Supernatural spicy mafia romance novel, what more do you need to say? Her Dark Salvation is a great dark romance novel and I hadn't anticipated the supernatural twist but I loved it!

Very much reminded me off 50 shades of grey but with blood demon world and less spicy scenes. I felt the book got better half way through and too off a bit more.

Her Dark Salvation is a dark, paranormal mafia romance with humans, vampires and all the mafia feels.

This was a very well written book, set in dual point of view. The MMC was immortal and, quite possibly for the first time for me, the FMC was in her forties rather than being in her early twenties. Tis meant that there was still an age gap element without it being odd or uncomfortable. This was a very plot heavy book but was quite fast paced - an element I don't always enjoy but worked really well in this book. I adored the first 85 percent of this book, and found myself invested in and thoroughly enjoying the plot. Unfortunately, the first major conflict began to let the story down. Fast pacing works very well when done well, but conflict is the hardest to do in a fast paced book. There were some mild grammatical errors and the ending left quite a lot to be desired for me.

This was an 18+ book with smut scenes. These scenes were rushed and just a little strange. I read a lot of dark romance, meaning I'm quite used to all manners of smut, but in this book it felt rushed and uncomfortable - like the characters had all this romance and chemistry right up until the moment they were naked and then suddenly it all disappeared. That being said, the chemistry between the two characters outside the bedroom was really hot and the romance elements had me screaming and desperately wanting to find out what happened next.

3.5 stars.

Mafia, blood vendetta, blood demons, betrayals, and yes quite a bit of sizzle. Strong characters and complex well written plot keep things tense and moving at a relentless pace. Sub themes of finding what is important and the bonds of loyalty, friendship, and family provide a rich environment.

I really enjoyed this story!

I found that the story was really well written and it was certainly a book that had me hooked.

It was quite a "dark" story in places but I found it to be a thrilling read.

It was romantic and sexy, a totally addictive read that I didn't want to put down.

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

I'm giving this one 1 star and that's being generous. I love a good romance, but the corny dialogue was just too much to not roll my eyes every time someone spoke. It didn't feel organic. It felt like I was reading a high school attempt at a romance novel.

Thank you to #Netgalley for the ARC. I enjoyed this book a lot. We meet Anna, who is a college professor at MIT, and she has become disillusioned by Academia. Her best friend sets her up with Marco's company to find out who is stealing from him. Anna does not know that he is a Blood Demon, born 100 years ago. Sparks fly for the both of them at their first meeting, but he resist her. Can Ana change his mind and become his salvation?

A paranormal dark romance with mafia ties. It was pretty limited in character interactions beyond Anna and Marco. I wished there would a little more building on the tension, neither of them really fought it before quickly being all in. I’m committed enough to read any sequels.

This was a fun paranormal romance, our MMC is an Italian blood demon, which is basically a vampire, and he has ties to the mafia so what more could you want. Our MFC is a mega smart lady who's always been underestimated and finally decides to take her like into her own hands and do what she wants even if no one thinks she's capable of doing it. Marco and Anna's chemistry was awesome, she joins his company undercover cause he thinks he has a mole or a leak and their banter is hilarious, he lowkey sexually harasses her but she loves it and so did I! They're two lost souls that found each other at the right time when they most needed each other.

𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.”
𝐇𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐇𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤. “𝐍𝐨, 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐨,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞.”

I really enjoyed this one! It's my first book by this author so I wasn't sure what to expect but it's a dark paranormal mafia romance and it's got blood demons (not vampires), and a super smart amazing FMC that is over 40!

Marco and Anna comes together because Anna is hired after she quits her job at MIT to help find who/how is stealing money from Marco's business.

But it's got all the dark mafia moments mixed with great spice, familial bonds, secrets, betrayals.. it was great. I'm looking forward to reading Luca's book now!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for this review.

Thank you so much to the author, R&R Book Tours & NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Her Dark Salvation in exchange for an honest review. As soon as I read the plot line for this one, I knew I had to read this paranormal mafia romance ❤️‍🔥

The story surrounds Anna, a tenured university professor who decides to take a sabbatical working in the field, as she grew tired of her academic work. Anna is contracted by Marco, the owner of an empire and who also happens to be a smoking hot blood vampire!

I LOVED how the characters are older and more mature, with the FMC being in her 40s. Anna was so relatable for so many of us females - being told we aren’t able to handle certain things while growing up, and ultimately delaying (or missing out) on our dreams as a a result. It was really cool watching her growth over the course of the book. I also really enjoyed the tension and banter between the two main characters. It was definitely a slowwwww burn, but the spice was worth the wait!

I am definitely looking forward to Luca and Siobhan’s story in book two!

I absolutely devoured this book! It was gritty, dark, and had a romance that you can't help but fall in love with!

This book had me by the first chapter. You can’t help but root for Ann in her new path in life. When she is given her first opportunity by her best friend Jeff she had no idea what she was walking into. When Ann met Marco she knew she was in trouble in more ways than one. Is she brave enough to start this new path of her life or will she revert back to her normal boring life like before. This book has strong characters, a great storyline, and more to this story will be in other books from the series. I was given a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So this book had a good premise and a few interesting things going on. The problem is that it is just so goddamn slow and therefore kind of boring. I never really got into the story because nothing really happened until the end. And even then it just left me feeling more 'whatever' than anything. One of the main reasons I requested this was because I'm a sucker for books where the FMC is a quiet shy girl because I can totally relate to that. So imagine my surprise when this supposed wallflower is suddenly showing up to a high society function with the host, wearing a plunging dress that anybody who panics when they're around that many people would never wear fully confident in herself. I get that she wanted to change and be less shy. But that's something that does not happen overnight like here.

