Before we even talk about plot, can we talk about the cover?
Why does this series share the exact same girl as Featherstone Academy by K.C. Kean? I don’t know who published first. I don’t know who copied who. But when two different series use the same stock model, it screams “low effort.” And that’s not exactly the vibe you want when you’re trying to sell gritty mafia drama.
Now.
This series desperately wants to be dark urban mafia romance. Guns. Blood. Trauma. Alpha males. High stakes.
The problem? Logic quietly left the building somewhere around chapter three.
We have full-scale gang wars happening inside cities. Hundreds of men shooting at each other. Automatic weapons. Explosions. And somehow… no police. Not one siren. Not one officer wondering why half the city sounds like a battlefield.
If 200 armed men start shooting in a populated area, I expect at least mild inconvenience from law enforcement. Instead? Silence. Apparently the police department in this universe works remotely.
Then there’s the money situation.
These gangs deal drugs. Weapons. They supposedly have wealthy elites in their pockets. And yet… they can’t afford gas for their cars?
So what exactly is the incentive to join? Violence, trauma, and poverty? You could get that working retail without the gunshots.
Now let’s discuss the pregnancy storyline, because I aged spiritually reading it.
The FMC has PCOS — one of the leading causes of infertility in women. Women with PCOS often struggle for years. They take medication. They monitor ovulation. They fight their own bodies to conceive.
Our girl? Pregnant from precum.
Sure.
And the paternity test? The doctor takes Ocean and Colton’s blood to determine if the baby is his.
Sir.
That is not how DNA works. That is not how fetal testing works. That is not how any of this works.
You need fetal DNA. It’s delicate. It carries risk. But apparently in this universe, you take two adult blood samples — none from the fetus — and that’s magically enough to determine paternity. The only thing that test realistically confirmed is that Ocean and Colton aren’t related, which, considering the rumors in book one, is honestly the most believable result of the whole storyline.
Meanwhile, murders happen constantly. Shootouts. People disappear. Violence everywhere.
Police involvement: still zero.
At this point, I’m convinced law enforcement is just a rumor.
Now, characters.
Ocean.
I loved her name. I really did. I was ready for a tough, sharp heroine.
What I got was a walking contradiction.
She falls in love with the man who bullies and humiliates her. She walks directly into obvious traps. She forgives the man who killed her father. She still idolizes the father who literally sold her like property.
Her decision-making process feels like she spins a wheel labeled “worst possible option” and commits fully.
She refuses money from Colton because pride — but is perfectly fine with him funding an international foundation for her to run.
She rejects one man for killing a murderer — but softens toward the literal psychopath who murdered her father and stalks her.
Consistency is not a personality trait here.
I tried to like her. I failed.
Nic.
The obsessive ex. Fine. We hate him for four books. That works.
Then the novella Black Widow arrives and suddenly he’s a morally gray hero with a redemption arc and a happy ending?
Absolutely not.
A cold-blooded killer gets rewarded with love — from a woman who escaped gang life, built something better, openly hated gangs… and then just casually falls for one?
That’s not morally gray. That’s narrative delusion.
Women who escape violent environments don’t romanticize going back. That novella felt unnecessary, tone-deaf, and honestly insulting.
Colton is the only consistently written character in this entire series. He makes sense. His reactions are grounded. His motivations don’t change based on plot convenience.
Frankly, I feel bad for him.
And here’s what truly pushed me over the edge:
We spend endless pages on a pregnancy storyline that makes no logical sense and ultimately contributes almost nothing meaningful to the plot. We get a whole novella dedicated to characters I did not ask for. But we don’t get even one proper chapter of Colton being a dad?
Excuse me?!
You mean to tell me I endured four books of chaotic gang wars, medical fantasy science, moral whiplash, and emotional nonsense… and I don’t even get to see Colton hold his daughter? No soft dad moments? No proud father scenes? No interactions between him and his baby girl? No wholesome chaos with his friends meeting her?
Instead, the focus shifts to Nic. To Jude. To literally everyone except the couple I suffered through four books for.
I did not invest in this series to watch secondary characters get spotlight redemption arcs while the main relationship gets crumbs.
After everything, I deserved payoff. I deserved happiness. I deserved to see Colton being a father.
Instead, I got robbed.
Now here’s the frustrating part: this series had moments.
Side characters like Milo and Sebastian were genuinely enjoyable. There were scenes where Colton and Ocean had real chemistry. I had moments where I was smiling, fully invested.
And then logic would show up, tap me on the shoulder, and say, “Are we serious right now?”
This series could have been at least 50% stronger with proper editing, better research, and someone willing to ask, “Does this make sense?”
It had potential.
It had intensity.
It just didn’t have credibility.
And that’s what ultimately ruined it for me.