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All's Fair #1
All I Want
When Carter Russo accepted a position in the Amato Organization, he never expected to get close to the man at the top—let alone end up in his bed.
Cristian Amato is cunning and ruthless, he rules the Family with an iron fist. He never expected to find someone who could be his equal in all things. Yet Carter is one of the few able to see the man beneath the title of Boss.
What should be the best day of their lives is shattered by a betrayal that's closer than anyone could have predicted.
As secrets are revealed and cracks form in the foundation of their lives, Carter and Cristian must put duty above their hearts. Is their love strong enough to survive, or will it prove to be nothing but lies…
*All I Want is the first book in the All’s Fair series. This is a dark mafia romance book with violence and intense sexual situations. Please see the TW page for details.*
All I Want was previously published in the O Deadly Night Anthology. It has been significantly expanded.
Cristian Amato is cunning and ruthless, he rules the Family with an iron fist. He never expected to find someone who could be his equal in all things. Yet Carter is one of the few able to see the man beneath the title of Boss.
What should be the best day of their lives is shattered by a betrayal that's closer than anyone could have predicted.
As secrets are revealed and cracks form in the foundation of their lives, Carter and Cristian must put duty above their hearts. Is their love strong enough to survive, or will it prove to be nothing but lies…
*All I Want is the first book in the All’s Fair series. This is a dark mafia romance book with violence and intense sexual situations. Please see the TW page for details.*
All I Want was previously published in the O Deadly Night Anthology. It has been significantly expanded.
267 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2023
166 people are currently reading
478 people want to read
About the author
Abrianna Denae
42 books267 followersAbrianna Denae is a queer author living in Northern California. An English major, they have always had a passion for writing.
Deciding to sit down and write one of the many stories that had plagued their mind for years was the easy part—finding the time to do it was a different story.
Caffeine is their best friend, and sleep is their worst enemy.
A lover of books that make the reader feel something, Abrianna tries to incorporate as much of their real-world views and feelings into their stories as they can.
Deciding to sit down and write one of the many stories that had plagued their mind for years was the easy part—finding the time to do it was a different story.
Caffeine is their best friend, and sleep is their worst enemy.
A lover of books that make the reader feel something, Abrianna tries to incorporate as much of their real-world views and feelings into their stories as they can.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
March 18, 2023
This book is all over the place. I’m going to go on a rant. I’m so frustrated with it. These characters and their personalities Don’t make sense to me at all.
Spoiler alert
How is Carter who lived a regular life until he was 15 and suddenly thrown into the mafia world; how did he turn into such a psyco killer taking in stride all the blood torture murder. How did Christian who was supposed to be the big bad boss be OK with his subordinates, knowing that he’s getting fucked by the hostage Carter. How is Roman a psychopath /a fairy / emotional kid / blood thirsty killer all at once it was just too abrupt. I know people can have complex personalities, but usually there is some kind of organic build up to it. In this book it just feels like everything is thrown together. People are doing shit and behaving in certain ways saying things that don’t gel with their personality. Why was Carter so stupid as to bargain with Julian for the exchange when he already knew Julian was the one who set him up. why would he think his life was worth something to julian and he would give up roman. N why did he kidnap roman in the first place. This plot and storyline makes no sense.
In a matter of days, the relationship and trust level between Carter and Christian fluctuate 0 to 100, without any proper buildup or conversation. And specially with the time jumps back-and-forth the story was a mess.
How does this book have all the 5 star rating. I have read some dark romances but this sex scenes in here were so forced. Didnt feel any chemistry or love.
Spoiler alert
How is Carter who lived a regular life until he was 15 and suddenly thrown into the mafia world; how did he turn into such a psyco killer taking in stride all the blood torture murder. How did Christian who was supposed to be the big bad boss be OK with his subordinates, knowing that he’s getting fucked by the hostage Carter. How is Roman a psychopath /a fairy / emotional kid / blood thirsty killer all at once it was just too abrupt. I know people can have complex personalities, but usually there is some kind of organic build up to it. In this book it just feels like everything is thrown together. People are doing shit and behaving in certain ways saying things that don’t gel with their personality. Why was Carter so stupid as to bargain with Julian for the exchange when he already knew Julian was the one who set him up. why would he think his life was worth something to julian and he would give up roman. N why did he kidnap roman in the first place. This plot and storyline makes no sense.
In a matter of days, the relationship and trust level between Carter and Christian fluctuate 0 to 100, without any proper buildup or conversation. And specially with the time jumps back-and-forth the story was a mess.
How does this book have all the 5 star rating. I have read some dark romances but this sex scenes in here were so forced. Didnt feel any chemistry or love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2023
4.5 stars. Dang, I loved this read! While it’s dark and vicious, with a lot of abuse and blood there’s also romance, thank you very much 😍.
Carter found a job inside Cristian Amato his Family organization. Cristian is the head, he got a teenage son Roman, and Carter is the one who will protect him with his life, literally.
There’s a romance blooming between Carter and Cristian, one with a ring involved.