Okay, so. Marco is a vampire, but they don't call themselves that. They are called blood demons in this series. Not sure that name helps their cause, but okay. He grew up dirt poor. So much so that his mother had to literally sell her blood in order for them to eat. He found himself joining the mafia when he was a child and growing up immersed in that world. But he wasn't doing it for himself. He has this driving force that makes him think he has to protect everyone, but especially take care of his family. But when they start getting into things that he wants no part of, he leaves and sets off on his own. Fast forward to now and he's built himself his own empire both in American and overseas. Unfortunately, it's looking like he has a thief in his employ and needs help finding out who. That's where Anna comes in.

Anna is a professor at MIT who is bored with her life. Honestly, that's what it all comes down to. The author plays it up as some mid-life awakening (which every time I read that it grated on me), but we all know what it really is. She decides she needs a change and takes a sabbatical without knowing what she's going to do. And as if by magic, her best friend just so happens to have the perfect job for her. See, her whole career is based on these simulations she runs to figure out company expenses or whatever. I'm greatly over simplifying it, but lets just say her program is EXACTLY what Marco needs to find how he's losing so much money.

The lust is strong with these two from the moment they meet and they're always thinking of the other from then on. Anna finding out he has ties to the mafia should deter her....but of course it doesn't. Even when she more or less finds out what Marco truly is by accident, she can't walk away from him. Which I guess ends up being a good thing because when something bad happens and she acts like a fucking idiot running into traffic and then just stops, Marco is able to save her after she's hit by a car. And then we get the typical insta-love professing that always does bug me so.

Anyway. Aside from this tedious love story, Anna does manage to figure out who is stealing from Marco thanks to her program. The blow he takes from this is a hard one to be sure and he never saw it coming. Though he probably should have. But wow does this traitor suffer for their actions in the end.

Fearing that the rest of this series is going to be like this one (slow), I'm probably not going to be checking out any more of it. But if a slow burn romance is your thing, you'd probably enjoy this a lot more than I did.

Wow! I want to start by saying I’m a mafia romance girl through and through and I’ve never read one with a supernatural twist to it! I absolutely loved it! It was also my first book by Katelyn Brehm and I loved her writing! It was so easy to get into and I was hooked really quickly. I loved the FMC Anna, she was feisty and fun but also so smart and beautiful. Marco was sexy and obsessive and the tension between the two of them was something else! The slow burn and the build up to the spicy was unreal. And once it got spicy it was SPICY. I loved this book so much and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for more books by Katelyn Brehm in the future!

Great, sexy read!! If you enjoy the paranormal, definitely read this book.

Marco DeVita is a blood demon. It's almost like a vampire, yet it's not. Blood demons are born, not turned, they can have children, they can be in the sun, and the only way to kill one is a bullet to the head. They still need blood and they are immortal like a vampire. But they don't need to sleep all day like one.

Marco is Italian, his parents came over from Italy right before WWII for a better life. Marco joined the Blood demon Mob at just 12 years old with his best friend to help his Italian speaking parents with money. He got out in the 60s when the Boss got involved in drugs. That's when Marco did his own thing, but he still did illegal stuff, he was just the Don of his own crew.

In 2024, he realizes that money is missing in his European division and he needs to find out who's stealing from him without anyone finding out. So he hires from a firm he trusts implicitly. Only they send someone who turns his world upside down.

Dr. Anna Barone has been a professor at MIT for almost 2 decades. She wants to take a sabbatical and try her hand in the corporate sector. Her best friend, Jeff, owns a consulting firm that does just that. So Jeff sends her on a job perfect for her skills. Anna gets one look at her boss and she knows that she's in trouble. She has a weakness for Italian men. But she soon figures out what he does for a living and freaks out.

The chemistry between Anna and Marco is crazy. The flirting that goes on between them is funny to watch. She tests Marco's tightly reined control. But when he finally gives in to their chemistry, wow!

A must read!!

*Than you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Her Dark Salvation is book one in the Bonded in Blood series by Katelyn Brehm.
What an absolute amazing Paranormal Mafia Romance story!
I genuinely found this book entertaining and fun to read— it was engaging enough that I finished it in a day.

Thank You NetGalley and Victory Editing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Fantastic!

I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the development of their relationship, the slow burn. He is your typical OTT alpha and she is his perfect match and I really enjoy how she challenges him. This book has action, drama, surprises, suspense, humor and heat.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

Spice 3/5

Book #1
Marco and Anna

Marco is an almost century old blood demon that has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He does everything he can to protect his community but realizes that someone is taking advantage and needs to find out who.

Anna is done being a professor at MIT. She doesn't have the drive for it anymore and decides that she wants to attempt her dream to work in industry. Perfect timing since her BFF Jeff needs someone immediately to work for Marco to figure out what is happening to his money.

The attraction is immediate, but will they act on it? Will Marco finally take something for himself? Will Anna finally be more than just a wallflower professor? Read to find out.

Overall, great read. It does set up for book 2 with another couple, and I can not wait to read that story as well.

Blood demons and Mafia, what a brilliant mix! Who doesn't love a brooding bad boy trying to be good? Throw in a strong female and a bucket of chemistry and........well you get the idea. Fantastic.