The Princess and The Devil

The Princess and The Devil #1

by Naya V.

An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance...

Once Upon a time I fell in love with a boy.

A boy who held my heart in the palm of his hand and vowed to protect me, to love me, always, and forever. With onyx hair, eyes the color of viridian, and a heart of gold, he was my only saving grace in this gilded cage.

Until the day he left.

Shattering my heart and leaving me to a fate worse than death.

On my eighteenth birthday, they promised me to a man I hardly knew. Swore me into a life in the Italian mob I despised. Until my fiancé turns up murdered before our wedding, prompting all hell to break loose in the dismal dwellings of Chicago's seedy underbelly.

Pain breeds chaos and chaos invites sin.

Now, as fate would have it, that boy I fell in love with all those years ago is back to reclaim what they stole from him. He's no longer the kindhearted boy from my past, he's now a man with a darkness in his eyes, and a heinous craving for blood and destruction.

He's the Devil, hellbent on the ruination of me, and my family.

This isn't a fairytale about a noble prince and a damsel princess. Our story is one of the Princess and the Devil.

A distorted tale of navigating life with my new husband.

The king of the underworld.

Azriel Costa.

*Book 1 of 2*

Genres: Enemies To Lovers, Dark Romance, Mafia Romance, Dark, Forced Proximity, Forbidden Romance, Friends To Lovers

332 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2022

About the author

Naya V. is a penner of steamy anti-heroes and a hopeless romantic at heart. As a wife and a mother of four kiddos, she's an advocate for those with autism and a subsequent wine-o-holic. When she isn't in the writing cave, she enjoys spending time with her family and her slew of adoptive cats.

Reviews

[Pang Happy Holidays & Happy New Year =D · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's the capo.
The Boss.
The King of the underworld.

EVILLY DELICIOUS!! Gahh!! This book is the sweet break for me after reading too many fantasy, I'm out of the world! lol See my friend Ruby read, and the romance seems my cup of tea. So, I pick it up, and I'm glad I'm not disappointed!!

She's the Princess of the underworld. He is not equal to her. So, her evil dad shoves her to marry another son of a mafia family, and destroy their love!! 😭😭😭 After years passed by in agony, he comes back! and takes every single thing he loses, including her!! 😡😠😡

This book is said to be Hades & Persephone retelling But I don't know why I think of Wuthering Heights, instead! lol Like.. the Hero come back to take revenge on the Heroine's family. From love turns to hate, and he act all cruelly to her. LOL! It really give me the vibes, Idk. 🤣🤣😂

[Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

'''Cara mia, there's not a single force on this earth that can ever take me from you.''

What a wonderful debut! Another Hades/Persephone retelling I love - this one with a mafia twist.

Safety warnings:
- No cheating
- No OW/OM drama
- Forced marriage
- Second chance romance
- Violence/d*ath/kidnapping
- Mention of human trafficking
- Cliffhanger

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

Friends to lovers to enemies to lovers.

I knew this book would hurt from the first few chapters. Azriel and Asteria were two kids who started out as friends turned best friends which later became such a passionate and beautiful love. They grew up in such a cruel world and knew it might never work out between them, but they tried their hardest to steal every moment to be with each other.

Tragedy strikes when Azriel and his father are kicked out The Outfit and forced to leave. Azriel lets go of Asteria who is at the same time told that she is to marry another man once she turns 18. Devastation is not even a word to describe how she feels. She's stuck in a cage by her father, forced to give up the boy she loves and made to prepare to marry someone who is cold and uninterested.

Her fiancée gets killed on their wedding day and she spends the next 4 years at home still stuck in her cage until one day the boy she loved shows up and announces they are to marry. He has taken over and established his ultimate power and we see him being cold and calculated. He has no interest in her and basically admits he no longer loves her or cares and that she is a means to an end.

I swear those moments where he was super hurtful and saying all the wrong things really hurt because Asteria cannot understand why he is the way he is. What she might have done to cause him to hate her?

One of the things I did not like about him was how he diminished her worth so easily, I know he was making himself act this way to keep her away, but it still tore her apart hearing him say those things and watching his actions towards her. I also wish she had more partners during their separation as it was clear he didn't lack anything in the department over the 6 years. I like my H's to be as restricted as the h's lol

This book was angsty as f. The push Azriel did throughout most of the book got frustrating because I could not see the reason why he was doing it? I know he had to go through hell because of her father to get to where he is now and lost so much but she was as innocent as the butterflies she loves.

I'm glad he finally let go (a bit) and let her back in and showed her that he does care even if he cannot say the words. The home he built with her in mind, the conservatory, and the books he keeps in his library: All for her.

I'm really intrigued to know the real reason behind this hatred and what her father did to cause such a violent reaction from him after all these years.

I loved Giovanni and Romeo, and I could see something maybe brewing for Francesca (Asteria's cousin who was forced to marry a man triple her age who abuses her). I hope she gets her HEA too.

Overall, this was a such a great debut book!

[Travelogged Blogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’m not marrying him,” I blurt out, tone hard. “You don’t have a choice, princess.”

The start of this book was gripping and I was engrossed in Azriel & Asteria's story. They knew each other because Asteria's father was the head of the Cosa Nostra and Azriel's father was his consiglere. Az & Asteria loved each other in secret but something whisks them away from each other and as a result, Az and his father are pushed out from the organisation. While an unwanted marriage aliance is forced on Asteria and she's due to get married once she turns eighteen. Though things don't go as planned because her fiance is murdered on the wedding day. Fast forward four years later, Azriel has become the capo of another Outfit and is back in Asteria's life because her father arranged her marriage with him to save his rule. Asteria had always been caged and sheltered due to which she was naive and sometimes childish but that didn't annoy me until the very end of the book. I was so annoyed by her reckless behaviour and trusting nature. Azriel was grumpy, brooding and cruel but I liked to see him soften up for her. And while Asteria was soft, kind and sometimes sassy, I hope she develops some sort of self preservation instincts in the next book. This book ends in a cliffhanger and I must say, I wasn't very shocked by the twist. Still I'm looking forward to read the next book to see how Azriel & Asteria's story concludes.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

[Mim · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖤🖤 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🖤🖤

The blurb for 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹 got my attention straight away. I’ve read my fair share of mafia romance and the plot was very different to what I’m used to reading in this genre.
✨
Asteria, The ‘princess’, is the daughter of a capo who has grown up with Azriel, who is the son of her fathers right hand man. As teenagers they have slowly fallen in love over time however Asteria’s father arranges a marriage when Asteria is 16, to someone else to strengthen the mafia ties between families.
Once her father finds out about their sneaking around, he casts Azriel and his father out.


"𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛
𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙮
𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣'𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪."

Asteria has always been shielded from her fathers way of life, she is naive and only truly sees what her father is like when he makes this decision.

