Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Omg yes! Love the drama between the two mafia families. I love the beginning, middle, and end of Aly and Luca’s love story. The author did a fabulous job at keeping the reader focused on their story. As soon as I started the book I couldn’t put it down. I finished this book in eight hours. Can’t wait to start the second book.
The View from Here by Leon Stevens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is one that I am going to be rereading over and over, I can already tell. I started reading it and honestly didn’t stop until it was over. I love Thomas and April, and their friendship that has such genuine rapport. I always adore when I can read a story and fall in love with the characters, or the setting. Everything in me wants to go see the place, and meet Flick. I want to know more about Thomas and April, and if they go back. Truly though, I just want to see it, and explore.
Wild Hare’s Daughter by Laura Koerber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wild Hare’s Daughter was so much better than I expected! This is a new story to me, and I didn’t read the first book in the series, Wild Hare. That being said, this book can (and was) enjoyed without feeling like I was missing something. I was pleasantly surprised to learn it was told from the main character’s point of view, and her DAD’s. More often that not, when we hear a story about a daughter, the focus is on the mother. I really liked this book, it was catchy. The characters were very personable and their relationships real and down to earth. You can feel their personality shining through with their mannerisms and thoughts and language. I really connected and now will go back and read the first book. I will say, I don’t love the cover art- it didn’t draw me in, and now really looking at it, I see so much more than just blue. Highly recommend, and look forward for more.
Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Intense and captivating!
What a great start to a new mafia series! Aly is the bastard child who isn’t accepted in the mafia world and Luca is lucky enough to join a prominent mafia family when nothing else in his life is going right. Sinful Vow is everything you’d expect from a mafia story… dark, twisted, and fast-paced! Luca and Aly fit together seamlessly despite being from rival families. Their story is raw and emotional with just enough steam to keep you hooked.
Shake Loose the Border by Andrea Matthews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the third book in a series. The books definitely build on each other, so it is best to read them in order. Also, there are a lot of characters, so it is easy to get lost if you haven’t gotten to know them all along. The series is a time travel romance. Maggie’s father, Robbie, has been killed. Her wedding to Will is coming up if they can fight through her relatives and someone killing Johnnie Hetherington. It was a wonderful story and hard to put down. Cannot wait to read the next (and last, I think) in the series!
Imperfectly Yours by Anise Storm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There were so many spots in this book that were relatable. The pain that both Elsa and Anton felt leapt from the pages. Imperfectly Yours was a book loaded with a heavy subject, but in the end it showed how one could over come such a thing. Anton and Elsa seemed like polar opposites, but complimented each other well at the same time. I was glad they both got what they wanted and it didn’t end in tragedy as they both dealt with so much of it throughout the story. I really wish I could give an extra half star because I do enjoy this authors stories. I’m two books into this five book series and I look forward to reading the stories about other Titans.
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was the first book I have read in the Dark Mafia series and I will be looking for the others right away. This was a completely different read from the ones I usually chose but I can say for sure that I was pleasantly surprised! The fast pace and drama was just what I needed.
Luca and Aly are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to their rival mafia families. When Aly is thrust into her fathers notice after her half brother dies, she is expected to do what is right for the family and enter into an arranged marriage. Luca has other ideas in mind and gets tired of waiting and takes what is his.
I’m excited to see where this story goes.
•*•❥☆ BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE ☆❥•*••*•❥☆
Chicago Mafia boss Marco La Rosa thought the only woman he’d ever loved had died years ago. But when her brother approaches him with an arranged marriage contract, he learns that she is very much alive and in danger. Bringing her back within the fold of the Five Families is a second chance he can’t pass up. The only problem is, he has to get to her before their enemies do.
On-the-run Mafia princess Elena Caruso cut all family ties to survive. She knows that the Bratva is on her tail and that someday they’ll find her. When she receives word that her cover’s blown, she attempts to flee. But it isn’t the Russians who get to her first. It’s the boy she’s been in love with for years, who’s now a dangerous and devastatingly handsome man—and she’s running from him too.
As threats quickly close in, her only chance for survival is into the arms of the Mafia boss who once held her heart.
