Showing posts with label mafia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mafia. Show all posts

Thursday, July 22, 2021

✯Release Review✯Quiet Wealth (Quiet Mafia #1) by J.L. Drake




Title: Quiet Wealth
Series: Quiet Mafia #1
Author: J.L. Drake
Genre: Mafia Romance
Release Date: July 22, 2021


BLURB

A twisted mafia romance about quiet wealth and refined darkness

Sienna

It’s been ten years since he left me with nothing but a pendant, a photo, and a broken heart. He was but a ghost, there one minute and gone the next. I picked myself up, dried my eyes, and built my life without him. Now he has come back into my life like a raging storm surrounded by crime and bloodshed. I no longer need him, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want him—or just a little taste…

Elio

Ten years ago, I had to leave behind the only light I had in my life. Without her, I live in darkness. I am not proud of the things I’ve done, nor the blood that’s been shed. Everything I did had been to protect her. We live by our code—family, power, loyalty, and protection. Our empire is built on the bones of our enemies. Now that she is back and we have a second chance, they will learn one way or another you do not touch my queen.

Capri Famiglia will rise to the top no matter the cost, bloodshed, or the lines that will have to be blurred.


✯✯5 Elio & Sienna Filled Stars!!!✯✯


OMG finally!!! I feel like I have been waiting for forever for J. L. Drake to hit publish on her next release for decades. I gotta say after reading the first part of Elio and Sienna’s story the wait was SO worth it. 


Since this is going to be a three part trilogy I really don’t wanna give much away. 


Sienna was living a life of misery. Between starving and the beatings she wanted to give up.  She just hoped her mom returned for her soon. 


While taken a rare breather so found a pond and then found a friend in Elio, the boy next door. 


For year’s they were just friend’s and then they grew into so much more. His parent’s took her in as their own as well. As long as Sienna had Elio in her life she was OK. Until one day him, his parent’s and everything that was them was gone. And, Sienna was left again for the second time in her life. 


It’s been ten year’s since Sienna lost Elio and his parent’s. The only thing she has to prove to her he’s real is the crow necklace he gave her. 


Sienna was alone and on the street’s when she met Wyatt and he took her in and now they’re both journalists. 


When her bosses found out about her past they talked her into doing an exposé and she did it in hopes her mom would find her. 


Next thing a big time hotshot reached out to her boss to hire her to do an article on their oil business that people have been trying to get for year’s. 


The last thing Sienna thought was the guy she’s meeting with is Elio’s best friend/business partner. Sienna want’s to run away from Elio but she can’t. Her heart, body and soul are connected to Elio. No matter how powerful and scary he’s become he’s still the boy she met in the woods ten years ago. 


Elio never wanted to leave Sienna all those years ago. He thought if he left her then nobody would know she’s the love of his life and his one weakness and she’ll be protected. 


But, here she is and he can’t and won’t stay away from her again and he refuses to loose her. 


The only problem is another mafia family are back in Italy and they want everything Elio’s family has. 


There’s a rat in his inner circle and he’ll take them all out himself until he finds out whose behind it and stop it once and for all. 


Elio’s also trying to win Sienna back without letting his enemies know who she is to him. 


I read this in less than two days. I couldn’t put it down. This has everything you want in a dark romance read and then so much more. I knew it was going to end on a cliffhanger but when I finished it at 4:45 this morning it didn’t stop me from yelling at my kindle in my empty room LOL. I’m dying for the next part of Elio and Sienna’s story!!









PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU





EXCERPT

Stripping down to just my bra and underwear, I slipped into the water and allowed myself to float, proud that I had finally learned to swim. I splashed in the water, happy for a brief moment. Puffy clouds made their way across the blue sky, and I let myself drift away with them, enjoying the freedom. The smell of the plumeria filled the air, and I pretended it was Mother Nature gracing me with a gift of her perfume.
“I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.” His voice traveled across the water and vibrated through me. I ducked down, careful to keep my body underneath the water, so just my nose was above the surface. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you here.” He peered into the hidey hole where we hid our notes and grinned. “I see you got my notes.”
He was right. I had been avoiding him, but it had come with a cost. His kindnesses and our chats had been so important to me. I realized how much I had missed him. I was lost and felt angry and sad all the time.
He tugged off his t-shirt with one hand and stood in his jeans. I saw the way they hung low on his hips. Elio was two years older than I was, and his body was that of a fighter. Strong, lean, and had that V that Cara always drooled over. Yes, Elio looked spectacular.
“And you’re swimming.” He placed a hand over his heart playfully. “That hurts.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that, even as I swam a little bit farther away from the shore. It was true that I didn’t like people looking at my body, especially because of all the bruises. I was also self-conscious about being so thin, although I had put a little meat on my bones lately. Most of all, I didn’t like the attention I got from the men at the dockyard and the house. It made me feel uncomfortable. I had developed quickly over the past few months, and it was difficult to hide my shape under my clothes.
I treaded water and tried to think of something to say as he dropped his jeans and waded into the water in just his boxers. He dipped under the surface and came up right in front of me.
His dark eyes seemed to be even more intense today, and I felt a jolt when I took a leap and stared into them. It was like someone poured a bucket of warm water over me.
“Sorry,” I whispered, and his eyes softened like he was happy I spoke. “Things have been hard, and I got a little…” I trailed off, unsure how to explain myself.
“Lost?”
“I think to be lost you need to have been found at some point,” I fought back an urge to cry. “I didn’t have a starting point. So…” I shrugged.
“I missed our notes.”
“Me too,” I confessed.
“But I missed you more.” He smiled sweetly. Elio would often be bold with his kindness. I admired that he could say what he wanted without a care.
His eyes flickered as something raced through his mind. I could feel his body language change.
“Do you trust me, Sienna?” I licked my lips and thought about his question. “You know me well enough to know I wouldn’t hurt you, right?”
I nodded because it was true. Elio had never said or done anything to hurt me in any way. In fact, he had cared for me over the years and never asked for anything in return. I felt like he knew me better than anyone else.
“May I take you to show you something?”






COMING SOON


Releasing October 21

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU






AUTHOR BIO


Author J.L. Drake was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, later moving to Southern California where she lives with her husband and two children. 

When she's not writing she loves to spend time with her family, traveling or just enjoying a night at home. One thing you might notice in her books is her love for the four seasons. Growing up on the east coast of Canada the change in the seasons is in her blood and is often mentioned in her writing. 

Her books can be found in different languages around the world.


AUTHOR LINKS




Monday, March 1, 2021

✯Release Review w/Giveaway✯Concede (The Diamond Empire, #1) by Kathy Coopmans

Title: Concede
Series: The Diamond Empire
Author: Kathy Coopmans
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Organized Crime, Enemies to Lovers



A new series of standalone full-length novels from USA Today Bestselling Author Kathy Coopmans.

For years, I pretended to be something I’m not. Drowning the beast living inside of me in copious amounts of alcohol and women. Not that I complained.

And then Victoria Hughes walks back into my life, and took me by surprise.

The woman stunning me clear out of my mind the minute my mouth touched hers.

After tragedy strikes and knocks her off her feet, I expected her to come to me, yet she didn’t. She pretended we’re nothing. But I see her. I’ve watched her, and she’s fighting grief while battling an all-consuming need for vengeance.

If anyone understands that, it’s me.

Deep down, she knows the only way to ease the pain is to give in to me and let justice bleed from her enemy’s veins.
And she will. I’m the type of man to make sure of it.

But there’s a problem. We have no idea who the enemy is. All we know is they want to destroy The Diamond Empire.


✯✯5 Enforcer Filled Stars!!!✯✯
Kathy you’ve made me wait forever to get my hand’s on Seth Mitchell’s story and after finishing Concede I’m here telling you the wait was 100000% worth it!!!


Concede might be the first book in the The Diamond Empire but it’s not the first time you’re seeing a lot of the character’s. Victoria’s parent’s are Deirdre and Aiden Hughes from Kathy’s Syndicate Series. We meet Seth Mitchell from the very beginning of The Unbound Trilogy and again in Abrupt and those follow his brothers. 


I knew from reading Seth’s brother’s stories that I needed more from Seth but OMG I was so unprepared for him. By the end of the prologue after reading him and his niece Lexi’s goodbye that I was in serious trouble Bc I was a blubbering mess!!