Until… Cristian understands Carter is the son of his enemy and he infiltrated within Cristian’s family.
What follows is horrendous, the cruelty Carter had to go through, he just wants to die asap.
But no, it will not end, yet.
But… it seems the Amato Family didn’t have all the facts.
Oh my freaking goodness, that was a hard story, tremendously written, nothing sugarcoated.
Torture right up in the face, so well consistently done. Very convincing!
A super thrilling story, with also, yes, yes, a hea. Read it yourself!
Carter found a job inside Cristian Amato his Family organization. Cristian is the head, he got a teenage son Roman, and Carter is the one who will protect him with his life, literally.
There’s a romance blooming between Carter and Cristian, one with a ring involved.
Until… Cristian understands Carter is the son of his enemy and he infiltrated within Cristian’s family.
What follows is horrendous, the cruelty Carter had to go through, he just wants to die asap.
But no, it will not end, yet.
But… it seems the Amato Family didn’t have all the facts.
Oh my freaking goodness, that was a hard story, tremendously written, nothing sugarcoated.
Torture right up in the face, so well consistently done. Very convincing!
A super thrilling story, with also, yes, yes, a hea. Read it yourself!
March 15, 2023
I won't lie - Abrianna Denae is in my TOP 10 favorite authors. It found a place in my ranking even after I read Bane. And gods, from that moment on, I couldn't help but follow her books with interest.
Despite the thousands of books on Amazon, I personally have a hard time finding a story dark enough to shake me up. The short story in O Deadly Night Anthology definitely piqued my interest, but it wasn't enough. I was left with such an "unsatisfied" desire to read more.
Needless to say, I was super happy when I saw that there was actually going to be a book and I got an ARC.
The story was dynamic, there was exactly what can be expected from a mafia - a lot of action, dark events, violence, dangers, unexpected twists, betrayals, a lot of emotions and of course - kinky staffs and love. They added a lot of pepperiness and a beautiful touch to the whole story.
It's hard for me to pick a favorite. At one point I sympathized more with Carter, then Roman and Christian. As soon as I said to myself: "there it is my favorite" something happened and turned my opinion completely. Well, in the end I decided not to fight windmills and enjoy them all. Even the secondary characters charmed me at some point.
By the way, it is good to pay attention to trigger warnings. I love reading about things like blood and knife play and hard bdsm, but not everyone can take it. But if, like me, you love the dark side, you will surely enjoy this book.
Despite the thousands of books on Amazon, I personally have a hard time finding a story dark enough to shake me up. The short story in O Deadly Night Anthology definitely piqued my interest, but it wasn't enough. I was left with such an "unsatisfied" desire to read more.
Needless to say, I was super happy when I saw that there was actually going to be a book and I got an ARC.
The story was dynamic, there was exactly what can be expected from a mafia - a lot of action, dark events, violence, dangers, unexpected twists, betrayals, a lot of emotions and of course - kinky staffs and love. They added a lot of pepperiness and a beautiful touch to the whole story.
It's hard for me to pick a favorite. At one point I sympathized more with Carter, then Roman and Christian. As soon as I said to myself: "there it is my favorite" something happened and turned my opinion completely. Well, in the end I decided not to fight windmills and enjoy them all. Even the secondary characters charmed me at some point.
By the way, it is good to pay attention to trigger warnings. I love reading about things like blood and knife play and hard bdsm, but not everyone can take it. But if, like me, you love the dark side, you will surely enjoy this book.
March 18, 2023
The writing and the story are really good, the characters are well fleshed out and there is a clear direction and knowledge on how it was written.
That being said, the story is told with constant time skips from one character in the present, and another in the past. And it just keeps going.
The intial opening intrigue gets muddled up and ruined by the whiplash of a tonal shift you get with every next chapter (and the chapters are super short). It was not an enjoyable read by any means, because it means that youre stuck being sucked into what the hell is going on and then the past semi explanations. Not to mention that this is a book one, and you don't know these characters.
To me, as a new reader, they are strangers. And the authors job was to make me care, and show that these two love each other, but with the way the story is set up, anachronistically, it was meant to fail.
Which is a shame, I wanted to like this book.
That being said, the story is told with constant time skips from one character in the present, and another in the past. And it just keeps going.
The intial opening intrigue gets muddled up and ruined by the whiplash of a tonal shift you get with every next chapter (and the chapters are super short). It was not an enjoyable read by any means, because it means that youre stuck being sucked into what the hell is going on and then the past semi explanations. Not to mention that this is a book one, and you don't know these characters.
To me, as a new reader, they are strangers. And the authors job was to make me care, and show that these two love each other, but with the way the story is set up, anachronistically, it was meant to fail.
Which is a shame, I wanted to like this book.
March 19, 2023
Dark - Yet still Bloody Sweet
Hang on tight - and heed the warnings
The story goes back and forth on the timeline
Building the foundation of their relationship while at the same time dragging the reader through the darkest pits of betrayal, revenge
and then back to the other side for a moment of forgiveness only to rinse/repeat
If the author's intention was to keep me on edge,
Keep me guessing,
Have me praying for mercy
Only to flip the page and start again
She nailed it!
