Bound by Love

Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #6

by Cora Reilly

Nobody expected them to fall in love.
When Aria was given to Luca in marriage, people were sure he’d break her.
Aria feared the worst from a man like him.
A man without mercy.
But somehow she gained his love.
Love - a weakness a Capo like Luca shouldn’t risk.
When Aria betrays Luca by going behind his back for her family, she realizes too late that she might have lost what she’s fought so hard to get in the first place: Luca’s trust.
The trust of a man who never allowed himself to trust someone unconditionally before.
Can their love survive in a world of betrayal and death?

Genres: Mafia Romance, Romance, Dark Romance, Dark, Contemporary, New Adult, Contemporary Romance

406 pages, ebook

First published December 4, 2018

About the author

I'm an Mafia Romance writer. I'm a lover of good food, wine, travel and books, and I'm hopelessly addicted to bad boys (in books).

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Reviews

[MischaS_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, someone titled this book wrong. It should be "Bound by Aria's stupidity".


Where I was a bit okay with Aria being dumb in the first book since she was still young and was sheltered all her life, here it was a tad too annoying. Scratch the "tad", it's unbelievable how stupid someone can be.

But let's start from the beginning.

Blurb: When Aria betrays Luca by going behind his back for her family When I read this I was disappointed because all I wanted to say was "again?" First for Gianna and then for Lily, and now again, the girl never learns her lesson.

Actually reading the book: I was surprised (and not pleasantly) to find that the majority of the book was only books 2,3,4 and 5 from Aria's or Luca's POV. I would say 3/5 of this book was a repetition of the series. Then we finally get some new content. And Aria again goes behind Luca's back for her family! How dumb this girl is? Seriously, how was she able to think that her plan was a good one! And she gets alive out of it. She just hopped on a plane, went to Chicago and expected to somehow snatch her brother and bring him to New York! I repeat, how dumb this girl is? And she's surprised that Luca is mad. And then the story moves and Luca is a bad guy in the situation? NO! Come on, if he is supposed to be the Capo, he cannot have a wife that goes into the enemy territory and repeatedly goes behind his back, and in the process, she steals money from the Famiglia. She should be dead for it!

This is my main problem. And I will repeat it; Aria is dumb!

Luca spends so much time repeating that he cannot be soft and that no one can see his weakness. But then he goes and acts like a fool just because Aria makes puppy eyes. Like when Fabiano contacts them as an Enforcer for Camorra and asks for a meeting. And for some reason, Luca takes Aria with him... WHY?!

As for Fabian, I'm actually interested in his story, so, I may give it a shot. Mainly because I hope he kills their father. However, I do not like Fabiano. Is he as dumb as Aria or what? He blames them for the way their father treated him. As if that idiot treated his daughters any better. And if I remember correctly, they offered him to go with them. He decided to stay in Chicago!

Also, I'm interested in Remo Falcone; he seemed like the devil Luca was supposed to be. But let's see. However, the book here makes no sense at all. Remo comes and asks Luca not to interfere when he takes over the Camorra. And he sort of hints that maybe in the future that could be allies. But suddenly a couple of years forward they are not on friendly terms, definitely closer to the war than not. WHY?! (Okay, I guess this might be because I did not read book 5 in this series. But if I consider how much was repeated in this book, I don't get why this was not.

As for Dante, I was never his fan but now? Probably even less. I don't know what his plan was, but from where I stand it seems like when he found out Aria was pregnant he did not felt like personally using (okay, I should have said hurting, he definitely used her!) a pregnant woman. However, he sends her back to Luca and makes sure he gets pictures that look as if she cheated on Luca with Dante, with his enemy! And if you consider that Dante sees Luca as a monster, then I would say that Dante was hoping that Luca would snap and hurt Aria that much that she would miscarry or he would kill her and the baby as well. That much for not hurting women, especially a pregnant one. Anyone... I still don't get how anyone even for a moment could have thought that Aria has an affair with Dante like when? How? One would think that Luca would notice if his wife was going to Chicago from time to time without him...

In the end, Aria and Luca have two kids that no one knows about and Luca is trying to keep them hidden from the world. And I'm asking for how long? How do they think this will work? The son is Luca's heir, for how long is he going to hide him?

[Cora Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren't enough words to express how much I loved writing about Aria & Luca again. They have stayed with me all this time, through all the years, and I knew their story was far from being over, and when I began writing Bound By Love, it felt just right. This book is so much longer than I expected. Over 400 pages, 116,000 words. Filled with Aria & Luca, Matteo & Gianna, Dante & Val and the rest of the crew. I loved writing this book. And I hope you will love it as much as I do. <3

[⚔Irunía⚔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

when Luca believes that Aria cheated on him:

*slaughters the entire motorcycle club like a seasoned butcher*





Luca when his daughter gets kidnapped:
*chill peace love rainbows and roses*



men that are so gone for their wives they literally have zero fucks to give when it comes to any problem that's not 💯 wifey-related, including but not limited to their own kid's abduction, are giving me life.

Luca's so horny for the town criminal, helpppppp sjsjsjsjsj—

anyways, all these girlies that shit on Aria because she betrays Luca on multiple occasions, tests his patience and acts like she has 9 lives just don't get that there's literally no rhyme to marrying a mafia boss if you can't allow yourself the luxury of being a royal fuck up slash having your dumb bimbo moments whenever you feel like it. girlies gotta stop acting like inflicting pain on a man and watching him suffer with a glass of wine in one hand and a cigarette in another one isn't the end goal. 🙄 fuck up and let him deal with the consequences *khe khe khe khe* 😮‍💨😮‍💨

both Aria and Luca have comically little depth as separate characters but together these two are ON FIRE. sparks flying, people getting murdered, throats slashed, sisters rescued, brothers ignored and forgotten until further notice, criminal schemes done, jealousy jealousying. in other words, all is good and balanced out in arialucatown. 🙏🏻 i love both of these dumbasses so much.

the way Aria makes Luca sweat rage cry go through panic attacks pull out his hair turn gray appr. a thousand times throughout this book and finally turns him into a neurotic paranoiac. 😌 she ate it.

