He thinks I’m weak. He sees me as prey. He doesn’t know what I’m capable of or the terrible secrets I hide.
Giovanni Bianchi: Handsome, wealthy, and controlling.
He’s the man who has it all—except me.
When he offers me the opportunity to work as a librarian for his estate, I can’t turn him down despite my father’s deathbed warning. I have nothing to lose. My father is dead. My home is in danger. My fortune gone. Yet, still he takes from me. I should have listened to the warnings.
Giovanni tempts me with books, lures me with sunshine, and wraps me in sin. But all is not well in our Eden, and my secrets refuse to stay hidden. Will he leave when he sees the real me? Maybe, but I’m starting to understand my Italian Prince.
He’s not just powerful, he’s the devil in disguise.
Our twisted game will bring danger to us both, and our lives will never be the same again. Secrets are spilled, battle lines are drawn, but Giovanni won’t let me go.
Redeeming dark and dangerous heroes one book at a time. Skye Jones is an award winning and USA Today Bestselling Author. She writes dark mafia and contemporary romance as SR Jones, and angsty paranormal romance as Skye.
When not writing Skye can be found reading, dog herding, or watching gritty dramas on Netflix with her husband. She lives in the grey, windswept north of England, which fuels her taste for the dramatic and the gothic.
From the first moment they met, Giovanni knew Amelia was beautiful and forbidden. But now that she’s grown up, she’s stunning and she will be his all because his father broke a deal. Amelia has not been able to forget her encounters with Giovanni and even though she knows he’s trouble he intrigues her, and she fails to listen to the warnings. As they both navigate this new road there are secrets that will come out and try to maneuver them through a different road. Can Amelia handle all that Giovanni gives her? Will Giovanni get his revenge, or will he show a softer side with Amelia? Oh, and can we talk about the intense chemistry Giovanni and Amelia had right from the beginning!!! This book kept me captivated and I need to know what was going to happen next. Kara- 5 Stars
Wasn’t to sure about this guy at first , but he’s growing on me slowly. His morals are completely off base, he’s selfish and obsessed. Will he turn it around, we’ll see. His lady is sweet, not at all weak , she can stand up for herself, but for some reason doesn’t all the time. Another one to grow on me. Great storyline.
Jesus lord. The rambling! Way too much. Not to mention within that 21% of inner monologue comes repetitiveness regarding her fathers house and her duty to her family.
The hero’s attitude was portrayed as a hungry, alpha male who wants his obsession (h) by his side during his first POV. But the second time around, his characters’ stance regarding Amelia shifted into more of an asshole vibe who doesn’t really care about anything she likes or loves, only cares about claiming her as though she’s a piece of property who will help fulfill his vendetta against her father. Nothing more, nothing less.
Could that change as the story progresses? Perhaps.
Will I stick around to find out? No.
Amelia is coming off dull and lost; two characteristics that become extremely boring, extremely fast when executed poorly.
The writing style is.. odd, in my opinion. I don’t know what it is in specific but it’s not my cup of tea.
First time reading from this author. The last time.. I’m not sure. But this read was a miss. Not recommended.
I would 100% recommend reading Twisted Trilogy 0.5 because none of that context is really recapped in this book. Again, I don't know why that couldn't have been the start of this book but oh well...
If you dislike inner monologue (in any way), this isn't the book for you either. There is also a lot of repetition; when switching POV, the conversation doesn't need to be repeated again.
About halfway through, I was quite invested in this book but I just didn't really feel like anything was happening. There wasn't enough interaction between Giovanni and Amelia for my liking. I didn't feel much emotional connection between them. I felt this way through the majority of this book. Way more content was needed in order for this to be a trilogy.
Pros... Cover and blurb describing book is the best part of book one. The writing itself was good for a short story with decent editing.
