Valerius meets Adaliya briefly one night after she had just shot and killed the man who she believed killed her sister. He took care of everything. Six years later she is now a doctor about to be married to Noah who does not treat her right, yet everyone believes he does. He made some type of deal with her father who now has her in this deal. Valerius is to be married to a woman from another family who he cannot stand because he cannot take over his family unless he is married and with his father dying he is given no other choice. Until his right-hand man Salvatore is in the hospital for stitches and Adaliya is the doctor. Later that night they meet again and she starts putting things together that he has been watching her, she likes it but does not like it. That night they decide to marry she is surprised about everything that happens including the opening of City Hall the Manson in Italy the private jet it is not until much later that she begins to put everything together about who he is. Her agreement is for a year but his family does not believe in divorce. What will happen? This was a good book with very good characters and had me hooked from the first page to the last book I could read again.

This was good! I loved the story. Mafia stories are my favorite thing and I can't get enough! This had a dark mafia man and an innocent woman. Sexy and delicious. Definitely one to check out.

In my world, we live and die for our family. We brand our skin with symbols of loyalty and rank that bind us together. It’s time to step from behind the scenes and claim my birthright, leader of the Cafarelli family. When I started reading I couldn't put it down I read the book in one day.
Olivia Preya is magnifysent writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book

My first dip into mafia romance and I liked it! The steamy scenes were hot and the mafia activity kept it interesting. A couple critiques: It felt a little too long. By the time I got to 75% in, I was ready to be done. I didn't think there would be any climatic resolution but there was and then just enough left open to continue with the next book. Also Adaliya didn't always make sense as a character with her choices and motivations. At times completely submissive making choices going against self preservation and at others times being a loud & opinionated feminist when the situation required the opposite (telling off mafia bosses rather than staying out of it). A minor critique is that the galley I received needed to be heavily edited. Most I have received were not this bad. There were mid conversation name changes, two different minor characters with the same uncommon name, location changes mid scene, and item placement details that didn't match. I really hope these were fixed before publication/release.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

the dedication: To Taryn: Here’s to manifesting real-life romances like the ones in books (without the excessive drama that often goes with it).
the cover: I wish the model had more tattoos since Valerius is mentioned to be covered but it’s still nice 😏
FMC: Adaliya- a doctor stuck in an arranged marriage to save her father and his company. But is the answer to get out of one arranged marriage to enter into a marriage of convenience with someone potentially more dangerous? Adaliya meets Velerius on one of the worst days of her life but she doesn’t let it break her. She’s a strong, capable, smart-mouth FMC who is the perfect counterpart for dirty-talking Valerius.
MMC: Valerius- an Italian mafia don who needs to be married to gain his official title change. This man quickly became my book husband and hot damn does he know what he’s dong….
POV: 1st person, dual POV
HEA: yes
spice: hell yes – full of open-door scenes with plenty of kinks
TWs: domestic violence not between the MCs), murder, violence, racist remarks, cancer diagnosis (not MCs), death from cancer, sexism, death of sibling (past), death of parent (past), death of parent (current),
standalone: book 1 of The Cusp Series Olivia Preya
final thoughts: a top favorite book and I can’t wait to read book 2. Seriously. Go buy this book. It’s amazing and I need Valerius in my life. I’m obsessed.

read this book if you love
😈 praise/good girl
🔫 mafia men
👩 badass FMC
🗣️ nicknames in another language (Italian)
🖤 tattooed MMC
💍 marriage of convenience
😉 plenty of k!nky open-door scenes

A marriage of Convinence and a whole lot of other goodies like Mafia, a strong female, an alpha male, and a whole lot of sexy hot scenes.... It also sets up somewhat for the next book in this series... Of one of which I'm looking forward to reading

Cusp of Darkness had a lot of potential with the story line, but it just didn't completely work for me. I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. Part of what didn't work for me was the way Adaliya was portrayed right from the beginning of the book. She's an accomplished female doctor in her late twenties, yet she's naive enough to let her father force her into an unwanted marriage? On top of that, Valerius treats her as if she is a young child, incapable of taking care of herself (as opposed to simply innocent). I love reading about alpha males, but I also want the woman strong enough that the need for them to be together is because of their emotional connection and not because she's helpless and can't make it without him. I do think I'll give the author another read with one of her other books.

