"Natalie Kane's Sinful King delivers a twisted, scorching-hot tale of love, obsession and feral devotion. It is dark and delicious, and features two distinctly likeable MMCs. What a way to start a series!" -- New York Times bestselling author L.J. Shen
"Their love is one for the ages and the spice... omg the spice is next level hot. There is banter, angst, and all the feels your heart desires. Brace yourself for one heck of an OTT protective and possessive MMC. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!" -- USA Today bestselling author Michelle Heard
"When I say I devoured this book, I mean I became just as obsessed as the morally gray Mafia man did, which we know is saying something!" -- Bestselling author Neva Altaj
From NATALIE KANE, comes an all-new world with Sinful King, an age-gap, obsessed-hero, Mafia romance!
Eloise
I ran away from one organized crime household and found myself tripping right into another one. My father, the head of the Italian Mafia, is a bad man. He wants to marry me off to some creep I don’t know, but rather than succumb to that nightmare, I fled to Vegas, hoping to find a job and blend in. In the first week, I’ve been stolen from and beat up, and I have no money to my name, but I find a job as a bartender at RAPTURE, an upscale—okay, super bougie—adult club just off the Strip. I can’t believe my luck. I love this job, and I’m intrigued by the mysterious tattooed man with ice-blue eyes who always seems to be pinned to me. Things are looking up.
Until my father’s men find me.
Rome
I’m a ruthless, hard, dangerous man who takes care of his men and employees, and I run the city of Vegas with my brothers. That’s all I need. Until a gorgeous, raven-haired beauty comes walking into my club and sets my soul on fire.
I’m obsessed with her. Consumed by her. I need her in a way that I’ve never needed anyone or anything before, aside from the power and control that I’ve worked so hard for. She doesn’t know it, but I own the club that employs her, and I follow her back to the seedy motel she’s living in after her shift to make sure she’s safe. She’s mine.
Suddenly, someone is out to hurt my Firefly, and that means that they’ll meet a painful, bloody end. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. To keep her with me.
Forever.
"Sinful King was top tier and I could not put it down. Rome is an obsessed Mafia man who will do anything for the woman he loves. The way he cares for her through her trauma stole my heart." -- Eva Simmons
"There's nothing like a hardened, ruthless king who only shows his softer side for her. The way Rome was obsessed with Eloise had me hooked, but the way he cared for her through her trauma and showed up for her every time she needed him made me fall in love. The Kings of Mafia are my newest Mafia romance addiction!" -- USA Today bestselling author of Wolf.e, Paisley Hope
Natalie Kane is the dark romance pseudonym for Kristen Proby. After publishing more than 85 titles, the majority of which are contemporary romance, Kristen wanted to dive deeper into the morally gray side of things and is enjoying her foray into mafia romance. This is where the swoon of Kristen Proby meets the obsession of dark romance. Kristen Proby after dark, if you will.
Kristen Proby is the New York Times, USA Today, WSJ, and Amazon top 3 bestselling author of more than 85 titles. When not under deadline, Kristen enjoys spending time with her husband and their fur babies, riding her bike, reading in her library, trying her hand at painting, and, of course, enjoying her beautiful home in the mountains of Montana.
So this is the book LJ Shen & Michelle Heard keep recommending…
✅Age gap - 20 years ✅ shibari kink ✅ instant love/lust ✅damsel in distress ✅manwh0re/barely no experience heroine 🙄 ✅curvy heroine 🥰 ✅intense OTT MMC ✅touch her and ☠️ Small OW drama 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 🌋
Honestly, this book has a lot of good elements that I really enjoy in mafia romance (damaged damsel in distress, strong curvy heroine, morally gray hero, 🩸 🩸 …). The writing style was good. It’s quite dark (if torture is not your thing, look away) I absolutely loved Eloise strong and sassy personality.
My main issue was with our MMC - s3x club owner, to be honest the whole book is set at the club - used to enjoy the occasional 3some, but doesn’t like being touched (not sure how it worked there) 🙄 - Used to f*** his employees (but he stopped now tyvm) - Got jealous of the only guy Eloise was with before but it’s rubbed in our faces how many women he had in the past 🙄🙄 - The age gap was too important for my liking but I found out quite late in the book -Spanked her when she told him she didn’t want to because she has been beaten enough in her past (but of course she liked it….)
Why, just why writers have to make the MMC a total manwh0re?? His past his rubbed in our face constantly, especially during sexy times!! Quote “I have done it with a lot of women before….” I don’t know if it’s supposed to underline how different Eloise is but it just doesn’t work… Dude you have sample the entire women population, so hard to believe she is THAT different!!
