Beautiful Carnage

The Boys of Sinners Bay #1

by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

“If she sleeps in my bed every night, she’ll end up falling in love with me…and that’ll be awkward as hell when I have to kill her.”

SLOAN
He’s my twisted nightmare.
My blood bound enemy.
My ruthless desire.

Our fates were spun the night he tried to kill me and now he’s back to destroy me for good.

It’s always been us versus them. The Calabresis against the Romeros.

This city is ours but they vowed to take it from us. And when they couldn’t, they took me instead.

Now I’m chained by the cruellest of them all; the man who wrapped his hands around my throat and tried to squeeze the life from me all those years ago.

But I won’t fall prey to him. I’m older, fiercer and I’ve grown claws of my own.

Rocco Romero thinks he can keep me captive, but he’s about to regret bringing a sleeping tiger into his home.



ROCCO
She’s my greatest failure.
The name that always haunts me.
My dirty little secret.

And when I had the chance to kidnap her from her wedding, nothing on God’s green earth could stop me.

She’s mine. I could take her life, her body or her heart if I wanted to.

But my brothers refuse to believe me.

So when they bet I can’t make the little principessa fall in love with me, of course I step up to the challenge.

And when she’s down on her knees, pouring her heart out, I’ll crush it in my fist.

I’m lining the Calabresis up like dominoes. And she’ll be the first to fall.



**Beautiful Carnage is a standalone mafia bully romance between one sexy guy and girl with hot scenes and alpha men causing havoc at every turn**

Genres: Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Dark, Mafia Romance, Contemporary, Forced Proximity

472 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 24, 2020

About the author

I'm a #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Zodiac Academy series. I write all things dark romance, from fantasy to contemporary, high school bully to mafia, there's bound to be a book for you!

Me and my sister Susanne Valenti now write books together and we've built the most amazing, fun, crazy reader group on Facebook which we would LOVE you to join. Be the first to get teasers of upcoming books, plus interact with us daily, asks us questions, make friends with other book junkies and find your reader home.

Join here >> https://www.facebook.com/groups/19697...

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For all business inquiries please contact us at>>

mail@kingshollow.co.uk


For more information, special editions, signed books and more, check out my website here >>

www.kingshollow.co.uk

Reviews

[Rebecca (life's chaotic catching up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars This book was so ridiculous but it also gave exactly what I expected so I'm not mad at it. It was entertaining AF in a totally absurd kind of way. (Like pretty much all the twisted sisters' books let's be real, but I am a slave to them anyway) 😂

This is a Romeo/Juliet Beauty and the Beast mafia romance. Rocco Romero (yes that's his name) prince of the Romero mafia family kidnaps Sloan Calabresi princess of the Calabresi mafia family on her wedding day! You know what this book is about from the description, and it pretty much goes the way you think it's going to for most of the book. Except there is a really good plot twist towards the end that kept it interesting.

Sloan is awesome, this girl is a hellcat, and I loved the fight in her. She doesn't have much of a personality, but she can cook apparently so that seemed to be enough to carry her throughout the book.
Rocco is the weirdest MMC I have read from the sisters, he has no depth at all he's just a meathead that's hot basically and likes to talk dirty. But he was really entertaining especially with his brothers. And he played Escape (the pina colada song) when he kidnapped Sloan and that shit was funny.

They seemed to fall in love out of nowhere and mainly bc of physical attraction (oh yeah, and Stockholm syndrome) It could have been done better honestly but again it met my managed expectations so, fine.

The most interesting person in the book is actually the fiancée, Nicoli, dude was seriously doing the most to save Sloane! I liked him better than Rocco TBH and he is the main character of the next book so I will definitely be reading that one.

I was entertained even though it could have been better so I'm counting it as a win! 😜

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars ✨

“I caught and caged you,” he said with a smirk that was almost teasing. “You’re mine fair and square.”

in case you're curious about the book but don't want to read my review: this is Twisted Pride but funnier. that's it. you're welcome.

now for real, i don't know if it was intentional or not, but this was hilarious. Beautiful Carnage is probably one of the tamest kidnapping romances i've ever read. Sloan's (h) captors, Rocco (H) and his two brothers, literally make a BET on whether Rocco can make Sloan fall in love with him while she's kidnapped 🤣

the way these guys were in the mafia but acted like high school teens had me in tears. Rocco's brothers even pull a prank on him and leave him handcuffed to Sloan for a couple of days what the fuck 💀😂 that's peak comedy right there.

“No one can hear you, you’re miles away from anywhere but you’re really giving me a fucking headache. So shut the hell up.”

aside from fucking with her mind a liiittle bit, i feel like the brothers were too nice to Sloan?? they let her sleep in Rocco's bed and even fought anyone who wanted to rape her 🤺🤺 like I said, true gentlemen 😌 and this was tame to the point i thought this book could've benefitted from some dub/non-con scenes.... but you didn't see me writing this 😶

just look at my favorite quote from the book:

If she gave in and fucked me, it might stay with her, confuse her, make her look back on her time in captivity and think she’d gone temporarily insane. But if I got her to love me, she’d never be able to move on from it when I destroyed her.

