5/5⭐️ and 4/5🌶️ Blood in the Water is a mafia why-choose romance.
I received this book as an electronic ARC. This does not in any way affect my review- all thoughts and opinions are completely my own! :)
Leona’s (our FMC) life did a complete 180 when her close friend and love interest of many years, Max, murders her father at her 21st birthday party. After Leona and her loyal body guard, Cassian, escape to temporary safety, Leona decides she wants revenge on Max for her father’s death. As Leona is staying under the radar so Max and his people don’t find her and Cassian, she tries to gain the support of “the shadows” (4 of the world’s best assassins) to aid her in her revenge. Through the book, Leona goes through much growth and self discovery from understanding her priorities and goals to exploring her sexuality/love life in ways she never has before. The mafia princess we meet at the beginning of the story quickly turns into an upcoming queen. (We love to see the female empowerment!!)
If you are in need of an action-packed, spicy, why-choose mafia romance with an FMC that screams female empowerment, this is the perfect book for you! Especially in the last half of the book, I was constantly at the edge of my seat, unable to put down the book. While the action of the book kept me on edge, so did the romance! I loved Leona’s relationship dynamics and I cannot wait to see how they develop in the next book. Sometimes it is hard to find spicy books with a good plot, but you will absolutely not run into that issue here! Even if you took all the romance and spice out of this book, it would still have a captivating plot!
Overall, I absolutely loved Blood in the Water and I highly recommend it to anybody even remotely interested in reading it! Obviously mafia romances aren’t everybody’s cup of tea, but if it is your cup of tea, this book is amazing and you HAVE to read it! It is truly hard for me to write this review without spoilers because I just NEED to talk about every little detail! (Also I LOVE that we get multiple POV’s!)
(Also, I must add that Cassian is overprotective-bodyguard PERFECTION. He would do absolutely anything to keep Leona safe and he makes my heart melt. So if that is also your thing, that is just another reason for you to read this book!)

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For those not sure please check trigger warnings!
I liked this a lot, I felt the characters were well written and the plot was fast paced. My only complaint is the slow burn AND THAT CLIFF HANGER! But I will be continuing the series

A mafia princess and her loyal bodyguard are on the run after the devastating betrayal of the man she expected to marry. Now they must enlist the help of four ruthless assassins to survive and get the ultimate revenge.

R E May’s new, fast-paced, reverse harem novel, Blood in the Water, has it all; action, conflict, drama, sexual tension, and emotions. I was hooked right from the beginning. The characters are fully developed. The story is told through multiple POVs, giving the reader a glimpse into each character’s motivations. The backstories of each are revealed organically and fit each personality. Dialogue is natural and witty. The stakes are high right from the start and keep escalating to an explosive cliffhanger ending leaving the reader wanting more, which the author promises will come in the fall of 2024.

The romance is definitely a slow burn, which I will admit is not my favorite, especially in a why choose story, but it really works here. The sexual tension is ever present, but each relationship unfolds at the pace that makes sense for each guy in the harem. And when the love scenes so happen, they are decently steamy, not super hot yet, but with the potential for more spice as the series continues.

I absolutely loved this book and am looking forward to the next installment. It will be worth the short wait.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Please check your trigger warnings!

This is a why choose, dark romance with multiple pov’s. This is a mafia, found family, grumpy x sunshine, and so much more for the trope. The author did great with character development and building the tension between all the characters. And the storyline was great.

O.M.G this book!!!! Where do I even begin? I absolutely loved everything about this book. It gave me all of the emotions I needed and had me on the edge of my seat.

Our FMC - loved her so much. She’s a mafia princess who really shows that she can be more. She’s a bad*ss, fierce and loyal woman! She grew into herself and it was a joy to watch her get her revenge for everything done to her.

Her 5 men?! Sign me up. They all have such different personalities but they all fit together perfectly. I couldn’t pick a favourite and I’m so glad she couldn’t either haha!

THAT ENDING?!?! How am I surrounded wait until fall to know what happens!!!

Jesus Christ what a cliff hanger!!!!! This book is non stop action, twits, and romance. Spoiled, guarded, shielded Mafia Princess Leona has her work cut out for her taking down a Mafia Empire and 5 men. I love a good why choose reverse harem and Blood in the Water blew my mind. I was hooked from the beginning because the author really took it there with the action. I was shocked, confused, and needed to know more.

I was a bit concerned reading from so many different pov's but it all flowed so well that I was never confused by whose pov I was reading. I absolutely loved the character building amd how the relationships grew between them. I can't wait for book 2 in the fall. Thank you so much to NetGalley and RE May for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.