Years later, the day before her wedding, Asteria’s world changes when her house is under attack and her fiance, a man that she had come to respect, is shot dead right infront of her.

Years later and Asteria sees Azriel again. She realises that the boy she fell in love with is gone and only a cold blooded killer remains. The love hate banter between the two of them is chefs kiss!

I quite enjoyed this however it ends in a cliffhanger which I didnt know 😫😫 BUT in saying that I cant wait to read the next book!

If you like:

🖤 Childhood friends to star crossed lovers then ➡️ Enemies to lovers
🖤 Mafia Bully Romance
🖤 Arranged Marriage
🖤 Light touch on Hades and Persephone
🖤 From Naive to Strong Sassy Heroine
🖤 Alpha Hero turned Alpha Asshole Villian
🖤 Fantastic Smut

Add to your TBR!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars

✨

[ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thank the Netgalley for an opportunity to read this book and it was good. I usually sucker for a mafia romance and arrange marriage so when i find this book, i was like, Oh yea, it's a nice break from fantasy world to mafia world so i chose this.

The Princess and The Devil is the Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance and a part of the series.

3 -⭐⭐⭐
3 -🌶️🌶️🌶️

- Childhood friends to lovers
- Arranged Marriage
- Revenge/ Vengeance
- Hurt/ Confront
- Tensions
- Secrets
- Bodyguards
- Dual POV'S
- Cliffhanger

I liked it from the beginning when Azriel and Asteria were lovers and having to sneak in to meet each other. But then her and his father finds out, he outcasts Azriel and his father. Asteria was heartbroken and asked Azriel to meet her one last time, they met but he broke her heart and disappeared from her life. Couple years after, her father arranged marriage for her on Eighteenth birthday and then, before she gets married, her fiancé died day before their wedding.

Years after, her father again arranged marriage to powerful man in the Underworld, who turns out to be Azriel. Asteria felt like a punch to her gut when she again saw her love. They got married but he confessed that he did feel nothing at all when they were together in the past. He almost treated her like a object in his mansion but there's still lingering tensions, pull and push, him being brooding and asshole and her being sunshine and butterflies. Azriel is hiding a truth behind her mother's murder and Asteria so he is doing everything in his power to hide the truth and protecting her. At the end, the truth is finally reveals so does the cliffhanger. Yep, it's the series.

I liked the story at first, still do but i think the author would've done better without Hades and Persephone retelling. I hope that the book 2 would be better than this.

I'd recommend it if you love Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance with Hades and Persephone retelling and quick action fast paced with tension and worth the wait smut in the end.

[Grisette · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This one is on me. I loved the cover and was fairly intrigued by the blurb and good reviews. Unfortunately, while it was decently written, most of the plot was kind of boring and slow. There were sparks missing to really make this an exciting read and the leads felt too YA/NA esp. Asteria and her ever cluelessness. This is probably because people always insist to keep her in the dark (it is a vicious circle indeed, they keep telling her she is a child who knows nothing but they never do a thing to make her grow). Yet, I am not convinced so far that she would have the grace to handle harsh situations. Azriel's character was a bit better but definitely too elusive to really get a grasp on. And the references to the Hades and Persephone myth were not cute at all and rather tiring (quite pushy) and unfitting imho.

On the plus side, the story kind of picked up towards the end, with at least an intriguing cliffhanger. Reason why I will still get on to the 2nd book of this duet. And the smexy times were hot and with some original lines. So all in all, a very average but inoffensive read so far, with me hoping the 2nd book will be better.

-----

My review for Book 2: here

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this arc copy a while ago and finally got to read it, and I have to say I'm disappointed in myself for not reading it earlier. It was a pretty good mafia romance, lovers to enemies to lovers storyline with a sheltered and slightly immature main character. The small details that Azriel would throw out there were enough to make you smile and wish you had someone who thought that deeply and remembered that much about you. A good, quick mafia romance read that I would recommend! Can't wait to read book 2!

[murrrmika · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐰?”
“𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

4 stars ★★★★

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

review in Ukrainian translation below

What do we have:
Asteria, one might say, was unlucky - she happened to be born the daughter of the head of the Chicago mafia, which meant the role of a bargaining chip in the hands of influential men. Her childhood friend Azriel remained the only consolation for her, but he also left her. A few years pass and due to some circumstances, her father forcibly gives her into an arranged marriage to a mysterious and influential young chief from the west coast, (oh, really) the same Azriel. Unfortunately, Asteria's happiness was short-lived, as it seems that her sweet and kind boyfriend, whom she once loved, no longer exists.

Plot:
Let's visualize the scheme in our heads: childhood friends - lovers - enemies - lovers. Not difficult at all. In general, the story will be based on the transition from one state of their relationship to another, as we will observe their misunderstandings and sometimes even mental torments (mostly the latter will concern Azriel, because Asteria is quite a straightforward girl, she will not stand still for a long time and will ask "why the hell are you fucking me seven days a week, but can't fucking do the "I love you" shit"). Ah, the charms of communicative sadism, how we love it.

Characters:
I am ready to put up a monument to Asteria's mental health, because she is the very embodiment of the phrase "a bird in a gilded cage", and I would have went fucking nuts if I were her a loooong time ago. Seriously, her father kept her on the estate for practically her entire conscious life, which meant almost absolute zero social interaction. It follows that I am not at all surprised why she fell in love with Azriel, because he was almost one hundred percent the first person her age to communicate with her, and 1) did not give orders and 2) did not wait for orders, and was not related to her by blood.

In general, I would say that Asteria is quite a nice girl and the fact that she has at least some personality will be not the last coin in her piggy bank. Bonus: she also likes to dress up exceptionally, unlike all those perpetually gloomy mobsters in suits with light splatters of fresh blood. Personally, I always imagined her in pin-up style outfits, I think it would suit her. And she also has passion, is not stupid, realizes her position in this whole clan mafia hierarchy and although, at the beginning, she decided not to fight it too much and go with the flow, in the end she pulls herself together and carves her way. Well done, you tell'em, you're the badass here!

Azriel did not wow me. Either I missed that moment, or it was described not that detailed that my brain just forgot about it, but for the hell of it, I don't understand how the son of the consigliere of the head of the Chicago mafia, who was forced to flee in disgrace literally for nothing, made his way up in just six years. Well, one can only envy his career growth, but it looks too abruptly for me.

”What was the point of marrying me if you’re going to avoid me?” Revenge. I opt to go with a different answer instead. "Power."

Another minus: I never understood the essence of his revenge on Asteria's father. Ok, you've become more influential. Ok, you take his daughter as your wife and make it look like you don't give a shit about her. Ok, you're treating her like she's a piece of furniture and inside you're howling at being forced to act like that, when in fact your destiny is now in your own hands and you're finally together, so you can drop all the masks and scream "Asteria, my love, how long I've been waiting for this," and instead you play cat and mouse with elements of sexual tension and get on everyone's nerves (including me). Don't do that to me.

