Deconstructed

The Toscano Mafia Saga #2

by Arianna Fraser

When I went hunting a monster in the Black Forest of Germany, I discovered someone far more challenging than the lunatic who bought and sold women.

There was a girl, chained in his basement. When I tried to rescue her, she took matters into her own hands. She knocked out my best man and stole his wallet. And his gun. And disappeared. I'm never letting him live that one down.

Letting her get away? That's on me.

She's the most cunning girl I've ever met. She likes to run. Well, I like to chase. Aren't we a match made in hell? Because when I catch her, I'm keeping her.

If you love books by JT Geissinger, Cora Reilly, BB Hamel, and Michelle Heard, this is just the story for you.

Deconstructed - An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance can be read as a stand-alone with a HEA and no cheating. It contains dark themes and is for 18+ readers only.

Genres: Humor

260 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2023

Reviews

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of The Toscano Mafia Saga each can be read as a standalone but connect via the brothers and the women who captures their undivided attention rather want it or not so get comfortable because you won’t put it down until the last page has been turned hang on and double check that you are buckled up, dangerous men, alpha’s personified, possessive, oh, gorgeous, brooding all the makings of a story consisting with three D’s (dark, delicious, and dirty) 😊. There will be suspense, betrayal, death, darkness, secrets reveled, violence, hope, forgiveness, and maybe even love (ALL THINGS TO EXPECT FROM THE MAFIA WORLD). By the time you’ve figured out who is who and what is what, you’re already hooked, and you may as well give up the fight and prepare yourself for an all-nighter! CAN’T SAY YOU WEREN’T WARNED!! Dario sexy as all get out younger brother with a personality that will have you doing a double take, he one of the deadliest because you don’t see him coming, starting off he is out hunting slime ball human trafficker and came across one saving those held hostage taking one back with him who was chained, starved, severely mistreated while the others were well fed. Cora is a bad a** has been forced to be by her parents didn’t have the best life although she grew up with money her father was a slime ball selling her to the cartel for power among other things, but her saving grace her bodyguard who taught her how to protect herself and so when she is kidnapped by the psycho, held, starved because he thinks they are meant to be soulmates she doesn’t let it break her. So, when she is rescued she knows she has to leave before the men who rescued her figure out who she really is and try holding her to be used against her father that she can’t have escaping is her only goal and she is good at it only after killing the man who held her hostage simply because Dario promised to kill him and never did so she took matters into her own hands doing it herself ensuring he never hurt another women, man, or child. Dario can’t have that she belongs to him however, she just doesn’t realize it yet but when he finds her he will make sure she knows he will do what needs to be done to keep her safe, earn her trust, and make sure the cartel can never touch her again because she will be protected by him but will she agree to his plans, will she work with him to get her father to play nice, will her father play nice, will the cartel leave her be or keep coming after her, will his brother have his back in all this, and will she finally find some form of peace, happiness?

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dario and Cora’s story is going to engulf you into this mafia world that’s going to tear at your heart, make you angry, get frustrated at the hatred, and then it all comes together with so much love and a little kink to make the world go around!!

Cora has to have the worst luck of any person because she gets herself in crazy situations thuan results in multiple kidnappings so be ready to be frustrated and angry at these events. I love Cora’s personality and she is the perfect fit to Dario’s need for control.


Dario needs Cora and he will do anything he can to keep her sage but sometimes the enemies are lurking too close and everything implodes. This happens several times throughout this novel but you will still love every second of it.

This book 2 is just as good as Book 1 and I can’t wait to see what comes next! Happy Reading!.

[Laura Spinnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! It starts with a bang and doesn't stop at all! I love our heroine, she is perfect! The hero of course is handsome, a bit overbearing; but what do you expect from a Mafia man? This story is a great read; the action and excitement grabs you from start and barrels on through to the end! Have fun reading!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Morgana Lefaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers for the first quarter of the book.