I’d stay with her forever, haunting her dreams and her memories, scarring her so deeply that it could never be healed. If I rushed her into sex, it might ruin that plan. I wanted her begging for me mind, body and soul. And when she was desperate for even the slightest bit of my attention, I’d take her body and ruin her so thoroughly she’d dream about me forever more.

🥵 okay. i wanted to see way more of this possessive guy who wanted to ruin her, but i think he was a softie underneath it all 😭 i'm in a weird mood though i've been reading too much fluff lately fhksdjfh

anyway, I liked Rocco and Sloan's relationship and appreciated the fact that this is soooort of a slowburn, or at least that they don't fuck right away. i liked the sex scenes and enjoyed Rocco's POV a lot. I just never understood when the fuck they fell in love 😭 it was all going great until one day out of nowhere they couldn't live without each other. honestly, if it hadn't been for that, i would've given it 4 stars.

“You don’t think I hate you?”
“I think you hate me so hard, it eats you up. You hate me so hard you dream about me and all the awful things I might do to you. But I think that in those dreams you don’t actually hate it so much when I do them…”

Sloan was another problem for me. i loved that she had a backbone and NEVER stopped trying to escape, but she had no personality beyond that 😭 i understand that she had been sheltered her whole life, but i can't tell you a single thing about her other than the fact that she liked to cook 😔

overall this was funny and entertaining, and I also liked the family dynamic between Rocco and his brothers (which also reminded me of Remo's family 😬), but the romance was missing something and the ending was completely rushed and full of drama. leave it to these authors to cause absolute chaos on the last 15% 💀 oh, and Nicoli's POV put me to sleep, they need to stop with the unnecessary POVs 😭😭😭

“I am yours from my black heart to my tarnished soul,” he growled powerfully. “Take it, own it, destroy it, I don’t care so long as it’s in your possession.”

[claudia (purged my account) · Rating 3 out of 5]

pre-review
I had so much fun with this book! ROCCO🎀
I need to get my hands on the second

[Redhead Haze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: mafia romance
Tropes: enemies to lovers, mafia wars, found family, kidnapped girl, Stockholm Syndrome, betting he can make the girl fall in love
Trigger Warning: violence, death, attempted rape, vulgar language, graphic sexual scenes
Series: The Boys of Sinners Bay #1
Cliffhanger: No
Spice: 3/5 🌶
Rating: 3.75 ⭐

"This wasn’t going to be some Romeo and Juliet story, two lovers from warring families trying to build a great romance against the odds. They both died in the end anyway. Silly fuckers."

I've never been a fan of mafia romance books; it's just not my style and not for me. But this is a book by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, so it was an instant "want to read" title for me, because these two sisters have always made me devour their books so far.
It was a list of classic clichés, one after the other, exception being one plot twist I actually didn't see coming but, in retrospective, I probably should have expected. But, even with the predictability, I enjoyed watching Sloane and Rocco go through their own Romeo and Juliet story.

》》The Plot《《

Sloan Calabresi is the only daughter of Giuseppe Calabresi, the leader of the Calabresi clan and the one who runs Sinners Bay. Rocco Romero is the eldest of the three Romero brothers and the Heir of the Romero clan, those who run the underworld and who are Calabresi's mortal enemies. So, when Giuseppe decides to marry off his daughter with Nicoli Vitoli, the boy he had adopted and wanted to declare as his Heir, Rocco takes the chance to land a blow and defend the shame of failing to kill Sloan 4 years prior, by kidnapping her from her own wedding.

“Do you always run from your problems, principessa?” Rocco called after me mockingly.
“I’m trying, but this particular one keeps following me around.”

Sloan has been a captive all her life, one way or another, but this time, she has actual chains keeping her in line. But being the hostage of the enemy is proving challenging and unexpected, especially when she discovers her rebellious side. So the plot goes on with bites, scratches, spice and the Stockholm Syndrome.
The POVs are shared between Sloan and Rocco, with a few chapters from Nicoli as well. There's no cliffhanger at the end, but the scene is set pretty nicely for the next book in this series of stand-alones.

》》 Characters and Relationships《《

👩🏻 Sloan Calabresi

"The cruel truth was, men ruled my world whether I liked it or not. I was trapped in an invisible cage, my wings thoroughly clipped."

I think her strongest personality trait was her wish to be free. Kept under her father's will all the time, forced to marry someone she did not choose and then kidnapped before she could say "I do" and held captive by the enemies, her desire for freedom is understandable. Not exactly a damsel in distress but not exactly her own knight in shining armour either, she was stubborn enough to keep trying to escape and infuriating enough to constantly not know what she wanted.

