This was a was my first read by Sophie and what started me into being addicted by her work. I’m a sucker for a great steamy, mafia romance and this is definitely great, I mean enemies to lovers where they actually try to kill one another at one point, Aida and Callum are a great match for each other, so much banter between them too, just watching them fall for each another is gorgeous, fantastic!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Now I can say I have read a Sophie Lark book. I’ve had my eyes on her books for a while and I was really happy to be able to read this one.

While this wasn’t the most amazing book ever it was fine. I felt like Aida and Callum were a little 2D for me. I didn’t connect with them and all. I enjoyed the ride as a whole but really was let down during a lot of the scenes. Something would happen and then it would just fall flat. Aida has a whole bad ass scene but it’s “off camera” and she tells him about it? Lame.

Yes I will read more from her. Yes I will also read the next book.

3.5 stars

4.5
This was my First Sophie Lark and it definitely won’t be my last! i loved this one! I thought for mafia romance it was done so well and so many elements I love in a mafia romance. Action, but sweet and touching at times. big tight families, billionaires, morally grey MMC and a strong as hell FMC. I loved adia so much, her character was so great. You could really tell how strong she was in the writing and i loved all her parts. And the banter/relationship between her and callem was so good, I will never look at a strawberry the same way again with out laughing out load. I can not wait to continue on with this series!

I have very mixed opinions about this book. I loved that it had my favourite trope of enemies to lovers, and felt that this was executed very well. I mean, it felt so realistic that they HATED each other. However, the overall plot didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Brutal Prince is a decent romantic suspense novel involving organized crime families in Chicago. Enjoying it does require an acceptance that both the good guys and the bad guys are criminals. Once you get past that, it’s an engaging story.

This was a new to me author but I’m so glad I was given this one to read! I love a good steamy, mafia romance! Bonus that it was an enemies to lovers where they try to kill one another at first! This book was so great! Aida is a force and I adored her! Callum was a great match for Aida! I loved the banter and pace of them! This book also had lots of drama! Watching these two fall for one another was so amazing! I’m looking forward to the next one! Highly recommend!

aida & callum

at first i really did not like this book but thankfully it turned around! callum is the sweetest protector and i love how aida handles herself. they are so cute but i wish we hadm ore casual scenes between them.
the rating is so low because i think callum in the beginning is low key abusive and his mindset was disguisting

Obsessed!! I absolutely fell in love with this series! Tension throughout the whole book and the spice was immaculate

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: yes
spice: several open-door spicy scenes
TWs: violence, murder, house fire (non-lethal), sexual assault (off page), attempted murder, kidnaping, torture, drugging, death of a parent (recounted), stalking, manipulation
standalone: book 1 in the Brutal Birthright series
final thoughts: this book was a rollercoaster of a read! At first it seemed slow, but it picked up quickly. I love a good enemies-to-lovers with true enemies and trying to murder each other and this book didn’t disappoint LOL I loved seeing the FMC really come into her identity and getting the MCs POVs to show how he was warming to her.
The illustrations added throughout were SO GOOD and helped keep you inside the storyline

read this book if you love

🖤 dark romance
😬 angst
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 great side characters
🏝️ forced proximity (forced roommates)
🌍 world building
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 found family
💖 marriage of convenience
💖 arranged marriage
🤜 enemies-to-lovers
😳 forbidden lovers (rival families)
🔫 mafia

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

i absolutely devored this book, the enemies to lovers was perfection and i couldnt put it down! the banter was perfection and i loved the flow of the story - kept me intrigued and drawn in until the end! the plot was fantastic and what i loved most was that they were actally enemies to lovers! cant wait for the rest of the series!

Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark is book 1 of the Brutal Birthright series. If you love a good enemies to lovers book, this is for you! And I mean legit enemies to lovers. If they aren’t actively trying to kill each other then get out of here. Perfect amount of plot and spice and a very easy read. I'm looking forward to this series as I love this author!

A tale of 2 rival families. The Griffins and the Gallos both hold high ranks in Chicago. The two families form an alliance through an arranged marriage between Aida and Callum. The two are enemies who do what they can to bring the other down, from causing allergic reactions to accidentally setting a home on fire. But as the two learn to fight a common enemy, The Butcher, not only do Aida and Callum discover they are more alike than they thought, but they learn they can actually help each other and their families too. Each of them learns what love really is and fights to protect and save each other. The Brutal Prince is a nice spin on the enemy to lovers tale.

I usually do not read darker/mafia romance books but this was a great place to start. When I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down and finished it within one day. The book was enemies-to-lovers with arranged marriage which is just perfection! I will start the next book in this series immediately!

I’ve never really read any mafia romance booms before reading this book, and i was amazed by how wonderful of a book this is. Sophie Lark does a wonderful job of balancing romance with mafia. Ada and Cam and are two wonderful characters and they dynamic was EVERYTHING. Seeing the two of them fall im love with each other was the most wholesome thing ever!! I can not wait to dive into the rest of this series!

This completely took me by surprise in the BEST WAY!! This is my first book by Sophie and her character development with a solid plot in such a short amount of time was fantastic. I do not know how she squeezed in so many tropes, events, and ups and downs seamlessly but I genuinely read this in one sitting I couldn’t put it down. I’m super stingy with my 5⭐️’s and have been going through a severe reading slump and this pulled me out of it. HIGHLY SUGGEST!

5/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️
5/5 🎧

I was hooked into Brutal Prince from the start. Aida and Callum were such great characters, the hate, then the love and everything in between. Aida was hilarious from beginning to end, the fire and the strawberries had me rolling. Callum was hot as hades while he attempts to break Aida in every way he can. The shower scene was drool worthy as was pretty much all of the spice in this book.

The audio is fantastic, I loved Monica King as Aida and Liam DiCosimo as Callum. Both did an amazing job and I'm looking forward to more of their work.

During my reread I totally forgot how suspenseful the third act is, which is wild considering how exciting it was. I usually think of how funny these two are when I think about this story, but the truth is Brutal Prince has it all. I loved how these two came together in the end, doing everything a bit backwards as they fall in love way after their marriage.

I'm excited to keep going with the rest of the series, I can't wait for Stolen Heir again, which may just be my favorite of the series.

Mafia romance is always a good idea! This was stunning I loved the FMC she was spunky and clever so fun to read! MMC was sexy and dark and I’m here for it! The storyline was 4/5 and the spice was 4/5 for me! This is the start to a series and I can’t get enough to bring on book two!

So, I can finally say l've read a mafia romance. Someone told me that this one was like cozy mafia compared to some of them out there, and I agree with that. And let me tell ya'll, this book has illustrations. Pictures, y'all!! And there was the iconic, "don't touch my wife" moment that we all love.
Usually when I read a romantic suspense I feel skeptical because surely THAT many bad things can't happen in one town, or to one person. But when you're dealing with mafia romance I don't think like that, because what do I know? I guess anything can happen! I
enjoyed this book and will probably read the rest of the series. These are on #kindleunlimited, but I had the ARC.
Many thanks to @netgalley, the author, and the publisher