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Astoria Royals #8
Illicit Temptation
Shea-Lynne O’Rourke is no innocent princess.
But she is off-limits.
Older. Strong-Willed. Mouthy AF.
That doesn’t stop me from wanting to possess this feisty Irish Rose and make the only woman I can’t have mine.
She's my last bodyguard gig before I take my place in Quinlan Empire.
I'm riddled with scars and past sins, too filthy for an angel.
Who surprises me with a savage taste for the forbidden.
My restraint gives way to temptation that I tell myself is temporary.
But that only holds until a dangerous man from my past attempts to claim her as his.
But she is off-limits.
Older. Strong-Willed. Mouthy AF.
That doesn’t stop me from wanting to possess this feisty Irish Rose and make the only woman I can’t have mine.
She's my last bodyguard gig before I take my place in Quinlan Empire.
I'm riddled with scars and past sins, too filthy for an angel.
Who surprises me with a savage taste for the forbidden.
My restraint gives way to temptation that I tell myself is temporary.
But that only holds until a dangerous man from my past attempts to claim her as his.
Audible Audio
First published November 21, 2024
642 people are currently reading
2306 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Garland
61 books772 followersDeborah Garland is a top 45 Amazon Bestselling and a 4x Award-Winning author of emotional, funny, and steamy romances!
She loves pugs, Friday night Cosmos, and that feeling when she publishes a new romance novel.
She lives on the beautiful North Shore of Long Island and in the summer, she escapes to Maine with her very patient husband.
She eats cheap mac and cheese with expensive red wine, her heroes are ALWAYS over six feet tall, and they fall hard, HARD for the girl.
Visit her website --> https://www.deborahgarlandauthor.com/... to join her newsletter and browse her little love stories.
New Releases are always featured, but all books can be read as standalones. Don’t be afraid to jump in. The water’s fine 😊
She loves pugs, Friday night Cosmos, and that feeling when she publishes a new romance novel.
She lives on the beautiful North Shore of Long Island and in the summer, she escapes to Maine with her very patient husband.
She eats cheap mac and cheese with expensive red wine, her heroes are ALWAYS over six feet tall, and they fall hard, HARD for the girl.
Visit her website --> https://www.deborahgarlandauthor.com/... to join her newsletter and browse her little love stories.
New Releases are always featured, but all books can be read as standalones. Don’t be afraid to jump in. The water’s fine 😊
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews
February 21, 2025
I don’t understand why this is rated so high.
Shea’s been dating a Who does this?! Why did I keep reading? There’s a lot of mafia drama too. Maybe that’s why. But ugh. Trace kidnaps her, drugs her multiple times, threatened to rape her. She likes it! Which honestly was the only saving grace. It was bad, like awful, but she wanted him. So whatever.
I didn’t really like her either. She didn’t seem smart or badass. In fact, I think she lived such a pampered life she didn’t know how to act. She wasn’t being brave and strong. She was being very naive and reckless. She was a mob princess with no survival instinct or brain.
Shea’s been dating a Who does this?! Why did I keep reading? There’s a lot of mafia drama too. Maybe that’s why. But ugh. Trace kidnaps her, drugs her multiple times, threatened to rape her. She likes it! Which honestly was the only saving grace. It was bad, like awful, but she wanted him. So whatever.
I didn’t really like her either. She didn’t seem smart or badass. In fact, I think she lived such a pampered life she didn’t know how to act. She wasn’t being brave and strong. She was being very naive and reckless. She was a mob princess with no survival instinct or brain.
January 14, 2026
This is my fourth book by this author and the 3rd book I’ve listend to where a Quinlan is the lead. OMG these Quinlans be DIRTY! And the filthy spicy talk along with the Irish accents got me like 👀😳 Anyways as you can guess, these books have some spice 😂 But I do like the stories woven into the books. This book was a man obsessed, accidental marriage, secret marriage, reverse age gap, Mafia, bodyguard romance.
Trace has been in love with Shea Lynn since he was twelve. It’s been 20 years since they’ve seen each other, and the instant connection was there when they ran into each other in Vegas. After a drunken night, they wake up married the next day. Shea is mortified and wants an annulment, but Trace secretly wants this marriage. Before anything can be done, Trace gets called away on a special assignment and is gone for 3 years. He comes back to town and is assigned by Shea’s brother to be her bodyguard 👀 Their marriage is still a secret and she still wants an annulment, but Trace is all in for this marriage and is determined to make Shea see that they were meant to be ❤️
Trace is absolutely obsessed with his woman! I love that they are both in their 30’s and Shea is 37! She’s also a curvy girl and Trace loves it ❤️ I also love the whole family loyalties in these books, and the forbidden love trope in this book since she’s an O’Rourke and he’s a Quinlan 👀 But in the end, both families were so accepting and welcoming to this couple! The second half of this book had a lot of twists and suspense which had me questioning how this was all going to resolve itself! It was crazy, and it all came down to a satisfying ending and a HEA.
The audiobook was duet narrated by Joe Arden and Maxine Mitchel and they were incredible for these characters. And Joe’s Irish accent is swoony ❤️ All of these books by Deborah Garland are interconnected stand alones and can be enjoyed individually, but are even more fun if you’ve listened/read the others to fully get the connection and stories of these families. If you like spice, Mafia suspense, and some dirty talking Irish men, you should check out this book and other books in this series 🖤
Trace has been in love with Shea Lynn since he was twelve. It’s been 20 years since they’ve seen each other, and the instant connection was there when they ran into each other in Vegas. After a drunken night, they wake up married the next day. Shea is mortified and wants an annulment, but Trace secretly wants this marriage. Before anything can be done, Trace gets called away on a special assignment and is gone for 3 years. He comes back to town and is assigned by Shea’s brother to be her bodyguard 👀 Their marriage is still a secret and she still wants an annulment, but Trace is all in for this marriage and is determined to make Shea see that they were meant to be ❤️
Trace is absolutely obsessed with his woman! I love that they are both in their 30’s and Shea is 37! She’s also a curvy girl and Trace loves it ❤️ I also love the whole family loyalties in these books, and the forbidden love trope in this book since she’s an O’Rourke and he’s a Quinlan 👀 But in the end, both families were so accepting and welcoming to this couple! The second half of this book had a lot of twists and suspense which had me questioning how this was all going to resolve itself! It was crazy, and it all came down to a satisfying ending and a HEA.
The audiobook was duet narrated by Joe Arden and Maxine Mitchel and they were incredible for these characters. And Joe’s Irish accent is swoony ❤️ All of these books by Deborah Garland are interconnected stand alones and can be enjoyed individually, but are even more fun if you’ve listened/read the others to fully get the connection and stories of these families. If you like spice, Mafia suspense, and some dirty talking Irish men, you should check out this book and other books in this series 🖤
April 7, 2025
This book!!! 🥵🔥
ꍏ꒒ꏳ ꋪꏂ꒦ꀤꏂꅐ - ★★★★★ (𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑠) 2025
𝐼'𝑚 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑, 𝑟𝑒-𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜'𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑢𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼'𝑚 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.
𝑰𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑀𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎 𝑂'𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐽𝑜𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑄𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑎𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠! 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝑰𝒕!!!
ꍏꋪꏳ ꋪꏂ꒦ꀤꏂꅐ
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 - 𝖳𝗋𝖺𝖼𝖾
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞 - 𝖲𝗁𝖾𝖺
5 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘺 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥
𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚..𝑳𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝑶'𝑹𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒌𝒆, 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏🔥♥️
Now the review 🤭...
Shea O'Rourke, is an independent business woman. Growing up being the only girl with seven protective brothers isn't easy but she stands her ground. For the past few years professionally she has been successful but in her personal life well, that's been a struggle.
Trace Quinlan, this hero! When he was a teenager he met Shea, and he fell for her, regardless of her being four years older. Eighteen years later, and a mini vacation to Las Vegas changes everything.
There was always supposed to be a bond between the O'Rourke and Quinlan family, what we didn't know was that in the city of sin over three and a half years ago that bond also became legally binding.
Trace and Shea have had this tension going on between them ever since 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙, and we finally have answers! My word, the tension, the chemistry was just 🔥 the push and pull between these two! And the spice 💥🔥🥵
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒂 🔥
The last few chapters pick up from where 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑉𝑒𝑖𝑙 ended, and those chapters had me on freaking edge!
𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
ɪᴛ's ᴅᴇғɪɴɪᴛᴇʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ǫᴜɪɴʟᴀɴ's ᴛɪᴍᴇ ɴᴏᴡ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴡᴇ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏᴜsɪɴs ᴋɴᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴡᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ɪs ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴀᴍᴀᴢɪɴɢ.
Griffin, Shane, Connor...Rhys???can't wait for their books!
And Cormac..the last O'Rourke...can't wait for him to fall.
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞 💋💋💋💋💋
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 🥵🌶️ 🥵
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 📚📚📚📚📚
𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 💧
ꍏ꒒ꏳ ꋪꏂ꒦ꀤꏂꅐ - ★★★★★ (𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑠) 2025
𝐼'𝑚 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑, 𝑟𝑒-𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜'𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑢𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼'𝑚 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.
𝑰𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑀𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎 𝑂'𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐽𝑜𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑄𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑎𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠! 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝑰𝒕!!!
ꍏꋪꏳ ꋪꏂ꒦ꀤꏂꅐ
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 - 𝖳𝗋𝖺𝖼𝖾
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞 - 𝖲𝗁𝖾𝖺
5 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘺 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥
𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚..𝑳𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝑶'𝑹𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒌𝒆, 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏🔥♥️
Now the review 🤭...
Shea O'Rourke, is an independent business woman. Growing up being the only girl with seven protective brothers isn't easy but she stands her ground. For the past few years professionally she has been successful but in her personal life well, that's been a struggle.
Trace Quinlan, this hero! When he was a teenager he met Shea, and he fell for her, regardless of her being four years older. Eighteen years later, and a mini vacation to Las Vegas changes everything.
There was always supposed to be a bond between the O'Rourke and Quinlan family, what we didn't know was that in the city of sin over three and a half years ago that bond also became legally binding.
Trace and Shea have had this tension going on between them ever since 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙, and we finally have answers! My word, the tension, the chemistry was just 🔥 the push and pull between these two! And the spice 💥🔥🥵
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒂 🔥
The last few chapters pick up from where 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑉𝑒𝑖𝑙 ended, and those chapters had me on freaking edge!
𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
ɪᴛ's ᴅᴇғɪɴɪᴛᴇʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ǫᴜɪɴʟᴀɴ's ᴛɪᴍᴇ ɴᴏᴡ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴡᴇ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏᴜsɪɴs ᴋɴᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴡᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ɪs ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴀᴍᴀᴢɪɴɢ.
Griffin, Shane, Connor...Rhys???can't wait for their books!
And Cormac..the last O'Rourke...can't wait for him to fall.
