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Owning Vegas #2
His Playground: Owning Vegas, Book 2
Antonia
Blood. Pain. Tears. Despair. Hate. All words I associate with those around me. But it’s true what they say. You can’t choose your family. And mine? Well, I don’t think anyone would choose them.
I’m the daughter of a notorious Don. A daughter who is nothing more than a piece of meat to be used as a bargaining chip. Which is exactly what my father has done. I can either go along with his plan to marry me off to a stranger. Or I can refuse and pay for it with my life.
Love. I always thought that one was made up. A fairy tale that had no place in the real world.
People weren’t really conditioned to love. Especially not me.
But my new husband? He almost makes me believe that love is something real. Almost.
Carlo
This city is my playground. Nothing is unattainable here. Nothing except her.
You could say she’s the one who got away. But the thing is, I never actually let her go. So when the opportunity comes along, I jump on it. I offer myself up in place of my friend.
Antonia doesn’t know it yet. No one really does. But she’s always been mine.
The arrangement isn’t just for me, though. I have more than one reason to marry this woman.
She also has more than one reason to hate me. It’s why I have to do my best to win her over… before she learns the truth and tries to kill me in my sleep.
This is book 2 in the Owning Vegas Series and can be listened to as a stand-alone, however listening to book 1, His Kingdom, first will give you a better experience.
Blood. Pain. Tears. Despair. Hate. All words I associate with those around me. But it’s true what they say. You can’t choose your family. And mine? Well, I don’t think anyone would choose them.
I’m the daughter of a notorious Don. A daughter who is nothing more than a piece of meat to be used as a bargaining chip. Which is exactly what my father has done. I can either go along with his plan to marry me off to a stranger. Or I can refuse and pay for it with my life.
Love. I always thought that one was made up. A fairy tale that had no place in the real world.
People weren’t really conditioned to love. Especially not me.
But my new husband? He almost makes me believe that love is something real. Almost.
Carlo
This city is my playground. Nothing is unattainable here. Nothing except her.
You could say she’s the one who got away. But the thing is, I never actually let her go. So when the opportunity comes along, I jump on it. I offer myself up in place of my friend.
Antonia doesn’t know it yet. No one really does. But she’s always been mine.
The arrangement isn’t just for me, though. I have more than one reason to marry this woman.
She also has more than one reason to hate me. It’s why I have to do my best to win her over… before she learns the truth and tries to kill me in my sleep.
This is book 2 in the Owning Vegas Series and can be listened to as a stand-alone, however listening to book 1, His Kingdom, first will give you a better experience.
Audible Audio
First published July 30, 2025
About the author
Kylie Kent
96 books3,221 followersKylie made the leap from kindergarten teacher to romance author, living out her dream to deliver sexy, always and forever romances. She loves a happily ever after story with tons of built in steam.
She currently resides in Perth, Australia and when she is not dreaming up the latest romance she can be found spending time with her three children and her husband of twenty years, her very own real life instant-love.
Come join me in my reading group on Facebook Kylie's Steam Room.
She currently resides in Perth, Australia and when she is not dreaming up the latest romance she can be found spending time with her three children and her husband of twenty years, her very own real life instant-love.
Come join me in my reading group on Facebook Kylie's Steam Room.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews
July 31, 2025
Idk why I keep reading second chance romances. They always piss me off.
This will probably have spoilers. You’ve been warned.
I liked the first book which is why I read this one. I didn’t hate it. Seemed a little quick for me.
One reason why I hate second chance romances is because most of the ones I’ve read have the mmc breaking the fmc’s heart for some “noble” reason and he does it in such a cruel way. Then time passes and he wants her back and she usually folds like a cheap table. Thankfully Antonia does give him a hard time and doesn’t give in right away but when she does decide to give him a chance she jumps right into saying I love you.
Another thing I hate is that because the mmc breaks up with the fmc for her safety or whatever reason, he doesn’t do it because he doesn’t love her. He will spend however long that they’re separated still loving her but yet he sleeps with half the female population. And what’s worse is the fmc usually ends up celibate. Thankfully Antonia isn’t celibate during their time apart.
I also usually love single dad romances but idk.. first, I hate the name Jazzy. Jasmine is a beautiful name. Jazzy sounds stupid. And I get that she had a mother and Antonia isn’t her birth mother but I feel like Carlo was being a douche and snapping at Antonia whenever she tried to help. Like you claim you love this woman so much but you seem to want to keep her and your daughter separate. He even put in his will that Louie and charlotte get jasmine if something happened to him. I get that him and Antonia weren’t on good terms at that point but still.
I’ll def keep reading the series but I need to stop with the second chance romances.
This will probably have spoilers. You’ve been warned.
