This book was very different from the books I typically gravitate towards (fantasy romance) but I found myself fully enjoying it! Broken Vow was a quick paced story full of action and plot twists. Despite their different upbringings and lifestyles, Riona and Raylan had such amazing chemistry! I loved seeing Riona’s heart being thawed by Raylan. I read this book as a standalone and definitely didn’t feel lost in the slightest! I will say this book definitely has a decent dose of spice, a bit much for my taste but I know plenty of readers out there will enjoy it!

I love absolutely everything by this author and this was no exception. I will definitely be continuing this series and other books from Sophie!

This whole series is amazing. This one did not disappoint. I am excited for the next one.
They are quick reads

and we’ve concluded the series. whatta ride. it really ended with a bang and now i can rest in peace. this was a wild mess and i should think first before requesting books im not certain ill enjoy just because they’re popular. as for this final story, it was a tad bit disappointing in the end but what else is new.

Riona and Raylan belong together. WOW! What a wonderful whirlwind romance. Raylan's protectiveness of Riona is just not real I love him for it.

I didn't realize I'd been missing out on Mafia romance stories but I have been. This book was GREAT and I want to read the rest in this series.

Riona and Raylan have to be my favs of the whole Brutal Birthright group. I love Riona's sharp exterior and refusal to bend and I love that Raylan softens her while also maintaining her strength. They play off each other's personalities well, making for fun banter and pushing of boundaries to grow.

Spice was spicing, I'd give it a good 4/5, perfect blend of rough/sweet. Raylan goes full cowboy there for a hot second there, but it works.

- the grumpy x sunshine trope was so fun in this book!
- this book gives us a break from the complex mafia dynamics in the series, it's almost like a cozy small town romance for like 50% (it's a welcome break really, coz book 6 throws us back into it, and I really needed this break before I could tackle that intensity 😭)

TWs - attempt/murder, betrayal

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I apologize in advance for the late review. I thought it had posted, but something didn't go through right and it never posted.

I'm falling in love with Sophie Lark's writing more and more. It's so captivating and intriguing. I've really enjoyed reading this book, and Sophie definitely makes it spicy yet full of so much more than that as well. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Oh this book was a wonderful addition to this series! It serves a delicious grumpy female with a down to earth and hard to not love male love interest. I loved the characterisation of Riona, she’s always been so intriguing with her profession and general demeanour. Plus, I just love a woman who is fiercely smart. I also loved the other short romance with 2 new characters which was more a sideline piece but has me quite invested. Well done, Sophie!

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: attempted murder, stalking, mentions of war, mentions of death, murder, kidnapping, drugging, mentions of abuse, mentions of domestic violence, death of a parent, mentions of dubcon
standalone: book 5 in the Brutal Birthright series
final thoughts: OKAYYYY these books are so good and I continue to love the illustrations and wish there were MORE MORE MORE! This book was fast paced with lots of action mixed with plenty of scenes with the MCs reluctantly getting to know each other. I love a grumpy/sunshine book and even more when then FMC is the grumpy workaholic who is anti-love and an against-all-odds golden retriever MMC who would do anything for his woman.

read this book if you love

🌀 plot twists
😬 angst
😳 forbidden lovers (bodyguard)
☠️ “touch her and die”
🔫 mafia
🖤 dark romance
💓 slowburn
😡 grumpy/sunshine
🤠 cowboy
👮 blue collar MMC (soldier)
🏝️ forced proximity

I apologize in advance for the late review. I thought it had posted, but something didn't go through right and it never posted.

I'm falling in love with Sophie Lark's writing more and more. It's so captivating and intriguing. I've really enjoyed reading this book, and Sophie definitely makes it spicy yet full of so much more than that as well. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Another great installment in the Brutal Birthright series. Riona, who is the first daughter in a prolific Irish Mafia family and ambitious lawyer, would be more than okay with spending her days alone working from morning until night, but a threat on her life is getting in the way of her new promotion. Raylan is a talented mercenary group and friend of the Irish Mafia's allies in the Italian Mafia. A rancher by blood and a soldier by trade, Raylan is assigned to Riona as her personal bodyguard. The sunny bodyguard and the prickly lawyer don't immediately get along on the surface, but they just might find common ground after the two are forced to run away to Raylan's family ranch to escape the threat.