Azriel's pluses include the following: firstly, he has skilled hands, because he gave Asteria a very cool gift. Secondly, he has a barn with pigs that eat the corpses of his ill-wishers. In everything else, he is a fairly mediocre mobster, neither fish nor meat.

"Who knew you were such a hero?" A scoff works its way up my throat. I slide a possessive hand around the nape of her neck, surprising us both. "A hero? No. See, the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I'd burn this entire world to the ground for you. You're mine, Asteria. You’ve always been mine.”

Oddly enough, what I liked most was not Asteria and Azriel's interaction, although the monologue above about heroes and villains would make fans of the "she stays with the villain" trope shake in convulsions, but Asteria and her husband's fellow mobster friends, Romeo and Giovanni. This trio is like an episode of "Friends" and if only for the scenes with them, you should open this book. Although, to be honest, I would prefer that there were more of the latter.

What did I pay attention to:
I frankly missed flashbacks from childhood (although I won’t hide, that scene with butterflies was very cute), because somehow we immediately jumped into the phase of active puberty and left behind the scenes of their growing up together (If, of course, they had it. And it had to be, they are fucking childhood friends).

And the scene of Asteria and her cousin letting out the pigs to run away to a club is forever stuck in my memory. 100/10 girlboss

Spicy scenes:

...passion feeds you while lust leaves you starved.

In general, nothing extraordinary, but that scene opposite the window was hot.

Conclusion:
It may seem strange why, despite such an unenviable list of minuses of the book, I gave it 4/5 stars. It's simple: it was better than the rest of the books I've read in this genre, and the use of the "childhood friends who are like enemies, but really love each other but can't say it" trope is quite nice and sweetly done in this book. And also, because the novel ends on a cliffhanger, albeit a predictable one, my desire to read the second part grew insanely high.

----------

4 зірочки ★★★★★

Що ми маємо:
Астерії, можна сказати, не пощастило - їй випало народитися донькою глави Чиказької мафії, що означало роль розмінної монети в руках впливових чоловіків. Єдиною відрадою для неї залишався друг її дитинства Азріель, однак і той покинув її. Минає кілька років і в силу деяких обставин її батько видає її силоміць заміж за домовленістю за таємничого та впливового молодого главу з західного узбережжя, (о, невже) того самого Азріеля. На жаль, щастя Астерії було недовгим, бо, схоже, її милого та доброго хлопця, якого вона колись покохала, більше не існує.

Сюжет:
Візуалізуємо в голові схему: друзі дитинства - закохані - вороги - коханці. Не складно взагалі. Загалом от оповідь кріпитиметься навколо переходу від одного стану їх стосунків в другий, а ми з попкорному будемо спостерігати за їх недомовками, непорозуміннями та часом навіть душевними терзаннями (здебільшого останнє стосуватиметься Азріеля, бо Астерія дівка доволі прямолінійна, довго топтатись на місці не буде і спитає "якого хріна ти трахаєш мене сім днів на тиждень, а висрати "я тебе кохаю", ти, довбню, блядь не в змозі"). Ах, принади комунікативного садизму, як ми це любимо.

Персонажі:
Я готова поставити пам'ятник психічному здоров'ю Астерії, тому що вона саме втілення фрази "пташка в позолоченій клітці", а я б на її місці дала б йобу вже давним давно. Серйозно, її батя тримав її в маєтку практично все її свідоме життя, що означало майже абсолютний ноль соціальної інтеракції. З цього витікає, що я абсолютно не здивована, чому вона закохалася у Азріеля, бо той майже стовідсотково був чи не найпершою людиною її віку, котрий спілкувався з нею, а 1) не віддавав накази і 2) не очікував на накази, а ще не був з нею у кровній спорідненості.

Загалом я б сказала, що Астерія доволі приємна дівчуля і не останнім плюсом в її скарбничку буде те, що в неї є бодай якась персоналіті. Бонус: а ще вона любить яскраво одягатися, на відміну від усіх тих вічно похмурих мафіозніків у костюмах з легкими бризками свіжої крові. Особисто я завжди уявляла її у вбраннях типу пін-ап, мені здається, їй би личило. А ще вона має захоплення, не дурко, усвідомлює своє становище в цій всій клановій мафіозній ієрархії і хоч, на початках, вирішила не надто боротися з цим і плисти за течією, зрештою бере себе в руки і вигризає своє. Молодець, так їх, ти тут крутишка!

Азріель же не справив на мене вау-ефекту. Я чи то впустила той момент, чи він описувався настільки не розлого, що мій мозок тупо про нього забув, але хоч вбийте, я не розумію, як синок консільєрі глави Чиказької мафії, котрого змусили тікати з позором буквально за ніхуя, пробився у верхи за якихось шість років. Ну типу, його кар'єрному росту можна тільки позаздрити, але для мене це виглядає аж занадто круто.

What was the point of marrying me if you’re going to avoid me?” Revenge. I opt to go with a different answer instead. “Power.”

Ще один мінус: я так і не зрозуміла суті його помсти батькові Астерії. Ок, ти став впливовішим. Ок, ти береш в дружини його доньку і виставляєш це так, наче вона тобі не всралася. Ок, ти поводишся з нею так, наче вона предмет декору, і всередині виєш від того, що змушений так поводитися, хоча, по факту, ваша доля тепер тільки у ваших руках і ви нарешті разом, тож ти можеш скинути всі маски і викрикнути "Астеріє, кохання моє, як довго я цього чекав", а натомість ви граєтесь в кішки-мишки з елементами сексуального напруження і єбете всім (в тому числі і мені) нерви. Не треба так.

До плюсів Азріеля можу віднести наступне: в нього руки не зі сраки, бо він зробив Астерії дуже крутий подарунок, це раз. В нього є сарай зі свинями, котрі жруть трупи його недоброзичливців, це два. У всьому іншому він доволі посередній мафіознік, ні риба ні м'ясо.

“Who knew you were such a hero?” A scoff works its way up my throat. I slide a possessive hand around the nape of her neck, surprising us both. “A hero? No. See, the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I’d burn this entire world to the ground for you. You’re mine, Asteria. You’ve always been mine.”

Як не дивно, але найбільше мені сподобалася взаємодія не Астерії та Азріеля, хоча монолог вище про героїв і лиходіїв змусив би трястися в конвульсіях прихильниць тропу "вона залишається з лиходієм", а Астерії і дружбанів-колєґ-мафіозніків її чоловіка, Ромео і Джованні. Ця трійця це як сраний ходячий епізод "Друзів" і бодай лише заради сценок з ними варто відкривати цю книжку. Хоч, якщо чесно, я б воліла, щоб останніх було більше.

