Giana Darling

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Giana Darling comes an enemies to lovers, forbidden romance between an ice cold lawyer and her infamous mafioso client who is on trial for murder... I am the villain of my own story... Jilted by my fiancé. A disappointment to my family. Haunted by my childhood traumas. I felt so much all my life that I resolved to feeling nothing at all. Until I met my match. As the most infamous mafioso of the 21st century, Dante Salvatore was madly passionate, unequivocally bad, and entirely too dangerous to know. He was everything I abhorred, yet I found myself representing him in the biggest criminal trial of the decade. I was so focused on winning and achieving the success I deserved that I didn't notice the gorgeous black-eyed man's effect on me until it was too late. My icy heart had been held too close to his flame and now I wouldn't let Dante go down without fighting with everything I had in me. Even if the cost of a new life with him meant the loss of my old life and everything I thought I held dear. *Book One in the Anti-Heroes in Love Duet.*

When Heroes Fall

Merline

When Heroes Fall is the first book in the "Anti Heroes" Duet by Giana Darling. Now I am not sure why but I put these books off for a very long time. Because I do really enjoy this author and I have always truly enjoyed her books. So When Heroes Fall is basically an mafia don and a laywer ice queen. Now Elena has been in previous series that is in the connected world, so I haven't read those books. I just got to see the unveiling of Elena. I am actually relieved because from what I have heard she isn't great in some other books and that might have ruined my enjoyment of this book. Now that I have seen her true character, I think I will enjoy those previous books more as I understand who she is and the things she dealt with.

When Heroes Fall had one of my favorite dynamics actually. I really admired these characters. And our hero Dante, is one of the best mafia heroes I probably have ever read. I love that even though he is a morally grey hero, he has a code he lives by, he loves those under his care and will protect them no matter what happens. Then we have Elena who has been burned by the mafia in her life, and really hasn't ever been put first by anyone in her life. We see her slowly thaw, we see glimpses of the woman she is and we see how she responds to Dante who has a very commanding presence but has a gentle side when it comes to her.

If you are a fan of mafia romance, then this duo series needs to be on your must read list! I guarantee you will fall in love with this world.

Lover of Romance 

My Review:

When Heroes Fall is the first book in the "Anti Heroes" Duet by Giana Darling. Now I am not sure why but I put these books off for a very long time. Because I do really enjoy this author and I have always truly enjoyed her books. So When Heroes Fall is basically an mafia don and a laywer ice queen. Now Elena has been in previous series that is in the connected world, so I haven't read those books. I just got to see the unveiling of Elena. I am actually relieved because from what I have heard she isn't great in some other books and that might have ruined my enjoyment of this book. Now that I have seen her true character, I think I will enjoy those previous books more as I understand who she is and the things she dealt with.

When Heroes Fall had one of my favorite dynamics actually. I really admired these characters. And our hero Dante, is one of the best mafia heroes I probably have ever read. I love that even though he is a morally grey hero, he has a code he lives by, he loves those under his care and will protect them no matter what happens. Then we have Elena who has been burned by the mafia in her life, and really hasn't ever been put first by anyone in her life. We see her slowly thaw, we see glimpses of the woman she is and we see how she responds to Dante who has a very commanding presence but has a gentle side when it comes to her.

If you are a fan of mafia romance, then this duo series needs to be on your must read list! I guarantee you will fall in love with this world.

I feel like authors make it very obvious when they write main characters that act opposite to them or that they hate. Elena’s “bitchy personality” doesn’t exist and is overall very descriptive. None of the things she said made me think “ouch that was a mean one” it was more on the “girl stop with the corny comebacks”.

Also the descriptive prose about Elena’s loneliness and coldness lacked so much depth because of the writing style that felt too stale and because it was so insisted on only for her to switch up at every turn.

Also her trying to convince herself she was mean for getting mad at her sister is insane?? nothing she could have done would have been unjustified i promise you.

