Yes, Sweet Temptation has the arranged marriage trope. But no, this isn’t like any other book Cora has written before. Don’t get me wrong, this is still as captivating and addicting as her other books, but the way she built the characters and the plot was somehow different and more enchanting than usual.

Giulia and Cassio’s relationship surprised me in a good way because they really had to learn how to deal with their differences in order to be a happy couple. The scenes were Giulia was trying to convince Cassio of something were endearing and funny as hell. He was frustrated with her most of the time, but you could see it was just a front because he was actually smitten with her. Their banter was simply amazing and I love that their relationship was light and carefree. Well, as light and carefree as a relationship in the mafia can be lol

Individually, Giulia captured my heart ever since the beginning and now she’s my favorite female character in the BIBMC/Camorra world. She’s just like I imagined she would be: quirky, unique, sweet, funny and so strong. Even though Cassio’s reputation scared her, she stood up to him every step of the way. Giulia knew what kind of relationship she wanted and she never settled for anything less. In a world where women aren’t allowed to stand up for themselves, Giulia’s non-nonsense attitude was truly a breath of fresh air.

My favorite thing about Giulia is that she never changed who she was to fit the “trophy wife” mold. Regardless of what other people thought, she was always sure of herself. Also, I loved that her transition from a teenager without any responsibilities to a young wife and mom happened naturally and effortlessly. Nothing about it felt forced. On the contrary, it felt like she was part of Cassio’s little family all along. Seeing her fighting like a lioness to protect Cassio, Daniele and Simone was everything. She handled every adversity with such grace and patience that it was impossible to not fall in love with her.

I have to say I was worried Cassio would be a 2.0 version of Dante, but thankfully, that didn’t happen. He was ruthless, broody and liked to control every single thing in his life, but you could clearly see that he wasn’t a bad person. He always treated Giulia and his children with the respect they deserved and even when they got on his nerves, he never took his frustrations out on them. The best thing is that he respects them because he loves them with all of his heart and not just because it’s his duty. Furthermore, the way he finally let go of the past and embraced his present and future was incredible. His growth as a husband and father is honestly one of my favorite things about this book.

I also loved that Daniele and Simona weren’t just there to fill the space. They weren’t forgotten at all and actually had more scenes than I thought they would have. That made me really happy because it’s rare to find books where the kids are treated like human beings that deserve love and attention. A nice plus is that their scenes made the book even cuter and emotional. Sweet Temptation wouldn’t be the same without them, that’s for sure.

Overall, I feel like this is Cora’s most consistent book. She found the perfect balance between developing Giulia and Cassio’s characters and their relationship as a couple and as parents. Even though the action scenes only happened towards the end of the book, I wasn’t bothered by it because this is a book focused on their family and how they started to trust and love each other. So yeah, if you like the opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, age-gap and single parent tropes, check out Sweet Temptation on March 10th.

Sweet Temptation was a perfect addition to Reilly's mafia romance repertoire. It focuses on Cassio, the Underboss of Philadelphia and someone you may remember from brief cameos in the Born in Blood series. However, Sweet Temptation is a standalone so you don't need to have read either the Born in Blood or Camorra Chronicles series' beforehand - though if you haven't read them, you'll definitely want to after this one! It was so good!

Cassio is recently widowed with two young children under the age of 3. As a busy Underboss, he needs to find a wife who can raise his children during the day and warm his bed at night. Enter Guilia - 18 years old, recent high school graduate with no experience caring for children. What she does have is a strong determination to make the marriage she's been thrown into work and bring together her new, instant family.

One of the things I genuinely loved about this story is the way Reilly tackled the topic of age gaps. There is an approximately 13 year age gap between Cassio and Guilia, and at the beginning of the story, the age difference is quite obvious as these two characters are suddenly thrown together in their arranged marriage. Cassio is in his early 30's, a leader in Philadelphia and heavily focused on work and maintaining power and control in his region. He cares for his two young children deeply but his role requires he puts his job first. Since Guilia is a teenager, she knew she'd eventually become a wife but she never expected to suddenly become a mother too. At the beginning of the book, she just wants to paint and discover who she is as a person. As their marriage and life together progresses, Cassio and Guilia's age gap becomes less obvious. Guilia matures quickly in her new caretaker role and uses this opportunity to discover herself. At the same time, Guilia's presence in Cassio's life is also slowly ridding him of his cynicism as he learns to love life again and all of Guilia's quirks (including her sunflowers!). They were such a perfect couple together!