Despite he doesn’t like being touched he carried one of his employee, butt naked, off a scene that went wrong (yeah yeah I know it’s explained it’s s not s3xual, and Eloise agreed to it bla bla bla… but I don’t care !!!)he even kissed said employee of the forehead!
I am not touching Julian’ s book (has a scene with OW at the club, was married before and is pinning for his son’s fiancé )and Carson’s (dead lover trope), which is a shame because I love a good psycho!
So yes the book was enjoyable tbh. It’s a good mix of LJ Shen, Michelle Heard (obsessed at first sight vibe), Sadie Kincaid (past manwh0re) style.
Well, this was quite the way to jump start Kristen Proby "after dark" as this new pen name is being touted as. Which I can get behind for sure! While this felt a bit uneven in tone at times, I am intrigued to see where she goes with these characters. I kind of felt like I was reading a book that would be found on the shelves of Billie's bookstore back in Montana, or like maybe her and Connor would take a vacation to Vegas and visit Rome's club sometime... but maybe that's just me.
Anyway, on to the review...
We dived right into a desperate situation for Eloise, when her father, who is in the Italian Mafia, is about to marry her off to a "bad man". She has been expecting this and has secretly been preparing to make a run for it. Knowing she'd never be allowed to get a real job she's been using her opportunity to go to school to learn skills she could turn into a career on the run. Meaning she's ready to apply for a job as a bartender? At a sex club. In Vegas. Okay.... Let's go!
Rome is the owner of said club, and is immediately hot for "Lulu" and when he overhears his club manager saying Eloise is too fat to bartend at his club, he nearly has a conniption. Good man! She gets hired on and the man who never lets anyone touch him, is ready to marry her in about 3 days.
Of course there's more to it. There's pressure from her father and the man she was promised to trying to find her. There's Rome's buddies being suspicious about her connection to the Mafia. Jealous bitches at the club, and plenty of BDSM goodness to keep us happy. But the pacing I describe is not far off. This book moved QUICK! There was not much time to breathe.
But I had a good time and I think it was a good start to the series. If you are new to Dark Romance and are following Kristen Proby from her other series, I don't think this will be too overwhelming, and that's probably most important. Though do mind the TWs, because it does have a few doozies spread through it.
Narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Avery Caris, and they were delightful.
4 Stars 3.5 on the Spice Scale
CW: parental abuse-from childhood through adulthood, loss of a parent (mentioned), BDSM elements, kidnapping, drugging, murder, and violence & torture on page.
*Thank you to Must Love Audio and the author for an ALC of this title.*
Sinful King is a mafia, age gap romance between a high end adult club owner and a daughter of a mob boss. This book was a little different than I thought it would be, but I enjoyed it 😁 Lulu has suffered abuse from her father all of her life and has continued to overcome it. When she thinks it can’t get any worse, her father arranges a marriage to another cruel man and she decides enough is enough. She runs to Vegas under a new identity and stumbles upon a club while looking for a job. There she meets Rome and he decides she is THE ONE and will murder anyone that gets in the way of their love ❤️
I was so in love with the way Rome worshipped Lulu. He saw her and was immediately like, well she’s mine now 😂 She has low self esteem because she is a curvy girl, but Rome thinks she is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen and makes her see the beauty in herself. It was so sweet! And he’d kill (and does kill) anyone that tries to harm her in any way. I loved that Lulu found a family that she needed between Rome and his men, and some of her coworkers at the club 🥰
The audiobook was duet narrated and was really good. The narrators fit their characters nicely! It was a spicy listen as well and had some scenes that were a little dark. So you might want to check out the trigger warnings before diving in, though it isn’t as bad as some other books I’ve listened to before.
