Sophie Lark

She Cut My Heart Open...

I only meant to steal a car. I didn't know I was stealing a girl, too. Until the most gorgeous face I'd ever seen popped up in the rear-view mirror.

I fell hard, fast, and forever...

But she tore out my heart – left me alone and bleeding.

How can I forget her, when I have to see that damned perfect face on billboards and magazines?

It's torture.

9 long years. I thought I moved on.

Then I saw her in the flesh...

And my heart started bleeding all over again...


The Lark Notes:
At long last, Dante's story! I know you guys were the most excited for this one. It's my longest book yet -- epic in story, timescale, heartbreak, and angst. And epically spicy too -- be warned!!! There's a scene with a belt that had me dragging Mr. Lark into my writing room. As an added bonus, you'll meet Raylan, who will return as the hero of Broken Vow. – Sophie

"Bloody Heart" is the angst-ridden fourth installment in the "Brutal Birthright" series. It's a standalone Second Chance Mafia Romance, with a HEA and no cliffhanger. Contains steamy scenes.

Brutal Birthright: Book 4

Bloody Heart

She Cut My Heart Open...

I only meant to steal a car. I didn't know I was stealing a girl, too. Until the most gorgeous face I'd ever seen popped up in the rear-view mirror.

I fell hard, fast, and forever...

But she tore out my heart – left me alone and bleeding.

How can I forget her, when I have to see that damned perfect face on billboards and magazines?

It's torture.

9 long years. I thought I moved on.

Then I saw her in the flesh...

And my heart started bleeding all over again...

Linsey Mombert

"Because I don't care if the richest, fanciest fuckers in the world are in this room. You belong to me." 

alexis rae 

She Cut My Heart Open... I only meant to steal a car. I didn’t know I was stealing a girl, too. Until the most gorgeous face I’d ever seen popped up in the rear-view mirror.⁠ I fell hard, fast, and forever... But she tore out my heart — left me alone and bleeding.⁠ How can I forget her, when I have to see that damned perfect face on billboards and magazines?⁠ It’s torture.⁠ 9 long years. I thought I moved on.⁠ Then I saw her in the flesh... And my heart started bleeding all over again...

A Second Chance Mafia Romance

Leonie

Madeline Frampton

Could not put this book down. The story of Simone and Dante is beautiful yet heartbreaking but thankfully with a happy ending. I loved seeing them meet and getting to fill in on everything that goes on with Dante, seeing both perspectives in such different situations over the course of 9 years was beautiful. Very well written and captivated me every step of the way.

Daria 

Davina 

i literally skimmed through. i’ve read worse but this was still something else in a bad way

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
 

There’s no joy without pain. The greater the pain, the greater the joy.

My Review
First Impressions
I was quite intrigued by this one though, and I have been meaning to get back to this author here and get through this series. Even though some of the books haven’t been my favorite so far, I have been quite intrigued by this one, and I did like this one. One thing you can say about the books in the series is that they aren’t your typical mafia type of romances so you can rely on this having a refreshing feel to it. I had forgotten the trope that is in this one, so I admit this one isn’t going to go on the list of my favorites from this author. She is really becoming a hit or miss for me. Now that isn’t to say that I didn’t find this a solid read, it was, and the hero in this book is going on my book boyfriend list *hands down* however, I also had plenty of issues with this one.

I love you like . . . like I’d destroy anything that tried to come between us. Like I’d burn the whole world down if I had to.

Summary
Simone and Dante live in completely different worlds. Simone lives in high society, and she is expected to find a good match and marry as her parents expect of her and it doesn’t matter what dreams she has for herself. Her baby sister is sick and will always need to be in the care of family. When she finds herself in her car being stolen by strong and intimidating Dante, she never expected that she would engage in a secret love affair with the man. Dante and Simone’s love is forbidden, they are from two different worlds but Dante believes that their love is worth fighting for. Simone while she has a love for Dante, she also is fearful of her parents and standing up to their expectations and she knows being in a relationship with Dante won’t reach their approval. But when the time comes for Simone to stand up, Dante is left on his own, and Simone ends up pregnant and she and Dante are separated for nine long years. Now Simone is stronger than ever, she is willing to stand on her own. She has created her own career as a model and has her own wealth, but she doesn’t expect to cross paths with Dante again, but now that Dante and Simone have found their way back to each other, will their love be enough to stand the limits and dangers of evil that want to destroy them?

I love you, Simone. I have always loved you, and I will always love you. I’m never going to stop. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you have my heart in your hands.