I liked the first book which is why I read this one. I didn’t hate it. Seemed a little quick for me.
One reason why I hate second chance romances is because most of the ones I’ve read have the mmc breaking the fmc’s heart for some “noble” reason and he does it in such a cruel way. Then time passes and he wants her back and she usually folds like a cheap table. Thankfully Antonia does give him a hard time and doesn’t give in right away but when she does decide to give him a chance she jumps right into saying I love you.
Another thing I hate is that because the mmc breaks up with the fmc for her safety or whatever reason, he doesn’t do it because he doesn’t love her. He will spend however long that they’re separated still loving her but yet he sleeps with half the female population. And what’s worse is the fmc usually ends up celibate. Thankfully Antonia isn’t celibate during their time apart.
I also usually love single dad romances but idk.. first, I hate the name Jazzy. Jasmine is a beautiful name. Jazzy sounds stupid. And I get that she had a mother and Antonia isn’t her birth mother but I feel like Carlo was being a douche and snapping at Antonia whenever she tried to help. Like you claim you love this woman so much but you seem to want to keep her and your daughter separate. He even put in his will that Louie and charlotte get jasmine if something happened to him. I get that him and Antonia weren’t on good terms at that point but still.
I’ll def keep reading the series but I need to stop with the second chance romances.
July 30, 2025
wish i can go back in time and never promote books by kylie kent.
especially after finding out her ai usage … yeah this and every book before and after will be in the ai slop list.
especially after finding out her ai usage … yeah this and every book before and after will be in the ai slop list.
September 7, 2025
I didn’t like this book as much as the first because the FMC was kind of annoying lol and I’m not usually a fan of the “single dad” trobe but nonetheless it wasn’t bad and I’ll be reading the third installment of this series once it’s released
August 1, 2025
»You are one of the greatest gifts l've ever been given. Having you as my wife is an honor. I'd never be embarrassed of you.«
★ ★
❥ 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
She was sweet but felt flat as a character.
❥ 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐 ⋆✮
His character was messy and not well build up.
✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
This was so weird? Can‘t believe this book is written by Kylie Kent. I adored the previous book and were really looking forward to this one but I didn‘t like it at all (sadly). Everything happens way too fast and felt not realistic at all. The whole topic with Jazzy happens way too quickly and I think it‘s not relatable that this little girl just accepts Carlo as her father and lives her life happily. The story telling was flat and as a reader you can‘t feel any emotions because the topics were processed like on a checklist. Surprise kid? Check. Arranged marriage? Check. Childhood sweethearts? Check. And so on. There wasn‘t any depth and I‘m really disappointed.
This book felt messy and I had the feeling the author just wanted to finish this book as quickly as possible.
𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Nope.
𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓 ׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒
plot: 2/5
spice: 2/5
humor: 2/5
couple/tension: 2/5
world building: 4/5
happy end?: yes
𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 ᡣ𐭩ྀི₊ ⊹
possessive and protective hero, mafia romance, second chance, single dad, surprise kid, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, touch her and die, found family
𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
#1 His Kingdom ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 His Playground ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
★ ★
❥ 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
She was sweet but felt flat as a character.
❥ 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐 ⋆✮
His character was messy and not well build up.
✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
This was so weird? Can‘t believe this book is written by Kylie Kent. I adored the previous book and were really looking forward to this one but I didn‘t like it at all (sadly). Everything happens way too fast and felt not realistic at all. The whole topic with Jazzy happens way too quickly and I think it‘s not relatable that this little girl just accepts Carlo as her father and lives her life happily. The story telling was flat and as a reader you can‘t feel any emotions because the topics were processed like on a checklist. Surprise kid? Check. Arranged marriage? Check. Childhood sweethearts? Check. And so on. There wasn‘t any depth and I‘m really disappointed.
This book felt messy and I had the feeling the author just wanted to finish this book as quickly as possible.
𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Nope.
𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓 ׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒
plot: 2/5
spice: 2/5
humor: 2/5
couple/tension: 2/5
world building: 4/5
happy end?: yes
𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 ᡣ𐭩ྀི₊ ⊹
possessive and protective hero, mafia romance, second chance, single dad, surprise kid, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, touch her and die, found family
𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
#1 His Kingdom ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 His Playground ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
August 9, 2025
“His Playground” is the story of Antonia and Carlo.
The story begins with two parallel plots- heroine is forced into a marriage with the hero and hero discovers he has a child.
We soon realize the heroine hates the hero because he “cheated” on her, while he loooovess her.. at the same time he is now 100% devoted to being a dad so he doesn’t want heroine to be a surrogate mother. The story moves along and we see the heroine go from hatred to love once he puts the cream into the eclair and suddenly, all is hunky dory. We get some ex drama, a terrible dad plot, lots of sex and a sorta happy ending.
