THE FIREWORKS!

Heated Rivals is the explosive, forbidden love story of James Halloran and Carrigan O'Malley. The O'Malley's book #2, Heated Rivals, begins at the conclusion of Dark Succession. These two Irish families are rivals running the crime syndicate in Boston. It's a banging' good time for James and Carrigan one night at the club, and that's all it takes for them to get under each others skin.

Carrigan is torn between her family duty, as her father as aligned her with potential suitors. Only NO ONE compares to James, and they ways he knows her wants and desires. Their chemistry explodes off the pages. And in Robert spirit, the sexiness is "lovely." OH I enjoy everyone time James says lovely in the book - insert Boston accent.

Look forward to reading The O'Malley;s #3.

Thank you Forever for the complimentary copy.

Must read the first book of this series before reading this book. Really enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the next book to release.

This was my first Katee Robert book I read and I loved it! This is book 2 in a series and I did not read the first book ahead of time (but I plan on it in the near future) but the story had a nice flow! The main character is given a list by her father of eligible bachelors whom she has to choose to marry. An arranged marriage. She hates the idea of that and tries everything to get out of it. But she is starting to fall for her kidnapper. She has to choose to follow her families orders or have a life of her own! The end left me wanting more!

I enjoyed this one too. Romantic suspense and mafia draw. I enjoyed the chemistry between both characters. I’m excited for book 3

4.5⭐️
The Hallorans and O’Malleys are the ultimate feuding families. Carrigan O’Malley knew she’d be destined for an arranged marriage to secure power for the family, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable now that the time has come to secure a partner. Especially not since the one man she really wants is the one she can’t have, James Halloran. Despite their past, it’s impossible to deny their attraction, even though James needs to focus on securing the Halloran empire.

Katee Robert does so much so well, and this forbidden romance has such excellent tension! The way these two were willing to put themselves on the line for each other made for such a passionate story. Carrigan was such a strong character who didn’t need another person to take care of her and I love the journey of finding the right person to depend on.

You’ll Find —
Forbidden
Rival Families
Romantic Suspense

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Katee Robert for the gifted digital review copy!

I think these books are even better the second time. I forgot how much we get of the whole family durning the arc of the series and I love it so much. I love how Heated Rivals set up everything for Carrigan and James so perfectly. I love how we get glimpses of stories to come and characters that we will love to hate. I just love how thoughtful Robert was when she plotted this series out and how it holds up so well. James is a hero that I love so much and love how he and Carrigan compliment each other so well.

I am going to be so ready for the next book!

Honestly I really love Katee Robert, but this book just wasn’t for me. I still don’t really know what to say about it, but I love her others!

🖤 Arranged Marriage
🖤 Mafia
🖤 Enemies to Lovers


Quotes
✨ “You want me, lovely. You want me so bad you burn with it.”
✨ “With this woman by my side, I’d be content to let the rest of the world burn.”


Carrigan O’Malley is the daughter of a mob boss who wants her to do her “duty” with an arranged marriage to someone of his choosing. She’s escaped him to this point but not long enough. She has little less than a month to choose a suitor that is on her fathers list to marry.

James Halloran is the son of an enemy mob family who in the previous book kidnaps Carrigan after hooking up at the club not knowing who each other was. James of course knows about the arranged marriage that is going to happen and he wants to throw his hat in the ring even if it causes chaos.

Carrigan has to sit through dates with the list of men all while wishing it was James that she could be with. The men on the list are nothing but misogynistic assholes. They just want pretty arm candy and not someone they want to actually get to know. James interrupts one of the dates and saves the day because who wants to consider someone that would show
up 30 minutes late with lipstick on his collar.

Carrigan & James inevitably fall in love but her father is still set on her marrying someone from the list, Dmitri. He’s Russian & he acts like he cares some but you can see how cold he truly is.

In the end love conquers all but there’s a cost to betraying family.

This book like the first has multiple povs of the main couple and supporting characters that will show up in future books. This book is about mafia life style where people do get hurt & some die. This is a darker book so look for triggers before hand.

Thank you Katee Robert, NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this!

