This one was a bit of a disappointment for it did not deliver. Sadly, the entire book focused heavily on Serafina and the legacy she left behind so there was absolutely no place for the heroine to even get in the story. And ofcourse the hero just couldn't let go of Serafina.

She's gone.
Enough.
Get this.

The words use and overall review shouldn’t reflect personally on the author or any other of her series and books.

A page turner! This book was more than I was hoping for.

This was my most anticipated book of the year and I’m glad it didn’t let me down. Cora Reilly outdid herself.

Now to the main review.
This book is about Sofia a girl who had a crush on her sister fiancé. Destiny player a cruel joke and Sofia had the chance of her lifetime, be the replacement of her sister and marry Danilo. Sofia thought this would be a dream come true, but little did she know her life was about turn into a turmoil. Thanks to her cousin and best friend Anna her life was not as dark. Anna was the light! What made her laugh and enjoyed life a bit more. Anna and Sofia’s friendship was my favorite part of this book.

Some may misunderstand Sofia calling her immature and insecure, but I did get why she had her doubts and fears. Like whom wouldn’t! I loved her!

Now Danilo! Like he reminded me so much to Dante. He was poised, mature, kept his feelings to himself and he was full of pride. I love how his feelings changed, how the author took us along in this journey. Danilo is the type of lover that will not show emotions to fully loving.

As a couple! Loved them! Both were equals! He never was controlling. She loved pleasing him. Anywhere was a corner to show their love to each other. Each place where the sky was present, it was their little heaven.

I loved it and the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars it’s because it was a bit slow at the beginning and saw a bit of spelling errors nothing mayor though.

it's not my fave from Cora Reilly saga and I really can't Serafina's little sister obsessing over her

Wow. Cora has done it again. She has managed to get you to empathize so deeply with the characters, no matter how flawed. Sophia was a constellation prize given to Danilo when she was a little girl. She grew up infatuated by him, while he ignored her every chance she got.

The hurt you feel for Sophia, always being second best to someone else's ghost is heartbreaking. But of course like every mafia character Cora has created, Sophia has a spine, and is fed up. If she had been meek the whole book this would have been a no for me.

The supporting characters were so much fun to get to go. I love it when authors do that. Especially because a lot of them will have their own books. Now i'm excited for the upcoming releases.

*thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As with any review, I always have a hard time deciding how to start talking about the book… so I’m going to start by talking about what I expect from a story. When I start reading something, I hope the author will be able to stuck me into the pages. I need to feel connected with the events and with the characters, because when I’m reading is when I disconnect from my reality and start living things that I would not live (luckily or not) in real life. When I started reading Fragile Longing, I was dragged into the minds of two completely different protagonists who, seeing from the outside, had everything to go wrong. They are, without a doubt, opposite poles. Sofia, as expected, is an extremely sweet person who has a distorted view of reality. She knows the world in which she lives, but that doesn’t stop her from fantasizing something completely out of the curve of her life. Danilo, on the other hand, surprised me. Whoever read the previous books probably built an image of him that is far from matching the real him. Obviously, this is within the expected parameters, since, we like it or not, he is still a made man.
I have to admit that the female protagonist bothered me a little at many times. This may be because on a certain level, I identified with her: not with the fantasies she has when she is very young, but with the intrusive thoughts that make her believe that she needs to fix something that cannot be fixed. In my humble opinion, this something is not even broken, it was just restructured and everyone had to go on with their lives in that way. It’s obvious that this is not exactly her fault; everyone around Sofia is so sorry for the loss of Serafina that they end up impelling her (unconsciously) to do so. In any case, what irritated me even more was the fact that Sofia herself could not leave the past behind. Her attitudes were motivated by the behavior of the people she loved, but she herself had a problem giving up on what happened and ended up hitting the same key repeatedly. It was something that I could not stand for, even understanding her side and taking into account the fact that she was very young.
Regarding to the male protagonist, I also have my reservations, but in general terms, he surprised me a lot and in an indescribably positive way. Forget the Danilo you saw earlier, really. He is so much better! In the course of the book, we do see that he is extremely resentful of the events of the past (and that is the main reason for Sofia not being able to move forward too), but this has much more to do with his wounded pride than anything else. When the book climaxes, he realizes how wrong his attitudes are towards the situation he finds himself in, and starts to really try to fix everything. At that moment, is Sofia who starts to stomp and not get carried away so easily. This is a good thing because she really needed to feel safe with herself before engaging in a romantic relationship, even if that relationship is with her already husband. Not to mention that when Sofia still has problems with self-confidence, she repeatedly tries to push Danilo to the edge, acting completely immature. I can't put into words how much this annoyed me, but the good thing about this all is that Danilo is, by no means, letting go; on the opposite, he understands the way she acts and helps her to mature in her own time. So if you, like me, were afraid about the way Danilo would act with Sofia (mainly because of her age), you have nothing to worry about. Even when he was still stuck in his wounded pride, he didn't push the limits – at least not on purpose.
Another thing that I need to emphasize here are two other relationships portrayed in the book: Danilo and Emma, and Sofia and Anna.
About the first one, I have to say that Danilo is a wonderful brother. Emma means the world to him, and he does everything he can to make her happy. However, although the author made that clear, I missed more moments between them. Everything happen too fast and so impliedly that I was left wanting more. Sofia and Anna’s bond was a different case. The author knew how to work on this beautiful friendship and that was one of the things I’ve loved most about this book. The two have a very healthy relationship that makes you look forward to having something like that too. Not even in my best dreams did I think Cora would portray them in such a beautiful way. While Samuel had Serafina, Sofia was the sister left out because, no matter how hard she tried, she didn't have the connection that the twins shared. So the person with whom she finds this connection is her cousin and best friend, Anna Cavallaro. And I have to say: Anna is such an incredible person who supports and protects Sofia all the time. Their love and companionship is unquestionable and this was proved in every single interaction between them. They are really each other’s anchor, and I cannot explain how nice it was for me to see this!
I could talk about this for hours but I can’t, so I’ll stop myself right now. I just want to say that I really liked that Cora gave attention to other relationships, but without taking the focus off the main couple. In this book, she put the cards on the table and made it clear that love is something that comes with time and dedication, and it is really beautiful to see them learning how to love each other.

