Rivals by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well I feel like a broken record, lol. I have said the same about the last 6 books in this series, I loved it. This is my favorite mafia romance series I have read. In Rivals, this is about Mia, one of the New York mob boss’ daughter. Mia grew up sheltered by her father, Joey, and abused by her step-brother Ricco. Her family is not a respected mafia family and she also come to learn about her family’s hand in a sex traffiking ring. Mia wants out and her freedom but her only way to do that is to escape. Mia needs to escape and find Nico La Rosa for protection through marrying him. Since they are technically not allies, Nico has a hard time trusting her when she shows up demanding this marriage. However, the benefits seem to outweigh the red flags. The two of them, after marriage, work to take down her old family. During this process, the two of them find out that they actually have come to care for each other, which completely surprises Nico since he never thought he would marry. Are the two of them able to take down the New York family and find the love Mia never thought she would have?
I have already said it, I loved this book in the series. Once again, the author always knows how to blend love, loyalty, protection, and strong characters into an amazing romance story. Mia is great. While she may have been sheltered, she still grew up in the mafia life and could kick some major ass. She is extremely cunning and a strong character. Nico, just like the rest of the Chicago family mafia men, is amazing. He is a calm present, but deadly. Nico is also low key caring, protective, but also a lover who values honesty and freedom. He never takes that freedom away from Mia, even when he is not trusting her fully. The two of them did not have much banter because of their circumstances, but the author progressed their story so well, the love just shown through the whole story. If you have not read any of these mafia books yet, you are missing out.

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