The fact that it’s made clear the hero slept around while heroine was whining about the heartbreak ticked me off. If he was so powerful, couldnt he have fought for her. Also, I hate a spineless heroine who forgives everything when she gets coital bliss and unfortunately the MC fell in that category.
Unsafe
2/5
The story begins with two parallel plots- heroine is forced into a marriage with the hero and hero discovers he has a child.
We soon realize the heroine hates the hero because he “cheated” on her, while he loooovess her.. at the same time he is now 100% devoted to being a dad so he doesn’t want heroine to be a surrogate mother. The story moves along and we see the heroine go from hatred to love once he puts the cream into the eclair and suddenly, all is hunky dory. We get some ex drama, a terrible dad plot, lots of sex and a sorta happy ending.
The fact that it’s made clear the hero slept around while heroine was whining about the heartbreak ticked me off. If he was so powerful, couldnt he have fought for her. Also, I hate a spineless heroine who forgives everything when she gets coital bliss and unfortunately the MC fell in that category.
Unsafe
2/5
July 31, 2025
I have so many unanswered questions… why targeted Carlo? Why poisoned Jazzy’s mom? Why she didn’t wanted to speak to him? I mean, I could go on and on and on… this felt so unsatisfying to read! It was an okay read, didn’t hate and had a good time, but unfortunately it left me feeling so confused and frustrated because non of my questions were answered. So, I can’t rate it better than this.
Antonia was 21 years old going on 9, she acted like a child the whole time, what was so ironic because we did had an actual child in the story.
I have to sincerely apologize to Louis and Charlotte, their book wasn’t that bad after all.
The epilogue of Jazzy’s prom night was so damn cute! I loved it.
Oh and don’t get me started with Uncle E, he was the best thing in this whole book!!!!!!!
Never been more excited about learning about a spinoff, I’m so ready for Dead or Alive. The date can’t come soon enough! Em and Evie are going to be epic!
Antonia was 21 years old going on 9, she acted like a child the whole time, what was so ironic because we did had an actual child in the story.
I have to sincerely apologize to Louis and Charlotte, their book wasn’t that bad after all.
The epilogue of Jazzy’s prom night was so damn cute! I loved it.
Oh and don’t get me started with Uncle E, he was the best thing in this whole book!!!!!!!
Never been more excited about learning about a spinoff, I’m so ready for Dead or Alive. The date can’t come soon enough! Em and Evie are going to be epic!
August 4, 2025
2.25/5 ⭐️
July 14, 2026
Vale, no me gustó tanto como el primero, pero fue más que todo por Carlo. Al comienzo no me gustó, me vino gustando ya al final, digamos que le faltó arrastre, le faltó que demostrara más por la protagonista. Le faltó pedir perdón de una mejor manera, simplemente le faltó más, ya que él la cagó bastante antes con ella, yo mínimo esperaba que le demostrara más cosas, fuera más cariñoso y besara el piso por donde pasa.
Al comienzo, cuando ya se casan y comienzan a vivir juntos, eso de que la dejara dormir sola y blabla me dio mucha pereza. Que sí, claro, era para estar con su hija que tenía pesadillas, pero creo que en esta parte la autora se enfocó más en escribir un excelente padre, pero no tan buen esposo. Y aunque al final comienza a demostrar que, pues, es decente como esposo, le faltó, él realmente le jodió mucho la autoestima a la protagonista y no vi que arreglara mucho eso.
Pero bueno, tampoco es un pésimo libro, es una historia bonita en lo que cabe, tiene final feliz, es rápido de leer y entretenido. Carlo como papá, 10/10, y leer lo mucho que la mamá de Jazz la quiso fue un abrazo al corazón y al final Carlo no fue tan mal esposo, solo que a mí parecer no fue la gran cosa como hombre, no entra en mi lista de novios literarios, definitivamente.
Seguiré leyendo esta serie porque necesito leer los otros dos que siguen, al que más le tengo ganas es al de Emmanuel, le tengo muchas expectativas.
Al comienzo, cuando ya se casan y comienzan a vivir juntos, eso de que la dejara dormir sola y blabla me dio mucha pereza. Que sí, claro, era para estar con su hija que tenía pesadillas, pero creo que en esta parte la autora se enfocó más en escribir un excelente padre, pero no tan buen esposo. Y aunque al final comienza a demostrar que, pues, es decente como esposo, le faltó, él realmente le jodió mucho la autoestima a la protagonista y no vi que arreglara mucho eso.