На що звернула увагу:
Мені відверто не вистачало флешбеків з дитинства (хоча не буду приховувати, та сцена з метеликами була дуже милою), адже ми якось відразу перескочили в фазу активного пубертату і залишили за кадром їх спільне дорослішання (Якщо воно, звісно, у них було. А воно мало бути, вони ж, блядь, друзі дитинства).

А ще в моїй пам'ять назавжди застрягла сцена як Астерія зі своєю кузиною випускають зі стайні свиней, щоб втекти в клуб на дискотеку. 100/10 girlboss

Гарячі сцени:

...passion feeds you while lust leaves you starved.

Як плацкарт Укрзалізниці: весь спектр інтимних послуг за невеликі гроші. А загалом нічого надзвичайного, проте сцена навпроти вікна була хот.

Підсумок:
Може здатися дивним, чому попри такий незавидний перелік мінусів книги я поставила їй 4/5 зірочок. Все просто: це було краще, ніж решта книг, що я читала у цьому жанрі, а ще застосування тропу "друзі з дитинства, котрі наче як вороги, але насправді кохають одне одного, але не можуть про це сказати" доволі приємним і мило реалізованим у цій книзі. А ще, позаяк тому, що роман закінчується на кліфхенгері, хоч і передбачуваному, моє бажання прочитати другу частину виросло в рази.

[shane. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Because you’re mine. My princess. My butterfly. You always have been.”

“The Princess and the Devil” is Naya V.’s debut novel.
It gives you:
- friends to enemies to lovers
- mafia romance
- arranged marriage
- second chance
- forced proximity
- grumpy/ sunshine
- hades and persephone undertones


This book was honestly a nice surprise. I didn’t go in with much expectations but it definitely consumed me from beginning to end. This definitely had me in my feels at the beginning of the book. Along with many twists and turns.

The chemistry between Asteria and Azriel was flammable. Passionate. Intense.
I loved those little snippets of their relationship when they were teens. As they grew older and things became… complicated, the pull to each other only became stronger.

My only qualms with this book is that I wished to have had more chapters on Azriel’s POV. And hoping for Asteria’s character to have more development.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and despite it ending on a cliffhanger, (yes, I know), I can not wait for book two.

I also hope we get a story on Gio and Franny as well, cause that tension! 👀

*Thank you to NetGalley and Naya V. for this ARC.

[FLOR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se merece un 3.5 la verdad. Y ojala que el siguiente sea mejor todavia.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What stands out from the first page is the writing. It is beautifully written, without being to flowery or wordy. The book is told in first person, multiple POV, but most of it is from Asteria’s POV. Which is something I really liked because it keeps us as readers in the dark about Azriel’s feelings, his motivations and the secret he is hiding. And when we get his POV it really adds to the story. There are flashbacks added into the present day chapters, but they didn’t mess with the flow of the story.

The book starts out in the past when Asteria and Azriel and establishes their friendship and love for each other. This sets up the second chance aspect of the story very well. We see them being torn apart and the heartache Asteria goes through in the absence of Azriel. When they see each other again, six years after their separation, all the love between them is gone. Azriel seems to hate Asteria for unknown reasons. He is no longer the boy she once knew, but a man that is cold, brutal and does not seem to care about her anymore. Yet she arranged to become his wife.

Asteria’s character start out as childish and naïve and to an extent remains that way throughout the story. But given her sheltered upbringing this makes a lot of sense. I did like her character development throughout the story and how she would hold her own. She may have been a little naïve, but she wasn’t a doormat. I really liked her as a character. Since we do not know what happened with Azriel in the years they are separated, his behavior towards Asteria feels like a complete 180 from when they were young. But through his perspective we grow the understand it and gain some insight into his motives. However, his why is never truly revealed in this book. But it’s clear from the start that he still loves her and the way he softens over the course of the book was something I absolutely loved. Their relationship development was more of a slow burn and felt realistic given the circumstances. This book isn’t heavy on the spice, which I personally appreciate. But the spice that we do get is good!

I feel like the story could have done without the Hades and Persephone element. It didn’t really add anything to the story and the more it was mentioned, the more forced it felt.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and read it in a day. I had a great time reading it and can’t wait for the sequel.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[KayLuvsBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Naya Villareal for an e-arc!

2. 5 stars

All you have to do is tell me it has Persephone/Hades retelling elements and I am already grabbing it, no questions asked.

“Look to the stars cara mia. Every night you miss me, every night you don’t see me, that’s where I’ll be. Always.”

This really doesn’t bring anything new to the table. The characters are really just a reflection of characters I have seen in other books similar to this. But, I had fun and that’s what counts! Plus I have a soft spot for butterflies, so there’s that. One thing I really loved was the flashbacks to the early relationship between Azriel and Asteria. They were just so sweet and perfect together before the world forced them apart and hardened their hearts.

“He’s the villain in my story. Not a knight in shining armor or a noble prince. He is the devil. And, unfortunately, I’m his princess.”

On a technical level, this wasn’t the greatest. The storyline was a little wobbly at times and I am not quite sure what happened with that ending. Warning, it does end on a cliffhanger but it is almost like it stops at what should be the end of a chapter, not the end of the book. The idea is there, the execution just needs some work.

“A hero? No. See, the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I'd burn this entire world to the ground for you. You're mine, Asteria. You've always been mine.”

If you're a fan of the arranged marriage trope mixed in with a mafia romance, then you will for sure eat this up!

[Nelli Lakatos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! It ended in a cliffhanger and I can't wait to read the next book and find out what's going to happen next! I was not prepared to read another book with a cliffhanger, especially when I can't read the next book immediately, because I loved this! I loved every character, the female MC named Astoria is vegetarian like me so that was really close to me.
This book has Hades and Persephone references like there was a lot of time they referred Astoria like she is Persephone(wich actually was her middle name) and later in the book Azriel like Hades.
I personally think this book was too short but I know a lot of people will love it because of that.
I think I just really love slow burn romance especially with the enemies to lovers trope. This was definitely not a slow burn but I still really loved it!
I really recommend this book!

Also it reminded me of "The Book Of Azrael" by Amber Nicole but maybe it's just me, like I just keep thinking about that book and try to see every book like that.😄

✨enemies to lovers
✨mafia romance
✨arrange marriage
✨dual pov
✨cliffhanger

Release date: 27/09/2022

Thank you so much NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Mystic Forest Crafts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t really know if I would like this when I started it but having recently read the These Violent Delights Duology I wanted to give a chance to another gangster book.

Pros:

Character development is strong. You get to know the characters through their actions and reactions to the main female character who has a way of getting through to the core of people.

Being able to see things from both the main female and main male’s point of view at different times really makes their behaviors understandable and their difficulties make sense. They truly are coming from two different realms of experience.