This book is about the second Toscano brother, Dario, and his inamorata Cora. Cora is the daughter of a corrupt US senator, and in the beginning of the book she has been on the run from him and the Brazilian mafioso he’s trying to marry her off to, and has been kidnapped by Schmidt, the German cannibal that Dario wants to kill on general principles because he’s an evil fuck. When Dario arrives to kill Schmidt, he rescues Cora, who promptly runs, Dario following. Cora is an accomplished escape artist, but Dario is determined, rich, and a total Dom, like a sex club member type Dom whose four poster bed is adorned with iron rings (the better for binding you my dear), and who says things like ‘Pleasure isn’t complete without pain. In my world, the two are always mixed.’ He’s still not as devastatingly devilish as the delightfully demented DOMs of Fraser’s Corporation series, but he plays a good game, and he talks Cora into marrying him, although she assumes it’s just a temporary arrangement until they both achieve their goals, and he doesn’t disabuse her of this notion by pointing out that in the Mafia, marriage is for life. And that’s just the first quarter or so of the book. Someone wants Cora dead, and who it is comes as a complete surprise, and then there’s still more plot to unravel before arriving at the HEA (well you knew there was going to be an HEA, didn’t you, so that’s not a spoiler). The writing is good, the story is exciting, the two main characters are engaging, the sex is hot. What more could you ask for? (Other than a devastatingly demented Corporation Dom, that is.)

I received an advanced review copy of this book and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[Sissy's Romance Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deconstructed by Arianna Fraser is Book 2 of The Toscano Mafia Saga. This is the story of Cora and Dario. This is a interconnecting series so it does add to your enjoyment if you have read the previous book. But with that said I did think it could be a standalone book if you wanted it to be. Dario and his friend Yuri are on the hunt for a human trafficker called The Cannibal. What Dario finds is Cora chained up in the basement of a house. When he rescues her she takes off running. Now Dario has something new to hunt in addition to Cannibal. Enjoyed this book and series.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dario and Sergi go hunting traffickers only they come across Cora, when he tried to save her she takes the lead and knocks put sergi takes his money and gun and runs, and Dario is set to chase, cos once he gets her he plans to keep her. Well written action, desires steamy scenes and more!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh out loud quite a few times. I loved the interaction between our MMC and FMC. It’s possible I might be a little bit smitten with the smart(arse) brother Dario and I loved the how feisty Cora was (even if she had to be found/chased/rescued).

[Jen ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

mcs:
- dario, 29
- cora, 23

book info:
- mafia romance
- captive romance
- arranged/forced marriage
- violence / gruesome death
- bdsm / dom-sub relationship / sex club
- no cheating, opd, third act breakup
- insta-lust
- death of a loved one
- non virgin mcs (FMC - 1 bf, MMC - manhoe)
- HEA

notes:
- the title "deconstructed" is the name of one of his sex clubs and he's a dom
- the fmc's feisty but the body betraying syndrome always takes over her common sense
- no protection used in the story, which caught me a little off guard. he's a manhoe (she googled him and saw the women he'd been with in the past) yet they never talked about std/sti and clean health bill stuff. then in the later chapter, it was said he did background check on her and found out she's in bc. still gross that he went bare with her.
- i loved the witty titles per chapter 😄
- i also loved the found female friendship in the book


this is an okay read i guess, fast paced and short story. too many kidnappings though, the poor fmc had to go through 4 kidnappings all throughout the book.

they met when dario and his men went to this compound to get this horrible man responsible for human trafficking. he saw cora in the basement, starved and filthy yet for some reason despite her current situation he found her beautiful and insta-lust kicked in. of course, he didn't do anything but he imagined lots of filthy things to do with her.

they brought cora with them to nurse her back to health and to ask some questions about the man who kidnapped her. i think it was only two days before she gained some strength, then she tricked one of her guards and injected him some drug, just to incapacitate him. she then stole his gun and wallet. she went to the basement to kill the man who abduct her then she escaped and has been on the run for six weeks.

dario, still fascinated and even more turned on when cora escaped, chased her until he finally got her back. turns out cora's father is a senator and dario's business needs some permit to operate but someone is preventing them from having it. so he proposed to marry cora so that they can use her father's connection.

