Mountains of debt that never go away, strange men in suits with guns, whispered threats in the backroom. That's what my life has become. I told my father to never get tangled up with the Bianchi's, but he would do anything to save the gym his grandfather started. I thought I could handle it.
Until my father takes off.
Now I'm stuck with his debt and Gabriele. The a-hole says I belong to him now until I've worked off every cent. If I want to keep my beloved family gym I have no choice but to obey. But as Gabriele Bianchi's demands keep growing I realize I'm becoming the one thing I hate. I refuse to back down to this man and become his obedient little pet.
But this is one fight I'm not sure I can win.
Fight me Daddy is a full-length MM Daddy romance with morally gray characters, a devilish and demanding Daddy, andangerous and cold boy, a load of bloody violence and a well deserved HEA.
I liked this, but I definitely had higher expectations for it. Something about it just felt a little bit off, and thus, no matter how much I loved the themes and tropes in this book, I didn’t quite feel that true connection to the characters or the romance.
Gabriele is Amadeo’s brother from book 1, and although he’s not the boss in their mafia family, he does appear to be even more fucked up in the head than his big bro, and we mostly see him running ‘debt collections’ for the family. One of these families who owe them money is Calix’s, and the book starts with his dad having run off, leaving Calix to deal with the mafia and the debt his dad left him. Calix obviously despises the mafia, and therefore is very prejudiced against Gabriele. Nonetheless, he will have to make a deal with ‘the devil’ and he is forced to start working with Gabriele to pay off the debt. The story kind of develops from there, and slowly Calix learns to accepts Gabriele for who he is, and they fall in love. Not that Gabriele left him much of a choice, since he was obsessed with Calix from the beginning, and didn’t really take no for an answer.
What I liked about their relationship was the extreme possessiveness Gabriele felt towards Calix: he had chosen Calix as his object of affection, and he would protect him with his life. He would honestly kill anyone who dared look at ‘his boy’ wrong. I also loved that he was very desperate to win Calix’s love, no matter the costs.
Unfortunately, something about Gabriele just felt off to me. I didn’t always love the way he treated Calix, and he could be a bit too rough for my liking. I would have preferred him to be a little more affectionate with his actions or even words, instead of constantly barking orders and treating him like an inferior. I was also simply not a very big fan of him as a person: he was honestly a bit of a dick.
The whole dog kink was definitely super weird to me as well, especially since Calix didn’t seem to be into it at all at first (or ever?), and Gabriele kind of forced it on him. Actually, now that I think of it: Gabriele truly forced Calix into quite a lot he said he didn’t want, and he hardly ever listened to Calix’s wishes. There is definitely some dubious consent going on here, both sexually as well as in their everyday life.
Nonetheless, even though I had my issues with the book, it did entertain me throughout the entire thing, and I can’t help but love complete obsession in books: it’s one of my ultimate weaknesses.
'Mafia Daddies' series: 1. Break Me Daddy - 3.5 stars 2. Fight Me Daddy - 3.5 stars
*** I reviewed a complimentary copy of this book***
Fight Me Daddy is the next entry in the highly addictive Mafia Daddies series. This story focuses on Gabriele and Calix, who are two stubborn alphas forced to work together while becoming enamored with one another.
I loved how the stubborn qualities of both Gabriele and Calix lead to them constantly fighting the other for control. I have never seen a relationship where the fighting of the couple is a way for communicating their needs, which Calix discovers are to feel safe and protected. Once Gabriele realizes this, his dominant side emerges and intensifies their relationship.
Once their daddy/boy dynamic is fully solidified their interactions take on more depth because both characters are finally able to fully submit and express their true feelings.
Overall I loved the dynamic between Calix and Gabriele in this story. It is one of the most raw and intense dynamics I have ever read, which made me love it even more. I loved seeing Gabe lose his cool over the simplest things and seeing his protective instincts come through was very sweet in his diabolical way. This was an entertaining story that left me excited for the next one.
Yes, I Rosabel, after hating the first book of this series, gave the second one a 4 stars rating.
I AM OPEN LIKE THAT! 🤡🤡
Besides, I didn't like the development of the first one and all the sex in front of people (I sound old and not twisted/toxic, I'm ashamed, I know). Now this development, this story, this couple 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
I loved this shit!! This is my type of psycho/possesive/mean dude shit I liked. AND I LOVED THAT Calix was a badass, Gabriele had a hard time taming him, AND I ATE THAT SHIT UP! 🤯🤯
Also Calix representimg latino's and his dad being so like a latino dad 🤣🤣🤣 he dissappeared, happens a lot.
