Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was my first mafia romance and it’ll probably be my last? Just wasn’t for me. Maybe this is just not the right book though. I just could not connect with the protagonist at all, and the insta love didn’t help.

I don't know what I expected but I wanted to love Yelena, I miss the strong women of this series Nessa, Aida and Camille. I just can't handle Yelena and her train of thought, nothing she does makes sense, not even when she tries to help Sebastian, she had me the whole time thinking "what?!"
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I loved the action scenes, they are incredible and they completely immerse me in the plot. I was sad about Enzo, I was angry with Dante and I loved seeing Mikolaj and Nessa, Aida and Callum and Nero and Camille
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Like every book in the series, Sophie Lark writes stories that are impossible to put down until the pages run out.This is a magnetic enemies to lovers with a little Romeo and Juliet.
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While Yelena's father has a plan to take revenge on the Gallos and recover the lost business by the previous boss, Sebastian can only see coincidence in every meeting with Yelena and how beautiful she is, until he can’t let her go
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When the plan is put into action, everything changes the family’s and Sebastian is the only one who can save them and end the threat over their heads recovering their lost honor and power
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Many thanks to Sophie Lark and SourceBooks Bloom for giving me a copy of this good book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

Heavy crown 2.75⭐️3.75🌶️

Mafia Romance
Dark Romance
Dual POV
Morally grey couple
Insta-love
Rival families
Secrets


For a finale of a series this was a complete bust. Generally a finale brings people together and this book just didn’t. It did a good job of bringing past couples into the story, probably more than any other book, but not in a good way.

The insta-love was just that, with not a lot of relationship development. There was a little bit too much dub con for me. The situation put the FMC at a huge emotional disadvantage making the scene borderline emotionally abusive. Just yuck.

The book was a sloppy ending to this series and felt like it was just to set up the kingmaker series. There is no emotional resolution for this generation, only setup for 3 kids in the next one.




Thank you NetGalley and Sorcebook Bloom Books for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow, the youngest Gallo took me by surprise, who knew he had a dark side. 

Sebastian is establishing his position within the family. Yelena is the daughter of the ruthless Russian mafia boss.  Their paths cross when he comes to her rescue but Yelena has a secret.

Sebastian and Yelena's forbidden romance is sweet until betrayal puts everything and everybody at risk.

The story is fast-paced and I found myself completely immersed.  I can't deny that I felt the danger and emotional twists. The HEA is a journey of heartbreak and anger-inducing moments.  

This can easily be read as a standalone, but reading the entire series is best. With that said, as a series conclusion I did find some things lacking. As a standalone setting up for a spin-off series, The Kingmakers, the ending delivers.

🗡 insta-love
🗡 mafia romance
🗡 family drama
🗡 arranged marriage
🗡 dark romance
🗡 morally gray characters
🗡 open-door spice
🗡 first-person, dual PoV

For my first try with this author, Heavy Crown was a good one. It had found family, plenty of action, some dark and sad moments, and tons of chemistry between the main characters.

Unlike his siblings, Sebastian was footloose and fancy free. He was starting to think that maybe he wasn't as content with his life as he should be. When Yelena crosses his path, things start looking up. She's absolutely gorgeous, a fierce warrior, and everything he could want in a woman. Too bad her father was the leader of the Bratva, his family's enemy. But isn't forbidden fruit so much sweeter?

It was easy to like both characters. There wasn't a lot of depth to them, or to the story, but it worked for me. There was something light about this book that softened the blow of all of its dark moments.

Lark continues to write bangers that I can’t put down. This book did not disappoint being the very last one in this series — I still wish there were more books!

Yelena is a total firecracker! She doesn’t back down. Sebastian on the other hand is the most loyal — completely unmatched. I loved the miscommunication trope they had going on here. The spice was real, and some of the scenes? Phew.

That being said I would recommend reading at LEAST the first book in the series as it helps make some things make sense.

This book is packed full of pure lust, deceit and so many secrets. The amount of angst within these pages gives some of my favorite angsty novels a run for their money. Overall, highly recommend.

WOW! What a fantastic end to the series! I was so excited to see what Sophie did with this last book and she did not disappoint. The vibes and characters were 🤌🏻

Yelena ranks right up there with Nessa with favorite FMC's of this series. Her fiery personality was so enticing. She was not afraid to back down. Then Sebastian was everything I expected him. His loyalty was unmatched. Reading them coming into their own and wearing their crowns was amazing.

Sophie has not written a book that I have not loved. I can not wait to see what she has in store for us next!

I was quite satisfied with the last book to this wondeful series. More secrets, lies and betrayal lead to the epic conclusion of the Brutal Birthright books. Although it is marketed as a standalone, I think it is best that the other books are read as all the old characters appear.

As usual, Sophie Lark brings fantastic chemistry to her characters. I liked both Sebastian and Yelena. I'll admit, this book felt particularly spicy. As for the plot, it had unexpected twists and solid action. More mafia content and drama.

I think out of all of the books in the series, I enjoyed book 5, Broken Vow the most. I was coming off the high from that book. Although Heavy Crown was a good read, it wasn't my favourite so I gave it a 3.5 in ratings.

Tropes:
Miscommunication trope
He falls hard
Insta love
Dual POV
Mafia romance
Virgin heroine

Thank you Sophie Lark, Netgalley and Bloom for providing an ARC, my thoughts are my own.

This isn't a perfect book- but it is an extremely enjoyable one. It is exciting to read, the pacing is great, the characters are dynamic and the spice is seamless. I recommend this!!!

