Love At First Sight

by Stina's Pen

472 pages, Paperback

Published January 25, 2025

About the author

When Stina is not writing, she can be found reading anything that piques her interest, accidentally buying books on accidental visits to bookstores despite the shelves of unread novels at home. Always a daydreamer, she often fantasizes about what could unravel if something that didn’t happen happened. She is also prone to buying stickers and washi tapes (by complete accident) and then wondering what to do with them.

With a goal of inspiring others and hoping they draw strength from her characters, she wishes to write in a way that makes everyone’s days a little brighter, that allows them to appreciate who they are and fall in love with the magic they add into the world.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. There were parts that seemed incredibly strange in a mafia book, like the whole beginning where these gang leaders keep referring to their gangs and the nicknames for their underbosses (Talons) and their consigliere (Wings). It was very un-mafia like, but it was bearable. Just very kitschy in a mafia book so it seemed out of place when I expect tough, dark and dangerous. It was more cutesy which is weird.

Anyway, the story is well developed. There was a lot of time making a story about all these rival gangs that seem to exist in close quarters (which is also not usually the case) and allying with each other or not. So many gangs were introduced, but the main ones were the Feathers (Grace’s gang) and the Scales (Stepan’s gang). But you also have the Kuls, the Canines (seriously!?), the Orchids, and the Snakes. These are so-called self-made gangs. And then there are the silver-spoon (hereditary) gangs who are more traditional family mafia with Italian names, the Bianchis, the Gambinos, and Keegan Campbell, and how ever he fits into the Italian mafia.

So the love story between Grace and Stepan was ridiculously sweet. I don’t get her whole I’ll always put myself first issue, it was stupid and selfish. And maybe that was the point, but by the end does she still feel the same way? Stepan was basically a pushover when it came to Grace, he literally only wanted her to be happy and that made him happy so I guess good thing Grace wasn’t a selfish bitch, for the most part.

The violence in this book is something. It gets quite graphic with the explanations of how they hurt/killed some of their enemies.

And the sex was at times so awkward. The author uses very unsexy language often and it’s just awkward
Stiff rod. Or some other description like this used when Grace is thinking and feeling his “stiffened rod” brushing her as she yearns for him.
Or Grace describing her own orgasm as “sweeping through every cell in my body like a typhoon and drenching his hand like a tsunami.”
Is this supposed to paint a pretty picture because it absolutely does not.

But overall I think the fact that there was a good core story and that it held my attention with very little typos, makes this one a good story to invest in. It’s properly developed and cheesy at times yes, but it delivers. I got it as a free download so I’m happy.

[Lovelettelore · Rating 4 out of 5]

When obsession comes wrapped in patience, you know you’re in for a ride. 🖤

📖 Love At First Sight by Stina's Pen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
🌶🌶

Genre: Mafia Romance
TW: Violence, death, emotional manipulation, gore

Six years ago, Grace saved two strangers when she escaped from an abduction. Now, she’s kidnapped again—but this time, she’s rescued by another mafia gang led by Stepan Ivanov. Those same men she saved years ago were his, and now he’s determined to repay the debt. What starts as a rescue turns into a pursuit, because Grace has been an enigma to him since that day. But in the mafia world, danger and enemies are everywhere.

I was totally immersed in this book. The pacing was steady but never dull, with so many questions early on that pulled me deeper into the story. Their romance was amazing—innocently genuine yet brimming with obsession. What I loved most was how Stepan courted her: no pushing, no pressure, just gifts she loved, patience, and pure devotion. He’s a green flag man in a morally grey body (yes, he’d disagree with me).

The plot twist had me on edge—maybe the motive was a little underwhelming, but I felt the fear in my bones. And oh, the found family vibes! The banter and loyalty between Grace, Stepan, and their allies made me smile so hard. Their respect and understanding for each other balanced out the dark mafia world perfectly.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Tropes:
🛡 Protective MMC
⚔️ Badass FMC
💀 Touch her and die
💘 He falls first (and hard)
🏠 Found family

[Denise Jones]

HE’S SOMEONE SHE’S NEVER MET. SHE’S THE ONE HE’S NEVER FORGOTTEN.

No longer appeasing, GRACE SOONG is now successful, well-connected, and revered, both in the legal and illegal world. Her secret is to build walls around her heart and her life.

Which is why it’s unnerving when one of the most powerful self-made mafia leaders sweeps in to save her.

He claims to be repaying a debt. But if that’s all there is, why does it get hard to think whenever he’s close? Why does his touch carry something that shouldn’t be there?

When her ally asks for help, Grace has to choose between an ally she knows and a man she doesn’t.

***

Cold and calculative, STEPAN IVANOV leads with steel efficiency. He’s vengeful and unforgiving, choosing to doubt over giving any benefit of doubt.

One night, he saw her working under the moonlight, oblivious to his presence. She did something that intrigued him, and he’d never stopped thinking about her since.

Six years later, he saves her, and expects to forget about her right after. But she’s become a drug he needs a higher dose of, a thought that still dominates his mind.

She’s put him at a distance, and her ally is the least of his problems.

Stepan will not only have to battle against suspicions but also generational power. Timing is crucial, and there’s no telling whether he’ll get to the bottom of things before losing her for good.

[This book contains mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.}

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I will say the book for the most part was kind of boring if I'm being honest. Yes, there was some suspense and twists in the book (near the end), but I didn't really get into this one until about 65% through it. Grace and Stepan are definitely um, interesting characters, in many ways. I liked that the love story was unconventional, i enjoyed the 'touch her and die' trope, as well as 'he falls first'. What I couldn't grasp was some of the language used in the book. I'm not sure if it was from a different time, place, or what, but I was expecting a bit more, I don't know, on page spicy scenes? Like more description? Although I will say one of the books faults was that at times it was too descriptive. I feel like it had a lot of unnecessary details that the book would have been just fine without. I did enjoy the ending the most, when Somchai's IP address was used to send Grace a very *disturbing* video of Riccardo and finding out who did that, and with the dragons and finding out where the lower ones loyalty was. I think there were some parts that could have been written better, and again there were so many unnecessary details that it was a bit off-putting.
There was so many moving parts throughout the book as well, it was almost hard to keep up with it all, especially all of the characters.
I will be giving this author another chance and reading Kayla and Fred's book though, because I believe every author deserves a second chance.