Cons: Characters Amelia comes off initially as a mousy, do as she is told, (even agree to marry a gay guy to save Daddy's house). Her career in in library science. Fast forward to a job offer in Italy for a man her late father warned her to stay away from but goes anyway. The job offer far exceeds anything she could possibly get in Maine so she leaves the gay guy and controlling grandmother for Italy. There are so many red flags in this book that this woman doesn't see I felt like she was color blind. Giovanni puts the moves on his new employee immediately, takes her virginity, goes from 1-100 in his kinky sexual side, has sex WITHOUT a condom numerous times and finally parades her into his den of iniquity. Surprise Amelia...you have been played and now you are no longer employed but are a kidnap victim. Amelia's character lacked depth, common sense, street smarts, maturity and respect for herself; taking away from a story that could have gone so differently. She jumps into an affair with Giovanni (her employer) so quickly, it made my head spin.
Giovanni: Another anti-hero that's plan involves getting revenge against a dead man by making an innocent woman pay for the fact that daddy dearest borrowed money, but never repaid it. This story/plot has been done quite a bit and can be very entertaining when done properly. His character is so predictable in his quest to break Amelia for her father's action against he and his family. Apparently, he has never heard the term "let it go" but instead goes to great lengths to get his victim in Italy. He is a real sweetheart who has "douchebag" written all over his face and yet all Amelia sees is "how handsome he is, and what a fantastic library he has".
Storyline/Plot: This is a storyline done numerous times making portions of this book predictable. A storyline/plot such as this needs to be tantalizing and intriguing from the beginning. This story had too many holes with not enough explanation or backstory to get the reader involved and invested in the story and the characters. No one died from her father's actions yet Giovanni goes to great lengths to get his revenge by humiliating her in front of the people that he is supposed to be a "peacekeeper for"?
Length: Why so short? There are three books in this trilogy with an average length of 125 pages. .
Some people that have not read previous stories/plots such as this may enjoy this book. This review is based upon my personal experience reading this story and has no baring on the author or any another reader's opinion.
This is the first book of a Trilogy, and my first one by this author. There’s actually a prequel, Cruel Promise, where you should start this series ideally.
The premise has some touches of classic fairytales, but not in a retelling format, more like an inspiration. I quite liked SR Jones's writing style.
Amelia, the heroine is dutiful, innocent, beautiful but unaware of her allure. There's this sweetness in her that makes you feel protective about her. Giovanni is very different from the usual mafia heroes. One, he isn’t exactly mafia, and two, well, he seems to have a heart and some scruples, unlike some of the ruthless a*sholes in mafia stories. Nothing wrong with that, I like a few of them myself, but Gio is refreshingly unique.
Come to think of it, this series comes with a trigger warning, but there was nothing ‘disturbing’ in this book. Does it mean all the craziness and depravity will come out in book 2? Whoa, can’t wait to find out!
I think I would have liked this better if the author hadn't tried to come up with the most inocuous way for Gio to be "bad guy". He's a banker. Honestly, that should have been enough. He has power because he has money. The whole fight club stuff was distracting and made him seem so much less powerful.
Literally, this is a "nobody talks about fight club" plot and said fight club is only for certain families to duke it out over their grievances. No betting, just fisticuffs for honor. Then the author tries to make that some kind of impressive secret that must be kept at all costs and fails to sell the reason for that miserably. Yes, Amelia, sheltered and naïve, finds it grotesque, but I think normal people wouldn't even care. It's the least "dark" think you could be involved in.
Just admit that Gio is a banker, a very, very rich banker and go from there. He says often enough that he's not "made" and, well, why would he be? He's A BANKER.
The "revenge" plot was reason enough for Amelia to want to leave. Didn't need to traumatize her with the fight club. It just made Gio look like a peer pressured loser.
Dangerous Vow is the first book in the Twisted Trilogy by SR Jones and ends on a cliffhanger. It is the first book I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it. What a great start to the trilogy! It was nice to see Amelia start to come into her own and that Gio wasn’t completely unscrupulous. While feelings develop between the two, there are many secrets that must be revealed in order to truly move their relationship forward. It will definitely be interesting to see how the drama will all play out. I can’t wait for the next book!