“Do you know how it feels to be protected your whole life, Royce?” I asked coldly. “It feels a lot like a sheep being protected from wolves, all so it can be eaten later by the farmer.”

Not the best female MC the sisters have created, but way better than any other one from other mafia romances I've tried. I think my favorite scene with her was the one where she took Rocco back to the house, after the wolf attack. That gave me huge Beauty and the Beast vibes.

🧑🏻 Rocco Romero

"Rocco Romero. Oldest son of Martello Romero, king of the underworld and bringer of terror.
He was me in reverse. A prince to an empire. The only difference was, women didn’t inherit. He was his vicious father in the making. A man who slaughtered our people on the streets, who left a trail of fear in his wake. His family were the reason Port Diavoli had been nicknamed Sinners Bay."

Because of that name, I could not take him seriously for one damn moment. Rocco Romero... there's simply not enough imagination in my world to take that name and turn the character into a sexy guy. Like, honestly, the sexiest thing I could come up with was the Alfa Romeo car every time I read his full name and, I don't know about you, but that's really not on a very high position on my list of sexy things.
Of course, he's the big bad wolf and super cruel, with bullying inclinations and trauma from his childhood. He had his shining moments, but really, I simply wasn't generally impressed with him.

“You’re like Jekyll and Hyde, Rocco,” she growled, the fire in her gaze letting me know just how much she cared. “I never know what version of you I’m going to get.”
“Which might be a problem if it didn’t turn you on so much,” I deadpanned. “Besides, Dr Jekyll only had two personalities. I’ve got at least nine.”

He was kind of hot and cold, but he also reminded me of Niall Roscoe ( from Kings of Quarantine and Dead Men Walking series, also by the sisters).

👩🏻🧑🏻 Sloan and Rocco

“I don’t want to cage you, principessa.”
“Says my captor.” I narrowed my eyes on him as anger flitted through me. 
“You’re my captor too,” he said in a low tone, taking my hand and placing it against his heart. “We chained ourselves together the day we hesitated to kill each other."

I have mixed feelings about them because
1) I loved the way Rocco called her "principessa"
2) I loved how their relationship turned out when the dust settled
BUT
3) Rocco had literally done nothing to make her fall in love with him, apart from showing her basic human decency (OK, OK maybe he also payed her back in orgasms for everything, but still...)

“Spin a globe and pick a destination. The North Pole, the Sahara desert, I don’t care. If you’re there I want to be there too.”
“That sounds like heaven,” she admitted slowly, brushing her fingers along the side of my face. 
“More like hell with me at your side,” I reminded her. “But I’d make a palace surrounded by fire and brimstone right in the depths of it for you if you’d really come.”

They had their Romeo and Juliet meets Beauty and the Beast sort of love, the spice scenes were on point and the banter and smart lines were super enjoyable, not to mention the moments that just had that vibe only Caroline and Susanne could create. In the end, I tend to swoon a bit over the two of them, but my rational self is way more awake and still frowning at some of the shit that went down.

🧑🏽 Nicoli Vitoli

"Once I married Sloan, I would be a Calabresi in every single sense of the word. She was my reward for every foul and dangerous thing I’d done for him. He’d chosen me. Given her to me. 
She was mine."

Oddly enough, I never hated him and I even think I liked him more than I liked Rocco (maybe again, because it's easier to swoon for someone called Nicoli Vitoli over a damn ROCCO ROMERO). And I do believe he loved Sloan, just not romantically, even if he might have wanted her. His obsession with proving himself drove him to the point of also thinking a bit about her as rightfully his, but he did do his best to protect her and proved surprisingly understanding to some controversial requests of hers. I think I'm going to love his book (I've sneaked a peak and I know the second book is about him), especially with that masive plot twist (The one that actually surprised me) involving Nicoli as well.

🧑🏻🧑🏻🧑🏻 Rocco, Frankie and Enzo

“Because if she sleeps in my bed every night, she’ll end up falling in love with me,” I joked. “And that’ll be awkward as fuck when I have to kill her.”
Frankie snorted a laugh. “You wish. That girl would sooner carve her own eyes out than stare lovingly into yours.”
“Please. I could make her fall in love with me in the blink of an eye if I wanted to. Haven’t you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?”

They have the sort of bromance I'm officially associating with Catoline and Susanne's books. That's all I can say. They have their boyish banter, bets and nice moments and they always, under every circumstance, have each other’s back.

》》Favorite Scenes《《

🚘 Spontaneously deciding to kidnap Sloan
👩🏻 Sloan destroying the wine cellar
🧑🏻🧑����🧑🏻 The brothers making the bet
📖 Rocco referencing stories

“Cinderella didn’t earn her way to the ball,” I tutted. “Her fairy godmother showed up to help her.”
“Well maybe Frankie will sprout wings and Enzo will turn into a turnip for you.”
“Pumpkin,” I corrected, shaking my head. “If you want to threaten me with a fairytale, at least get the story right.”