 I don’t like alpha male love interests they piss me the fuck off and i feel like Dante didn’t yearn anywhere close to what should have been. The book is too long only for Elena to still give in easily??

also i think we deserve a caelan book rather than one for all her siblings #sickofthisfamily

Not my cup of tea! 

I feel like authors make it very obvious when they write main characters that act opposite to them or that they hate. Elena’s “bitchy personality” doesn’t exist and is overall very descriptive. None of the things she said made me think “ouch that was a mean one” it was more on the “girl stop with the corny comebacks”.

Also the descriptive prose about Elena’s loneliness and coldness lacked so much depth because of the writing style that felt too stale and because it was so insisted on only for her to switch up at every turn.

Also her trying to convince herself she was mean for getting mad at her sister is insane?? nothing she could have done would have been unjustified i promise you.

 I don’t like alpha male love interests they piss me the fuck off and i feel like Dante didn’t yearn anywhere close to what should have been. The book is too long only for Elena to still give in easily??

BRING BACK REAL SLOWBURN!! 

also i think we deserve a caelan book rather than one for all her siblings #sickofthisfamily



Ilham

You know when you read a book, but you don't want to finish it because it is way too good, but at the same time, you can't stop reading it because you get so attached to the characters, that was me with this book

Seriously, DANTE AND ELENA ARE made for each other, I love them and this book

I'm going to start reading more books with anti hero main characters 

I won’t sleep before I finish reading the 2nd book (I’m going to regret this, it’s 1am here and I have school tomorrow, my eyes are begging for help)

Minahil Fatima 

most mafia romances are trash, this one was not, how about that? 

i would run for the hills if i met a dante in real life but on paper? exquisite.

aleksandra

4.5/5

Elena Lombardi is my new religion. 


  
    "I’d learned early on that the two most powerful motivators in this life were fear and love."

“Women bear the trials of their men, the delivery of their babies, the weight of their families. Women are
extraordinarily strong. So, you must trick the men into giving you power. Do not tell them you are strong, and do not fight them with words because words can be undone. Fight the injustice with action, lottatrice mia, because action can be understood in any language, by any man."

Sara Uribe

Talk about savoring a book. I swear to you, everytime Giana Darling comes out with a new book I always have to savor it. Let me start off by saying I was very, very hesitant with this book. I did not partially care for either Dante Salvatore and Elena Lombardi. I knew it may have been a challenge for me to like both of them. I didn't find them likeable at all from the previous books I’ve seen them in. However, the deeper I got into the book, the more and more I was absolutely intrigued and enamoured with them. Seeing things from their point of view really helped me understand and actually like them. I so appreciated the slow burn of their relationship, it made it even better once Elena finally let go and dove head first into the likes of Dante and believe me when I tell you the chemistry these two have is just off the charts hot. There is just something about Mafia men that really draws me to them. The intrigue, mystery, dangerousness. It’s all so tempting. I can’t wait to see where things go in book two because I’m ready to read it now!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
 
I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Nouran Hazem

I love Dante and Elena so much can’t wait to start the next one 🫶🏻 I related so much to elena and just loved how Dante loved her and never gave up on her no matter what she threw his way… just love it when she’s a misunderstood Ice princess and he loves her no matter what..

Nouran

caitlin buckley 

“He was a beast and, the truth was, he was the only one to ever make me feel like a beauty.”

OH MY GOD. no words. actually. lots of words. this is probably the best mafia book i have ever read. ever. it was honestly so good i could not put it down at all. shes a lawyer. he’s a Italian mobster. he makes her move into his house. PERFECTION. the car chase had my heart going oml, the smut was also AMAZING. ella was a #girlqueen the whole time and dante is just bae. i love <3

Michelle

Inês Filipa

4.5-lottatrice-stars ✨ 

this was so nice. 
dante is a charmer, so it is basically impossible not to fall for him.

