Celia Aaron wowed me with her dark Acquisition Trilogy so I wanted to hear more from this talented author and this Mafia romance sounded great.. which happily it was. Now Boss of the powerful Philly Syndicate handsome thirty-three yr old Nate Franco was on the edge.. he had to uncover a dangerous rat before it was too late, make mob alliances instead of enemies and ignore his lust fuelled feelings and thoughts for his eighteen year old tempting ward. He’d rescued thirteen yr old Sabrina from a bloodbath, sent her away to Boarding School for five years for her own good and hadn’t made plans to see her again.. but his sweet little ward had grown into a beautiful sexy woman.. and she’s determined to drive him mad.
Sabrina had always loved Nate but she’d waited, she’d dreamed, she’d fantasized and she’d planned it all out.. and now it was time to entice, to tempt, to lure and to let the sexy stubborn Nate know that she, and her v card, were all his. All Nate had to do was to reach out and take them.. but the violence, the blood on his hands, the constant threats from his enemies and the dangerous world he’d become part of were invisible chains stopping him from claiming her. So, with eyes and a heart for only one man, a very determined Sabrina upped her game.. but there was a twisted Russian Bratva Boss who had dark plans for Sabrina.. and all of them were evil.
This wasn’t the dark romance that I was expecting but it did have a few fleeting scenes that I squeamishly delighted in as the villains of the story paid the ultimate bloody price. Nate was a loveable good-hearted bad boy with a witty charm and his possessive protective alpha side came out early on because, even before he’d given up his futile fight to resist Sabrina’s many charms, their souls had connected five years previously. It has insta-chemistry, steam, passion, villains, heroes, drama, action, suspense, a very determined stubborn feisty heroine and the violence was sporadic. Throughout, Sabrina and Nate were loyal, solid, caring, trusting and were perfect for each other. I really really enjoyed this entertaining listen and the dual POV narration was perfect.
Worth a credit? Yes.. it was well-written, entertaining, hot, had humor and was action-packed.