there's no love lost between cora and her parents. before she was abducted by the human trafficker, her father arranged her to marry an old man involved in cartel. she ran away after finding this out but got captured instead by the sick man. good thing is, this man didn't do anything awful to her but he did make her watch him assault other women in that compound.

anyway, back to the marriage proposal, she didn't agree at first but dario convinced her this is the only way to protect her from her parents and jilted fiance. she reluctantly agreed cuz she thinks it would be temporary (dario never told her it was for life 😂)

anyhooo, lots of thing happened in the book. violence, betrayal, killing, and steamy scenes. the plot isn't something new but i liked the writing style and the story flow. i also appreciated the mmc as somewhat sunshine-y, he's funny as hell, his lines and antic had laughing most of the time. now that i think about it, this is more like a reverse grumpy/sunshine.

however, as for the romance, i didn't see a relationship development. it was like 0 to 60 in a flash. they do a lot of kinky stuff because he's a dom, but i think what they had was built in lust. the emotional connection between them? nowhere to be found, imo. but if readers only want off the charts sexual tension, these two won't disappoint them.

overall, this is okay. i struggled to feel the connection between the mcs and idk, i think this isn't for me, probably a me case. but if readers wants to read some mafia romance with a touch of humor, they should go for this.

[Grinning Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

MMC/FMC- Dario and Cora
POV- 1st person dual
Genre- Mafia Romance
Heat level- This review is brought to you by the letter C, in honor of all the C words used in naming the parts, and by the letters B, D, S, and M.
Series? Y
Safety: No cheating, no OM/OW drama, implied past s. violence, no cliffhanger, HEA.
Triggers- Human S. Trafficking, Violence (Including Cranial Bludgeoning With a French Wine Bottle- Oh, the Humanity!), Off-Page Torture, Implied Past S. Assault, Traumatic Googling, Kidnapping, More Kidnapping, Still Kidnapping, Abduction, Explicit Erotic Content With A Side Of Kink.
Tropes- Arranged Marriage, Playing Tag, It Sounds Better In Italian, Do-Si-Do With the Mafioso, Bad Guy Whack-A-Mole, Dysfunctional Family FTW Food P rn, That’s Not My Leg.
What I liked- The chapter subheadings are EVERYTHING. I love the blending of humor with erotic content and plot. The truly serious is not treated with humor, but this is the first book I’ve ever read that was able to make a fourth kidnapping kind of funny (it’s black humor and works when you read it). The zexytime scenes- Oh My! This book makes Fifty Shades of Grey look like Fifty Shades of Beige. (PSA- skip reading any of the Fifty Shades books. It’s like reading oatmeal that someone has tried to salt. Yeah, I went there.) When they had the zexytime in the car, I was afraid my smoke detector was going to explode. The characters were great- Dario is straight up funny and the side characters are amusing and well written. And our heroine is bad ss. Don’t even let me get started on the food! I think I squeed myself at the Cassata Cake With Ricotta Blueberry Cream And A Marzipan Topping *swoon*.
What I didn’t like- I’ve never had the opportunity to eat a Cassata Cake With Ricotta Blueberry Cream And A Marzipan Topping.
Verdict- do yourself a favor and download this book immediately.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[JenMcJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. This book didn't have enough intimacy. Dario uses Cora even though he knows she hates it. He puts her out there for public consumption to help his business. I found that motivation and his manipulation of her to go do these things abhorrent. And when he does push her to do these things she gets kidnapped or runs into unpleasant people. She doesn't enjoy a single minute of it but that was what he married her for and so she is dutiful and does it to help him. All the fight to stay out of that life and how hard she ran and how determined she was, was just ripped away from her and all of her fight just left her collapsed like a soufflé.

Then to top things off, there is very little romance. They have sex for the first time in the dirt after he gives her no chance to actually get away. They jump straight to pain with sex. He doesn't ask her, he doesn't discuss it. He just says "with me pain will always go with pleasure" and then he has sex the way he wants without her consent or educated informed knowledge of what he means and without any protection or discussion thereof. He then takes her to his sex club and jumps right to FIRE PLAY. I mean, really? Dario is the most selfish MC I've read in awhile.