There were a couple of moments I wanted a bit more detail/information with regard to events - yes I am very greedy - But overall the story flowed well. I went from sappy sweet, to angry, to rip my heart out angsty. The author also sets the foundation for some of the future books and characters as well as the direction of the series. I am looking forward to Mason's journey.
This has the graphic moments you expect to find in a mafia read
The torture, the unhinged, the betrayals, the crimson rivers
Which is matched by Cristian and Carter's relationship.
These two were hot as Hades together.
Their raw desire and need for each other.
A great introduction to the author and the series
Hang on tight - and heed the warnings
The story goes back and forth on the timeline
Building the foundation of their relationship while at the same time dragging the reader through the darkest pits of betrayal, revenge
and then back to the other side for a moment of forgiveness only to rinse/repeat
If the author's intention was to keep me on edge,
Keep me guessing,
Have me praying for mercy
Only to flip the page and start again
She nailed it!
There were a couple of moments I wanted a bit more detail/information with regard to events - yes I am very greedy - But overall the story flowed well. I went from sappy sweet, to angry, to rip my heart out angsty. The author also sets the foundation for some of the future books and characters as well as the direction of the series. I am looking forward to Mason's journey.
This has the graphic moments you expect to find in a mafia read
The torture, the unhinged, the betrayals, the crimson rivers
Which is matched by Cristian and Carter's relationship.
These two were hot as Hades together.
Their raw desire and need for each other.
A great introduction to the author and the series
March 20, 2023
4.75 stars
Dark, gripping book from Abrianna Denae. I enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to more by this author. It says book 1 so there my be more to come. If you like books with strong men who love hard and deadly, then this book is for you.
Dark, gripping book from Abrianna Denae. I enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to more by this author. It says book 1 so there my be more to come. If you like books with strong men who love hard and deadly, then this book is for you.
June 30, 2023
4.5
Quick read for me. I found it hard to put down. I think this is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed their style.
Dark and full of potential triggers, so heed the warnings
Quick read for me. I found it hard to put down. I think this is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed their style.
Dark and full of potential triggers, so heed the warnings
March 16, 2023
Well worth the wait!
Bare with me here cause this is my first time leaving a review but I just had to with this book.
I’ve been waiting for this book every since I read the beginning in the O Deadly Night Anthology. I was obsessed! I just needed to know what happened to Carter and find out Roman’s reaction. Once Abrianna Denae finally told us the release date, I freaked out! I was so pumped.
I did fear the ending though. I’m a sucker for HEA stories and I was scared my heart was gonna get completely crushed by the ending. To my fellow lovers of HEA, this is a good book. It will twist your heart and make you scream “What the fuck are you doing?!” more than once but in my opinion, it was worth it.
It’s dark. Reallllly dark. And I honestly was shocked at how some of the scenes played out. I loved how dark it was, though. I think the author had a perfect balance of dark, serious, smut, and romance. It’s going to definitely make me expand my already wide horizons of dark gay romance novels but I have no problem with that.
I can’t wait to see more of all the characters (mostly Carter but I loved them all!). If every book in the series was as beautifully written as this book, I could see it moving to my top five favorite book series of all time.
Bare with me here cause this is my first time leaving a review but I just had to with this book.
I’ve been waiting for this book every since I read the beginning in the O Deadly Night Anthology. I was obsessed! I just needed to know what happened to Carter and find out Roman’s reaction. Once Abrianna Denae finally told us the release date, I freaked out! I was so pumped.
I did fear the ending though. I’m a sucker for HEA stories and I was scared my heart was gonna get completely crushed by the ending. To my fellow lovers of HEA, this is a good book. It will twist your heart and make you scream “What the fuck are you doing?!” more than once but in my opinion, it was worth it.
It’s dark. Reallllly dark. And I honestly was shocked at how some of the scenes played out. I loved how dark it was, though. I think the author had a perfect balance of dark, serious, smut, and romance. It’s going to definitely make me expand my already wide horizons of dark gay romance novels but I have no problem with that.
I can’t wait to see more of all the characters (mostly Carter but I loved them all!). If every book in the series was as beautifully written as this book, I could see it moving to my top five favorite book series of all time.
May 15, 2025
I wanted to like this more. It has all the makings of a great book. I get that Carter betrayed Cristian by being a spy in his house but to have Cristian and his second in command torture Carter for the first half of the book was too much. Cristian beat him, stabbed him, whipped him, chocked him to near death, let his second waterboard him and electrocute him and I just don’t know how they came back from that. I was hoping once Cristian forgave him for being a spy that we would get to see them together but after Carter is welcomed back the rest of the book is just plot heavy and we don’t even get to see them together. I appreciated the dual timeline as I usually hate those but the short chapters made it bearable.
Super bummed the rest of the series is no go for me since the next book is MMM and the one after that is that MMM turning isn’t a MMMM. I feel like Tennant and Roman would have been so good without adding a third and then a fourth but that’s just my opinion.
