Lucca (Made Men #4) By Sarah Brianne

Buy Link: Lucca

Lucca was made the underboss, being what nightmares are made of.
Chloe was scarred by her past, learning too young that nightmares are real.
He has waited long enough to claim her soul, but he must take it from the devil first.
Her soul might have been better off claimed by the devil.
The only way to save her from her past is to delve into his.
The world as she knows it will come crashing down.

I'm the fu**ing boogieman.
I'm just a fu**ing freak.

Okay, as you know, I was NOT TEAMLUCCA, I was totally TEAMAMO. 

But I didn't even get halfway through the book before I was swayed by Lucca and his love for Chloe. 
I really loved him. He was incredibly charming in his own dangerous way and I couldn't put it down. 

Chloe reacted to Lucca in a way she really needed too. He's perfect for her. Yeah, he went about getting her the wrong way but it was the ONLY way. I couldn't see that at first but then as the story progressed... okay, as the story began, I understood. 

We get to know Lucca on another level. He's not such a mystery in this book and we get to see the real him, the man behind the cold mask. And I have to say, I'm now Team Lucca. I just hope Amo gets his own story soon. I hate knowing he's lost Chloe, but he didn't love her the way Lucca did.

Look at me... LOL 
Read my CHLOE review and you'll see how against Lucca I was LOL I'm not singing a new tune and I couldn't care less aha He really did knock me sideways. Sarah Brianne has really blew us away with this one. She's changed so many minds and for a moment, I didnt think mine could be swayed LOL 

The book is brilliant, the plot much better and although I would have liked to have skipped the rehashing past stuff, I still enjoyed the story. 
The ending was fantastic. 

5*

Amore Part One By Bella Jewel

LINK COMING SOON

I’m just a normal girl. 
Or so you would think. 
I’ve never thought of myself as anything different. 
Until I met him.
He doesn’t think I’m normal. 
He thinks I’m special. 
Special enough to be in his life. 
Special enough to enter his world. 
Special enough for his bed. 
Rafael Lencioni. Dangerous. Beautiful. Terrifying. 
My story is the one that’s never told. 
I’m not the daughter. 
I’m not the wife. 
I’m not the forbidden lover. 
I’m not a sister or a mother. 
I’m not who you think I am. 
So for me to fit into their world, I have to do something I never wanted in my life. 
Something I would have frowned upon until I met him. 
I have to change who I am. 
I have to shut down my heart. 
I have to accept my place. 
My body belongs to him. 
My heart isn’t permitted to.
Those are his rules. 
But rules were made to be broken…right?

Bella Jewel seriously needs to write more Mafia romance novels. I've never been so hooked on a book like this in ages. I loved it. 
I woke up early this morning and thought, hell, I received an ARC off Bella Jewel last night, I'll have a look. 
What was supposed to be a quick flick through, turned out a one read through setting. I literally devoured the whole book. I was gutted when it come to an end and left me with THAT CLIFFHANGER.

I don't condone cheating, in any form and usually it puts me off a book and although parts did, I also pretended he wasn't married, even if it was a forced marriage and a loveless one. 
Juliette was also a girl who didn't deserve to be treated like that. But she asked for it, agreed to it. 
I didn't trust the wife. It's clear she was working with whoever the bad guy was. I think! I'm still not sure LOL That's how GOOD the book was. I really did enjoy it and I can't wait to buy it when it comes out. 

The story line was captivating and the chemistry between the two main characters was explosive. It was off the charts hot and Raf, OMG, he was such a charmer. He treated her well all things considered and he did it with love and care. Kind of. It's hard to explain. But Bella wrote their story perfectly. She did fantastically. 

I do feel like the book was just an introduction and we've seen nothing yet. I'm really excited about part two, so hopefully, we won't be waiting too long. 

5* read and if I could, I'd definitely rate it higher. Another top read for 2016 

Empire (Eagle Elite Book 7) By Rachel Van Dyken

Buy Link: Empire

I have lost everything.
My purpose.
My love.
My soul.
Death knocks on my door, I want to answer, but every time I reach for the handle--the promise I made her, brings me back.
So I breathe.
I live.
I hate.
And I allow the anger to boil beneath the surface of a perfectly indifferent facade.
I am broken, I dont want to be fixed.
One last trip to New York, one last chance to redeem a lost part of the mafia family. The Empire is crumbling and it's my job to fix it, my job to mend the pieces that were scattered over thirty years ago.
The only issue is, the only way to fix, is to do something I swore I'd never do again.
An arranged marriage.
Only this time.
I won't fall.
Or so help me God, I'll kill her myself.
My name is Sergio Abandanoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate--you have no idea.
I am the mafia.
I am the darkness.
Blood in. No out.