If Amelia had known the true way of things in Italy, would she have still gone, I wonder? Given her family’s expectations back in Maine – it’s most likely. It’s too bad though, that her father, on his deathbed, hadn’t elaborated about why she should steer clear of the Italian devil.
I enjoyed Amelia’s rebellion from her customary subservient behaviour as she found herself free from the influence and tight control of her grandmother. I liked that she finally found her spunk and spoke her mind to Giovanni, despite her employee status in his household. Gio was in many ways no better than her grandmother – he was just more debonair in how he deployed his tactics.
It’s a well written romance with intriguing characters and some dark themes. There’s plenty of drama, angst and some suspense in addition to several explicit encounters. I enjoyed the tie-in to the author’s Bratva Blood series, specifically, The Priest. I also enjoyed the vivid descriptions of Gio’s villa and the Italian countryside. I’m looking forward to the continuation of this twisty tale.
I received an Advance Reader Copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I have totally fallen for Gio! Gio is known as the Amalfi-Banker and when he believes an old friend of his father’s has betrayed him. He plans to use his daughter as payment. Amelia has been sheltered her entire life and is being buried with debt by the estate her father left her and will be forced to marry a man she doesn’t love. She then receives an offer from Gio to come to Italy and work for him for a year. Sparks fly when they first met a few years ago but can she trust his reasons for the job offer? Fast-paced read with loads of drama, suspense and steam. The chemistry is intense and the story drew me in from beginning to end. I loved it!
Can’t make myself like Giovanni. He is a arrogant jerk who I hope takes some blows to his ego. I am not even rooting for him. Amelia is so stupid to fall for him. I want to see what is going to happen yet I don’t at the same time.
Amelia's father has passed away without fulfilling his debt to Giovanni. Now Giovanni is coming for Amelia -- only it's not just because of the debt, he wants her too.
So Gio offers her a job cataloging and organizing his extensive library at his villa in Italy. But he has ulterior motives. Sure, he wants her, but he also wants her as his to demonstrate what happens to those who don't fulfill their debts to him.
After reading the prequel for this series, I wasn't necessarily excited about this series, but I was curious enough to continue. The prequel was a little boring, but this one was even worse.
First off, I am not a fan of Amelia at all. She's got this wilting flower kind of personality. She's very self conscious despite being gorgeous. And she's extremely naive to the world and comes across as a complete idiot most of the time.
She's also ridiculously emotional. As an example, she cries at the sight of his bedroom because "it's the most beautiful room she's ever seen". Seriously? Is that worth crying about? She even cries when they are on a boat because of the view being so beautiful. She's so absurd.
The worst though was her reaction when he took her to his fight club. It's a club for the underground crime clans to work out differences and blow off steam. She is absolutely disgusted (her words), literally feels sick to her stomach, and then proceeds to faint. Omg she's the opposite of everything I like to see in an FMC.
Giovanni is okay, but actually rather tame when it comes down to it. He's not really that bad even though he claims to be. And he's just kind of disappointing to me.
Their chemistry is okay, but the actual sex is rather bland and boring.
There's also no real story here. I mean, she finds out he's "bad" at the end of this one and he locks her in her room so she can't leave. But...they both already like each other and she's just basically throwing a tantrum. None of it is very exciting. Nothing is happening.
