might’ve been funnier when i first read it but def provided some much needed comedic relief 😅
for example, this scene 👇🏽
for context the MMC was desperately trying to uncover clues to find and the other person in this scene was trying to distract him from his mission with.. uh .. something of the feline persuasion 🐱
“Would you like to stroke my Pussy?” His words startle me, and my eyes bug out in horror, because what the actual fuck?
He holds a cat up, and I step back with a disgusted grimace. Is this kid right in the head?
My eyes travel over his body to see if there’s anything that might confirm there’s something missing with the kid but nope. Not a goddamn thing. “Pussy likes being stroked.”
it might’ve been funnier when i first read it but def provided some much needed comedic relief 😅
May 17, 2024
Finished this because I was stubborn and wanted to see if there was ANY redeemable moments or qualities about Luca, but there wasn’t any. There was NO groveling! AND he was a piece of shit until the very end. I’m not even convinced that he ever loved Camille or just wanted to control her and use her body.
Camille was so right in asking “Did your sister pay for your sins too?” Because she didn’t deserve any of the hate or abuse she faced just because Luca believed her twin brother raped and murdered his sister.
What solidified this as a 1 star to me was at 90% Luca says “At this moment, I realize the difference between myself and my brother. As much as I wanted Camille, as much as I craved her, I could never truly hurt her. Her “no” meant just that.”
What THE FUCK are you talking about Luca??? You forced yourself on her MULTIPLE TIMES throughout the book! He repeatedly hurt her mentally and physically. He was so cruel to her, leaving her breadcrumbs of kindness or affection. The fact that he truly doesn’t see how disgusting he was makes him unredeemable to me. How can you show remorse and grovel if you don’t even truly see how much of a monster you were?
Camille deserves so much better than this asshole. I
Camille was so right in asking “Did your sister pay for your sins too?” Because she didn’t deserve any of the hate or abuse she faced just because Luca believed her twin brother raped and murdered his sister.
What solidified this as a 1 star to me was at 90% Luca says “At this moment, I realize the difference between myself and my brother. As much as I wanted Camille, as much as I craved her, I could never truly hurt her. Her “no” meant just that.”
What THE FUCK are you talking about Luca??? You forced yourself on her MULTIPLE TIMES throughout the book! He repeatedly hurt her mentally and physically. He was so cruel to her, leaving her breadcrumbs of kindness or affection. The fact that he truly doesn’t see how disgusting he was makes him unredeemable to me. How can you show remorse and grovel if you don’t even truly see how much of a monster you were?
Camille deserves so much better than this asshole. I
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