I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book. From reading the very first word I knew it was going to be a 5* and Rachel didn't disappoint. 

As you know, Sergio finally loved, but sadly, that love didn't last long and Andie died but what didn't die with Andie was her secrets, her plans for Sergio. 

I felt for Val, really I did. She was so innocent to the life of the mafia and innocent to any bad in the world really. Her Uncles and twin brother kept her from that side of their world, Hoping she never had to find out. 
It wasn't just about her innocence but the struggle she had to go through... Enter, Sergio. 

Forced to marry again, he promises himself he won't be stupid enough to fall in love again. He's still very much in love with Andie. When he meets Val he has to fight hard not to feel anything towards her and goes out of his way to make her feel like crap. But I could understand his feelings, feel the pain he felt and the loss he still harbored. He was being pulled in two different directions and it was heartbreaking to read. 

Val's is intrigued by Sergio, his dark looks, his broody behaviour and the fact he can set her body alight. 
When she finds out she's being forced to marry him, it's not that she finds that bothers her but the fact that their marriage is going to be one sided, loveless on his part and that's what she's struggling to come to terms with. In the end she makes a pact to herself, to just make him happy. He deserves it and boy does Sergio deserve to be happy. 

Anyway... Bullets fly, Tex doesn't shoot first and we finally get to see the boys carefree... okay, their drunk but it's the most carefree those boys will get. And boy, do they feel carefree. LOL !!! Tex sober??? Love him... Tex Drunk???? Hilarious and HOT!!! ALWAYS HOT!! WITH TEX... ALWAYS!!!

This novel, this series, is one everyone should be reading. I can't stop reading them and after reading Empire, I went back to the beginning and started the series all over again. Perfection. 

Chloe (Made Men Book 3) By Sarah Brianne

Buy Link: Chloe

Chloe's scarred face makes her the school's freak.

Her reflection is a constant reminder of how she got them.

The man who scarred her haunts not only her dreams, but also her reality.

Some nightmares don't go away in the daylight.

Two men stand up to save her from the nightmares.

Both are men of the mafia, waiting behind a door she doesn't want to open.

Amo the soldier and Lucca the underboss.

The Beast and the Boogieman.

Who will she choose?

First off, I've wanted to read this book for so long.... 

Chloe has always been that character you've wondered about, worried about and wanted desperately to have a happily ever after. *Coughs* WITH AMO

It basically runs through everything we've already read, but it's all from Chloe's POV and Amo's. I've seen some bad reviews about this, but can you really say, when you read Nero that you didn't wonder what happened when Amo walked Chloe to class???? Because I did. I wondered so bad. Now I know and know more.... but still, HAVE QUESTIONS. 

When I read the blurb, it said "This is a standalone novel" Then a few lines down had CLIFFHANGER written. Can you end a book with a cliffhanger and it be a standalone series??? Nope, this book is a series Sarah. Some emailed me and actually felt lost reading it. Thinking they'd read the other books in the series I asked her what she was lost on. Turned out, she thought it was a standalone. Thankfully the blurb on Amazon has been added, cliffhanger.... must read others to get full effect. 

So, we know this book is about who Chloe will end up with. My guess????

Lucca!

Do I want it to be Lucca? 

HELL NO!!!!!!! 

Why do I think it's going to be Lucca? 

Well..... The book could go anyway, thanks to the way Sarah had brilliantly ended it. NO SPOILERS HERE!! 

But, did any of you notice most of the book is about AMO and CHLOE's relationship, not a love triangle between Chloe, Amo and Lucca. We only get to see him a few times for brief moments, so my guess is, book 2 to Chloe will be all about Lucca, whether that be that she chooses him, or because she doesn't choose him, I don't know. 

For me, she already chose in this book, when she ran to the person she felt safest with, felt more for, but then Sarah put this big twist onto it and now I'm not so sure. I'd like to think Chloe ends up with Amo, for me Lucca is too much of a trigger from her past. Plus, why would she choose him? She doesn't even know him. She's spent countless hours with Amo and has became incredibly close to him. There is no spark between Lucca and her, for me anyway. 

That's my theory on the triangle. I am excited to read the next in the series. 

PLEASE BE AMO!!!!

4* 

Elude (Eagle Elite #6) By Rachel Van Dyken

Buy Link: Elude

Twenty-Four hours before we were to be married--I offered to shoot her.

Ten hours before our wedding--I made a mockery of her dying wish.

Five hours before we were going to say our vows--I promised I'd never love her.

One hour before I said I do--I vowed I'd never shed a tear over her death.

But the minute we were pronounced man and wife--I knew.

I'd only use my gun to protect her.

I'd give my life for hers.

I'd cry.

And I would, most definitely, lose myself, to a dying girl---a girl who by all accounts should have never been mine in the first place.