I knew I was going to enjoy this after reading Dark Succession and I was right. Katee Robert has yet to disappoint me and Heated Rivals is no exception. I already loved getting to know the three families in Dark Succession and it was so great to get to see so much more of them. Carrigan and James have such amazing chemistry and I loved the way they could challenge each other but respect boundaries. I did think some of the dialogue in the spice was a bit cheesy but it worked for them. I didn't think I'd end up liking mafia romance this much but Katee Robert convinced me again! I can't wait to read the next one.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Katee, you have once again sucked me into one of your various universes and I have no desire to leave it! UGH!

Mafia men? Check.
BOSTON mafia men? CHECK!
"Who hurt you?" NEED I SAY MORE?

As someone who's a Massachusetts native, I love reading stories that take place here. I just hits me on a whole other level! Boston is one of my favorite cities, if not my FAVORITE city so reading about mafia men in a place I love so dearly? I was all in from the first page.

Heated Rivals is the second book in the O'Malley series and I can already tell it is going to be a contender for my favorite book within this universe. As much as I loved Teague and Callie in the first book, Carrigan and James are electric. With both the O'Malley's and the Halloran's with a very tentative truce in place, the grief of losing a brother and being forced into rolls they never wanted in the first place? Let's just say James and Carrigan have more in common than they want to believe. Not to mention the the less than ideal circumstances of how the two met and the whole "forbidden" part, it just kicks everything up a notch.

Carrigan is my favorite type of FMC. She's fiery, headstrong and so incredibly smart that she would be able to make anyone fall to their knees. Even with her father and his unending pressure to get married and pump out babies, she shows her defiance in the smallest ways. She's such a strong character, even when she doesn't want to be. She doesn't want to be attracted to the man who kidnapped her, let alone whose family is responsible for the loss of her brother and yet....?

James is the type of man who would burn the world for the people he loves, damn the consequences. He never expected to be so drawn to her, but he can't stop himself. That one romp in the supply closet wasn't enough to satisfy his tastes for her and even though he's responsible for loss of her brother, he doesn't stop seeking her out. He's thrusted into the roll of being the head for the family, a roll he never wanted let alone trained for and yet he would still put everything on pause for Carrigan.

Overall, I loved this second installment. Between the passion these two share and the growing plot line? I can not wait to get my hands on the next book!

Thank you @ReadForeverPub for the #gifted eARC of HEATED RIVALS.

I was so thrilled to be back in the dark world of Katee Robert’s Boston with the second installment of The O’Malley Family Series. HEATED RIVALS is Carrigan O’Malley and James Halloran’s story.
James and Carrigan are the definition of enemies. After all, he threw her in a trunk and kidnapped her after their one night stand when he realized she was from a rival crime family! But somehow neither of them can get the other out of their system, even if they know it’s a terrible idea and a betrayal to their families.

Like DARK SUCCESSION, HEATED RIVALS is full of tension and desire. It practically drips off the page! I’m looking forward to continuing the series with Cillian’s story next!

HEATED RIVALS is being rereleased on July 3, 2023!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5634280153
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuFJ95IRX8m/

I really enjoyed the beginning of James & Carrigan’s story in Dark Succession by Katee Robert, and I liked the enemies to lovers and forbidden romance when we learned more in Heated Rivals.
This was tense, and fast paced, with some steamy moments while these two got to know each other, even though they both knew the clock was ticking on their time together.

5⭐️ 2🌶
I love Carrigan and James so much! This was just as good as the first book and I’m absolutely loving this series!

This is a forbidden love between family rivals. It’s enemies to lovers. It’s got amazing main characters as well as side characters and I can’t wait to read the next one!
These are seriously my new favorites by Katee!

I received an arc through NetGalley for my honest review

This is the second book in the reissued O’Malley Series and is about Carrigan O’Malley and James Hallorans’ story. We met both of them in the first book when they hooked up at a bar not knowing who each other was. Which I got to say looking back is quite surprising since they are part of 2 of the 3 mafia families in Boston. But to be honest, I didn’t care too much because I loved their chemistry and was pumped that the second book was about them.