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞 💋💋💋💋💋
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 🥵🌶️ 🥵
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 📚📚📚📚📚
𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 💧
November 18, 2024
Never read a book by this author but man did she put me through a wild ride lol
Trace cracked me up from his crassness to him making jokes inappropriately lol.
There was no way Shea was going to be able to say no to that man.
Shea was fierce and so bold.
Loved her feistiness being the only girl to the Irish mob!
She definitely held her own with all of her brothers but kept Trace on his toes.
Loved how everything turned out!
Tropes
Irish mafia bodyguard
Older FMC
Forced proximity
He’s everywhere
Fuck it
Ex military/scarred hero
He kidnaps her
No 3rd act break up
Trace cracked me up from his crassness to him making jokes inappropriately lol.
There was no way Shea was going to be able to say no to that man.
Shea was fierce and so bold.
Loved her feistiness being the only girl to the Irish mob!
She definitely held her own with all of her brothers but kept Trace on his toes.
Loved how everything turned out!
Tropes
Irish mafia bodyguard
Older FMC
Forced proximity
He’s everywhere
Fuck it
Ex military/scarred hero
He kidnaps her
No 3rd act break up
November 17, 2024
Event planner Shea-Lynne has been dancing around the attraction she feels with her brother’s enforcer best friend and slightly younger man Trace, so after a wedding disaster in Vegas, she gets spectacularly hammered and wakes up shocked to find herself married to him. Trace promptly sets off to Europe without her to further his career in the Irish mob, Shea-Lynne returns to her own career in the states.
Years pass, yet neither of them have bothered to dissolve the quickie marriage. Shea-Lynne is involved in a situationship with a separated but not yet divorced diamond broker, a condition she’d like to make permanent, but she needs to locate Trace to annul their marriage first.
Nothing goes as planned. Fate laughs and has its way with the pair, and they find themselves tangled up in several ways, leaving the very cynical Shea-Lynne and the dark, scarred Trace to decide whether 🎵there’s something there that wasn’t there before.🎶
This was a steamy, smexy maf!a romance in the O’Rourke family series. It has many, many characters from previous books, but it mostly works as a standalone. My only criticism to that end is that a lot of the relational explanations are repetitive and a bit confusing at times.
I was furnished an advance reader copy from The Author Agency and bookfunnel, and I’m sharing my honest review.
Years pass, yet neither of them have bothered to dissolve the quickie marriage. Shea-Lynne is involved in a situationship with a separated but not yet divorced diamond broker, a condition she’d like to make permanent, but she needs to locate Trace to annul their marriage first.
Nothing goes as planned. Fate laughs and has its way with the pair, and they find themselves tangled up in several ways, leaving the very cynical Shea-Lynne and the dark, scarred Trace to decide whether 🎵there’s something there that wasn’t there before.🎶
This was a steamy, smexy maf!a romance in the O’Rourke family series. It has many, many characters from previous books, but it mostly works as a standalone. My only criticism to that end is that a lot of the relational explanations are repetitive and a bit confusing at times.
I was furnished an advance reader copy from The Author Agency and bookfunnel, and I’m sharing my honest review.
November 13, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
A wild, twisted, surprising take on a Mafia Romance, Illicit Temptation had me on the edge of my seat multiple times and the beginning really surprised me !
Years pass after Trace and Shea get accidently married in Vegas one drunken night. These two have a history, and while Shea wakes up with a ring on her finger and flees, Trace gets called out to do a job overseas. YEARS pass, and Shea is convinced she’s never going to see her “husband” again.
But Trace keeps coming back around, and no matter how many times she asks him for a divorce, he’s determined not to let his wife go.
Trace will kill anyone who comes between him and Shae, and when he ex starts lurking around, he plans to do just that.
This story can be read as a standalone, however I do feel like you need knowledge of the other books and characters to really enjoy the story. The author did a great job of explaining who everyone was, but I did feel a little lost when it came to some of the names / relationships.
Overall this book was SPICY, and HOT HOT HOT. I did enjoy Trace being so possessive over his woman, and Shae is a truly strong, confident FMC who despite having some health concerns really was happy just being who she was, and confident while taking charge of her life.
I’d love to go back and read the first books in the series to have a better understanding of everyone mentioned, but I did enjoy this book !
🌶️🌶️🌶️
A wild, twisted, surprising take on a Mafia Romance, Illicit Temptation had me on the edge of my seat multiple times and the beginning really surprised me !
Years pass after Trace and Shea get accidently married in Vegas one drunken night. These two have a history, and while Shea wakes up with a ring on her finger and flees, Trace gets called out to do a job overseas. YEARS pass, and Shea is convinced she’s never going to see her “husband” again.
But Trace keeps coming back around, and no matter how many times she asks him for a divorce, he’s determined not to let his wife go.
Trace will kill anyone who comes between him and Shae, and when he ex starts lurking around, he plans to do just that.
This story can be read as a standalone, however I do feel like you need knowledge of the other books and characters to really enjoy the story. The author did a great job of explaining who everyone was, but I did feel a little lost when it came to some of the names / relationships.
Overall this book was SPICY, and HOT HOT HOT. I did enjoy Trace being so possessive over his woman, and Shae is a truly strong, confident FMC who despite having some health concerns really was happy just being who she was, and confident while taking charge of her life.
I’d love to go back and read the first books in the series to have a better understanding of everyone mentioned, but I did enjoy this book !
March 31, 2025
Audio book review
🎧Audio review
📖Illicit Temptation by Deborah Garland
Book 3 in the Astoria Royals Series
🎙️Performed in duet by Michelle Sparks and Joe Arden
Wow.
This book hit me emotionally more than I would’ve expected. Our FMC experiences fertility issues, and it is represented so well in this book . The emotional and mental impact this has on not only the person but their relationships.
Having went through my own personal experience with infertility this shattered my heart in so many ways. I love how the MMC loved all of her without question.
While this began as a whoops we accidentally got married. I swooned so incredibly hard with these characters.
🎙️Joe and Michelle blended beautifully together, which just made the story even better .
Outstanding story . I would re read /listen .
📖5/5
🎙️5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🎧Audio review
📖Illicit Temptation by Deborah Garland
Book 3 in the Astoria Royals Series
🎙️Performed in duet by Michelle Sparks and Joe Arden
Wow.
This book hit me emotionally more than I would’ve expected. Our FMC experiences fertility issues, and it is represented so well in this book . The emotional and mental impact this has on not only the person but their relationships.
Having went through my own personal experience with infertility this shattered my heart in so many ways. I love how the MMC loved all of her without question.
While this began as a whoops we accidentally got married. I swooned so incredibly hard with these characters.
🎙️Joe and Michelle blended beautifully together, which just made the story even better .
Outstanding story . I would re read /listen .
📖5/5
🎙️5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
November 21, 2024
ARC Review - 4.5⭐️
Illicit Temptation is the book 3 in the Astoria Royals standalone series and it features Trace Quinlan & Shea-Lynne O’Rourke.
Three years prior Shea runs into her brother Cormac and his friend Trace in Vegas. She is supposed to be meeting her secret boyfriend but he doesn’t show up. Shea winds up going out for food and drinks with Trace after Cormac ditches them.
The next morning they wake up in bed together and a marriage certificate in sheas purse. She gathers her things to flea and Trace lets her go, for now.
Flash forward to the present, Trace is back in the states after 3 years undercover over seas. He finds himself working as a body guard for the O’Rourke family and determined to be with his wife, as they are still legally married.
Shea will do anything in her power to get the divorce she’s been wanting for 3 years but Trace will stop at nothing to keep her as his wife; even if that means physical harm from her brothers. Will they manage to wind up on the same page or will outside factors separate them for good ?
Sheas story is the one I’ve been looking forward to the most from the Astoria series and Deborah did not disappoint me! I loved these two and wanted so much more !
Thank you Deborah and the Author Agency for the ARC !
Illicit Temptation is the book 3 in the Astoria Royals standalone series and it features Trace Quinlan & Shea-Lynne O’Rourke.
Three years prior Shea runs into her brother Cormac and his friend Trace in Vegas. She is supposed to be meeting her secret boyfriend but he doesn’t show up. Shea winds up going out for food and drinks with Trace after Cormac ditches them.
The next morning they wake up in bed together and a marriage certificate in sheas purse. She gathers her things to flea and Trace lets her go, for now.
Flash forward to the present, Trace is back in the states after 3 years undercover over seas. He finds himself working as a body guard for the O’Rourke family and determined to be with his wife, as they are still legally married.
Shea will do anything in her power to get the divorce she’s been wanting for 3 years but Trace will stop at nothing to keep her as his wife; even if that means physical harm from her brothers. Will they manage to wind up on the same page or will outside factors separate them for good ?
Sheas story is the one I’ve been looking forward to the most from the Astoria series and Deborah did not disappoint me! I loved these two and wanted so much more !
Thank you Deborah and the Author Agency for the ARC !
November 22, 2024
‘𝙰 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎.
-𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑.’
+ 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 +
𝘉𝘺 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥
𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒚!
[ 5 ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ]
[ 4 ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩]
𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘
Ms Garland has done it again with another addition to the Astoria Royals series! I have been aching to see how Shea-Lynne’s story would take place and this did not disappoint!
This follows on from the same brutal stronghold of a family and characters, the O’Rourkes. Irish maafia. Focusing on the only daughter, mafia Princess, Shea-Lynne.
The FMC is strong, independent to her family’s reputation, and fierce.
The MMC, Trace Quinlan, is a whole 6.5ft, tattooed, ex military, eyes only for her, pining for years, kind of man ❤️🔥
This was filled with great banter, so much pining, hot steam, off-limits romance and an accidental marriage. I loved everything in this, and am so grateful to have received this continuation of the series. If you haven’t read any of the Astoria Royals, I highly recommend it! Each story is a stand alone, but better to start at the beginning for certain timelines to make sense.
Thank you @deborahgarland and @theauthoragency 🖤
-𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑.’
+ 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 +
𝘉𝘺 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥
𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒚!
[ 5 ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ]
[ 4 ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩]
𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘
Ms Garland has done it again with another addition to the Astoria Royals series! I have been aching to see how Shea-Lynne’s story would take place and this did not disappoint!
This follows on from the same brutal stronghold of a family and characters, the O’Rourkes. Irish maafia. Focusing on the only daughter, mafia Princess, Shea-Lynne.
The FMC is strong, independent to her family’s reputation, and fierce.
The MMC, Trace Quinlan, is a whole 6.5ft, tattooed, ex military, eyes only for her, pining for years, kind of man ❤️🔥
This was filled with great banter, so much pining, hot steam, off-limits romance and an accidental marriage. I loved everything in this, and am so grateful to have received this continuation of the series. If you haven’t read any of the Astoria Royals, I highly recommend it! Each story is a stand alone, but better to start at the beginning for certain timelines to make sense.
