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AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

AUTHOR BIO

Sophie lives with her husband, two boys, and baby girl in the Rocky Mountain west. She writes intense, intelligent romance, with heroines who are strong and capable, and men who will do anything to capture their hearts.

She has a slight obsession with hiking, bodybuilding, and live comedy shows.  Her perfect day would be taking the kids to Harry Potter World, going dancing with Mr. Lark, then relaxing with a good book and a monster bag of salt and vinegar chips.

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MY REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5

Dante Gallo is the oldest of the Gallo children. He’s angry, protective, serious, focused, broody, and oh so sexy! He wasn’t always this way though. When he was younger, he was impulsive, reckless, and happy, but if you crossed him you saw the dangerous side of him. A woman changed him and for almost ten years he was the serious, protective, focused Gallo offspring. He was in love and would do anything to keep Simone Solomon, but fate had other ideas for these two, and Simone left Chicago and Dante. Her leaving crushed Dante and made him a changed man. To avoid the sadness and heartbreak he joined the service and left Chicago himself and his family to fight for his country. Now, with his family’s connection to the Irish mafia, he and his brother in-law Callum Griffin two very powerful men in Chicago.

Simone Solomon is young and the daughter of a very wealthy businessman that has her whole life planned out for her by her father. Her chance meeting with Dante changes everything for her. Her father is not happy about her relationship with Dante and goes to extremes to keep her away from him. Unfortunately, a fateful meeting on Dante’s part one night when he is going to meet Simone, scares her more than anything her father has told her and makes her choose a life away from Chicago. Little does she know that it will be the wrong decision and she is just as miserable as Dante because she left him. Another chance meeting will put her back in Dante’s sights and although they try to avoid one another while she is in Chicago, fate intervenes again.

I have loved Dante from the beginning of the Brutal Birthright stories and this story made me fall more in love with him. He is a brick house as a young man, but he is even more of one almost ten years later when Simone sees him again. We’ve never seen a vulnerable side like this to Dante, but Simone sure destroyed him and then she reconstructed him and his heart when she returned. Even though he tried his best to protect his heart and himself, he was no match for fate and her path for these two. The Gallo family has had their fair share of trouble, but this book has both the Gallo’s and the Griffin’s in danger. It was tragic, beautiful, heartbreaking and healing. Dante and Simone have a once in a lifetime love and there was no way they could avoid the collision both times they met. I give this story a 5-star review and am so looking forward to more of the Brutal Birthright series. Ms. Lark is a great storyteller and has a way of breaking your heart and healing you in one book. I highly recommend her books but will give you fair warning that you will need to be prepared for tears, laughs, and anger. She can bring all of these emotions out in one book as well. If you are a lover of mafia romance, Sophie Lark is a great author to go to.

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EXCERPT

Cold, his eyes rake over me. From my scalp, down to my heaving chest. His jaw twitches, his breathing audibly unsteady. Heavy. Rasping. 

“You can’t be her…” To prove it, he brushes the thumb of his free hand down the length of my cheek. Did he ever stop to picture how his little _____ might look seven years after his betrayal? Did he imagine some weak, broken, mournful creature? 

Anyone but me. I am not broken, holding his gaze even as tears blur my vision. I am not some sniffling little victim.

AUTHOR BIO

MY REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5

He was once known as Il Mostro, The Butcher among others, but he’s changed, and he lives his life on the straighter path now. He was once the head of the famiglia, but that didn’t protect him or his family and the day he lost them is the day his life changed forever. He lost everything that day and the days after were pure torture. Donatello Vanici had it all and lost it all. Now his life is making sure that his nephew Vincenzo finishes medical school and has a good life. The only problem is that he could lose Vincenzo too, and it would be the last straw for Donatello.

She wasn’t wanted by her parents. She survived an illness, but it left her mute and her parents saw her as damaged and a pawn. The day that she was taken to Donatello’s house and left was the day her life started to look up, but that changed after Donatello lost his family. He needed to hurt, so he decided to hurt Safiya by selling her at the age of 12. She only tasted a loving house and family for a short time until she was rescued by the Pakhan, Mescha Stepanov and once again her life has taken a turn for the better. The only problem is that Safiya is having a hard time accepting that it will last. The only way she can move on and accept her life with the Stepanov’s is to see the past dead and buried. She has changed her name, but her past won’t let her go. She is no longer Safiya Mangenello, she is now Willow Stepanova.