So overall it's just boring and very bland. I don't plan to continue the series at this point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is a wonderful follow up, Amelia and Gio’s Story captivating read I had enjoyed the earlier read where Amelia had first been introduced ti Gio some three years previously when he had come to her father’s home for a meeting. She had been captivated by the much older and extremely attractive Italian that simply oozed charm and danger. However, after there had been some contention with her father, he had left the house and there had been a great deal of animosity between the two men and she had neither seen or heard from him again, although she had remembered him fondly especially some of her very erotic memories. When Gio had reached out to Amelia it had been like dangling a very tasty carrot before a starving donkey, he knew her love for books and the fact that she was very accomplished in this field and would be more that proficient working on the library in his home. Also. the fact that there were some very ancient and very private texts that related to his family meant he needed someone he could trust working with the restorations and catalogue of all the material, it should take approximately a year. As Amelia and Gio begin to spend time together discussing the books she has found in the library, also her appreciation for his home which he is currently restoring to its former glory which is something she loves and their mutual appreciation and Gio experiencing things via her eyes has brought his nothing but joy and happiness. Taking Amelia to the fight club where the Italian gangs settled their differences off the streets as it had been done through the ages was more that she could stomach and when she had heard Gio and some Russians discussing how she was payment for her dead father’s debt, she felt betrayed and sick to her stomach and decided no matter what it takes she would return to England. However, Gio and his brother Marcello know that she is on the radar of the Polish now and if they can get hold of her, she will be sold into slavery and when she is no longer of any use will be shot, Gio will never allow this to happen but a determined Amelia, especially when betrayed is extremely clever. I cannot wait for the next book in this series to discover what the next adventure holds for Amelia and Gio. I voluntarily received and review an Advanced Reader Copy I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading any future publications; keep up all the great writing.
He made her father a vow and now it’s time to put it into motion. Giovanni Bianchi is not mafia, but he’s someone that should be revered and respected. He’s a collector and comes from an old family that can be traced back to the days of ancient Herculaneum. He protects his town and the people that live in it. However, if you cross him, you will pay.
Her father crossed Giovanni Bianchi, and on his deathbed, Charles Marshall made his daughter, Amelia promise to marry a man that would protect her and care for her and help her to keep the family home cared for as well. While also telling her to stay away from Giovanni Bianchi. The problem is that the man she’s supposed to marry is not someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with. When she receives an offer she can’t refuse, her life begins to look brighter, and she makes some changes and decisions on the spur of the moment. The man that she has been dreaming about for the past three years has contacted her.
Both families have secrets. Giovanni wants to prove that no one should cross him and wants his pound of flesh. Amelia has spent a lot of her inheritance on restoring and keeping the house that her father left running, but she’s running out of time and money. She doesn’t want to marry the one man that her father has been pushing on her for years. They don’t even love each other, and she can’t bear the thought of him touching her. When Giovanni sends her an offer that could help her in multiple ways, she decides to go with it. However, she has no idea the real reason he has reached out. I loved the story and the characters in this story. I was introduced to a different Giovanni, in a way, than what I read in Priest. He’s still a ruthless, dangerous man, but he shows more of a softer side in this book. He’s still just as hot and sexy as he was when his character was introduced. I give this book a 5-star review and look forward to more of this trilogy to come.
Giovanni Bianchi, the Amalfi Banker, has the perfect plan for revenge. “I will take your daughter” he says in Italian to Charles Marshall.
In a devious plan, Marshall makes the serious mistake of reneging on repayment on his loan to Giovanni and for that, Amelia Marshall will pay the price. After her father’s death she is left destitute and desperate to save her estate and is on the verge of agreeing to a loveless marriage. In an underhanded and manipulative plan he lures Amelia, an overprotected, socially awkward, nerdy librarian to Italy for one year. Under the pretence of hiring her to collate and organize his very impressive heritage library, Giovanni ensures that Amelia is ensconced in his villa. She sees his offer as her chance at freedom. Unknown to Amelia, she is, in reality, Giovanni’s prisoner. However, Amelia gets cold feet at the very last minute. According to Charles Marshall, Giovanni is the devil himself. Hearing her deceased father’s voice “He’s a dangerous, horrible man”, Amelia decides she does not want to leave for Italy. Giovanni immediate offers a compromise. Why not come to the villa, stay a couple of days and if she wants to go home, he will buy her passage home. She agrees and Amelia is seduced by the villa, the incredible library and Giovanni himself. What will happen if or when Giovanni inevitably shows that he is the devil incarnate and the actual reason for his inducement?
