Temporary Vows

West Coast Underworld #3

by Alexa Michaels

Shipping moguls don’t marry the daughters of their enemies.

Constantine Drakos is the CEO of a shipping empire—or so he would have people believe. This man is made of secrets and power. Me? I’m the daughter of this CEO’s enemy.

I’m the key to my father’s revenge. We offer Drakos peace, and my hand in marriage seals the deal.

My new husband won’t let down his guard. He’s suspicious. He has every right to be. I’m not here to smooth bridges and strengthen ties.

I’m here to end him.

I wasn’t raised like other girls. But with each small gesture, Drakos chips at my walls.

When I refuse to strike, another does. Only my husband isn’t the direct target. This blow…does more damage than I could ever have dreamt of. I’m left scrambling to pick up the pieces of this temporary relationship that I need to be permanent.

I’m not letting the shipping mogul go!

The plan was to change my white gown to a black dress. My decision to change sides means I have to embrace the dark and go against everything I was brought up to believe.

Thankfully, I have an ally waiting in the shadows.

Temporary Vows is the gripping FINAL installment in the West Coast Underworld series. It’s a stand-alone darker mafia arranged marriage romance, complete with a happily ever after and no cliffhangers. A morally grey romance, this book may not be suitable for everyone.

**This is not a fantasy or a paranormal, but if you believe in magic, you just might see it hard at work in the pages of this contemporary romance.

Genres: Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Dark, Forced Proximity, Mafia Romance, Contemporary Romance

417 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 27, 2023

Reviews

[Dora Koutsoukou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part 3

3 ⚡️🤔🤔⭐️s

The last part of this series was nicely developed, suspenseful and intriguing, with twists and turns.
I would have liked to see more action from the heroine since she was supposed to be lethally trained.

[Denise (inactive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2.5/5🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
-Enemies to Lovers
-Arranged Marriage
-Forced Proximity
-Age Gap
-Villainous FMC
-Mafia/Organized Crime/Underworld
-Touch her and 💀

The last book in this series and it might just be the best out of the three. I want to keep this short and sweet. Let's just say I expected more resistance from the MMC "the butcher", who supposedly is a terrifying assassin. But for me, he had a soft spot for the FMC from the very beginning. I needed a little more enemies from him. Although I liked that he wanted to "save" her, I wish it wouldn't have moved so quickly. He was invested in her from day one and I felt that it could've moved a little slower to get the real effect of the enemies-to-lovers trope. From the first book, he seemed ruthless and in this book, he didn't give that vibe off which is why I was surprised about him quickly calling her "mine". He never gave up on her even when everyone around him looked at her negatively which I liked. The FMC was strong but always wanted to please her family and was naive to a default. I did enjoy her attempts to kill him though, it was funny because he was always two steps ahead of him. I loved how this book wrapped up the series and we got to see characters from the previous two books. Plot-wise, it was kind of predictable but still enjoyable. I wish we could've seen a little more about their backgrounds to truly understand the main characters, it would've added more depth to the book.

[Allia Reads (semi hiatus)]

DNF 38%

Yeah no, this was not for me. The entire relationship between Iryna and Drakos was weird as hell. They are adopted siblings, yet she acts like an ex-girlfriend who is jealous all the time towards the heroine and is very much involved in their business. I couldn't stand that, even though Drakos only has eyes for Talia and never did anything with Iryna. Still, the whole thing gives me weird vibes🥴😵‍💫

[Tori Keller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring
Boring
Boring
Boring
Ohh okay, could be something
Boring
Boring
Boring
Oh damn!
Boring
Boring
Boring
What the actual fuck was that shit ass ending

- "Trained assassin" to kill her husband...... literally can't fight, couldn't even successfully "kill anyone" other than her weak ass fight with her POS brother.
- The MMC sister.... I didn't like their relationship. They made it seem like they were fuckin with how "close" they were, made me cringe lol
- MMC is supposedly "head of the underworld" and "mass assassin" for a "mafia" this book just ain't it. He only killed like 4 people (one person he just knocked them out and put them in their car with the exhausting running in the garage) literally only "fighting scene" worth reading was the other assassin's that showed up at the villa and surprised attacked them. Other than that SUCCKKKKEDDDDD.
- I was going to DNF it, but I hit the spot where the sister got killed and I was like oh shit, could be something, but the book dragged ON AND ON AND ON. Then the ending came and it was "Devil got killed, the end" like WHAT?!

I wasted 3 weeks of my fucking life for this ass book lmaooooo, never again. Don't even read this lmao.