This story was dark, twisted, and brutal. Donatello was a man in charge until he lost everything and became a broken man that just wanted to live his life and protect his nephew. When he and Vin go a debutante ball for Willow Stepanova, Don finds his world crashing down on him once again and he could lose everything this time, including his mind. His fall won’t be of his own making in the end, but he will get vengeance on the man that has ruined so much of his life. This story ends on a cliff hanger and is full of action, twisted scenes, page turning suspense and great characters. I give this story a 5-star review and am anxious for Queen of Thorns to come out.

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EXCERPT

With outstretched arms, he grabbed the top rope around the ring and tugged it down as he stared at me. A predatory grin played at the sharp curve of his lips, an overwhelming tease in and of itself. 

Those lips were made for sinning. 

Resisting the urge to move, I refused to let him see me squirm. He hadn’t so much as touched me, but he seared my skin with his brand and imprinted himself on my soul with nothing but a look. “You want me to put my hands on you, Baby Girl?” he asked. “I can think of far more interesting ways to entertain you.” 

I swallowed, shaking off the fog of lust threatening to make me jump his bones. 

Well, bone. 

“This is the only thing I’m interested in,” I said. 

“Little Liar,” he chuckled, shaking his head. The look on his face held zero trace of the annoyance most men would have felt if they thought I was playing hard to get. Instead, my resistance only seemed to spur Enzo on and make him more determined to watch me unravel. Something lurked behind his eyes, a demon simmering below the surface even though his face and words seemed otherwise amused. 

I had the distinct impression I was treading water in the deep end and too naïve to realize a current threatened to pull me under. 

“Don’t be a douchebag,” I laughed. “We both know sex would be a blast, but it isn’t going to happen. So put on your big boy pants, jump up here, and show me what you’ve got, Enzo.” 

He complied, pulling himself into the ring with a masculine grace that should have been impossible for a man his size. Enzo moved like an assassin in the night, fluid and silent until he wanted his victim to feel that single moment of pure terror before it all ended. Bellandi men were psychotic, often enjoying the thrill and fear they instilled in their victims before they struck. 

But Enzo was his own brand of crazy. Determined to win, with zero interest in anything but getting the job done, he didn’t do it for joy. 

He did it because it was his duty, and I had a feeling he was a killing machine beneath the careful facade he created to hide what lurked inside him.

ALSO AVAILABLE

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

AUTHOR BIO

MY REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5

Lorenzo “Enzo” Vescovi works for and is part of the Bellandi Crime family. He needed somewhere to work that let him be himself and not have to worry about the PTSD that he has from his time serving his country. His time in the service helps him with his job as head of security for the family. He looks to be a healthy, normal man on the outside, but on the inside, he fights his own battles. He worries about the safety and security of the entire family all the time and he worries that he is missing something while they are at war with the a faction of the Irish Mob.

Sadie has three brothers. She runs her father’s gym since he has retired and has feelings of insecurity when it comes to her father and they gym, but her brothers wanted nothing to do with running it and she loves it. She hides her true self from everyone she loves, with the exception of her best friend Ivory, but they never talk about her issues. She’s tough, strong, and scared. When she finds herself in a dangerous situation, she doesn’t want anyone to protect her because she can take care of herself, but Matteo Bellandi won’t leave her to defend herself. Matteo is the head of the Bellandi family and the husband of Sadie’s best friend Ivory, so when Ivory made him promise to protect Sadie, he knows that he can’t accept Sadie’s argument that she can take care of herself.

This was a great story of two people that feel that they will never find anyone to accept them, flaws and all, but when they find each other Enzo has to convince Sadie that he is in it for the long haul. Sadie has never had a relationship where the guy has stayed around once he gets to know the real Sadie and sees her idiosyncrasies. She doesn’t believe that Enzo will stay around either. I loved the subject matter of Sadie’s issues and Enzo’s PTSD and the way that the story covered both and did such a great job. Reading the Bellandi Crime Syndicate is my first exposure to Adelaide Forrest, and I have to say that I am in love with her stories and cannot wait to read more. Scar’s story looks to be just as deep and intriguing as Enzo’s was. I give this story a 5-star review and look forward to more of the Bellandi Crime Syndicate.