Defiant Princess (Mafia Elite Series Prequel) by Amy McKinley – Review by Desiree Ottinger

Defiant Princess by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Being born into a Mafia family means life is never normal. College was supposed to be a period of time where Liliana, Sofia, Emiliana, and Marissa get to at least pretend to be closer to normal than how they had grown up. Senior year has approached and despite it being their last year of freedom, their families start making plans for their future. Each of them is faced with the inevitable prospect of marrying someone they don’t love or even like. When a Russian mafia member is spotted watching the girls’ house, it can only mean their time is running short. As they each face their fears and cling to the last vestiges of their normal-ish lives, can they make it through together? Or will they succumb to the mafia way and be punished for unknowingly putting themselves in harm’s way?

This prequel answered a lot of questions from the Mafia Elite series that were always mentioned but never truly explained in depth. I enjoyed getting to see the girls in their “formative” years before their lives were not really their own. Each perspective brings a different view into how the girls really became a unit that would do anything for each other. My heart broke a little for each of them as they had to go through yet another tragedy to realize that their lives really are not their own and that they are just pawns in the greater scheme of the Mafia life.

View all my reviews