[Elizabeth Neal]

Nine percent in - Why are these observations about his SISTER?!? It's gross.

1. My sister had changed from her professional attire to something flirty and sensual.
2. All hips and curves, my sister was every man’s wet dream, and while she knew it, men weren’t her type.

Ewww.

Okay, they aren't even blood related. It does help that he views her as a sister and vice versa, but still. Also, he calls her 'my flower.' That's an endearment that has more of a romantic than familial tone.

Fifteen percent - “You’ll always be my queen, louloudi mou (my flower).” Constantine to his "sister." Uhhhh, mmkay.

[Luna ♡]

DNF at 18%

Just not my cup of tea. It‘s boring and there is no tension between the main characters. The blurb sounded promising but the story didn‘t deliver. There are pages and pages of inner monologue with unnecessary stuff and few dialogue. I‘m on page 80 and there barely happened anything.
So I‘m not gonna waist my time on this book.

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
#1 Bartered Vows ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 Fractured Vows ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#3 Temporary Vows - DNF 18%
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

*squeals* Alexa Michaels did it again! Talia's hand marriage is offered to Drakos as a peace offering he can't seem to trust. Talia is not week willed woman but a perfect match for Drakos. I don't wanna give away too much in this darker arranged marriage. The flow is perfect so I didn't lose interest. The fiiire between these two 🫠 There is no cliffhanger cause this is the final installment for westcost underworld 🥲

[Christina white · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, this enemies to lovers, dark mafia romance. Alexa Michaels truly write amazing stories they are spicy but the story lines are so good. I have loved every one of her west coast underworld series. In Temporary Vows Talia is offered up by her father to the enemy to seek peace, Constantine agrees in hopes to bring down her family, but nothing is quite what eachother expects.

[Jacinda Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

West Coast Finale

In the final of the West Coast Underworld books we get a marriage of 'convenience' with the previously mentioned Constantine Drakos and new Talia Beaumont.

Constantine has been mentioned in both books in this series but in his books we are introduced to the man that lives by his ethics and morals but is the world best assassin. He is broken but he SEE'S the real Talia and so can't give up this chance for marriage.

Talia is a honed weapon (which I love) who gets the shock in finding out a lot of truths both about her new husband and also the truth about her family.

There are alot of twists in this book, alot of violence and alot of honesty. Alexa speaks about alot of things in this book that some may find hard to read but we are warned. Alexa also gives each of the subjects the precise respect and also coverage in the book to not make it a badly written trope.

The scenes in this book vary from romantic, beautiful to harsh (and may be hard to read for some). (But the scene is written well and is situated at an intense moment for all characters.)
I thank Alexa for the 'first' scenes. The respect that was given not only to Talia as a character but the respect she wrote for Constantine in the situation was a welcomed change. ♥️🔥

While I really really hope there is a book between Jakob Webber & Sophia as we are introduced to even more of their 'relationship'; and God it will be a funny book.

This is the first series I've read of Alexa Michaels and I will be following her for when the West Coast comes out. But I hope she continues to focus on this sort of dark Mafia romance where she clearly thrives because they are some of the best I've read. Not only in writing but in character development and having a strong MFC that can fight her own battles; both figuratively and literally.

[Court Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌟✨️ARC Read✨️🌟

1. This series is AMAZING.
2. Why are we ending this series, Alexa? I. Need. More.
3. I have couples if you need the inspo, Alexa.

Having met Drakos in the 2nd book of the series, we finally get to know The Dragon. Known as the butcher for his own activities, Drakos doesn't get close to anyone, aside from his sister and cousin.
A clandestine meeting with the devil, Beaumont, leaves marriage on the table and an alliance between the enemies. Taila Beaumont has been raised as a ruthless member of the Beaumont 3, but no one believes she's worth much. Just a female.
Talia plans on killing Drakos, Drakos only wants to get closer to the devil to end him, and neither plan on an actual marriage.
The sexual tension is thick, the overawareness of possible harm nearby makes the home tense, and Drakos sister makes the tension thicker with her mistrust of Talia.
Marriage of convenience, underbelly of the west coast Mafia, and family ties make this final book in the series the most heart-pounding of all.

Tropes:
Mafia
Arranged Marriage
Enemies to Co-conspirators
Found Family

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

[Gabriela · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It was utterly strange to realize I had common ground with this man. He could have let me die, and I could have done the same. Instead, we’d battled for survival together”


I loved this book so much, it was like a darker and spicier version of Mr. and Mrs smith!!! She was no damsel in distress, but a trained assassin in disguise, created only to kill her family’s enemy. She didn’t need to be saved. He is the worlds number one assassin, he had all he needed, he didn’t need protection. And neither of them knew they would need to be saved by the other in more ways than not. They were both monsters that didn’t want saving but monsters deserve love too and what better than two coming together to save one another.