And as I always say: writers I'm free if you need me to check out some grammar, because Italian and Spanish are veeeeery alike, so "Tesoro" means the same in Spanish and in Italian, so Calix not understanding what Gabriel was calling him doesn't add up. And grandma's use that word a lot to litte kids so... Yeah, I volunteer.
But anyways, I adored this, I absolutely couldn't put it down, I was amazed by how much I liked it considering the first one, but I did, so second chances are my thing ya'll. 🤣🤣🤣
✦ easy, sexy and fun for the most part. started dragging for me at around 60% though. i just got bored. ✦ i liked the stalkery obsessiveness and possessiveness, this had a lot of that. ✦ the plot was shit overall, the relationship development was also sadly lacking. ✦ i guess you can read this for the smut (especially if you're into puppy play), but that's about it tbh. i will probably forget this book even exists in a couple of days.
Here's the deal. This author needs an editor. Or a better editor. I'd need more than two hands to count the spelling errors, wrong words (rather instead of whether), and straight up missing words.
That said...I will continue to read them. My bar for mafia daddy MM books is just not that high tbh. And this has golden enema AND puppy play and like...where am I gonna find those combined again?
And here it is: one of the few „daddy” books I’m rating with 5 stars!
This time, we have Gabriele, Amadeo’s brother, who’s strangely obsessed with Calix, the MMA fighter/Six’ friend. Calix father ran away and left Calix to deal with the money owed to the Bianchi family. To pay that off, Calix is forced to be Gabriele’s “muscle” when he’s out collecting debts.
I really liked these two, much more than Amadeo and Six. Their relationship felt more organic, and even though the book is darker (there’s quite a bit of torture and killing going on as the Bianchis are still trying to find out about who’s threatening their businesses), it feels… idk. Lighter somehow.
And even though daddy kink/puppy play still isn’t my favourite, it somehow felt right between the two of them - which is funny, because they’re much more at eye level than Ama and Six.
4.5 bloody stars, rounded up to 5 because of the scorching hot sex scenes.
1.75⭐ and that's only because Six and Amadeo were mentioned and present; other than that, this book was terrible.
What a waste! What a waste of 2 very good characters that were present already in the first installment and had absolutely nothing to do with those same 2 characters in this book.
Going by the same formula as the 1st installment, this was a bad copypasta of the very wonderful first book in the series.
🔵 Age gap - ? I'm guessing about the same as others, around 15 years 🟡 Cringe puppy play (not mentioned anywhere in the blurb), water sports, a very forced and artificial Daddy/boy dynamic 🟢 The plot continues, not much is resolved 🟣 Both MMCs get a character makeover 🌶️ Sex wasn't good, not for me
Gabriele, the funny, sexy Amadeo's brother turns into a terrible, ridiculous and downright stupid Daddy, who gives Calix, a young MMA fighter and in general a mature, great guy, absolutely no freedom and yanks him into specific kinks that aren't talked about, aren't explored first, so consent isn't given for it either. ("Helicopter" my ass, that's not the way to do it.)
It wasn't sexy, it wasn't the good non-con, no, it was awful and I never imagined Calix would get such a terrible story. Calix was a strong character and deserved a much better story, even though I couldn't honestly imagine him being in a Daddy/boy dynamic, ever, at all. He didn't seem like the type.
🟢 Not only that, but Gabriele wasn't a Daddy, it wasn't something he wanted to be or even knew what it was about, but suddenly, out of fucking nowhere, he literally forces the dynamic onto Calix. It was so amateurish and stupid, I still have a bad aftertaste.
Gabriele's possessiveness was a characteristic that was glued to his character additionally in this book and he acted it out with Calix all the time, yet it was so unnatural and didn't fit with who they both were at all.
🔵 The dog reference.Cane. 🙄
Yeah, not hot. Wasn't hot at all. Calix went from this solid, mentally strong character to someone with no character at all. He was suddenly into puppy play and him calling Gabriele "Daddy" and barking left and right was the lamest, most artificial thing in this book.
Calix and Gabriele needed a completely different story.