🧑🏽🐩 Nicoli becoming attached to Coco, Sloan's dog
🧑🏻 Enzo throwing away the key from the cuffs, leaving Rocco and Sloan chained together
🧑🏻🧑🏻🧑🏻 The brothers having protective reaction over Sloan when their crazy cousin Guido showed up
👩🏻🧑🏻 The banter

“Get some sleep.”
“Go take your crazy pills,” I shot back, battling to erase the smile from my lips.
“Crazy is just another word for interesting. How boring the world would be if I knew I wasn’t going to put on a tutu tomorrow and take up ballet.”

🛋🧑🏻 Rocco and the couch, when he dreamed it was Sloan
🐺 The wolf scene - again, very Beauty and the Beast vibes here
🧁 The 5 cupcakes
👩🏻 Sloan defending herself against Guido
🎁 The unexpected River

》》Conclusion《《

Considering the genre, I liked it more than expected. What really saved this book was the way the sister write, with a special gift for making you feel things. Not their best work, but, if you're burning through their books because you've officially became addicted to their stories and also want to avoid their ruthless cliffhangers (like ME), then this book is a nice option.
It was a quick and enjoyable read, a total page turner and it had fast paced action. I think I prefer the series over the stand-alones, because the characters are easier to connect with there and it makes more sense when they go from enemies to lovers.

“When the road is clear, will you let me go?” I asked.
“If I let you go, will you really leave?”

[sandeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 Stars

"If she sleeps in my bed every night, she’ll end up falling in love with me, and that’ll be awkward as hell when I have to kill her."

In this retelling of Romeo and Juliet, Sloan Calabresis craves freedom from her horrid father and the life she knows. Sloan doesn't think her life can get any worse until the day of her wedding when she is kidnapped by her twisted enemy, Rocco Romero, the man that tried to kill her years ago. Rocco is determined to destroy Sloan, get her begging on her knees, pouring her heart out and then crushing it but Sloan isn't how Rocco remembers, she is older, fiercer and grown claws of her own.

⤷ I'm not the biggest fan of bully romances but I'll read anything from these authors as they are brilliant writers and loved the way they have handled this theme in their previous books. Their heroines aren't weak and easily forgiving compared to the other books I've read!

⤷ Rocco Romero is bitter, dark and brooding so obviously I was obsessed the second I read about him. I was constantly on the edge whenever he and Sloan had moments together but would have preferred if they had a little bit more development given their history but overall I loved reading about them. I enjoyed that Sloan Calbresis was a total badass and kept on fighting until the end!

⤷ Besides Rocco Romero, there were two other brothers, Enzo and Frankie which I can't wait to read more about them. Frankie was my favorite out of all the brothers, he was innocent yet so dark at the same time and so hyped for his book but I have a feeling we'll have to wait for a while!

⤷ I've only read a few mafia books before I was a big fan of them and haven't read any more until this the release of this, but I'll be sure to read more, just hoping they'll be good as this book!

⤷ This book had a few predictable plot twists that I didn't mind because I can be trash for cliche tropes but there was a certain twist that had me sitting on the edge of my seat and truly blew me away!

"I am yours from my black heart to my tarnished soul."
"Take it, own it, destroy it, I don’t care as long as it’s in your possession."

This book was the first contemporary romance these authors have written and they did an amazing job! Definitely recommend!

Thank you, Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, for providing a copy of this book for an honest review! :)

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wasn't going to be some Romeo and Juliet story, two lovers from warring families trying to build a great romance against the odds. They both died in the end anyway. Silly fuckers.

I was so excited when I received an ARC for this novel as it's Caroline and Susanne's first contemporary story! And while there were no vampires or shifters in sight, there was plenty of gunfights, shirtless encounters, handcuff games, and...icicles. Lots of steamy icicles that left me blushing and more than a little intrigued.

"I am yours from my black heart to my tarnished soul. Take it, own it, destroy it. I don't care so long as it's in your possession."

Sloan and Rocco are the first born children of two warring families bent on each other's destruction. Sloan believes that their families' hate stems from nothing but bad blood, but Rocco knows the true blackness of the Calabresi patriarch and is bent on revenge for the deaths of his mother and brother. Rocco spared Sloan's life once before and has never forgiven himself for his one moment of weakness. When the opportunity presents itself, he kidnaps the precious Calabresi princess, stealing her away from her father and fiance, and thus striking a blow that will bring about the end of the war between the Romeros and the Calabresis one way or another.

To anyone else he might have looked insane. But to me, he looked like temptation. Like a man held to no boundaries or rules, who didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him.