Pero bueno, tampoco es un pésimo libro, es una historia bonita en lo que cabe, tiene final feliz, es rápido de leer y entretenido. Carlo como papá, 10/10, y leer lo mucho que la mamá de Jazz la quiso fue un abrazo al corazón y al final Carlo no fue tan mal esposo, solo que a mí parecer no fue la gran cosa como hombre, no entra en mi lista de novios literarios, definitivamente.
Seguiré leyendo esta serie porque necesito leer los otros dos que siguen, al que más le tengo ganas es al de Emmanuel, le tengo muchas expectativas.
July 30, 2025
This is the second book in the owning Vegas series and it just keeps getting better and better I 10/10 recommend this book and the first book.
Stars:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Stars:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
July 31, 2025
Pretty good story. The side plot of Antonia’s father felt unnecessary. No real explanation was given as to why he wanted to get info on Carlos. Also, what was going on with Wendy/Penelope? No explanation as well. Annoying when a story is left unfinished like this was.
August 28, 2026
4 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Spice: 3/5
First Person
Dual POV
MF
Mafia Princess
Mafia Enforcer
Arranged Marriage
Single Father
Second Chance
Carlo & Antonia
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Spice: 3/5
First Person
Dual POV
MF
Mafia Princess
Mafia Enforcer
Arranged Marriage
Single Father
Second Chance
Carlo & Antonia
February 13, 2026
Heartbreaking yet beautiful love story which pieces them back together🥺🥺
I was so glad i was waiting to read this book. The love between antonia and carlo was gorgeous. I hated him alot in the beginning but he redeemed himself and how beautifully he behaved and loved his daughter was so amazing. I loved how it was shown he instantly didn't let antonia be close to Jazzy showed how protective he was of her and how on another hand he was also thinking about antonia's feelings , if she would be feeling overwhelmed or burdened with something she didn't sign up for. Loved the banter between carlo's friends trying to be the best uncle 😂😭😭. I have been waiting for emmanuel's book since louise's book. Can't wait till 24th feb 🫡.
I was so glad i was waiting to read this book. The love between antonia and carlo was gorgeous. I hated him alot in the beginning but he redeemed himself and how beautifully he behaved and loved his daughter was so amazing. I loved how it was shown he instantly didn't let antonia be close to Jazzy showed how protective he was of her and how on another hand he was also thinking about antonia's feelings , if she would be feeling overwhelmed or burdened with something she didn't sign up for. Loved the banter between carlo's friends trying to be the best uncle 😂😭😭. I have been waiting for emmanuel's book since louise's book. Can't wait till 24th feb 🫡.
August 11, 2025
4⭐️ / 🌶️
The plot was very interesting. I was entertained the whole time. Carlo and Antonia‘s story was heartbreaking but so cute I loved them as a couple. I loved the progression of the relationship between Carlo and jazzy they were so cute.
The multiple plot twists in this was so good!!
I cannot wait for Emmanuel and Evie’s book!!! All the crumbs of them in this book I was screaming!!
“𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙏í𝙤 𝙀? 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙖’𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧.”
Emmanuel has Evie’s name tattooed on him 🤭🤭
The plot was very interesting. I was entertained the whole time. Carlo and Antonia‘s story was heartbreaking but so cute I loved them as a couple. I loved the progression of the relationship between Carlo and jazzy they were so cute.
The multiple plot twists in this was so good!!
I cannot wait for Emmanuel and Evie’s book!!! All the crumbs of them in this book I was screaming!!
“𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙏í𝙤 𝙀? 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙖’𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧.”
Emmanuel has Evie’s name tattooed on him 🤭🤭
August 3, 2025
This is the second book by this author I have sone an arc review for. I liked this on. I like that the two mc’s felt so much for each other and were able to rekindle what they once had.
I do feel like there were pieces missing in this book. More on Jazzys mom and why she disappeared, what Joey was really after on the disc, etc. The end of the plot left me desiring a little more drama to it. But, all in all, this was a good read.
I do feel like there were pieces missing in this book. More on Jazzys mom and why she disappeared, what Joey was really after on the disc, etc. The end of the plot left me desiring a little more drama to it. But, all in all, this was a good read.
August 6, 2025
Don’t get me wrong i like the book
But i felt alot of things left on hanging
Unanswered questions , about who were the men that kept jazzy afraid
And how her mum acutely. Died
Can we get E’s and eveie’s story already 🥲
But i felt alot of things left on hanging
Unanswered questions , about who were the men that kept jazzy afraid
And how her mum acutely. Died
Can we get E’s and eveie’s story already 🥲
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2025
Possessive. “Always been her”. Mafia romance. He’s a new single dad and she forgives him for his daughter. Ugh love.
August 5, 2025
There was potential, but the story stayed stuck on a superficial level instead of giving us something real.