NO CHEATING OR OM DRAMA
TORTURE ON MC BY OTHER MC
MURDER
HEA
Super bummed the rest of the series is no go for me since the next book is MMM and the one after that is that MMM turning isn’t a MMMM. I feel like Tennant and Roman would have been so good without adding a third and then a fourth but that’s just my opinion.
NO CHEATING OR OM DRAMA
TORTURE ON MC BY OTHER MC
MURDER
HEA
September 24, 2023
I knew this story was dark, but I did not expect to be so emotionally wrecked and love it so much. The author does a beautiful job of setting the relationship between Carter and Cristian, smoothly flowing between the past sweet moments and the current dark and painful (physically and emotionally) moments. It kept me sitting at the edge of seat, biting my nails, trying to guess what will happen next. How much more Carter will need to suffer (and me along with him). Betrayal is not easily forgiven, and Cristian made sure they paid for it. I kept screaming for mercy, my heart breaking. Thank god for those sweet flashbacks to give my heart a break.
The relationship is dark but also full of love, and fits perfectly with the MCs. And their chemistry.. wowsers ... HOT 🔥
I definitely will be reading the next book. The secondary characters were fully developed and intriguing that I really want their story.
The relationship is dark but also full of love, and fits perfectly with the MCs. And their chemistry.. wowsers ... HOT 🔥
I definitely will be reading the next book. The secondary characters were fully developed and intriguing that I really want their story.
March 18, 2023
All I want...is more of this series
Holy cheese ball Batman this book was fantastic! MM mafia is one of my absolute favorite tropes to read Fifty pages in my heart was already broken. The betrayal! Ugh I felt it in my soul. The reality of your brain and heart no being on the same page. Knowing what you have to do but your heart not wanting to do it.
I can't book into words how much I loved this book.
Some of my favorite lines in this book are:
"When the person with the power to destroy you is the only one you've ever wanted, how do you get past it? How do you do what needs to be done when it feels like your soul is being ripped to shreds?"
"Thanks to Carter Russo, I'm nothing. Because you can't live without your heart, and I may have just killed mine."
Holy cheese ball Batman this book was fantastic! MM mafia is one of my absolute favorite tropes to read Fifty pages in my heart was already broken. The betrayal! Ugh I felt it in my soul. The reality of your brain and heart no being on the same page. Knowing what you have to do but your heart not wanting to do it.
I can't book into words how much I loved this book.
Some of my favorite lines in this book are:
"When the person with the power to destroy you is the only one you've ever wanted, how do you get past it? How do you do what needs to be done when it feels like your soul is being ripped to shreds?"
"Thanks to Carter Russo, I'm nothing. Because you can't live without your heart, and I may have just killed mine."
April 16, 2023
Dark, Bloody Mafia MM Romance
I read the opening to this in the charity anthology O Deadly Night and was so excited to hear that it was going to be a full story released later.
It was worth the wait.
Flitting through timelines and POV we see the early romance between boss Christian and his son's bodyguard and later lover, Carter.
Then - we're into the torture.
Carter has had a vital part of himself.
His father is Mafia boss Georgie de Luca and evidence points to him being inside Christian's business as a mole.
But they are in love, and killing Carter isn't so easy.
But there are more secrets and despite the hurt, Christian still wants - and has - Carter in the midst of blood and torture.
Despite all this it's sweet, very very hot, scorchingly so, thrilling with great plot twists and actually really emotional.
And we still get a HEA.
I read the opening to this in the charity anthology O Deadly Night and was so excited to hear that it was going to be a full story released later.
It was worth the wait.
Flitting through timelines and POV we see the early romance between boss Christian and his son's bodyguard and later lover, Carter.
Then - we're into the torture.
Carter has had a vital part of himself.
His father is Mafia boss Georgie de Luca and evidence points to him being inside Christian's business as a mole.
But they are in love, and killing Carter isn't so easy.
But there are more secrets and despite the hurt, Christian still wants - and has - Carter in the midst of blood and torture.
Despite all this it's sweet, very very hot, scorchingly so, thrilling with great plot twists and actually really emotional.
And we still get a HEA.
March 13, 2023
What a great dark mm mafia which is also friends to enemies to lovers. There is a lot of love between Christian and Carter and that is what makes this so beautiful that it’s able to withstand the test of time (and torture). There is knife play and blood which may be a trigger but is part of their kink, turns them on and what makes these powerful men what they are. Their love and friendship is built up over time as Christian is the mafia head and Carter looks after his son and climbs the ropes. Once their love is established , a secret is revealed which puts their love and friendship to the test. Christian reacts without thinking or giving Carter the benefit of the doubt. They go through a really rough patch and they say there’s a thin li new between love and hate. These guys have to really fight for it and love wins. Loved the men and the secondary characters especially Roman and then Leandro. Great dark mafia book.
