After reading the blurb Brutal Prince was so not what I was expecting. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this book, I loved it but not in the way I think the author intended. I expected an enemies to lovers, dark mafia romance but while there were darkish elements and episodes of mafia menace, they were balanced out by comedic undertones especially in some of the encounters between the hero and heroine and when Callum got involved with Aida’s brothers and then it became slightly Keystone Coppish instead of opposing mafia families but I loved these characters and the dynamics between them all so much I didn’t care .

Callum Griffin might be an Irish mobster in an Armani suit but he’s no Prince Charming then again Aida Gallo is definitely no one’s idea of your typical mafia princess so when this pair were forced into an arranged marriage by their parents it was clear from the start that there was going to fireworks. There was some sizzling chemistry going on between Cal and Aida leading to several steamy encounters as they went from wanting to murder each other to jumping the others bones before resorting back to threats of violence in the space of a heartbeat, so passionate and volatile was their relationship. I loved how Cal and his family underestimated Aida. She wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty and came with a mean streak which Cal soon learnt to his cost at which point he started to take her seriously and see her for the asset she was. With a strong storyline involving threats from a rival gang leader and secondary plot of a stalker not to mention the fabulous cast of secondary characters I’d definitely be interested in reading more books from the Brutal Birthright series.

Brutal Prince is mafia romance in it's best form. This enemies to lovers story of two mafia families uniting through an unexpected arranged marriage (she catches his house on fire!) is page turning and addicting from the first scene. It had very similar vibes to Katee Robert's O'Malley series, but was grittier and meaner and full of enemies to lovers resistance. The pages worth of tension and anger just made for hotter tension and a super satisfying HEA.

Was this a literary masterpiece?
No.
Was this enjoyable?
Absolutely.
There you go.
This is a very enjoyable book that's ideal for getting you out of a reading slump. It's short and sweet; with constant intrigue. I absolutely loved the faster pace of it as it made sure constantly was giving my full attention.
The characters were established and a lot of fun to read about. loved how we got complexity's to them.
The chemistry from the main pairing was believable.
Usually, I never find myself rooting for the romance in books like this- especially ones so short- but that wasn't true for this.

Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark

-enemies to lovers
-mafia
-arranged marriage
-strong FMC
-age gap
-HEA

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Griffins (Irish mafia) and the Gallos (Italian mafia) have been battling for the Chicago underworld. When Aida and her brothers crash a Griffin's party and set a small fire, war almost breaks out, especially with the Polish mafia sneaking around trying to get any piece of Chicago they can. To keep this from happening, Aida Gallo must marry Callum Griffin and both might just murder each other.

I love that Aida is strong and knows what she wants. She can act and think like a mafia guy. She talks calmly and business-like with the head of the Polish mafia. She eats strawberries and then kisses Griffin because she knows he's allergic.
Their banter really shows the fine line between love and hate. There is so much wit and good comebacks. It has strong characters and strong relationships.

I was hooked right away and didn't want to put it down. It made me want to have a mafia era.

Thank you netgalley and bloombooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Callum and Aida grew up in rival families, but a familial arrangement puts this unlikely match together as a way to ease the tension between the families. Neither one is happy with the setup, but Callum, running for office, needs a loyal partner by his side for image; Aida, with her spunky attitude is more comfortable in her cut offs than being in the public eye.

They didn’t just dislike each other–she tries to kill him on their wedding day.

For what might otherwise sound like a dark read, Lark counters with a heavy dose of humor, and I liked how this quick read laid the groundwork as first in the series. I’m excited to continue on to see what is yet to come for the Griffins and the Gallos.

Enemies to Lovers
Arranged Marriage
Spice
Forced Proximity
Banter

Loved the romance and plot ! My first Sophie park book and I’m obsessed!

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc

Brutal Prince is a mafia romance with plenty of action and a sprinkling of spice.
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Aida and Cal and the spicy scenes were *chefs kiss*!
I felt like a couple of plot points either got glossed over and never revisited (Ollie kissing Aida) or were done with too quickly (the Butcher) but overall I enjoyed the story and would definitely carry on with the series.

