Mafia romance - but make it spicy and hilarious. Also add pictures. What do you get? A MASTERPIECE!

🍓 TROPES & THEMES 🍓
✔️ mafia romance
✔️ enemies to lovers
✔️ marriage of convenience 😏
✔️ the feistiest, most enjoyable FMC omg
✔️ touch her and 💀 vibes
✔️ spicyyyy GIRL it’s spicy
✔️ dual POV 🤌🏽
✔️ MMC is in the Irish mafia ok omg 🫠

Firstly, thank you NetGalley for this arc! I’ve seen this book around a lot, and it’s been on my TBR since my friend Charlie hyped it up last year I think. 🤣 so when I saw it there I jumped on it - and got approved! WOO!! And I’m so glad I did. This book WAS SO FUN!!

I don’t read many mafia romance books. I honestly don’t branch away from romantacy period - but I’m glad I did for this story!

Aida our FMC is seriously so much fun, I adored her. She is strong, smart, optimistic and tbh I want her as my older sister. I LOVED HER.

Callum? Please. Dark hair? Blue eyes? Irish? An arsehole? ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️ I knew I would love him before I even met him. 🤣

The opening scene had me going OMG 😱 and 🤣🤣🤣. The pocketwatch? PLEASE. 💀🤣

The story opens with Aida accidentally setting fire to a rival mafia’s family library. How does she have to pay it back? Why, by marrying their oldest son OF COURSE. And they HATE each other. It was hysterical.

But the hate turned to 🔥 turned to 💗. 🥹 the pacing was perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed this book all the way through. I was never bored.

Also… and tbh this may be my favorite part… this book?? It. Has. PICTURES!! It’s ILLUSTRATED!! And there’s some 🌶️ PICS TOO!!! 😱😱😱

This book is popular - and now I see why!! If you’ve been wanting to read something fun, wild, and spicy - pick this gem up right and thank me later. 😏 💅

This was so foolish but I actually enjoyed it. I don’t typically do the mafia romances but this one wasn’t super violent and it was entertaining! Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

This is the first kind of mafia romance that I have ever really read and I was hooked. I need to read more of her books. Banter was next level.

⭐⭐⭐💫
3.5/5 stars

My favorite part of this book was Aida’s quips and sass. It was technically a mafia romance, but I’d hardly call this dark. This was the first adult romance book I’ve read that had illustrations and breaks to listen to relevant songs from the soundtrack – which I thought was a fun addition. I read this quickly and it was easy to jump into, but I gave this only 3.5 stars because it wasn’t as memorable as I was hoping and the MMC fell a little flat for me. I’ll still give the other books in this series a shot though - An interesting world being developed.

This book was incredible! I was hooked from the beginning. Starting this series was so fun! I also love these covers! Overall, this book was great and I was hooked. My rating is a 4.75 stars!

So I finally got to read this one and I gotta say it was okay it could have been maybe a higher rating if the h wasn't such a brat and not in a good way. Spicy without it taking over the plot. Love the badassery but the hero is not as badass.

This was okay. This book was lighter from any other mafia books I’ve read. Well, my motto is ‘the darker the better’. Lol.

I really loved this book! I would recommend it for your bookshelf for sure. Why? I loved the rivalry- the enemies to lovers was like fine wine but with fun twists. So creative it had my jaw dropping at what these characters would put one another through! Then add the hot sex….Let’s just says I couldn’t get enough of Aida and Callum :)

This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. For sure 5 out of 5!!! Just stop reading reviews and buy it! It’s worth it!

I really liked the premise of the book and how it started. The whole fire and arranged marriage was written so well. However as the book went on, I just did not really see the chemistry between Aida and Callum. Even by the end of the book, I still did not really see any connection between them. Overall I'm giving it three stars. Thank you for this ARC!

I definitely picked this up because I love Sophie Lark, but I don't think this book was exactly my norm. I do love a dark romance, but I feel like the characters fell flat and honestly kind of annoyed me. It also feels like everything happened super fast with not a lot of resolution. That being said I did still give this 3 stars because i did enjoy the book overall and it was a nice read from some heavier tomes I read normally. I likely won't finish the series, but I may pick it up again if I need a fast dark read.

It was good, but I was waiting for it to be great.

I think the problem was this book just wasn’t for me. I loved the smut, but smut without substance just isn’t my thing.

I recommend it for those who love mafia romance with loads of hot smutty goodness, this is for you!

What a great series intro!! A mafia romance that trends towards the lighter side of mafia - a good intro to that type of story with great families and characters I can’t wait to see more of. But Aida and Callum - wooooaaah what a start. Aida really is the star - we love a strong, confident woman who doesn’t need a man but is only enhanced by having the right one. A true enemies to lovers with the main characters actively against each other at the start of the book but when they fall, get ready because it’s hottttt! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series and get to know these siblings a little better too!

This was the best spicy/kinda bdsm book I've read since 50 shades of Grey. Seriously, I loved it and will absolutely be following Sophie Lark for new releases!

This is my first foray into mafia romance and if they're all like this, I can certainly see the appeal. Brutal Prince follows the two ruling and long feuding mob families of Chicago, the Griffins and the Gallos. Callum Griffin is the heir apparent to the Irish mafia. They are focused on gaining political power through the race for alderman. If Callum wins the race he will be able to direct funding and desirable zoning permits to further his families empire. Aida Gallo is the baby girl of the Italian mafia. She has never been held responsible for anything and was essentially allowed to run wild. When she inadvertently steals a priceless object from the Griffin home after gate crashing a birthday party, Aida finds herself the subject of a truce between the two families. Callum and Aida are ordered to marry and join the two most powerful families in Chicago, much to each of their chagrin. The story follows the two of them as they learn to live with each other along with managing the election, a clingy ex-boyfriend, and the head of the polish mafia messing with them.