The addition starts with the book cover….yeah…yeah…yeah don’t judge a book by its cover they say ….well we all do it and this one here it is the scratch to your itch or better yet the filling to your oreos! Speaking of filling…..wait, that’s for later. Within the first chapters you get the panoramic view of whom you’re dealing with! Bad boy….check Bod boy’s crazy brother/friend…check Bad boy’s Kryptonie…check ….check and check By the time you’ve figured out who is who and what is what, you’re already hooked, and you may as well give up the fight and prepare yourself for an all-nighter! Can’t say I didn’t warn you. This is book is part of the Twisted Saga series why just read one when you can start at the beginning and keep reading through the series it won’t be a waste of time. Amelia sweet, assumed to be a softie and hired on as a librarian by none other than the sexy mafia. Giovanni sexy as all get out mafia and dangerous to most but not all 😊. I really ….really ….really hate cliffhangers (now that we got that out of the way) Gio out for revenge but realize there is so much more to the sweet Amelia and he isn’t letting her go …see her father was as honest when it came to a loan and thinking he will hire his daughter out of revenge she takes the job to escape a marriage to someone she doesn’t love. One she starts working for Gio he shows her a side that is rarely seen but he also breaks her heart so the questions are what happens next waiting on part two.
Oh lord... Lord have mercy because this amazing girl author is writing a new Mafia Trilogy. SR Jones is the bomb with this genre Fe and you will fall in love with her books. Her writing is raw and wild, hit and dark, dangerous and intense... Oh boy... So good. Dangerous Vow is her latest release and it's the first book from the Twisted Trilogy. This book keeps exploring the lives of Gio and Amelia. But I must advise you to read the prequel first. Read Cruel Promise and only then start this one. As you know, Gio got Amelia as a payment for one man's mistake. You don't want to cross a Mafia lord. Amelia is seen as the weakest link but... OMG seriously? Seriously? Why? Oh, why? I know that this is a trilogy but I didn't want it to end like this. I wanted to keep reading. Stellar plot, very well written, super engaging, and intense. Each chapter was even more addictive than the latest and I couldn't stop reading it. There were parts of the book that I wanted to slap someone silly, jeez, stubborn much? It's so sweet to see the innocence against the malicious. One is sweet and the other does not do much. This book had it all, from a desire to love, from betrayal to punishment. All the ingredients to create a masterpiece. I'm in love with these characters and I can't wait for the next book. I'm so mad... Mad because it's over. Mad because I have to wait for more... Great book SR.
4.75 stars This is the first book in the Twisted Trilogy and it should be read after the prequel Cruel Promise. This author has become one that I go to for her dark romances with sexy alpha males and this one does not disappoint. Amelia is a woman who has been sheltered her entire life. After her father’s passing, she learns that in order to save her home and family reputation, she must marry a man that she has no interest in at all. Not helping matters is she is having thoughts of a man she met years ago who seems to be staring in her fantasies. Years ago, Gio went to America to make a deal with Amelia’s father. Now he is returning to collect a debt that is owed to him and what Gio wants, Gio gets by any means necessary. Overall, this is one well written, exciting read as the pages turn and the relationship between Gio and Amelia develops set against the backdrop of Italy that will have anyone planning their next trip. I look forward to the next installment to see where this journey goes.
I felt like the first few chapters of the story dragged on longer than it should have based on the overall story.
Amelia wasn't my favorite character. The book starts out with her being willing to marry a gay guy in order to save her dead dad's house. It seems to only be her and her Grandma who is a cold cold woman. She basically decides to take a job offer in Italy from a guy her father had warned her against and she was told to stay away from.
Giovanni: Her new employer in Italy puts the moves on her... takes her virginity - which she willing gives up, and for most the keeps a whole part of his life a secret from her for most the book. He finally exposes her to his real life in the last 20 pages and then.. bam... it is done and we are to move on to the next book.
I found so much of the storyline to be predictable. I felt like this book left too many holes in it.. I would have rather the author fill us in more on the backstory of the dad and Giovanni.
Doubtful that I will move on with this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Amelia’s father has died, and she fears she must follow his request to marry a man she cannot stand to save her legacy. Amelia has led a sheltered life. Shen she was younger she met a man doing business with her father; Giovanni. He is the type of man she would rather marry.