In addition: Fragile Longing also showed us a little of what Anna’s future suitor might be and, thanks to that, I will die of anxiety until her book is released!

Fragile Longing is the tumultuous story of Danilo and Sofia.
He's the Underboss to the Indianapolis Outfit. She's his ex-fiances little sister. A match made in hell, if there ever was one.

Danilo is a ruthless, dangerous, alpha obviously seeking revenge and insanely pissed after Sofia's older sister, Serafina, jilted him. Hence, Sofia, the consolation prize. Only, is she really?

Sofia may be a little naive, or perhaps that's just her positive outlook on things, but she proves to be Danilo's perfect match and perfectly capable of stranding her own. She's definitely not afraid of calling Danilo out on his shit and man, does he fuck up. Like, a lot.

But that just means he's got some serious making up to do which I always enjoy. Whilst he proved himself as a cold, asshole, brute he also showed that he is human and loving and can be sweet on occasion when he deems the situation necessary. I loved his relationship with his sister, Emma. She helped show a different side to Danilo.

I would definitely say that the second half of this book was much better than the first for me but maybe that's because I've not read Serafina's story. There were also times where I wanted to kick and scream at the characters. Sometimes in a good way and sometimes for their idiocy. But all in all, I enjoyed this mafia, age gap done in true Cora Reilly fashion.

*Reviewed by Ali at Fallen For Books.

*ARC kindly provided in exchange of an honest review.*

I was very curious to finally meet Danilo and Sofia and they didn’t disappoint me and in the end I wanted to read more about them.

I didn't know what to expect from Danilo but I can say that he surprised me a lot. I was expecting a guy full of anger but he’s a sweet and caring guy. The way he protects Emma is beautiful, he’s an incredible brother.

Sofia is a cute and sweet girl it broke my heart to read every time she doubted herself and doubted how amazing she’s without having to try to look like someone else. It was great to read her grow up and recognize herself as an incredible woman.

Sofia and Danilo didn't have an easy start but when they gave themselves up and decided to invest in their wedding it was incredible. All I can say it’s that they’re a cute couple. On the outside they’re “cool” and controlled people but together they’re hot and have incredible chemistry.

Friendship is an important point in this book Sofia and Anna are best friends and they’re so different that they complete each other perfectly. There are scenes with all “outfit gang” together that really warmed my heart.

I think a word that describes this book well is patience. Patience to leave the past behind, patience to accept who you are and patience to discover, accept and enjoy love.

This book leaves me with a lot of mixed feelings. There were some parts that I absolutely loved (especially the side characters) but also a lot that I disliked.

