Note: I received advance review copies of these books for free, courtesy of Booksprout and the author. I try not to give too many spoilers in my reviews, but I make an exception for Trigger and Safety Warnings.
Book One- Chosen By Blood
Cat’s Stats ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FMC- Addie Kingsley
Love Interest- Eli Gold
POV- 1st person
Genre- Mafia Romance
Sub Genre- Mob
Series- book one of six serial novels
Heat-🌋🌋🌋☄️ (one 🌋= two ☄️). The FMC and LI are pretty catholic in their tastes. They do the things with each other and as part of a trio. And in various locations.
Safety- oh Hells no. Nope. There’s sharing and discussion of past S. A. Plus a cliffhanger. If you’re looking for Safe, keep looking.
Triggers- Violence. Like really, really graphic, gruesome, OTT violence. Language that seems like nothing compared to the violence. Discussion of past S. A. Torture and dismemberment. Explicit erotic content.
Tropes- YASS QUEEN, It’s Good to Be the King, Simply Mad About the Mob, Mafia Princess, Friends to Lovers, Secret Relationship, Badsass heroine.
Mewsings
Observation- the romance in this book is a distant second to action.
What I liked- I loved seeing a female in a leadership position, although, to be fair, she had to work for acceptance because she was a woman. And she’s totally badsass. Some of her choices were not what I’d consider, but she got things done. This book was such a page turner! And Addie is fascinating.
What I didn’t- I really liked this book, but I would have liked more romance to help balance out the violence.
Verdict- I’m going to read the next one immediately.
Book Two- Tainted Blood
Cat’s Stats ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FMC- Addie Kingsley
Main Love Interest- Eli Gold
Genre- Mafia Romance
Series? Y. Part Two of a six part serial.
Heat- 🌋🌋🌋🌋Hot as Hades but with sweet moments. Duo, not trio this time. Light kink.
Safety- Nope. Nope. Nope. Discussion of past sharing. Implied S.A./Gang S.A. Cliffhanger.
Triggers- Graphic Violence, Implied Gang S.A., Kidnapping, Murder, Dinner Parties.
Tropes- Meet the New Boss, Friends to Lovers, Love Connection, Enemy Whack-a-Mole, Badsass Heroine
Mewsings
What I liked- The heroine. She’s smart, sassy, strong, and a wee bit psychotic. I enjoyed the love story and the loving relationship she had with her father. I thought her entrepreneurship was admirable and her idea for a sex club genius.
What I didn’t- we all have our triggers, no?
Verdict- compulsion to read the next installment.
—-
I read these two books first because that’s how Booksprout had them available, with a delay after book two. I managed to wait for the next installment, but only because I have the attention span of a— Squirrel? Where?
—-
Book Three- Blood and Honor
Cat’s Stats ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FMC- Addie
Love Interest- Eli
POV- 1st person
Genre- Mafia Romance
Sub Genre- Revenge
Heat- differs. The first scene in particular was gentle and loving and was completely appropriate to the story. I wouldn’t give it a heat rating, but it was good.
Series? Y. This is part 3 of a 6 part serial. Cliffhanger.
Safety? Seriously, if you are looking for safety, you should know better by now. No cheating though.
Triggers- Past gang S.A., memories of past S.A., language, explicit erotic content. Extreme, detailed graphic violence. Like magnified exponentially. Don’t eat lunch first.
Tropes- Badsass Heroine, Vengeance Is Mine, Do-Si-Do with the Mafioso, Girrrl Power.
Mewsings
The romance in this one is present, and has a sweetness to it, but it’s not the focus. No, this book is a straight up revenge story, basically to the point of Revenge P0rn. And I must say, our heroine is very creative in her violence. She remains her strong, psychotic self. She was creative in her other ideas for running the Family and the new business venture as well. I’m shocked that she isn’t running crime on a larger scale, actually, but maybe after lunch and zexytime with Eli.
