La Reina de la Desgracia

Shadows of Redemption #2

by Ajme Williams

3 reglas que sigo, pase lo que

Nunca te cases con la mafia.

Nunca vuelvas a confiar en un hombre.

Nunca te enamores de un mafioso.

Pero Donovan Ricci no acepta un no por respuesta.



Cuando era más joven, mi padre me casó para que dejara de causarle problemas. Pero ahora, años después, mi marido ha muerto y hay otro hombre peligroso que me desea.



Donovan está obsesionado conmigo desde el momento en que nos conocimos. Pero por todo lo que he pasado, me he hecho una promesa que no voy a ceder, ni siquiera por él.



Solo me importa reunirme con mi hermana. Un mafioso mayor no captará mi atención, no importan sus desesperados intentos. Pero cuando mi padre amenaza mi seguridad, Donovan me propone un trato que no puedo cásate con él y me protegerá...



A costa de compartir cama con el capo mafioso más guapo de la ciudad.



LA REINA DE LA DESGRACIA es una novela romántica independiente y oscura sobre la mafia. Si quieres más, sumérgete también en el libro 1 de esta serie.

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

279 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2024

About the author

Ajme Williams - mother, wife, daughter, dreamer, an avid reader and a writer.
When she's not writing romance, Ajme can be seen sipping coffee, gorging on dark chocolate, exercising, or travelling with family and friends. Cooking is therapeutic for her and she drools over Italian food...and men.
What to expect from her books?
Ajme loves variety, so expect a lot of second chances, secret babies, office romances, big fat fake weddings, curvy heroines and alpha heroes. HEA? Always, baby!
If you're a fan of emotional angsty contemporary romance, then you'll enjoy Ajme Williams.

Reviews

[Lisbeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drama excesivo, personajes inmaduros y trama predecible. Solo quería saber cómo terminaba.

[Lisbeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drama excesivo, personajes inmaduros y trama predecible. Solo quería saber cómo terminaba.

[Esmeralda Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó! <3 recomendado.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queen of Misfortune is the second installment in the Shadows of Redemption series. A dark full-length standalone novel with no cheating and ends on a cliffhanger. The books are interconnected with characters from the previous book making appearances that adds depth to the story. A brilliantly crafted story with complex characters and a twisty and fascinating storyline that captures the reader attention from the start and keeps you riveted and on the edge of your seat and turning the pages until the end. A fast paced, dark, twisted, and thrilling read. An addicting and unputdownable story. This is Donnavan and Lucia story.
An enemies-to-lovers romance, hate-to-love story, contemporary romance, dark mafia romance, billionaire romance, touch-her-and-die romance, marriage-of-convenience romance, organize crime romance, protective hero romance, forced proximity romance, Bratva romance, bodyguard romance, age gap trope story, taboo romance, forbidden relationship, off-limits story, fake marriage romance with secrets, deception, scorching hot passion, lust, danger, violence, drama, threats, hatred, obsession, possessiveness, darkness, madness, surprises, suspense, survival, mystery, despair, loss, steam, pawn, betrayal, dominance, submission, instense consensual rough sex, power struggle, greed, power play, pain and pleasure, kidnapped, captivity, murder, loss, chaos, jealousy, banter, auction, sold bought/own and love.
Donnavan Ricci, the second in command, friend and brother Don Niko Leone is obsessed and possessive towards. He wants to be with the sassy mouth, fierce, snarky and caustic tongue mafia princess Lucia of his best friend fiancee big sister. But she's married to the lethal Italian Don Giuseppe Conti who's a million years older than her. Lucia comes to New York looking for her sister Elena after she didn't show up in Italy like she was suppose to. When she got there she called a car service, but it was Donnavan who was there. Donnavan kidnapped her from the airport and brutally interrogates her. Lucia hates her dad and wish for his death every night so that she would be able to leave the mafia that she doesn't want any part of. Lucia had met a guy name Dylan couple years ago who knew about her and knew of her father and still wanted to take her away. But her father found out and kill him in front of her calling her a whore then put her on a plane heading to Italy to marry Don Giuseppe Conti. She was terrified, forced away from her sister and sent to a family she had never met before, speaking a language that she barely knew well. Luckily for her that although Giuseppe is a lethal and brutal man he was kind to her and he was sick for all of their marriage. While visiting her sister in New York Lucia received a call that he had pass away from his illness. Giuseppe son Luca was also a good man to her and suggested that she stayed in New York while he deals with the power play that's about to take place due to the death of his father.
Elena is pregnant with twins for Niko. Don Leone is more like her husband and Lucia wants to stay in New York and help her sister with the baby. Her Don Giovanni Fiori set a trap for Niko in of Niko's old warehouse and almost kill him but Donnavan jump in front of the bullet. He almost bled to death waiting for the doctor to come and Lucia jumped in and take out the bullet and saved his life. Although they're always getting into it she doesn't want to see him dead. Even though Lucia and Donnavan goes back and forth with jabs she's very attracted to him. Lucia is trying to talk her sister into leaving Niko and the mafia life behind but Elena is happy and doesn't want to leave. Her life is in limbo since the death of Don Giuseppe and she's afraid that one wrong move and Niko will send her back to Italy because her sister and Donnavan is the only person who can tolerate her because of her mouth. Don Fiori found out that Lucia husband Don Conti died and he immediately put up Lucia on the dark web for auction to sell her to the highest bidder.
Lucia and Elena doesn't mean anything to Don Fiori he only saw them as commodities to help make richer and to build his empire through alliances.
Donnavan is in love with Lucia and he would through fire to protect her. He's not about to stand there and let her be auction off. Everyone in the mafia doesn't see her as a person, just like it supposed to be for women in the mafia lifestyle but he see her for the beautiful woman and fierce woman that she is. When Don Niko see that see his already sold they're trying to everything in their power to stop it for his wife. Donnavan tell Lucia that they should get married a fake marriage in order to save her from her father where she would get protection under the Leone umbrella. Elena doesn't have half the idea how wick and evil her parents are and that both of them are just like because Lucia have protect her from everything. Don Fiori was trying to go into the human trafficking business and Lucia was going to be his first person until he found her with Dylan and believed that she had scully up herself rendering her useless to him on the market for a virgin female who goes for top dollars. And that's the reason why he sold her to Don Conti. He didn't know that she was still a virgin and was until Donnavan took her virginity, even Donnavan didn't know because of the rumor and because she was married. It was her mother's idea to sell her in the human trafficking ring. Her father wanted to sell both of his daughters but Elena sold her virginity to Don Leone and got pregnant and that's why he stole her at the altar. I will leave here for now. Will Lucia finally get her HEA with Donnavan and the family that she longs for? Will the Leone empire finally defeat Don Fiori and take his empire?