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up

I’’m rounding up simply because I really should stop reading Sophie Lark, I don’t know why I continue to try again and again, her writing really is just not my cup of tea.

Sebastian and Yelena were fine. Nothing memorable. The miscommunication trope in this was insufferable for me, and the entire arc of the story depended on it.

The way Sophie writes Mafia is…. completely boring. Is it probably closer to reality than others? Sure. But I’m not reading it to learn about the mafia 😂. This whole series was just meh imo.

The last book in the series did not disappoint. Sophie Lark’s writing style and spice is one of my favorites. She does mafia romance right and I love it!

Soooo, I haven't read the other books in this series but I'm going to have to now because the dad dies in the end. I feel the need to see more of how he must have been in his prime

It's very insta-love which sometimes I like sometimes I don't. In this instant, I did because they gave Romeo Juliet vibes what with their families being rivals.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy!

Great ending to the series. I can honestly say I loved each book, and I couldn't choose which is my favourite.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader's copy.

This is for sure a dark, contemporary, crime related romance. Moves along at a good pace and Sebastian is a very likable character. The FMC is no slouch either. There were a few unexpected turns that had me on the edge of my seat!

Overall pretty good book.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books and Net Galley for the ARC!

5/5 star
4/5 spice

To finally have Sebastian's book was damn spectacular!
I had read books 1-5 in this series, but this was a first read of book 6.

"If the ocean were pleasure and my body were sand, then each time Sebastian thrusts into me, it’s like a wave breaking on the shore, soaking me in bliss." ~ Yelena

Sebastian and Yelena start dating, and we get to see them slowly fall in-love with each other. However, they have to navigate their family's dirty secrets before it turns into a heartbreaking betrayal.

- Dual PO
- Bratva / Mafia
- Forced fake relationship
- He falls hard
- True Romance
- Secrets
- Spicy

3.5/5 A mafia romance, with a morally light-gray MMC.

So whoever uploaded Heavy Crown to NetGalley forgot the crucial information that this is book #6 in the Brutal Birthright series. I thought it was a standalone. Good news, I've read book one 'Brutal Prince', so I'm going to let you know if 1) You need to read books 2-5 before reading this one, and 2) How much I enjoyed the read, even without knowing the full series.

Do you you need to read the full series to understand book #6?
TLDR: No
Explained: You at least need to have read book #1 'Brutal Prince', because it introduces you to all the characters and does the world building that will help you understand what is happening in book #6. As long as you've read the first book, Sophie does a great job 'reminding' you about what happened to the other siblings in the other stories (thank you so much for that reminder Sophie!)

How much I enjoyed the book
Book one was dark, which I loved. Our FMC ate strawberries before kissing her husband because she knew he was deathly allergic. Yes! I expected the same level of dark here, but our MMC and FMC are ultimately good people, a lighter shade of morally gray if you will. I wish there was a bit more spice. But I like the pacing of the book. I'd say this is more of a romantic thriller than a dark romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the advanced reader copy.

This book is best read in your childhood home, while your beloved plays the piano. If you smell smoke, you'd better run . . . fast.

This is my first experience with a Sophie Lark book. I thought it was a standalone. I hadn’t read any of the other books in the series, so I was worried that I’d be lost. I definitely wasn’t lost. There may be some things that took me a while to understand but I eventually got it.

I really enjoyed the book, I’m just not a fan of the miscommunication trope as well as the insta-love trope, and those seemed to be heavy in this book. Just because it wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good book. I enjoyed the writing and the adventure (twists and turns) that the book took me on.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Heavy Crown - A good old mafia story of love, passion, revenge and loads of action. I enjoyed reading the Heavy Crown where the lead Sebastian reluctantly but ultimately wears the crown he is entitled to.

Thank you Sophie Lark, Bloom Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to express my honest opinion for a copy of the eARC of Heavy Crown.

First and foremost, what a finish! I've read a few other reviews and while I agree that the conclusion to this series was not what I expected; it's also not my series to end, nor are these my characters to write. After reflecting a bit, I have come to the conclusion that the how and why each family member found their own way was how it was meant to be. I don't want to give too much away - but try to put your own expectations aside and go with it.

I'm not a usual fan of the miscommunication trope, but Sophie is such a fantastic writer and the action/suspense was enough to keep me satisfied to not focus on the absurdity of how much I hate it. It really was that good. I also very much enjoyed the sub-plot that we got of Enzo + Yelena, Greta, Sebastian, etc.

The pacing was pretty on point but the extreme time jump with the epilogue, while it made sense to set up the next generation, was not my cup of tea and felt rushed to the max. I could have done without it. All of that being said; I loved this book - I loved this series, and I love Sophie Lark. The end.

Heavy Crown by Sophie Lark is an addicting book.
This is my 4th book from Sophie Lark and I've enjoyed reading the Brutal Birthright Series.

✅ Mafia
✅ High sexual tension
✅ Plenty of spicy scenes
✅ Action packed
✅ Betrayal
✅ Angst
✅ Suspense
✅ Heart breaking scenes
✅ Tear jerker ( i've cried a lot)
✅ Spiciness : Intense and explicit

The storyline are addicting and the characters are amazing. Throughout the series, I really curious about Seb character since he's the quiet guy. When he met Yelena, the attraction are very strong. I really love Yelena character since she doesn't just sit around when there's a problem. She really trying to help Seb in anyway she knows which really shows her loyalty to Seb.

I'll definitely be looking forward to Sophie Lark and waiting for the next book.