September 4, 2025
Yep Jazzy needs a book.
January 8, 2026
the writting is so chopped, it's baaaaad but i still love the characters lol anything for a glimpse of evie & emmanuel 🫣
July 31, 2025
I just wanted more. The book was short, it was good but I felt there could have been so much more to the story and the development of the characters.
July 12, 2025
Not so much for the plot and all but I like it when the ML is jealous and he has great friends too! I’m hoping Emmanuel will get his own story though.
August 7, 2025
So disappointing. I was hoping it would be better than the first, no such luck. I love Kylie Kent books. ive read loads but this series feels rushed. The characters have no depth so I feel like we dont really know them enough to care what's happening. their interactions are ao basic, its hard to feel anything or understand why they are even together. So very disappointing.
spoiler...
The mafia don dad, so big bad and scary that he came to meeting with no security and got shot all in one scene. The main antagonist in the book poised a soup and had one minor shooting attempt. Just felt very rushed and had 0 point. I read this book across a few hours.
spoiler...
The mafia don dad, so big bad and scary that he came to meeting with no security and got shot all in one scene. The main antagonist in the book poised a soup and had one minor shooting attempt. Just felt very rushed and had 0 point. I read this book across a few hours.
August 24, 2025
this book was unfinished.
things happened so quickly in this book. i don’t understand how a CHILD is able to disassociate from things so easily and it was never addressed head-on, only talked about like twice.
the FMC’s mom being alive should’ve been a much bigger storyline. the MMC discussed it briefly with the FMC. even if the FMC didn’t want to see her mom, the author could’ve wrote something in about why the mom left and what she is doing now. why add the “my mom’s not dead tidbit” just to skip over it quickly.
i also didn’t like that jazzy’s mom didn’t have a storyline. a woman leaves her daughter alone at a casino, stalks the MMC’s wife for a week and writes her a letter telling her “take care of my baby,” has random men coming to her home asking questions about the MMC and the author doesn’t feel the need to give her a proper story? why was she sick? how did she get sick? why were the men asking her questions about her baby daddy? why did jazzy think the men were going to take her away? if this was all the FMC’s father’s “doing” why wasn’t this discussed during their final meeting?
things happened so quickly in this book. i don’t understand how a CHILD is able to disassociate from things so easily and it was never addressed head-on, only talked about like twice.
the FMC’s mom being alive should’ve been a much bigger storyline. the MMC discussed it briefly with the FMC. even if the FMC didn’t want to see her mom, the author could’ve wrote something in about why the mom left and what she is doing now. why add the “my mom’s not dead tidbit” just to skip over it quickly.
i also didn’t like that jazzy’s mom didn’t have a storyline. a woman leaves her daughter alone at a casino, stalks the MMC’s wife for a week and writes her a letter telling her “take care of my baby,” has random men coming to her home asking questions about the MMC and the author doesn’t feel the need to give her a proper story? why was she sick? how did she get sick? why were the men asking her questions about her baby daddy? why did jazzy think the men were going to take her away? if this was all the FMC’s father’s “doing” why wasn’t this discussed during their final meeting?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2025
DNF: this was the second book in the series, and I gave the first book 2 stars because of honestly, the lazy writing. I was willing to give this one a chance, however, one of the big red flags that stood out to me immediately is that Carlos tried to keep his secret from someone he was literally already married to about a past thing that he did that he didn’t actually do. Like it just caused issues within their marriage to begin with and I hate the back-and-forth fighting. Also, I feel like the way they wrote the child was too mature/super annoying, but I just ended up stopping the book where I was at and rating at one star. I do not need to put myself through bad plots or writing to finish up a book. I highly doubt that I will read any other of this authors books either.
August 4, 2025
Everything was flat, undeveloped and rushed, no depth whatsoever on the plot or the characters.
I don't even know why I keep reading this series🤣 AND I WIll CONTINUE because atp I'm curious about how this author's gonna play the other characters' stories; I guess I'm a masochist😭 HAHAHAHAHA omg bye
I don't even know why I keep reading this series🤣 AND I WIll CONTINUE because atp I'm curious about how this author's gonna play the other characters' stories; I guess I'm a masochist😭 HAHAHAHAHA omg bye
August 6, 2025
I LOVE Kylie Kent but these 2 books of this series so far have been disappointing. They feel super rushed, no details and honestly lacking story lines.
October 25, 2026
A slightly-above-mid mafia romance, sort of second chance, with feisty heroine and a newly single dad MMC.
Antonia and Carlo have history. They dated a few years back, were deeply in love, until something “forced” Carlo to end it, and end it he did. In spectacular fashion. Now Antonia is being offered up in arranged marriage and Carlo jumps at the opportunity to make it right with her and finally have the woman he couldn’t stop loving.