Thank you @deborahgarland and @theauthoragency 🖤
November 21, 2024
Great addition to the series! The author does a fantastic job developing their story and pulled me in from page one and kept me turning the pages right to the end. She takes you into their lives with a forbidden love, a drunken night and a quickie wedding. She brings a dark mafia romance filled with steam, love and twists , moves it fluidly with her descriptive scenes and delivers a terrific read.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and are freely given.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and are freely given.
December 2, 2024
Shea and Trace have a somewhat typical mafia relationship in some ways, but unique to them in many others. I found their journey interesting. I think I would have preferred to have read the others in series first, but it can definitely be a standalone, I just found myself wishing I knew more details of the previous events hinted at. The story has volatile and domineering elements-ya know mafia world and the cra cra that comes with that-that could be extreme at moments. Plus some pretty big twists and of course danger and action, but they found their HEA.
April 17, 2025
This was a pretty entertaining book! The story line grabbed my attention and had me wondering what was coming next. It literally made my jaw drop at certain points lol
Trace & Shea were great characters and I lovedddd the spice. 🤭
Trace & Shea were great characters and I lovedddd the spice. 🤭
April 7, 2025
I really enjoyed this one. It's 🥵, action filled, and plot twist.
January 9, 2026
Such potential. But no. The writing is mediocre. I wouldn’t say it’s an easy read. But… maybe immature writing. Young writing?
MMC is weak. His inner monologue is childish thinking as well along with high strung. He doesn’t have the confidence for working for the mafia brothers. “Gave me the ick” he’s not an alpha.
FMC- she’s just as naive and spineless. she had 100% proof her bf of 5 years was lying about his ex wife.....
let me explain. So it starts with her marrying the MMC and she doesn't remember. She was black out drunk (MMC remembers everything, rapey vibes) the reason she got so drunk was to get back at her cheating BF. not ex bf. So let’s talk about the cheating bf. He had her waiting for 5 years to get married and commit. this is the spineless part.... she got proof her bf was cheating. A PI sends her pictures of him going to his ex house after their kids leave for a sleepover and they close the bedroom blinds. Did I mention he lied? He was supposed to meet FMC in Vegas but lies and says he missed his connecting flight in London. Nope he went to NY to be with his ex wife. so she Marie's the MMC in a noncoherent state. but even after getting married and having proof....
SHE STILL STAYS WITH SAID BF 3 YEARS LATER. She 37 at this point. Spineless. She’s either very dumb or incredibly naive. She had proof he lied, he is stringing her along. But yet she stays with lying cheating bf for 8 years total.
fast forward 3 years, after drunk night in Vegas ending with marriage... MMC comes back. Thinking they are still a happy couple.
DNF. I do not understand the high ratings.
No self respecting woman of mid thurties with no kids would stay in that scenario at that age. there's baby momma drama then there is... "no drama im just prioritizing my ex wife in every scenario kids or no kids" Especially when she wants kids.
Also, what alpha male “sleeps” with a woman who is obliterated? They don’t.
the foundation of the story was ridiculous. must be the spice. take the Smut out and there is nothing.
MMC is weak. His inner monologue is childish thinking as well along with high strung. He doesn’t have the confidence for working for the mafia brothers. “Gave me the ick” he’s not an alpha.
FMC- she’s just as naive and spineless. she had 100% proof her bf of 5 years was lying about his ex wife.....
let me explain. So it starts with her marrying the MMC and she doesn't remember. She was black out drunk (MMC remembers everything, rapey vibes) the reason she got so drunk was to get back at her cheating BF. not ex bf. So let’s talk about the cheating bf. He had her waiting for 5 years to get married and commit. this is the spineless part.... she got proof her bf was cheating. A PI sends her pictures of him going to his ex house after their kids leave for a sleepover and they close the bedroom blinds. Did I mention he lied? He was supposed to meet FMC in Vegas but lies and says he missed his connecting flight in London. Nope he went to NY to be with his ex wife. so she Marie's the MMC in a noncoherent state. but even after getting married and having proof....
SHE STILL STAYS WITH SAID BF 3 YEARS LATER. She 37 at this point. Spineless. She’s either very dumb or incredibly naive. She had proof he lied, he is stringing her along. But yet she stays with lying cheating bf for 8 years total.
fast forward 3 years, after drunk night in Vegas ending with marriage... MMC comes back. Thinking they are still a happy couple.
DNF. I do not understand the high ratings.
No self respecting woman of mid thurties with no kids would stay in that scenario at that age. there's baby momma drama then there is... "no drama im just prioritizing my ex wife in every scenario kids or no kids" Especially when she wants kids.
Also, what alpha male “sleeps” with a woman who is obliterated? They don’t.
the foundation of the story was ridiculous. must be the spice. take the Smut out and there is nothing.
April 17, 2025
4.5 stars
This is the 5th or 6th books I've read by the author and I swear each one is better than the last!
Updating after finishing the audio, hearing the two MCs back and forth was so good! I really enjoyed listening to the banter even more than reading it. It helped the balance out the heavier topics in the book and some of the more suspenseful elements!
I loved the bodyguard aspect and all of the suspense! The forbidden aspect of Shea and Trace definitely made things way interesting!
I'm dying for the next book already!
This is the 5th or 6th books I've read by the author and I swear each one is better than the last!
Updating after finishing the audio, hearing the two MCs back and forth was so good! I really enjoyed listening to the banter even more than reading it. It helped the balance out the heavier topics in the book and some of the more suspenseful elements!
I loved the bodyguard aspect and all of the suspense! The forbidden aspect of Shea and Trace definitely made things way interesting!
I'm dying for the next book already!
April 4, 2025
I've been looking for a light book to get me out of a reading slump, and this was it for me. I love how persistent he was in pursuing her, how sure he was. I hated getting her pregnant to stay with me part, but everything else was nice. All in all, a light love story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2024
If author Deborah Garland decides to write one Mafia romance a day, I will adjust my schedule to read one Mafia romance a day. They are such great reads: fun, scary, steamy, and very, very, very satisfying.
Illicit Temptation is the bridge from the Irish Mafia Astoria Royals O’Rourke family to Garland’s new series Quinlan Empire featuring the Quinlan brothers and cousins who have been like family and worked for, fought for, and guarded the O’Rourkes for many years. And one of those Quinlans has been in love with one of those O’Rourkes for a long time. This is Trace and Shea-Lynne’s story. And what a terrific story it is, watching another one of those big, fierce, fearless, violent warriors fall and fall hard. Suddenly become cinnamon roll-sweet with a protective possessive streak a mile wide. Or see an independent, strong-willed, determined, stubborn, successful woman realize being wrapped in a warm hug and surrounded by TLC maybe isn’t such a bad thing after all.
When Trace and Shea-Lynne meet again in Las Vegas they haven’t seen each other in eighteen years, when she was sixteen and he was twelve, staying at her grandparents’ farm in Waterford, Ireland where he was born and grew up. They had a connection, but they were young and life went on, she the Mafia Princess and he the soldier, fighter, bodyguard. As a Mafia Princess – and only sister to seven brothers – her husband would be vetted and approved by the family, and it probably wouldn’t be someone who worked for them. That’s all irrelevant though, really, since after she left Waterford they didn’t see each other again. Until now. When that childhood connection is now a full-blown, unwelcome (at least to Shea), adult attraction. It’s instant and it’s strong – and smoldering.
Trace has served his country in the military, fought, killed, been captured and tortured, has tortured prisoners himself; he’s big and rough and scary. Shea-Lynne isn’t scared, though. At thirty-seven she’s an often-lonely woman, not a wide-eyed little princess, who runs her own event-planning business and does whatever she can get away with considering the constraints of being an O’Rourke. But she’s got a sad secret that affects every aspect of her life. She can’t have children, can’t provide the heir most men want, so she’s tied herself for years to Archer, a married man who already has children, who’s more criminal and vicious than she realizes, and who promises to leave his wife but somehow never quite gets around to it. When the wedding Shea-Lynne has planned is suddenly cancelled and Archer stands her up and she’s suddenly without the bodyguard a Mafia Princess must have, one of her brothers asks Trace to look out for her. He probably didn’t have in mind what happened: instead of Trace escorting Shea-Lynne back to her room, they wandered through the casino, drank, drank, and drank some more, got married, and spent the night together.
Shea-Lynne is appalled in the morning – this is so forbidden, dangerous to Trace, her brothers will kill him, and even more important, she can’t tie this young, handsome, virile man who makes her feel so alive to a woman almost forty years old who can’t give him what he surely needs and wants: children, a family. Trace isn’t appalled or afraid of what her family might do. Seeing Shea again was like a flame rising up or a light shining. She’s HIS. This is going to be a real marriage. But before they can discuss it, he receives an emergency order to return to Ireland. He’s undercover, without ID or a phone for three years, so Shea’s initial messages to him to ask what on earth did they do go unanswered. And even though she doesn’t want to stay in the marriage, she’s confused, hurt and then bitter.
From this point on author Garland does her magic and Illicit Temptation is one wild ride of miscommunication, misunderstanding, danger. Family secrets and true selves revealed. Kidnapping, betrayal, attempted murder, escape. And beyond the violence and chaos is certainty. Shea-Lynne is Trace’s wife and that’s all there is to it. He’s sweet and unselfish and caring, and the way he shows it, like five-alarm-fire hot wings – you’ll need ice water for those scenes and tissues for the heartwarming bits. Shea-Lynne begins to soften and melt and trust that someone may actually love her and want her for who she is. It’s non-stop action right up until the very end. You think that HEA is coming and the path to it is amazingly enjoyable and satisfying, but there are some very dangerous dark, scary moments that make you doubt. And there is a bonus epilogue that will have you reaching for those tissues again. I can’t recommend this book or this series or anything Garland writes highly enough, and I cannot wait for the Quinlan Empire to start. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.
Illicit Temptation is the bridge from the Irish Mafia Astoria Royals O’Rourke family to Garland’s new series Quinlan Empire featuring the Quinlan brothers and cousins who have been like family and worked for, fought for, and guarded the O’Rourkes for many years. And one of those Quinlans has been in love with one of those O’Rourkes for a long time. This is Trace and Shea-Lynne’s story. And what a terrific story it is, watching another one of those big, fierce, fearless, violent warriors fall and fall hard. Suddenly become cinnamon roll-sweet with a protective possessive streak a mile wide. Or see an independent, strong-willed, determined, stubborn, successful woman realize being wrapped in a warm hug and surrounded by TLC maybe isn’t such a bad thing after all.
When Trace and Shea-Lynne meet again in Las Vegas they haven’t seen each other in eighteen years, when she was sixteen and he was twelve, staying at her grandparents’ farm in Waterford, Ireland where he was born and grew up. They had a connection, but they were young and life went on, she the Mafia Princess and he the soldier, fighter, bodyguard. As a Mafia Princess – and only sister to seven brothers – her husband would be vetted and approved by the family, and it probably wouldn’t be someone who worked for them. That’s all irrelevant though, really, since after she left Waterford they didn’t see each other again. Until now. When that childhood connection is now a full-blown, unwelcome (at least to Shea), adult attraction. It’s instant and it’s strong – and smoldering.