Amy McKinley is the USA Today bestselling author of the romantic suspense thriller Gray Ghost Novels, Deadly Isles Special Ops, Covert Recruits, Mafia Elite, Moonlit Destination series, Five Fates paranormal romance series, and several stand-alone titles. Her edge-of-your-seat books are filled with surprising twists and just the right amount of heat and danger. She lives in Illinois with her husband, two daughters, two sons, and three mischievous cats. You can find her at www.AmyMcKinley.com
Carina Alyce is the pen name of the Amazon best-selling author and full-time triple board-certified physician who started writing dramatic medical romances after twenty years in the trenches of health care. She promises she never had sex in a call room – the mattresses are not comfortable – or had a fistfight with a patient – though she did work as a fight doc at the Octagon. Her stories are sexy, snarky, and real with all the romance and drama of the lives of our first responders.
She writes the MetroGeneral Downtown series that tackles the personal and professional challenges facing our front-line providers. You’ll find her stories have the drama of Grey’s Anatomy, the comedy of Scrubs, the sexiness of Outlander, and the medical details of Forensic Files. They feature fast, witty dialogue, strong women with goals, and quirky ensemble casts.
When not working or writing, she is a brown belt in judo, an avid reader, and an attending surgeon in stuffed animal veterinary medicine for her six kids. (No one trusts her husband’s medical skills because he’s just a lawyer.) You can follow her at carinaalyce.com/newsletter or see her dance and make Grey’s Anatomy jokes on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@carinaalyce
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sinful Vow captivated me from the very first chapter of when 10 year old Luca was out with Scott and Jay doing their thing. They were the best of friends. Rossi and Mancini were having a meeting at a park when these kids crossed paths with 2 of the most powerful men.
Rossi is a father of 4 daughters until that day. Rossi decides to take in Luca and treat him as if he was born into the mafia like his other 4 children.
Luca crosses paths with Aly as a teenager and vow’s to always keep her safe. If Mancini knew Luca was getting that close to Aly, there would’ve been consequences!!! This book in mafia fashion has so much going on. So much more suspense then I could’ve ever though. The book was perfectly written. I’m not typically a fan of mafia books but this one was so good. Cannot wait to see what happens in the next book.
Review by @xchellex
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh my goodness… I don’t know where to start. This book is so good! This is the first book of the Dark Mafia Sins Series. It is Luca Rossi and Aly Mancini’s story. Luca and Aly are from rival Mafia families. Luca steals Aly away the night before her arranged marriage, and plans to marry her himself. They have a past together but can they have a future? I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for Aria.
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Not a long one, but certainly a superb one. This story took me out of my comfy chair and into a world of danger, suspense and passion. The endless dramatics kept me on edge and ready for absolutely anything. The characters possessed believable traits and the sexual energy was palpable. An ongoing saga was their lives and I was along for this epic ride. Mysterious and fraught with enemies around every corner, this book will leave you on the knife’s edge from start to stop. Intriguingly delightful, I give this one 5 stars. It was beyond enjoyable.
The View from Here by Leon Stevens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was incredible, it had me guessing the hole way of what was going on, and what was going to happen. A book that really kept me on the edge of my seat to know what was going to happen, or what was happening. A boy and girl go exploring and I was wondering if they were actually hiking or not. It was a short read which was nice I got it done in a day. And the way they worked things out and tried to figure it all out was really good. I really enjoyed this little read and the way it was always wondering what was happening.
To be a Fae Guardian by Tricia Copeland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It only took me one day to finish this book! I read the first and then once I started this one I couldn’t put it down. I love the adventures you go on with Titania. She is such an amazing leader! We got to visit so many different places in this world and meet so many people and I just can’t get enough. This series is amazing. Can’t wait for the next adventure.
The View from Here by Leon Stevens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The View From Here by Leon Stevens is a really original and interesting sci-fi adventure story. I know this author for his gift with poetry, so this was an unexpected find that immediately captured my attention.
This story is fantastically detailed and descriptive- with wonderful worldbuilding that really brought everything to life. I can see it making a great movie, too.
We meet Thomas who is setting off for a day of hiking- but he could never have predicted what awaited him on the trail, soon finding himself thrust into an adventure that spans time and place and testing him on many levels. With different dimensions, dramatic developments, friendship, intrigue, survival, and a crazy adventure- everything Thomas thought he knew will be turned upside down- making for an unputdownable read.
Looking forward to seeing what Mr. Stevens does next!
Happy reading.
Thank you, Leon Stevens!