Then add that Cora is kidnapped 4 times in this book (by over the top ridiculous characters - how does she attract so many crazy people? and then her parents are one dimensional scumbags, too?) It took me a really long time to get through this one because I couldn't suspend disbelief.

This was not my favorite AF book. In an attempt to be original, she left out romance and intimacy that romance readers are looking for, I think.

[Malini · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun marriage by MeemsAngel82

This one had you going all over the place, from laughter to danger to revenge and sexy scenes! This had it all, the writing is exciting like all of her books. The heated scenes, the mouth on the H, whew! Love how they could be having a serious moment and then they can come together and laugh it off.

They were helping her and she gave him quite the chase for his troubles! But in the end, he catches and keeps her.

This was quite the rollercoaster! The two never had a dull moment. You went in thinking what will happen but then it doesn't go how you would think. Are there dark elements? Yes, but it is done in a great way with no harsh impact on your senses. She is a tough cookie but when he catches her, look out. How sexy these two were! I loved how this couple melted for one another and this came out full circle. This was exciting and fun, sexy and entertaining! Such laughter and never a dull moment, this couple went through some trying moment and came out great in the end.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Underworld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dario was definitely the bad boy comic relief in his brother's story in Deceptive - An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance. None of that has changed now that it's his story in Deconstructed, Dario's still sexy and outrageously funny. But he matures as he saves Cora from a monster's dungeon. (No, really, the guy built his basement into a dungeon.) But Cora's no fragile flower. She takes off and Dario just has to chase her.

This book's got one of the best "ta-da!" villain reveals I've read. The bad guys are really bad, the good guys are not who you always expect, Dario is wildly hot, and when the man has created a successful line of sex clubs, you know THAT part of the relationship is going to be dynamite.

[Karen Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

DECONSTRUCTED, book 2 of the Toscano Mafia Saga by Arianna Fraser

Troupe: Forced marriage between Cora and Dario, second brother of The Toscano Mafia family, when Cora runs, Dario finds he loves chasing her! Dario's outrageous humor, Cora gets kidnapped—not once but twice. Arianna Fraser creates delightful characters, a good chase that leads into hot sizzling scenes. DECONSTRUCTED is fraught with danger, edge of your seat action, psychopaths, revenge-seekers, and people with agendas who all want Cora for their own purposes. Poor girl. It’s a good thing that Dario is crazy about her to come charging as her knight in shining armor.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable story if not a little far fetched. As with the first book found the sub headings in the chapters annoying as they tended to be like spoilers but managed to avoid reading them a bit more. Dario and Cora are well matched.

[Maureen Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Give it 2.5 stars. Didn’t feel this book as much as her others. Too many kidnappings. Found myself skimming through sections.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Dario and Cora’s book. It was a suspenseful and intriguing read. And am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Safa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny book!
but I really had hard time feeling the H and h love
The h killing her dad and the ex will be better then marriage for life

[tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I personally found it had a different vibe from the other Mafia stories by Arianna but I loved it. I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters.

[Neha Bhageria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This i feel is the author's spiciest book
I really liked cora and Dario and how they build their relationship

But that wedding night tho 🥵

[VAANYA MAHADEV · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF after 42%. Just didn't know where the plot was heading and frankly couldn't be bothered. Started off well enough but quickly went down hill.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is a fucking genius.

[viv · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf i loved this whole world and series but THEYRE ALL MESHING TOGETHER theyre all so similar im getting tired of it but i will be back to finish this someday

[Theklitsa T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely otp story.

[Mary Pulvermacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dario is crazy. Made me crack up.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Dario's turn to get his girl! If you like a good chase this one is for you! Cora is running from her life and wants nothing to do with anyone. But Dario doesn't give up! You will root for them all the way through!

[Linzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love when romance books that are in no way “real world” demonstrate very “real world” concepts especially in relationships that can be toxic.

Safe consent and discussion clearly outlined is so important and it sounds boring and dumb but it makes the story better in my opinion!