I loved this book so much, I devoured it. Loved the writing it was such a quick read for me definitely recommend

This book is 🔥

You can expect:
▪️Mafia
▪️Scorching chemistry between the main pairing
▪️Second chance romance
▪️Forbidden romance
▪️Secret baby trope
▪️Mysteries investigated
▪️Family drama
▪️Angst and miscommunication

Some of my thoughts:
📍Sophie Lark can write one heck of an addictive, one sitting, romance!

📍This book is a fast burn and has a fast pace! It was a bit too fast and insta-lovey for me personally but the angst caused by their separation did make up for it!

📍Dante and Simone are an unexpected delight. From two totally different worlds they still managed to captive me. I was always rooting for them right from their very first, very unconventional meeting!

📍The added sketches and music touches only improve the reading experience! Another winner!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*downloads further titles* by Sophie Lark…. Fantastic author- one I wish I’d read before now. Although part of a series, I was pleased to discover it can be read as stand alone. Highly recommend this, for readers of, utter chemistry that leaps off the pages
Thank you for the early access ⭐️

Omg what a ride! I loved this book so much! I’m loving this series! I don’t want it to end!!!! Once I start reading I can’t put this down!
Thank you to netgalley for proving me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

I have been loving this series so much and this next instalment sure throws readers for a loop, with so many things I was not expecting.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
Characters: The Gallo this instalment centers around is Dante Gallo and his second chance at love with Simone Soloman. I enjoyed these characters but I was not as invested as I have been. I did struggle with some of Simone’s choices, I do not want to give too much detail to avoid spoilers, but she was put in some difficult situations. Dante not holding that against her too much is indicative of what a great guy he was. He was easy to fall for and I loved reading all his interactions with his siblings.
Setting: Sophie Lark’s mafia world is set in Chicago, and it does feel like coming home to a cast of characters that I love.
Pacing: I just find these books so incredibly easy to fly through. This story is told in two parts, with a significant time jump in between. I was enraptured by the first part especially and how the characters met got me intrigued right from the start. This is paced so quickly though that at times it sure helps you read fast, but I did wonder if there were parts of the story that could have been flushed out a bit more.
Romance: From the moment Dante and Simone meet in the most unlikely of circumstances I was cheering them on. I adored their early courtship, the sneaking out to see each other and of course the scaling of the balcony such a classic. Sophie Lark writes incredibly hot people, in hot scenes, with perfect accompanying art from Line Maria Eriksen. After being so attached to the characters in the first part of the book, naturally I was so invested in their second chance not just at love but at family.

I've been so excited to read Dante's story, and it did not disappoint! It's as big and bold as the man himself.

"I don't know how to be charming to a woman in the best of circumstances, let alone when I've accidentally kidnapped one."

Only Dante could find the love of his life in the backseat of a car he stole. She's cultured, shy, and is as drawn to him as he is to her. They have such a pure love even though the things he gets her to do are dirty with a capital D! He shows her how a man worships a woman, and I couldn't help but snuggle into my blanket with a giant smile on my face while reading this.

"I've been wandering around for nine years with only half my soul. I never thought I'd be whole again."

And then it happened...THE TIME LAPSE! I was devastated. I had no idea this was a second chance romance, but worry not. The end is worth it! The love Dante and Simone share could level mountains. A few years apart doesn't ruin it.

I felt so bad for both of them during several scenes in this. He loved her so much that he sacrificed his own health on multiple occasions to get to her. And is scared her. I just wanted to hug them both!

Bloody Heart is the sweetest book in the Brutal Birthright series so far. There's so much delicious pining and little gestures that will make you swoon! The stakes are high, as usual, and the end will have you cheering!

Thank you, Bloom Books and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for sending me and advanced copy of this book!
This is another solid installment in the brutal birthright series. While I thought Simone and Dante were cute, I enjoyed seeing other relationships and side characters more, like Callum and Aida as a married couple and Riona and Dante’s friendship. Simone and Dante were into some freaky shit, so watch out for that. In all I think my problem with these books so far is I think they are a bit surface level and can dive a bit deeper into the story and relationships. But I will say this book has me absolutely HYPED for Riona and Raylan’s book, I think it is going to be my favourite

If combustible chemistry is your jam then definitely get this book ! Yes its part of a series with characters from previous books but it absolutely works as a standalone. This couple have so much against them but boy do they deserve happiness. I'm not a huge reader of contemporary romance but this author has hit my radar and I regret nothing. Passion that deserves a capital P !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This was such a great continuation of this series! Dante and Simone have amazing chemistry and their story was a fun ride of surprises, secrets, crime, and so much more. I loved the secret child storyline, I feel like they are rarely done anymore and I love them so much that this one just hit the spot.

Simone is such a strong character from the start and I love that we continue to see her growth throughout the story. Dante is a man obsessed and it works perfectly with how Simone feels about him!