He panted, eyes angry, as he got closer to the edge. He stopped kissing me and only stared into my eyes with the most intense look I’d ever seen. He still loved me. I hadn’t lost him.

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Smut Stars

Finally, a 4-star read for me and Cora Reilly! I’m excited. I’ve read several of her books over the last year and they were always just short of being a 4-star read for me; but I kept trying because I just felt like it was always thisclose. Happy it finally clicked for me. Off to read Remo's story now...and yes, I know I'm totally going out of order now. But what can I say. #sucharebel

[Yeasmin Alo · Rating 4 out of 5]

22 April, 2021
Re-read count 20,0000 times thanks for asking

Okay but can my parents fix my arrange marriage with both Luca and Nino 😭😭😭? Is it too much I am asking? I want both LucaXNino
Tnx




4-I-am-totally-doomed-by-Luca-stars


*Luca calls Aria Love*

Me:




Without any guilt now I can thankfully call Luca my man 😭😭😭 yass finally!! And add him to my Book boyfriend shelf 😍😍😍 yassssssssssssss!!





HERE COMES THE 💣💣💣
3
2
1

I am sorry but

Dear Cora Reilly,
Why did you think it would be a good plot if you make Aria betray Luca Thrice in one single God damn book?

I kid you not THRICE

Like seriously 😑😑😑 This is so stupid


I mean I totally understand Aria's sentiments but I Don't understand yours tho 😡😡
You made Aria total fool and dumb in this book!!!!

Why tf would you do that!!!
Ahhhhhhh I am so angry rn 😣

Way too much tragedies 😑
You could have make it a 100 pages book but you didn’t have to prolong things by adding unnecessary dumbness 😑

Just wanna emphasis on this statement after reading BBH and BBL that

LUCA and ARIA deserve much more better plot than this dumbness

Both Luca and Aria have a lot of potential but author runied Aria's Character single handedly without even giving it a second thought 😑

I DON'T WANT MY BOOKS TO GIVE ME HEADACHE!!! Because this one really did!!!

Let's not forget She runied Luca's Character in the first book.

She really need to read her own book to realise what mess she had created here 😑

But anyway
Love Luca and Love Aria
Hate the Plot 😪

Let's finish it on a good note or as I should say a good quote 😇

"I will follow you anywhere. Your darkness doesn’t scare me. I love you, your strength and loyalty,
your tenderness and protectiveness. I love your gentle side, but just as much I love your darkness. I’ll love you in your darkest hour, I’ll love you even when you are weak, and if you need me to be your light, I will. I love every piece of you, Luca.” He crushed me to his chest and I held him as tightly. His love was the greatest gift of all."- Aria

I am so sorry Baby Luca (ILUSM) and Ari 😭😭😭 on author's behalf 😑
you guys deserve the world I promise 💕💕

[꧁ ༺Minne༻ ꧂ · Rating 1 out of 5]

More like Bound by Luca's heavenly dick.

Excuse my crassness, but it’s giving cult behaviour, and Luca is apparently literature’s greatest gift to womankind according to this series. I was almost physically ill from repeatedly reading about how his love, trust, gentle side, and dick are rare and should all be cherished like they descended directly from heaven itself.

The entire plot basically revolves around the FMC repeatedly “betraying” the MMC by helping other people, followed by the narrative bending over backwards to show us how magnanimous and forgiving Luca supposedly is, until he isn’t.

And the worst part is that this time, the misunderstanding is literally his fault. He jumps to conclusions, refuses to communicate, and then somehow still refuses to apologise because apparently loving her is his “weakness.” So naturally, the solution is to punish her for it.



I am still trying to understand the logic behind all this, so please don't ask me to explain it 😭 The humiliation kink was STRONG with this one.

The random time jumps and overall aimless plot progression definitely didn't help either. I wanted so badly to meet Luca in his own book after Sweet Temptation, but honestly some stories are better left unread.

NEXT!

[AV · Rating 4 out of 5]

You would think that since I had been waiting for this book since 2015 that I would have read it right away 😅
——
PRE ORDER LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H6N8H8T/...
—
A message from Cora’s facebook page, Sept 7, 2018

“So ladies, many of you have been asking about BOUND BY LOVE and if I still intend to publish it. You want more from Luca and Aria, I get that. They hold a special place in my heart too. But unfortunately there won't be a novella with them...because you'll get a FULL LENGTH NOVEL. Yes. More Luca. More Aria. So much more.
The book will be out some time this year. Definitely after TWISTED LOYALTIES and most likely before the second book in my Camorra Chronicles. Bound By Love will be book #6 of my Born in Blood Chronicles and it'll include spoilers for all of the other books in the series.
Here's the summary:
Nobody expected them to fall in love.
When Aria was given to Luca in marriage, people were sure he’d break her.
Aria feared the worst from a man like him.
A man without mercy.
But somehow she gained his love.
Love - a weakness a Capo like Luca shouldn’t risk.
When Aria betrays Luca by going behind his back for her family, she realizes too late that she might have lost what she’s fought so hard to get in the first place: Luca’s trust.
The trust of a man who never allowed himself to trust someone unconditionally before.
Can their love survive in a world of betrayal and death?”
—
*impatiently waits for publish date*

[PM · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book exists for no fucking reason and it should’ve been called Bound by fuck not love.

