lilith vincent has once again vowed me, not only with her writing but her amazing ability to tell a story.
i won't lie, some monologue scenes by chiara really make me want to fling my phone across the room—not because there was anything wrong about it, but because of the length of it.
she's really grown a backbone since first comes blood. the character growth, rather than development, is clear to see. she went a scared little girl with questionable decisions, to a strong young woman. she's mature for her age, and yet scenes with her friends showed how truly young she is, but also how sophisticated she is at the same time—i hope you understand me, haha.
salvatore, i can't really say i was surprised by his actions at the start. i always predicted it, and i told lilith herself that i could never believe he'd so willingly betray his friends. you'd think old man cass or psycho lorenzo would be the grumpiest one in the harem, but it's actually mr. fiore. i love him, but he honestly needs to get over his old-fashioned ways and stop treating chiara like she's just some play-thing for him.
vincius, oh boy. this one, he's dangerous. with his blinding smiles, slicked back hair and sharp suits, he's a recipe for heartbreak. as compared to FCB, we definitely saw less of his sly, cunning side and more of his soft side and i definitely need more of that. he's broken just like the rest of these men, but even more so on the inside.
cassius, ooh the big bad daddy of the harem. i love everything about this man. i love how protective and insanely possessive of chiara he is and how he towers over her more than the other guys. this one, he loves hard and deep and i love that about him. just like the rest of the men, he throws himself fully into her and completely immerses himself in chiara.
lorenzo, oh lorenzo. this one, i loved him the most in FCB and nothing has changed since then. he's the most mentally broken and emotionally distant out of all of them—even more distant that salvatore and vincius and that's saying A LOT. his backstory had my heart cracking and splintering into tiny pieces. he's gone through so much, done so much. i was so not ready to have that one chapter in his POV. he's always been a pyscho, lmfao, but there's a reason behind his evil smirks and dead eyes and that's what hurt the most. my favourite things about would be one, how modern he is and how he has such high hopes for chiara (career-wise) two, how soft he can be and three, when he blushed and got flustered.
i stayed up until three a.m. reading this and i don't regret it. i loved seeing the dynamic between these five. they baby chiara waaay too much and make her seem too fragile, but she swung back each time and that's the growth i was talking about. she could've chosen to do what she did in book one and surrendered to them, but she fought until she won in the end. though, at what cost? :/ i've got some words for ms. vincent after that damned cliffy.
and let me just say, i need a WHOLE LOT MORE of lorenzovincius content because that bonus scene...i honestly don't mind relationships within a harem, and to see lorenzo and vincius get involved on a romantic level—just take all of my money.
one thing i've already said to lil when i bombarded her comments is one, lorenzo should be a comedian and two, this book was more comedy than anything. okay, some smut too. but honestly, it isn't as dark as you'd think and it's a lot of sarcastic/witty remarks that had me clucthing my stomach and crying with laughter.
i'd also like to point out, if you do choose to read this one, it isn't a lovey-dovey mushy love story. these men are stubborn harda*ses who not only expect, but demand submission. time and time again, i found myself wanting to pummel their face in. it's not just one of them, it's all. they're a united front in everyway. thank hell for chiara not be submissive. it's honestly a good portion of enemies-to-lovers, where she's enemies with all of them and then lovers. they push, but she pushes harder.
overall, a solid read. good character growth, swoon-worthy men when they finally pull their heads out of their a*ses and a sexy story.