First, thankyou NetGalley for this arc!
I give this one a 3.25 stars.

It was really enjoyable and I really got attached to Adaliya. I'm a sucker for maffia romance, but this one felt a bit flat. I missed background information on some things. It was told really fast and then it jumped to something else. So that was a bit confusing.
The plot at the end (with Adaliya her father) could begin earlier and last longer. It was solved in 1minute.. It would be more excited if this last longer.

Overall, I enjoyed and got quickly through. It is really fast-paced and a good book for a non-English speaker.
I'm excited though for the second book with the side characters!

First of all, thank you to the author Olivia Preya and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Review: 3.5
Spice: 4

I had zero expectations going into this book and was pleasantly surprised with how it all turned out. I was definitely in love with the male main character with how intense he was and his total obsession with the female main character. This big broody serious man was definitely sexy and I loved every scene that he was in. The best part was that it was DOV and you got to hear his inner thoughts which is always a favourite of mine. Hearing how he felt about. her and how he was changing/wanting to be married when he never did before was a nice arc to his development.

The female main character I had a little bit more problems with. She was so all over the place with her emotions and her inner thoughts. It felt like there was less of a gradual evolution of her feelings for Valerius but instead it was hot and cold all the time, even within the same sentence. I also felt like there way major back story missing and it would have tied things in a little better. Her sister and father were a little weird and lacking but their purpose in the story made sense.

Overall I enjoyed this story and it definitely kept me reading till the end.

This book is for you if you like:
Mafia romance
Slow burn
Possessive boyfriend
Steamy

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

The Don and ER doctor love story for the ages. We have the leader of a mafia family falling for someone that has no clue about him nor what he does. This is like an erotic and loving Godfather. Please ma'am some more and maybe a Lifetime or Cinemax movie too please. A great first book of the series, can't wait for book 2.

First, thank you NetGalley and Olivia Preya for my copy in exchange of my honest review.
I will give this book 3.5 stars. It was a good start to The Cusp Series and we have a glimpse of their mafia world. It was steamy and the tension they have the first chapters was great. I like their marriage of convenience, but I feel like something was missing with their background stories, and their families. Also the story it was more towards their romance and not a mix of everything. It was predictable sometimes. And we get the mafia things action more towards the end, and I like more dark and depth with a mix of the mafia world and their romance. Don’t get me wrong, I love romance but also I need more to the story and not only romance. I like the FMC character and I love that she don’t try to resolve things by herself when something happens and I like that she speaks her mind. The MMC always want to protect her and I loved that, but at first when he doesn’t says what he was and keeps avoiding telling her I don’t like it. But overall it was a good story.
Also I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, I think I’m more excited about what’s coming next.

The words Touch her, and you die come to mind when introduced to Valerius Cafarelli. Dark, brooding, morally gray mmc? Yes please! The author does a great job in entrancing you from the first few pages. I found both main characters to be likeable. Further, the scenes are set well as we are taken from New York to Italy (Sicily). The writing is descriptive and keeps you interested. There are no dull moments in this one. If murder, betrayal, marriage of convenience, and a steamy romance are your cup of tea then I recommend picking this one up.

Loved it! Could not put it down. Only thing I wished would have more suspance was the gun fight scene.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. Once a year i come across a book that is everything. This is that book and its not even February yet!! I read this book nonstop. I could not put it down! I went to work and got paid for 8 hours when in reality i sat at my desk all day reading this book. I cant even tell you enough how good this is. The love story might have started a bit unrealistic but it morphed into something so pure. As pure as a mafia romance can get anyway! The love story, the action, the violence.. oh so addicting!!

Valerius Cafarelli is the acting leader of the Cafarelli family. The only way he can be the permanent leader is to marry. Valerius' father set up an arrangement for Val to marry Sofia Perduli. This will combine two families and be better for business. The biggest problem with that is that Val does not like Sofia and does not want to be tied to her for life. Val's mind drifts to Adaliya Solarin, the beautiful "angelo" he helped out 6 years ago. So what if he still keeps tabs on her....she sparked something deep inside of him that just won't go away. When fate brings Val and Adaliya together again, he realizes that they could help each other out of their lingering problems if they both get married to each other. Adaliya agrees to one year and then they will divorce. Problem is Adaliya doesn't really understand who Val is.....the Don of the Cafarelli family!