Audio is in duet 5/5 🎧 Available with all of my subscriptions I’m pausing this… I’m a bit overwhelmed by everything, too insta lust, insta everything I don’t really feel the connection between the main couple… 😵💫will come back to it with a better mood
A few days ago I came back to finish this audio but some things still didn’t work for me… I wasn’t going to post anything about it, since I felt like I was quite negative in some of my recent reviews - but the more the story progressed the more I discovered things that bothered me (so this is for my benefit if I ever want to revisit a book - I will have all the info) … besides the details about MMC’s hook ups in his smex club and having 🌳somes (although not liking to be touched!?🤔) and FMC having one experience 😵💫 there were these constant emphasis on some stereotypes and reminders that the FMC was plus sized and the fact that everyone was reassuring her about her beauty regardless of her size!?- had the opposite effect- it didn’t feel empowering but self aware and doubtful… in contrast some OW (Scarlet, I believe) from the club (with whom FMC became friends and MMC also carried naked 😵💫🫣) is described as a toned gorgeous blonde petite with larger breasts and she “caters more to those with dadsy kink!?” but is bisexual and per her words doesn’t discriminate when it comes to sex (we are made aware that she quite likes Luke, sleeps with him only to have a rough sex scene a day after, with a different man😣) - 😵💫 The focus on certain aspects made me too anxious… bisexuality doesn’t = promiscuity, too much emphasis on body aspects and size will not always translate into a positive message… The plot was condensed and rushed… BTW this also bothered me, the first time MCs do it, is bare, without any discussions about safety or STD only after it is done😳 Can we not!?🤦🏻♀️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
"I don’t deserve one minute with you, but I’m going to take them all." Rome is the definition of man obsessed, and saying I was here for it is a gross understatement. The number of times I wanted to be Eloise… Yeah, don’t ask.
"My hand balls into a fist on the desktop as a smile spreads over her perfect face, and even though I’ve never seen her before in my life, it’s as though every cell in my body recognizes her." Eloise—Lulu—is in trouble. The daughter of a Mafia boss, she’s on the run after finding out her father wants to marry her off. When she finds herself in Las Vegas, with very little money and nowhere to go, she walks into Rapture, Roman’s club. Serendipitous, maybe? Or fate. Whatever it is, the first time he sees her… He’s a goner.
"Where did you come from, my firefly? And why are you here in Vegas with so little when you deserve the world?" She’s aware this is a sex club, but she wants nothing to do with that. No stranger to mixing drinks, she gets a bartending job. And she gets a very hot, very intriguing client, who looks dangerous but more than a little appealing. She’s unaware he’s the boss and how much he studies her. How he sees the bruises she tries to hide. And how he wants to give her the world.
"If I’m not careful, she’ll bring me to my knees." Eloise is not one to let her guard down, but there’s something about Rome. Yes, he’s very morally gray, and she becomes aware of who he is and what he and the other Kings do, but, behind closed doors, the man is nothing if not swoony. He’s the person she wasn’t aware she was looking for but now may not be able to let go of.
"Christ, there’s nothing about you that I don’t want. That I don’t crave. I lose myself in you, Eloise, and I don’t ever lose myself in anything." I loved their dynamic. How he’s all in from the start and how it takes her a bit to catch up. To believe someone can be as crazy about her as he is. And, as a curvy girl myself, I could relate to so many of her thoughts!
"Forever. She’s staying for-fucking-ever. That’s what I mean when I say I’ll never let her leave." I’m a sucker for a possessive, protective hero. From the moment Rome realizes she’s been hurt, she's his to protect. He will go to extremes to do it. No one will touch her again. And, before you ask, yes, she’s just as possessive of him, and those “mine” moments had my heart beating faster.
And… If you’re wondering how hot they are? Oooh, get ready! It’s a mix of sexy, kinky—and with the right person, someone you trust, damn, it’s perfect!—and full of feeling.
"You’re the light that finally broke through the darkness of my black heart. You shine so bright, you made me feel human again. That’s why I call you my firefly. Because you flew right into my life and lit it up." The obsessive, morally gray man pulls you into the story. The “meant to be” makes sure you stay. But it’s their love and devotion, the need to be close, the way they find their home in each other that had me falling in love with this book.
Picked this audiobook up on a whim and SO GLAD I did. I devoured it! I was really in the mood for a mafia romance & this book was giving everything I needed it to give 👏🏼
- Dark Mafia Romance - Age Gap - Forced Proximity - He Falls First/Man Obsessed
Loved this darker romance by Kristen Proby writing as Natalie Kane. I do adore a insta love/ lust romance and one with a OTT OBSESSED mafia smoking show, yes please! And one that even owning a sex club never has eyes for anyone else but the main lady, swoon!!!!
I have loved everything I’ve read by Kristen Proby so when I saw her announcement of Natalie Kane as her “after dark” pen name I said hell yes, sign me up immediately. And as expected she did not disappoint, she actually exceeded my expectations. I am absolutely obsessed with Rome Alexander. There is just something about a “scary” morally gray man only being soft for his girl and boy oh boy is that true for this man.