Can we talk abt what a fucking asshole Luca is?
He was jealous of his wife’s doctor because he thought he was a man. Like, CALM THE FUCK DOWN

The only reason he LOVED Aria was because She was beautiful and a virgin. No one can convince me otherwise.

And he was telling his 3 YEAR OLD son not to cry when people are around. ARE YOU FUCKING OKAY?

When he was mad at Aria, his brother came up to Aria and said: “Four weeks and Luca hasn’t fucked anyone, hasn’t touched a single woman, hasn’t had his cock sucked.”

I was like, WHAT A FUCKING GENTLEMAN. DOES HE WANT A TROPHY FOR THAT?

[Ivy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

That's how I felt when I saw that this book was finally released in December ! I'd been waiting on this book for so long and it was like a mini Christmas gift to download a copy and find out what's been happening with Aria and Luca ever since Bound by Honor ended. My long time GR friends will know that I'm a creature of habit: I often stick with my Harlequin Presents and my Regency Historical Romances. A novel has got to be super fabulous for me to step outside of my comfort zone and give it a chance. I will not lie ! I loved this book and I love Luca and Aria. This was a sexy, intense, drama and angst filled marriage in peril story. There was:

A lot of hot sex ! OMG the sex scenes were better than erotica;

An obsessed, possessive and totally besotted Luca;

A lot of hot naked Luca ( all 6ft. 4 inches of scorching, panty melting masculinity );

An adequate amount of the requisite mob violence where Luca finally reveals to the reader how he earned his diabolical nickname "The Vice";

Intriguing cameo appearances by other well loved characters from the Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles;

Fantastic dialogue;

And, most importantly, there is absolutely NO INFIDELITY/CHEATING in this book.

Aria and Luca are one of the sexiest couples in contemporary fictional Romancelandia ever, in my opinion. But before getting into this review, let me deal with the obvious elephant in the room, vis a vis Bound by Honor. Their story, in Bound by Honor, is one of a select few where I've been able to overlook the H's infidelity. Those who had read their first novel, Bound by Honor, are aware of the scene in that book, very early in their marriage, when Aria walked in on Luca and the skank Grace. It was an awful, heart wrenching scene but somehow I was able to live with it, because of the nature and status of the MC's marital relationship at that point in time. There are very few occasions in which I can overlook infidelity and one of those include a situation where MC's:

1. Have not developed feelings for each other as yet;

2. Were forced into the marriage by their parents;

3. Have not yet been intimate ( i.e have not had sex as yet )

Another couple in Romancelandia who've become a favourite is Rush and Blair from Fallen Too Far and its sequels. In Fallen Too Far, Blair had walked in on Rush having sex with some woman. It was also awful but Rush and Blair had not yet been involved with each other; they'd not even shared much conversation or kissed. In those circumstances, I can overlook the nasty sex scene with the OW even though I wished the author had chosen not to include it. Anyway, sometimes a story captures my imagination so much and thrills me from the beginning to the end that certain triggers of mine don't seem to make much of a difference.


Another book that is loaded with triggers, for me, but I still loved was It Ain't Me, Babe. I don't read Tillie Cole anymore, though, because she makes me cry and puts my emotions in a wringer. And finally there's Sinister Kisses and its 3 SKALS sequels, with a sociopathic, obsessive, jealous and controlling dark anti-H Sebastian Bass ! There was no cheating in the SKALS quartet, but Sebastian was such an anti-H that I still don't know why I loved those 4 books.

The point I'm making is that usually I can't handle stuff that aggravates my triggers but a few books are just so good that the story itself outweighs the negativity of the triggers. Bound by Honor had an early scene that detailed infidelity but I still ended up loving the book. Maybe that makes me a huge hypocrite and you guys have my permission to judge me but I am not gonna lie and pretend to dislike a book just to get approving pats on my shoulder from anyone. And NO, this is NOT an ARC review. I don't do ARC reviews in any event. I'm just an ordinary amateur reviewer, like most of my GR friends, who reviews books because it's become a little hobby of mine. I do it for me; not for any author or for anyone with a vested interest in publishing.

This novel deals with the external struggles that plague Aria and Luca from the time Bound by Honor ended. The MC's are totally in love with each other when this story begins and Luca, who is now the Capo, has become a devoted, loyal and obsessed husband. It's clear that Aria is his one weakness in life and that's exactly how a man is supposed to feel about his wife. In Luca's own words:

“But I don’t care, because loving you is the only pure thing in my life.”

Aria froze, eyes filling with tears. Crying and begging had never softened my heart, but with Aria they spoke to a part of me I hadn’t known existed.

“You love me?” she asked, eyes full of hope and disbelief.

“Yes, even if I shouldn’t. If my enemies knew how much you meant to me, they’d do anything to get their hands on you, to hurt me through you, to control me by threatening you. The Bratva will try again, and others will too. When I became a Made Man, I swore to put the Famiglia first, and I reinforced that same oath when I became a Capo dei Capi even though I knew I was lying. My first choice should always be the Famiglia. But you are my first choice, Aria. I’ll burn down the world if I have to. I’ll kill and maim and blackmail. I’ll do anything for you. Maybe love is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and as you said, it’s not a choice. I never thought I would, never thought I could love someone like that, but I fell in love with you. I fought it. It’s the first battle I didn’t mind losing.”

Cora Reilly. Bound By Love (Kindle Locations 73-86). Kindle Edition.

This was so romantic and I always felt that these MC's love for each other was strong and sincere. It's not often that a romance novel hits that special spot in my sentimental romantic heart. In fact, I've recently become a little disillusioned with the run of the mill romance novels that I keep coming across. So, when I am fortunate to read a book that gives me positive chills and goosebumps and makes me almost wish that these MC's were real people, I know I've found a winner. This book made me happy, sad, angry, frustrated, annoyed and lots of other feelings on my emotional spectrum. There are not many novels that can do that. At times I wanted to pull my hair out and even slap Aria for being stupid and putting her family before her marriage. In this novel, I felt that Aria really tested Luca's love for her. Don't misunderstand me: she wasn't unfaithful to him but she betrayed his trust 3 times when she went behind his back in order to help her 3 siblings.