Oh, and he had a 6 year old daughter dropped off at his casino by a woman he doesn’t remember.
Antonia is devastated about the arranged marriage, and rightfully pissed and heartbroken it’s to the love of her life Carlo, whom she found naked in bed with a leggy blonde 3 years prior. He destroyed her heart and self worth with that one move, and she vowed never to let anyone close again, particularly him.
Their dynamic is volatile at first, and I was honestly a little here for it. Antonia is still so hurt and hates him with the fire of a thousand suns 😏, and while Carlo *knows* he needs to explain himself and make amends, he’s honestly a bit of a dick at first.
And this is where the book dropped a star for me. We know from Carlo’s POV that he never actually cheated and staged the whole thing to drive Antonia away, something for her safety apparently (we don’t know why at first), AND that he still loves her. But then when he gets the chance to make it right? He’s a bit cold, callous, snaps at her when she tries to help with Jazzy (his kid), and “gives her space”, so much so that she feels abandoned and lonely. She rightfully feels like he doesn’t want her there, that he’ll cheat again, and you just all around feel bad for her.
In all honestly he was pretty callous towards her feelings in the beginning. He knew he never cheated, but she didn’t. And whether the scene was staged or not, the sense of betrayal and heartbreak was real for her. And he knows it. He knows he hurt her. But when she acts on those feelings by keeping him at arms length and being angry she’s married to him now? He acts like she’s a petulant child throwing a tantrum. It gave me the ick a bit because I wanted him to remorseful TO HER, not just in his own mind. Of course she isn’t jazzed about spending her life with you… she was in love with you and then found you in bed with someone else. AND you were a total assh0le when she found you…like give the girl some credit for not rolling over now and playing doormat.
Carlo does eventually pull his head out and explain the situation 3 years ago. He slowly realizes the hurt he caused, the lasting effects on Antonia, and vows to actually make it right through actions.
But nothing in this story felt particularly deep or meaningful. Antonia’s hurt was palpable, but then he sort of just accepts she still loves him and she’s suddenly ok trying to make it work? It was too quick a flip for the hurt in the beginning. I wanted more grovel from Carlo, I wanted Antonia to really make him feel that guilt and pain for obliterating their love when he could have chosen so many other ways to protect her and their relationship.
Where was the angst, the high stakes, the tension?? The urgency?? The soup scene (besides being borderline ridiculous) could have at least been harrowing had it happened differently. But instead we get some conjecture about the dish being different, Antonia makes it through dinner and only hours later does she feel ill. We all saw that coming from a mile away (silly the mafia guys didn’t) but there still weren’t very high stakes or very much tension.
The whole storyline with Jazzy was sweet, but everything with her mom felt odd and out of place. We don’t even get real closure on that (was she being poisoned? Why didn’t she go to Carlo sooner for help? Why not tell Carlo everything in the letter so he was better prepared?)
I don’t like that we don’t see Carlo changing the will so Antonia gets Jazzy if something happens to him. The fact he had Louie taking her hurt my heart for Antonia and cheapened their connection some.
The spice was hot but the two scenes in the beginning were sort of ick dubcon… I hate the whole body betrayal thing. Let the FMC be angry and hurt and not give in just cuz he’s hot and knows it. I wanted her to push him off and tear up and really make him feel the weight of the hurt. Not give in cuz it feels good, despite that her emotions were still distrusting and hurt.
The found family was ok but could have been deeper. The villain storyline was ok but could have been more. Nothing too harrowing happens and the book could have used some deeper darker elements to really make you *feel*.
3.75 because it was well written and I wanted to see what happened and I do love second chance when the MMC grovels and makes up for past mistakes. And Carlo does over time. But this book didn’t make me feel much. It doesn’t go deep enough or linger long enough in the emotional scenes to stick.
Antonia and Carlo have history. They dated a few years back, were deeply in love, until something “forced” Carlo to end it, and end it he did. In spectacular fashion. Now Antonia is being offered up in arranged marriage and Carlo jumps at the opportunity to make it right with her and finally have the woman he couldn’t stop loving.
Oh, and he had a 6 year old daughter dropped off at his casino by a woman he doesn’t remember.
Antonia is devastated about the arranged marriage, and rightfully pissed and heartbroken it’s to the love of her life Carlo, whom she found naked in bed with a leggy blonde 3 years prior. He destroyed her heart and self worth with that one move, and she vowed never to let anyone close again, particularly him.
Their dynamic is volatile at first, and I was honestly a little here for it. Antonia is still so hurt and hates him with the fire of a thousand suns 😏, and while Carlo *knows* he needs to explain himself and make amends, he’s honestly a bit of a dick at first.