The duet narration by Teddy Hamilton and Avery Caris was PHENOMENAL. I simply devoured Sinful King and left not a single crumb. So READ THIS! I already cannot wait for the next book!
I don't think I've ever read a mafia romance but I'm so glad I did! Talk about a man OBSESSED. Rome wanted Eloise from the moment he laid eyes on her. She was his no matter what. Eloise was running away from her dad, who is in the Italian mafia, when he was trying to marry her off. Rome was dedicated to protecting her no matter the cost. He's intense and broody and kinda scary but he was definitely soft for her.
I'm officially invested and can't wait to read more of this series!!!
🎧Audio🎧: This is a duet narration by Teddy Hamilton & Avery Caris and they totally rocked it! The tension, the chemistry, the action, the spice... all absolute perfection!!
What to expect: Dark Mafia Romance Age Gap No 3rd Act Break Up
First time we meet him, we learn he wasn't overseeing his club (that caters to sexual fantasies) because he was having sex. This will, no doubt, be right before he meets the heroine and, according to the blurb, becomes all about her. She, rolls eyes, is probably one hundred percent inexperienced.
Why? I'm tired of MMC having an enjoyable, and vast, sex life while the MFC has never done anything. It's ridiculous.
I had a fantastic time reading Sinful King. It was entertaining, sexy, and intriguing. It was an exciting read with dark undertones, and I really enjoyed being introduced to this harsh world. Rome was intense, and I loved how he was instantly all in and wanted Eloise. Great start to a new series!
I thought Eloise and Rome were great characters. I felt for Eloise and all that she’d endured. Rome was intense and brutal, but the need and love he had for Eloise was everything. I liked Eloise gaining strength and moving forward in her life with him and how they forged an unbreakable bond. They have an instant attraction and a fast-paced relationship, but it worked for them. There was a big age gap between them, but I honestly didn’t feel like it was an issue.
There were a lot of characters introduced, and I’m looking forward to the stories about the other Kings. They are all their own brand of intensity and intrigued me. I liked the bonds the men had and how they were there for one another.
This story moved at a quick pace, and the details were good. I got just what I needed to stay invested in the story. There was a lot of drama, some not for the faint of heart. I loved Eloise and Rome’s connection and all the spice. Bring on book two!
I love some OTT, possessive men, but this H was not my favorite (possible spoilers ahead) I found everything very unrealistic, OTT, and just way too sweet. Sweet and mafia don’t really go together. Idk there was something just “off” about this book.
I have read a few series that have this same plot. 4 or 5 men who are like brothers, who are now KINGS of their town. They usually always have a casino or penthouse where they all live. (This reminds me of The Ravaged Castle series, but this wasn’t as good)
I should state that I despise books where the heroine has major body issues. I get that it’s a reality (I have my own body issues) but I hate to escape into fiction land and read about it. This heroine has major body issues even though she described as having a nice, lush body with beautiful curves. 🤷♀️ The hero in this book is absolutely DEVOTED to this woman and her body.
h’s dad is the head of the mafia. He’s an abusive a-hole. He plans to marry h off to an even worse guy. h takes off and makes it to Vegas.
She ends up working at H’s smex club. There is this OW who is basically a manger at the smex club. Something like 10 years prior, OW and H were in a smexual relationship until he caught her with another man in the playroom. He ended that relationship. When h first interviewed with OW for the job, OW called her fat. H was watching on the cameras and reamed out OW for her attitude. Anyway, h was hired as a bartender.
Let’s just say it was INSTA/ everything! H was immediately in love with h. Within one week, she’s living with him. He’s already implanted a tracker IN her 🥴 (with her permission) and h already has feelings for him.
There is a 20 year age gap. 😱 and yes, that info was just thrown out there. You never suspect at all there’s an age gap until he just randomly says he’s 20 years older than her. She’s 23. So I guess he’s 43. That’s gap’ish by A LOT.
Supposedly, before H hooked up with h, his big kink was threesomes. After he met h, his POV was like “not anymore” 😜 sureeeee.
The smex starts early in this book (I did mention it’s all Insta between them) and H does have some kinks. He’s into ropes and spankings. Also, edging. And the one thing that takes me completely out of spice scenes in books- backdoor action and sticking things in the backdoor. I always cringe while also laughing at the “sexy” descriptions of jeweled dohickeys being inserted. Ummm no thanks. Different strokes for different folks. 🤷♀️ There’s talk about heroine entering subspace and what’s her safe word. 🙃
So….you still have the bitxy OW lingering in the background, saying nasty things, while you also have some type of snitch telling the bad guys everything *cough OW cough* OW eventually gets fired and loses her penthouse because H is not putting up with her dissing h. 🫰 (I’m totally sure this isn’t going to come back on him 🙄)
This h is all out on the town and told to spend at least 20k on purses and shoes. Lol okayyy. OW shows up and drugs her. OW takes h to her dad. Dad ☠️ OW because she’s was an annoying hag.
