Sleeping with the Enemy (Astoria Royals Book 3) by Deborah Garland – Review by Stephanie Runyon

Sleeping with the Enemy by Deborah Garland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deborah Garland’s Sleeping With The Enemy features Priscilla Nolan and Riordan O’Rourke. At the young age of seventeen, Priscilla wanted Riordan to be her first. However, he turns her down. She leaves her house and 3 Bratva men attack her. Riordan kills the men, but not before one had successfully raped her. She disappears before they can deal with the bodies..

Seventeen years pass and Riordan is sitting at a meeting with Grigori, a Bratva underboss. Riordan is the underboss of the Irish Mob. He notices Pasha, Grigori’s submissive pet. When Grigori strikes her after she speaks to Riordan, he becomes angry, but doesn’t intervene. Riordan leaves the meeting with his bodyguard, Torin. While getting in his vehicle, Torin spots Pasha. She attempts to warn them that Maksim, Grigori’s hitman, plans to kill them. Before they can react, gunfire erupts around them. She jumps in front of Riordan and takes a bullet for him.
Why would Pasha save Riordan?

Riordan knows the altered body of Priscilla. She has implants, filler done to her lips, tattoos and bleached her hair blonde. Just when he thinks she was on a revenge mission, his brother Balor reveals Priscilla is an FBI agent. She was on a three-month assignment to gather evidence of the Bratva killing 3 federal agents. She needs to get the thumb drive she has stored at Grigori’s house. However, Riordan has no intention of releasing her back to Bratva.

This is a mafia romance with an edge of intense suspense. The alternating perspective between Priscilla and Riordan is seamless. Riordan’s alpha male persona weakens with his memories of Priscilla as a teenager. Priscilla uses Pasha to be defiant and confident. How well can she wear the mask? Will Riordan help her do her job as an FBI agent? This book is worth reading and will keep readers guessing.

View all my reviews