CD Reiss

An epic mafia romance trilogy that sets a new bar for just how dark a hero can get, from NY Times Bestselling author CD Reiss. Some girls dream of marrying a prince, but I never imagined I’d be sold to a king. Santino DiLustro. The king. The monster. The keeper of secrets. When he forced me to marry him, I cried for love I’d never know. When he locked me away, I cried for the freedom I lost forever. Every other tear I’ve shed is for my soul, because I’m falling for the devil himself. Book one of three in the The Dilustro Arrangement.

Mafia Bride

Jessie Stafford

Wow, this was no where near what I expected it to be but it is turning into everything I ever needed in a mafia romance. I immensely enjoyed the amount of culture in this book, it’s not just about crime and flashy action, it’s about the life in it’s entirety. This is why I love CD Reiss. She creates worlds and characters you didn’t even know you needed but once you get a taste of them you’re hopelessly addicted. I need to know what happens like it’s my own story, my own feelings playing in real time with Santino and Violetta. My own heart breaking with every secret revealed.

Santino is a delectable mixture of old and new, but always traditional. His ability to understand both worlds allows him to connect and break down Violetta’s walls. Always intense, brutal, hardly any mercy but never without an underlying compassion for his new wife when necessary. He’s not just a husband to her, he becomes a teacher. I melted for the pet names he bestowed her, nothing used before would do for these two.

Violetta is a straight up spitfire! She goes through so much, so rapidly. Starting as a young woman and thrust into a life she was only partly prepared for. She may know how she’s supposed to act but that doesn’t mean she’s going to do it. Even at her lowest she never looses her ferocity. At times her behavior can be petulant but if you’ve unknowingly lived your life in a web of deceit and lies wouldn’t you be too? 

When bits of truth start aligning together, when things start becoming as clear to you as they are to Violetta, get ready for the drop. I don’t think I’ve ever said the f bomb out loud while reading as many times as I did in this last chapter. Then I paced my kitchen. This isn’t just a cliffhanger, this is a “thrown to the rocky shore below and hope you’re not so battered you won’t survive”. But I did, and I need more.

Mafia Bride

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