Trace has served his country in the military, fought, killed, been captured and tortured, has tortured prisoners himself; he’s big and rough and scary. Shea-Lynne isn’t scared, though. At thirty-seven she’s an often-lonely woman, not a wide-eyed little princess, who runs her own event-planning business and does whatever she can get away with considering the constraints of being an O’Rourke. But she’s got a sad secret that affects every aspect of her life. She can’t have children, can’t provide the heir most men want, so she’s tied herself for years to Archer, a married man who already has children, who’s more criminal and vicious than she realizes, and who promises to leave his wife but somehow never quite gets around to it. When the wedding Shea-Lynne has planned is suddenly cancelled and Archer stands her up and she’s suddenly without the bodyguard a Mafia Princess must have, one of her brothers asks Trace to look out for her. He probably didn’t have in mind what happened: instead of Trace escorting Shea-Lynne back to her room, they wandered through the casino, drank, drank, and drank some more, got married, and spent the night together.
Shea-Lynne is appalled in the morning – this is so forbidden, dangerous to Trace, her brothers will kill him, and even more important, she can’t tie this young, handsome, virile man who makes her feel so alive to a woman almost forty years old who can’t give him what he surely needs and wants: children, a family. Trace isn’t appalled or afraid of what her family might do. Seeing Shea again was like a flame rising up or a light shining. She’s HIS. This is going to be a real marriage. But before they can discuss it, he receives an emergency order to return to Ireland. He’s undercover, without ID or a phone for three years, so Shea’s initial messages to him to ask what on earth did they do go unanswered. And even though she doesn’t want to stay in the marriage, she’s confused, hurt and then bitter.
From this point on author Garland does her magic and Illicit Temptation is one wild ride of miscommunication, misunderstanding, danger. Family secrets and true selves revealed. Kidnapping, betrayal, attempted murder, escape. And beyond the violence and chaos is certainty. Shea-Lynne is Trace’s wife and that’s all there is to it. He’s sweet and unselfish and caring, and the way he shows it, like five-alarm-fire hot wings – you’ll need ice water for those scenes and tissues for the heartwarming bits. Shea-Lynne begins to soften and melt and trust that someone may actually love her and want her for who she is. It’s non-stop action right up until the very end. You think that HEA is coming and the path to it is amazingly enjoyable and satisfying, but there are some very dangerous dark, scary moments that make you doubt. And there is a bonus epilogue that will have you reaching for those tissues again. I can’t recommend this book or this series or anything Garland writes highly enough, and I cannot wait for the Quinlan Empire to start. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.
December 18, 2024
“Illicit Temptation” is the third book in the “Astoria Royals Standalone Series.” Trace Quinlan is the Enforcer for the Shea-Lynne O’Rourke family and Cormac’s best friend. Shea-Lynne is the only daughter and an Irish Mob “Princess.” They have not seen each other for eighteen years - he was twelve and she was eighteen. “The last I saw of him he came up to my boobs. Now my boobs... Will fit so nicely in those brawny hands.” “…. the most gorgeous man I’ve seen in a long time would be off-limits.” After the wedding in Vegas she had organised, Trace volunteers to be her step-in bodyguard for the night and walk her home.
“The ground becomes unsteady under my feet as I gaze up at him. I’m lost in this guy’s whiskey amber gaze and this... This flirting is pulling me under. What the heck is happening?”
The next morning she wakes up naked in bed with a pounding headache, memory very fuzzy …. and not in her own room! Next to her, asleep is …. “Trace Quinlan sleeps on his side facing me. The sheet lays lazily on his tattooed hip, his sculpted chest bare. He’s covered in gray skulls, red roses, and green scrolling sentences that look like bible verses etched into his golden skin.”
“Oh, this is bad. So bad. I had sex with my brother’s best friend.” Shea decides everything is going to be okay as Trace is going back to Ireland today until she opens her purse to discover a marriage certificate and a wedding band on her finger!
Trace is recalled by work to Dublin, sends his “wife”a message: “Dearest wife. I’m needed in Dublin with a national emergency. I only wish you could give a man going to war a last taste of heaven before all I’m consumed with is hell. My contract is up in a few months. I WILL be back. When I do, you will truly be mine. -Your husband.”
Three years and still no word from Trace…. he as obviously moved on with his life! Archer, her long term boyfriend, is about to hit her when she hears “Touch a f*****g hair on her head and you die,” Trace Quinlan says from behind me.” “Trace trains his gun at Archer’s crotch. “The name’s Quinlan. I pledged my loyalty to the O’Rourkes. I’m willing to die for this lovely lass. Do you want to lose your c**k over her?”
Now everything really does get interesting and you will not be able to put the book down! Her husband, that no one in the family knows about, is back! They cannot stay married - Trace is her brother’s best friend, he is her bodyguard and the one secret that no one knows about …. the reason she things no man will want her. But Trace is no ordinary man, if or when he finds out her deep dark secret, would he still want her as his wife anyway? Does she really want a divorce?
The story is full of passion, humor, intrigue, betrayal, vengeance, power, control, twists and turns around every corner - most of all love ♥️ There is never a dull moment - you will be hooked! The book goes from pages that sizzle, to extreme violence, to the most beautiful tender moments!
You will fall in love with Trace and Shea, hoping that everything with work out for them and if they have a future together. There is never a dull moment - you will be hooked! I know I was - just love these two! A thoroughly enjoyable read from page to page, one chapter to the next - at times you are metaphorical “on the edge of your chair” wondering what will happen next. Overall, I would highly recommend this book and you will not be disappointed 😊
“The ground becomes unsteady under my feet as I gaze up at him. I’m lost in this guy’s whiskey amber gaze and this... This flirting is pulling me under. What the heck is happening?”
The next morning she wakes up naked in bed with a pounding headache, memory very fuzzy …. and not in her own room! Next to her, asleep is …. “Trace Quinlan sleeps on his side facing me. The sheet lays lazily on his tattooed hip, his sculpted chest bare. He’s covered in gray skulls, red roses, and green scrolling sentences that look like bible verses etched into his golden skin.”
“Oh, this is bad. So bad. I had sex with my brother’s best friend.” Shea decides everything is going to be okay as Trace is going back to Ireland today until she opens her purse to discover a marriage certificate and a wedding band on her finger!
Trace is recalled by work to Dublin, sends his “wife”a message: “Dearest wife. I’m needed in Dublin with a national emergency. I only wish you could give a man going to war a last taste of heaven before all I’m consumed with is hell. My contract is up in a few months. I WILL be back. When I do, you will truly be mine. -Your husband.”
Three years and still no word from Trace…. he as obviously moved on with his life! Archer, her long term boyfriend, is about to hit her when she hears “Touch a f*****g hair on her head and you die,” Trace Quinlan says from behind me.” “Trace trains his gun at Archer’s crotch. “The name’s Quinlan. I pledged my loyalty to the O’Rourkes. I’m willing to die for this lovely lass. Do you want to lose your c**k over her?”
Now everything really does get interesting and you will not be able to put the book down! Her husband, that no one in the family knows about, is back! They cannot stay married - Trace is her brother’s best friend, he is her bodyguard and the one secret that no one knows about …. the reason she things no man will want her. But Trace is no ordinary man, if or when he finds out her deep dark secret, would he still want her as his wife anyway? Does she really want a divorce?
The story is full of passion, humor, intrigue, betrayal, vengeance, power, control, twists and turns around every corner - most of all love ♥️ There is never a dull moment - you will be hooked! The book goes from pages that sizzle, to extreme violence, to the most beautiful tender moments!
You will fall in love with Trace and Shea, hoping that everything with work out for them and if they have a future together. There is never a dull moment - you will be hooked! I know I was - just love these two! A thoroughly enjoyable read from page to page, one chapter to the next - at times you are metaphorical “on the edge of your chair” wondering what will happen next. Overall, I would highly recommend this book and you will not be disappointed 😊
February 17, 2025
Illicit Temptation by Deborah Garland
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️.75
Shea-Lynne O’Rourke is Astoria Royalty, although she has been making a name in the East Hamptons for planning affluent events for wealthy citizens. The Bratva, Italians and Irish know her to be the untouchable woman. In Vegas however, she’s legally known to be Shea-Lynne Quinlan—a secret kept for the past three years. But now her past is creeping back to her, in the form of a six foot four Irish bodyguard, Trace Quinlan.
The Quinlan and O’Rourke families have been closely bonded since the Irish came into existence. However, the O’Rourke’s affluence and royalty, and the Quinlan’s notoriety for security don’t share the bond of a marriage. Hence, when Shea comes to find that a drunken night in Vegas caused her to be wedded and bedded, she hides it from her brothers. Three years later though, Trace is having none of it—he is wholly prepared to impregnate Shea and keep her to himself.
Illicit Temptation is a passionate, obsessive and exciting love story between a body guard and his client. The connection between the two is immersive, and consumes the book’s writing and characters. Not one page forgets about the romance that blooms between Shea and Trace, and its articulation is unforgettable and thrilling for the reader.
Throughout the plot, readers bear witness to multiple threats towards Shea’s life, and Trace’s innate desire to protect the love of his life. The torment in the O’Rourke family and tumultuous affairs otherwise, allow for romances such as Trace and Shea’s to be an escape. The characters themselves are always seeking solace in one another in the midst of conflict and it resonates with the audience also. Ultimately, the times shared between Trace and Shea are the only peace we are given in the novel, inviting readers to a wonderful love story.
Although this novel is newly advertised as a standalone, the active mafia plot is difficult to understand without grasp of the other books in the ‘series’. The war between the Greek and the Irish seemed to be one explored prior, however, the author fails to provide clarity to the reader within this book—leaving the audience confused on the numerous characters involved in the impending war. I truly believe Deborah Garland should keep this novel as apart of the series to ensure the audience receives a complete journey in the Astoria Royalty world.
The voice from male characters in this novel is crass, controlling and obsessive. The entitlement over Shea’s future, not only from Trace but her brothers, puts a knife in the once closely bonded O’Rourke family. ‘Illicit Temptation’ truly unveils the darkness behind the family and the hidden secrets that lie between the brothers and their father. The plot is unmistakably intricate and does require close attention, hence, if better articulation was given, readers would be able to understand the dynamics more. Nevertheless, this novel truly was outstanding on its twist of a forbidden romance and the Irish mafia.
The ending to the Astoria Royalty series is unforgettable, a lot of loose ends throughout the books get tied and we see the only woman amongst the brothers live her happily ever after. I absolutely loved this novel.