The slow burn between Sloan and Rocco was reluctant, filled with hate from both sides, and yet irresistible. Rocco was the ultimate alpha jealous/possessive anti-hero, and I may be a little twisted myself for finding his unapologetic, dominating, and violent nature just as sexy and tempting as Sloan did. Sloan made for a great heroine as she never let Rocco walk all over her. She was so strong and determined to find her freedom, and I loved seeing her butt heads with Rocco as often as she succumbed to her body's desires. The ending was exciting, violent and filled with a twist that I did not see coming concerning Nicoli, and I cannot wait for his story! Overall, this was another amazing novel from Caroline and Susanne that was dark and twisted and fucking HOT. Seriously, you should read this book for the steamy sex scenes alone!!

My Rocco Romero, the arrogant and sadistic alpha who found his redemption in his principessa...


*ARC provided by the authors in exchange for an honest review*

[Emma Skapetis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original rating
3.5 stars
Pre-review thoughts
I'm conflicted about how I feel about this book because not much happened for most of it but then the stakes got so high and there were multiple plot twists. I will read book 2 sometime soon. RTC.
Rating now
3 stars
Beautiful carnage follows Sloan Calibarasi and Rocco Romero.
They are from two rival mafia families.
Sloan has always been a pawn for her father to use which is why she has lived abroad for the last 4 years.
However she now returns home and finds out that her father has betrothed her to her adopted brother Nicoli Nicoli has been raised by Sloan's father to be his mirror image so he is ruthless but Sloan still remembers the little boy he used to be. Sloan doesn't want to marry Nicolli but she knows she has no choice. However she gets kidnapped by Rocco Romero who is the son of the leader of the rival gang.
He decides to use her as a hostage against her father and Nicoli
Nicoli is sent by Sloan's father to find her.
Meanwhile Sloan and Rocco obviously hate each other and he mistreats her for a while and she always fights back. However Rocco and Sloan end up developing feelings for each other despite the situation they are in.
Despite this Sloan is still in danger but it's from the people she least expects it from.
My thoughts
This book was quite slow for the majority of it, which has been the case with most of these author's dark romance books. However towards the end there were multiple crazy plot twists though this is an interconnected standalone so it was strange to not be left with a cliffhanger at the end of it, which is what I am used to from these authors.
Also I didn't really connect with Sloan and Rocco and their romance. It took me a while to feel any chemistry between them and I think the couple from book 2 have more chemistry and I'm not even far into that one.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well damn can I give this book ten stars, because it was EVERYTHING a good mafia book needed to be!!!
I almost fell the need to tag some writers so they can see how to create a heroin that is strong minded and has self respect and a alpha man that doesn't need to cheat/hurt/humiliated a woman to show it!!!

Can't wait for next book!!!

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good a dark delicious enemies to lovers mafia romance that managed to keep me on the edge of my seat throughout. I adore these authors and once again they’ve managed to pull it out of the bag. So the Romero’s and Calabresi’s are mortal enemies and have been for as far back as Sloan Calabresi can recall. When a Violent encounter with the oldest Romero son Rocco finds Sloan still breathing she’s shocked and very thankful. Happy then to escape to Italy to complete her education and get a taste of freedom the last thing Sloan desires four years later is to return home to once again be back under her father's rigid control. Finding out he has arranged her marriage to her childhood friend Sloan realises that this is now her lot in life and that she cannot escape her fate no matter how much she rattles the bars of her golden cage.

What she didn’t expect was to be kidnapped from her own wedding ceremony and then used as leverage against her family. Now in the clutches of the Romero brothers, Sloan finds her situation a whole lot worse. Rocco Romero is a cold ruthless killer and he seems to hold her personally responsible for all of her father's many crimes against his family. Taking Sloan was a spur-of-the-moment choice one that Rocco now plans to use to his advantage his failure to act four years prior is something that he’s never lived down. Having Sloan in his clutches now he’s determined to make her pay for her family name and his prior failure.

So this is a proper enemy to lovers' romance there is nothing warm and fuzzy about Rocco and initially, when he takes Sloan he isn’t nice about it. Her treatment isn’t in any way kind and his behaviour towards his captive definitely cold and cruel and he’s totally unpredictable with his polar mood swings. He even bets his brothers he can make her fall for him something that later backfires splendidly. But Sloan is more than a match for Rocco this girl has a core of steel and just doesn’t back down ever something Rocco reluctantly admires.

But what neither imagines is the bond that starts to grow these two have matching dark ragged edges and as Rocco peels back Sloan's many layers he finds that they just seem to fit and the more Rocco uncovers in Sloan the more he finds he likes and It’s not long before he’s in as deep as she is. What started as a twisted game has spectacularly backfired as Rocco discovers that he wants to keep Sloan for real despite her family name.

The tension builds slowly here and when it eventually ignites between them this was scorching hot. The intimate scenes here were original and unique and their connection felt authentic and believable. There was the usual mafia darkness buried secrets and some twists I did guess the main one but that didn’t detract one bit from my enjoyment. This was as usual well written and I found this a totally gripping and engaging read that I’m happy to recommend.



Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/63435390

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

✰ 4.5 stars ✰

Once again, another hit of first-book-in-a-series released this year! I was invested in every word, everything that was happening in this book. Rocco (H) and Sloan (h) had a relationship filled with tension that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. I enjoyed their dynamic and I loved how feisty and strong Sloan was. She kept fighting until the end and I was rooting for her (while also rooting for their relationship lolol). Of the brothers, my favorite atm would probably be Frankie (can't wait for his book!!). He's definitely the softie in the trio (and he has freaking dimples), but I could tell he has a darkness in him and I love that kind of contrast in my heroes. :')

The romance:
— The pacing of their romance was fine, but I wish there were more moments of them as a couple. There were definitely a lot of back and forth hate-to-love and sweet moments between them in the book, but I just wanted to see more of them officially together. Also, ugH one of my least favorite tropes - pregnancy - was revealed after Sloan discovered Rocco's bet with his brothers and I was just like :/ As much as I love kids, I don't like it being used as a plot device for them to "get back together".

The plot twist:
— Omfg ngl, when Royce revealed Nicoli was the Romero son thought to have died in that fire with the mom, I got chills. 😳 Maybe it was obvious for some people, but I had no suspicion at all. I'm always late to these things lmao, but I loved the twist!! I thought it was interesting how we also got Nicoli's POV. He's definitely alpha hero material; he has that similar possessive streak as Rocco and he kept on talking about Sloan too much in his POVs and I hope that energy (but more) will flow into his love interest in his book. I'm curious to see how the dynamic between the four brothers + their dad will play out in the next book!

Family things:
— I've never liked Sloan's dad since the beginning and I'm glad he was proven to be shitty until the end. He was just too controlling and it was revealed he killed the mom and was even planning to kill his own daughter smh. Rocco's dad has that strictness in him, but I can still see humanity within him so I'm excited to see how his relationship with Nicoli will develop in the future! <3

[flowergirl.reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

[skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

“That piece of shit is kidnapping your bride!”

Yeah that's the Hero they're referring to, jail for causing chaos in a church 🤣

Nothing too spectacular here, just a mafia-lite, gentle kidnapping type of love story. The h is NOT a doormat so that was super refreshing. She used anything and everything as a weapon, just casually bashing everyone's head in 😌💅🏼

There were also a lot of dumb/funny moments so even though it's mafia it's not dark at all.

[TwinreadsandReds · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars—I wanted to love this so bad because I love the twisted sisters but this was just not my favorite 😬😞 still a good time!

[MPT · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just can’t connect...

11% DNF
Ok maybe it’s me, but I just couldn’t get into this book..Plus I couldn’t connect with any of the characters... 🤷🏻‍♀️

Audiobook Review: This was my first time listening to Jake and Bridget Bordeaux. I wasn’t to big on Jake’s narrating. He sounded to robotic..
Bridget on the other hand was just okay. Therefore I only gave them 2 stars.

[Millie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. A bit too long, a bit too slow. I expected a bit more: why did Aunt Clarissa disappear from the story as the opportunity to see her more was GOLDEN ?
The end felt rushed too. As soon as Sloan get back to her father's, everything was fast paced for no reason (I mean the secrets were juicy AF and they fell flat).

I really liked Nicoli and I can't wait for his book!

[Intel Chicky Reads Romance (Kara Merideth) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: Captive/kidnapping, Romeo and Juliet
Angst: 😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥

Beautiful Carnage is the first book I've ready by Caroline Peckham and Suzanne Valenti and it definitely won't be my last! Not even sure how I came across this one, but it sounded interesting and my reading group was doing kidnapping tropes so I decided to give it a try.... SO glad I did. Super well written. It hit a little bit of a slow part at about 25%, but just for a bit. It's a slow burn enemies to lovers, so there was a TON of hate going on, lol. This was a true enemies to lovers and I liked how there was a real and slow progression with their relationship development, despite there being physical attraction. And their was no body betrayal syndrome, their physical relationship developed along with their emotional one. Absolutely loved ALL the side characters, to include her dog who really did add some comedic elements to the story. And the twist! I'm usually really good at seeing those coming, but I completely missed that one and had a 😲 face for about 5 minutes afterwards, lol. Lucky for me, the next book is already out, but I can't wait to eat all these up!

⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes contain spoilers

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I was underwhelmed by the time we got to the end of this one. There were times when I was totally into it, and others where I just found it too over the top. I loved all the brothers, and would love to see their stories, but that was about it. I feel like I could have rated it a bit higher if the last chapters didn't go the way they did. Not the story, but the missing time and on page information. It really needed to be there to finish off the book. As it was, it was too abrupt.

[Bookadmirer]

D.N.F at 50%

This book wasn't intense at all rather cliche and Boring.