Thank you to Sophie Lark, NetGalley, and Bloom Books for an eARC of Bloody Heart!

This was my third Sophie Lark book. I have found that in general her books are quick reads. The plot moves swiftly, the text is easy to consume, and the spice is decent.

I really like how this series connects. I read Savage Lover first, so understood a bit about Dante's back story and it was nice to come in understanding the Gallo/Griffin family dynamics and understand references to plot points and characters which make appearances throughout the series.

This book in particular had great character development, not just for the main characters, but also for the side characters. I felt like we got more insight into Callum, Aida, Seb, and even Nero. I thought the intense love between Dante and Simone was well covered. It was a quick summer romance, but neither of them ever experienced anything as intense again - and the intensity was SPICY! I would have loved to see more development with Henry and see Dante being a dad to the son he always wanted, but maybe that will come in some of the other books. I'm definitely interested to read Raylan and Riona's story after their brief interaction at the end of the book.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

With that being said, there were a few points that didn't get wrapped up as well as I would have liked. What happened to Christian's body? Why didn't the police come and interrogate the group after a gunshot wound in the hospital? Did Simone's parents approve of her relationship with Dante in the end? Did her parents know where Henry was and not to worry? Did they call the police when Henry and Simone never came back? What happened to the creepy pedo dude (I forget his name right now..)

There were wayyyy too many loose ends specific to this book that I have a hard time imagining they will get wrapped up in other books in the series.

Additionally, the final spicy scene threw me for a loop. Dante and Simone hadn't even talked about their future together and she was asking him to literally put another baby in her. I just find it hard to believe that someone like Simone, who had her life ripped from under her during her first pregnancy, would make a decision like that in the moment without taking into consideration her current child and her career.

I do wish I could say that the plot holes and unfinished plot points are the only criticism I have because I do find Lark's books to be quick palette cleansers when trying to fill reading space after a heavy book, but unfortunately that is not the case. As with her other books, I often find her writing a bit lacking. When looking for a romance, I'm not looking for something super thought provoking. But I do wish there was more complexity to Lark's writing. I can't quite put my finger on it, but her writing is very simple. This is not necessarily a bad thing - like I said, I enjoy the plot. I just often find myself wanting a little more out of the writing.

Overall - with the unfinished plot elements and the quality of writing, I would give this book 3. It will entertain you, but it won't turn your world upside down.

Happy reading!

Bloody Heart is the fourth book in the Brutal Birthright series by Sophie Lark, but it can be read as a standalone. It is a second chance mafia romance that will make you feel a range of emotions, from anger to sorrow to joy.

I enjoyed this book a lot, because it had a lot of drama, suspense, action, and steam. The characters were well-developed and complex, and I liked how they grew and changed throughout the story. Simone was a strong and brave heroine, who had to face a lot of challenges and sacrifices. Dante was a fierce and protective hero, who had a soft spot for Simone and his family. Their chemistry was off the charts, and their love scenes were hot and intense. The plot was fast-paced and engaging, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing style was smooth and captivating, and the author did a great job of creating a vivid and realistic world of the mafia.

I gave this book 4 stars, because I thought it was a great read, but I also had some issues with it. One was the amount of angst and miscommunication that the main characters had, which sometimes frustrated me and made me want to shake them. I also wished that the epilogue was longer and more satisfying, because I wanted to see more of their happy ending.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mafia romances, second chance romances, and emotional roller coasters. It is a well-written and entertaining book that will make you feel and root for the characters.

This is my first Sophie Lark and maybe it's my bad for jumping into a 6 book series right in the middle but I did not love this. I didn't feel like anyone was developed enough for me to care about them.

The fourth book in the Brutal Birthright series and for Dante Gallo it’s a tale of two halves. The first part is a summer of love for Dante as he meets Simone in less than auspicious circumstances when he inadvertently kidnaps her when he steals the car she’s a passenger in. But as part of the underworld Dante is more used to the shadows rather than the public life of Simone’s family and the last thing they want for their daughter is an Italian thug. Eventually Simone gives into to family pressure and runs away to London keeping a major secret from Dante, until nine years later they meet again.

This was a great second chance romance. I loved that time was spent telling the first part of Dante and Simone’s story and not told in flashbacks. It gave depth to the characters and also explained so much about why Dante in the previous books acted the way he did. There was great chemistry between them however their relationship the second time around developed just a little too quickly for me. A part of me hated Simone for being weak and not standing up to her parents, letting them steal something so important not only from her but Dante as well but this was still a good addition to the series.

Back in love with this series with Bloody Heart! Enjoyed finally getting the back story of why Dante has been such a grumpy gills and can't blame him. Very insta lust to love but didn't mind with the second change aspect and them having 9 years apart and still pinning for each other. The ending was a little rushed and wish got some more detail with the fall out of the kidnaping and reconciliation of the romance with Simone and her family. Also not fan of her getting pregnant instantly twice after unprotected sex, guess Dante has that magic sperm. Very fast paced read and definitely had me hooked even with the critiques. Ready to read the next books and the spin off series.