This book includes:
- grumpy woman sunshine man dynamic
- organized crime in Chicago
- atmospheric ranch setting
- a career minded FMC

After being disappointed in Nero's story, I was excited for Riona's story. I like how both frigid and sensitive she was (big Nesta vibes), and I found her to be relatable. Raylan was lovely and oof so dreamy. The conflict and the romance both moved at a great pace, and the ending was a fun twist - even if it wasn't a huge surprise to me. I highly recommend this book, especially since the series is comprised of related, standalones, so you can skip Nero's book and not be missing anything.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Lark, and Bloom Books for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

I've been wanting to learn more about the fmc Riona from the start of this series, and this book did not disappoint! I also knew I would love Raylan the second he entered, and boy do I love that sunshine alpha.

Riona is prickly and fierce – I loved seeing her grow and be unleashed. The tension between her and Raylan (her bodyguard) is delicious and there's a barn scene that's just excellent. Oh yeah, he's not only jumping in as a bodyguard, he's also a cowboy.

Definitely recommend if you want a mafia romance that's light on the mafia, has mystery and ranch life!

By almost anyone's standards, Riona Griffin has it all...bright, beautiful and a successful lawyer in her family's firm in Chicago. Of course, her family's position as the leadership of the Irish mafia throws a shadowy taint over it all. When someone tries to kill her, they hire a friend of her brother's, an ex-service buddy, to protect her while they figure out who put a hit out on her. Engaging story with a mostly likeable cast of characters. While it was a tad predictable, getting there was still quite fun.

maybe sophie lark isn’t for me. this is the third book by her I’ve read and the stories are just … nothing substantial for me.

3 stars for the graphics,

Oh my god!!!

I have really enjoyed this whole series but this one was something else! The PERFECT combination of a mafia romance and a cowboy romance.

I absolutely adored Riona and Raylan and the way their relationship developed, how competitive they were with each other and how he knew exactly how to push her buttons in all the right ways.

The story line of this one had me completely hooked, I didn't want to put it down. And the spice in this was also my favourite out of all of them so far, the barn scene will be living in my head rent free from now on!

And as always the art work was absolutely stunning.

Riona and Raylan 🥹

Another amazing book in what I can definitely describe as my FAVE series ever and it again did everything it needed to do. I absolutely adore Sophie Lark’s writing style, I love to see all the characters in all the books (I need my dosis of Miko and Nessa and Callum and Aida!!) and I love to have some thrilling aspects to every book in this series. Honestly, I never thought I needed romance with thriller aspects, but now that I know they’re there, I don’t want to lose them!!

The romance in this book was amazing, I had a GREAT time reading about the ranch. The whole book started to feel more like a cowboy romance and I’m down for that ♥️🤠

Subtracting just one star because of “daddy”. That’s really a nono for me. Other than that, this book is a dream!!

Just one book left in this series and I really don’t want this to end 🥹

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own 💘

Both characters were really likable. Many things about Riona were relatable, however I really didn’t like watching her getting…softer? I know I know it’s a part of her growth. But I like strong headed grumpy heroines to remain that way. She was the selfish type who won’t make a compromise. And I wanted some of that to remain there. She started compromising so easily. Raylan was such a fun time.

Not for me - the FMC is a lawyer (yet in the mafia), which I did not know for the blurb. I actively avoid lead characters with similar careers to mine - just too frustrating. I could not get into the book because FMC was too unlikable and unrealistic for me. The MMC seemed lovely though. This could be someone's cup of tea.


If you love a bitchy, strong FMC with an unrequited lover-boy MMC - this is for you!
"She’s a tough nut to crack. And I’ve always liked a challenge. Honestly, if she liked me right off the bat, I’d think she had terrible taste."