The bond they built aside from the lies, torture, deception, betrayals and attempted murders was beautiful. This may be one of my favorites from the series. (James and Viktor will always hold spots forever)

[Crystal Cordero · Rating 4 out of 5]

🔪 A•R•C Review 🔪

"𝓨𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓭𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓰𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓫𝔂 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓾𝓫𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸𝓷𝓮, 𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓪."

"𝓑𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓶𝓮," 𝓘 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭.


Constantine, The Butcher.
Talia, The Villainous Princess.
Forced together for a fake truce, what happens when their plans don't go accordingly?

This is the 3rd and final book in the West Coast Underworld series and Alexa did not disappoint!! This is a dark Mafia Romance with mature content, so please be aware of triggers.

I am a sucker for seeing a husky macho man turn primal for a woman and we definitely get to see that in this book!

🖤 Arranged Marriage
🖤 Dark MMC
🖤 Villainous FMC
🖤 Touch her and ☠️
🖤 Mafia/Organized Crime/Underworld
🖤 Found Family

Thank you again @author.a.h.michaels for allowing me to review your book! It's always a pleasure! Keep writing these *monsters* we love! 🖤

[Susan Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating is more like 2.5 stars. I read the first in this series and really enjoyed it. Skipped book 2 to read this one bc I was intrigued by Constantine in Book 1. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book. It was fairly decent for the first 50% and then went downhill for me with the extra “darkness”. I started skimming to be honest. The relationship with his sister was weird for me - they kept saying bro/sis but I thought Iryna was a bit too involved in his business. And then Talia needing to suffer more and be beaten when she took out her brother? Because she thought that was the only way Con would forgive her? Just had me rolling my eyes. I’m still tempted to read about Jakob and Sophia if that is coming in the future.

[Noriboo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore the characters that this author has created in this series.
My weakness is morally grey characters with a moral line that they won't cross. In this book, we get that twofold in Constantine and Talia.
I thought all the female leads in this series were cool, but Talia takes the cake. She was raised to be a tool for her father and a made man's wife, and she rolled with every punch and hit right back.

I liked seeing Jakob and Viktor again (the male leads from books 1 and 2), how Viktor and Sophia were in Talia's corner.
And just when I was about to put my ereader down and go to sleep, we were hit with a "Who did this to you?" and I couldn't put it down!

•••

I received a free ARC. My opinions are my own.

[Victoria Scozzafava · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Temporary Vows by Alexa Michaels is the third book in the West Coast Underworld series. This was such a amazing book. The tension, the suspense, and action kept me on my toes. I could not put it down. The characters were well written. This was a true enemies to lovers. The plot line was good and paced well. I really enjoyed the storyline and the romance in this book. I could not help but like the two main characters.

Talia was strong and feisty. She was trained to be a lethal weapon to kill her families ultimate enemy. Constantine and Talia are true enemies when they get married. Talia’s goal was to kill Constantine and Constantine is trying to figure out what to do with his new wife. I loved the tension and chemistry between these two characters. Watching them go from enemies to lovers was so good! I cheered when they both realized their feelings and Talia seeing her dad for who really is. I would recommend not only Temporary Vows but this whole series!!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

HAPPY READING

[Alexis Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Temporary Vows, perfect finale in the series of the West Coast Underworld. Drakos is the unaffiliated player in the mob arena and Talia's father wants to bridge the feud between the families. Talia has been educated to be the perfect mob wife and Drakos has his sights on the mysterious girl. Enemies from the start and many twists and turns later there are certainly a few didn't see that coming moments but a HEA for those that need it. I would love a follow up novella on all the West Coast Underworld to see where and how they all end up. Alexa is an amazing writer and I just keep going back for more

[Anna Kaaiakamanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review

Alexa has done it again with the third book in this series. This was a much darker story than her previous, but it was worth the read. Constantine is a strong male lead who is the head of his underworld family. Talia is the daughter of his number one enemy. When their marriage is arranged to stop the fued, they are forced together in an enemies to lovers romance that is FULL of spice. This story will shock you throughout and pull at your heartstrings. But even Monsters deserve love too.

[Ali Alley EscapeThroughABook · Rating 5 out of 5]

She did it AGAIN!!! Her mafia romances are so good!!! I just devour them! This one was a little longer than the others in the series, but thats okay! I love em thicker!