I even reached a point where I was so fed up of Aria that all I could think was:




This is Luca, the H:




This is Aria, the heroine:



This story led me on an emotional roller coaster ride where I kept waiting anxiously for the point where Luca would finally reach his breaking point with Aria. She allowed her siblings' drama to play such an important role in her life that it almost ruined her marriage 3 times !



She failed to understand that sometimes a woman needs to put her husband first and on the first two occasions, Luca forgave her. He was angry and he felt betrayed but he forgave her because he knew how much her sisters meant to her. The first time was on the behalf of her mean, selfish and unlikable sister Gianna. The second time was when she begged Luca to intercede and help with the younger sister Liliana. I was more sympathetic with Lily's situation because she really needed help. Gianna, on the other hand, was just a selfish, f*cking manipulative bitch who never stopped to think of the repercussions her actions would have on her older sister. But it was the 3rd betrayal that brought Luca to his breaking point. Aria went behind his back to return to Chicago, knowing full well that it was a dumbass and dangerous situation, since Dante ( the Capo of the Outfit mafia organization and the H of Bound by Duty ) had declared war on Luca and the Famiglia.

Dumbass Aria was caught by Dante who might have kept her in Chicago, had he not discovered that she was pregnant. But, Dante created a lot of trouble for Luca and Aria's marriage when he manipulated a scenario with a paparazzi photographer to make it appear as if Aria was cheating on Luca with him ( i.e. Dante ). I love Dante from Bound by Duty but what he did was some punk ass, messed up shit ! He forced Aria into the front passenger seat of his car and bent down to pick up her handbag which was lying on the floor in front of her. He made sure that his stooge photographer was there to take long angled photos of the scene; it appeared, to any onlooker as if Dante's hand was fondling Aria between her legs ! And, there were other staged photos where Dante pulled Aria close to him, as if he was embracing her and whispering sweet endearments in her ears !



LOL.

Well, fans of Dante will be happy to know that he just faked those situations and that he's still madly in love with Valentina. But it was still a shady ass stunt to pull because he knew it would throw Luca into emotional chaos and destroy him. Dante felt that the first step in winning the mafia war was to create instability in the personal life of the Famiglia's Capo. Dante knew that Aria was Luca's weakness and he was right. Luca lost it when he got emails with those photos attached ! He destroyed the living room, the tv, he cut his hand on glass and didn't even feel the pain because he was a man tormented. I've got to admit that I loved this scene because it seemed like retribution for that scene with the skank Grace, in Bound by Honor. Luca finally got a chance to be eaten alive with jealousy and it was beautiful, in an intense and violent manner, to read this scene.

When Aria returned from Chicago, she was shocked to see the havoc that Luca had brought to bear in her living room:

The arm with the knife hung limply at his side. I forced myself to meet his gaze again. Luca was in there somewhere. Behind the anger and the hurt, my Luca was in there.

“Luca, please listen to me. It’s not how it looks.”

“So you didn’t let Cavallaro have what’s mine?” he roared. And he was upon me, his bleeding hand clamped down on my forearm. He was still holding the knife.

“I would never do that! You will always be the only man I want to be with. I went to Chicago to meet with Val and talk to Fabi. But Dante followed Val and wanted to talk to me. That’s all, I swear.”

“And what’s your swear worth? You’ve betrayed me before.”

“I never lied to you. I never cheated. I helped my sisters and didn’t always tell you everything, but I never lied to you.”

Cora Reilly. Bound By Love (Kindle Locations 3732-3768). Kindle Edition.

I can't end this review without adding that the former skanky OW Grace, from Bound by Honor made a couple of cameo appearances in this book too. She's married to a middle aged Englishman but she's still a slutty bitch who cornered Aria at a Christmas party and tried to make trouble again. This time she failed because Luca is in love in Aria and didn't have time for her skanky ass. In fact, Luca went as far as to put that horrible bitch in her place:

“You listen to me, Grace. You will leave New York again and you won’t come back. I will say this only once: you will never threaten my wife again, or you will be the first woman I will skin alive. That’s a fucking promise.”

He hit his chest with the hilt of the knife, right where his Famiglia tattoo was. His gaze made me shudder, and Grace finally realized he was being serious. Color drained from her face as she nodded.

“And now you will go to your fucking room, and you won’t emerge until this fucking party is over.” He released her and she ran down the corridor where her room must have been. Luca turned to face me, sheathing his knife, the remnants of the monster still in his expression.

Cora Reilly. Bound By Love (Kindle Locations 976-981). Kindle Edition.

Is it sick and twisted, of me, to admit that I found this scene so sexy ? I wish H's in other sub genres of Romancelandia would defend their heroines like this !

Grace made her second appearance during the period after the Dante episode when our MC's are going through a temporary separation and angst filled marital crisis. Luca, in his effort to hurt Aria, tried to make her jealous by talking to Grace at another party but he didn't succumb to the former OW's slutty sexual advances. I'll also add that Grace is so slutty that she even, earlier in the story, gave Luca's brother Matteo a blow job. That happened before Matteo married Gianna. Anyway, I can't add more to this except that I really hope the author doesn't write a future novel that ends in the death of either Luca or Dante. It appears as if the Famiglia and the Outfit will be at full scale war and the skeevy Camorra will partner with Luca's group against Dante. I don't care much about the Camorra guys yet because I haven't read those books but I really don't want either Luca or Dante to be hurt. They're my 2 favourite heroes in Cora Reilly's books, after all.

