I just devoured "Tainted" by Frances Blackthorn, and I'm still reeling from the intense and passionate ride. This mafia romance is packed with action, suspense, and a slow-burning heat that will leave you breathless. The story follows Alina, a strong and feisty heroine who is off-limits to Kane, a rough-around-the-edges bodyguard working for Nikolai Moskal. Despite the danger and forbidden nature of their relationship, I found myself rooting for these star-crossed lovers from the very beginning.

One of the standout aspects of this book is Alina's growth and development throughout. She begins as a vulnerable young woman, but as the story progresses, she becomes more confident and resilient. Her character arc is well-written and satisfying to watch unfold. Kane, too, is a complex and intriguing character, with a rough exterior that hides a soft spot for those he cares about.

The pacing of the story is well-balanced, with a good mix of intense action scenes and tender moments between Alina and Kane. While there are some minor issues with redundancy in the beginning, these are largely smoothed out as the story progresses. The writing is engaging and easy to follow, making it a quick and enjoyable read.

If I have any criticisms, it's that some of the characters' emotions feel a bit one-dimensional at times. I would have liked to see a deeper exploration of their inner lives and emotional struggles. Additionally, some of the supporting characters feel somewhat underdeveloped.

Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed "Tainted" and would recommend it to fans of dark romance and mafia romances. The story is engaging, the characters are compelling, and the romance is hot and intense. I'm looking forward to reading more from Frances Blackthorn in the future.

DNF at about 50%

Honestly, I just didn’t care about the characters. I didn’t understand their instant attraction. There was no real explanation as to why people were after her. And her father was just so terrible that I couldn’t do it anymore. It felt like it was trying to portray deep feelings while really just skimming the surface and not actually telling a story.

Gritty and violent, the world of the mafia. Deep into the bratva, one psychopathic leader and those that revolve around him. Hiding in plain sight, his daughter, taken for granted and not appreciated, typical situation. But is all that is seems?

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. this was fantastic, just what i have come to expect from this author and look forward to carrying in my book store.

I really enjoyed this book, it has everything that I love in Mafia Romances: a good romance, lots of action and really good steamy scenes.
It is really fast paced, it never has a moment where you want to stop reading because it is too slow, it is a quick read.
I love the female character, Alina, she is really strong after everything her father put her through. I also liked Kane and being in his point of view during almost the whole book, is past is so sad and dark and it makes us understand the way he is now and why he started working for the mafia.
The writing is also good and it makes you continue reading to know what will happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an arc of Tainted by Frances Blackthorn!

I can't lie this book took my back to my Wattled days and I am not complaining. I loved the forbidden romance between Kane and Alina, the bodyguard of the mafia princess. This was a very fast paced story with a quick turn of events in the middle that I did not see coming.

At first I wasn't keen on Alina I thought she was a tad annoying but I very quickly grew to like her and loved the fact that she wasn't portrayed as a weak girl but rather a strong independent woman who stood her ground. I'm happy we were able to see her character development and growth throughout the story.

If you're looking for a quick mafia romance read I would definitely give this book a go when it come out, 11/8/23!

Tainted by Frances Blackthorn is a spectacular mafia romance read.
Mafia Romance is one of my absolute favorites and Frances Blackthorn did not disappoint.
I loved the story, the characters, the writing…. Everything was on point and kept me hooked.
Absolutely brilliant, beautiful, poingnant, and just every good thing wrapped up together.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Victory Editing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The entire book really felt rushed and forced. It seems highly unlikely that they would just into a sexual relationship as quickly as they did. There was no buildup. The whole book was that way, just boom right in. Unfortunately it wasn't for me.

This is an adult gangster story, with a hot sex romance. For me this has much promise, interesting but as it stands there are too many things which happen unbelievably or details are missing or glossed over. For example, the relationship between assassin and gangster’s daughter. Would an assassin charged with protection immediately start having sex with his charge; the descriptions leading up to the violent action scenes made me think that all of the main characters would be targets and killed. Thank you to Frances Blackthorn and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I’ve been lucky enough to read this as an ARC and this review is my honest opinion.

If you like a quick read this is for you, probably good to get into some mafia/bodyguard reading, it’s not too dark and has plenty of spice and action for a short book.

I was confused in parts and felt that some of the other mafia families mentioned at the end could have been introduced earlier but I understand that it’s a short book and that makes it a bit more difficult.

After reading many, many, many mafia and dark romance books, this didn’t quite tick all my boxes but for a novella I fairly enjoyed it.