This Contemporary Mafia Romance is dark, and enticing.
This FMC is just as feisty as the MMC, both are morally gray.
The crime lifestyle adds an exciting extra layer to the story.
The hardships the MCs experienced prior to their arrangement marriage is an emotional addition.
The book is quickly paced never letting you stay consumed throughout the story.

[Carley Misener · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review:

5/5⭐️, 3/5🌶️

-Billionaire/Mafia Romance
-Enemies to lovers
-Arranged Marriage
-Dual POV
-Found Family
-Touch her and 💀

This is the third book in the West Coast Underworld series and the third book I’ve read of Alexa’s. I’ll admit this had to be my favourite of the series. Talia and Drakos story was fantastic. I literally couldn’t put it down at one point and read till I almost went cross-eyed. There were so many twists and turns that had me in a choke hold. There’s definitely a lot of trigger warnings in this book but, it was still sooooo good. I highly recommend ❤️

[Destiny Imperati · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review ✨
Mafia Romance 🔥
Enemies to Lovers 🖤
Arranged Marriage 🫣
Ahhh I'm so sad it's over🥹 I loved this series so much! Temporary Vows is the third book in the West Coast Underworld series. This one follows the story of Constantine and Talia❤️‍🔥 Constantine might be my favorite MMC out of the series🫣👀 He was absolutely perfect! Talia was a very headstrong FMC and I love that for her! Honestly I don't think I'll ever get tired of reading Alexa Michaels books! Her stories are very easy to get into and I'm absolutely obsessed with this series!!!

[Siobhan Giggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

We finally have the final installment for the West Coast Underworld series and it is definitely the darkest of the trio but Drakos is the darkest out of the 3 men. We saw snippets of him throughout the first 2 books and his book ties it altogether. And I love the crossover of the characters. This is a slightly dark marriage of convenience - enemies to lovers with lots of TWs so please check before reading. Talia is definitely not damsel in distress she's strong and sassy with her own demons. She's definitely what Drakos needs 😂

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this as an ARC for a honest review 😁

Oh this book DID NOT disappoint at all, it really does have everything you could possible need in a book, was I hooked from the start...yes. did I bloody love the plot....yes I bloody did. This was everything I could off wanted and more. Mafia ✅ arranged marriage ✅ bad ass MC ✅ spicy...hell yes ✅.
I would totally recommend this whole series it wont disappoint at all !! Enjoy because I bloody did 😁

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talia and Constantines book will have you hooked with twists desires and more! Talia is in for a surprise with her new husband to be and her families secrets that unravel before her. Constantine may be the butcher assasin but for Talia he would be her protector. The story and characters draw you, the story keeps your attention with steamy scenes desires action and more! A great addition to the series but works as a standalone too

[Megan Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book!! Love that it was an arranged marriage and that it started out with them as major enemies, but slowly they became lovers!! Love that Viktor has a cameo in this book as well since I’m obsessed with him! This book was just so good! Kept me guessing what was going to happen up until the very end!! Love this series so much!

[Brit · Rating 5 out of 5]

*ARC*

Just when I thought I couldn’t love anyone more than Viktor….in comes Constantine in all his burly, manly, possessive, and downright sinful nature. The Butcher himself is no match for the trained weapon that has been placed at his side but when it comes down to it there’s no doubt that these two were made for one another.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 of the West Coast Underworld series. Alexa did not disappoint with this one either. The chemistry between Constantine and Thalia has been my favorite in this series. Their slow burning attraction for each other made the spice that much better. I can't wait to see what Alexa has in store for her readers.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was good…

I was into the plot of the book. It didn’t keep my attention like the previous books and I feel like it just ended abruptly after such a long story line. That being said, I would still recommend this book to my mafia book readers as well as the other books in the series.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay I am absolutely in love with Constantine drakos! He is so freaking hot and I loved him from the first book and I'm so glad his book did not disappoint. The characters in this book were great the chemistry between him and Talia was amazing and she as the main female character was just perfect for the story and for him. I am absolutely going to be reading more books by this author.

[Heather Orbich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a great read. The only thing I would have liked to see different is the middle of the book be cut down a little. I felt like it was kind of dragging for a little bit but then the action started again until the end of the book.

Mafia romance
Forced proximity
Enemies to lovers

[Lilian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Very repetitive : must resist her, she’s temptation, I need to bring honour to my family, I can’t feel this way,… over and over, it was just frustrating and bland and very long for absolutely no reason. Another disappointing book from stuff your kindle day