It doesn’t take long before the whole crew busted in and saved h. H ☠️ dad.
6 months later, H/h are already married and she finds out she’s pregnant. Naturally, H already knows because he’s tracking her cycles I really didn’t get the whole point of them being in the voyeur room. He didn’t enjoy it so why??
I thought the Insta everything was strange, the MCs interaction just seemed fake and too sweet, the giddy’ness of h annoyed me, the self esteem issues drove me up the wall, the smex was cringe, the kink was even worse, and the whole smex club bits were goofy. 🤷♀️
I guess if I’m being honest, if I wanted to play pretend therapist to fiction characters- I’d want to have some sessions with this 23 year old abuse victim (who watched her mother be brutally murdered by her dad) because I really felt like she needed therapy- not a sugar daddy. Sometimes her actions or POV sounded so childlike to me.
I am 11 days into 2026 and this is my second new to me author of the year. Natalie Kane is another new author that I will definitely be reading more books from! Looking forward to Jillian and Natasha in Blood King next which releases.
In Sinful King we meet Rome and Eloise.
Eloise is on the run from her father, who is a bad man, And the head of the Italian Mafia. On top of him being verbally and physically abusive to her, she has just found out that he has sold to her off to be married. So she did what she’s been planning for and ran.
Rome is also a dangerous man, but he takes care of those close to him and that includes his employees. Rome and his brothers run the city of Vegas. Vegas and my club Rapture are all that Rome thinks he needs. That is until he sees HER enter his club. When he sees her, he has no idea who she is, but claims her on the spot.
I loved how obsessed and protective Rome was of Eloise. Once he knew who she was and what all she had endured at her father’s hands. Rome knew her father was done for. I loved how their story ended and hope we see more from them in the next book.
Duet narration was performed by Avery Caris and Teddy Hamilton. As always, these two provided us with such a phenomenal performance of Rome and Eloise.
This story had me glued to the pages and my earphones from the start and I couldn’t listen fast enough. Amazing story and the side characters were all amazing too. I can’t wait to get Jillian and Natasha next.
ALC provided by Author Natalie Kane for an honest review.
Oh this was a bloody treat!! This is a dark, steamy mafia romance with Vegas vibes, obsession, danger, and that “I should stop listening but absolutely will not” energy. The story follows Eloise, who’s escaping a truly awful situation and basically rebuilding her life from scratch. She ends up working as a bartender in a Vegas club owned by Rome — rich, powerful, morally grey, and very much not the kind of man you casually flirt with and walk away from. Their chemistry is instant, intense, and just messy enough to keep things exciting. Rome is possessive, protective, and ruthless, while Eloise has this quiet strength that makes her really easy to root for. I loved watching her grow more confident while still staying true to herself. But honestly? The audiobook narration takes this story to another level. Avery does SUCH an amazing job as Eloise — her voice feels warm, emotional, and real, and she captures both the vulnerability and the sass perfectly. You really feel everything Eloise is going through. And then there’s Teddy as Rome, who absolutely understood the assignment. His voice is deep, controlled, and dangerous in that calm, deadly way that fits a mafia MMC so well. Every line he delivered felt intentional and intense, and yeah… I may have replayed a few scenes. The duet-style narration made the listening experience super immersive, especially during the emotional and spicy moments. Definitely sticking with this series this is a MUST Listen.
3.25⭐️ 3.5🌶️ teddy hamilton voicing the mmc? say less. i'm sat, headphones on, patiently awaiting his pov chapters hehehe
if you're not a fan of insta-love, keep far far away from this lol. now, because i wasn't expecting too much from this or taking it too seriously, i actually didn't mind it that much. BUT every time i was reminded that the MC's hadn't known each other for longer than it takes to do an "everything shower" and he was already prepared to burn the world for her... i had to take a second to remind myself that i really only picked this up for a fun smutty time, not an emotionally introspective time hahaha.
the actual plot was entertaining, but let's be honest; predictable as hell. i don't mean for that to sound like an entirely bad thing, because sometimes you just want/need a storyline with very little surprises. i think all in all, this did what it needed to do and gave what it needed to give. overall very satisfying conclusion to the conflict!
i've already started book 2 and i expect that the rest of this series will be a spicy, fast paced, and entertaining option for when i can feel a slump coming on and just need something that isn't supposed to be life changing.