What I Loved
There were quite a few aspects of this story. There are a number of tropes that are actually in this story that I actually do enjoy. There was a forbidden love and also a class difference setup that really seemed to work for this pairing. We have a devoted hero, who may be in the mafia and have to kill when he has to, but he also has a sense of honor and is willing to fight for those he loves. What he is willing to sacrifice for Simone was so beautiful. I absolutely loved the way that they were with each other in those quiet moments. This pair makes you believe love can withstand any trial of life. I really admired the sensitive and sweet nature of Simone. She has such a tender heart. And I loved even in the worst of moments, and the betrayals, that Dante stands firm in his love for Simone. What is willing to go through for her, has so many heart aching moments that leave the reader humbled in unexpected ways. He is one of those heroes you dream of in every romance. I also liked that there were no back and forth flashbacks. The flashback was done first and then we see the story kick off nine years later. I also liked seeing the entry of Raylan (who is the reason I wanted to read this series, he is the character I have heard the best about and he had the most perfect entry and I SWOONED.

I never stopped wondering how you could leave me, when I couldn’t let go of you even for a second.

What I Struggled With
I will be honest, even though there were aspects of the heroine’s character that I did like, I found that overall I just found her weak and without a backbone. I DESPISE secret baby as a trope, but honestly, she has the option to go to Dante with this and she chose not and it was dragged out al the way through till almost the end of the book. I didn’t understand it. I felt for her and what her parents did to her here, but at the same time, she wasn’t willing to stand by Dante when it mattered and also not tell him the truth that he deserved and he missed 9 years of his child’s life. Quite frankly, Dante deserved so much better than what he got with Simone. This book is evidence that shows you don’t pick who you love, and quite frankly, Simone should have groveled much more. She betrayed one of the best heroes I have ever read especially in the mafia, and even though I understand she isn’t a super strong and healthy balanced heroine, I felt like he deserved a woman that was willing to fight for him. The relationship felt very one-sided in that aspect and left me disappointed and just sad.

She loves me. And I love her. I can’t stop loving her. No matter what she’s done to me, no matter what she might do in the future, I can never stop. I would cut off my hands for this woman. Strip the flesh off my bones for her. I can’t live without her, and I don’t want to try. Forgiving her isn’t optional. I have to do it. I can’t exist without it.

Overall View
Overall I found Bloody Heart to be a captivating read, Sophie Lark sucked me in very quickly into this story, she brought some powerful emotions to the front and added layers of depths, and Dante is a hero worth reading, no matter the battle in getting there!

She’s the other part of me. I’ve been wandering around for nine years with only half my soul. I never thought I’d be whole again.

Anita

Kristina

This book was surprisingly one of my favs from this series. It was heartbreaking though. Her kidnapping was one of my favourite scenes I've ever read.

¿Es qué no va a haber otro libro bueno en esta serie? 😭

Para empezar todo fue muy insta love entre Dante y Simone, fue demasiado random teniendo en cuenta que Dante es la definición de onvre que no tiene sentimientos.

Odié que ella le ocultara que tenía un hijo, y que cuando le confesó todo huyó porque no podía soportar que él se molestara GURL??????? qué esperabas? que te aplaudiera???

En fin, espero que los últimos dos libros sean remotamente buenos. 

cris 🫀

¿Es qué no va a haber otro libro bueno en esta serie? 😭

Para empezar todo fue muy insta love entre Dante y Simone, fue demasiado random teniendo en cuenta que Dante es la definición de onvre que no tiene sentimientos.

Odié que ella le ocultara que tenía un hijo, y que cuando le confesó todo huyó porque no podía soportar que él se molestara GURL??????? qué esperabas? que te aplaudiera???

En fin, espero que los últimos dos libros sean remotamente buenos. 

karmin

best book in the series so far i love a second chance trope

catia

“I love you like . . . like I’d destroy anything that tried to come between us. Like I’d burn the whole world down if I had to.”



  “I want you. Nothing else,” he says. 
“You have me. All of me.” 
“Promise me, Simone.” 
“I’m yours. Till the day I die.”


I actually feel so bad for giving them this low rating but I didn't feel the buzz the other three books gave me and this one was a little bit disappointed, because I was so excited for them and to read a second chance romance but I didn't enjoyed it the way I did the others... I can't exactly say what was it that made me not enjoying it that much but I do like both characters and I liked them together but.... Their love was a little bit insta lovey for me. I am having so much fun reading this series and I like Sophie Lark's writing but this one... I was disappointed... A lot... I love second chance and I will still recommend but it wasn't for me, I feel bad because I like Dante and Simone a lot but meh...