The novel does end on an ominous note, however, because Luca is prepared for full scale war with both the Camorra and the Outfit mob groups. But, in true alpha male form, Luca is dedicated to protecting his wife, his son and his daughter:

“You still mark me,” she said with a hint of amusement, rolling on to her back. “Do you really think there’s anyone out there who doesn’t know that I’m yours?”

I stroked the faint bruise on her throat. “You are mine,” I said in a low voice. “And it’s not them I’m reminding, it’s myself, because even after eleven years sometimes it still seems impossible that I have you, that I love you and that you love me.”

Aria’s fingers trailed down to my shoulder blade with the tattoo, her eyes warm and fierce. “I’ll go wherever you go no matter how dark the path.”

I grasped her wrist with the bracelet I’d given her many years ago and brought it to my lips, kissing it. “Even in the darkest hour, you are my light.”

Cora Reilly. Bound By Love (Kindle Locations 5691-5697). Kindle Edition.

Safety: No cheating, no OM, no OW.

[EmBibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Where do I start??

First of all, I did it!! I could finally start jumping into the Camorra series. The amount of dedication I gave?? Secondly, Luca is such an awful character. He managed to be the bad guy, not just in his story, but in every characters’ story. And ugh Aria frustrated me to death!! Those two definitely deserved each other. The perfect match of stupidity and awfulness.

The majority of this book was a repetition of the first five books from Luca and Aria’s pov. Something that was so not needed because; a) why would we need all those events repeated? B) why would we need them repeated from those two annoying characters pov?

The last third of the book was when we finally got new content and guess what? Aria managed to get even dumber. Like I was screaming!!! Her actions were so stupid and frustrating. I tolerated her in the first book, but here she was just getting on my nerves. Also, I lost count on how many times she made Luca look like a fool in front of everyone. I felt sorry for his scary capo title. As for Luca, he just needs to get over himself, honestly.

The Remo Falcone appearance was the highlight of this book. One scene and I’m already invested.

#1 Bound by honor ~ 2.5 stars
#2 Bound by duty ~ 2.75 stars
#3 Bound by hatred ~ 3 stars
#4 Bound by temptation ~ 2.5 stars
#5 Bound by vengeance ~ 2.5 stars
#6 Bound by love ~ 2.5 stars

[NiCoLeTa E. {Addicted To Books} · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 "Love. The root of weakness!!! stars***



IN THE DARKEST HOUR, YOU ARE MY LIGHT... -Luca

I'LL GO WHERE YOU GO NO MATTER HOW DARK THE PATH... -Aria

That was a trip down memory lane, but from different POV's!!!
Well, the book started after the end of "Bound by honor", Luca's and Aria's story, the first book in the "Born in Blood mafia Chronicles" series and it followed for once again Luca and Aria as they were facing the rest of stories in the series...
In here, we took a ride to all the previous books, plus "Twisted loyalties" who was following Fabiano Scuderi's life, but we saw them through Luca and Aria's eyes...
We saw the impact that the rest of the stories were having to their love and marriage and how the secrets and lies felt as betrayal and changed them, in a way...

To be totally honest with you, in the beginning, i wasn't very excited by the development of the story, but at some point, i felt very intrigued, especially when we were seeing some things that we didn't know from the previous books!!!
I also have to admit that i liked Mrs. Reilly's idea for this book!!! And i really enjoyed it!!!
Especially since i am a big fan of the series, i loved that i saw everyone in here... Literally, everyone!!!
And I can not wait about the second book in the "Camorra Chronicles"'s series since we took a glimpse of Kiara in here!!!

Enough of that, now i have to focus on my beloved Luca and Aria...
Their love was unique, even though their start was rough...
I loved how good they were together, but Aria had a soft spot and that was her siblings...
For her siblings, she could do anything and that wasn't always good, since she was risking her relationship with Luca...
And at some point, things got really ugly!!! Seriously, my heart was broken for them...
Will they reach the end unscratched???
Is love a weakness after all???
Well, this is your chance to find out by yourselves!!!

[jordane · Rating 2 out of 5]

and the award for the worst character goes to luca

[JewelsyGoolsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 - was this book really necessary? - Stars

For me, this last book of the series was supposed to be an extra cherry on top to cap off everything and everyone in this series. At least that was the reason why I purchased this book in the first place. I was hoping to get some further insight to certain scenes from previous books and mostly, I was really wishing for an epic epilogue that would make me swoon for all of my fave characters (especially Matteo from Bound By Hatred). But wow. I actually wish I had skipped this last instalment as it only served to tarnish some of the stories and characters that I had previously loved and gave me none of the above wishes mentioned. I hate giving out such low stars and I feel terrible for doing it at the end of such an enjoyable series.

Sigh... I won’t be describing any spoilers here but I will say to those who loved Matteo and Gianna’s story in book 3 and were hoping to catch further glimpses of them (like me); you will need to lower your “Matteo” expectations and find some extra strength and patience to tolerate the pain of (the h from book 1 and this book) Aria’s ditzyness all over again. I nearly forgot how excruciating it was to get into her dumbass head in the first book, until I had to go through it all over again!

Unlike me, if you weren’t interested in Matteo or Gianna, and want to read this book to catch up with the other characters in this series; then you’ll probably enjoy this more than I did (unless Aria’s character also makes you go insane). Reading this totally put a stain on one of my fave book boyfriend and sadly, I now question everything that I loved about book 3 and through that woe, I could only skimmed through the rest of this book just for the sake of finishing it. Sigh.... but I still love Matteo... only less now... but if I completely erase this book from my memory and pretend I didn’t read it, then I’m sure I can love Matteo as I once did... but probably not :(

Ok rant over. Told in multiple POV (mainly Aria and Luca’s) and should be read in order of this series. No bloody HEA. Just HFN for effing Aria and Luca with lead up to spinoff series. Barely got any goods on Matteo and Gianna’s HFN so all this pain was seriously for nothing.