Seth Mitchell is moving to New York City for two reason’s. He took a new position at the Diamond Empire run by Roan Diamond. Seth has become the Enforcer for the Empire. He’s taken over for Aiden Hughes. His real main reason for for going to New York is Victoria Hughes. 


Seth has known and loved Victoria his entire life. She think’s he’s the Devil and he’s here to show her how right they are for each other. 


It took them 20yrs to kiss and then some and Seth wants to smack himself for waiting that long LOL. Seth wants her to let him in. He also has a job to do for the Empire and right now they’re connected. 


There’s been an attack on the Empire and Victoria’s lost some of the closest people to her and they’ve got no leads on whose behind it. 


Seth’s job is to protect Victoria. He also want’s her to trust him to let him in. Seth want’s her to see they’re perfect together and to trust him 100%, to let him in on everything she’s feeling, thinking, scared of and wants her to desperately to accept him for every part of him. 


The more time Seth spend’s with Victoria the more he wants to give her. Seth want’s to take away Victoria’s pain.  He love’s her laugh and will do anything to make her laugh. Seth’s also close to finding out who’s behind the attack’s on the Empire but it doesn’t come fast enough. 


Victoria Hughes is the daughter of Aiden Hughes, enforcer of the Diamond Empire. While Victoria loves her parent’s, sister and two brother’s as well as her extended family. She’s not a fan of the mafia portion of it. Victoria wants no part of that side of the family business but she’s still very much a part of her family. 


When half of Victoria’s family is taken out in one night she’s devastated. She can’t believe she’ll never see them again. When Seth Mitchell show’s up she wants to scream. 


Victoria’s hated him her entire life. Or so she says to him but her insides keep telling her something else. She’s too busy dealing with her grief (so she thinks) then to deal with her real feeling’s for Seth. 


He lets her know he’s taken the job as Enforcer and part of his job is keeping her safe and he wants her.  Victoria doesn’t want him but her body is betraying her.  


Victoria can’t stay away from Seth no matter how hard she tries. He knows how to use her body to make it come undone. Victoria’s tried to play hardball but she can’t. 


Victoria’s seen how her aunt wanted nothing of the business then fell in love and became the Queen of the Empire when she gave into her feelings for Roan. 


Victoria’s realizing tomorrow’s not promised. There’s never as much time left as you’d think and hope for. She’s wasted a lifetime staying away from Seth Mitchell and she doesn’t wanna stay away from him anymore. 


Victoria’s learning to live with loving Seth and him doing his job for the Empire. They’ve promised each other he’d do his best to come home to her every night. Then there’s another attack and they’re both fighting to come home at the end of the day. 


Holy smokes!!!! Kathy Coopmans absolutely KILLED this story. 


Victoria was so strong.  She loved her family and Seth so much. Victoria learned how to be with Seth regardless of his job with the Empire. Victoria also learned to love the new person she was becoming. Victoria wanted vengeance. She wanted the people behind the attack taken care of. She also wanted whoever set up her brother Diesel taken care of and him outta jail. 


Seth Seth Seth. He owned my heart!! His relationship with his niece Lexi was beautiful.  Let’s face it Lexi OWNS all three of the Mitchell brother’s LOL but I dunno her and Seth brought me to tears MULTIPLE times. I also came to tears with Seth and Gabe, the man who took him and his brother’s in and became his father. The way Seth loved Victoria was beautiful!! You’d almost forget he was a killer with the way he was with her. With him going to rehab for his drinking but really quick I realized he didn’t need alcohol anymore Bc he had Victoria. 


After finishing this I’m DYING for Diesel’s story!!! I’m gunna be losing sleep till I get my greedy hands on it. 


Read for Free with KindleUnlimited
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide




“Where the hell do you think you’re going? It’s snowing out there.” It’s a blizzard. Colder than a witch’s tit. Blowing snow and below zero temps. The only thing I’ll never get used to in this city.

Victoria’s body tenses, which I don’t like at all, still, she’s going to answer my question. She has no choice. I won’t let her walk out the door looking like that. Fuck what Theo thinks or says when he gets here.

“No shit, Sherlock, this is New York. We get snow, and sometimes several feet all in a matter of hours. Maybe you should move south of the border. As far away from me as you can get.”

“Cute. Not going anywhere, Victoria. Neither are you.” I grin. Nothing turns me on more than her sassy mouth. Except maybe when the time comes where she says my name. “Now, answer my question.”