4.5★

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Learning the history between these two families and the backstories behind our main characters was a blast. Aida was fierce and strong, with a sharp tongue. Callum was broody and grumpy, with a secret soft side. I felt the writing flowed nicely, which made reading it a breeze and kept me wanting to turn page after page. I needed to know more. I needed something good to happen. This book definitely had some delicious spice and steam. There's also plenty of over-protective, jealous, and "my wife" moments that are to die for. The chemistry and love built between these two was off the charts. I was also surprised by the twists and turns, and I had to cross my fingers that they would get out of their sticky situations relatively unharmed. This was my first Sophie Lark book, and I can't wait to read the next one!

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆:
♡ Enemies to lovers
♡ Forced proximity
♡ Arranged marriage
♡ Age gap
♡ "My wife"
♡ Mafia

A big thank you to Sophie Lark, Bloom Books, and Net Galley for my copy of this arc.

En bref, j'ai aimé l'ambiance, les personnages, leur intensité, les révélations et la façon dont leur romance évolue. Ils n'ont pas totalement réussi à me toucher mais j'ai admiré leur abnégation, leur envie de bien faire et de protéger ce qui leur appartient... ils sont tous les deux intenses en ce sens et j'ai apprécié leurs combats. Les joutes verbales du début sont elles aussi intenses et on ne peut que dévorer les pages pour savoir ce par quoi ils passent. Le final est vraiment chouette et ne nous laisse pas souffler une seule seconde. Une romance mafieuse intense et qui nous fait vibrer avec les personnages !

The Brutal Prince is my first Sophie Lark book, and I devoured it!

The Brutal Prince is the first book of the Brutal Birthright series. I was intrigued by the mix of a mafia romance, a marriage of convenience topped up by the enemies-to-lovers element. The author delivered on every single aspect, and as the pages turned, I was rooting for the key leads, Callum and Aida. The protagonists couldn't be more opposite, and their exchanges are fiery, sassy and snarkiness when it comes to steamy scenes....oh my! Sophie doesn't hold back, and the visual art complements the passion and intensity. The evolution of hate to love and the undercurrent of stakes had me engaged throughout, and the ending, while slightly rushed, was heartwarming. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

Thank you, NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, for this e-ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark is a captivating Enemies-to-Lovers Mafia Romance, combined with Marriage of Convenience. It has once again landed on my top favorite reads of the year.

Meet Aida Gallo, a strong and sassy character, and Callum Griffin, a no-nonsense alpha male. When a chain of events sparks tension between the Gallos and the Griffins, Aida finds herself engaged to Callum, the man she hates.

Aida is brash, impulsive, whereas Callum is emotionally inept and too focused on his career and family. Their initial interactions are marked by mutual dislike and animosity. However, they're forced to marry one another to maintain the peace and make Gallo and Griffin a family.

Of course, nothing is easy between the two. From pranks to intense antagonism, their relationship brims with passion and intensity. Aida's the complete opposite of Callum. Her sassy nature and Callum's focused and emotionless demeanor clash, but somehow the puzzle pieces seem to fit in nicely.

As they navigate the ups and downs of their union, learning the personalities of one another, they can't help but be drawn to each other, and eventually succumbing to their slow-burning chemistry.

Sophie's writing style is fantastic, and I loved the addition of the illustrations.

I highly recommend this book if you love all the tropes I mentioned.

I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my first time ever reading Sophie Lark. She’s been on my TBR for such a long time, I just haven’t had the chance to read her yet but I’m so glad I started with a series. I really enjoyed Aida and Callum. They have such great banter between one another. Aida really gave Callum a run for his money, which I absolutely loved. The humor is top notch. There were so many parts that had me chuckling. I think this was a pretty mild mafia romance. Definitely not the level I was quite expecting but overall, I thought it was really good. I will end with this. I’m not quite sure why this is marketed as a dark mafia romance. Because in my opinion it’s so unbelievably far from that. By no means is this dark AT ALL. Does this have mafia romance? Sure. But this is not dark. Not. One. Bit.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)

Brutal Prince is the 1st mafia romance I've read and I'm so happy I tried it.
The Griffin's and the Gallo's are opposing families battling for control in Chicago. After Aida Gallo "accidently" sets fire to the Griffins library, her father arranges a marriage between Aida & Callum, the eldest son of the Griffin family.
This is enemies to lovers at it's finest with a marriage of convenience & forced proximity added for good measure, brutal prince was a spicy romance I couldn't put down. Highly recommend!!

Brutal Prince is the first book in Sophie Lark’s Brutal Birthright series. This was my first time reading a mafia romance so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I was not at all disappointed.