Rant over for real. Jewels out.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a pointless book, I don't need reminder to hate Luca I already do.

“You are a mafia princess, Aria. You were brought up to brave men like me. You can stand up to a wretched whore like Grace.”
Aria tilted her head. “If you think so little of her, why did you spend time with her?”
“It’s not like I dated her. She was a fuck buddy.”

Most is retelling of previous books but now for their pov. Aria "try" once to do something for Fabiano and didn't even thought about him next 6 years. She was too buys moping after her trash husband, Liliana and Gianna don't even care that they abandoned their kid brother with abusive father. Horrible sisters, Fabiano rightfully should hate them forever.

Just because Aria breathed next to a guy, Luca thinks she cheated on him meanwhile him:
"My eyes followed her ass. I hadn’t fucked anyone’s ass since Grace four years ago."
I hate them both, kids are ok but with them as parents, I will probably end up hating them.

Only think I liked was Remo and Nino mentions.

[Herica Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

i hated luca from the beginning but this made me so sad for aria 😭

[Harim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM SCREAMING!!!
6+++++ STARS!!
OH MY LOVES LOVES LUCA AND ARIA..


I am emotionally drained!



All my Luca lovers out there.. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S COMING.. TRUST ME IT'S WORTH THE WAIT!!



I am out of words. I got the ARC at around 5am-ish and I have been bananas ever since. I couldn't stop and the book wouldn't end.



It's super long. It start right off where their story ended and after that it's Luca and Aria and soooo much Luca and Aria that I wanted to scream from the rooftops ..



Cora you are the BEST!!! all those endless months and those years of not knowing where you are or if we'll ever be lucky enough to have more stories from you..you are rewarding your readers with absolute HEAVEN!!



Now all that aside,the actual ride begins when Gianna leaves and Luca feels extremely betrayed by Aria as it becomes an absolute MAYHEM! I am not gonna say more for it will ruin the story and I have a big mouth but it IS EVERYTHING!!!!



ARC provided by Cora Reilly for review

[Sentranced Jem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is honestly one of my favourite mafia romance series....

*Sigh* 😍😍😍

I could read this book forever... I couldn't stop reading Bound by Love.
It's Luca and Aria's story guys! Can you honestly tell me that you don't love these two? Can you? Hahaha

Luca and Aria's story in Bound by Love is filled with love, passion, danger and a super possessive alpha male (you know you like that 😉).
Let's get real here for a moment and be honest ok? Bound by Love is sexy AF 🤤🙈

I can't wait to read Cora Reilly's upcoming releases

[AleJandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Love. The root of weakness. STARS

"Maybe I hadn’t made a blood oath , but what bound me to him was stronger than any oath. I was bound by love."

La espera valio la pena.

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

✰ 5 stars ✰

This was everything I hoped the continuation of Luca and Aria's story would be and more!! I loved everything about this story. It was amazing watching their growth - as a couple and individuals - compared to the first book.

"Even in the darkest hour, you are my light."

Luca (H):
I'm thinking of reading Luca's pov of Bound by Honor asap because being able to get into his mind in this book was everything. I've said it before and I stand by it. Luca is a swoony hero, he has such a way with words and the way he treats Aria like a queen, brb crying.

"I'll go wherever you go no matter how dark the path."

Aria (h):
I think it might have to do with seeing her growth from the beginning of the series up to this book, but I loved Aria here (I liked her in the first book, but not to the extent of love). I loved how she was able to keep that innocence while still being a strong heroine.

"Those words on your back, I mean them, Luca. I will follow you anywhere. Your darkness doesn't scare me. I love you, your strength and loyalty, your tenderness and protectiveness. I love your gentle side, but just as much as I love your darkness. I'll love you in your darkest hour, I'll love you even when you are weak, and if you need me to be your light, I will. I love every piece of you, Luca."

Romance:
my heart beats for these two. The way they have been through so much and managed to rise, despite the obstacles surrounding them; I love them. Oh and that whole conflict of Aria going to Chicago to see Fabiano and Luca being furious because she went behind his back, I don't really have a side on who I thought was right or wrong. I understood both their perspectives. I thought it was a nice addition to the story, adding to the angst (as if mafia romances don't have enough angst tho lmao) and it made me happy to see Luca being the one to put his pride aside and ask Aria for forgiveness.

Side characters I hope to see stories for:
(I'm 99% sure these three all have stories confirmed for the future cause they're listed on Cora's site)

✧ Demetrio: Luca's cousin and the future Famiglia Underboss. I'm excited to read more about him because the few times he appeared in the latter part of the book, he definitely caught my interest.
✧ Orazio (and Lucy, I hope?): the thing with this mafia universe is, I love The Camorra, The Famiglia, and The Outfit (weell, it's kinda debatable for The Outfit atm, but I'm still intrigued by them anyways) that, even if someone betrays a group for another, I'm not completely mad because I do have a soft spot for most people in this universe, if that makes sense? Like the case with Orazio. We discovered he was the spy for the Famiglia and it was a shocking twist at first, but I don't hate him for it. But I'm interested in his story!!
✧ Samuel: he was a child when he appeared in this book but aahh, I think I'm excited for his story the most between the three in this list.

The loml, Remo:
because I've read TCC before this series, I already know who Remo was so his appearance here had me screaming lolol. It was interesting to see his 17 year old self interacting with Luca and already promising he's gonna take over The Camorra. <3 (ngl, talking about Remo makes me wanna reread his story for the third time and it's barely been three days since I last read it)

I loved how the ending of the book was the beginning of Twisted Loyalties!! It brought back memories of how, around a week ago, my journey with TCC and BiBMC began and, here I am, completely in love with the beautiful world Cora has created. 💖

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading book one, I skipped books 2-5 to finish reading Aria and Luca’s story. Let me start by saying I did enjoy this book, just not as much as book one.