April 1, 2023
Abrianna Denae
Is a new author for me ooooo not now
So All I Want
What a fantastic story
Love the characters
Carter (bodyguard) Cristina (sexy boss)(lovers )
Roman (son of cristian)
And ooooo, the interting
Tennant ( boss second in commond)
OK what we have is (let's play)
Mafia MM
Action
Romantic
Violence
Oooo knife play
Emotional
ticking all my boxes
Love the way Abrianna wrote the story as well
Please can we have a book on mmm sexy Tennant, please
Hollis is interested what the relationship between Hollis and Tennant
I see a series happening here. Please, please
Let's play
Is a new author for me ooooo not now
So All I Want
What a fantastic story
Love the characters
Carter (bodyguard) Cristina (sexy boss)(lovers )
Roman (son of cristian)
And ooooo, the interting
Tennant ( boss second in commond)
OK what we have is (let's play)
Mafia MM
Action
Romantic
Violence
Oooo knife play
Emotional
ticking all my boxes
Love the way Abrianna wrote the story as well
Please can we have a book on mmm sexy Tennant, please
Hollis is interested what the relationship between Hollis and Tennant
I see a series happening here. Please, please
Let's play
April 21, 2024
All I Want Fantastic
WOW...... Absolutely loved this new to me author and book 1 in All's Fair series and could not put it down its dark and delicious but also very deadly. Cristian & Carter are amazing together their chemistry is electric can't wait to read next one recommend so much.
WOW...... Absolutely loved this new to me author and book 1 in All's Fair series and could not put it down its dark and delicious but also very deadly. Cristian & Carter are amazing together their chemistry is electric can't wait to read next one recommend so much.
June 29, 2025
Very well written, and one of those "I just can't pause this reading until back cover" books. I wish people read trigger warnings: this really had violence everywhere, and the beginning of book had that too, and in a way it draws reader with its current immediately. Characters were very 'alive' and the plot run forward in good speed.
June 11, 2023
I have just read this amazing story in one sitting!! Couldn’t put it down.
Hot. Possessive. Sweet. Found Family. Love. And very very dark, please read the trigger warnings.
Carter and Cristian have an intense and extremely interesting relationship. I love getting to know them.
Hot. Possessive. Sweet. Found Family. Love. And very very dark, please read the trigger warnings.
Carter and Cristian have an intense and extremely interesting relationship. I love getting to know them.
August 2, 2024
4.5 skipped over the blood play parts but the rest was fan-frickin-tastic. Their love and family look different and I’m here for it. Cristian and Carter brought me to tears a couple times and I loved every second of that. And Roman! Love him. SO looking forward to the next two books.
I liked the way the book was written too…current day with chapters from the past explaining the present. That doesn’t always work for me but here it truly does.
I liked the way the book was written too…current day with chapters from the past explaining the present. That doesn’t always work for me but here it truly does.
August 11, 2024
Why are we not talking more about this book? It's amazing. I'm in love. I need more.
March 19, 2023
Raw, powerful and gripping, with superb writing, yet frustratingly formulaic and wasteful of the opportunities it had to shine as a very dark romance.
My main objection relates to the unemotional stamp of the book. A widening disconnect is created due to the debatable decision to have a story that takes place both in present time and in flashbacks covering several years' worth of narrative start not at the logical, natural beginning, that is the meeting of the leads, but with the beta protagonist being tortured at the hands of his mobster boss and life partner the alpha lead for having been exposed as a mole planted by a rival crime family. We therefore begin reading with a stranger getting punched in the face and on his whole body, then cruelly flogged on both sides, cut down on his face and chest, and eventually raped with blood and spit acting as lubricant, by another unknown character, the whole lot in graphic detail (though not the full gory gamut, thankfully). This reader was moved at such an ordeal -who wouldn't be?-, but could hardly find it in himself to care about the victim of all this torture porn; all the more so since said victim, Carter, embraces it not only with finality but with gusto in a cloud of meekness and guilt and twisted love for his torturer. This very disconnect persists and increases as the more or less ghoulish fun goes on for a few more chapters, after mobster Christian leaves open the fate of Carter and his right-hand man Tennant bandages the traitor for further questioning and gory deals, including electrocution. It was in my humble opinion a cardinal mistake to hurl all this blood and body bits on the metaphoric walls from the start instead of making the reader care for the victim; the power packed by this dark content was thereby considerably blunted and foolish Carter no less than vengeful angel Christian are made far less interesting than they ought to have been. That there was hardly any redeeming quality in the protagonists is shown by the less than deft handling of Christian's return to a less eviscerating view of the man he still (tells us he) loves with all the fibers of his despicable body -not everybody is apt to build up vengeful wrath then tone it down in convincing fashion; look up for Homer's agency of Achilles in the Iliad- and the utterly preposterous distinction Mrs Denae draws between Christian (or Tennant) and the real villain of the story, a man repeatedly declared to be a true psychopath, but whose dastardly deeds pale in the face of what Christian and Tennant and even Carter are shown doing within these covers (he only roughens up his cripple of a son and dabs in human trafficking, as opposed with Christian's supposedly less unforgivable focus on peddling drugs and smuggling weapons). Aye sure, lady; you depict your primary hero as a man with a kink for bloody, hardly consensual sex, one who knows inside and out his way around a torture chamber (the same thing obtains for Carter, though we only see him, in the climax, flog the villain with a roll of barbwire before cutting his throat and, later, doing some knife work on his waste of a father), and who has his beloved 15 year-old son already perform terrible mobster acts, yet you tell your reader to swallow that somehow this very monster is still far less worse than a secondary character who does not appear for more than five or six pages, without anybody looking askance at your bad literary taste and gossamer-thin psychology? Angst has to be carefully created, not thrown at one's face with the bluntness of Elon Musk firing people at Tweeter Inc. Otherwise, it fails to convince and reveals itself to be a mere prop.