Ps. There were a few grammatical errors throughout this novel, so a final proofread would have aided in the coherency of this book greatly.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️.75
Shea-Lynne O’Rourke is Astoria Royalty, although she has been making a name in the East Hamptons for planning affluent events for wealthy citizens. The Bratva, Italians and Irish know her to be the untouchable woman. In Vegas however, she’s legally known to be Shea-Lynne Quinlan—a secret kept for the past three years. But now her past is creeping back to her, in the form of a six foot four Irish bodyguard, Trace Quinlan.
The Quinlan and O’Rourke families have been closely bonded since the Irish came into existence. However, the O’Rourke’s affluence and royalty, and the Quinlan’s notoriety for security don’t share the bond of a marriage. Hence, when Shea comes to find that a drunken night in Vegas caused her to be wedded and bedded, she hides it from her brothers. Three years later though, Trace is having none of it—he is wholly prepared to impregnate Shea and keep her to himself.
Illicit Temptation is a passionate, obsessive and exciting love story between a body guard and his client. The connection between the two is immersive, and consumes the book’s writing and characters. Not one page forgets about the romance that blooms between Shea and Trace, and its articulation is unforgettable and thrilling for the reader.
Throughout the plot, readers bear witness to multiple threats towards Shea’s life, and Trace’s innate desire to protect the love of his life. The torment in the O’Rourke family and tumultuous affairs otherwise, allow for romances such as Trace and Shea’s to be an escape. The characters themselves are always seeking solace in one another in the midst of conflict and it resonates with the audience also. Ultimately, the times shared between Trace and Shea are the only peace we are given in the novel, inviting readers to a wonderful love story.
Although this novel is newly advertised as a standalone, the active mafia plot is difficult to understand without grasp of the other books in the ‘series’. The war between the Greek and the Irish seemed to be one explored prior, however, the author fails to provide clarity to the reader within this book—leaving the audience confused on the numerous characters involved in the impending war. I truly believe Deborah Garland should keep this novel as apart of the series to ensure the audience receives a complete journey in the Astoria Royalty world.
The voice from male characters in this novel is crass, controlling and obsessive. The entitlement over Shea’s future, not only from Trace but her brothers, puts a knife in the once closely bonded O’Rourke family. ‘Illicit Temptation’ truly unveils the darkness behind the family and the hidden secrets that lie between the brothers and their father. The plot is unmistakably intricate and does require close attention, hence, if better articulation was given, readers would be able to understand the dynamics more. Nevertheless, this novel truly was outstanding on its twist of a forbidden romance and the Irish mafia.
The ending to the Astoria Royalty series is unforgettable, a lot of loose ends throughout the books get tied and we see the only woman amongst the brothers live her happily ever after. I absolutely loved this novel.
Ps. There were a few grammatical errors throughout this novel, so a final proofread would have aided in the coherency of this book greatly.
April 9, 2025
ALC Review:
Illicit Temptations by Deborah Garland
Performance by Michelle Sparks and Joe Arden
Produced by Blue Nose Audio
Available Now on Audible and the Blue Nose Audio App
I was honored to receive an ALC for Deborah Garland's Illicit Temptations, a standalone in the Astoria Royals series. Deborah Garland has built a world of Mafia men and the women they fall for, and it is delicious in every way.
In Illicit Temptations, the story surrounds the lives of Shea-Lynne (Shea), sister to the O’Rourke Brothers who run the Irish Mafia in Astoria, and Trace Quinlan, friends with the O’Rourke’s since he was younger. Shea lives her own life and runs a successful event planning business. She meets up with her brother Cormac and his friend Trace Quinlan in Las Vegas, where she is working on a wedding. As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but does it?
Shea tries hard to hide what happened in Vegas with Trace from her brothers, meanwhile, Trace has disappeared altogether, so what else can Shea do other than keep going with her life.
Trace Quinlan is in love with Shea, but he gets called back to Ireland for work. Trace has years in the Irish Military and then as a security contractor for the government, but he’s ready to hang it all up. However, he has one last assignment he has to get through. What should’ve taken only a few months ended up taking three years to complete. When he gets back to the States hoping to win Shea over, he finds several obstacles in his way, some even he cannot fix.
Trace is a deliciously dirty-talking MMC that I love! He is fiercely protective over Shea and protects her from danger even she is unaware of. Shea is such a relatable FMC. She’s hit with devastating news about her health but makes the best of her life. She has her career that she loves, but tries to settle with a man based on her given situation, not really letting herself believe that she can have the man that she truly loves. She’s brave and stands on her own. She’s the brave FMC type who would sacrifice herself so no one she loves gets hurt.
The performance in this book was just incredible as well. Michelle Sparks is so easy to listen to. She has a wonderful voice; she just brought Shea to life for me. In some of Shea’s more vulnerable moments in this book, you could hear that vulnerability in Michelle’s performance. It was so good. Then there is Joe Arden as Trace, and as I previously said, Trace was a deliciously dirty talker, and Joe Arden delivers with his performance!
Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narration:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes:
He falls first
Brother's best friend
One bed
She's mine
My wife
Favroite Quotes:
“Run, princess,” he says, his voice deep, but smooth. “If I catch you, I spank you.”
“I will f**k you tonight, Shea. You’ll want it. You’ll want me to fill you, stretch you, and become part of you.” He leans forward to press his mouth against mine. “And when I become a part of you, I’ll take this pain away. I promise.”
“That wasn’t a bird. It was a drone. But it zips away like a Quidditch Snitch.”
“I want you, Shea. I’ve always wanted you. Three years ago, I got pulled away. I’m here now. I have... My cousins have something big happening. I’ll be set. Your brothers will approve.”
Illicit Temptations by Deborah Garland
Performance by Michelle Sparks and Joe Arden
Produced by Blue Nose Audio
Available Now on Audible and the Blue Nose Audio App
I was honored to receive an ALC for Deborah Garland's Illicit Temptations, a standalone in the Astoria Royals series. Deborah Garland has built a world of Mafia men and the women they fall for, and it is delicious in every way.
In Illicit Temptations, the story surrounds the lives of Shea-Lynne (Shea), sister to the O’Rourke Brothers who run the Irish Mafia in Astoria, and Trace Quinlan, friends with the O’Rourke’s since he was younger. Shea lives her own life and runs a successful event planning business. She meets up with her brother Cormac and his friend Trace Quinlan in Las Vegas, where she is working on a wedding. As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but does it?
Shea tries hard to hide what happened in Vegas with Trace from her brothers, meanwhile, Trace has disappeared altogether, so what else can Shea do other than keep going with her life.
Trace Quinlan is in love with Shea, but he gets called back to Ireland for work. Trace has years in the Irish Military and then as a security contractor for the government, but he’s ready to hang it all up. However, he has one last assignment he has to get through. What should’ve taken only a few months ended up taking three years to complete. When he gets back to the States hoping to win Shea over, he finds several obstacles in his way, some even he cannot fix.
Trace is a deliciously dirty-talking MMC that I love! He is fiercely protective over Shea and protects her from danger even she is unaware of. Shea is such a relatable FMC. She’s hit with devastating news about her health but makes the best of her life. She has her career that she loves, but tries to settle with a man based on her given situation, not really letting herself believe that she can have the man that she truly loves. She’s brave and stands on her own. She’s the brave FMC type who would sacrifice herself so no one she loves gets hurt.
The performance in this book was just incredible as well. Michelle Sparks is so easy to listen to. She has a wonderful voice; she just brought Shea to life for me. In some of Shea’s more vulnerable moments in this book, you could hear that vulnerability in Michelle’s performance. It was so good. Then there is Joe Arden as Trace, and as I previously said, Trace was a deliciously dirty talker, and Joe Arden delivers with his performance!
Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narration:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes:
He falls first
Brother's best friend
One bed
She's mine
My wife
Favroite Quotes:
“Run, princess,” he says, his voice deep, but smooth. “If I catch you, I spank you.”
“I will f**k you tonight, Shea. You’ll want it. You’ll want me to fill you, stretch you, and become part of you.” He leans forward to press his mouth against mine. “And when I become a part of you, I’ll take this pain away. I promise.”
“That wasn’t a bird. It was a drone. But it zips away like a Quidditch Snitch.”
“I want you, Shea. I’ve always wanted you. Three years ago, I got pulled away. I’m here now. I have... My cousins have something big happening. I’ll be set. Your brothers will approve.”
April 2, 2025
Another Superbly Impressive Story, Narration & Audio Listen🎧
Illicit Temptation
Astoria Royals Standalone, Book 3rd
By: Deborah Garland
Narrated: Michelle Sparks, Joe Arden
Deborah Garland never ceases to amaze with me with her brilliant and creative mind, bringing me into her stories, taking me into the incredible world she creates right alongside her amazing characters. There is never a dull moment in her books and once I start, nothing else around me matters except what is going to happen next in the book, escapism at its best. This third standalone of the “Astoria Royals” series is the mafia princess of the O’Rourke empire Shea-Lynne O’Rourke’s and her bodyguard Trace Quinlan’s story and I loved every moment of their journey and catching up with the O’Rourke family and being introduced to the Quinlan family. The O’Rourke’s let Shea do her own thing and was not involved in any of the family’s businesses, but they never left her unprotected. After some drama with her former guard, they assigned Trace to cover her, knowing they could trust him to keep her protected. Trace wanted to do more than protect her, he wanted her and not just in his bed, which would be a big no-no in their mafia world, where marriages are mergers and business deals, though her family left her alone so far. Shea’s boyfriend gives excuses why he hasn’t divorced his ex-wife yet, but she remains independent and continues to focus on her career and growing business. A drunken night in Vegas was what it took for Shea to let her guard down and let Trace have her, except she doesn’t remember what happened and Trace had to leave on family business, and reappears three years, wanting Shea more than ever. Feisty Shea gives him a run for his money and it was great to watch the chase. I loved all the layers to this story and how it all played out, with non-stop drama, angst, twists and turns, thrilling and suspenseful moment, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. I can not get enough of these O’Rourke’s and am looking forward to what comes next for them, the Quinlan's and the incredible mafia world. Deborah Garland, thank you for another amazing story and wild ride.
🎧📚🎧 Michelle Sparks and Joe Arden were amazing at voicing the characters and performing an accurate portrayal of each. I loved how they owned their roles, sounding believable and just as I imagined the characters to sound, accents and all. Arden’s Irish is a treat to the ears and so was his take on Trace’s role, showcasing all sides of his personality and demeanor perfectly, from his possessive alpha, touch her and die, to his caring and loving side with Shea. Sparks was just as fabulous in Shea’s role, also showcasing her personality perfectly, from her insecurities to her strength and determination, also nailing her feisty wit. Both were fantastic performing the roles of the secondary characters too. Their tone and pacing were just right for the story and they captured all the characters’ emotions, having you feel them all. These versatile voice artists are passionate and entertaining storytellers who keep you glued to the story from start to end.