I've never been more disgusted by a book. I don't really understand how any person here that didn't DNFd could rate more than one star to this crap - and one star is still being generous. The "thing" between the main characters (because I refuse to call it a relationship) is abuse plain and simple. Here's a list of a few of the ridiculous things that happens in this book and a couple that don't make any sense (SPOILERS AHEAD): - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gabriele calls Calix a "mutt" and "dog" the entire book, and I really don't consider it a puppy play kink because it started with the objective of degrading Calix; - Even though the word "treasure" in Spanish is the same as in Italian, Calix asks what it means; - The word "a-wall"; - Gabriele literally say that even if Calix doesn't wants it, he will be Gabriele's; - Gabriel says "After tonight I could use an outlet and I don't want to take any of this out on my boy, not the brunt of it anyway. He can't handle that. Not yet.", thus implying he would and wants to torture and hurt Calix; - Gabriele puts a muzzle on Calix without consent and giving him no way to communicate his safe word; - Gabriele takes nudes and records a sex tape without consent from Calix; - Even though Calix is wearing a muzzle he somehow talks, and this happen in more than one scene; - Gabriele PISSES INSIDE CALIX'S ASSHOLE without any warning, consent or prior discussion on watersports; - Gabriele puts a very visible collar with a lock on Calix without consent and doesn't let Calix take it off after the sex was over, even making Calix go out in public with it; - The phrase "Rather I want it or not"; - Calix thinking "And I doubted I could one day say it's not you, it's me, and walk away with my life. But that's part of what makes dating him so hot."; - Gabriele puts a knife to Calix's throat and cuts him during sex without any discussion or consent on blood play; - Gabriele cuffs Calix's hands without consent, Six walks in on them and even though Calix asks him for help to take the cuffs off of him, Six walks away - AND THEY ARE BFFs; - More than once, Gabriele puts his hands around Calix's throat in anger and chokes him, again without any consent about breath play; - Gabriele finger Calix against his will, which in reality constitute molestation / rape.
Calix is forced into the relationship and to put up with all Gabriele's demands, unbearable possessiveness and kinks - and ends up brainwashed into believing he wants all of this and that he loves Gabriele.
I really don't understand what the author was thinking while writing this. It was not BDSM, and it sure as hell wasn't romantic or sexy, which I believe was the author's goal. This was pure garbage.
PS: the subplot about the Bianchi's mystery enemy, that started on book #1 is mostly forgotten and they advance in exactly one fact: learning the supposed enemy's boss' name.
Calix no puede creer que su padre se haya endeudado con los Bianchi y ahora le toque a él enfrentar la deuda. El problema es la forma como quiere Gabrielle Bianchi que se le pague, siendo su "mascota" para ayudarlo a cobrar a los demás. Calix quiere salir de esa deuda lo antes posible, no soporta seguir siendo la "mascota" de Gabrielle, pero será realmente que lo odia o que odia lo que le hace sentir? Podrá aceptar lo que Gabrielle le ofrece o hará todo lo posible para alejarse de él?
Esta historia es muchísimo mejor que la anterior, los protas son más conscientes de las realidades del otro, y son mas capaces de sentir empatía por el otro. Pero también el romance esta mejor manejado y se puede sentir la química entre los dos y como van evolucionando hasta llegar a enamorarse realmente. También me gusto bastante la trama subyacente, donde poco a poco vamos descubriendo quien es el que quiere destruir a la familia, y porque. Voy a seguir con la serie a ver como se logra resolver este misterio.
This is the second book in the Mafia Daddies series and features Gabriele and Calix. Gabriele is Ama's brother from book one and Calix is Six's friend from book one. Calix is an MMA fighter and runs the family gym. When Calix's dad runs after not being able to pay back a debt, Gabriele steps in and forces Calix to be his errand boy to pay back the debt his father owes to the Bianchis.
Gabriele finds himself drawn to Calix and wants him as his and Calix is weary and unsure of what his future and the future of the family gym looks like. With danger on the horizon threatening the Bianchi family, Gabriele will do anything to keep Calix safe and Calix will fight him every step of the way.
I didn't like these two as much as I liked Ama and Six and while the daddy kink was not overly done for me, the puppy play kink was definitely not my thing. Gabriele was too much of a bulldozer and I didn't really see his love for Calix...seemed more of an obsession than anything. Calix was supposed to be this big MMA fighter and he felt too mousy to me. But in some moments I did love their individual strength and need to protect the ones they cared about. Calix was a good guy with a soft heart and Gabriele was the ruthless mafia man. They were a perfect couple.
Overall, an OK MM read with suspense, steam, violence and an HEA.
This…..this hurts to say and I spent a lot of the book pausing and thinking “is it me? And I the issue here?” Because so many people loved this and I…didn’t. And that makes me so sad because I have been looking forward to this. This felt really forced and I didn’t believe the Daddy/boy relationship. Gabriele literally admits that he didn’t understand the dynamic and had to look it up after his brother Ama got with Six. Never once did he say or think that he was a Daddy wanting a boy. And Calix never really thinks about it until his admission. But there’s no other indication that he’s a boy looking for a Daddy. A sub looking for a Dom? That I could believe, but the Daddy dynamic just didn’t make sense. And then there was the whole puppy play happening that was super weird and a bit sub-con? That seemed even more out of place than the Daddy/boy dynamic. Really, I spent a lot of the book uncomfortable and not in a good way.