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

[Xratedreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice 🌶️

Queen of Misfortune is book 2 in the 'Shadows of Redemption' series that follows Donovan and Lucia/Lucy. The series is interconnected, can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend you read the other book in this series so that you can understanding some of the content being talked about from book 1.

Lucy, the female lead, is a force to be reckoned with, ready to blaze through anyone who dares block her path, and armed with a sharp tongue that can cut down anyone who steps out of line, Donovan included.
Our MMC Donavan comes across as a cinnamon roll and he defiantly falls first, this character isn't typical of an enforcer and because of this it's tough to see him a enforcer/soon to be boss.

Their tale drags you into a whirlwind of enemies to lovers, revenge, risk, murder, double-crosses, hidden agendas, all grounded by fierce loyalty and sheer willpower. If you enjoy books with a strong FMC, enemies to lovers and mafia tropes then i would recommend this book to you.
The book ends in a twist with cliff-hanger that will lead to the next book in the series.

Topes
Enemies to lovers
Mafia
Virgin FMC
He fall's first
Forced Proximity

I received an ARC for this book, but this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd story in the Shadows of Redemption Series where we get Donovan and Lucia’s history and how they connect from the danger, secrets, betrayal, passion and undeniable love. Lucia was married to an older Mafia man in Italy by her father leaving her life behind and all the horrible thing she he did to her. Donovan is the 2nd in command to Niko the Don and is tasked with bringing Lucia in for questioning when she arrives in NY to find her sister, Elena. Things are tense until Lucia is cleared of any hidden agenda. Lucia has a way with her words towards Donovan that has him intrigued wanting nothing more than to make her his! This is one red hot connection that turns into a hard earned rewarding relationship. Lucia shows how strong she is and Donovan does all he can to protect and love her. This is a unique love story that shows you life is full of rewarding surprises. When trouble comes their way we are left with a cliffhanger as all 3 stories are interconnected. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Karen Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 2 in this series, This is Lucia and Donovan’s story.