Giovanni is owed a debt from Amelia’s father. He decides to collect from the daughter. He offers her an opportunity to catalogue his extensive library – in Italy.
We know Gio is doing things for the wrong reason. We know Amelia is “so sweet and naïve it could be bottled”. Amelia brings the joy back into Gio’s daily existence, and actually stands up to him. At some point there will be a realization and a testing of their current relationship.
The journey is exquisite. Always a great read from this author.
**I am voluntarily leaving my honest review of this book**
Oh Giovanni, why are you like you are?! He's a bit (okay more than a bit) pissy about Amelia's father getting something past him after dying, so he's made a vow to take her for the debt. I mean at least he didn't kidnap her at first, instead offered a job making bank but there were those strings attached. She doesn't know what is going on in the background, but she's had a secret crush on him for some time, so she never stood a chance when he started weaving his web around her. Amelia is naïve since her father really sheltered her from the darker things in life, so she wasn't prepared for any of this to happen to her. She catches feelings, and while Giovanni is feeling something, there's still that vow situation. I'm still not sure how I feel about him especially after the cliffhanger ending so I guess time will tell. I know that the next book cannot be released quickly enough but in the meantime, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
SR Jones' trilogy Twisted Sagas starts off with Dangerous Vows. Be forewarned...this is a trilogy so it ends on a cliffhanger. Gio's and Amelia's story is a steamy turbulent one. Amelia's dad warned her Gio is the devil incarnate. She went to live and work for him anyway, being drawn to him.
I am not sure how I feel about Giovanni. Yes he is cruel and mean but then we see another side and you really wonder if it is an act. His chemistry with Amelia is a passionate one. Amelia...I'm am trying to cut her a break. She was raised and lived in a bubble. So I guess her naiveté is just so foreign. I wanted to tell her to wake up, grow up...sometimes she got on my nerves.
The story overall was paced pretty well. It had some slow moments but made up for them in other. I cannot wait to see where this trilogy takes up.
Book one of the Twisted Trilogy Series has Giovanni offering Amelia a job to come to his Villa in Italy to essentially set up, catalog, clean up, his amazing library. Amelia is Charles Marshall’s daughter who before he died reneged on a loan that he had with Gio. So Gio has vowed to the ultimate “get even” and he set out to get Amelia in Italy and parade her around in front of the other capo’s and etc. so as not to appear weak. The characters were believable, the chemistry was unbelievably hot right from the get go. The author does a nice job of keeping the reader involved. Displays of danger, suspense, action,secrets, excitement. This was a fairly quick read for me, I just couldn’t put it down. Was a bit like “Oh my word” when I turned to the last page. None too happy with that scenario. Can’t wait for boom two now. I absolutely recommend this book, was a very enjoyable story. I received an Advance Reader's Copy and am voluntarily leaving my honest thoughts and opinions.
This is the first book for me from this author. So far I am enjoying the story. There are some things that I think could be explained more. I heard there was a prequel that might have helped with the story. There is much talked about the dangerous world of Gio's but there are not many incidents to what his world really is except the fighting club. Not sure is this story is part of a bigger world or not. I do like that Amelia is starting to come into her own, but I would of like to read more about her life in Maine and Jeremy. There are many mentions about him, but we really don't know much and he seems like a character that is there just to give Amelia a reason to leave, but not really a good one. He doesn't add to the story in my opinion right now, maybe he will in the trilogy. I want to read the rest of the books to really get an understanding of the author and how the story will play out. As of right now, I would suggest reading book one.
In Dangerous Vow geht es um Amelia Marshall. Eine Ende zwanzigjährige Amerikanerin, die seit dem Tod ihres Vaters mit finanziellen Sorgen zu kämpfen hat. Für ihre Großmutter zählt nur eins: Amelia muss genügend Geld organisieren, damit das Familienanwesen erhalten bleiben kann und der Ruf der Familie nicht in Mitleidenschaft gezogen wird. Dafür soll Amelia in eine reiche Familie einheiraten und sieht damit einem Leben ohne jegliche romantische Liebe entgegen. Doch als plötzlich das Angebot des Italienischen Geschäftsmanns Gio bei ihr eingeht, kann Amelia nicht anders als diesem nach Italien zu folgen. Zum ersten Mal entscheidet sie selbstbestimmt über ihr Leben. Natürlich verspricht sie sich auch eine finanzielle Erleichterung durch den angebotenen Job. Aber nicht nur das Geld lockt sie nach Italien. Denn seitdem sie Gio das erste Mal gesehen hat, konnte sie nicht aufhören an ihn zu denken.