I did enjoy the push and pull between Calix and Gabriele. Those parts were fun, but I don’t know how we get from obsession to love and for Calix, he spends most of his internal dialogue hating Gabriele and try in g to find a way to be rid of him, I don’t know how he came to need and love him. It also bothered me that Calix was specific about what he needed in a Daddy and Gabriele never lived up to it. He was forceful and possessive sure, but it never became endearing and he never really softened.
This was really disappointing for me. After loving book one I had high standards, but it fell flat. Hoping book 3 will be better put together.
This book was pretty terrible. So it’s about a high up mafia guy who is ensuring that a hapless gym-owner pays a debt and somewhere in there becomes unhealthily obsessed with him. The vibe was trying to be like a dark romance, enemies to lovers, I-hate-you-but-I-love-you type of thing. But actually it was just really cringe. Gabriele, mob dude, has all the charm of an rubber mallet. He coerces Calix, gym guy and MMA fighter, into a sexual relationship, literally treats him like a dog (against his will) and somehow goes from sex to being wildly in love in the span of a chapter. The sex scenes were decidedly awkward and unsexy. Calix is just this like doormat of a character. Yeah, he gives Gabriele shit, but it’s very unconvincing. I liked nothing about this book. Definitely giving the rest of this series a hard pass.
I read the first book in the series, so I knew what was going on, but what I got was a surprise. This did have a bit of Daddy in it, but it also has puppy play, watersports, knife play, and just a lot of stalking.
And fighting, so much fighting.
I loved both MCs. Gabriele was both sad and in need of serious therapy. Cal was so innocent until he fell under Gabriele's spell.
The overarching story about the Mafia family and the people after them is still unresolved but we find out a bit more.
This was an arc version so there were a lot of spelling and grammar errors. I hope the version that gets released will be edited.
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series, but it may have just been because, out of all the kinks I could get into, puppy play just isn’t one of them. Still, I don’t think it’s fair to deduct from my rating on that ground, because my preference is of no fault to the author nor the actual book.
That being said, there are a number of OTHER reasons why this book didn’t score highly for me.
For starters, I had a lot of high hopes for Gabriele. I anticipated this gruff softie with a sense of humor and, while I think the author tried for that real hard, Gabriele kind of just became this character that pissed me off a lot. And not in a sexy way. I’m pretty sure I hate him, actually.
I also love a good dub-con when written correctly, but there were too many instances that felt very non-con. I felt icky reading one scene in particular.
The puppy play MIGHT have felt more intimate had Gabriele not basically forced Calix to participate despite his protests throughout 80% of the book. And when he finally stopped protesting, it felt more like tolerance and acquiescence. Call me crazy, but I like my fetishes of the ‘mutually shared and enjoyed’ variety.
A lot of the love I felt for Six in the last book was lost when I viewed him from Calix’s POV. Calix was obviously not into the arrangement he had with Gabriele, and Six should have stayed true to his character by offering his friend empathy and support. Instead he sounded like a victim of Stockholm Syndrome defending the Bianchis and justifying their behavior non-stop. I’m not sure I have a single BFF that would just bow out and leave if they stumbled into a room to find me handcuffed to a bed and asking them for help, but that’s exactly what Six does to Calix. Not exactly an award-winning bromance there.
The last 20% of the book felt chaotic. A lot happened and when Calix loses the source of his identity and the driving force behind every decision he made thus far, his pain is resolved with…sex. Yup. He gets laid and he’s not sad anymore.
Do we get to see resolution regarding all of the side characters Calix was concerned about the.entire.book? Well, aside from the most anticlimactic reunion that took place in a car ride from the airport…nope. But we did get a *half* answer to the mysterious tattoo question, so there’s that.
Lastly, the errors. I rarely write a review mentioning grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors—authors are knit-picked on this platform enough without needing to be flayed for forgetting a comma—but this was wild. There were so many that it took away from whatever enjoyment Calix was offering me.