I had a hard time figuring out how many stars to give this one. I mean, the violence was extreme and often hard to read. The triggers weren’t easy. But ultimately, I decided five stars because the story was very impactful and an important part of the saga.
—-
I jumped straight into books 4-6 because they grabbed my attention and hung on. These are some damn good books.
—-
Book Four- Blood Birthright
Cat’s Stats ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FMC- Addie
Love Interest- Eli
POV- 1st
Genre- Mafia Romance
Heat- 🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋 with a little BDSM lite
Series? Y; this is book 4 of 6. Cliffhanger.
Safety? Hahahahahahahaha
Triggers- past S.A., language, explicit erotic content. Not with the graphic violence this time, but it’s still early.
Tropes- Do-Si-Do with the Mafioso, Badsass Heroine, It’s Good to Be the King
Mewsings
At last, we see the club opening, and it’s exceptional. I like that Addie is using talent in her organization without regard to gender. One character is making problems, and I can see the potential for problems with another dark horse character. We shall see…. This one was not violent like the other books in the serial, and it’s refreshing, particularly after the previous book’s bacchanalia of bloodbath. I liked that the story spent some time on the romance between Addie and Eli. Eli really is an Ultimate Book Boyfriend. Of course, the bombshell dropped at the end really made me want to read the next book, dammit. I’d have been really pissed if it wasn’t available yet.
Book Five- Blood Bond
Cat’s Stats ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FMC- Addie
love Interest- Eli
Genre- Mafia Romance
Heat- 🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋 holy hotness!
Series? Y; 5 out of 6 in series. Cliffy.
Safety? You’ve got to be f-cking kidding me. (But no cheating.)
Triggers- Language, Violence, Discussion of Extreme Violence, Past S.A., Explicit Erotic Content
Tropes- Badsass Heroine, Secrets and Lies, Dysfunctional Family FTW, Hail to the King Baby, Do-Si-Do with the Mafioso
Mewsings
This series just keeps getting better. The betrayals keep coming, from expected and unexpected sources. There’s another character I’m keeping my eye on; we’ll see if I’m right in the next installment. Love the relationship between Addie and Eli. And they certainly have a unique way of doing family events. Their zexytime is super hot. Even, or especially when either of them is angry or having a rough day.
—-
And then she realized that this next book was the last…
—-
Book Six- Blood and Lies
(In which all of the proverbial chickens 🐓 come home to roost)
Cat’s Stats ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
MMC/FMC- Eli and Addie
POV- 1st person multiple
Genre- Mafia Romance
Heat- not so much, for very good plot reasons.
Series? Y. This is the conclusion.
Safety? Oh, son.
Triggers- graphic violence, discussion of past graphic violence, mutilation, discussion of past S.A.
Tropes- I’M THE KING OF THE WORLD, Badsass Heroine, HEA
Mewsings
Addie is growing up. She’s not quite as psychotic in this one, but she’s keeping her options open. Nice HEA. And I was right about the character I’d been suspicious of. But this book could easily have been another hundred pages or so and I still wouldn’t have been satisfied. I want more. I want to know what happens with the new rival family, and who hired a certain event to happen. And I want more Addie and Eli. This was such an excellent series and I hate to see it end!
This series is compulsively readable. The FMC is the best blend of psychosis and badsassery, with just enough vulnerability to keep her interesting. The concept for the series is OTT, but her struggle to gain and maintain power as a woman in a traditionally male role is real. I like that she doesn’t want to be the Queen- she’s going to be the King, baby.
But these books are not for the faint hearted. There are more triggers than an NRA swap meet. There’s violence. Extreme, OTT, gory, graphic violence. There’s discussion of and memories of S.A. And though the main characters don’t cheat, this series doesn’t have more than a vague acquaintance with Safety. If you can handle the triggers, however ( cough violence cough), this is an excellent series and I highly recommend it.
Comments