nory

it took me a while to fully get into this but once i did, danteelena stole my heart. her siblings are another story though. i absolutely despise giselle for obvious reasons and have no interest in reading her books whatsoever. but what truly made me angry was the fact that her other siblings took giselle’s side even if they claim there were no “teams”. elena thinks she’s this awful person when really she has the biggest heart and giselle is a stupid bitch who doesn’t deserve her. i liked elena’s character a lot, the girl has been through so much shit i just wanna give her a big hug 🫂 she and dante fit so well together and it’s so obvious dante would do anything for elena which just makes me wanna cry bc no one’s ever put her or her feelings first. ok that’s all i absolutely fell in love with the both of them definitely one of my top ships now <33

althea

3.75 Stars, Even Capos need cuddles fuck i love dante so much

jupiter

serious and jocular. fuck her sisters. dantelena served

samantha youngclaus

4.5 stars. barely understood whatever mafia things were happening in this book but i loved elena’s character and her and dante’s relationship

Jacquelyn Hood

Elena is crippled with self doubt fueled by her family and ex fiancé. Little did she know it’s just took a certain villain to see who she truly is. The spice in the book is top notch and always makes me want more. 

Elena is a lawyer with a past that includes the mafia, she hates them but when her sister asked her to represent her best friend Dante she couldn’t say no.

Ann Sabu

I just didn't like the style of the book. It just wasn't for me. I liked the characters but I just found it a bit boring tbh

Maggie Hepditch

DNF at 16%. The writing is so pretentious. I might try to reread at a later date but I can't read a book where I roll my eyes every few paragraphs.

Logan Chisholm

3.75 ★

I’ve been putting this duet off for a long time, and idk why bc i’m obsessed w the fallen men series so I had super high hopes for this one. I absolutely loved Dante & Elena, the tension was amazing, the banter was top notch, i loved their personalities. But I was honestly confused for like half the book lol. Like when it came to his trial and what he was being accused of, i felt like it wasn’t explained at all. There were so many characters i couldn’t keep track of. I was also confused about Elena’s family dynamic. I know that there are two other series before this one about her sisters, so maybe I should’ve read those first. I assumed they’d be referred to, but i felt like it was actually a huge part of the plot and i was just missing something. I was so immersed into Dante & Elena as characters, but when they started discussing the trial or family things i just couldn’t keep up. 

So now I’m torn about whether or not i should go back and read those before i read When Villains Rise. Like every Giana Darling book i’ve read, I am totally in love with the characters, every description of Dante made me more in love with him, wishing i was forced to be his roommate. But just felt a lil confused on the non-romance part of the plot.

alaska🪐

4.5 stars
hell yeah, this just catapulted me right back into a dark romance obsession and after that cliffhanger, i have no other choice than to immediately start off with the second book (even though that cover is even more ugly omg help).
elena lombardi and dante salvatore are the most perfect anti-heroes and characters in general.
the storyline was exquisite, an absolute page turner with so many tropes i loved like a powerful badass character, forced proximity and enemies to lovers.

i deducted 0.5 stars because i absolutely hated the wording in some of the steamy scenes and i felt like the plot sometimes got lost in too many details (and i am a fan of details).

Lily

Now not many of you may know this about me but I don’t relate a lot of books 5/5 it’s just something I do. But this book I can say without a doubt is worth 5/5. It’s been a while since I’ve been this in love with a book and I can honestly say I could read this book for the rest of my life and not get bored. 

FULL REVIEW TO COME WHEN DUET IS FINISHED

Chantale

I have read quite a few books by Giana Darling and yes I have loved every single one I have read so of course I was excited to get an eARC of When Heroes Fall.

I am so happy I read this one because WOW!!!! This book is fantastic. It's perfection in my opinion and this comes from someone who is extremely picky when it comes to mafia books.

I love Elena even though sometimes I just wanted to slap her. I love Dante. This book is sexy and suspenseful. 

I do highly recommend it. 

Giving this 5 out of 5.

When Heroes Fall

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