Unfortunately, this book displays many further blemishes that all the polished writing in the world is incapable of patching up. The organized crime trappings are a very flimsy token instead of a lively, concrete element: we are told that the Amato family, of which Christian is the head, deals drugs and firearms, owns safe houses and a mansion plus a variety of warehouses, has broken bread with another Italian-American crime family and the local Bratva, but hardly more - in particular the signal avoidance of the whole gamut of the mob vocabulary (capo, don, consigliere, enforcers, and the like) has the entire story ring particularly hollow. The same remark can be made with respect to the plot behind Carter's unveiling as a mole, which it would be too kind to label a trite and childish rationale, and, of course, the absence of action scenes (barring a measly, rather halfhearted car chase, everything happens off-page; there is not even a gunfight): clearly, this writer is no old hand with such contents. Furthermore, quite a lot of things that happen strain credibility to the high heavens: Christian's love of mingling sex and blood is never explained; a gang like his in which elaborate torture is the alpha and omega of dealing with foes needed grounding, instead of being established as normal protocol; jarring contradictions abound with respect to the characters, such as Tennant being described in turns as a cold fish (my words) qua sociopath and as someone with a soft spot for Christian, Roman, Carter, or Carter's father who goes from hardened, untouchable mafia don in the beginning to easily scared old man in his easily accessed mansion in one of the last scenes (!). The very shallow cast of characters, which it wouldn't be inapt to label "Bastards Incorporated" (a fitting subtitle for this novel!), doesn't help either: nobody beyond Leandro, who appears near the end and is strongly foreshadowed to be destined to thaw Tennant's heart, displays more than skin-deep characterization; Carter is a doormat without any distinctive voice, Christian has only three modes (affronted, tender or horny, the three of them never veering far from knife or blood), Tennant is the quintessential cyborg in underwear model garb, and so on and so forth. Small wonder I never found myself rooting for any of them (to think that the only individual trait given to Christian's son Roman is the teen's love for nail polish! such capacity for invention, such eye for revelatory behavior on this writer's part). Here I felt cheated. It goes without saying that the romance between two leads of such wooden caliber could not fail to reek of artifice and brinkmanship; not only did their falling in love fail to elicit butterflies in my stomach, due to excessively fragmented state of the flashbacks, I shall marshal no further proof for what I take to be their utter lack of chemistry and absence of mind melding than the fact that the one word Christian hurls to and fro with respect to Carter is "pretty" - a shallower motivation for anybody's attraction to another human being would be hard to find. Last but not least, one of my worst literary pet peeves, namely the level of plot armor given to the hero, informs the entire book with less than clever concealment. The extensive torture Carter passes through ought to have put him more than once on the brink of death, especially as all he receives in the interim is basic cleaning by non-medical staff then rudimentary bandaging while being detained in a frozen cell, yet somehow he bounces back in record time with his sex appeal untouched and what seems like minimal wounds instead of resembling Griffith at the end of Berserk's Golden Age arc. This blatant farewell to verisimilitude reeks of another porny trope for which I have no tolerance whatever: the hero's healing cock (here coupled with Christian's abrupt and totally out of character foray into bottoming for Carter in his cell after a knives ouf brawl [!]). Melodramatic much, Mrs Denae?
Two stars because of the magnificent prose, wasted on a cheap, contrived, over the top story whose rawness smacks of artificiality and a love story far inferior in honesty and depth to the one in the similar-themed Love Among Reptiles by K.A. Merikan.