Let‘s start at the beginning which felt very dragged out and repetitive. Again we had to read about Fina‘s kidnapping and the aftermath of it. I‘ve reached a point where I am completely bored by this storyline. I love Fina and her book is still my favourite but I seriously don’t need to read about the kidnapping from multiples POVs over and over again. I am sure we will get this plot again in Samuels book and maybe even with Nevio and Greta. It’s like Cora can’t create anything else. Yes she absolutely peaked with Fina and Remo, but she could at least try to come up with something new.
Also Sofia‘s insecurities annoyed me a lot. I really understand her feelings but her thoughts circled around the same topics over and over again. It’s definitely not easy for her to live in Fina‘s shadow and being compared to her constantly but I just wished she had more backbone to actually start living her own life. The balance isn’t good for my taste, the book focuses a lot on the past. And the first time of Sofia and Danilo was so horrible. I seriously don’t understand why this was necessary.🤦‍♀️ Sofia acted so stupid. I really didn’t feel sorry for her because she was so desperate.

But of course there was also a lot that I liked. Sofia was definitely a better heroine than Gemma, because she realised that Danilo had to work for this relationship to work as well. She tries to fight her insecurities and some scenes were hilarious, which mostly were connected to her best friend Anna. I wasn’t so interested in her book but now I love Anna and cant wait for her story. I was so awesome to get a better glimpse of her and Leonas and Santino. I am so curious about the pissed of bodyguard now. I hope we will get her book in 2021! Another side character that I started loving is Emma. Sure there wasn’t much information/depth about her but I am intrigued with her story. She definitely deserves better and I hope she and Samuel will find their way together. Emma is a real sweetheart. I loved Danilo so much because he treated Emma so wonderful. Their sibling relationship is great.
And then there was a plot line which I also liked but don’t want to spoil. Let’s just say that Fina‘s kidnapping isn’t the only time when she is mentioned or relevant for the story. You will also know why Danilo‘s chapter have a fish picture. This was so cute. Another cuteness overload was the end! I am so happy about it. And the steam was wow! Who would have thought that Danilo is kinky like that. I was definitely turned on as well ;-D I am glad that Danilo was this patient and I do think his feelings turned out to be real.
Disappointed that again we don’t see anything mafia related. These books are becoming more and more just plain romance stories with the same type of heroine. For me they aren’t mafia anymore because nothing happens in this apartment. Just thinking about it is ridiculous because these men aren’t ruthless or anything. They are a bunch of puppies.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

This book is a standalone but it is part of the world of Born in Blood & Camorra Chronicles, specifically the Outfit, it is about Sofia, Fina's younger sister and Dante's niece, and Danilo, Fina's ex-fiancé, I didn't like Danilo for his apparent obsession with Serafina in pasts books, so I had my doubts about this book but I must say that it was better than I expected.
As a negative point, I think I don't like how lately Cora retell events that have already happened from the point of view of other characters, in this case I understand the need but it was very unnecessary and there were parts that I felt didn’t add anything new to the story, I end up getting bored 50% in, because everything became repetitive, from Sofia's insecurities to Danilo's problems, now leaving that aside, I still liked the book.
When we finally got to the wedding and then there was a fight between them I thought, my God there will be unnecessary drama and I was ready to leave, BUT what I thought would happen did not happen, because Danilo said let's talk and thank you for that, they decided to work as a team to fix their mistakes and give each other a chance, so seeing their relationship develop little by little was what I liked about the book. I really liked both of them even though they are not my favorite couple, I think they are very different from the others so I appreciate that.
Lastly, I really liked the book, the second part saved it for me, Anna and Emma I love them and I want their books now, but I have my doubts with Emma and Samuel I hope that what I feel is going to happen does not happen, Anna I don't know what to predict she’s very crazy, so I recommend it, it does not have strong scenes, so anyone can read it.

In the mafia world, arranged marriages are a common way to bond together powerful families. Sofia is promised to Danilo at the age of 11 after her older sister refuses to marry him. She is beyond excited and spends the next 6 years fantasising about their life together. In her naive teenage mind, she longs to be noticed and loved by Danilo.

One night changes everything and she no longer believes in the fairy tale ending, but Danilo has finally taken notice. He makes it his mission to prove to Sofia that their marriage can be a happy one and I loved how their relationship evolved.

This was a fast paced story told from both Danilo and Sofia's perspectives, which I always love. It starts off fairly slow as the story builds but once they are married it is full steam ahead 🤣

Coral Reilly is a new to me author and I will definitely me checking out her other books.