The story follows Aida Gallo and Callum Griffin. They are sworn enemies from rival mafia families, but when a mishap involving Aida sneaking into the Griffin home leads to an accidental fire and destruction of priceless property, the two families decide that the best way Aida can make amends for her mistakes is to enter into a fake marriage with Callum and thus build an alliance between the two families. Everyone seems thrilled with the idea, that is except for Aida and Callum, who would much rather kill each other.

It took me a while to warm up to Callum. He’s stiff, arrogant, and ruthless, and he’s downright abusive to Aida in their early scenes. I liked Aida right away though. She’s fierce, scrappy, and much smarter than her own family gives her credit for being. She also doesn’t put up with any of Callum’s abuse, dishing it back at him as fast as he can dole it out. Even though it’s a bit darker than what I’m used to reading when I read romance, it was a wild ride and I did love to watch the sparks fly between then and I loved it even more once their relationship started to change.

I was expecting violence since this is a mafia romance, and while there is some, it was milder than what I had braced myself for, which was good for me. What I wasn’t expecting though was for the story to be so fun, like I actually found myself laughing out loud at some of the hilarious pranks these two pulled on each other in the beginning of this forced relationship.

I’m not entirely convinced that mafia romance is for me since I’m a rom com girl at heart, but I cannot deny that Brutal Prince entertained me from start to finish and that I’m most definitely interested in continuing the series.

I haven't read a mafia romance or a true enemies to lovers in a minute, but this one takes the cake! Callum and Aida truly hate each other and even try to kill each other at some points. Of course, this lead to hot, steamy hate sex, and eventually love where they cannot live without each other. Sophie Lark creates a book filled with drama, love/hate romance, and some amazing spicy scenes.

WOW.
DAMN.

This book I was nervous yet excited to read this because there has been so much hype regarding this book and usually when there's a lot of hype on a novel and the moment I get to read it, it like sucks. but this like exceeded expectations and was hook from start to finish and there is nothing like a good mafia romance to break through the reading slump that I was in.

Arranged marriage, forced proximity & enemies to lovers are my three favourite tropes! So I knew this would be right up my street, and whilst I did enjoy it, I found it all a little rushed.

I really enjoyed the banter between the two characters however as soon as they fell in love that completely stopped.

I definitely want to continue on with the series at some point.

3.5 stars

TW: Stalking, murder, guns, violence, sex, blood & mafia

I loved those art pages in the book, and I fully believe romance & spicy books should have them. It added quality and extra level to them as they aren't all sex scenes. We had some sweet art scenes too.
The sexy scenes were done very well; I appreciated the blush got!

As someone born and raised in Ireland, I didn't hate the Irish rep. I don't have experience or knowledge regarding mafia things because I know of the IRA, and they are not mafia. So I cannot compare. It did throw me, but that's a personal error.

As my first step into mafia romance, this was fun and a great read. I will be reading more of Sophie Lark.

Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark is the first book in the Brutal Birthright Series. This is Aida and Callum’s story.
 
Aida‘s family is part of the mafia and she isn’t dulled by this life. Instead, she is a fiery, bold and wild person and I loved her energy. The Gallos have this long standing rivalry with the Griffins, and both are very powerful in Chicago. This dynamic creates the perfect enemies-to-lovers scenario. Aida crashes a party of the Griffins and that ends up with an arranged marriage to none other than Callum.
 
Callum is the Griffin heir, and he is very much involved in politics, and he wants to successfully continue his family’s empire. He is very determined and ambitious and the only one who can tame Aida and I loved that.
 
Even though Aida and Callum seem like a match made in hell, they quickly become an absolute power couple. I love how possessive Callum gets and it’s definitely touch her, and you die vibes and that makes the steamy scenes even hotter. I thoroughly enjoyed this story,
 
Overall, Brutal Prince is a fabulous book, and everyone needs some Aida energy in their life. 4,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

Thank you Source Books/Bloom Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

Sophie Lark had been on my radar for a good while now because she’s all over bookstagram. I hadn’t gotten into mafia/gang/dark romances until recently so I was stoked to get this ARC to continue my deep dive into the dark side.

Lark surprised me with her writing in such a good way! I loved the tension, the sass and snark, the connection. She did such a great job writing characters you want to root for, even in this dark world. I am so excited for Stolen Heir now!