I worried with the theme of Hades and Persephone being brought up. It seems like endless retellings are coming out for the couple and I’m getting sick of them. This is done with class and style and just to show their differences not to be them. There is also a bit of a Romeo and Juliet vibe I’m digging.

Cons:

Parts of the story feel a little rushed and skimmed over. You don’t really get to know much about the family/gang and what they are up against. I’m hoping we can get more development on that in book two.

The cliff hanger here is rough and will leave you with a book hangover!

[Minna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I enjoyed reading this book, although I don’t think it’s substantially different from a number of other books on KU I’ve read in this subgenre (dark mafia/bully romance).

Overall it was a fun read and I appreciated the twist at the end (although, perhaps, not so much the cliffhanger ending), which kept it a little fresher than your average mafia romance. What really held me back from liking this more was Asteria’s character. She’s willfully ignorant and immature: she is aware of what her father is/does yet is constantly (!) surprised by his actions. When she goes to Azriel’s house following her marriage she continues to behave and act as though she is a child instead of a woman with agency. I realize she was never allowed to be independent BUT she does make some immature and unwise decisions of her own agency with tragic consequences, which could have been avoided if she hadn’t insisted on “rebelling.”
(Not that I’m excusing murder as punishment, at all, but frankly that’s par for the course in these books. I think you know what you’re getting into when you pick one of these up.)
I wouldn’t mind picking up the sequel so I’ll give this ⭐⭐⭐.

[jazzyyreads_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Hades and Persephone retelling (somehow), then you will love this book! I couldn’t stop reading it. IT WAS THAT GOOD. WHAT A FUCKING CLIFFHANGER, HOLY SHIT but the good news is that the next book will be published on Oct 25.

“A hero? No. See, the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I’d burn this entire world to the ground for you. You’re mine, Asteria. You’ve always been mine.”

I LIVE FOR THIS QUOTE!!! This is the reason why I prefer villains so much more than heroes!

Asteria is the daughter of a capo who grew up with Azriel. Azriel is the son of Asteria's father's right-hand man. They grew up more than just friends but one night his father caught them kissing. His father was so mad and said that she is to be married to Fabiano to strengthen the famiglia. After that, his father casts Azriel and his father. Asteria was so broken, and they met one night to say goodbye, but she didn’t realize it was for good.

Overall, I enjoyed this book so much! The ending, I knew it! 🥲

I want to thank the author and publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Naya Villareal for an eARC.\

This book called out to me like a siren. Mafia, lovers to enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, Hades and Persephone references, and SPICE. It was so good I finished it in one sitting!

“A hero? No. See, the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I'd burn this entire world to the ground for you. You're mine, Asteria. You've always been mine." This is my favorite quote from this book.

The story of how Azriel and Asteria plays out has both parts of new and reliable. The storyline of Mafia and arranged marriage being the reliable and the lovers to enemies to lovers and spice being new. The angst and tension between the two characters makes you feel like you are experiencing it for yourself. I felt like I was going through the same emotions as they were.

This book does end on a cliffhanger and I can't wait for part 2.

[Cas]

This my lovely friends was a 28% DNF.

I… I.. the dialogue was like a cheesy, 14 year old fanfiction. Things people would never actually say.

There was like 3 chapters in a row where we jumped years and yet the only thing we knew about the FMC is that she was “in love” with the MMC.

Like that’s all she focused on. Not her life, or actually ya know living. It was all him. And It was… annoying to say the least.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so The Princess and The Devil by Naya V. Ok… WOW. At first, I was like, “Oh great, another teenage love story,” but nope — it’s a Mafia love story, and I was hooked after just a few chapters!

The plot twists? Insane. The secrets? You know something’s missing and you just have to keep reading to figure it out. And Azriel and Asteria? Ugh, they destroyed me in the best way possible. They grew up together, then got pulled apart for all these mysterious reasons (that I need to know more about). Azriel’s whole “I love her but I’m angry so I’ll pretend I don’t” thing? HOT. 🔥

Their chemistry is everything. The way she knows his games and still holds on because she believes in him… I can’t. I’m obsessed.

Seriously, if you love dark romance, secrets, and characters that make you feel, read this book.
Also, @Naya V. — please please make an audiobook version! I need to hear Azriel’s deep voice for real 😍

[allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for the arc!!

“He’s hung the moon for me. Painted the night sky for me. He’s handpicked every star and constellation in the sky and laid them at my feet.”

I originally picked this book up because i was very intrigued by the synopsis, childhood lovers to strangers? count me in.

Azriel was such a good character. I love when characters go from innocent kids then with a time jump they suddenly appear cold and vindictive. Get you a man who gets you a butterfly farm.

Asteria I had never read a book with a character quite like Asteria. She has been a prisoner in her own home all her life, all she had was azriel and after he was ripped from her, she had nothing.

Overall this book was well written, an easy read, the romance was so interesting, I NEED THE NEXT BOOK IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

“...the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I’d burn this entire world to the ground for you.”

Synopsis: Once upon time, there was a boy I fell in love with. This boy held my heart in his hands and promised to love and protect me. Until one day he left without looking back. When I turned eighteenth, I was promised to marry a man I did not know. Before we could marry, he ends up murdered and all chaos breaks lose. Now the boy I once loved is back to reclaim me, but he is no longer the boy I once loved. He’s the Devil and determined to be the ruin of me and my family.

Thoughts: The beautiful cover first drew me in, then when I read the summary I knew I had to read it! It had all the tropes I love: Lovers to Enemies to Lovers, mafia romance, Hades and Persephone retelling vibes, spice, dual pov, and so much more! I liked that the story had both Asteria’s and Azriel’s POVs, even though it was mostly in Asteria’s POV. While I wanted to know right away what Azriel’s motives were, in the end I am glad I didn’t know right away because the book kept me from putting it down. I am running to go read the second because it ends on a cliffhanger!! I am excited to read the next book and more from this author!

This book includes:
-enemies to lovers
-Arranged Marriage
-Mafia Romance
-Dual POV
-Cliffhanger

4.5/5 stars
2/5 spice

Thank you Naya V. and NetGalley for providing an arc for an honest review.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
1.5🌶
I would like to start off by saying I genuinely enjoyed this book. I love me anything to do with mafia arraigned/forced marriage series with childhood friends-to-enemies-to- lovers/second chance romance and grumpy/sunshine. There was also a very loose Hades/Persephone undertone that I only felt occasionally.

That being said,
While I thought Azriel and Asteria’s relationship with they were teenagers was very cute I was conflicted later on. I hope we learn more about what happened after Azriel left in book 2 because it didn’t seem to know how he felt from chapter to chapter. I also really hope that Asteria develops more of a backbone/independence in book 2. Yes, she grew up sheltered but I mean it took her how long of living to Az to be all “I’m going to learn to cook” or to even discover the library??

