Shadow Heiress

by Carmen Black

After her father’s death, heiress Mila is thrust into a shadowy underworld where secrets and danger meet unexpected love. Don, a hardened killer from a secret organization, gets a curveball job to protect, not kill. His target? Mila.Their relationship is a fiery mix of fear, attraction, and defiance. Together, they face a cutthroat survival game, full of twists and betrayals. It’s all about the risky side of love and power, where falling for each other might be the riskiest move of all.

275 pages, Paperback

Published February 15, 2024

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadow Heiress
Carmen Black

Stars:🌟🌟🌟⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Burn level:🔥🔥🔥🔥
Time to read: 3.5 hours
HEA
My review may contain spoilers
Read Trigger Warnings

Tropes:
Enemies to l0vers✔️
Light bd$m✔️
V1rg1n h✔️
Bodyguard ✔️
Maf1a twist✔️
Age gap ✔️

I liked this story by Carmen Black. I wish there was some more details though, such as how/why Don went missing 20 years ago. In true Carmen Black fashion the v1rgin h becomes obsessed with d1ck after her first time. This one though wasn’t as bad as some of the others.

Carmen definitely got the enemies to l0vers part of this story correct! These two reeaaly hated each other at first! Don thought she was some spoilt little heiress and Mila was scared to d3ath what Don was going to do to her.

The bd$m was pretty vanilla compared to other bd$m books but I still enjoyed that aspect of it in this book. Theres also some CNC in here so make sure you check trigger warnings before you read.

[Heather Kruczek · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her fresh new read, Carmen Black brings us a story about an assassin turned bodyguard and a spoiled heiress he has been tasked with protecting by an unknown boss. Holy steamy scenes! If closed door romance is your jam, then Shadow Heiress is NOT it. I usually prefer Carmen Black's RH books, but this did not disappoint with the spice. It explored some kinks like D/s, breath play, water play, degradation, edging, and spanking. At one point, it felt like a Fifty Shades scene, but luckily, it did not stick to that.

With that being said, let's talk about Mila. I struggled to like her through the majority of the book. She was naive, stubborn, illogical, and entitled. She owns being spoiled, but I became just as frustrated with her temper tantrums as Don became with her at times. I get she is scared after being "kidnapped" and I would like to think I would want to beg and fight for my life too, but in the first half of the book, she is borderline intolerable. At one point, she somehow rationalizes there are dead bodies just piled up in a bathroom, despite Don already explaining why he is protecting her and showing she needs to trust him. Her emotions during one chapter screamed naive virgin brain who listened to way too many true crime podcasts. I struggled with her innocence when you realize she is a 25 year old virgin, who clearly hasn't watched any porn, yet somehow ended up in sex clubs with friends, and still has zero clue as to ANYTHING. Just when I find myself warming up to Mila, she does or says something stupid, and I was back at square one.

Now, despite the unlikeable characteristics of Mila, I really liked Don. He screams sexy, OTT possessive alpha, and his sexdrive had me salivating. I appreciated his desire to try and do right by Mila, while battling his feelings for her and protect her.

I found some parts of the book to be predictable, but it was still entertaining nonetheless. Shadow Heiress is a MF enemies-to-lovers dark romance with a virgin FMC, secret organization, and mafia ties. There is no cheating and it ends in a HEA. There is kidnapping, violence, swearing, and BDSM; this isn't recommended for cozy readers!

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

[Shifty Bugger · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

OMG! Wow, this book was Hot Tamale 🫔 meaning plenty of Triggers. I loved reading this hot book and I loved the storyline and the characters the twist and turns, action, suspense, danger, killings, kidnapping, trauma, anger, betrayal, lies, secrets, dark romance, passion, pleasure, rough, intense, raw, BDSM, dark Kink, spankings, Dirty Sweetest Love. The chemistry should never have happened between these two, Don works for a private company and was given the job of protecting Mila. Mila went to her father's funeral she had not seen him in years because of the stepmother, and now she gets taken from the funeral by someone she has never met, and her life is in danger so she has to keep running to live and a lot of things happen to her.

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

[Debbie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

At her father's funeral Mila is kidnapped, her wicked stepmother witnesses the being taken. She's had to love her father from afar, she couldn't live with her stepmother and fight every day for her father's love and attention. Number 34 has been assigned to protect Mila at all costs, and she fights tooth him and nail not knowing who or what to believe. Every time he thinks they're safe men in black suits come knocking on their door to take her. A captivating story trying to see who is really protecting her, who's out to kill her and who's behind this secret mission for him to protect Mila? I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Merry Jelks-Emmanuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This action-packed story kept me glued to the pages. Her father is dead, and she has inherited his company along with his enemies who feel that it should come to them. Don is assigned to keep her safe, but Mila is a force to be reckoned with and between the two I was caught up in their antics and banter. Will he be able to keep her safe without Mila getting caught in the middle of it all.

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

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the word go it was non stop in every aspect and I couldn’t put it down.
Intense, crazy, a whole new level of dominance and degradation I haven’t read before and high strung emotion throughout.
Thought my anxiety was going to make my heart come undone.
Takes a lot to keep me there through the entire story!
Kudos!.

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

[JM G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Shadow Heiress. This is a dark romance that it so good!! Once I started reading about Don and Mila, I had a hard time putting my tablet down. The storyline held my interest from beginning to end. I would recommend reading this book!.

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

[Becky Dreyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shadow Heiress is a dark romance. This is a story about Mila, an unloved heiress on her own with a hit out on her, and Don, the man secretly hired to protect her. Tempers, emotions and sparks fly as they traverse lots of twists and turns on this rollercoaster ride. Great stand alone story.

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

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each scene between these characters further solidifies their attraction towards each other. His dark, dangerous vibe was well earned and his presence in this book was captivating, especially when he was with her. I enjoyed the intense interactions. I loved the way their story played out. Great story.

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

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a captivating dark mafia romance. Mila and Don have an enemies to lovers romance. I really liked Don along with his protective and possessiveness. There is excitement from the twists, danger and action

[Jeanne Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books written by Carmen Black; she is one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to read more of her books.

She has written another good stand-alone book. The story is about Mila & Don; after her father’s death he’s assigned to protect her.

[Bren · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's no shortage of darkness in Don and Mila's story that will make it unputdownable and is the kind of book that will keep you reading till the wee hours of the morning just so you can finish it.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mila and Don's story is one of darkness that I did not want to put down, I found the story to be well worth reading. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Irene Talbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about a H who's an assassin turned bodyguard and has been hired to protect the h by some unknown person.
Read to find out what happens.