I'm really contemplating on how to rate this book. It had some good elements and it had some elements I didn't really like.

First of all, I didn't like the cursive sentences every page. It felt overdone. You can use it sometimes to express a certain thought but not all the time because it made it kinda hard to read and get through like this😊

The story itself was good but sometimes I found the explanation of certain scenes etc lacking. I still have some questions and stuff I wanted to know about. It felt very confusing that all of the sudden (towards the end) certain families came into the spotlight without any background or story behind it. I think it would've been better if we would've heard about the other families during the story, does that make sense?

The characters were very likable and well written! I liked them all for different reasons and they were shaped perfectly. Although I would have loved a more detailed background from Alina and Kane.

Something else that bothered me a little bit is how we got thrown into the story. No ifs and buts, one chapter in the characters were acting as if they had known each other for years. I just prefer to ease into a story and for the characters to get to know each other instead of immediately boning.😂

But I'd still recommend it!! It's a very fast paced story with spice. You can just tune out of life and get sucked into this book😄

I really wanted to finish this book. The plot is not new, bodyguard and protectee fall in love, but it's always interesting, however, I didn't feel drawn to the story from the beginning. I didn't like Alina at all, she was a complete brat at the beginning so my interest completely decreased from that point on.

This just wasn't it for me. I DNFed at about 20%. The premise was interesting and the attraction was clear, but it seemed too forced for my taste. Immediately he can't control himself. After all the sh*t he's seen and the skills and training he has, one woman immediately tears it all down? It was like starting a story halfway through. There wasn't enough tension and buildup for my liking. Had there been, I would have been way more into it.

This was very good. It was a quick read that I didn't want to end! So good! I highly enjoyed it!
I just reviewed Tainted by Frances Blackthorn. #Tainted #NetGalley
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I found this to be a fast read with instant attraction between a forbidden match. The bodyguard and daughter of his employer clash like waves. It's a lot of I can't keep my hands to myself moment that had me reading till the end. The action had entertained me but the love was bound to happen between them, her character was confident and she didn't hesitate to go for him. I liked the characters. And I found the family twist unexpected, it was good.

i honestly really didn’t enjoy this book and had to DNF about 50% of the way through.

i liked the blurb and the idea of the plot but it was instlove and felt very forced - which was something that i couldn’t push past. i felt like the characters were quite underdeveloped and childish …

i feel like the idea for the book could have been executed really well but when i was reading it just didn’t do it for me.

It's a great book for anyone who wants to get into mafia books and I'd say it's a good introduction to the whole universe. Personally, I've read my fair share of mafia books and it wasn't what I was expecting, definitely a great novella but it's not my favorite. Would I recommend reading this? yes, yes I would, you should definitely get acquainted with Kane and Alina. If you're looking for a quick paced bodyguard romance, then this definitely the book for you <3

The elements of romance and suspense made it quite a top notch read for me. I was thoroughly enthralled by both the hero and heroine. And that ending? I never saw it coming. I seriously can’t wait enough to get my hands on the second instalment already. Really loved and enjoyed it!

Tainted, a novel by Frances Blackthorn, is a cannot put it down book. At the very beginning of the book, the trigger warnings are listed.

Kane is used to being the predator, murderer, and killer. Now, he is the protector of Alina Moskal. He vows that no one will hurt Alina on his watch. Also, Nikolai Moskal, Alina’s father, trusted Kane completely. Nikolai has too many dangerous enemies as a mob boss, that he stifled Alina. She is called a princess, but Alina is as cold, cunning, and calculating like her father Nikolai. Nevertheless, you can see Alina transform throughout the book. Alina is daring, impulsive, and excitement-seeking as she grew into a young woman. She definitely proves that she has Nikolai’s blood running through her veins.

Moreover, Kane was torn between his dedication to Nikolai and his passionate, steamy love for Alina. Kane was seduced by Alina, but he reciprocated the action equally. Kane was older and more mature. Their affair started a mob war. Nikolai’s mob business went through major changes and it will never be the same.

As you read this novel, you can follow the twists and turns of mob boss, Nikolai Moskal’s empire rise, fall, and resurrect.

I recommend this book for adults only, due to all of the sensitive nature and triggers that may or may not trigger you.

This book has plenty of action and spice! The romance and characters are (mwah) chefs kiss. The thing I love most Alina the FMC is her strength and her growth throughout the book as she progressively becomes stronger and more resilient. There are also greatly written violent and action packed scenes that add a great punch to the storyline. Overall Tainted was a great, quick mafia read <3
4/5 stars