  “I love you, Simone. I have always loved you, and I will always love you. I’m never going to stop. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you have my heart in your hands.”

samantha youngclaus

4.5 stars. usually i hate second chance romances but something about this one made my heart hurt

My main complaint is that they drive two hours from Chicago and end up in “rural Wisconsin” or at least rural enough to hunt a person without anyone noticing. Y’a know what’s two hours from Chicago Madison and plenty of other big cities. If you want rural Wisconsin you have to go way up north at least four hours. Then they say they go to a hospital in Sarasota? Ma’am that town is in Florida. A geographical nightmare. Otherwise and alright book. 

Olivia Sekelsky

I WANTED SO MUCH TO LIKE THIS BOOK! Although I adored Sophie Lark's other books, I wasn't really engrossed in this one. 

The two major characters, Dante and Simone, were really amazing. They are both such a good match for one another. Ultimate soul mates. And the definition of the right person, wrong time. 

Oh, Dante, Dante! I would do everything for him! I'm here for the fact that he is unquestionably far more steamy and possessive than the other male characters. 

Simone's family got on my nerves. For all the things they told her, for her situation with Henry, and her sister not defending her!

Clay

⭐⭐⭐/5 

I WANTED SO MUCH TO LIKE THIS BOOK! Although I adored Sophie Lark's other books, I wasn't really engrossed in this one. 

The two major characters, Dante and Simone, were really amazing. They are both such a good match for one another. Ultimate soul mates. And the definition of the right person, wrong time. 

Oh, Dante, Dante! I would do everything for him! I'm here for the fact that he is unquestionably far more steamy and possessive than the other male characters. 

Simone's family got on my nerves. For all the things they told her, for her situation with Henry, and her sister not defending her!

Brooke Barnett

I liked the whole childish relationship turned serious relationship. Also how they kinda set up the next book by introducing the main male lead of that book.

Preye

Sophie Lark is an amazing author and the greatest testament to that fact is how I finished this book without ripping my head off. Less than stellar (but not horrible) character development, a winning plotline, tropes that can't be fumbled once you've got them in the bag, and still it fell short of my expectations. 

She succeeds in painting the backstories of the characters in painful, heartbreaking detail and her words cut sharp across my heart. It was fantastic watching the development of their relationship in real-time and other reviewers have hinted that the male protagonist has cameos in other books in the series, but this is the first one I am reading. 

But, you know what they say about how a light hidden under a bushel won't shine? In this case, it's safe to say that the past was the bushel in question and the present couldn't shine because it was hidden. That's to say she spent so much time building the past that the present-day sequence felt hurried and a bit lacking. There were so many loose ends and I had so many unanswered questions when I finished reading. 

Another reader might argue that not *every* loose end must be sharpened in order to preserve the flow of the drama—and then there are other things like word-count restraints and the publisher's demands—but I firmly believe that any question brought up in book 1 of a series concerning the protagonist has to be answered. That way it won't look like a plot hole—which it unfortunately did in this case. 

The book was teeming with so many different elements—forbidden relationship, scheming parents, trained killer on their arses, the flash drive, secret baby—and some of them ended up not seeing the light of the day. 


That's not to say this was bad, because it wasn't, but I would have loved a more realistic exposition on how they managed to work their relationship around her family's disapproval and how they crossed the other hurdles in their race to HEA.

alyssa 

i didn’t like the beginning , i feel like dante was too much for simone . i got the vibe that he was forcing simone to do things even if she wanted to i feel it was kind of off and intense . maybe he went too fast with her idk but i loved the end it got way better but this has to be my least fav so far out of the series 

Souhaila


Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of Dante, maybe because Simone was so annoying I wanted to slap her more than onece  and  I couldn't forgive or forget  what she did, maybe because their relationship was so superficial and empty that I didn't like them as a couple and couldn't see them as such, maybe because evey spicy scene was "cringier" ( my god the last one, pleaseee, wtf was that?!) than the last, maybe because the story felt sooo flat and boring even the last chapters which should've been exciting were meh, maybe maybe maybe... but I'm sorry Miss Lark, this is not my favorite book of the series. 
Bonus points tho! Now I'm excited for Rylan and Riona and I have a feeling that the next book will be... interesting. 

Maggie Hepditch

I totally get the concerns people have about this book, Simone was kind of boring and didn't have much personality especially after years of being a jet setting model. I did however love watching them fall in love the first time and was so happy when they admitted to each other they still loved each other. However, these mafia men have GOT TO START USING CONDOMS!!!!!!! The action was thrilling and I was on the absolute edge of my seat. I wish we had a scene with her family welcoming Dante tho

Tanya 

Okay let’s fucking get into it!! This book literally took me through changes okay. I was going TF THROUGH IT. I knew this book was cut deep I just knew it bc of all the little hints about Dante from the previous books. & let me tell you IT HURT!!!!!