There are so many reasons why these two would not be a good match for each other…kidnapping, murder, and her father wants to marry her off to a Russian mobster from NYC. Yet they are drawn to each other again and again. No matter how hard Carrigan fights it, she just can’t stay away from him.

Read this if you enjoy:
🖤 Dark / mafia romance
🖤 Forbidden love
🖤 He falls first and hard
🖤 Open door romance

This book was a good time and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Carrigan and James together is a bad idea. But why does it feel so right?

I knew that after seeing them in the first book (Dark Succession) that I would love Carrigan and James together (despite him kidnapping her in the first book but we'll just ignore that part) Their families are enemies. His family is why her brother is dead. She's soon to be married off soon. There are so many reasons why Carrigan and James are bad together. Too bad they are drawn to one another. They need each other. They understand each other.

It was beautiful seeing them find each other again and again despite Carrigan pushing James away so much. I adored James's character development and his desire to make things better. I do feel sorry for him about the fact that his family is trash. I'm really eager to learn more about the rest of Carrigan's family. There was a lot of spice and angst in this book which made it quite the wild ride!

I'm excited to read the rest of the series!

This one is not my cup of tea. It is, however, a fun read and a fast read. The romance is spicy, even if the dialogue is lacking and the characters fall a bit flat.

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This is the second book of The O’Malleys series, it can be read as a standalone, but it follows along the lines of the first book and shines light on what may come to happen.

I really enjoyed being able to see the characters that were in the first book in this one, but the true shining point of this book was the MFC and the MMC. I loved James Carrigan together and their journey to finally get what they both wanted was fun and at the same time a little heart breaking for Carrigan.

The characters were easy to connect with and were relatable. Carrigan is a great MFC; she is strong, hard headed, let deep down she is just a woman who wants to do right with her family and for herself. James: He is sexy, strong, smart and a little scary in all the right ways. He knows what he wants but for fear of starting a war again, so soon after what happened it takes him a while to open his eyes. However, no matter how much they want to do right with their families, the pull that both feel is strong and that makes for the steamy moments to be even better. You can feel the love that they have for each other even though they try their hardest to hide it from everyone else.

The plot was what I would have expected from a mafia book. There was heartbreak, action, death, and romance. I enjoyed every moment of their book a lot, do I wish that there would have been a little more steam… yes but I know beggars can't be choosers. I was a little let down with how the book ended so quickly and it left me wanting to know more about James and Carrigan. I am hoping that in the next book I will be able to know more about what happened with those two.

I am invested in this series now, and I can’t wait to find out more and see who is next in the match up game. I recommend this book to anyone who likes: Romance, suspense, crime, mafia, and steamy moments.


I want to thank NetGalley and Forever publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

DNF @ 32%

I really struggled with the writing style of the first book, but I wanted to give the second book a fair shot. Similar to the first book, I found the mafia "worldbuilding" clunky and hard to follow. All of the separate side stories going on aside from the main characters felt unnecessary and confusing. The relationship was okay, but I wanted a bit more chemistry between the two of them.

Not sure Katee Roberts' writing style is for me.

With a list of potential suitors that have been provided by her father, Carrigan has just a month to choose a husband to help further their family’s power in Boston. But with a forbidden romance blooming with a rival family’s heir, how will Carrigan navigate the needs of her family, her safety, and her heart?

⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶 3/5

Tropes:
Forbidden Romance
Forced Marriage
Rival Families

Deb’s Thoughts:
This is book two in a mafia series by Katee Robert. I love Katee’s morally gray characters and let’s face it this is just great dark romance. A great quick read that will keep you on the edge of your seat and begging for book three.

Triggers:
Murder
Stockholm Syndrome
Violence

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing, and Forever for allowing me to read this book!

I adore Katee Robert, but this book wasn't my favorite. I felt the book was too fast paced and I didn't really see any realtionship development. I wanted to see more tension between the two main chaacters. I also wasn't a fan of the third person point of view in this book. In my personal opinion first person is Katee Robert's strong suit. I still really enjoyed the book and thought the spice was wonderful.