Illicit Temptation
Astoria Royals Standalone, Book 3rd
By: Deborah Garland
Narrated: Michelle Sparks, Joe Arden
Deborah Garland never ceases to amaze with me with her brilliant and creative mind, bringing me into her stories, taking me into the incredible world she creates right alongside her amazing characters. There is never a dull moment in her books and once I start, nothing else around me matters except what is going to happen next in the book, escapism at its best. This third standalone of the “Astoria Royals” series is the mafia princess of the O’Rourke empire Shea-Lynne O’Rourke’s and her bodyguard Trace Quinlan’s story and I loved every moment of their journey and catching up with the O’Rourke family and being introduced to the Quinlan family. The O’Rourke’s let Shea do her own thing and was not involved in any of the family’s businesses, but they never left her unprotected. After some drama with her former guard, they assigned Trace to cover her, knowing they could trust him to keep her protected. Trace wanted to do more than protect her, he wanted her and not just in his bed, which would be a big no-no in their mafia world, where marriages are mergers and business deals, though her family left her alone so far. Shea’s boyfriend gives excuses why he hasn’t divorced his ex-wife yet, but she remains independent and continues to focus on her career and growing business. A drunken night in Vegas was what it took for Shea to let her guard down and let Trace have her, except she doesn’t remember what happened and Trace had to leave on family business, and reappears three years, wanting Shea more than ever. Feisty Shea gives him a run for his money and it was great to watch the chase. I loved all the layers to this story and how it all played out, with non-stop drama, angst, twists and turns, thrilling and suspenseful moment, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. I can not get enough of these O’Rourke’s and am looking forward to what comes next for them, the Quinlan's and the incredible mafia world. Deborah Garland, thank you for another amazing story and wild ride.
🎧📚🎧 Michelle Sparks and Joe Arden were amazing at voicing the characters and performing an accurate portrayal of each. I loved how they owned their roles, sounding believable and just as I imagined the characters to sound, accents and all. Arden’s Irish is a treat to the ears and so was his take on Trace’s role, showcasing all sides of his personality and demeanor perfectly, from his possessive alpha, touch her and die, to his caring and loving side with Shea. Sparks was just as fabulous in Shea’s role, also showcasing her personality perfectly, from her insecurities to her strength and determination, also nailing her feisty wit. Both were fantastic performing the roles of the secondary characters too. Their tone and pacing were just right for the story and they captured all the characters’ emotions, having you feel them all. These versatile voice artists are passionate and entertaining storytellers who keep you glued to the story from start to end.
December 2, 2024
Book Review: ILLICIT TEMPTATION by Deborah Garland
I can’t believe that this series has come to an end!!! I’m so sad it is over but I’m so glad Deborah is not leaving us cold turkey she’s about to come out with a spin off series featuring the Quinlan’s! This is an addiction her Irish Mafia books are my favorite! And the tropes had me… Brothers best friend, reverse age gap, it’s always been you, forbidden love bodyguard/client, secret marriage, touch her and 💀🤗
Deborah is a master at writing romance suspense! It has the gambit of emotions- playful banter, trauma, action packed, spicy, swoony, just all the boxes checked!
This final book is the Princess of this family Shea. She has all the brothers protecting her and she tries to make her own path and boy does she! She’s a hard working, taking names, and not taking any crap woman. Even though internally she struggles with herself and wars with her emotions it was so relatable.
I felt for her in the beginning she gave up her life waiting on a man who wasn’t coming. And once she put her foot down he realized what he messed up with but turns out he was a bad guy and next level crazy. Trace excuse me while I melt to the floor! He is a Quinlan and the best friend to her brother. The soon to be enforcer for his family has always had a secret crush on Shea and a drunk night in Vegas leaves them married!
There is so much chemistry between these two you’ll be fanning your face! But after their marriage night he gets called to an undercover assignment he is gone for three years! And when he gets back he is full throttle on winning his wife and keeping her. This book was so good I loved every moment of it! Trace is so possessive, loves fiercely, is so caring, tuned into her it was just a great book! I also loved how independent she was she didn’t need a man she wanted one and he didn’t try to make her feel less than.
I do hope her brother will get a redemption story I hope so.
Favorite quote:
"Trace goes from cinnamon roll-sweet, making me breakfast on the weekends to five-alarm-fire hot wings pinning me down on my bedroom floor each night."
"I give her what she really needs. Danger. Risk. And the illicit temptation of getting caught."
“Be careful, princess. No one insults you in my presence. Especially you.”
🖤Irish Mafia Bodyguard
🖤Older FMC (Shea's Story)
🖤Forced Proximity
🖤He's EVERYWHERE
🖤"Fuck it"
🖤Ex-Military/Scarred Hero
🖤He Kidnaps Her
🖤No 3rd Act Break Up
🖤Preview of Quinlan Empire
I can’t believe that this series has come to an end!!! I’m so sad it is over but I’m so glad Deborah is not leaving us cold turkey she’s about to come out with a spin off series featuring the Quinlan’s! This is an addiction her Irish Mafia books are my favorite! And the tropes had me… Brothers best friend, reverse age gap, it’s always been you, forbidden love bodyguard/client, secret marriage, touch her and 💀🤗
Deborah is a master at writing romance suspense! It has the gambit of emotions- playful banter, trauma, action packed, spicy, swoony, just all the boxes checked!
This final book is the Princess of this family Shea. She has all the brothers protecting her and she tries to make her own path and boy does she! She’s a hard working, taking names, and not taking any crap woman. Even though internally she struggles with herself and wars with her emotions it was so relatable.
I felt for her in the beginning she gave up her life waiting on a man who wasn’t coming. And once she put her foot down he realized what he messed up with but turns out he was a bad guy and next level crazy. Trace excuse me while I melt to the floor! He is a Quinlan and the best friend to her brother. The soon to be enforcer for his family has always had a secret crush on Shea and a drunk night in Vegas leaves them married!
There is so much chemistry between these two you’ll be fanning your face! But after their marriage night he gets called to an undercover assignment he is gone for three years! And when he gets back he is full throttle on winning his wife and keeping her. This book was so good I loved every moment of it! Trace is so possessive, loves fiercely, is so caring, tuned into her it was just a great book! I also loved how independent she was she didn’t need a man she wanted one and he didn’t try to make her feel less than.
I do hope her brother will get a redemption story I hope so.
Favorite quote:
"Trace goes from cinnamon roll-sweet, making me breakfast on the weekends to five-alarm-fire hot wings pinning me down on my bedroom floor each night."
"I give her what she really needs. Danger. Risk. And the illicit temptation of getting caught."
“Be careful, princess. No one insults you in my presence. Especially you.”
🖤Irish Mafia Bodyguard
🖤Older FMC (Shea's Story)
🖤Forced Proximity
🖤He's EVERYWHERE
🖤"Fuck it"
🖤Ex-Military/Scarred Hero
🖤He Kidnaps Her
🖤No 3rd Act Break Up
🖤Preview of Quinlan Empire
November 18, 2024
This is book #3 in the Astoria Royals series, and is a standalone, but am wondering if they should be read in sequence. I did enjoy this book, but given their are so many important side characters, and very big Irish Families to wrap your head around, I found myself needing to re read some parts in the beginning, or go back, to figure out who is who. Don't get me wrong, I loved this book, I just felt I would have given this 5stars instead of 4 if I had a handle on all the characters from the beginning.
**please be aware of some fairly heavy triggers, and there was a few that caught me unawares that I have experience with, so please protect your heart** That is not to say, that this would have stopped me from reading, as I always read those triggers as I find healing amongst the words.
I love the reverse age gap on this, with Shea-Lynne (Shea) being the only sister of 7 Irish brothers, and Trace, who has loved her since he met her as a teenager. They meet at a family wedding (a wedding that Shea has organised as she is a well respected party planner)in Las Vegas and next morning, Shea wakes to find herself, not only lying beside Trace naked, but married to him. Shea has no memory of this, but needs to escape, before her brothers find out. Also, there is a small matter of her own boyfriend.
Trace is not able to see her again for 3 years, as he is dragged into his own criminal life which means he has no contact with anyone, and no way of anyone contacting him. Of course, when this contract is over, he makes himself available to be Shea's bodyguard, as he wants to claim "his wife" (when he says that........panties burst into flames). Shea is none too pleased with that arrangement, she wants a divorce, as she has no memory of that night. At the same time, she is waiting for her boyfriend to get his own divorce (as he is married). Shea is also struggling with some personal news of her own, and Trace is trying his own tactics to get "his wife knocked up" so he can approach the patriarch of the O'Rourke Family and do the right thing by Shea.
There is ALOT in this book and darkness to be found in every corner. Shea may be the only sister in The O'Rourke Family, and she is fiercely protected, but that does not mean she is weak. And, there is a man from Trace's past that wants her for himself. It also previews what we can expect from the Quinlan Series which will be next. I do love mafia and I am so pleased to have found Deborah.
**please be aware of some fairly heavy triggers, and there was a few that caught me unawares that I have experience with, so please protect your heart** That is not to say, that this would have stopped me from reading, as I always read those triggers as I find healing amongst the words.
I love the reverse age gap on this, with Shea-Lynne (Shea) being the only sister of 7 Irish brothers, and Trace, who has loved her since he met her as a teenager. They meet at a family wedding (a wedding that Shea has organised as she is a well respected party planner)in Las Vegas and next morning, Shea wakes to find herself, not only lying beside Trace naked, but married to him. Shea has no memory of this, but needs to escape, before her brothers find out. Also, there is a small matter of her own boyfriend.
Trace is not able to see her again for 3 years, as he is dragged into his own criminal life which means he has no contact with anyone, and no way of anyone contacting him. Of course, when this contract is over, he makes himself available to be Shea's bodyguard, as he wants to claim "his wife" (when he says that........panties burst into flames). Shea is none too pleased with that arrangement, she wants a divorce, as she has no memory of that night. At the same time, she is waiting for her boyfriend to get his own divorce (as he is married). Shea is also struggling with some personal news of her own, and Trace is trying his own tactics to get "his wife knocked up" so he can approach the patriarch of the O'Rourke Family and do the right thing by Shea.
There is ALOT in this book and darkness to be found in every corner. Shea may be the only sister in The O'Rourke Family, and she is fiercely protected, but that does not mean she is weak. And, there is a man from Trace's past that wants her for himself. It also previews what we can expect from the Quinlan Series which will be next. I do love mafia and I am so pleased to have found Deborah.
May 12, 2025
I have never read a more milquetoast hero in a mafia romance in my life. He was all about let’s hurry up and wait. He never took their situation into his own hands or made a stand or anything. It was so frustrating.
Trace has wanted Shea since he was 12 and she was 16. When they both end up in Vegas together, they end up getting drunk and getting married. Trace wants to keep her and he has to go up against Shea’s family and Shea herself to get what he wants.