I adored seeing Guilia's role as stepmother to two young children. As previously mentioned, Guilia has no experience around young children but she's expected to suddenly know everything about them. That doesn't stop this smart, strong, young woman from making the best of her situation by researching all she can on caring for children. As most people know though, theory and practice are two completely different things and you see Guilia's inner strength continue to grow further as she gets thrown learning curve after learning curve. Despite it all, she refuses to give up and becomes exactly what each member in the family needs to overcome their own shadowy past. She was their bright sunflower standing tall in the face of adversity!

I don't want to give too much away about the rest of the storyline but will say it was so incredibly well written. I was hooked from the first word through to the last and didn't want it to end. Cassio was a fantastic character to read more about and I'm so glad Reilly decided to write his story. I can't wait to see what else Reilly releases in future - but in the meantime, I'm going to be re-reading Sweet Temptation and the rest of the Born in Blood and Camorra Chronicles books.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Cora Reilly, Next Step PR and Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Giulia, Cassio, and their kids with all my heart. They made me laugh and cry, they made my heart melt and break. Never for a second had they ever made me feel anger or annoyance towards them, just love and heartbreak. 

I know I've said not too long ago that Gemma Bazzoli was my favorite girl from both series, but that ship has sailed. Giulia (Rizzo) Moretti is definitely my favorite. She was everything I hoped her to be and more. My girl has a backbone. She's cute, she's strong. She's simply PERFECT. I love her, period.

Cassio, Cassio, Cassio. This is my new man right here, who I love. He was better than I could ever imagine. His story broke my heart. I wanted to murder some people on his and his kids' behalf. His relationship with his kids, especially Danielle, made me SO EMOTIONAL. I shed a bunch of tears.

Danielle broke my heart too. My whole soul cried for him. I just wanted to wrap him in a blanket and protect him. Still do, just thinking about the future and that traumatizing plot twist. I CAN'T DEAL WITH IT.

As for Cassio & Giulia as a couple. It is as Cassio said, they were completely opposites, but they complemented each other. They were perfect together, Giulia was indeed everything Cassio and his children needed and some. 

So yeah, I love this book. I honestly didn't think any of Cora's books could beat Twisted Bonds for me, but this one just did that. My favorite of hers so far.

p.s. Cassio is now sharing the number one spot with Nino and Luca.

*ARC PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

Wow!!!!! What an amazing 10 star story that consumed me until the very end. A solid page turner that must be read.

When Giulia turns 18, she will wed Cassio a widow mafia underboss. She must become wife and mother to his 2 children. What starts as an arranged marriage of convenience will turn into so much more.

Yes this is about the mafia but it’s so much more. A young lady who come at a time where a family was destroyed by tragedy. She will put this family back together. It’s a beautifully written love story. I wouldn’t call it dark. Yes there events that are brutal but easily managed as a reading.

The characters were perfectly developed and made me feel for them. An amazing storyline that was unique. This is my first book by this author and I’m really impressed by the quality and dept of this story. Bottomline this is a must read.

Standalone told in a dual POV with an HEA. I strongly recommend this story. I will soon be checking more from this author.

Hello mafia deliciousness! This was my first book by this Author and it doesn’t disappoint! The storyline packed punches, shocking moments and hot heated passion. I loved reading Cassio & Giulia’s journey. It was a terrific mafia read!

**arc provided by author in exchange for honest review**

𑁍 "𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌.” “𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.” 𑁍

ahhhhhhh cora reilly has done it again!!! I loved this book omg. Giulia is one of my favourite heroines out of all of Cora’s books - she is so unapologetically herself and so SO funny, eg.

“If Cassio wants a lady, he should stop robbing cradles,” I muttered.
i genuinely laughed out loud at that, giulia is an actual comedian!!

This book had some of my favourite tropes such as arranged marriage and age gap, and while i wasn’t sure about the children at first i absolutely ADORE daniele and simona ❤️❤️ cassio also really grew on me and i loved seeing both Giulia and Cassio’s growth, as individuals, as a couple, and as parents.

This book was sweet, sexy and so wholesome and my god i love the Moretti family so much!! I really hope we’ll get to see more of them, maybe in the Sins of the fathers ?? *hint hint*

((also every mention of the falcones had me screaming))

I’ve been wanting to read this book to awhile and I just started reading this book yesterday and I just finished it was a really great book I really loved the female lead in this book she is so strong but knows how to handle the H when he is really angry but I really enjoyed this book