Lucia returned to New York to look after her sister who is hiding from their father with Don Niko Leone, with whom she is having twins.

Lucia's father sold her to an Italian Don after finding out she had a boyfriend after he shot him in front of her, Giuseppe was old so they were more like companions and she cared for him, but now he was dead so she was in New York with no protection, so she stays with her sister.

Donovan is Niko's right-hand man and is tasked to protect her, he is obsessed with her and would put his life on the line for her, she hates him, but does she?

Security is tightened when they find out that her father had put her up for auction for the highest bidder and they will not let her out of their sight. Their only aim is to kill her father.

There are twists and turns in this book that you don't see coming, it is well written and an entertaining story, there is so much more I can say but don't want to ruin it for anyone, I have loved both of these books and can't wait for the third.

[Clara Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen of Misfortune is book 2 in the Shadows of Redemtion series that follows Donovan and Lucia/Lucy. The series is interconnected but can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend you read the other books in this series so you can see how all the other characters interact with each other!

Their story will take you on a wild ride of vengeance, danger, murder, betrayal, secrecy and suspense mixed in with sizzling hot chemistry, unwavering loyalty and determination. You see a side of Donovan that very few see and you'll love Lucy she's a wildfire willing to scorch whoever gets in her way plus that wicked tongue that's like a knife ready to put everyone in their place especially Donavan.
The book ends in a twist with a surprising cliffhanger that will lead to the next book in the series.

I received a free ARC through Booksprout an I'm voluntarily leaving my review.

5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[Kaleema Surita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was good and the only reason why I gave it four stars was because I’m a sucker for a good writer, but they could’ve done better with this being a standalone and what I mean is she took about four chapters to explain what happened in the previous book And I know this because I read the first one and instead of using four chapters of the second book to explain what happened in the first book she could’ve just made it a continuation and that’s why I didn’t get five stars cause that didn’t make sense to me But I like Lucia and Donovan they were cute or whatever …. P.S the fact that she kept changing the spelling of the main characters. Names was a little off to me too. I was trying to understand the thought process behind that 🙃

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen of Misfortune is the second book in the Shadows of Redemption series. Lucia aka Lucy is a badass woman and Donovan is mafioso who pined for her! Lucia was kidnapped by Donovan on Niko’s orders because Lucy wanted to rescue Elena, her sister. Lucy is one of the fiercest and smartest heroine I’ve read. She doesn’t let things happen to her anymore. Instead, she takes charge to protect her sister and Donovan. The banter in this book is top tier! Both pine for each other and both protect each other. The romance is fantastic and it has the spice that is expected in a mafia romance. There is also mafia violence on page so be aware of that! I would absolutely recommend this book!

[Michelle Frater · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking forward to Lucia’s story after reading the first book “Soldier of Death” and this was just as good, if not better. Lucia was much more appealing to me than her sister Elena, although she seemed a bit more subdued here, perhaps because her life was in limbo. Following the death of her husband, she no longer had the full protection of the Conti name, and although her sister was married to Niko, she was only tolerated in his home because of their relationship. Donovan, Niko’s right-hand man, was fascinated by this woman with walls as thick as Fort Knox around her heart. Lucia had experienced all the darkness of a woman in the mafia and wanted her own retribution. Lucia was tough, or perhaps stoic is a better word, but also strangely vulnerable, which was a beguiling combination. Despite her apparent disdain for Niko’s enforcer, Donovan awakens something in her that she has never felt before and he’s the first man to treat her as an equal. While she deflects and hides her feelings with barbs and insults, there’s a growing respect between them. When a final move to bring Niko’s vengeance to fruition reveals betrayal and a double-cross close to home, Lucia rises like a Valkyrie to wreak havoc among those stupid enough to stand between her and her family and the man she loves.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 2 in Williams' Shadows of Redemption and in this book we have our main characters Lucia and Donovan. Williams delivers a well written and deliciously dark mafia romance read. Captivating and thrilling I couldn't put this down. I love the complexity of these characters. Lucia is strong yet vulnerable and Donovan creeps his way into her heart. A wonderful addition to this series and an addictive read! I loved it!

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

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has given us Book Two of the Shadows of Redemption series. The heart pounding story pulls us further into the lives of Lucia/Lucy and Donovan, while the story keeps us turning the pages with danger, secrets, connection, denial, betrayal and steam. We are left with a mini cliffhanger that will lead into the next book of the series as the books are interconnected.