Reviewed by @angelahayes
Face the Fire by Michele Sims
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Face the Fire was the first book I’ve read by this author and I jumped right into the series in book five. The synopsis describes this as a standalone and I really never felt
lost while reading without any prior knowledge of the series. I thought that the characters were truly strong and well written. I liked Bella and felt as though she was as relatable woman. She was emotionally strong and outspoken and I admired that. This book was not as fast paced as I had hoped it would read for me but the attention to detail was really there. The scenarios and conversations between characters played out in my mind like scenes from a movie. To me, that’s always the proof of strong writing. Overall, the genre itself was out of my norm, but I would definitely be open to reading more in the future.
No Way Out by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Who knew that books centered on Mafia families and their lives could be so well written that you can’t help but be drawn in from the very beginning and don’t want to leave at the end? No Way Out is an amazing start to what I am sure will be a series full of intrigue, romance, and situations I am sure only the Mafia could land the characters in. The characters are easy to get attached to, especially Liliana and her friends who have all grown up in the mafia families of Chicago, but also struggle at times to maintain their own humanity and in the background are trying to solve a mystery from their collective past. Max and Liliana come together in a less than ideal way, but the unexpected twists and the suspense, along with action and just enough romance to keep it interesting and believable without being over the top, make this book one that I was unable to put down. The story is told from both Max and Liliana’s perspectives, giving you a deeper understanding of the story as a whole, and more completely drawing you into their world and their individual stories as well as their shared story together. Liliana is Mafia princess who is also a strong, determined woman who is used to looking out for herself. Max is a bodyguard with a mysterious background and a reason to want to protect Liliana. With so many loose ends in the background of this story, I can’t wait to see where this series is heading from here.
To be a Fae Queen by Tricia Copeland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
~Journey to Middle Earth with a Fae Princess~
I actually started off by reading the second book in this series, and am SO glad I went back to read the first. I won’t share any spoilers of course…Titania is what everyone hopes for in a strong female role. She is relatable, real, and steadfast. I love how as this story is developed, you can clearly see her growth through the struggles that she encounters, in the face of complicated situations.
If you enjoy YA fantasies this is definitely a must read. Fae, Middle Earth, family ties, difficult choices, a realm in need of a heroic young princess. What more could you ask for in a fantastical journey to Middle Earth?
Reviewed by @taylorkstephenson
Smoke & Mirrors by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read the first book in this series and was excited to read this further instalment. The characters were great and well-developed, and I enjoyed Dahlia’s dilemma of being stuck between two worlds. The supernatural elements were particularly enjoyable and the story has depth and complexity. The plot is suspenseful and there’s a lot happening as well as a lot of characters, which can sometimes make it difficult to keep up, but overall I couldn’t wait to finish the novel.
Shake Loose the Border by Andrea Matthews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the third novel in this series. These are NOT stand alone books. If you try to read two or three without having read the previous books you will not have all the information you need to move forward. This story keeps getting more wild, dramatic and crazy as it goes on. There is so much action and suspense sometimes it is hard to know where to focus your attention. That said I am enamored with the characters enough that I can’t wait to find out what happens to them. This storyline has become an absolute obsession for me. As always the author added all those well researched historical facts and details that just make these stories pop… and makes her one of my my favorite authors. Another added bonus is the maps, family trees, and glossaries of obscure words. Now comes the hard part … waiting for book 4!!
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie reviewed by Jessica Pritt
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book!
This is the first time I have ever read in this genre and I absolutely loved it! The book was well written and flowed smoothly. This book was great, it had me on the edge of my seat just flipping pages wanting to know has happened. I really enjoyed this book and want to read more!
Reviewed by: @purplesky25276
Ride with the Moonlight by Andrea Matthews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had high hopes for this second installment in this series and I was not disappointed. Once again this author does her research well. All those historically accurate details really are a huge draw for me. One thing I would note is sometimes there is so much going on it is hard to follow and you wish everything would slow down and have all those little details that really flush a book out. I love the descriptions of Scotland and really feel like I can see the image in the way it is described. The characters are lovable and have well developed back stories. Am reading book three today! Can’t wait to see what happens to Will and Maggie next.
Thunder On The Moor by Andrea Matthews
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
After reading the description I was immediately intrigued and couldn’t wait to dive right in. Right off the bat there is a huge plot hole and because my brain got stuck in it I had a hard time enjoying the rest of the book. The pace was so fast the author forgot those little details that bring a story to life. However, I did finish the book and am now interested enough to want to read the next in the series. One thing I am super picky about is making sure an author knows what they are talking about and this book was well researched. I enjoyed the characters and have hope that the next installment will not fall into the “too fast paced” category.