First, HUGE time jump that was totally ridiculous. They get married and then they don’t see each other for THREE YEARS! And then they see each other and they’re apart again for 6 months! Like what are we doing?!?! The reason for their separation was ridiculous. The hero chooses his job over Shea and then disappears while staying faithful.
Second, the heroine knows that this random guy she’s been dating for 8 years (I think it was) is cheating on her and she’s angry but then she marries and has sex with Trace (all of which she doesn’t remember) and decides they’re even! She proceeds to then date and sleep with that damn Chester for the 3 years that Trace is gone. I mean I get it, even though they were married he disappeared without a word to her for 3 years and she always thought their marriage was a mistake so there wasn’t an expectation of faithfulness to her. But have some self respect! He cheated on you girl! Get out of there. Find another man if you needed to be with someone. And it wasn’t even a sex thing; she was still thinking about marrying him AND HE WAS MARRIED!! You can’t even really say he cheated on her because he went back to the wife HE WAS STILL MARRIED TO!!!
Third, Shea doesn’t remember their Vegas wedding or the sex that they had afterward which apparently lasted all night. How was she conscious? Trace didn’t drug her. She just gets so wasted that she can’t remember what I assume is at least a 6 hour time period! And he didn’t notice that she was that drunk?!?!
And lastly, Trace never did a damn thing! Shea says she doesn’t want to stay married, he just says okay even though he does. Trace thinks her brothers won’t approve of them being together. Rather than saying too damn bad, he hides their relationship. He is told all of this info about Shea’s situation by her brothers and he should tell her but he stays quiet. He was honestly my least favorite type of hero.
All in all, this was interesting but I would recommend it.
Trace has wanted Shea since he was 12 and she was 16. When they both end up in Vegas together, they end up getting drunk and getting married. Trace wants to keep her and he has to go up against Shea’s family and Shea herself to get what he wants.
First, HUGE time jump that was totally ridiculous. They get married and then they don’t see each other for THREE YEARS! And then they see each other and they’re apart again for 6 months! Like what are we doing?!?! The reason for their separation was ridiculous. The hero chooses his job over Shea and then disappears while staying faithful.
Second, the heroine knows that this random guy she’s been dating for 8 years (I think it was) is cheating on her and she’s angry but then she marries and has sex with Trace (all of which she doesn’t remember) and decides they’re even! She proceeds to then date and sleep with that damn Chester for the 3 years that Trace is gone. I mean I get it, even though they were married he disappeared without a word to her for 3 years and she always thought their marriage was a mistake so there wasn’t an expectation of faithfulness to her. But have some self respect! He cheated on you girl! Get out of there. Find another man if you needed to be with someone. And it wasn’t even a sex thing; she was still thinking about marrying him AND HE WAS MARRIED!! You can’t even really say he cheated on her because he went back to the wife HE WAS STILL MARRIED TO!!!
Third, Shea doesn’t remember their Vegas wedding or the sex that they had afterward which apparently lasted all night. How was she conscious? Trace didn’t drug her. She just gets so wasted that she can’t remember what I assume is at least a 6 hour time period! And he didn’t notice that she was that drunk?!?!
And lastly, Trace never did a damn thing! Shea says she doesn’t want to stay married, he just says okay even though he does. Trace thinks her brothers won’t approve of them being together. Rather than saying too damn bad, he hides their relationship. He is told all of this info about Shea’s situation by her brothers and he should tell her but he stays quiet. He was honestly my least favorite type of hero.
All in all, this was interesting but I would recommend it.
November 22, 2024
When I had finished Shattered Veil, I knew Trace and Shea's story was going to be hot and spicy. Shea is in her 30's, is an unmarried event planner. In the mafia world, being a woman that age and independent, having your own money without depending on a man is unusual.
Shea has a secret that she is keeping from her brothers, well two. She being the only sister of her siblings; she understands and knows her brothers are protective and will do anything to keep her safe, and that's what they do. She is unable to have children, and she married her bodyguard/brother's best friend after a night in Vegas.
Shea fights her feelings towards her husband, Trace. She feels as if she needs to be with someone with children already, so it wouldn't be a disappointment when she is unable to conceive.
Trace has been in love with Shea since they were kids. The marriage means everything to him, and he'll go through hell and back to prove his love and loyalty to her. He is very protective of her.
When threats of arranged marriages, a pscho ex (Shea wasted 8 years on his married, cheating ass), and Trace's enemy from the military comes knocking at their door, Trace goes into full on touch her and 💀 mode.
Shea being the independent, strong, can't tell me what to do, fiesy mafia princess she is, will put herself in harms way and sacrifice all she is to keep the ones she loves safe. Trace being the man he is will not stand for his wife giving up on their marriage or placing herself in danger.
I loved Trace and Shea story. It had real issues that a man and woman could possibly go through. Faced with staying by the one you love, even if it means losing the opportunity of having children. The way Deborah wrote Trace and Shea's feelings towards each other, the obstacles they faced, especially Shea's fertility issue, can make you feel like you're there with them going through each emotion. My heart broke while reading the bonus epilougue but at the same time was filled with love when Trace tells Shea what he does for her.
I can't wait to read the Quinlan Empire series. I hope we get to see a glimpse of Trace and Shea and the whole family. I gave this read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and when we talk about spicy parts of the read, the sneaking around, the punishments, and definitely the giving in... 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Shea has a secret that she is keeping from her brothers, well two. She being the only sister of her siblings; she understands and knows her brothers are protective and will do anything to keep her safe, and that's what they do. She is unable to have children, and she married her bodyguard/brother's best friend after a night in Vegas.
Shea fights her feelings towards her husband, Trace. She feels as if she needs to be with someone with children already, so it wouldn't be a disappointment when she is unable to conceive.
Trace has been in love with Shea since they were kids. The marriage means everything to him, and he'll go through hell and back to prove his love and loyalty to her. He is very protective of her.
When threats of arranged marriages, a pscho ex (Shea wasted 8 years on his married, cheating ass), and Trace's enemy from the military comes knocking at their door, Trace goes into full on touch her and 💀 mode.
Shea being the independent, strong, can't tell me what to do, fiesy mafia princess she is, will put herself in harms way and sacrifice all she is to keep the ones she loves safe. Trace being the man he is will not stand for his wife giving up on their marriage or placing herself in danger.
I loved Trace and Shea story. It had real issues that a man and woman could possibly go through. Faced with staying by the one you love, even if it means losing the opportunity of having children. The way Deborah wrote Trace and Shea's feelings towards each other, the obstacles they faced, especially Shea's fertility issue, can make you feel like you're there with them going through each emotion. My heart broke while reading the bonus epilougue but at the same time was filled with love when Trace tells Shea what he does for her.
I can't wait to read the Quinlan Empire series. I hope we get to see a glimpse of Trace and Shea and the whole family. I gave this read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and when we talk about spicy parts of the read, the sneaking around, the punishments, and definitely the giving in... 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2025
I really want to support small authors, but this was awful. There were so many grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors that it was a hard read. Wasn’t there an editor for this? Some sentences were so long and had so many commas, I had to read them multiple times to understand what was being said. The author also did this odd thing where she spelled Jesus as Jaysus (probably to emphasise that the characters were Irish), but every other word was spelled normally.
The plot was difficult to understand and seemed extremely hasty. The climax wasn’t well thought out, and the resolutions to the many plot twists were either not shown because it didn’t involve the main characters (it should have) or it happened too abruptly. If all problems could be solved so easily, what was the point of making it a problem at all?
Many aspects of the relationship between the two main characters remained unexplored. For example, how did they get over the fact that Shea and Trace got married while Shea and was drunk and ?sleepwalking. We don’t even really know what happened because we were told so little of that night, despite the fact that it was clearly the most definitive night of their relationship.
Other things were just skimmed over too. Trace swapping Shea’s birth control for fertility pills without her knowledge? Not okay, and certainly not something anyone as headstrong as Shea was described to be would forgive with just a simple apology.
Then there was the whole infertility issue. Trace says he doesn’t want kids at first, then suddenly craves becoming a father when he sees Shea carrying her baby nieces and nephews, then decides he doesn’t want to be one again. Shea, despite being infertile, wants kids. What happens then? No one knows, because there was no conclusion in the book. They didn’t come to a compromise, even though Shea’s infertility was discussed so many times.
Other things too: how did Shea and Trace meet, and why did Trace say he’d been in love with her since then?
Overall, I didn’t enjoy the book. Important bits were too rushed or not mentioned at all, and unimportant ones were unnecessarily described in length. Pity, because I really liked the snippet I saw on Instagram.
The plot was difficult to understand and seemed extremely hasty. The climax wasn’t well thought out, and the resolutions to the many plot twists were either not shown because it didn’t involve the main characters (it should have) or it happened too abruptly. If all problems could be solved so easily, what was the point of making it a problem at all?
Many aspects of the relationship between the two main characters remained unexplored. For example, how did they get over the fact that Shea and Trace got married while Shea and was drunk and ?sleepwalking. We don’t even really know what happened because we were told so little of that night, despite the fact that it was clearly the most definitive night of their relationship.
Other things were just skimmed over too. Trace swapping Shea’s birth control for fertility pills without her knowledge? Not okay, and certainly not something anyone as headstrong as Shea was described to be would forgive with just a simple apology.
Then there was the whole infertility issue. Trace says he doesn’t want kids at first, then suddenly craves becoming a father when he sees Shea carrying her baby nieces and nephews, then decides he doesn’t want to be one again. Shea, despite being infertile, wants kids. What happens then? No one knows, because there was no conclusion in the book. They didn’t come to a compromise, even though Shea’s infertility was discussed so many times.
Other things too: how did Shea and Trace meet, and why did Trace say he’d been in love with her since then?
Overall, I didn’t enjoy the book. Important bits were too rushed or not mentioned at all, and unimportant ones were unnecessarily described in length. Pity, because I really liked the snippet I saw on Instagram.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2024
Illicit Temptation is a sizzling hot new Irish mafia story about Shea O’Rourke, an events coordinator and baby sister of the Astoria, NY O’Rourke family, and Trace Quinlan, a bodyguard for a private security firm in Dublin, Ireland, cousin of the Quinlan Irish mafia family of Dublin, and best friend of Cormac O’Rourke. All three are in Las Vegas for the weekend. Trace and Shea hadn’t seen each other in 18 years, and Trace was just as enamored with Shea as he was when he was 12 years old. Shea and Trace got drunk, got reacquainted, got secretly drunk married, and then hid it. Trace got called back to Dublin for an emergency, subsequently had to go undercover for 3 months, but it ended up taking 3 years. Fast forward to their reunion. Shea was still just as feisty and Trace was still just as possessive, especially since he was hired to be her new bodyguard. She wanted a divorce, and he planned to never let her go.
