So with the whole Netflix crave of this movie I had to give this book a shot. I was really hoping it would have been more of a story line and I'm sad to say I was disappointed.

Such a divisive book! I loved it and the movie but I also loved Fifty Shades of Grey so there's that. I didn't go into it expecting mind blowing revelations about the human race or thinking it was setting out to solve world peace. It's an entertaining book and the mafia trope is awesome.

Well the movie was pretty graphic, so I expected this to be x rated and a bit extreme. That it was. This isn't my usual read but was curious. Not convinced it's for me. It wasn't the best writing, maybe something is lost in translation and the storyline was pretty underwhelming.

Laura is on vacation with her boyfriend and is kidnapped by Massimo and kept to basically be his play thing. While captive she is forced to submit to his every request.
I intentionally have not watched the movie yet, knowing that there is one, because I like to give the books their first shot. That being said, I will likely add the movie to a weekend watch list. It was written ok, but the idea and story line of it was well done. You have to go into books like 365 days with an open mind and know that it is just a book and because your reading it doesn’t mean you condone the behavior that is taking place in the book.

The original description of the story was steamy sex and this was more like abuse and domination. Not a fan. I was tempted to not finish but kept thinking it would get better. Unfortunately it did not.

I'm not sure if I agree that the book is "deeply romantic" but it is definitely sexy. This is one of the rare cases that I enjoyed the movie better than the book. I wouldn't pick it up again, but I do have a lot of friends that would love this book. I will be recommending it to them.

I received an e-arc but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Not really sure where to begin with this book! 3.5 stars I originally watched the movie, then listen to audio and then read the book, complete opposite of the normal order. Without a doubt this was one sexy story. Massimo and Laura have a unique relationship in that he sees her and decides she’s his, ultimately kidnapping her. It takes time but Laura gives into Massimo. It’s a story of the girl falling in love with her captor. Again it’s a very sexy, sensual book but there isn’t a lot of depth to the story and I did not like the cliffhanger ending.

On the brink of death, Don Massimo, who is the head of a Sicilian mafia family, had visions of a beautiful woman. He credits this woman as being the reason he is alive today. Imagine his surprise when he randomly sees the woman of his visions in real-life. The woman is Laura, who happens to be on vacation in Sicily with her boyfriend and friends. Massimo decides that he cannot let Laura get away, so he kidnaps her and gives her 365 days to fall in love with him. If Laura tries to escape, the Don will have her family killed. Will Laura be able to survive a full year with her captor?

I really dislike leaving low rated reviews for books as I can't imagine the heart and soul authors put into their projects. That said, this one wasn't for me. It was described as "deeply romantic," but I found the opposite to be true. The "romantic" scenes were oftentimes abusive and violent. While it's obvious the book features a controlling male character who is completely obsessed with a woman, I just was not expecting the level of violent "romance." This also had a cliffhanger for an ending, but I won't be reading any further installments.

365 Days is the story of Polish Laura who is kidnapped on vacation in Italy by the Italian mobster Massimo, who has been having visions of Laura since a near-death experience years before. He is convinced that she is the key to his happy life, and after seeing her on the street near his home, decides she will become his. After the kidnapping, he tells her that she must stay with him for a full year while he tries to convince her that his life is the life for her.

I thought this book was entertaining. I have read other mafia/kidnapping romances before, and this one has similarities. Massimo starts out very cold and "all about me," but very quickly tries to turn the focus to Laura's wants and needs, honestly in an unrealistic way because it happens so quickly after she enters his life. His choices in BDSM are almost abusive with the women who are not Laura, but seems to be able to switch that off when he is with her, counter to the personality that the author has created for him. However, the BDSM never really gets to the point where both partners are really ok with what is happening, or anything resembling a true dom/sub relationship. Laura is both angry and attracted to Massimo, which she waffles between, but her anger is violent. Massimo both hates it, choosing to "punish" her, but also says he understands and wants her to just feel like she has control, so sits back and takes it. There is really almost no relationship development outside the bedroom, but for erotica that can be common. In fact, to move through some of the days, the author writes that Massimo just disappears on Laura and is generic about her laying around the house, pool, shopping, etc.