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

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucia had already been sold off I'm marriage and now a widower she wants her freedom and that of her sisters, but mafia boss Donovan has other ideas for her and when her father threatens her safety and that of her sister Donovan comes in with a plan, become his for protection. Well written steamy age gap desires obssesion and more.

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

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donovan has wanted and obsessed over Lucia for long enough, now is the time to get what he wants, because Lucia's husband is now gone. Can he convince Lucia to marry him and get to keep her? I loved the banter/arguing between them, the action/danger/suspense of their story and the scorching heat betwen them.

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

[Neshaisabookworm’s Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these two!

I knew from the moment they met in book one that their relationship would be explosive.

Lucia is a force to be reckoned with and the only one who sees that is Donovan. Too bad he is everything she never wanted.

Donovan met his match with Lucia. She couldn’t be more perfect for him. All she wants is freedom and to make her own choices and he does whatever he can to make that happen.

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written mafia romance between Lucia and Donovan. The author takes you into their lives with intrigue, hidden feelings and insults, betrayal and love. She does a great job pulling you into the story and kept me glued to the pages right to the end. Loved and recommend this book.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and are freely given.

[Fudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Felt like I was reading a movie!!!
Usually mafia books aren't my type but this was good. Loved how strong Lucia's character is! Wouldve loved to see more of her and Aria's interaction.

I only knocked off 1 star since it took over 60% of the book til they got married and the actual plot that was written in the blurb took place. But at the same time it didn't happen the way I expected.
I will say tho, I don't like the shift of Elena's character, she seemed quite fierce and strong to an extent in the first book but this book she seemed extremely week in personality, I get she's pregnant but it's like her personality completely changed.

Can't wait for the next book! (Also will there be a 4th book for Aria 👀)

[Debora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo mi è piaciuto anche più del primo, Lucia la sorella di Elena è davvero una tosta e sa come farsi rispettare, non vuole assolutamente fare la vita della mafia e quando Donovan il braccio destro del marito di sua sorella le gira intorno cerca di tenerlo alla larga il più possibile, ma alla fine l'amore vince sempre su tutto.

[Lila]

No rating.

I honestly don’t remember why I started reading this, but at some point I did and then stopped and yesterday came back to pick up when I ‘left off’. I haven’t read the first book in the series so I was very confused coming into this without the background story.

The writing style wasn’t my favourite and I DNF’d at 39%. No rating because I’m not sure I gave it a fair chance.

[jana ꣑ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked this way more than the first book maybe cause the struggles and 'heartbreak' lucy went through felt much deeper and more real to me than for example elena in the first book.
i really loved their chemistry together and also how lucy found her place in the mafia world and how supporting donovan was🥹

[Merry Jelks-Emmanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donovan and Lucia give as good as they get between them. This action-packed story is filled with lies and betrayal along with dynamic characters that kept me glued to the pages from start to finish.

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

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a read that takes you on the absolute best ride ever with romance, desire and deception in a dark mafia book. So if you’re looking for a new story that engages your heart and soul then Ajme has something for you. This has a FANTASTIC beginning middle and ending ever. ❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story of Donovan and Lucia. The storyline was great, and once i started, i had a hard time putting the book down with all the chemistry, passion, and suspense. This is a definite must-read.

[Pamela Pickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely Entertaining

Did not stop until I completely finished the book once I started it right after completing the first book in the series. I will be happy to read the next book in the series immediately!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

Couldn’t put this book down. I absolutely loved each and every character. Lucy’s strength & bravery blew me away. And of course Donovan with his spunky character. Looking forward to book 3

[Lucia Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love a strong woman!

Great book! Ajme Williams is one of those authors that I stop whatever I'm doing to read her newest release. This series is great! Can't wait for the next book. Lucia was a powerhouse and Donovan the perfect partner! Need more!

[Watkins Anissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!!!!

I wasn't ready for the book to end!!! The author did a wonderful job. This was well worth the wait. I don't want to give away any spoilers but you will be glad you read this continuation to the first book in the series.

[Janice Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful book!

Although I loved the first book in the series, Donovan and Lucy’s story was an excellent read. Every single page was exciting and I loved how they finally admitted their love for each other. Super good book!

[Gloria Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series getting better

The female in this book was a lot stronger than her sister in the previous book . let's see if the next one is better. Its good to see a woman with backbone.and still have a heart.