Because, let’s be honest, Calix’s character was wonderful. I adored him. He was strong, loyal, and refused to see the choices people made in black and white. Empathetic characters are everything. The man carried the weight of this book on his back alone.🥊💪🏻
Talk about a possessive mafia daddy! Gabriele is probably one of the most possessive and controlling mafia characters I’ve read in awhile. There were times where even my suspension of disbelief left me a little unnerved on where he stood in consent even with a dubcon TW and usually I have no problem with such. I honestly don’t think Calix is a “brat” at all. He’s a young man who was very involuntarily dragged into mafia dealings by a crappy dad who ran off in the night and left his son to pay the price for his shortcomings. The sex was hot but I was left confused on where this stands between daddy kink and puppy play. I don’t know if Gabriele even knew. And don’t even get me started on his collaring someone without even the most simple and basic of conversations. I love Skyler Snow and daddy kink alike and eagerly await book 3 in this series but after adoring book 1 I find myself unsettled at the end of book 2 and unable to really verbalize why. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Fight Me Daddy was definitely the right name for this book. There was so much tension and resistance between Calix and Gabriele. It was almost a little too much; I think I would have enjoyed having a few more moments of peace and surrender. Nevertheless, I did love these two. They were both strong characters and it makes sense that they would have conflict in their dynamic. One thing I loved that I did not expect was how cuddly Gabriele was. Every time he clung to Calix just melted me. I think Six and Amadeo's story was bit better than this one, but I still think this was pretty great. And I loved all the Six and Amadeo cameos; Six is such a little troublemaker and it's hilarious.
Love this series!! I love how JP the daddies are and their boys are too!! I love both both couples in the series but I think Gabriel and Calix are my fav so far!
I really enjoyed the idea behind this book and the themes but I just wanted more, from everything. Like I just wished thsg everything was a little more developed and went farther. This was still super fun to read and very enjoyable.
I received an afc of this book and this is my honest opinion
DNF@88%. I really need to realize that while I like this author's writing, I really dislike her alpha males. I thought it was a fluke with Book 1 with Amadeo, but Gabriele was unlikeable too. You have to go so wrong to get me to dislike a Daddy kink story, and there were things I liked about this couple initially, but things went left fast. The 'dog' business...no. Puppy play is one thing. Puppies are cute. A 'Daddy' calling his 'boy' a dog is not at all sexy, especially when he says it almost like an insult the first few times. Gabriele pretty much bullying Calix into his being his boy was also a no. I loved that Calix stood up for himself, letting Gabriele know why he was not qualified to be his Daddy, and I did like the moment when Gabriele opened up to him and came clean, but the rest of it felt borderline abusive. Like Amadeo, Gabriele tried to 'go so hard' I couldn't take him seriously. Like, you're doing too much, Sir. At 88%, they seemed to be kicking the 'dog' business into high gear and yeahhh, no. Time to exit stage left. Having said all that, I will probably look out for the next book in the series because I do try to give all Daddy books a chance.
I don’t think this series is for me. I wasn’t a fan of the first one because the chemistry was off. I’m not a fan of this one because even though it was a dark romance the power dynamics felt off and weird to me. Like normally the sub still has a lot of control despite their roles but here it didn’t really feel like Calix really had a say or a choice in anything. Even when he “fought” back it felt weak and he would ultimately get overpowered somehow. Idk maybe that’s on me and dark romance just isn’t it for me?
ETA: After looking back on this more I'm more confident in saying how uncomfortable this book made me. I understand that non-con/dub-con is for some people, but it's definitely not for me. I also felt like the "kink" in this book was less about kink and more about toxic power over Calix. Especially when it was clear that Calix wasn't consenting or really even enjoying it. Not a fan and I think I've learned my lesson with this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book was a mess with kind of daddy kink and a really bad half-assed puppy play. I guess the author was trying to go for CNC but it didn't read that at all. I feel like it does a complete disservice to the BDSM community and is a bad portrayal of D/s and Kink. Everything was OTT and the chemistry between the characters was so artificial. I didn't believe any of the emotions and the smut was sub par. It's like a train wreck you can't stop looking away from.
OMG, excuse my language but I fucking LOVED this book. Omg omg Gabriele and Calix..just everything. Amazing.
I loved Amadeo and Six in the first book but this one has topped it in my opinion. Gabe and Calix together were gold. I couldn’t stop laughing at the back and forth of their bratty banter and sarcasm, and Gabriele’s dark mind and thoughts were just brilliant. I knew I would love his character, but it was better than I hoped.
The plot is great and carries on from previous book so recommend you read that first. Really like the dark side portrayed in the underworld of this story, makes it even more gritty.
Not to forget the steam though, this story is kinky as hell, I mean KINKY!!!! Again, not what I expected, but it fit them as a couple and I’m sure my mouth was hanging open at parts of it. Pure genius.
Skyler’s writing for this genre is perfect, all of it flows so well and just so good. Really keeps you engaged.
If you have a dirty dark mind you’ll love this. Highly highly recommend. So damn good. I want more from this Bianchi family as they are hardcore.