3.5 stars
I loved the angst and the unrequited love, but at the 50% mark when there's a big change of heart of the two characters, I couldn't really understand why and it made the characters hard to understand. I wish that Sofia had been a bit more independent and less like a doormat when she was younger. The pacing in the beginning half was a tad slow. I did love the chemistry between the characters and this was definitely an emotional romance, however.

Age gap unrequited love and teenage hormones with an aloof unwilling fiance all made this an angst lovers dream. I have wanted this one since I finished Twisted Pride I was anxious to see how their story would play out.
Danilo Mancini needs a new fiance so who better to save face than Sofia Mione the sister of his previous one. I'm not sure who I wanted to slap more Danilo or Sofia's family for their complete disregard for her feelings. The best way to describe her is that she has stars in her eyes when it comes to her intended. I liked how Cora showed Sofia changing over time from the naive teenager who always feels in her sisters shadow to a young woman slowly realising her worth and developing a strong determined personality. Danilo's awakening takes a little longer than I would have liked he was so stubborn and stuck in the past. I am happy to say the author made me fall in love with this couple against all expectations. From stilted awkward meetings to red hot chemistry that slowly turned an unwanted arrangement into a solid loving respectful marriage.

My favourite thing about Sofia and Danilo was their open-minded nature. They communicated well with each other and their character growth was beautiful. This book describes the understanding of been patience. ⁣
[how to leave the past behind and accept yourself]⁣
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Really recommend this book if you like cozy vibe, characters growth, arranged marriage, slow burn, age gap, friendship, and twisted pride aka Remo and Serafina story this book is for you guys.

— FL is a standalone novel but I highly recommend reading Twisted Pride before this.⁣

Cora Reilly always knows how to write addicting Mafia romance stories. And Fragile Longing is no different. Fragile Longing will bring Sofia to her greatest dream man, Danilo. But not everything is perfect for both of them. Sofia and Danilo are facing the aftermath when Serafina chooses the enemy. You can’t blame what the heart desires. There are severe consequences when you do. I feel for Sofia mainly because she is left to pick up the void and marry Danilo. It may be a dream to her but Danilo is not what he seems. She will soon realize this as she grows up. I really felt sorry for Sofia because she is trying too hard to be her sister than be her own. I know that it sucks she has left but try to be yourself, not her. It takes years for Sofia to finally realize who she is. It’s a shame. I really wanted her to find herself sooner than later.Danilo is such a-hole at times. Yeah, the dream girl you wanted left you but did you really want her or her fantasy? Grow out of it already. It does take some time for him but he is willing to forward with Sofia. I understand his frustration with Sofia because she is so stuck in the past that he wants to forget about. Sofia and Danilo can truly be there for each other if they are willing to move forward. They take so much time in the past that they almost mess up their relationship. Stop focusing in the past, it’s now that matters.

I love Cora Reilly's books and her stories set in the underworld, but what happened with Fragile Longing?

Sofia and Danilo's story is linked to Twisted Pride and Bound by the past, where we know that Serafina broke her promise and now her sister is forced to make amends.

The story spans a very long time, when Sofia was still a dreamy and fragile teenager.
But the world in which she grew up puts her in front of choices that she cannot refuse and what was destined to be a fairy tale turns into a nightmare.
She lives in her sister's shadow, despite everything she has done, in the first part of the book Sofia is invisible to Danilo's eyes.
Having to make amends for her sister's mistake, she feels with a consolation prize, a second choice and not a woman to love.
The story promised pain and anguish, but alas I could not get in touch with the protagonists.
For me Sofia was a flat character, so I felt absolutely nothing. On the other hand for Danilo I think he is one of the most stubborn characters written by Cora Reilly.
In the first part of the book the two protagonists will have to get to know each other, but in the second part I did not find a development of the story. They are like two pieces of the puzzle that do not match, although Danilo is willing to do anything to make it work.
Maybe I would have taken more time to better develop the conjugal sphere.
I think this is the first book by Cora Reilly to which I give a low mark. A real shame, but I have high expectations for the next one, the story about Anna Cavallaro, Sofia's best friend.

ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review

I was excited for Fragile Longing because it’s an age-gap/crush-to-lovers/arranged marriage/ mafia romanceabout Serafina’s younger sister, Sofia Mione, and her ex-fiance, Danilo Mancini. Sofia had a longtime crush on Danilo and now she takes Serafina’s place as Danilo’s fiancee.