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 Stars
Sinful Vow (Dark Mafia Sins, book 1) by Emily Bowie
Sinful Vow is the first book in the Dark Mafia Sins Series. This is a Romance Suspense that will have you turning the pages till the end to see what happens next. This is a fairly new author to me and I look forward to reading many more books by her. Get ready to be taken on quite the ride with this fast paced story packed with action, adventure and suspense. The twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. This is Luca and Ally’s story, both are from rival mafia families and the cause of the war between the two families. These two have chemistry that is off the charts. Find out what happens next in this absolute must read. If you love dark mafia romance this is definitely worth the read.
Wild Hare’s Daughter by Laura Koerber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a fun and whimsical tale! I loved getting to know these characters. This story of self discovery follows a girl named Amy who realizes she has the ability to fly but has no idea why. As she explores her newfound magical ability, she also tries to find her father. Amy is a lovable character and it was easy to support her on her emotional journey. The magical world created by the author was beautifully imaginative and I could clearly see every detail as I read. The story was an easy and fun read!
Sinful Vow by Emily Bowie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sinful Vow (Dark Mafia Sins, book 1) by Emily Bowie
5 out of 5 Stars
This might have been the author’s first foray into the mafia genre, but Damn! What a first shot!! I was invested, hooked, thrilled from the first page of Chapter One. The story was fun. The characters are real and believable. The banter between Aly and Luca is witty and funny.
Luca Rossi has never had an easy life. Luca had the fortune of meeting Mafia Boss Nicoli Rossi on one of the worst days of Luca’s short life. The only good to come out of it was that Nicoli adopted Luca. That day and the change of fortune would ripples in Luca’s life forever. When Luca was trying to make his bones and protect his family, he stumbled across her. She was young, strong, beautiful and addictive.
She is Aly Mancini, illegitimate daughter of the Rossi’s family rival. The day she met Luca, Aly didn’t know who he was but she knew he was dangerous and deadly. Luca kept turning up whenever Aly needed him for the next 6 years. Aly claimed that she hated his intrusion into her life but, secretly, she felt safe and protected knowing that he would be there for her.
When Aly’s father decides that she has to marry to keep the family strong, Aly doesn’t want to do it. Luca agrees. Luca takes Aly. Is Aly just another pawn in the ongoing feud between the families or does Luca really love her?
The story has so many twists and turns. My heartbroke right along with Luca’s when he thought he was betrayed. My pulse raced when Aly was in danger. The pages flew when plans were being made. My screen got all foggy during the steam! Please tell me Book 2 is coming soon!
Wild Hare’s Daughter by Laura Koerber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 Stars
Wild Hare’s Daughter by Laura Koerber is an interesting and original dystopian story with magical realism, a near future setting, politics, crime, secrets, fairies, tension, imagination, and intriguing characters- all playing out in a small town setting.
Even though this could be read as a standalone, I really wish I had read Wild Hare first before starting this book, as I feel that knowing what happened there would have enhanced my reading experience of this book even more. So, I plan to dive into Wild Hare to remedy that oversight asap.
Thank you, Laura Koerber!
Reviewed by @angelahayes
Imperfectly Yours by Anise Storm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another page turner I could not put down! This author never disappoints and every book series just gets better each book.
Anton and Elsa had a passionate connection, and love that rivaled even the fairy tales. Their long distance love and tight knit marriage works until it doesn’t. When tragedy strikes and miscommunication begins it sets them on a downward spiral that neither could expect. Secrets between them reflect the realities of addiction, loss, and lies as you are taken on an emotional roller coaster with them. This is a story that you have to see to the end.
The Bear at Midnight by Lexie Conyngham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This fourth book in the Orkneyinga Murder series is just as intriguing as the earlier books in the series. The two main characters Ketil and Sigrid are well written characters who always seem to be in the right place at the wrong time getting sucked into finding out the reason for murder. The depth of the descriptions of the area along with the well written characters make the story one that I had a hard time putting down. I will be checking out more books by this talented author.
Wild Hare’s Daughter by Laura Koerber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an unexpected spin on fantasy and magic! I really enjoyed this book and realize there is another which I will be reading ASAP! Honestly though, this book was an adventure where not everything is as we have perceived it before. It had all the best magical characters and the plot and flow of the story made it such an easy enjoyable read! The author showcases real “Out of the box” talent and the ability to totally capture your attention within her story. Just awesome!