[Alina Kravets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Розпочну з того що це було прекрасно.😍
В перше я читаю таку книгу там де дуже гарно прописаний троп від ворогів до коханців. Майже до кінця книги вони ненавиділи один одного. Це було на стілки гаряче...
Книга постійно тримала в напрузі.💥
Для початку що потрібно знати 2 мафіозні родини Калабрезе і Ромеро вороги, постійно вдираються на території один одного, та вбивають людей.

Слоан Калабрезі - татова донечка, принцесса мафії, яку охороняють та обнрігають. Звісно вона живе з золотій клітці, з якої виходу немає. Свободу може дати тільки - смерть. Так сказала її мати, якак нажаль померла.
Слоан 16, і вона їде з своїми охоронцями, та на них нападають Ромеро. Всіх вибивають, і вона щоб захиститись хапає пістолет. Так відбувається перша зустріч Рокко Ромеро та Слоан.
Рокко душить Слоан, але залишає в живих.

Ці 4 роки вона проводить в Італії, можна сказати насолоджується своїм життям, але розуміє що батько її покличе додому.
В перший ж день її повернення, їй робить пропозицію Ніколі.

Ніколі - хлопчик, якого всиновив тато Слоан, зробив з нього машину для вбивст, і так як жінка не може продовжувати мафіозний клан , та брати на себе правління. Цим займется Ніколі та візме прізвище Кабрезі.
Слоан звісно в шоці виходу в неї немає, але Ніколі заспокоює її, каже що вона знає його все життя, він буде захищати її ціною власного життя.

Рокко Ромеро - старший з синів Ромеро, ще є Енцо, і Френкі.
Вони тримаються разом, та виступають єдиним фронтом, алн головний звісно Рокко.
Так як вичинок Рокко показав його слабким, в нього є план вдертись на весілля. Але все йде не так як він хотів, і тоді він вирішує викрасти Слоан, щоб поставити Калабрезі на коліна, та помститись.
Звісно це вдається йому і він викрадає Слоан.

Яка ж тут класна була бородьба, ось прям як в реальному житті. Вона його била, кусала, робила майже все щоб втекти. Написано ну дуже правдоподібно і так як було б в реальності.
Детально писано полон її, умови в яких її тримали, так з початку це було жорстоко, але по логіці, як вони мали поводити себе з ворогом.
Рокко, Енцо, Френкі та Слоан живуть в віддаленому будинку в лісі.

Цей вайб зими, каміну, теплих речей, лісу, снігу, диких звірів.
Максимально нереально.🩵

Що роблять хлопці, парі що Слоан закохається до кінця свого полону в Рокко. Він погоджується на це.
Але ж які думки в Рокко.
«Якщо вона спатиме в моєму ліжку щоночі, в кінці вона закохається в мене… і це буде незручно, коли мені доведеться її вбити».

Спостерігати за їх відносинами було просто неймовірно. Вони не можуть кохати один одного, але все таки це роблять.

Рокко, жорстокий, власний, маніпулятивний. Але Слоан його, він завжди її захищав. НУ ЩО ЗА ЧОЛОВІК???🤤

Батько Слоан говорить Ніколі що він повинен занйти свою наречену, або ж він не вартий того щоб бути Калабрезі.
Але Ніколі вхилює тільки Слоан, бо він поклявся її захищати.

Це вперше що мені настільки подобався другорядний герой. В книзі було декілька глав від нього. БОЖЕ це просто найкращий чоловік. Він з такою ніжнічтю думав про Слоан , та з турботою.
Він перевертав все догори, аби тільки знайти її. На які він жерви йшов, аби її тільки не ображали.
Ромеро маніпулювали Калабрезі, змушуючи вірити, що знущаються над Слоан. Відправляти їм фото.
Ніколі розривалося серце від того. Тут не про кохання як до жінки. Тут саме про захист, про його клятву, про його честі, та борг.

12% до кінця книги, і стається такий лютий "піздец".
Від подій які відбувались в мене мурахи бігли. Та лились сльози. Бо це було так неочікувано.

Від всього серця рекомендую книгу!
Якщо любите мафію, троп від ворогів до коханців то вам сюди❤️‍🩹❤️‍🔥

[Shelby | Spicy.booknook · Rating 4 out of 5]

~ MF Romance
~ Mafia/Crime Family
~ Kidnapping
~ Enemies To Lovers
~ Spicy

You know, for a kidnapping Mafia romance this was a lot of fun to read. I always expect the fun amongst dark when it comes to these sister authors.

Sloan and Rocco come from two families at war, so for them get their HEA you know some drama is gonna happen. Sloan is a protected princess that has no control over her life, to the point that her father is marrying her off to Nicoli, the man he raised as his own son. To strengthen the family of course. Rocco has reasons to hate her family and wants revenge, so at her wedding he decides to kidnap her, hold her hostage and make demands to her family. Sloan is a fighter, she doesn't take anything Rocco gives laying down, and it makes for a true enemies to lovers journey.
This was a wild, fast ride and was never boring. Rocco has some truly funny moments. The guy is really.. a little off.

