4.5 I-wasn’t-really-dr#nk, this-is-fate stars
This is one of those times where you can’t say that you got soooo drunk in Vegas you don’t remember getting married… but you’re going to pretend you were anyway 😉😈👀.
Mariya (26) and Luca (34) have been wanting each other for years now, except that they’ve never acted on it and act like they kind of hate each other 👀. When Mariya’s going to Vegas to celebrate her birthday, Luca is completely on board to join her and her brother. Not only is it the City of Sin, but it’s also considered the Marriage Capital of the World.
They’re enjoying their time dancing, drinking, etc when Mariya gets the bright idea to get out of there. And lo and behold, they come across a chapel 😉, and Mariya innocently suggests that they get married, and well, Luca could never tell her no 🤷🏻♀️.
He’s being a thoughtful gentleman 🫠. He even calls her “Mia Regina” MY QUEEN 🥹. Why wouldn’t he say yes 👀😈.
When she realizes what they’ve done, she wants an annulment ; too bad Luca isn’t going to give her one 🤣😅💅 (and their families suggest they try it out for 6 months… But that’s beside the point 😅)
What I loved: (possible spoilers)
—the tension 🔥. As soon as these two are in the same room, it’s like they can’t help but gravitate towards each other. I wish we would’ve seen some of their earlier years to feel this even more. Either way the way these two were dancing 😮💨🥵. No wonder they got married lol
—the smeeexy times🔥. Look. I can appreciate when any man isn’t squeamish about a little bl00d during the month, and Luca isn’t going to let biology stop him from getting some 💅. Not only that, but Mariya has never experienced Os before, even by herself, so OF COURSE, Luca’s going to show her who’s boss 😉🥵 and does he ever 😮💨💦
—how protective and caring Luca is. Gaaahhh 😩😩😩. When Mariya gets taken, he’s beside himself and completely miserable. Once he gets her back, he does everything to make her feel better, which leads me to
—how caring he is 🥹😩❤️. Omg… ERMAGOD… I was literally 🫠melting with his dedication to helping Mariya heal 😩🥹. We actually see the difficulty Mariya goes through while healing; I mean, I even got emotional (like when she asks for her mom or when she doesn’t wanna be a burden). Gahhh ❤️. But Luca isn’t going to stop being by her side 🥹❤️❤️❤️. He gets her a CAST COVER and takes care of her like it’s going out of style 🥰. Le sigh 🥹
—being creative when they can’t be intimate. Mariya, scoot over, I want a front row seat too 👀🔥🥵💦 lol. This was actually pretty 🔥
—the fact that Mariya knows how to fight 💁🏻♀️👏🏻 especially cause this comes in handy
—the comeuppance 👏🏻. Yup. It was needed 👌🏻🤌🏻. This was EXTREMELY satisfying 💅
—the epilogue. Dear lord… Michelle… you always get me with the darn epilogues!!! I FLOOOOVE THEM 🥰🥰🥰
—the wedding ❤️
—the angst. Sigh. I wanted to hug Mariya when she was experiencing her PTSD episodes 😏❤️
What I wanted more of:
—more clarity on the MCs smeexual history. Besides knowing that it’s been a while for both of them, how long has it really been? Why wasn’t Luca more active in making sure Mariya was his and only his? Yes, I know. She’s a mafia princess and he wants to be worthy of her, but come on… This is what I mean about wanting more about their previous history. Was he driving away her previous boyfriends? Did he have any girlfriends? We know she’s been wanting him for like 11 years and he’s been wanting her for a few as well, so what’s been happening all this time? It’s almost implied, but I wanted it to be laid out lol
—It’s not often I read books where the h can’t O, so when this comes up, I wanted it to be a big deal and be drawn out. She’s experienced enough to “know” it’s not something that she’s ever gone through, yet he can do it easily enough? 🤔. Where’s the buildup? The tension in this? I needed this to be a longer scene. It felt way too quick.
—when they’re finally able to be intimate again, it ends up being a FTB scene 😏😐. I don’t even know if I’ve ever read a FTB scene in this series, so I was taken aback when this happen. And, I’ll be honest, disappointed too 🤷🏻♀️. They had only done it once before (the bl00dy one), and after Mariya’s recovery, don’t let it be a FTB scene. Even I was experiencing withdrawals 🤣🤣🤣
Overall, I loved it ❤️
⚠️ safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-DUAL praise 👀
-violence/bloodshed/death/torture
-PTSD
-HEA/epilogues 3 months later then 6 months later
-no condoms