And this is where the book dropped a star for me. We know from Carlo’s POV that he never actually cheated and staged the whole thing to drive Antonia away, something for her safety apparently (we don’t know why at first), AND that he still loves her. But then when he gets the chance to make it right? He’s a bit cold, callous, snaps at her when she tries to help with Jazzy (his kid), and “gives her space”, so much so that she feels abandoned and lonely. She rightfully feels like he doesn’t want her there, that he’ll cheat again, and you just all around feel bad for her.
In all honestly he was pretty callous towards her feelings in the beginning. He knew he never cheated, but she didn’t. And whether the scene was staged or not, the sense of betrayal and heartbreak was real for her. And he knows it. He knows he hurt her. But when she acts on those feelings by keeping him at arms length and being angry she’s married to him now? He acts like she’s a petulant child throwing a tantrum. It gave me the ick a bit because I wanted him to remorseful TO HER, not just in his own mind. Of course she isn’t jazzed about spending her life with you… she was in love with you and then found you in bed with someone else. AND you were a total assh0le when she found you…like give the girl some credit for not rolling over now and playing doormat.
Carlo does eventually pull his head out and explain the situation 3 years ago. He slowly realizes the hurt he caused, the lasting effects on Antonia, and vows to actually make it right through actions.
But nothing in this story felt particularly deep or meaningful. Antonia’s hurt was palpable, but then he sort of just accepts she still loves him and she’s suddenly ok trying to make it work? It was too quick a flip for the hurt in the beginning. I wanted more grovel from Carlo, I wanted Antonia to really make him feel that guilt and pain for obliterating their love when he could have chosen so many other ways to protect her and their relationship.
Where was the angst, the high stakes, the tension?? The urgency?? The soup scene (besides being borderline ridiculous) could have at least been harrowing had it happened differently. But instead we get some conjecture about the dish being different, Antonia makes it through dinner and only hours later does she feel ill. We all saw that coming from a mile away (silly the mafia guys didn’t) but there still weren’t very high stakes or very much tension.
The whole storyline with Jazzy was sweet, but everything with her mom felt odd and out of place. We don’t even get real closure on that (was she being poisoned? Why didn’t she go to Carlo sooner for help? Why not tell Carlo everything in the letter so he was better prepared?)
I don’t like that we don’t see Carlo changing the will so Antonia gets Jazzy if something happens to him. The fact he had Louie taking her hurt my heart for Antonia and cheapened their connection some.
The spice was hot but the two scenes in the beginning were sort of ick dubcon… I hate the whole body betrayal thing. Let the FMC be angry and hurt and not give in just cuz he’s hot and knows it. I wanted her to push him off and tear up and really make him feel the weight of the hurt. Not give in cuz it feels good, despite that her emotions were still distrusting and hurt.
The found family was ok but could have been deeper. The villain storyline was ok but could have been more. Nothing too harrowing happens and the book could have used some deeper darker elements to really make you *feel*.
3.75 because it was well written and I wanted to see what happened and I do love second chance when the MMC grovels and makes up for past mistakes. And Carlo does over time. But this book didn’t make me feel much. It doesn’t go deep enough or linger long enough in the emotional scenes to stick.
September 20, 2025
2.5 stars mainly because I did actually finish the story although I feel like I have no idea what was actually going on. there were multiple storylines with multiple people that I'm assuming are all going to also have their own books but nothing was really resolved.
Spoilers below. so the book starts with the MMC getting a call because his 6-year-old daughter was dropped at the front desk with a note that basically said here's your daughter. he couldn't figure out who her mom was. his daughter Jazzy was tight left about everything other than saying that she lived in a trailer park with her mom. he does a DNA test and she is his and he basically overcompensates by trying to do everything for her. I don't know if the story tells us how old he is but later in the story you find out that Jazzy's mom was his foster sister so he had been with a few times but she had laughed and went somewhere else. think she was 17 so I'm assuming he was probably 17 at that time also because he was still in the Foster system. so that would mean that he's probably like 25 based on Jazzy's age.