Additionally, the pacing did feel a little inconsistent with the first 10 chapters being the same character and the plot not picking up until about 20-30%, slow build for a while, then love and spice and consistent flow starting around 65%. I felt the ending/cliffhanger was well placed— there was a good chunk of time between when they married to the end but with a majority of the chapters being from Asteria’s POV, it lacked a sense of urgency or scope of how bad the situation was outside the estate. I personally would have loved an Az chapter of him finding out she left and having to go get her.

Overall, I did like this book and will be patiently waiting for the next one and hope we get a Gio/Franny story at some point too!

*I kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Jaymi Weishar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Naya Villareal for an e-arc of this book!

I was drawn to this book initially by its stunning cover, but then I read the book description and was completely SOLD!

Like…

• Dual POV
• Lovers to Enemies to Lovers
• Mafia Romance
• Hades and Persephone References
• Spice
• Arranged Marriage
• Cliffhanger Ending

Can’t really go wrong with any of that.

The beginning of the book has several time jumps involved starting when Asteria is 16, jumping a couple times until she is 22. While I don’t know that all the jumps were necessary, I did enjoy having a glimpse into how Asteria got to where she is at 22.

I am a sucker for the multiple POV, mafia, enemies to lovers tropes so the fact that this book had them all was *Chef’s Kiss*

This book was so easy to read. It took a while for me to get into (mostly because I was just reading it a bit at a time), but from 40% of the way onwards… I ate this book up. I read the rest of the book in one sitting.

CLIFFHANGER…. can't wait for book two!

Expected publication September 27, 2022

Some of my favourite quotes from the book:

“Look to the stars, cara mia. Every night you miss me, every night you don't see me, that's where I'll be. Always.”

“You can’t forget people like Asteria. They grow inside of you like a contagion. She made a home for herself inside of my heart years ago. For years, she was an essential part of me. She was the yin to my yang, the stars to my night sky, the air in my god damn lungs.”

[Yue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mafia romance books are extremely successful. Why, I don’t quite know. Most of the ones I’ve read, with the exception of one book alone, have been absolutely terrible. Sadly, The Princess and The Devil was no exception, largely because Azriel Costa is an irredeemable asshole who punishes the whiny heroine, Asteria Persephone, for the crime of loving him and leaving him when she was 16 . . . even though he’s the one who actually left her, not the other way around.

She literally begged him to stay and run away together and he refused and went off into the night like a damn creeper or red-eyed gladiator. He straight up disappeared from her life and never returned her calls or voicemail messages, only to appear out of thin air years later in her living room, offering his hand in marriage. What an elaborate proposal. Excuse me, I meant to say what an eloquent non-proposal, considering the fact that he pops up with a pre-arranged marriage contract, not a confession of yearning or a deep profession of long-lost love reunited.

I must emphasize the difference because the word proposal implies that something was offered or, you know, proposed and he proposed nothing—he didn’t get on his knees and plead, he simply stipulated that she marry him because she had no other choice. After taunting her with the knowledge that she has no freedom in this world that he lives in and revolves everything around, he also proceeds to tell her how lowly he thinks of her by cruelly berating and humiliating her for once having loved him.

When she asks him why he’s just now making a reentrance into her life and reminds him of how madly in love she was with him before he walked away and vanished into the night for years without communicating anything of importance to her, this douchebag rudely grabs her by the wrist/arm, slaps his engagement ring onto her hand to prove he owns her, and spits out: “What we had meant nothing to me. You mean nothing to me . . . I do not need you or this union. I can take what I want, without asking. And I don’t give a damn who is hurt in the process. Including you.”

Wow, what a lovely speech to give your up-and-coming bride. Is this dude for real? Acting so unmerciful and unnecessarily heartless, and for what? How did she wrong him? She did nothing to him, did nothing but love him! She ought have taken the heel of her boots to his ungrateful neck.

A smart woman once sang, “these boots are made for walkin’. And that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.”Thank you, Nancy Sinatra! Why are men the only ones ever getting violent in these books? These women need to take their stilettos and Christian Louboutins off and start forcefully slinging them at these jerks.

Worse, when Asteria asks him why he even wants to marry her if he feels so negatively strongly towards her, Azriel, the Demon, Satan himself, or the Devil, as he is so often called, responds by saying: “You are not a trophy to me. Only a means to an end.”

He just degrades her over and over again and has so much hostility towards her when he’s the one who’s hurt her repeatedly and she’s never so much as attacked him, let alone, tried to get him back by verbally inflicting as much pain onto him as she can manage, the way he treats and rebuffs her. And she takes all of this abuse and mistreatment in stride and even somehow learns to love the hateful, good-for-nothing, hotheaded, tyrannical, miserable son-of-a-bitch. Unbelievable!

This dude is just a capo, by the way, how does he have so much power in the mafia? He’s not high enough in the mafia ladder to warrant her needing his protection, in my opinion. Why is anyone afraid of him? He’s not the boss and he’s not the underboss. He’s nobody! I would have told this nasty tyrant of a husband of hers to take the gun he loves shooting so much and either blow his own brains out or just take me out, because I’m damn sure not going to be somebody’s prisoner. So what if you’re in the mafia? You can get shot up, or I can learn how to use a gun, too, and train to be an assassin just as great as you, that’s what I’d tell him.

I’d blow that house up, if I was a fictional character/the wife being hold in hostage in these types of books, anyway. To hell with that sinister plan you have for me, Mr. Not-So-Tough-Guy.

So, as I was saying earlier, this dude has literally no reason to treat her like garbage yet constantly disrespects her and is physically aggressive towards her on multiple different occasions—even when she tells him to stop because he’s physically hurting her, he refuses to let go of her. He shoots two men dead—his own soldiers, mind you—right in front of her as retaliation not because they inadvertently helped her defy him, but because they failed to put her in her place and keep her there. Because she dared to get away and sneak out of the hell he created for her at home for just one day. He absolutely traumatizes, bamboozles, and terrifies the living daylights out of her. He’s the same man who shot dead her would-be husband on their wedding day, mind you, because he didn’t want anyone else to have her. It’s giving Chris Brown energy.

This book reminded me that, unfortunately, home is often a prison for women. Other women should be careful before placing judgment on the lives of seemingly rich and successful women living in huge mansions and ask themselves if they’re living in a mansion or a prison—is it a mansion or a psych ward? Are they the patient or the nurse?

The women in this book, including Francesca, Asteria’s cousin, have absolutely no agency and are forced to do whatever the men in their lives tell them to do. The men literally lock them up in their houses and treat their wives as captives. The women are held hostage. The men consider them to be their property. They terrorize them and dominate them into submission. They oppressively dim their light. You can actually see the light leave their eyes—there’s a reason why all the married women in this book have dead eyes.
It’s because, so sadly, in mafia books, for women, marriage is slavery. And personally, I think love is never about enslavement.