Slamming her hands against the counter, she whirls on me, enough to stumble me back a step. Her lips set in a thin line. Pure fire behind her stare, and goddamn if it doesn’t make me want to plant her on the counter, kiss her in a way that reminds her who she belongs to.

Instead, because I’m sure she’d bite my tongue off, I lean forward, grab her hips again, our mouths only inches apart. Her lids flutter, lips parting, and making me want to devour her.

“I don’t have to answer you, now back the fuck off.” She gets a free pass on swearing this one time. She might be slowly conceding to the dark side, but her soul and spirit are too flawless for trash talk.

Unless I’m balls deep inside her.






USA Today Best Selling Author Kathy Coopmans is a Michigan native where she lives with her husband, Tony. They have two son’s Aaron and Shane.
She is a sports nut. Her favorite sports include NASCAR, Baseball, and Football.
She has recently retired from her day job to become a full-time writer.
She has always been an avid reader and at the young age of 50 decided she wanted to write. She claims she can do several things at once and still stay on task. Her favorite quote is “I got this.”

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Tuesday, December 22, 2020

✯Release Review✯ The Russian Bodyguard (Krasnov Brothers, #3) by Rie Warren

Title: The Russian Bodyguard
Series: Krasnov Brothers
Author: Rie Warren
Genre: Mafia/Dark Romance
Release Date: December 7, 2020
 

I am her bodyguard.
I’m her only hope. 
I’m going to break her, teach her, train her.

I cannot stand this prissy brat who practically throws herself at every guy she meets. Yet I’m tasked with babysitting her. The pakhan’s daughter tests my patience, makes me want to break out in uncontrolled violence, or maybe just throw her down to show her what all her teasing does to a real man.

She’s untouchable. Until a Russian rival mafia comes seeking revenge. I’m about to teach the printsessa a lesson she’ll never forget, and I guarantee she’s the one who will be taking my orders from now on. 

The Russian Bodyguard is book 3 in the Krasnov Brothers series. No cliffhangers. No cheating. Includes vivid, steamy scenes. Can be read as a standalone.


✯✯5 Maksim Filled Stars!!!✯✯


Omg I’ve wanted this story since I read The Russian Thug!! I knew once Sasha and Maksim gave into their feelings for each other they were going to be explosive. 


We start off right after we left off. Arkady and Lucia are getting married and everybody’s that’s everybody is there. 


Maksim would like to just be able to enjoy his older brother’s wedding but unfortunately for him he’s on the clock 24/7. His job is to be a full time babysitter to Sasha, who’s the only daughter to Yuri Zolotov. Maksim is tasked with keeping her safe and alive no matter the costs. 


Maksim and the his brothers don’t get to enjoy the wedding long bc they’re ambushed and Sasha is kidnapped. Luckily, Maksim has gps on her and gets to her quick. 


The last thing Sasha thought she’d been doing that day was being taken by somebody and then having to get dirty in the process. That wasn’t the worst part. 


The Zolotov Bratva is under attack over something that happened years ago with Yuri and another Bratva and now they’re coming for payback. 


Yuri knows what to do to keep his only daughter safe. Sasha will marry Maksim. Sasha is instantly against it but Maksim agrees immediately. 


Maksim lets Sasha know once they’re married she’ll do what he say’s no question’s asked or he’ll bend her over until she understands him. Sasha is both furious hot and bothered. 


If you read Arkady’s book you were prob hot like I was reading it. But, man Maksim was hotter!!  Sasha has always been a pain in his backside but lately she’s gotten under his skin for different reasons and he wasn’t sure how he felt about them. 


Safe and Maksim are usually at each other’s throat’s fighting for everything that you can imagine. Now, they’re married, living alone in a small place and they’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop with their enemies. They’ve also given into their desires. 


OMG I read this book in a day!! I was wondering what was going to get Sasha and Maksim together after them hating each other for so long. It was so much better then I could’ve ever thought up myself. 


After reading all about the Krasnov brothers and the Russian mafia life. These brother’s are equally dangerous and hot and they’re all on my favorite list. 


I’m equally attracted to another set of mafia brothers we met in The Russian Thug. Jo’s brothers who are now allied to the Krasnov and the Zolotov Bratva. I’m all for the O’ Sullivan brothers.  