This book is action packed from page to page. When Aida and Callum aren't getting it on with each other, there is some wild plot point going on. I also love Aida's character. She is a freaking hellion that everyone underestimates, and I can't help but identify with her. You will not be bored for a second of Brutal Prince. You also will not see the ending drama coming. It was the perfect amount of unhinged that PERFECTLY solidifies Callum's character arc. This is a great choice for you if you like forced proximity and marriage of convenience romances, but you're looking for something a little dark for a change. I'm not usually one for spice, but honestly all of the plot is totally worth it!!!

That moment when you find a new series to binge! It started off giving Daisy Haites, maybe a little Batman too??? Maybe Peaky Blinders? But as I read on, I realized I had just entered the niche mafia romance world and I loved it!

It was dark, but not too graphic or over the top. It had tons of action, romance, spice, you name it. I couldn’t put it down, and it was just the right length.

4⭐️ 4🌶️

WHO WAS GOING TO TELL ME THIS BOOK WAS THIS FUNNY?!

Sophie Lark is a new favorite author OMFG 🫠😂🤭 I could seriously not stop laughing with this book. It was short, to the point, well written and so so funny. I love a good book that can make me cry with laughter.

Tropes:
- Enemies to lovers
- Hate sex
- Arranged marriage
- Forced proximity
- Touch her and I’ll kill you
- Mafia

I freaking loved our main characters together. They had great chemistry and such good banter mixed in with comedy. Needless to say I was entertained the whole way through. Highly recommend the audiobook as well. It had dual narration and both narrators were awesome. I haven’t done MADJA romance much but I can confidently say I’ll be binge reading all of Sophie larks books and specially this series.

I FINALLY KNOW ABOUT THE STRAWBERRIESSSSSS 🍓🤪

I knew it was going to be insta lovey.. I got the vibe from early on and the shortness of the book confirmed it. HOWEVER, given how much shit they had to go through in such a short amount of time.. it kind of made it ok? At least I didn’t hate it like I normally would. The tension was awesome, the spice was phenomenal, WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT THW SPANKING?? I MEANNNN…. That is a high selling point of I’ve ever seen one 🥵🥵

Anyways… lemme grab the next in the series 🤭

Wow this was my first book by this particular author and I was stunned speechless! This one wasn’t just hot, it was awesome and addicting.

I didn't know that I needed mafia romance in my life, but apparently I did, because I really liked this book! It was a super quick read and very fun due to the mix of romance and action. The plot was fun and helped the book keep a fast pace. The arranged marriage trope is slowly becoming a favorite, especially when it is arranged between two mortal enemies. Aida and Callum genuinely hate each other when they get married and seeing their chemistry develop along with the relationship made the book very interesting. Aida's personality stole the show for me in this book. She's feisty, knows what she deserves, and can hold her own during her family's dealings. I love that she doesn't let people talk down to her despite being the only girl in her mafia family and being married into a rival family. Overall, this is such a fun read and I will definitely be reading more mafia romance in the future. I know I'll also be reading more from Lark soon! I would definitely recommend this romance fans.

~~3 Stars~~ 30th May 2023

Reading this book has made me realise that my interests are in darker material. Although this romance had all the mafia tropes you could want, it fell flat. I needed darker writing and spicier themes to match the tone of a mafia romance. Everything felt too instantaneous and easygoing for the type of story it was trying to tell. It's a perfect easy read for an afternoon, and the spice was spicy for the book's tone. 

I did really like Aida and her strong-headedness. She was ballsy and courageous. Callum was a bit too generic, I wish we saw more of his personality, something to make him unique from all the other mafia men.

Ultimately, I wanted something more substantial from the plot, a reason for me to get lost in the story entirely, but I just couldn't find it. There's nothing that I couldn't find in another mafia book. If you're looking for an easy read and want to dip into the mafia pond, this book would be perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bloom Books and Sophie Lark for this e-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley! This is my first Sophia Lark book and I can see what everyone is raving about! Callum is a dark and broody man while Aida is a wild impulsive woman. This book was fast passed and steamy in all the right places. I will most definitely be ready the rest of the series!!

There was something so addicting about this book! I really was hooked and read it in like two days because I just couldn't stop. It’s one of those quick, salacious reads that lets you escape into your baser desires. The tension and passion is to die for and I’m just a sucker for a broody, overprotective male. This was my first experience reading a mafia romance and I have to say… I’m definitely sold. I completely understand the appeal now. I really enjoyed this story and am totally on board with the hype. I’m definitely interested in continuing this series! I actually really liked all the characters and I want to learn more about them. And I will definitely have to check out more series by this author too.

The only book I previously read by Sophie Lark was Anastasia and it is quite impressive how she can write such different characters and books and have them be so good!
I truly enjoyed reading about Aida and Callum’s journey together. As a recap, they come from opposing mafia families who have been feuding for generations. When Aida starts a fire at Callum’s house, she’s forced into an arranged marriage with him to help his politics career as well as their their family’s mutual mafia interests. But we all know it’s never just a marriage of convenience for long. Throw in creepy stalker exes and other mob bosses and we have the makings of a fantastic book.
Check this out if you like:
*mafia romances
*enemies to lovers
*marriage of convenience
*strong and sassy FMC