3.5 ⭐
MCs:
- Tristano, 36
- Violetta, 17/18
Book info:
- Crime syndicate
- Forced proximity
- Mention of rape
- Age gap
- No cheating, opd, 3rd act breakup
- Selective mute
- HEA
I'm in between whether to rate this 3 or 4, so I'm going to settle with 3.5. The high rating is solely because of Violetta. Also, I don't know how to review this, so I'm just going to list some events and random thoughts. These are unorganized, so 🤷♀️
1. Tristano was asked to watch over Violetta, and upon first glance, insta-lust kicked in immediately. He knows she's way too young, but he didn't think much about her age at that point.
2. He went to Guatemala and brought Violetta with him. At this point, she's still 17, but she lied to Tristano and told him she's 18 (though she's about to be in 2 days). Anyway, they did some sexual stuff, and this made me uncomfortable. Of course it's not his fault, but still.
3. After the event from #2, Tristano's brother called to check up on him and Violetta, and this is how he found out that she's still a minor. He was disgusted at first for what he did, and I thought he would stop whatever lust-filled ideas he had for her, but no, he didn't. Even after finding out she's a minor, he did another sexual thing with her. 🤦♀️ Like, dude, can't you wait for her to be legal at least? I'm sure you're not going to die without getting any action within two days. 😐
4. The timeline of the book is less than a week. She fell in love with him, and he felt possessive of her. I didn't feel any connection at all with them, but that could be a me case.
5. I didn't appreciate the constant reference to other women or how it was different with Violetta. The dom/sub relationship is not my thing, and I'm so bothered by this even though Violetta seems to really like it. 🤷♀️
6. They celebrated her 18th birthday, and he took her virginity brutally at a table in the rented restaurant. He didn't even use a freaking condom! Ugh, hello, STD! Though in the beginning he said it has been months for him since he had sex. Still, I can't stomach reading the MCs doing it bare when the MMC is a hoe.
7. I liked Violetta; she's the most strong-willed FMC for me in this series. She didn't let Tristano walk all over her, and she defied him whenever she wanted to get heard or if she didn't agree with what he had to say. So glad to read a strong FMC; I'm so over and done with spineless heroines.
8. I don't know how to feel about Tristano; he was a jealous, possessive asshole all throughout the book. He pissed me off when he went cold to Violetta because he thought she was going to be just like his mother. Then, when he saw one of his men comforting her (he's the reason for her pain), he had his fit of jealousy, and this was his line to her: “Whoring yourself out to me and then to Benito within twenty-four hours is quite impressive, and in my house no less. When I said you needed more life experiences, I didn’t think you’d spread your legs so quickly.” I'm just glad Violetta slapped him for that. I was so proud of her at that moment.
9. Then, after the incident at #8, he had a 180, all of sudden claiming her like she's a thing to possess, and he acts like he just didn't hurt her and ended them even before they got started. He didn't even apologize for that! He just went, declaring she's his, and that's the end of the conversation. He made my head spin with his push-and-pull treatment of Violetta.
10. I hate it that Violetta is the only one who said the words "I love you" in this story. She said she's fine not hearing those words from Tristano because his actions are more than enough. Well, sue me, I hate that!!! I need both words and actions; would it kill him to outright tell her he loves her?? 😤
11. Some of the scenes almost at the end became dubcon (or assault?). Usually, I'm fine with it, but for some reason, I feel like she's forced to do something she doesn't even want to do. She asked for space because she was hurting, but he didn't allow it. Then he proceeded to use sex against her. I don't feel so good reading scenes like this when the MMC manipulates the FMC through physical aspects.
12. As for their mother, I feel sad for what happened to her. But I'm also annoyed that she didn't even fight for them. I understood the need to stay away when they were younger, but when they grew up and became powerful enough, why didn't she approach them? She just built a new life somewhere while watching her sons from afar. She said she loved their father, but she had a son with someone else. I hated that she moved on, and maybe they're better people than I am, because I don't think I'll forgive her for what she did.
Overall, this was okay, I guess (?). I didn't enjoy it, maybe because the timeline was ridiculously short and the insta-love didn't work for me. It was insta-love for the FMC, but insta-lust for the MMC. I didn't read the second book, but I sensed a pattern: the FMCs in each book are not doormats, and the MMCs are assholes with little redeeming qualities. The whole plot is still not done. I think the next book will be the closure for all the villains in this series, and I'm not sure if I even want to read that. If the MMC is just the same as the first three books, then I might skip that. It is such a shame not to finish the whole series, but my sanity and blood pressure are way more important than finding a conclusion to this series. 🤷♀️