What a fun quick read! I've never considered myself a huge second chance romance fan, but it was very well done here! Dante and Simone's journey from young adults to adults was a great story and I caught myself desperate for the time jump we ultimately got. While I thought the length of the book was great, I did catch myself wanting a little more of the story as they were coming back together. The illustrations in this book were gorgeous, even on a kindle. I look forward to seeing the rest of the series!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of Bloody Heart.
This book is split in two, before and after the breakup. I really enjoyed reading it. There's insta-love and an accidental pregnancy.
I really enjoyed reading Dante and Simone's story. They are both heavily broken characters after they split up. Cause they never had a clean end. It was quite messy. Their whole relationship was quite a mess. They were just young and didn't know better. But now some time has passed. And will they be able to heal after all this time?

Unfortunately this book wasn’t my favorite of the series. It has a lot of tropes that I personally don’t enjoy (accidental pregnancy, Insta love, and the way the abuse of her parents was just pushed aside without being dealt with). So not being aware of everything this book entails it definitely left somethings to be desired.

For people looking for this particular trope(s) and fans of the series they probably will appreciate this continuation of the series. There’s some really great added moments with Adia (a fan favorite) and seeing the other characters world continuing to be built was an added bonus. The rest of the story in comparison felt rather lack luster.

I feel like Simone was written really poorly and I wanted to feel the connection between her and Dante because it felt very underwhelming. They were underdeveloped as a couple and instead of giving us communication and relationship building we just had sexual interactions. That wasn’t what I was looking for with this book.

I love this series so much. I LOVED seeing our oldest & most protective brother be absolutely whipped for Simone. I usually do not love the secret baby trope, but this is the exception. I loved the time jump in this second chance romance & the ending was perfect for Dante.

4 -⭐⭐⭐⭐

"What do you call it when you can't tear your eyes away from a face? When you think you're looking at the loveliest angle, then the raise of an eyebrow or an exhale through the lips rearranges the features, and you're freshly stunned all over again?"

Bloody Heart is the fourth novel is an Adult Contemporary Mafia Romance series, Brutal Birthright. Each book is a standalone but they are part of an interconnected series follow a series of brothers. In this story we follow Simone and Dante as their whirl wind of a romance when they were young still haunts them years after leaving on bad terms. Yet fate appears to not be quite done with them when they meet again; can they find a path forward under new terms...or will the secrets and memories of the past ruin any chance for a real future?

Simone and Dante's passion is flashes hot quickly at the beginning of this story. It highlighted the youthful tone where you think everything will solve itself on its own coupled with a struggle to find yourself. I spent the first half of the book waiting for the pain hit between these two and oh boy does it. I really enjoyed seeing their growth as a result but also see how, even after all this time, their connection is still there.

This book is about a 3 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy pepper. It is fast burn as these love birds fall into each other's arms. To be honest I was surprised how quick. Yet the second half we saw a little but more of time needed to reconnect and it was deliciously angsty. There is a bit of ferality in the second chance section but I also would like to commend these two for finding the most interesting places in public to spice things up...including 200 years old priceless artifacts XD

"I was never raised to fall in love like this. Without reason or choice. Only wild, intense obsessions. I never meant for this to happen. But now that it has, there's no escaping."

The world building relies, much like the previous in the sitting, on an understanding of the contemporary world. We aren't given any information dumping so you need to have a small understanding of what the mafia is. I did appreciated the drawing in of real world issues by advocated for by Simone's father as it drew in the realism for me. You also get just enough information to understand the characters and their families without needing to read the other books.

The story itself has two phases, both past and present, as the characters come together, are separated, and find themselves back together. The story in the first half is basic for a sweet fast faced young lovers situation, complete with disapproving rich parents and a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. For me their romance was sugary sweet and I enjoyed it. The second half has a bit more grit to it, coupled with follow up miscommunication tropes and a surprise trope I don't want to spoil. I like the mystery conflict that upped the conflict and I was relieved with how the second chance romance was not dragged out too long. The ending also is quite sweet.

Overall, this was a fun and quick read for more with a spice kick, a sweet romance, and a world you can really immerse in. The added artwork also provides beautiful visuals of some very cute and passionate scenes.

Thank you Bloom for the e-ARC!

I tried to step out of my comfort zone of genres and unfortunately I don't think it worked this time, this book is just not for me.

The story itself was progressing so fast with no real build up of the characters relationship that I just didn't believe it and was not invested in them as characters or in their romance in general. I also was not a fan on where the story was going.

Granted, I didn't finish the book. But from what I have read I know that I'm not going to enjoy this and I need to learn to DNF when my tbr is as long as it is.

However if the following are your cup of tea this book may be exactly what you are looking for (SPOILERS... ish):

- elements of forbidden romance
- second chance romance
- secret baby
- a lot of spice
- HEA