My main objection relates to the unemotional stamp of the book. A widening disconnect is created due to the debatable decision to have a story that takes place both in present time and in flashbacks covering several years' worth of narrative start not at the logical, natural beginning, that is the meeting of the leads, but with the beta protagonist being tortured at the hands of his mobster boss and life partner the alpha lead for having been exposed as a mole planted by a rival crime family. We therefore begin reading with a stranger getting punched in the face and on his whole body, then cruelly flogged on both sides, cut down on his face and chest, and eventually raped with blood and spit acting as lubricant, by another unknown character, the whole lot in graphic detail (though not the full gory gamut, thankfully). This reader was moved at such an ordeal -who wouldn't be?-, but could hardly find it in himself to care about the victim of all this torture porn; all the more so since said victim, Carter, embraces it not only with finality but with gusto in a cloud of meekness and guilt and twisted love for his torturer. This very disconnect persists and increases as the more or less ghoulish fun goes on for a few more chapters, after mobster Christian leaves open the fate of Carter and his right-hand man Tennant bandages the traitor for further questioning and gory deals, including electrocution. It was in my humble opinion a cardinal mistake to hurl all this blood and body bits on the metaphoric walls from the start instead of making the reader care for the victim; the power packed by this dark content was thereby considerably blunted and foolish Carter no less than vengeful angel Christian are made far less interesting than they ought to have been. That there was hardly any redeeming quality in the protagonists is shown by the less than deft handling of Christian's return to a less eviscerating view of the man he still (tells us he) loves with all the fibers of his despicable body -not everybody is apt to build up vengeful wrath then tone it down in convincing fashion; look up for Homer's agency of Achilles in the Iliad- and the utterly preposterous distinction Mrs Denae draws between Christian (or Tennant) and the real villain of the story, a man repeatedly declared to be a true psychopath, but whose dastardly deeds pale in the face of what Christian and Tennant and even Carter are shown doing within these covers (he only roughens up his cripple of a son and dabs in human trafficking, as opposed with Christian's supposedly less unforgivable focus on peddling drugs and smuggling weapons). Aye sure, lady; you depict your primary hero as a man with a kink for bloody, hardly consensual sex, one who knows inside and out his way around a torture chamber (the same thing obtains for Carter, though we only see him, in the climax, flog the villain with a roll of barbwire before cutting his throat and, later, doing some knife work on his waste of a father), and who has his beloved 15 year-old son already perform terrible mobster acts, yet you tell your reader to swallow that somehow this very monster is still far less worse than a secondary character who does not appear for more than five or six pages, without anybody looking askance at your bad literary taste and gossamer-thin psychology? Angst has to be carefully created, not thrown at one's face with the bluntness of Elon Musk firing people at Tweeter Inc. Otherwise, it fails to convince and reveals itself to be a mere prop.
Unfortunately, this book displays many further blemishes that all the polished writing in the world is incapable of patching up. The organized crime trappings are a very flimsy token instead of a lively, concrete element: we are told that the Amato family, of which Christian is the head, deals drugs and firearms, owns safe houses and a mansion plus a variety of warehouses, has broken bread with another Italian-American crime family and the local Bratva, but hardly more - in particular the signal avoidance of the whole gamut of the mob vocabulary (capo, don, consigliere, enforcers, and the like) has the entire story ring particularly hollow. The same remark can be made with respect to the plot behind Carter's unveiling as a mole, which it would be too kind to label a trite and childish rationale, and, of course, the absence of action scenes (barring a measly, rather halfhearted car chase, everything happens off-page; there is not even a gunfight): clearly, this writer is no old hand with such contents. Furthermore, quite a lot of things that happen strain credibility to the high heavens: Christian's love of mingling sex and blood is never explained; a gang like his in which elaborate torture is the alpha and omega of dealing with foes needed grounding, instead of being established as normal protocol; jarring contradictions abound with respect to the characters, such as Tennant being described in turns as a cold fish (my words) qua sociopath and as someone with a soft spot for Christian, Roman, Carter, or Carter's father who goes from hardened, untouchable mafia don in the beginning to easily scared old man in his easily accessed mansion in one of the last scenes (!). The very shallow cast of characters, which it wouldn't be inapt to label "Bastards Incorporated" (a fitting subtitle for this novel!), doesn't help either: nobody beyond Leandro, who appears near the end and is strongly foreshadowed to be destined to thaw Tennant's heart, displays more than skin-deep characterization; Carter is a doormat without any distinctive voice, Christian has only three modes (affronted, tender or horny, the three of them never veering far from knife or blood), Tennant is the quintessential cyborg in underwear model garb, and so on and so forth. Small wonder I never found myself rooting for any of them (to think that the only individual trait given to Christian's son Roman is the teen's love for nail polish! such capacity for invention, such eye for revelatory behavior on this writer's part). Here I felt cheated. It goes without saying that the romance between two leads of such wooden caliber could not fail to reek of artifice and brinkmanship; not only did their falling in love fail to elicit butterflies in my stomach, due to excessively fragmented state of the flashbacks, I shall marshal no further proof for what I take to be their utter lack of chemistry and absence of mind melding than the fact that the one word Christian hurls to and fro with respect to Carter is "pretty" - a shallower motivation for anybody's attraction to another human being would be hard to find. Last but not least, one of my worst literary pet peeves, namely the level of plot armor given to the hero, informs the entire book with less than clever concealment. The extensive torture Carter passes through ought to have put him more than once on the brink of death, especially as all he receives in the interim is basic cleaning by non-medical staff then rudimentary bandaging while being detained in a frozen cell, yet somehow he bounces back in record time with his sex appeal untouched and what seems like minimal wounds instead of resembling Griffith at the end of Berserk's Golden Age arc. This blatant farewell to verisimilitude reeks of another porny trope for which I have no tolerance whatever: the hero's healing cock (here coupled with Christian's abrupt and totally out of character foray into bottoming for Carter in his cell after a knives ouf brawl [!]). Melodramatic much, Mrs Denae?