I always believed the mafia would be my end game--poisoning my heart, while it claimed my soul. I could have never imagined. It would be my redemption.

Or the beginning of something beautiful.

The beginning of her.

The end of us.

Rachel Van Dyken has done it again...

LOVED, LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

Knew to expect the worst when I read the blurb, and also the backstory of Andi, but I was never prepared for what actually went down. 

I swear to God, it tore my heart out into a thousand pieces. I'll never forget this book in a hurry that's for sure. 

As like all the other Elite books, there is a reason for EVERYTHING. Secrets are kept, lies are unraveled, and people get shot. So what makes this different from the other Elite novels? Sergio and Andi. There are no other two people like them. I can't picture them not together and it's heartbreaking to know there story was short, but beautiful none the less. 

It was touch and go throughout and it kept me on my toes. I read in one sitting and loved everything about the book and everything it brought to the Elite series. I can't wait to read the next in the series. 

Andi is dying, yet so full of life. She brings out another Sergio, I swear. She was like a miracle worker. When I thought of Sergio before I pictured a broody, depressed, angry man, but with Andi he was anything but. She got him to laugh, and to admit his fears. She brought him to life and it was beautiful to read. 

5* and I wish I could rate it higher. 

Bound by Duty (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles Book Two) By Cora Reilly

Buy Link: Bound by Duty

Dante – The Boss – Cavallaro’s wife died four years ago. On the verge of becoming the youngest head in the history of the Chicago mafia, Dante needs a new wife and Valentina was chosen for the role. 
Valentina lost her husband, too, but her first marriage had always been for show. When she was eighteen, she agreed to marry Antonio in order to hide the truth: that he was gay and in love with an outsider. Even after his death, she kept his secret, not only to preserve the honor of a dead man, but also to protect herself. But now that she’s about to marry Dante, her castle of lies threatens to crash. Dante is only thirty-six but already feared and respected in the Familia, and he’s notorious for always getting what he wants. Valentina is terrified of the wedding night that might reveal her secret, but her worries prove unfounded when Dante shows her the cold shoulder. Soon her fear is replaced by confusion and indignation. Valentina is tired of being ignored. She’s determined to get Dante’s attention and desire, even if she can’t get his heart that still belongs to his dead wife. 

Bound by Duty is the second novel in the born in blood mafia chronicle series. I loved the first one that much I immediately went straight out and bought the second. I don't usually spend what I did on an ebook, but this was so worth it. 

Valentina is in the first book. We meet her briefly at Aria and Luca's wedding, so I was surprised she got a book of her own, especially when the other books in the series is about Aria's sisters, Gianna, and Lilly. I was going to skip, but something stopped me and I'm so glad it did because I found it hard to put the book down. 

Valentina is a great character. She's strong, independent and funny. I think that's what Dante needed as he also lost his last wife, like Valentina lost her husband. 
This book surprised me more than Aria and Luca's, I don't know if it's because I didn't expect much or what, but I loved it just as much. Valentina's last marriage was a lie. She was married to Antonio who was gay, so they never actually had the proper wedding night. So getting married again she was hoping Dante would rectify that. Then he doesn't make a move on their wedding night and Valentina starts making advances, but they all seem to get shot down until she admits she's a virgin. 
Anyway, the two aren't exactly close, Dante is mourning over his late wife still and doesn't want another weakness in his life as he'll be the new capo soon enough. But then Valentina changes it all, slowly. At times I didn't feel like it worked between them and couldn't understand why she kept trying. But just like Luca, Dante was another strong, alpha male and I warmed to him. It couldn't be helped. I like who he was to her in a sense, but then sometimes I didn't. It was confusing. 

There are a lot of twists and turns that will have you gasping, I did NOT expect what happened to happen. 

Also, we meet Bibi, who we meet briefly in the first book, but not much was said. All we know is she married an older man three times her age and was not happy. He raped her repeatedly, but because they were married the men in the family didn't call it rape. 
Bibi and Valentina are best of friends and family, so we read more about Bibi story. I'm not joking there were parts I literally heaved thinking of the stuff she went through. I hated her husband with a passion and honestly wish she would stab him in his sleep. I really did hate him. He was a mean sadist. 

The story plot to the book was brilliant and I didn't feel like this one ended too quickly for my liking. It was perfect. I can't wait to start the third book which is Gianna and Matteo story, Luca's brother. 

5*

Bound By Honor (Born in Blood mafia chronicles Book One) By Cora Reilly

Buy Link: Bound By Honor

Born into one of the leading Mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi struggles to find her own path in a world where no choices are given. Aria was only fifteen when her parents betrothed her to Luca – The Vice – Vitiello, the oldest son of the head of the New York Cosa Nostra to ensure peace between the two families. 
Now with eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca. 
Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile. 
In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you. 
The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again. 
Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s. 