then you have the FMC who is 21 but is a Mafia bosses daughter whose mom was supposedly killed when she was younger and was raised by her dad. who wasn't the greatest and basically showed her videos of kidnapped girls and told her if she didn't stay in line that she would be sold off to the ex HT Trade and that's what happens to my boss's daughters who aren't compliant. we're not really given a lot of information other than the fact that at 18 years old the FMC and the MMC dated and she used to come to the casino where his apartment is. they broke up because he told her to come to the apartment and when she got there it was staged to look like he hits just slept with a blonde girl. time Jump to her being 21 and her dad goes to the mmc's boss from the first book Louie and says that he wants to make a deal and Marry off FMC then MMC agreed. his friends I guess didn't know about his past relationship with the fmc. she doesn't know who she's supposed to marry but at the engagement party she realized it's the MMC and she technically meets his daughter at the wedding but she doesn't know anything about his daughter until after the wedding and they go back to his apartment. then you get the storyline about him wanting to do everything and then he makes up a will so that all of his things go to his daughter and that if he passes away his daughter goes to Louie and Charlotte from the first book. then there's a little bit of fighting and back and forth and then this weird storyline with the fmc's college. that her dad is trying to get her to get a thumbnail drive from the MMC and she tells her husband and he shows her the file and tells her that the file shows all the bad stuff that her dad has been doing like HT trade. he also tells her on the file is stuff about her mother including photos of her mom with children and that her mom is not actually dead and she's remarried to someone else. he also shows her a file and tells her that the reason they broke up originally and that he staged the whole situation with the blonde girl because he wanted to protect the FMC.. okay. then someone tries to poison the FMC which ends up being her dad I'm still not 100% sure why but okay. then you find out apparently the reason Jazzy's mom was sick is because she was also being poisoned by the fmc's dad's people because they were asking about the mmc. I'm still not 100% sure why. then at the end people break into the apartment all the girls kill them and then the FMC decides to go meet up with her dad to give him the thumb drive with the guys watching and I'm not 100% sure why he still tried to do all the things he did but she gets mad and tells him that her mom is alive and that she basically left both of them and he gets mad and then the dad is killed. then Jazzy goes off to private school. then the story ends.
Oh and there's lots of back and forth between all the guys Being like the best Uncle and doing things like giving her a trust fund or buying her a ranch.
Spoilers below. so the book starts with the MMC getting a call because his 6-year-old daughter was dropped at the front desk with a note that basically said here's your daughter. he couldn't figure out who her mom was. his daughter Jazzy was tight left about everything other than saying that she lived in a trailer park with her mom. he does a DNA test and she is his and he basically overcompensates by trying to do everything for her. I don't know if the story tells us how old he is but later in the story you find out that Jazzy's mom was his foster sister so he had been with a few times but she had laughed and went somewhere else. think she was 17 so I'm assuming he was probably 17 at that time also because he was still in the Foster system. so that would mean that he's probably like 25 based on Jazzy's age.
then you have the FMC who is 21 but is a Mafia bosses daughter whose mom was supposedly killed when she was younger and was raised by her dad. who wasn't the greatest and basically showed her videos of kidnapped girls and told her if she didn't stay in line that she would be sold off to the ex HT Trade and that's what happens to my boss's daughters who aren't compliant. we're not really given a lot of information other than the fact that at 18 years old the FMC and the MMC dated and she used to come to the casino where his apartment is. they broke up because he told her to come to the apartment and when she got there it was staged to look like he hits just slept with a blonde girl. time Jump to her being 21 and her dad goes to the mmc's boss from the first book Louie and says that he wants to make a deal and Marry off FMC then MMC agreed. his friends I guess didn't know about his past relationship with the fmc. she doesn't know who she's supposed to marry but at the engagement party she realized it's the MMC and she technically meets his daughter at the wedding but she doesn't know anything about his daughter until after the wedding and they go back to his apartment. then you get the storyline about him wanting to do everything and then he makes up a will so that all of his things go to his daughter and that if he passes away his daughter goes to Louie and Charlotte from the first book. then there's a little bit of fighting and back and forth and then this weird storyline with the fmc's college. that her dad is trying to get her to get a thumbnail drive from the MMC and she tells her husband and he shows her the file and tells her that the file shows all the bad stuff that her dad has been doing like HT trade. he also tells her on the file is stuff about her mother including photos of her mom with children and that her mom is not actually dead and she's remarried to someone else. he also shows her a file and tells her that the reason they broke up originally and that he staged the whole situation with the blonde girl because he wanted to protect the FMC.. okay. then someone tries to poison the FMC which ends up being her dad I'm still not 100% sure why but okay. then you find out apparently the reason Jazzy's mom was sick is because she was also being poisoned by the fmc's dad's people because they were asking about the mmc. I'm still not 100% sure why. then at the end people break into the apartment all the girls kill them and then the FMC decides to go meet up with her dad to give him the thumb drive with the guys watching and I'm not 100% sure why he still tried to do all the things he did but she gets mad and tells him that her mom is alive and that she basically left both of them and he gets mad and then the dad is killed. then Jazzy goes off to private school. then the story ends.
Oh and there's lots of back and forth between all the guys Being like the best Uncle and doing things like giving her a trust fund or buying her a ranch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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