I would give this book zero stars if I could. I sincerely wish that the heroine had shot her loser of a husband in the face and freed herself but because she didn’t, I had nothing positive to say about it all, except for the fact that it ended. I truly don’t recommend this book.

[Monique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"ᴀ ʜᴇʀᴏ? ɴᴏ. ꜱᴇᴇ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ʜᴇʀᴏ, ᴀ ʜᴇʀᴏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜱᴀᴄʀɪꜰɪᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴ, ᴀ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍᴇ, ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜱᴀᴄʀɪꜰɪᴄᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴀꜰᴇ. ɪ'ᴅ ʙᴜʀɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴇɴᴛɪʀᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ. ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴍɪɴᴇ, ᴀꜱᴛᴇʀɪᴀ. ʏᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴍɪɴᴇ."

The Princess and The Devil is the mafia storyline readers return to again and again.

Asteria Moretti is the only daughter of Chicago's Capo which makes her a prime target for the underbelly that thrives beneath its busy streets. She's been sheltered and protected for her whole life; ageing in naïve bliss whilst her father trades bodies, drugs, money and everything in between to remain on top of the mafia food chain. The one constant in her life has been Azriel Costa , the son of Luca, one of her fathers men. From childhood best friends to teen lovers there is nothing more than Asteria wants than to leave the famiglia, to be free to live out her days with Azriel away from the cruelty so deeply embedded in their lives.

A cold splash on Asteria's reality occurs on her 16th birthday when she is promised to marry Fabiano, a son of her fathers business friend from New York as soon as she turns 18. The arrangement immediately fractures the Moretti-Costa relationship and Azriel is gone in a blink of an eye.

It's clear that the union between Fabiano and Asteria will not foster kindness or love. It's a business arrangement that aids the power everyone is so desperately seeking and all seems to go to plan until Fabiano is shot on their wedding day.

Naya Villareal's writing jumps very quickly in time throughout the first third of the book. It seems that this was done intentionally as to not drag out the plot of the storyline and skip to a point in the book where the reader understands why Azriel's character was so feverishly emphasised in the first pages and then removed. The action really starts to take shape when Asteria is once again forced into a marriage, only this time it's with a reemerged Azriel who is now the Capo of California.

The dynamic of their new marriage, threats against them both and whether their childhood love still burns under the surface is where the spotlight has been cast. If you're looking for a brutally detailed Hades and Peresphone retelling then this is not for you. Although there is similarities between the two stories: kidnapping, the 'devil', forced proximity and narcissus flowers, it felt misplaced at times.

The Princess and The Devil has the classic genre tropes readers love:
★ Dual POV
★ Arranged marriage.
★ Friends to Lovers to Enemies to Lover.
★ Morally gray male MC.
★ Forced proximity.
★ Powerplay
★ Spicy.

The story of Asteria as the Princess and Azriel as the Devil really should have been a knockout, but sorely missed its mark.

I can look past a lack of originality when it comes to specific genre reads such as mafia romance. Ultimately the whole point of why readers gravitate to them in the first place is for the same characteristics. The dangerous mafia leader with a reputation that makes grown men quiver in their boots (or in this case, expensive Italian loafers) who murders, avoids the law and is not ounce of apologetic about it, only to have his heart weakened by a seemingly helpless, innocent female protagonist. It's a refined taste palate.

The tone and pace was this story's demise. Far too rushed, far too convenient. As a result I was able to predict everything before it happened. There was no surprise about the direction of Asteria and Azriel's relationship, no doubt about loyalties amongst men, no fear-for-your-life moments. A mafia story needs a certain level of detail when describing the blood and gore, the fear of men being tortured for information. This hit the mark on just showing, not just telling how evil Azriel could really be, largely because the characters lack depth, personality, emotion. A failure to slow it story down created a disconnect between reader and the read. Without going beneath the surface of each characters thought pattern or rationale the emotive elements of Naya Villareal's writing was removed.

Additionally, this story ends unnecessarily on a cliffhanger and doesn't entice the reader to continue on. I hope Naya V embraces more of the direction the writing style possessed in the last third in book two.

[mel. ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

❛ Who knew you were such a hero? ❜ A scoff works its way up my throat. I slide a possessive hand around the nape of her neck, surprising us both. ❛ A hero? No. See, the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I’d burn this entire world to the ground for you. You’re mine, Asteria. You’ve always been mine. ❜

3 STARS ✨

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of The Princess and the Devil from NetGalley a couple of months ago in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I had to persevere through a large percentage of this book, and I was close to DNFing it. When reading the blurb, I wrongly insinuated that the novel would be about Azriel doing whatever it took to get Asteria back six years later, and that straight away, there may have been some form of angst, but the connection would still be there. Alas, for a large proportion of the novel, Azriel is unnecessary cruel to Asteria. The angst and tension is fantastic for those who are fans of bully romances, and we do hear the reasonings from Azriel’s perspective, but for me personally, it’s not what I enjoy reading.

The storyline of the book is intriguing, but I do feel as if there is room for improvement. There are points, especially at the beginning in the prologue, where Naya V writes with a lyrical beauty that sets up really strong foundations for the novel, yet ends up falling flat with some of the pacing and characteristics of the protagonist. Although it is understanding that Asteria is naïve due to a lifetime of concealment from reality, she is so naïve and immature that it is exhausting to read at points — I am in no way, shape or form condoning the way that she has been treated, or how any of the women are treated in this novel (because it is absolutely awful) but there are moments where she demands to be treated as an adult and be educated on the dangerous lifestyle that those around her lead, yet she goes about it the same way that a young child would. It doesn’t help that she tends to faint numerous times in the books, either — personally, as someone who used to see it as a literal trope in fanfiction when I was younger, the distressed woman fainting at any inconvenience, it just didn’t really fit for me and only added to the argument that Asteria was unable to handle reality.

❛ God, you truly are the devil. Pure evil—a menace in the flesh. Should I call you Hades? ❜ His eyes glitter dangerously. ❛ And who would that make you, Persephone? ❜ I huff out a disgruntled breath. Bastard.

Although the Hades and Persephone elements do feel slightly over reiterated in this one, I would recommend it to fellow Hades and Persephone retelling lovers. You just have to keep hanging in there.

Pacing aside, the book did improve, and I was enjoying it by the end and wanting more. I have seen a lot of reviews about the second book being a much easier to read, so I will be delving into it to see what happens next for these two after that cliffhanger and the questions that remain unanswered.

[Katie Robbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has so much potential and I did enjoy it, but their are a few kinks I think the author should have ironed out before publishing. Overall, it’s a typical mafia romance with that beloved “friends to enemies to lovers” trope. Just from reading the blurb I was excited to dive in and did truly enjoy the experience.