Two stars because of the magnificent prose, wasted on a cheap, contrived, over the top story whose rawness smacks of artificiality and a love story far inferior in honesty and depth to the one in the similar-themed Love Among Reptiles by K.A. Merikan.
May 18, 2023
Not much plot
The set up of this book didn't work for men, the constant flashbacks ( almost every other chapter). The opening was weird, and the first few chapters were.hard to get through because it stats at the hard part but there's no lead up so there's no emotional connection to the characters. It also felt like am attempt to disguise the fact the plot was thin. There's some torture, some romance, but not much in the way of actual story. The ending was too easily wrapped up and the pivot points didn't feel realistic. There's a whole lot of torture and then suddenly things are forgiven and then there's the big ending which was mostly a fizzle.
In addition to the lack of plot, the dialogue was often awkward, almost flowery. We spent too much time in the characters' heads and not enough on dialogue. The thought patterns didn't make sense for the characters or the actions occurring in any given scene. There wasn't much that distinguished a torture scene from a love scene from a lost in thought scene from the perspective of writing mechanics. For example, short sentences can be used to convey a sense of urgency and writers use that in action scenes to sell it better. Here, everything was always the same: a strangely pedantic pace that seemed to take too long to get anywhere.
I ended up skimming the last 30% to move the story along.
The set up of this book didn't work for men, the constant flashbacks ( almost every other chapter). The opening was weird, and the first few chapters were.hard to get through because it stats at the hard part but there's no lead up so there's no emotional connection to the characters. It also felt like am attempt to disguise the fact the plot was thin. There's some torture, some romance, but not much in the way of actual story. The ending was too easily wrapped up and the pivot points didn't feel realistic. There's a whole lot of torture and then suddenly things are forgiven and then there's the big ending which was mostly a fizzle.
In addition to the lack of plot, the dialogue was often awkward, almost flowery. We spent too much time in the characters' heads and not enough on dialogue. The thought patterns didn't make sense for the characters or the actions occurring in any given scene. There wasn't much that distinguished a torture scene from a love scene from a lost in thought scene from the perspective of writing mechanics. For example, short sentences can be used to convey a sense of urgency and writers use that in action scenes to sell it better. Here, everything was always the same: a strangely pedantic pace that seemed to take too long to get anywhere.
I ended up skimming the last 30% to move the story along.
April 19, 2023
This is an amazing read! Oh, it's bloody and violent, but it's mobsters, mafia, so there most certainly are triggers here. If you have any concern check the author GR page or the start of this story, she has added her warnings. I was hooked on this tale, was up until 1.30-ish last night reading, just couldn't put it down. Cristian, the Boss, is brutal, determined, and cold, but he loves his son and his lover, that is until a terrible secret is revealed, and then revenge is paramount and all hell lets loose.
July 1, 2025
2/5⭐️
Mafia man’s like “your scars are so beautiful. You’re so beautiful” like he wasn’t the one who cut his man up in the first place.
I don’t understand these characters and their personalities at all. This book is all over the place. The roles in this mafia are being switched at every moment. How is the bodyguard of the mafia leader dominating (not in a sexy way) and almost cutting the mafia leader with a knife? Sorry but that makes no sense to me.
Mafia man’s like “your scars are so beautiful. You’re so beautiful” like he wasn’t the one who cut his man up in the first place.
I don’t understand these characters and their personalities at all. This book is all over the place. The roles in this mafia are being switched at every moment. How is the bodyguard of the mafia leader dominating (not in a sexy way) and almost cutting the mafia leader with a knife? Sorry but that makes no sense to me.
August 19, 2024
DNF @ 18%
A torture scene with Christmas background music can go two ways: it can turn into an extremely perturbing, spine-chilling picture that gives me the creeps and makes me wanna read more, or it can come off a weird and lame situation. Guess which one was it for me.
A torture scene with Christmas background music can go two ways: it can turn into an extremely perturbing, spine-chilling picture that gives me the creeps and makes me wanna read more, or it can come off a weird and lame situation. Guess which one was it for me.
March 17, 2023
It is so sick
Read
March 22, 2023DFN 40%
May 1, 2024
5 stars
This book was so dark sweet at the same time. The story was such a great read I devoured it in 2 hours. I 100% want to read so much more in this series.
This book was so dark sweet at the same time. The story was such a great read I devoured it in 2 hours. I 100% want to read so much more in this series.
dnf
May 2, 2023Dnf @ 47%
November 12, 2023
Dnf 42%
The story is all over the place, the characters are fine but there are multiple things that just doesn’t make any sense, the writing isn’t that good. So overall it’s kinda bad
The story is all over the place, the characters are fine but there are multiple things that just doesn’t make any sense, the writing isn’t that good. So overall it’s kinda bad
Read
June 27, 2024DNF. Couldn't get into it.
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