Now, to be honest I am really looking forward to the next book, because from the beginning I was very interested in Nicoli. After this book and events taking place, I cannot wait to see his story!

(And not gonna lie... I really wanted Coco to go with him and have many adventures!)

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best mafia romance book I’ve ever read, it’s definitely in my top 3 favorite books. I only read HEA so I knew it was going to be a happy ending but it really had me believing I was wrong 😅

The ending is truly the best, the anticipation and shock after learning so much was crazy. Rocco and Sloane are absolutely amazing, the love between them is just perfect and the lengths they went to be with each other.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/3/2020)! 🎁

[simra&#x1f338; · Rating 4 out of 5]

loveeee a desperate man🫣

🖤“I caught and caged you,” he said with a smirk that was almost teasing. “You’re mine fair and square.”

🖤I reached out slowly, pushing my fingertips into her hair and skimming them along the side of her face as she watched me.

🖤“I hate you too,” he purred like he was saying the exact opposite. “I hate you so hard it’s burned my insides and left them black and hollow.” He moved right up into my personal space, resting his hand on my knee.

🖤“Because you’ve been mine since we first locked eyes. I was just taking back what belonged to me. There was never any plan to kidnap you.”

🖤“You’re my captor too,” he said in a low tone, taking my hand and placing it against his heart. “We chained ourselves together the day we hesitated to kill each other. I’ve never been with a woman since without feeling like I was betraying you. That’s how deep in my soul you are. We were together from that very moment.”

🖤If you cut me open, her name would be branded right on the blackened lump of my heart. And though there wasn’t much to it, I would still happily cut it out for her and lay it at her feet. Because if there was one thing left in this world that I wanted to do with my life, then it would be to worship at this goddess’s altar.

🖤“If you want to go, I’ll let you. Though it will kill me, bella. You may as well take my beating heart with you if you choose that option. But I don’t want you to. I want – no – I need you to stay with me.”

🖤“I am yours from my black heart to my tarnished soul,” he growled powerfully. “Take it, own it, destroy it, I don’t care so long as it’s in your possession.”

🖤“I would have agreed with you not so long ago,” I said. “But you found it. You made it beat and race and ache. It’s yours. And if everything we’ve been through was always going to lead me here, then I still wouldn’t change it. I’m yours, Sloan. So do with me what you will.”

[Sprout · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

THIS ONE WAS FUN.

It took a while for the switch from savage to romantic to happen but once Rocco accepted his feelings for Sloan, I was hooked.

Spice was pretty great in this one, definitely gave us some good scenes.

There were a couple scenes in here where they were being very playful and cute and fun and I absolutely LOVED them. They kind of made the book for me and I ate that shit up.

Loved Frankie and Enzo - the relationship and banter between the three brothers was great and I adored them together (even tho Enzo was a little shithead). Frankie has my heart and I hope he has his own book cause I will devour that shit.

The twists in this one I honestly didnt see coming and they had me SHOOK. Loved how it completely blindsided me with it.

The ending tho….? Not a huge fan. Honestly have whiplash from the transition in the last couple chapters (you’ll know what im talking about when you read it)

OVERALL - had a good time with this one. Definitely a couple swoony moments, the romance (once it got going) had me obsessed, I enjoyed the characters and stuff but the beginning and the end were lacking for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We chained ourselves together the day we hesitated to kill each other."

This writing duo does not seem to ever disappoint!

Entertaining and sexy, Sloan and Rocco's chemistry was the big seller. Admittedly, I am a sucker for the hate to love/enemies to lovers trope, so this was right up my alley. Couple that with mafia politics, family rivalry and you get a highly addictive read.



*Detailed review to come?*

[KayTheBookLover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohh Rocco! This was a fun enemies to lovers story between two mafia families! I freaking loved it! Quick read and kept me interested the whole time. Not to mention the physical book is so fucking pretty!

[Valentina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story, but wasn't dark enough in line with plot themes. Also, just didn't hold my interest. Way overly wordy. Dnf. Removing from currently reading queue.

[Spandana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the twist with Nicoli.. Remaining book is a typical story...

[Rachel (rachellynnreadss&#x1faa9;&#x1fa75;) Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

5🌟
3🌶

TROPES: captor/captive, mafia, revenge plot, enemies to lovers

*READ the bonus scene at the end of the book, it literally gave me exactly what I needed to round out this HEA!


I FREAKING LOVED THIS DAMN BOOK. Read it. That’s the review, just freaking read it oh my gosh.

[Madi Rae Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall good, but I love the Twisted Sisters so they can do no wrong.

The beginning was a little slow for me, but I think it’s because I was comparing it to Zodiac Academy. I loved the plot twist and can’t wait for the second book!