Bash

Vancini Mafia #3

by Jayla Talbot

TessaI never wanted any part of this life. The world of Mafia and monsters that had killed my mother. It came looking for me anyway. But the last thing I needed was a man to protect me. I took care of myself. I always had. And I certainly didn’t need one with thick muscles and tattoos. One who saw the broken girl inside. I wasn’t broken; I was in control. I made men like him fall to their knees. I just didn’t expect him to like it. Or to find myself falling to my knees for him. BashI’d been drawn to her from the moment she’d walked into the club with sage eyes and dark curls. For years, I ignored her. Kept the beast inside from tainting her. Until her friend fell in love with mine, turning her into a target for our world. My job was to protect her. To make sure she never found out the truth. But the closer I got, the harder I fell. And now I’m trapped in a web of lies with no way out. Risking the one thing I swore to protect. The only person I had ever wanted to keep. ******'Bash' is a stand-alone book in the Vancini Mafia Series. It can be read alone, but for a better reading experience, you may want to start with 'Madness. ' It is a dark romance and will not be to everyone's liking. Please check the author's note for content warnings.

Genres: Dark Romance

279 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 10, 2023

About the author

Jayla lives in Southeast Michigan with her husband and young son. She writes steamy romance. When she's not writing you can find her hiding behind her kindle or streaming the latest rom-com.

Reviews

[readinfox · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Though this was not a bad book this part truly threw me off:

I’ve read so many books where the fmc happens to like taking charge, but it’s later explained away as her defense mechanism.
It’s ok for women to just be dominant and for it it’s not stem from any kind of trauma.

I was so excited to read a book where the FMC for once was advertised to be dominant, only for me to find out in the very first sex scene and throughout the book, that she’s also submissive and enjoys the MMC “using and controlling” her.

Of course if that’s your thing, cool, but at least advertise her as a switch. For readers, like myself, who don’t enjoy reading about women submitting, this aspect was a bit disappointing.

All of the “the beast inside” comments the mmc made were 😣.

That being said, this book was still pretty good, the pacing, the writing, the side characters all well done.

[Jada · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could do without the Dom-baiting, thanks.

Maybe I should just give up on reading books/novels that supposedly feature a dominatrix, because so help me the next book I read that goes "and she suddenly caught feelings and because feelings are involved she suddenly wants to submit" I might murder a bitch or six.

Some women just like control, and authors really need to stop hamstringing female characters with the "no one will like/relate to her unless she submits to a man" or "she's only dominant because of trauma/abuse and the second the love interest shows up, oops, surprise switch! (If she's even dominant at all, maybe she never was) And wouldn't you know it, its everything she ever wanted, all that she never knew she needed. 😤🙄

AND FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR, IF YOU'RE GOING TO WRITE KINK/BDSM, CHARACTERS NEED TO FUCKING NEGOTIATE!!!

[Kaelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m only halfway through but I’m contemplating doing something I never do and DNF’ing the book. It was literally advertised as a dominant female protagonist. Only for it to be explained away with bullshit and we’re left reading the exact same story of the big strong mafia man who she eagerly submits for. Those books are fine when they’re shown to be that way, but I was excited to read something different. If you’re looking for a strong female character you won’t find it here. Plus I really hate the good girl trope, which is literally all the MMC says.


***UPDATE I have now fully finished the book, and I will say there was considerable improvement. The switch situation came to light and made more sense. Instead of being advertised as a dom FMC it should’ve been a switch. I don’t love how fast she forgave the MMC but it’s a mafia story so that’s to be expected. Overall I am changing my review from 1 star to 3.5 but 3 on good reads. Worth a quick read sure, but just know what you’re actually getting in to.

[Glitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe ONE DAY, we’ll get a novel with an actual dominant female character…. not this one tho.


switching is fine!! but it’s just a defense mechanism for her and she submits to him as a sign of falling for him and frankly i am sick and tired of that trope.

[Holland Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rife with errors, which didn't bother me as much as how insufferable the FMC becomes toward the middle/last half of the book. The first half genuinely had me enthralled, but the harder the FMC tried to hold onto her stupid "woman" voice in her head as the second half progressed, the more I found myself rolling my eyes and the grammatical errors became more unbearable too.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️2🌶️
I'd say this whole series is a good start into dark romance - mafia edition

Sebastian and Tessa are introduced in the first two books of the series but this book is a standalone.
I gotta say, I have not read a lot of dominant FMCs and I kinda liked it but also often questioned the motives and why the FMC had that specific kink.

But all in all solid 3 stars.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but I skipped thru a lot cause I felt like it wasnt as eventful as Madness and Dove.

[greenharib0s · Rating 5 out of 5]

yk, i js have a thing for submissive men.