Of course the longer these two spend together, the more they realize that what they have is something good. Of course as soon as Adaliya is in Val's world, she realizes just what he is. As danger lurks all around them, one thing is for sure....these two belong together. Just when it looks like the danger may be settling down, things blow up in a huge way. At least as the dust settles, Val and Adaliya realizes that what they have is forever!

I just LOVED this very steamy, suspenseful mafia romance. Val was a cold, distant leader except when it came to his "angelo", then he was a big teddy bear. Adaliya was an ER Dr. so not only was she smart, but she was also beautiful and had a lot of trauma in her life. Together these two balanced each other out perfectly. I cannot wait until Naya and Salvatore's story coming next!

Preya obviously has the makings of a very good writer. Cusp of Darkness is an entertaining read, balancing the dark violence and sensuality of the mafia world. The story moved at a good enough pace and the characters grew on the reader as the story unfolded. There were some transitional errors that I hope will be noted and removed from the final book.

I am interested to see where she could develop this series and can see myself returning to read the others.

CUSP OF DARKNESS is the first instalment in Olivia Preya’s contemporary adult CUSP erotic, Mafia romance series. This is Cafarelli Mafia family Don Valerius Cafarelli, and ER physician Dr. Adaliya Solarin’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Valerius and Adaliya) CUSP OF DARKNESS follows the marriage of convenience between Cafarelli Mafia family Don Valerius Cafarelli, and ER physician Dr. Adaliya Solarin. Six years earlier Adaliya Solarin killed the man who attempted to kill her first. In the aftermath Adaliya would come face to face with Mafia family member Valerius Cafarelli who would clean up the mess Adaliya had made, never forgetting about the woman who has stolen his heart. Fast forward to present day wherein Adaliya has been ‘sold’ by her father to pay off a debt, and Valerius Cafarelli must marry before assuming the mantel of Cafarelli Don. An accidental meeting would place Adaliya and Valerius in one another’s orbits, a meeting that would result in the start of a mutual marriage. Agreeing to one year, Adaliya would marry our story line hero, a marriage that would quickly grow into something more. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Valerius and Adaliya, and the potential fall out when both of their pasts take aim at our story line couple.

Valerius Cafarelli needs to marry in order to take his place at the head of the Cafarelli family. Having never forgotten about the woman he met six years earlier, Valerius struggles until a face to face encounter brings Adaliya back into his life. Adaliya Solarin is about to marry an abusive man but hoping to save her father, Adaliya agrees to her father’s demands. When her sister went missing years before, Adaliya has struggled without knowing the who, how or why but secrets revealed find our heroine agreeing to marriage with the man with whom she will fall in love.

The relationship between Valerius and Adaliya begins six years earlier when Valerius is forced to clean up a murder committed by our story line heroine. In repentance, Adaliya will devote her life to medicine but never expected to face the man she met years before. An offer of marriage saves Adaliya from an abusive situation but Adaliya never expected to fall in love. Valerius Cafarelli has never forgotten about our story line heroine, and needing a wife, Valerius makes Adaliya an offer she cannot refuse. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and passionate.

We are introduced to Valerius’ men Salvatore, Dimitri, Nero and Helix, and his cousin Vanessa, and his parents Floretta and Lucio Cafarelli; Valerius’ ex girlfriend Sofia; Adaliya’s ex fiance Noah, and her father Eugene Solarin. The requisite evil has many faces.

CUSP OF DARKNESS is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, family and friendships, relationships and love. The premise is dark, gritty and emotional; the romance is seductive and intense; the characters are charismatic, powerful and dynamic.



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Wow!! Just wow!! I can't wait for the next in the series!! So Good!!
I just reviewed Cusp of Darkness by Olivia Preya. #CuspofDarkness #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Marriage of convenience at its best. Story was gripping from the beginning. Ending felt a little rushed, but all in all it was a great read.

Although I am not necessarily one for spicy mafia books this one gets 5 stars!

Steamy ✔️
Well developed characters although not relatable but perfect for the genre ✔️
A plot that makes sense and flows well ✔️

If you are like me and look for those 3 things then definitely check out this book.