My biggest issue is with what I am assuming is a translation problem, knowing this was originally written in Polish. The word choice, especially descriptions during the sex scenes, is very awkward. For example, this is the only book (erotica or just romance) I have ever read that refers to the female genital region in all seriousness as "snatch," and not just once. The dialogue can be bizarre at times, though the point of the interactions does get across. Knowing the main characters both speak English as a second language, which is the language they must use to communicate with each other, I am not sure how their conversations were originally written. The translation issue is more than two characters who don't express themselves well in their second language. It is also odd when Laura says something intentionally in Polish, which is written in Polish, but when Massimo speaks in Italian, all that is said is, effectively, that he said something in Italian. All in all, the book deserves 2 stars for an entertaining plot that kept me reading to the end, but would potentially rate higher with a native English speaking translator. It is hard to judge if the original author is at fault for the bad writing, or the translator.

It seemed, for a moment, everyone was talking about 365 DNI aka 365 Days. I was a little surprised to hear from folks who didn’t read romance and certainly didn’t read mafia romance talking about a story in that genre. It was because a streaming service had the movie available and the floodgates opened. People with no interest in dark romance, captor/captive, or mafia romance subgenres were now in the field. Not only that, they were telling everyone who had already been there how wrong and terrible it is. I had to see what the deal was and share my thoughts.

Before I get into my thoughts about this book let me first explain where I’m coming from. I read mafia romance. I read, and enjoy, a lot of dark romance. Themes and tropes like captor/captive, anti-heroes that are more like villains, hurt/comfort, BDSM of many flavors, and more are the cherries on my sundae. There are very few content warnings that will make me say “Hell naw” to a book.
Mafia romance is what it sounds like. Romance stories about characters that are involved with the mafia. Mobsters, gangsters, crime families – you get the idea. These people are criminals. They’re not good guys. So when you get into reading their romances, expect crime to happen. Some of the softer ones will blur over the crime or focus on mafiosos who are trying to clean up the family from some of the worst of it. Crimes they are involved with include, but are not limited to:
Money laundering
Extortion
Loan Sharking
Drug dealing
Arms dealing
Slave trafficking
Prostitution/Pimping
and more…
Some stories will include various acts of abuse on the characters from domestic violence to childhood sexual abuse. Read the content warnings for the books you’re getting into. This is all part and parcel of mafia romance. These are not sweet books. Most are hot and heavy in more ways than one.

When I first heard of 365 DNI, I was told all sorts of horrible things about it. People who disdained popular dark romance like 50 Shades were jumping onto this book and movie like hungry sharks. Its was fodder for the crowd that had been hungry since Twilight and its ilk had died down. I took it with a heavy helping of salt and ignored it for the most part. I had other things to do.
The fact is, 365 DNI is pretty damn tame compared to what I normally read. So when folks are clutching their pearls over this book and movie, I can only laugh. I’m not saying that there aren’t people that might find aspects of this movie triggering. There might be. That’s ok! I’m just saying, its not as dark as I was told and that the dark parts were very light in comparison to what I normally read.
That said, I give 365 DNO 4 out of 5 stars. It was fun. I enjoyed a lot of the scenes. The story line was predictable but in a good way. I was looking forward to seeing how the author handled the tropes involved and how she would hit those romance beats.

-Spoiler-
The dialogue and Laura’s sass. Laura might be a victim in this book but she is certainly not gonna lie there and let shit happen to her without her commentary. She might be kidnapped and stuck in a situation that is scarey, but she is full of sass in both the book and the movie.
The back stories and “why they are the way they are” for these characters was great. I felt like the characters were believable in this world that Lipinska built. Laura’s heart problem made for easy story transitions but also made her sass all the more understandable – she might be physically weak but her mind is strong. Massimo’s near death experience and seeing his beloved father die has made him very act first, think later, which makes a lot of sense.
The iconic scenes. The shower scene, the blow job while being watched, the club scene, and the plane scene in the book were *chef’s kiss*. So sexy and fun. Of the four, I think the combo of the bj and the club scene really did it for me. The vibe was very on point for mafia romance and bringing in that flavor of “No one touches her” which is common in this subgenre.