Maksim’s chest heaved as he read me the riot act. “You are fucking impossible.”

“And you are the worst man I could ever have been shackled to!” 

His hand snapping out, he squeezed my cheeks hard. 

I tried not to flinch, but his grip was vise-like. 

Maksim lowered his face to mine, his gunmetal irises just this side of demonic. “I really will beat your ass if you ever attempt to go out on your own again.”

“Do it!”

Releasing my face, he yanked me into his unyielding embrace. His mouth crashed over mine with a fury I’d never tasted before. 

I struggled, kicking at anything I could reach. 

He speared his tongue into my mouth, wildly claiming what he thought was rightfully his. Holding me caged against him, he drove a hand into my hair, angling my neck, trying to conquer me. 

I let out a strangled growl then let the rage and arousal explode out of me. 

Wrath, lust . . . I despised him. 

Desire, rage . . . I wanted some part of him. 

Maksim grunted when I licked between his lips, drawing me up his body so we collided in all the right ways—for once. 

We kissed so ferociously, clawing at each other, practically tearing into one another to get some kind of upper hand out of this pure madness. 

And still the heat roared. 

We broke apart just as forcibly as we’d clashed together, both of us breathing hard. 

“I hate you with every single fiber of my being,” I scathed.

“That makes two of us.” A hard sneer crossed his lips that had just been slanted across mine. 

Then, Maksim struck. 

He grabbed both sides of my blazer and ripped it open. Buttons popped off, pinging across the room. I looked down at my ruined leather jacket just as he tore if off my back. 

Breasts thrust against the corset that remained, I saw him through a haze of red when he slung the jacket aside like it was no more than a piece of rubbish. 

I launched back to smack him right across his face, but he captured my wrist in an iron grip. 

He towed me inexorably against him again, and all my feral instincts went into meeting his wild kiss. 

A loud groan thundered from his chest when I rolled my tongue over his then nipped at his bottom lip. His hands roved from my arms to my ass, and he cranked me right against his undeniable erection, which threw me back into that heady spiral of hate and lust. 

His sculpted features came slowly into focus when he drew back. 

A filthy grin the likes of which I’d never seen played across his lips that—goddamn him—had felt perfectly voracious against mine. “Shall I tell you what I’ve been thinking about?”

“What?” All the breath caught in my chest, my voice emerging raspingly. 

His smirk widened. He paced backward a couple of steps. Without taking his eyes off mine, he removed his tie. With a shift of his strong hands, he unbuttoned his shirt from top to bottom. A shrug of ropey shoulders, and he eased the material from his muscular tattooed torso. 

Then his fingers—the ones that had bit into the fleshiness of my ass—dropped to his trousers. 

The belt slithered and hissed like a snake when he removed it. He stepped out of his shoes, toed off his socks, went for the closure of his pants. 

His voice the same gruff timbre as always, he unzipped, saying, “I have been thinking about my cock in your mouth, Sashenka.”







Badass, sassafras Rie Warren is an OG Amazon All Star author of Bad Boy books and MC romance. She delivers five star sex, suspense, and the best banter around. Her stories are one hundred percent original, do not contain fluffy plots or virgin brides, and wring every last emotion from readers to leave them with a satisfied smile. Rie’s tough alpha males are never brought to heel, but are instead healed by the feisty femme fatale of their perfect match. She grew up in Maine, went to college in Iowa (Iowa, what?), lived in Scotland, and married in Englishman. In true roundabout fashion, they came back to the States, settled in South Carolina’s lowcountry, putting down southern roots and pursuing their arty endeavors. Tale spinner and character diviner, Rie is a lover of sleep, wine, and rude memes often involving either Disney characters or Winnie the Pooh. She is raising two teen daughters along with an entire brain full of unruly characters. Rough-talking alpha men? Rie has that on tap. Stubborn sassy heroines? You bet. Smoldering sex scenes that’ll set your Kindle on fire? Check, check, check. Keep a fan handy, you’ll need it. Follow the signup link below to her romance newsletter for sneak peeks, new releases, first looks, and her quirky sense of humor. https://www.subscribepage.com/riewarrenromanceAnd, as always, happy sexy reading to you!



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