This was my first ever mafia romance, and for some reason I didn’t realize this wasn’t the first book until halfway through. Though I’m not usually into country men in books, this felt like a dark hallmark movie while reading it. Big city girl goes to country side because her life is in danger. Falls in love with the handsome country man who has to help out the farm that his whole family takes care of. I loved the growth for Riona, as she reminded me a lot of myself, head strong, career driven, and sometimes I forget it’s important to maintain relationships around oneself. Definitely loved the artistic drawings as well during the book, as those were unique and so fun to see as I read.

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Oh man! What can I say? The Brutal Birthright series has me shook!! Each time I read about a new couple, I think it’s my favorite. Then I read the next book in the series and it becomes my favorite.

I loved this story! Riona is a tough nut to crack but I think it added to dynamic with Rylan. It was a who submit with a twist that I didn’t predict. I could not put this book down and finished it in a day!

Well done Sophie.

Thank you NetGalley and author Sophie Lark for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

"I’ll Protect Her… Whether She Likes It Or Not.

Riona Griffin is gorgeous, intelligent, and iron-willed. My perfect woman, except she hates my guts.

She thinks she doesn’t need anybody. But she needs me.

She’s being hunted by an assassin who never misses his mark.

I’m going to stay by her side, day and night, keeping her safe. Riona thinks that’s a fate worse than death but I know she’ll learn to love me.

If this hitman wants to kill her, he’ll have to go through me first."

This is the fifth book in the Brutal Birthright series. I love reading this book. It is very spicy. A fun read and a page turner.

★ 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I firstly want to say the illustrations by Sophie in this book are absolutely stunning (and spicy). I loved being able to see her depictions of Raylan and Riona 😍 This was such a fun read and ticked off a lot of boxes for me.

Tropes

➸ Enemies to lovers
➸ Bodyguard
➸ Mafia princess x ex military country boy
➸ Grumpy heroine/sunshine hero

I related to Riona a lot as I love reading about strong willed FMC's. She takes no shit and is very career driven. She's not your typical docile mafia princess and it was really interesting see the reverse trope of Grumpy heroine/sunshine hero play out. I'm glad she didn't give up her career completely for this man or I would have rioted - it would have destroyed her whole character.

Rayan is a great book boyfriend, he's got that southern charm but devilish bedroom eyes (*cough* BDSM). The barn and riverbank scenes were steamy. He goes from these streamy scenes to being super sweet - He even washed her hair! He falls first and doesn't try to push her to be someone she's not and shows her the joy she is missing out on in her rigid lifestyle. This was definitely opposites attract and I felt like they complimented each other very well.

The bodyguard trope is one of my all-time faves and I liked how this was done slightly different to normal with his country background.

The thriller element of the plot was interesting and gave you another aspect to focus on outside of the romance. It was a little predictable but I didn't pick this up expecting a crime/thriller book so I was ok with this.

I felt like this was missing more descriptive language between the two love interests as looking back I didn't have many quotes highlighted and made me not as invested in them as I wanted to be. The pacing was also a little up and down for me, I really loved the start and then it went flat at points before picking back up which made some of the development between the two of them seem sudden. I wouldn't say it's insta love, it just got a little lost around the middle with showing the reader how each of characters was feeling.

There was only a couple of cringy lines but they did throw me for a minute - something about 'milking her' when he was doing you know what. Like she's not a cow and you're not a baby?!

Overall, Riona's story and Dante's (book #4) are probably my faves in the series to date. It's a quick steamy read with a decent plot to keep you interested. We also got to see some of the other couples again from the prior books (including a wedding).

I can't wait to read Sebastian's story which I believe is the final instalment of this series.

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

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.