It seems dreamlike to think you’re marrying your crush, but it’s the opposite for Sofia. Danilo still holds a grudge on Remo for capturing Serafina which hurts his pride and reputation and he didn’t paid attention to her. She can’t help feeling insecure and thought of being the second best. I am gutted for her and lowkey wanted to strangle Danilo for treating her like a child.

I like when Sofia made him grovel. She’s not as fierce as her sister but she’s a gentle, kindhearted soul. I love her patience and she’s beautiful on her own. She deserves not to be a shadow. I wish Danilo sees it sooner. His anger took over him and unintentionally hurts her feelings. They have a good chemistry and their love story is good. However, I’m craving for more conflict that isn’t related to Remo and Serafina. Overall, this is a tame mafia romance and a great starter for those who haven’t ventured in this trope.

Cora Reilly is one of my favorite romance authors and i know going into her books that I’m gonna enjoy it. I have been so curious about what happened after Twisted Pride with Danilo and Sofia. What I liked about this book was that it started with the events from twisted pride. We got to see the POV of Danilo and Sofia and how they processed things during those events. We get to see Sofias infatuation with Danilo grow and basically become an obsession. While I did like going through Sofia being a child to tween to teen to young adult, the book kind of dragged for me. All of Sofia’s thoughts were basically her obsessing over a grown man who barely gave her the time of day and comparing herself to her sister. I felt bad for Sofia in the beginning but the older she got the more infatuated she got, the more annoying she became. Danilo on the other hand wasn’t phased by her at all and definitely had an a-hole vibe to him for 90% of the book. Also his issues with having meaningless sex with blonds was weird and had me wanting to junk punch him. Toward the middle to end of the book there were a few sexual scenes that i didn’t love in this book. There was one scene in the woods in particular were it felt rapey to me and was was so put off. In the end the relationship between the two main characters felt a little forced. They aren’t my favorite couple and I just didn’t feel the chemistry between them. Overall I did enjoy Reading this and getting to see Samual and Anna and I have hope for their story. Like most Books by Cora, I read it fast and had fun so I’m not mad I read this. I do recommend reading if your love the Camorra Chronicles. 3.5/5 stars. Thanks to the author for providing me with an arc for review.

Every time I read one of Cora’s book I feel the need to reread all of them. I love being immersed in her mafia world. Her characters are always stronger than they think (women) and the sweet then we think (men).
This story is no different. Read this to find out what happened to Danilo after Serafina and Remo got together. Sofia is volunteered, is it a hardship? We will find out for sure in this book.
This was thrilling honestly and I couldn’t wait to read it. It took me no time to dig in deep and every moment pulled me in deeper and deeper.
I do feel like this on focused more on the couple and less on what was going on between the different families. The first part was kinda slow, but it takes you back to right after Serafina came back from Las Vegas. It tells us most everything that leads up to Sofia and Danilo’s getting together. It’s a long wait to over 50% of the book is Sofia underaged.
But the last part of the book is explosive as the couple work through their issues!

Given to Danilo! "Unable to forget what he’s lost, Danilo might lose what he’s been given."

I really enjoy mafia romance, and this had a different take on it. Sofia takes her sister's place as the family union is needed. Danilo is none too pleased, and Sofia suffers the consequences.

Can she find the strength to find a way into Damilo's hard heart? Will Danilo let her in? Can they find love?

I received an advanced reader copy, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

After Sofia’s sister betrays the Outfit, she takes her sister’s place as the consolation bride of Danilo, the Underboss of Indianapolis. Sofia has loved Danilo since he was engaged to her older sister, never imagining that he could ever be hers. ⁣⁣
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The beginning was lengthy, because we see Sofia as a 12yr old girl, & see her transformation into a beautiful young woman. She struggles to keep her infatuation a secret, realizes too soon that being grown up in the Outfit isn’t all she thought it would be, & that fairytales aren’t her reality. ⁣⁣
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I sympathized with Danilo 100%. He struggled to come to terms of basically switching brides, all to strengthen his alliance to the Capo of the Outfit. He’s angry, betrayed, thirsty for revenge, & ultimately spirals out of control until he breaks poor Sofia’s heart. I didn’t love him because his attitude for most of the book just pissed me off 😂 but I could see why he acted the way he did. ⁣⁣
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I loved seeing the struggle to understand their feelings for each other on both sides, & living lives they never thought they would be leading. I’m a sucker for epilogues & this one warmed my heart 🖤 ⁣⁣
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Honestly, Anna ~ Dante’s daughter ~ was my favorite with her sass, rebellious nature & hilarious comments ~ & I can’t wait for her story 🤞🏼⁣
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*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review* ⁣