I came across Bound by honor, purely by luck. I was unsure at first, but reading a few other reviews I was soon swayed and I was hooked from the very first page. 

Aria is the eldest of her siblings. she's the mature one, the sensible one and the one in the most control. Her other siblings are Gianna, who is a rebel with a smart mouth, then there is Lilly who is the flirt, giving all the men a hard time. they have a little brother too but I've forgotten his name, but he's so adorable and protective of Aria. When it's announced that she will be married, at the age of fifteen he goes mad at Luca. It was so cute. 

Anyway, Aria is petrified of Luca. He's the next in line to take over the Familia. The wedding isn't held until she's of age. Even then she doesn't know Luca. He hasn't been in her life at all since they were announced to be married. They both carried on and led their own lives. 

For some reason I was drawn to Luca from the very beginning. He's this cold killer with a cold mask, but when it came to Aria he was so different. He never showed he cared to her, but you could feel his protectiveness throughout the book. 

On their wedding night their traditions are, what can only be described as disgusting. They are supposed to take their wife's virginity, then in the morning the wives of the rest of the family come up to get the blooded sheets, where they will take them down to present to the men in the family. Then they sit and eat breakfast while looking over at it. It's gross and minging. 

Only, you'll be surprised by Luca and his actions on his wedding night. I'm not giving anything away but the book was completely unexpected. 

I was unsure at first whether I'd still enjoy it when I found out how the other men treat their women, but then Luca changed all that for me. 

I loved how the author didn't jump right in with the great sex. She drawn it out. The pain, hell, the whole experience of Aria losing her virginity was so believable. You would honestly think it was real. The author did a fantastic job with that part of the book. It wasn't rushed and took them a long while to even prepare for it. She was really scared. It didn't help that on her wedding day an ex girlfriend of Luca's scared Aria shitless with a comment about him 'fucking her bloody'. 

The only part I think other readers may not like is that he cheats at the beginning of their marriage. Aria finds them and isn't happy because she genuinely wants to make her marriage work, but she just doesn't want to jump in and lose her virginity to him that quickly. 

She forgave him pretty much straight away. Which is another thing I didn't like. It just gave example of the way Gianna, her sister paints her. As a push over. 

The only thing that I will tell you, because I know most people will disagree with the cheating is that Luca had his reasons. 

Because Aria was so scared of him, so hesitant with him he presumed she wanted him to be intimate with someone else. In their family that is how things work. Most men have mistresses. 

When he found out after that she really wanted their marriage to work he honored his vows to her. 

All in all the book is freaking amazing. I loved every single minute of it. I was a little disappointed with how cut short the ending felt. It seemed like it was rushed and everything happened so quickly then it was over, the end. So that was the only downside. 

Apart from that, the chemistry between the Luca and Aria are off the charts. I really enjoyed reading about them and how they progressed as a couple. Aria really did hit the husband load when she married Luca, it could have been worse. 

5* And the author truly does deserve this. 

(Note: There are a few errors throughout the book, but every one was easy to ignore)  

Carter Reed 2 By Tijan

Buy Link: Carter Reed 2

Carter bought his way out of the mafia to protect Emma, but when an old ghost returns to the Mauricio Family, a chain of events starts that can harm everyone. While Carter must decide to return to the Mauricio Family or not, a face that is oddly familiar to Emma comes into her life. She’s given the chance to discover more about her family while tension between the rivaling Mauricio and Bertal Family comes to a head in an explosive way. The truce is officially off, and when the two worlds collide, Carter’s decision is made. 
He didn’t start this war, but he will end it. 
He will do anything to protect Emma. 

This book was so much better than the first Carter Reed novel. I loved it, don't get me wrong, but I found this one was so much more better. Yeah, a lot going on and new secrets coming out of the wood work, but all good. 
Carter's long lost friend who he helped escape when the Mauricio family was under attack years ago is back and ready to take his place at the head of the family. Unknown who to trust after he's attacked and his two friends are killed Cole looks up Carter for help, bringing him back into the fold, especially when Emma is attacked. 

When the Bertal family targets Emma, Carter is back in full force, waiting for his revenge. 
Emma's past comes back and she finds herself finding out she has a long lost sister. Her sister Andy tells Emma that AJ, her brother was the one meant to have kidnapped her as a kid nearly destroys Emma. Then when their worlds collide her sister Andy is taken Emma and Carter stop at nothing to find her. Carter slowly, one by one starts taking down the Bertal family, destroying their businesses as he goes. 

Cole, the new head of the Mauricio family works slower, trying to find the rat in the family and who is working against him. 

The book is full of action and it never stops. I love Carter and his love for Emma, who wouldn't want that in a relationship????? 

5*