Luca and Aria have several new challenges ahead of them in their relationship. As an Italian man, Luca is stubborn and one side and takes a while to listen to reasoning, and Aria is wrong for her part. They both repeatly pissed me off. Luca could have handled one situation a little better when he is furious at Aria, and I was relieved when he didn't follow through but was pissed he was even concerned about it.

The writing style seemed t have shifted in this book compared to book one. One, it's darker; two, we now have Luca’s pov, which I love. I am not sure how to explain this; it just didn't seem the same. I am not looking for all old-school Italian, this is a new era, and I accept it. But this didn't seem much of even new Italian. I felt more of a free for all at times. The book is still a great story and I do recommend it. The ending was great, and it gave an intro for a possibility to a new series.

[Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, just one word says it all...

And it's all in the name...

Luca *sigh*

Fuckin A

Those of you who have read Bound by honor, which is book 1 in the Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles already know ALL about Luca & Aria, an arranged mafia marriage that actually turned into a "real" love as much as it is almost impossible to obtain in the mafia world

Love is a risk in our world, and a weakness a Capo can't afford

and they are proving us wrong in this 6th book Bound by love, cause Luca & Aria go through trials and errors, "betrayals" that could cost everything and all, prove to be the most challenging of ALL odds and obstacles they come across through events that are crosscrossed through out the books 2 till 5 in the series...

My first choice should always be the Famiglia. But you are my first choice, Aria. I'll burn down the world if I have to. I'll kill and maim and blackmail. I'll do anything for you. Myabe love is a risk, but it's a risk I'm willing to take and as you said, it's not a choice.

I'll go where you go no matter how dark the path.

Like I've said, it's all in the name, and he's name is Luca

And again, fuckin A

[• Jodi Bibliophile • · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 has been one of the top book boyfriends since June 2015 and I've been waiting for ever since. 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 book did not disappoint. It was 𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑹𝒀𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮 and so much 𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑬 and I was giddy as fuck through every single chapter. One of my top 10 books of 2018 for sure. Cora Reilly is fucking the 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐀𝐅𝐈𝐀.

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles needs salvation because its previous book was horrible. I'm excited for Bound by Love because we'll get to see Aria Scuderi-Vitiello and Luca Vitiello's perspective from books two to four. I'm glad this became a full length novel as we get more glimpse in Aria and Luca's marriage. Just because they're in love, it doesn't mean everything went smoothly.

I don't know how I'll review this without spoiling other books. Some of you thought Aria was stubborn and annoying for disobeying Luca. It was a complete opposite for me. Aria is an independent woman who thinks on her own accord. Sometimes she gets impulsive when it comes to her siblings and that's natural. She's a selfless woman and she'll risk everything for all the people she loves. That includes her husband and her siblings. She's a lovely heroine and she's more mature than what I've seen from the first book. I'm defending her on this one.

The reason why I lowered my rating is because of Luca. I was fuming on how he acted and I want to throw back in his face what he'd done in the first book. There was one scene when Dante and Aria talked in the car and they were pictured together. Luca accused Aria cheating on him (She didn't by the way. They were just talking and Dante spared her from punishment for coming in his territory) and he was furious about it. I don't blame him being jealous, as a couple I wished he talked to her first before giving her a cold shoulder. Like... he cheated on Aria first with Grace (the audacity of this bitch!) when they're newly weds. Did Aria gave him a hard time? NO. Aria gave him the benefit of the doubt...just like that. To think what he did was unforgivable. Don't get me wrong, I do like Luca. He's my second favorite (I like Dante Cavallaro more hehe) and it was really nice when a sinister Capo becomes a sweet, attentive lover to his wife. However, I wished he'd let Aria explained before jumping to conclusions. Overall, I like this book. It's entertaining despite of my annoyance on Luca.

P.S.

Can Dante and Valentina have another book? I seriously want them to have another book!

Final rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

[trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski · Rating 2 out of 5]

may there be spoiler, alert.

Luca walked up to me and stroked my cheek. “Still innocent.”

I think the innocent one is you, Luca. and I agree with you Principe and Matteo, you are a weak, pussy-whipped fool.



I'm literally, truly, entirely hate Aria more than Gianna for now. Fuck me if I ever have a word for Gianna again.
Why you authors have to make a mess? We loved Aria for her innocent, compliant and adoring figure. Not for her "I'll solve dis by myself Luca wont hurt me cuz you know he is a gardener not a Capo" stupidity.
You helped Gianna, we are ok with that, ok. Luca was ok. this's not that bad ok.
You kept about Lilly and Romero to urself, ok. Luca was ok. this's not that bad, too, ok.
Then, when the war at the gate, you just flied to enemies land, for to help ur brother, all alone. The only ok part is trying to save (convince) Fabi Dante made it look like she has cheated on Luka with himself.



Girl I would kill you.
I waited smt like smashing her body to wall at least for once, or a slap to face, or an angry fuck (actually it was about to happen but fuck pussy Capo's for mob romances).
Instead of these he “slaughtered chopped into pieces. very member of the Jersey MC with an axe, but a few got a bit of love with a skinning knife.”
I would like to read and really wished to read this scene, his inner voices at that moment but there was none...
But funny fact is everytime she was like 'if I do dis, I'll betray the Famiglia and Luca but actually I'm not, Luca won't hurt me" and than she was like "oh god wat I've done, am I ruining my love but Luca you do the first move I've done nothing wrong btw I'm pregnant cuz I'm irresponsible too and I love cliche but Luca not gonna learn 'till he lick my ass"

SİKERLER.


