There's a lot about this story I really liked.
Pros: The female lead rocks. I love her bold, out-there personality. She's strong as hell and is clear about what she wants, her needs, and her sexuality. Her main insecurity is believable, but not annoyingly so. She plays her cards very tight to the vest. I like the male lead. A former SEAL, he doesn't display those characteristics you typically see as part of that trope. Sure, an alpha, but he's mostly a sweet, careful man who's ready for a real committed relationship. He's great. I also love the build-up of their relationship. It's sorta insta-love but also not.
Cons: The lead's relationship with her brother is hinky. They grew up quite tight, yet are unable to have any convos of depth about literally anything. It's nonsensical and weird, and makes it impossible to believe the professed super tight childhood story. My other big issue with this book is the action. Apparently there's a whole lot of bad blood with a Irish mafia-type group. I understand why, but there is literally no on-scene action at all. None. Later, it's reported back in a paragraph or two about multiple murders and serious mayhem. It all gets wrapped up in a couple of tidy lines of text. Because there's a bunch of cloudiness around the entire series premise, I'm left hanging despite the romance aspect. This started with the 1st book. For reasons that make no sense, the series is about some buds that open a casino in Boston. IRL, Boston is a tough, violent city when it comes to criminality. The criminal Irish underbelly is still quite known as brutal. I have a hard time buying why these guys opened a casino in such an environment. Then they worry about dealing with these violent thugs all the time. I guess it's an easy base for a series, but I have a difficult time buying it. Then, violent action takes place outside the story. A lead character simply reports what happened, and that's it.
I'm not sure I want to read any more of this series. The sex is hot, the relationships are well written. But the underlying story is super vague. It colors everything and makes me question what's happening all the time, and not in a good way.
Overall, it seems like an easy out for an author who's writing for a romantic suspense audience, but isn't actually writing the suspense/action part. That feels fake to me.