The cliffhanger. I did not know there was a cliffhanger when I went into this. Of all the bitching and moaning I heard about this book and movie, you’d think the naysayers would have had a word or two about the story being unfinished. So when I got to the end of the book, I was so pissed off. I disdain cliffhangers. If I know a book has one and the following book isn’t out yet, I will usually choose not to read it. ) I’m still a little mad about it, not gonna lie.

Overall 365 DNI Review
Like I said, I had fun. Its 4 out of 5 stars for the cliffhanger.

Oh my goodness gracious, there are a lot of yummy things all over this book. Action packed and spicy!! Didn’t like cliffhanger but can’t wait for next book.

Finally! 365 Days in English. The movie trailer and the movie itself did not do this book justice. Dark, gritty, and all things sexy.

Loved the movie and then I had to read the book. Loved it as well. I definitely read mafia-type romances and I understood where the story was going. At times it did seem that the pace was off a bit, but this book is all about a man who falls in love with a woman without really knowing her. Unbeknownst to Laura, she is unaware of his, Massimo's, affections until he kidnaps her. From there, it is a love story to prove to her that he loves her more than she can imagine and that his life is not an easy life but he cares for her and asks that she allows him to prove it. Now, it may seem a bit far-fetched but it is a story and I truly enjoyed it. I cannot wait for the second sequel to the movie nor the book. 4 solid stars.


****I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by NetGalley****

I don't think it is completely fair to give a lower review on this title due to the fact it was translated. I did find this book lacked cohesiveness and left a lot. The love story was not significant enough to blow over the originally meeting and reason the characters were together. It is just a lot of word porn and not much pull you in story. I will not be reading the sequel.

I am super surprised to say that I really enjoyed this book. I am not a fan of Mafia romance. And I'm even less of a fan of surprise babies. But somehow I didn't mind any of it in this story. I was intrigued, engaged and invested in Massimo and Laura's very unconventional relationship.
It did get a little repetitive at times, but it never failed to be interesting. Also the steam factor in this book was off the flipping charts.
This is a dark romance, so it's definitely not for everyone. But I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

**possible trigger for Dub Con, murder and violence**

I borrowed a copy of this book from my sister before NetGalley accepted my request to review this book, and I'm honestly glad I did not purchase a copy of my own. I'm sorry, but this book was neither "deeply sexy," nor "deeply romantic," as the publisher notes would like us to think. And the author kept saying that Massimo had a British accent. He is Italian. She also had the main character Laura continually referring to him as, "the man in black" even when she found out his name is Massimo. This was a case where for me the movie is better than the book. I did not like the Massimo in the book at all. Laura came off as very superficial as well. I just did not enjoy this book. I honestly only finished it with the hope that it would get better. Unfortunately, it didn't.

Nope.
Just... no...
I could not get into this one and I did not finish it. It has no story and the very first page is about sex.and then a few pages later he is having sex even though he has someone lined up for that evening. Just no!

How is this story so popular it’s about to become a movie?!?! I just don’t get it.

Absolutely loved this book from start to finish!! The characters were so real, so intense! The steamy scenes were over the top hot! I enjoyed the storyline and found myself unable to put it down! I would definitely recommend this book!

I read this book so no one else has to. I feel really bad for not being as into it as I thought I would be. I have been hearing about this book and was excited to have it translated in English. I watched the movie and felt there was a lot left out so I hoped the book would fill in the gaps. It was as jumpy as the movie and I think some things may have been lost in translation OR I am over smut and it isn't my jam.

3.5 stars. I just didn’t like Laura. She is so judgmental and really quite nasty. I love Massimo. She was really awful to him. I know he kidnapped her but he didn’t take her away from anything that was good. When he was mean to her it was because she was terrible to her. He was hot, Sexy, dark, and dominant. Yum!

Will want to read the next to see what will happen.