This was an excellent book. It was so good that I read long into the night. There were lots of twists and turns in the story to keep readers on their toes guessing what would happen next. The book was fast-paced, intense, had dynamic characters, plenty of suspense, and lots of SPICE! There were a lot of supporting characters, but then again these were Irish mafia families, so they had a lot of kids. My favorite supporting character was Cormac. Surgeon by day, mobster by appointment. He could be funny and brought some lightness to heavy scenes. Archer was my least favorite character. He was objectionable in every way, and his demise was fitting. I liked that this story featured an older woman/younger man, which Is not the usual for mafia stories. Although the story could be brutal at times, it was all in context with the story line. I enjoyed the witty and snarky banter between all of the characters. If you are looking for a well-written, dark, age-gap, mafia romance full of spicy scenes, family drama, and interesting characters, I would recommend this book for you.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was an excellent book. It was so good that I read long into the night. There were lots of twists and turns in the story to keep readers on their toes guessing what would happen next. The book was fast-paced, intense, had dynamic characters, plenty of suspense, and lots of SPICE! There were a lot of supporting characters, but then again these were Irish mafia families, so they had a lot of kids. My favorite supporting character was Cormac. Surgeon by day, mobster by appointment. He could be funny and brought some lightness to heavy scenes. Archer was my least favorite character. He was objectionable in every way, and his demise was fitting. I liked that this story featured an older woman/younger man, which Is not the usual for mafia stories. Although the story could be brutal at times, it was all in context with the story line. I enjoyed the witty and snarky banter between all of the characters. If you are looking for a well-written, dark, age-gap, mafia romance full of spicy scenes, family drama, and interesting characters, I would recommend this book for you.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 25, 2024
Format: 📱 eBook 📱(ARC)
Check TWs before reading
I am honestly nuts about Garland's mafia world, and was so excited when I heard that Shae's story was coming. She's been a character that's really interested me since I first met her in Savage King (my first Garland story), and I'm so glad she got the happy ending she deserved, even if it was a journey fraught with pain and heartbreak, but ultimately, filled with love.
I love that Shae's story takes place not only over a few years, and that she's an older character. We first meet her at 34 years old, which makes her story more impactful - especially with one heavy element of her life, which had me tearing up at times because I can relate. Not to her extent, but I love being able to see parts of myself to help connect me to fictional characters.
Trace. This man. JFC, he had me swooning and sighing, squirming and begging Shae in my mind to just let him in. With a darker past of his own, I loved getting to read about the crush he had as a younger boy on our feisty FMC, and how it grew with age. This is a love story for the ages - no matter how much Shae tries to deny it.
Whilst this was a spicy and romantic story, I thoroughly enjoyed the dark mafia storyline interwoven throughout the pages, as well as all the sneaky subplots - especially the links back to the previous O'Rourke siblings, and hints of the upcoming Quinlan family.
This book is filled with twists and turns, heat and spice, romance and truly laugh out loud moments, all wrapped up in an Irish mafia bow. There's suspense, moments where you wonder if everything is going to be okay and if a happy ending is plausible, and then such a sweet yet drama filled finale. Throw in the bonus epilogue, and Garland has truly handed us everything.
I absolutely cannot wait for this series to make it to audiobook next year - and you can bet I'm going to beg the author for ALCs - and I'm so excited for the beginning of the Quinlan Empire.
Thank you to the author and @theauthor.agency for the eARC opportunity. These are my honest thoughts that I have provided voluntarily.
Check TWs before reading
I am honestly nuts about Garland's mafia world, and was so excited when I heard that Shae's story was coming. She's been a character that's really interested me since I first met her in Savage King (my first Garland story), and I'm so glad she got the happy ending she deserved, even if it was a journey fraught with pain and heartbreak, but ultimately, filled with love.
I love that Shae's story takes place not only over a few years, and that she's an older character. We first meet her at 34 years old, which makes her story more impactful - especially with one heavy element of her life, which had me tearing up at times because I can relate. Not to her extent, but I love being able to see parts of myself to help connect me to fictional characters.
Trace. This man. JFC, he had me swooning and sighing, squirming and begging Shae in my mind to just let him in. With a darker past of his own, I loved getting to read about the crush he had as a younger boy on our feisty FMC, and how it grew with age. This is a love story for the ages - no matter how much Shae tries to deny it.
Whilst this was a spicy and romantic story, I thoroughly enjoyed the dark mafia storyline interwoven throughout the pages, as well as all the sneaky subplots - especially the links back to the previous O'Rourke siblings, and hints of the upcoming Quinlan family.
This book is filled with twists and turns, heat and spice, romance and truly laugh out loud moments, all wrapped up in an Irish mafia bow. There's suspense, moments where you wonder if everything is going to be okay and if a happy ending is plausible, and then such a sweet yet drama filled finale. Throw in the bonus epilogue, and Garland has truly handed us everything.
I absolutely cannot wait for this series to make it to audiobook next year - and you can bet I'm going to beg the author for ALCs - and I'm so excited for the beginning of the Quinlan Empire.
Thank you to the author and @theauthor.agency for the eARC opportunity. These are my honest thoughts that I have provided voluntarily.
November 19, 2024
💛 𝙸𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚝 𝚃𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 💛
𝚋𝚢 @deborahgarlandauthor
🄰🅁🄲 🅁🄴🅅🄸🄴🅆
4.5/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️
↓↓
I knew I would love Shea so much. Her story was everything that I had hoped it would be.
Both Trace and Shea have had feelings for each other for as long as they can remember, but for one reason or another they have never expressed those feelings. Weeeeeeelllllll one thing led to another, she gets hammered in Vegas and wakes up with a new husband.. flash forward to years later and they are still married, Trace consistently popping up, still married and Trace refuses to let her go.
This was filled with so much! Twist, turns and so much more. I loved everything about this book honestly. They had insane chemistry when together, I love a possessive man and Trace delivered on that, they truly were end game. Shea is such a strong willed FMC and so absolutely fierce, but I mean being the only girl of 8 siblings in the O'Rourke family, I feel like she had to be.
One thing to mention is there is always A LOT of characters so if you have not read quite a bit of her books with The O'Rourkes then you can definitely get lost with the amount of names thrown out there. I feel like to truly enjoy it, definitely check out all the other books before diving into this, but I loved it all the same.
I'm so excited that we get a new series with the Quinlan empire.
𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤 / 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝔼𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥
💛Irish Mafia Bodyguard
💛Older FMC (Shea's Story)
💛Forced Proximity
💛He's EVERYWHERE
💛"Fuck it"
💛Ex-Military/Scarred Hero
💛He Kidnaps Her
💛No 3rd Act Break Up
💛Preview of Quinlan Empire
💛Narrator Reveal on Release Day
#deborahgarland #astoriaroyals #mafiaseries #darkromance #forcedproximity #bodyguard #mafiaromance @theauthor.agency #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookworm #romance #kindleunlimited #reelsinstagram #reels
𝚋𝚢 @deborahgarlandauthor
🄰🅁🄲 🅁🄴🅅🄸🄴🅆
4.5/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️
↓↓
I knew I would love Shea so much. Her story was everything that I had hoped it would be.
Both Trace and Shea have had feelings for each other for as long as they can remember, but for one reason or another they have never expressed those feelings. Weeeeeeelllllll one thing led to another, she gets hammered in Vegas and wakes up with a new husband.. flash forward to years later and they are still married, Trace consistently popping up, still married and Trace refuses to let her go.
This was filled with so much! Twist, turns and so much more. I loved everything about this book honestly. They had insane chemistry when together, I love a possessive man and Trace delivered on that, they truly were end game. Shea is such a strong willed FMC and so absolutely fierce, but I mean being the only girl of 8 siblings in the O'Rourke family, I feel like she had to be.
One thing to mention is there is always A LOT of characters so if you have not read quite a bit of her books with The O'Rourkes then you can definitely get lost with the amount of names thrown out there. I feel like to truly enjoy it, definitely check out all the other books before diving into this, but I loved it all the same.
I'm so excited that we get a new series with the Quinlan empire.
𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤 / 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝔼𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥
💛Irish Mafia Bodyguard
💛Older FMC (Shea's Story)
💛Forced Proximity
💛He's EVERYWHERE
💛"Fuck it"
💛Ex-Military/Scarred Hero
💛He Kidnaps Her
💛No 3rd Act Break Up
💛Preview of Quinlan Empire
💛Narrator Reveal on Release Day
#deborahgarland #astoriaroyals #mafiaseries #darkromance #forcedproximity #bodyguard #mafiaromance @theauthor.agency #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookworm #romance #kindleunlimited #reelsinstagram #reels
November 23, 2024
The last book in the Astoria Royals series of standalones and Illicit Temptation begins with an off page drunken Las Vegas wedding when Irish mob princess Shea Lynn O’Rourke wakes up to find herself married, the groom, bodyguard Trace Quinlan but before anyone can say annulment, his job takes him away for longer than he expected, until years later he turns up as an enforcer for her family and her new bodyguard with every intention of claiming his wife…...if her brothers don't kill him first.
You've got to love a hero who's a golden retriever hiding beneath the exterior of a Rottweiler but only when it comes to his wife, with everyone else it's violence first, questions later. Shea had been his first crush when he was barely in his teens and he fell in lust with the four-year older Shea, not that she noticed him until they met again in a Vegas hotel lobby, and his physique definitely caught her attention then. But despite some sizzling chemistry, things didn't start to heat up between them until three years later when he was guarding her body in more ways than one with all the added spice and sneaking around a forbidden and secret romance entails. I loved that Shea was a more mature heroine, in her late thirties with certain time sensitive health issues, and I appreciate that this author didn't take the easy option when it came to these issues. I also enjoyed the family dynamics between Shea and her brothers, the love they had for each other was more than evident. With a strong underlying story centred around Shea and her future within the family and of course it wouldn't be a mafia romance if there wasn't any danger for the heroine, something Shea faced on two fronts. It also allowed for the introduction of more members of the Quinlan family before the release of the upcoming Quinlan Empire series and I can't wait for more crazy Irishmen.
You've got to love a hero who's a golden retriever hiding beneath the exterior of a Rottweiler but only when it comes to his wife, with everyone else it's violence first, questions later. Shea had been his first crush when he was barely in his teens and he fell in lust with the four-year older Shea, not that she noticed him until they met again in a Vegas hotel lobby, and his physique definitely caught her attention then. But despite some sizzling chemistry, things didn't start to heat up between them until three years later when he was guarding her body in more ways than one with all the added spice and sneaking around a forbidden and secret romance entails. I loved that Shea was a more mature heroine, in her late thirties with certain time sensitive health issues, and I appreciate that this author didn't take the easy option when it came to these issues. I also enjoyed the family dynamics between Shea and her brothers, the love they had for each other was more than evident. With a strong underlying story centred around Shea and her future within the family and of course it wouldn't be a mafia romance if there wasn't any danger for the heroine, something Shea faced on two fronts. It also allowed for the introduction of more members of the Quinlan family before the release of the upcoming Quinlan Empire series and I can't wait for more crazy Irishmen.
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