To learn what happened to him fucking hurt bitch. I cried way too many times reading this and ugh I hate crying. But my heart just hurt for him, for them and their situation. Now Simone, not my favorite heroine, might be my least favorite one and that’s simply bc of her choice YES they were difficult choices to make at 18 years old but I feel like she could have done better. 

However that might just be me because I hold grudges and I do understand that this book was a second chance romance so I liked their story I really did however I think I wanted to see more groveling from her and more reconnecting between them when she came back into town I feel like the suspense and the other things that were happening in the plot took away from the two of them although I really like that this book was action packed.

My favorite part of this book really has to be the beginning when we see how they fall in love when they were younger it was just so genuine and almost instant like Lovette first sight. Even though they were from two different sides of the world and had all odds stacked against them they loved each other regardless of that.

I’m really stuck between giving this five stars because it really did affect me emotionally and mentally and normally when I book does that it gets extra points for pulling any type of emotions out of me however I feel like the ending was a little bit rushed so I’m not really sure right now I’m going to stick with 4.5 I might change it later but you guys should definitely read this book and I’m so excited about the next one.

I’m changing to 5/5 star because i realized after reading broken vow just how much I loved Simone and Dante’s love. They are my favorite out of the entire series.

Maya Federman

This one HURT. I knew it was going to hurt after I saw Tanya and Milina review it, but I was still not anticipating for this book to make me feel so many things. Including a lot of rage. 

We've gotten little glimpses here and there about the fact that Dante once had this big love and that it allegedly ended badly. So I was excited to finally dive in and learn who could make the big bad Dante come apart at the seams.

We start out 9 years ago, when Dante and Simone met purely by chance. Simone is the daughter of a diplomat, the epitome of a good girl, and Dante is not the type of guy her father would ever want her to pursue romantically. They have an intense connection, and then something major happens that leads them to break apart, or rather, for Simone to panic and move across the fucking world. I understood why she did it, but I still wanted to slap her in the face. And HER PARENTS??? BYE. Absolutely trash humans. What they did to her when she was most vulnerable is unforgivable in my opinion. Anyway.

Dante and Simone cross paths again 9 years later (now present day) and after a bit of groveling on Simone's part, they pick up where they left off. This was super emotional and of course the spice was excellent as well. My heart goes out to both of them. 🥺

Franccesca Jimenez 

I always liked Dante but he was always like a background character for me. I liked him but nothing special about him.

And now I read this damn book and I am swooning, LITERALLY swooning over him. This man, wow. I loved him. I fucking loved him and Simone. It’s one of those love stories where they feel so intensely for one another, and even though there are obstacles in the way (BIG ONES), they will always find their way back to each other. 

Loved the book. It felt a bit different than the rest but in a good way. 

And 4🌶

Kristle Saneewong

The relationship dynamics and personalities of the main characters were so bland. It's a second chance love, which has a lot of potential — just not this one. 

Okay, this is hard. I have a couple of things and tropes I really despise, no matter which book they are in: I really don't fancy second chance romances (yeah, I know, this one was obvious), I really don't like pregnancy tropes and miscommunication/non-communication/omission is the cherry on my "Nope"-Cake. 
Bloody Heart has a solid Bingo on all those. 
I guess it's not that bad if you're into this kind of stuff, I'm just not. Coming to the breakup due to her pregnancy without him knowing, I was SO close to just stop and dnf it. I hated everything about that.
I have a hard time leaving books, especially in a series I enjoyed so far, unfinished, so I picked it back up today and finished it in one sundaze-sitting. I had really high hopes for Dante, because I love me a morally gray, broody love interest/mc. 

Not communicating, hidden pregnancy, second chance, the child that is such a big part of their story curiously not being a real part of the plot (at some points it felt like "Oops, I forgot to include him, let's see where I can mention him without wrecking the plot so far") and the last chapter about getting miraculously pregnant again- nah, I'm sorry, that's a big no from me. 

The only thing truly enjoyable and not disappointing in this was the glimpse into the future: I'm absolutely here for the Raylan-Show, he's just a gem so far and I'm super curious about seeing more of Riona. 

So ... without those two, this would have been utterly disappointing, they saved two stars though while probably taking up less than 5% of the book. 

Wow, now I feel bad. But I'll just read on, because I can't wait for more of my new favourite ship. Please don't step into all those traps again (please don't be ugly-voice). 

Bloody Heart Brutal Birthright: Book 4

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