I’ve been wanting to jump into this one after finding out that Kristen Proby has been writing dark romances under this penname. I was slightly disappointed with how insta it was and almost DNFed. As soon as he sees her he just knows that she is his, he nicknames her right away, has known her for all of 5 seconds and starts threatening to kill those around her. 😵💫😵💫 I’m glad I kept going though and ended up having a lot of fun with this one. The writing was so easy to read. It’s very direct and moves from scene to scene quickly without tons of inner monologue or telling verses showing. Major win!! There were a ton of fun scenes and both characters were very likable.
The H is very heavy handed—spend my money, takes her from her crappy place and moves her into his, don’t leave without your secretory detail, etc—and of times in these books we get the hs fighting non stop but the h did not here!! Another major win.I liked the sex scenes between them too. The shibari scene was great. There’s not a lot of depth here since it’s so insta so it’s hard to rate it any higher but entertaining anyways. The epilogue was super cute.
Sinful King is the first book in the brand new Kings of Vegas series. It follows Rome and Eloise.
Right off the bat I was obsessed with this story. The mix of characters' personalities, storyline and the narrator's voices made this book a breeze to go through. I didn’t want to put it down as it was captivating, dark, heartfelt and dangerous.
Rome is the definition of morally grey but when it comes to his girl he is a complete cinnamon roll! He is extremely protective of Eloise from the first moment he sees her. Eloise is someone I would want to be friends with. She doesn’t put up with anyone's s*it, especially Rome’s and is so fierce. This was honestly such a great dark mafia romance and Natalie Kane (Kristen Proby) definitely hit it out of the park with this one.
This book was narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Avery Caris in duet style. I love both of these narrators and together they were utter perfection. Teddy really brought out both the dark and soft side of Rome while Avery brought out the vulnerability, pain and fierceness in Eloise.
I am obsessed with this series already and can’t wait for the next book!
You will enjoy this book if you like the following: - Dark mafia - Age gap (20 years) - Obsessed hero - Touch her and 💀 - Forced Proximity - He’s Only Soft For Her - He Helps Her Heal From Trauma - Curvy FMC
Thank you so much, Natalie Kane, for the gifted copy!
I’m still trying to figure out where the docks are… is that code for something? Or does the author not understand that Vegas is a land locked desert?
TBH, I hated every aspect of this book. It was so cringy and weird — as if a child wrote it. The MFC was the most annoying character. She is literally drugged and kidnapped by this man who she only met once before, and when she sleeps beside him (because he won’t let her leave!), she apologizes to HIM when she realizes he owns the club that she works at and “it’s inappropriate” 🤯 what??
Also, I know these stories aren’t supposed to be realistic, but they go from strangers to kidnapper/captive, to serious dating in less than 12 hours. She’s like “I just need a hug from Rome” or “I’m turned on, I need to find Rome.” I’m not saying it’s wrong for her to find him attractive or to end up with him, but at least let us work for their mutual love. Jeez!
Also, it was not clear that there was an age gap between them until he randomly drops that he’s 20 years older than her around the halfway point. Other than that, the only other time it’s even hinted is when Julian has a grown ass son.
And I had to read the scene where he was introduced like 5 times because I thought he was a child, not a grown man!
Okay, I need a moment because this book was freaking amazing. From the very first page, everything just worked, the writing, the pacing, the characters, the mafia chaos, the emotions, the spice… literally no notes. I binged this in a single day and didn’t regret a single second. This is exactly what I want when I pick up a mafia romance.🙌🏼
Rome and Lulu? Absolute perfection. Brooding Rome is everything (except when he’s with our Lulu, because soft Rome hits different🥰), and Lulu… wow. That girl is strong, resilient and impossible not to love. Their dynamic, their growth, the way they balance each other, it all felt so satisfying and well done.
And can we talk about the side characters? Because they deserve their own moment, especially all the Kings and their banter! The Kings of Vegas completely stole my heart and now I’m sitting here desperately waiting for Julian’s book like it’s a personal need.😅
This was my first time reading Kristen’s work, but if her writing as Natalie is any indication, I already know I’ll be binge reading her entire backlist like my life depends on it. Mafia romance lovers, do not sleep on this one. 💥🔥