Yet, that being said, it did have some pitfalls that were hard to get past. The story didn’t feel like it really took off until around 25% in, even though I did enjoy the setup for the main characters, it was dragged on a bit too long for my liking. That’s just my personal preference though.

Overall, the characters were interesting, but the female main felt a little flat. At times, she was incredibly childish (which was fine in the beginning because she WAS a child). She never seemed to grow out of that childishness though. The author used the characters inner monologue to tell us things we already assume just from the genre of the book, and the character rattles on and on. I found myself skimming over a lot of her internal thoughts because of this. Another issue with the female main character was the fact that she seemed to know information that was uncharacteristic for her (i.e. she technically/scholarly analyzed a painting in an art gallery without the reader having any idea that she knew anything about art in the first place). It pulled me out of the story enough that I was actually annoyed.

The reader is left stuck Asteria’s POV for the first 10 chapters. For a moment, I wondered why the chapters were labeled with her name. And then you get Azriel‘s POV, and it’s fantastic! His point of view is compelling and interesting and I wished we’d gotten more of him in the beginning. Yet, even with him their were issues. His motives were inconsistent and changed so suddenly that I wasn’t sure if I had missed something important along the way. It’s felt obvious that the characters emotional changes were forced and not naturally shifting — the entire relationship dynamic was rushed.

And the Hades and Persephone theme was not done all that well. The characters held onto that theme with a vice grip and it was sometimes really awkward.

Were there quite a few issues with this story? Yeah, sadly. But, I still enjoyed the overall idea and concept and would still read the next book. I’m invested, even if the storytelling wasn’t up to par with what I had hoped for.

(I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

[Akansha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Soooo I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it. But wait, did I? Actually yeah, I did. Atleast in the beginning. Or so I thought.

Okay but seriously...I had such high hopes and maybe that’s the worst part. Cuz marriage of convience? Check.
Star crossed lovers? Check.
Persephone & Hades refrence? Check. Check. Check.
But honestly it all went down the drain. The beginning was great, tbh. The thing with Asteria’s father, Azriel leaving and an arrange marriage was selling it. And then Azriel coming back and claiming her, keeping her in the dark, keeping her safe. Man, it was fine. I was living for that but shit got too boring. I’ve read so much dark romance so I expected some pushing away and lying and insulting but what I just COULDNT take was the fucking secret he kept hidden under his tail. At almost 60%, and we still don’t know about it?? Not even a scratch? Any leads? I always appreciate a good suspense but this was just too much. Like TOO TOO MUCH. Plus there was no progress in their relationship for more than half of the book. It was almost like Asteria had more chemistry with Giovanni and Romeo than her own husband, good lord.

I know, okay? What girl doesn't want to be the one for the handsome, brooding guy? To break his ice, get past his defences, and under his skin? But Azriel was really one tough crack. And Asteria...oh my god, she worked too hard. Damn, girl, i get it. But this was really testing me and i had to put the book down for full two days cuz i was so close to giving up on it. I was praying the whole time that the dangling carrot better be worth it. and??? seriously????

If “surprising” means “totally predictable ” then oh yeah the ending was very surprising. So surprised i still can’t get over it.

Anyways, the smut was good. I’m gonna give that. Maybe it was the magic spell that kick started their relationship cycle cuz newsflash! As we crossed the 70% mark our bad boy is suddenly finding his love back and telling stuff and being a lil less ass to his wife. Honestly, the whole anti-hero thing didn’t convince me very much. Again, maybe I expected a little too much and it completely fell flat.

Thankyou sm netgalley for sending the e-arc along my way in exchange for an honest review. I really appreciate it!!

[CovetedBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning, readers are given a prologue to the background of Asteria’s & Azriel’s friendship, which I appreciated so much. There are many second chance romance type tropes where you aren’t given deep enough background information, so this was something I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It was friends to lovers in the prologue and first few chapters, and then shifted dramatically to tense, enemy vibes after Asteria and Azriel did their growing up apart from each other. The man that Asteria knew as a child is no longer there, and was replaced with a cold, brutal, and older version of Azriel that she is now destined to marry after 6 years of being apart from one another; really, I should say ghosted. However, circling back to what I said earlier, I do appreciate the fun, innocent snippets of the moments that Azriel and Asteria shared together when they were younger.

The character development of Asteria was amazing. She started to become more bold with her actions and language, which leads her to being depicted as a stubborn, “I’m sure as hell not holding my tongue” type of woman, which I love. I love when authors write the women characters as strong and bold archetypes, instead of meek and innocent. She seemed to break out of her gilded cage, which I really enjoyed watch happen throughout the course of the book. Azriel was a pain in my side throughout majority of the book through Asteria’s POV, but lessened when I read his POV.

What I really disliked was the miscommunication trope. It was prevalent throughout the entire book, and although I do think it did contribute to the suspense, I wasn’t a fan. It’s not something I enjoy in a book because it makes me annoyed or want to pull my hair out, but I get why the author decided to factor it in.

Overall, it’s been a great book and one of the better mafia romance books I’ve read, minus the few dislikes I had with the book. I would recommend it to a friend and advertise it to my audience, but would definitely warn them of the miscommunication and verbal harshness that Azriel exhibits in the first half of the book since that isn’t particularly my cup of tea.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️

I voluntarily read and reviewed and advanced copy of this book. All thought and opinions are my own. This ARC was provided to me through NetGalley.

This was a nice surprise! I will honest and say that I went into it with little expectations but I really really liked it 🤩. This is a second-chance romance with lots of twists and turns. The book follows Asteria and Azriel. They meet when they are children because both their parents are in the mob. After some mob drama, they are forced apart, only to reunite years later under different circumstances 🥵🥵🥵

I loved the beginning of their love story, it was so beautiful 💕 I loved the level of detail that Naya V. provided. It helped me understand both characters better, and also their relationship moving forwards. I love good and long prologues. Asteria was such a nice girl. It is very clear that the whole mafia world is not for her, but she has one of those "I will make the best of it" personalities. And Azriel..... although at some points in the story I thought he was annoying and harsh for no reason to Asteria, he was likeable. I think what made him likeable was they relationship and probably how their childhood romance made me root for them.. And of course Azriel's romantic gestures like buying her the flowers 🌷🌷 I wish we would have gotten a deeper look into how Azriel's life was during those years apart from Asteria (we only get her side). I think knowing some details early one would have made me understand him more as a character (his evolution/why the drastic personality changes).

This is a duet, and it does end in a cliffhanger. I hope for the second book we get a better insight into Azriel's mind and I would love to see them together more getting reacquainted.

Also, this book is a dark romance mafia story, so if you don't like the subject of mafia (killings, descriptive dark scenes, and a darker sex life) I don't recommend reading this book.