Der Anfang war echt sehr sehr langsam. Ich war schon kurz davor abzubrechen, weil es so repetitiv war und sich Amelia in Selbstmitleid gebadet hat. Doch als sie endlich in Italien war, war die Geschichte echt gut zu lesen.
Wow! I turned the page and it was over.... These stories, whilst stand alone, stay connected to their origins and I just love it! I’m loving the complexity and depth of the characters - the intense power of Giovanni and his struggle to deny the connection he has to the beautiful soul of Amelia, his personal demons and inner conflict has drawn me in. Amelia’s simplistic but complex honesty and her sense of self that is continuing to evolve is fascinating. The heat between the two, their connection and the evolution of their relationship is so hot 🥵. The story is well written, the plot has depth and I CANNOT wait for the next instalment. Sky is one of my absolute favourite authors and if you want a story that has layers, intrigue and strong sexy characters - this is a must read. Enjoy 😉
This book was a good read but make sure you read the prequel first to better understand why gio wants Amelia so much. Amelia is the definition of a naive poor little rich girl and gio is her golden ticket out of rich people poverty. This book has age gap and employe/boss tropes as well as a hint of the underworld in Italy. I’m curious to see where this series goes as the blurb for this book doesn’t really seem to match this book. If Amelia has secrets they don’t come out in this book, some of gios do but not all. It’s hinted that someone may be after gio in retaliation for his help from Preists story but as far as the blurb saying they are in danger that just didn’t happen in this part of the trilogy. Most of this book is focused on the start of their relationship and of course ends on a cliffhanger.
Wow! I read the prequel to this, Cruel Promise, which is the referred to backstory of how Amelia and Gio first met and how her father betrayed him, hence the ‘Cruel Promise’. The chemistry between the two of them has always been scorching and their fates get even more interwoven in this, the next instalment of the story. Gio is an enigma, he has so many sides to him and so much weight on his shoulders. Amelia herself has the weight of the world on her young shoulders all thanks to her cold upbringing that ensured others happiness came before her own. Books are the connection between both of the characters as well as their genuine attraction to each other. The story is intense, packed with so many different aspects and interesting throughout. I cannot wait for the next instalment. Superb.
This is the 1st in a new trilogy and is Giovanni and Amelia’s story. Giovanni is wealthy and controlling, and Amelia is sweet and innocent. On his deathbed Amelia’s father made her promise to marry a man who would protect her and help her with keeping the family home, and to also stay clear of Giovanni. When Amelia’s father broke his deal with Giovanni he is pout for revenge. From the moment he crosses paths with Amelia he is intrigued, and there is sizzling and undeniable chemistry between them. As their relationship evolves feeling begin to change to become more real. This is a well written story which is filled with secrets, danger, suspense, drama, revenge, and is an intense and entertaining read. I look forward to reading the 2nd book in this trilogy, and I highly recommend this talented author’s work.
While this is the first book in this trilogy there is actually a prequel "Cruel Promise" and i would recommend that you read that before you start. Like all of S R Jones reads this is a roller coaster ride where the characters don't easily fit into moulds. Giovanni (Gio) Bianci may be not be mafia in the true sense but he is just as tough but he has heart and soul and isn't as cruel as many in the game. Amelia is soft and protected but has a core of steel Gio has always wanted Amelia but knew that he couldn't have her until her father placed her in the position where she became his. Her father has died and he wanted her to marry a man that she loathes but Gio offers her an escape and has she has never forgotten him from a meeting when they where younger she jumps at the chance. What will the future hold for these two.