Someone pretty pls explain to me why she didn't apologize. Cuz she think she did the best, or Luca blamed her for cheating him with misleading photos, or bc she is a bigger bitch than her sister?

Even Gianna said "Aria, you have to accept what you can’t change. You have to stop—and I can’t believe I’m actually saying it—you have to stop going against Luca’s orders."
I'm taking all the words for I said to Gianna.

“You are Capo. You would have stopped Romero from pursuing Lily. You have to put the Famiglia first, but I don’t.” He straightened so our faces were on the same level. His eyes were fierce. “You should put our marriage first. And when have I ever put the Famiglia before you? I should, damn it, I shouldn’t even consider you when I make decisions that concern the Famiglia, but I always do and you know that.”

See the difference.
I'm having an headache.


The "let's kiss and make up" part was took long (thanks for that) but happened abruptly.

I dont know if this book is really necessary. We read almost every scenes from previous books, but the demoded, cherry on the top drama with angsty-ish really is not my thing, maybe I would consider this ok-with-a-rolling-eyes at the beginning of their relationship, not after all these years. and this is author's bad. I'm blaming her. Not Aria, coming events cast their shadows before (is that the true proverb?). I understand, you have too much pressure on you but sometimes leaving it there is the best 'till it's ready to go. Otherwise it's feels like 'I have to write, fans asking".

“You rule over my heart...”
xoxoxo
iko

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve tried for years to get hold of the short from Luca’s POV. But this is a full book and most of it is really good.
But...
The one thing that stands out above all other is that Aria is an idiot. When she returned to Chicago for Fabiano it was so stupid it was beyond belief. I put my kindle down and quit.
I picked it up again because I have a history with these two and I love Luca and I needed their story.
But seriously.
I mean she’s made some questionable decisions at times and while I didn’t like them I let it be but this one was just too much. So while I really enjoyed most of this book I’ll admit I wish now I hadn’t read it. I could have gone on with my fond memories of these two. Now I’m stuck with the image of Aria and her one functioning brain cell.

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

Lucca y Aria una de mis parejas favoritas de esta serie.

En este libro no tenemos una historia nueva sino la perspectiva de Lucca y Aria a través de toda la serie.
Tenemos escenas nuevas por ejemplo su luna de miel.

Y otras no tan nuevas como la historia de Gianna y Matteo, la volví a odiar a la perra sigo pensando que no se merece a mi precioso y amado Matteo.
La historia de Lily y Romero.
Y a través de estas historias vimos como Aria por tal de ayudar a sus hermanas desgastó la relación de ella y Lucca sobre todo su confianza.

Me gustó que hubo drama.
Presenciar la parte más oscura de Lucca.
La Guerra que tiene ahora con el outfit de Chicago.

Ahora ya quiero ver el nuevo libro de Dante y Valentina y su lado de la guerra.

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Як же мене підбішував Лука в цій частині. Він бачте образився, що Арія обирала постійно сестер та брата, а коли була нібито заснята «зрада», то вияснити чи це правда, чи це хтось підлаштував на це мізків не вистачило, проте перестати з нею спілкуватися, чекати поки вона попросе вибачення це якась дитяча поведінка. Взагалі, я планувала поставити 3, але тут було багато цікавих моментів, я просто вже не встигала за цим всім слідкувати. Тут був момент з братом сестер Фабіан? І вже цікаво буде почитати про нього книжку.

[Markéta · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDIT - 11. 12. 2018
So worth the wait.





31. 12. 2015
Is this ever going to happen?

[Betül · Rating 4 out of 5]

**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**



"Born in Blood. Sworn in Blood. Maybe I hadn't made a blood oath, but what bound me to him was stronger than any oath. I was bound by love."

Bound by Love focuses on the couple who first introduced us to the Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles: Luca and Aria. They were and still are my favorite couple in this series, so I was excited to be reunited with them again. And how awesome is it that we get a full-length novel instead of a novella? I was a bit scared that I wouldn't love this book as the first one, but the author did such a great job in continuing Luca and Aria's story in a very intriguing way. After an HEA you normally don't get to see the struggles, and everyone knows that especially in a mafia book there are many of those. Cora kept me interested and engaged until the end. I loved seeing these characters interact and also see their POVs of when the previous books took place. Aria's sisters didn't really make it easy for Luca as a Capo, and Aria is of course caught in the middle. She wants to protect her siblings which results her going behind Luca's back.

"There are few good things in our world, Luca, and if you find one, you cling to it with all your might. You are one of those good things in my life."

Bound by Love is a beautiful and also dark contemporary romance. I absolutely loved seeing Luca and Aria grow as a couple and individuals. They have their ups and downs, and sometimes don't know how to handle them, but eventually will always come together because they love each other. Some parts of this book were heartbreaking and I wanted to smack Luca, but looking at how he was raised by his sadistic father, his behavior was the only way he knew how to get through things. I especially loved seeing Aria grow in this book, she became a very strong woman, who sometimes acted before thinking, but always had the best intentions. This follow-up to Luca and Aria's story was done very well, and it makes me even more excited for the upcoming books in this dark, sexy and intriguing world that Cora has created. I think fans of this author/series will be satisfied and enjoy this book.

[Syndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bound by Love have a wrong title. It should be titled Bound by Stupidity. Or Immature, or Childish. All the characters are so painful to read. From the first book, I already can not stand Aria. And in Bound by Love, I hate her even more. Luca does not help either. He is not as menacing nor dark nor complicated character hero as promised.

Miss Reilly focusing more and more on the feud and the mafia war between the families and the spin off. There are too many characters that jammed together, to be honest, I am also too confuse to care. I want to like this book more than 2 stars, but Aria once again destroy everything.

Anyway, moving on...

2 stars