3.5 ⭐️
Overall, I liked this one. It kept me engaged and catched me from the first pages. It ends on a cliffhanger, but I have the next book, and I will definitely continue.
The action, plot, and relationship development were nicely balanced. There were some twists, some of them were easily to spot / suspect, but not all of them.
** possible spoilers **
I somehow expected something to happen in those last chapters since Joey made a huge mistake letting his father live. I still don't understand the reasoning behind that decision. It was very, very stupid, obviously. But since his father is a true villain, of course, he came back full force.
I liked Joey and Tea, but I, for one, cannot forgive him for what he did on their wedding night. I think she healed too seasily from her trauma. He eventually explained himself. He obviously was remorseful and promised he would repent until the end of their lives, but still. I am conflcted about the entire situation.
The fact that he is so inloved with her and he is overprotective, jealous, etc., made the situation bearable, let's say.
They both had issues in communicating efficiently, opening up, and trusting each other. But eventually, they got on the right track. They sometimes definitely showed their age.
What to expect
- arranged marriage
- they are from rival families (abusive fathers / families on both sides)
- same age, 22 years old
- medium burn when it comes to their relationship (because he fucked up immensely on their wedding night)
- no V (they both were in other relationships at the start of the book and immediately broke things up when their fathers ordered their marriage)
- double POV
- interesting side characters, especially Sean (hoping he will have a book as well in the future 🙏)
- quite a spicy read, but I wasn’t a huge fan of some scenes, like I had to think hard to understand what is happening, haha; some awkward terminology as well (for e.g., "using his tongue like a sorcerer's wand" -- excuse me, the comparison might work, but it's hilarious and obviously I started crackling and this just took me out of the scene, just like ... magic!? 😂)
- no cheating!!
TW
- Domestical violence (both MCs are beaten on page by their awful fathers)
- SA between MCs 😭😭😭
- The FMC is later in the book also almost SA by her father in law, luckily she's saved on time by the MMC right on time 🥺
- Violence, torture, etc. (it's a mafia read, so the normal for these reads)
I think the book would have worked better if their ages had been higher. For example, it's mentioned that he has been doing his father's books for the past 10 years because he was good with numbers. Uhm, he is 22!! Of course, it's fiction, so anything could be believable, but some things were obviously exaggerated. Meanwhile, at the same time, he was hiding money since, as Tea, he also wanted to get out of the mafia life when the time allowed it. He also was a street fighter and probably done other things for his father as well. Again, he's just 22!
Now, I will directly dive into the second part because I am very curious about how everything will wrap up with the mafia conflict.
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I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.