Bossman is a Mafia romance. Joey and Sophie met for a second time when Joey needs some massage therapy for an injured knee. Her car is getting towed and she tries not to let her customer see whats going on. He decides that he will pay for the car for one date.. Sophie is afraid to get involved with someone in the Mafia because her dad died while a part of it. Joey kind of takes over Sophies live. . She realizes that she likes for Joey to be in her life and to take charge and spank her if she needs it. This is a very erotic book with a lot of spanking with consent by both parties, especially Sophie. If you love spanking books with hot men doing the spanking, this book is for you. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

"Bossman" by Renee Rose

***a special thank you to Riverdale Ave Books, Renee Rose, and Netgalley for providing a copy for this review.

SYNOPSIS

Sophie Palazzo steered clear of the mafia after her father's involvement ended with his murder. Fifteen years later, Joey La Torre, the Don's brother himself, shows up unannounced at her massage studio and wheedles his way into a date. She has no interest in aggressive, macho men like Joey, or so she tries to tell herself, but her body just doesn't get the message. When Joey takes her in hand with a firm bare-bottomed spanking, she ought to be furious, instead, she's aroused. As she explores her physical desires to be dominated, she tries to keep Joey at arm's length emotionally.

Joey knows he wants Sophie for keeps from the moment he walks into her life. She is hot, classy and full of fire, even though submission turns her on. But his involvement in the mafia is a hard limit for her, bringing to conflict his own dedication to the Family, the code of silence and his relationship with his older brother. Can he reconcile his duty to the organization and his growing need for Sophie to remain in his life permanently?

★★★☆☆
Contemporary Romance | Erotica | BDSM

I am usually very into BDSM books, the situations rarely make me unconfortable and while the authors more than likely romanticize them, I always leave the book thinking - yum, what a tasteful dom and sub book. This title did not have that for me, some parts were more sensual than most - but all it played on for the BDSM was spanking. To what felt like every other page, the main character did something to piss of our male to reduce him to slapping her butt. At first, it isn't even a sexual thing, which is very weird for me, but turns sexual when our leading lady gets all hot for the punishment. I'm not judging anyones relationship, but all this book had was spanking, when I went into it expecting more.
Second, I LOVE mafia stories (the romantic ones anyway) and that was what originally drew me into this title. I like the 'boss mans lady" title for the leading ladies - but this book was certainly misleading if it means Joey is the boss for the mafia, cause he ain't. Therefore i'm assuming it means more bossman for the relationship, however the amount of times our girl sophie here messes with this "don't cross the line on my work" rule - i'd expected him to drop her ass . . . but he didn't.

CHARACTERS

Joey - brother to our new mafia king, this guy enters the story on the first page, not sure where or why he's there. I'll admit, I'm not a fan of quick entrances into the story - lets build a chapter or a few pages before we get to the sexy scen, yes? We find out our handsome male has a bit of a possessive crush on our leading lady and a weird disciplinary move of spanking when 'women' get out of hand. I'm on the fence with him, he opened his heart to Sophie, told her things he shouldn't because he cared for her, and took care of her problems (don't punch me in the face my fellow feminist, if your cars about to be towed, take the damn money to get it back!) but he continues to stay with her after she repeatedly says no.
Sophie - I don't think I should get to into it, but she bothers me. If you don't want to be a boss wife/girlfriend say no and move on "SAY NOOOOOO" seriously. Don't bitch about how shitty people are to your mom, but continue to go back and deal with them. I think she just happened to fall into the trope I can't deal with in characters, so I have a hard time with her.

THE STORY

the reason for the three stars after spending half this review bitching on it would be the storyline. I loved it and like I said I'm a kicker for mafia stories. I liked that there was a back and forth build between the characters, I liked Joeys situation and how he delt with his family with Sophie. It was expertly paced and felt like a longer story despite being a bit shorter than my usual cup of tea.

This story was a little too immature for me. Sophie always seem to act more like a child than an adult. It seems as if the author was trying a little to hard in writing this story. I think the story line should have been thought out a little better with someone who was more mature. Joey kept calling her little girl and Sophie acted as if she really was a child. An then on the other hand Sophie was trying to be an adult about some things and went about it like a child instead of being a woman to face Joey's mom Dona Teresa when she was making comments to her. This was an okay read for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was my first book from Renee Rose and I will definitely checked out the other books in the series. The chemistry between Sophie and Joey was sizzling hot but I had two issues. One, the way Joey sometimes talked to Sophie was quite harsh and rude. Being in the mafia doesn't mean acting like a cave man. And two, is the way the changes between scenes were not delimited. A part from that, still a good sexy read.
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sexy with a hint of danger and spice! I Enjoyed this book. Sophie and Joey were def matched well together! I’d like to see some more from Renee!

Amazing book that explores voluntary spanking as much as the romance!

Joey is a wonderfully complex character; Alpha to the core, pushy, arrogant, but he freely admits that his heart belongs to Sophie and there isn't much he wouldn't do for her. He's torn by his loyalty to his family, the same Family that Sophie has tried to avoid at all costs since her father's death, and his intense chemistry with Sophie and the unrelenting conviction that she's his forever girl.

Sophie doesn't want to feel anything for Joey, but she can hardly help herself, especially when they discover that he has a natural affinity for administering the kind of spankings that send her over the edge. Their romance really takes root as they learn more about what each of them wants from this new development, but the conflict of his family ties is never completely on the back burner.

How they resolve this conflict and find their HEA was exquisitely written, with surprising ups and downs and twists that didn't go where you think they were headed. I loved how Joey was willing to put Sophie ahead of everything else in his life, without sacrificing his duty or obligations to his family. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book through NetGalley.

Awesome book. The tug and give in this book makes it a page turner. Can not wait to see the next one

I love reading Renee Rose books. I'll happily read anything that she writes. She manages to balance a great story along with hot and sexy action. It makes for a great story.

Sofia's father was in the Family in Chicago. Her mother never liked it. After her father died when she was a teenager, she and her mother pulled away from the rest of the Family, even if they did help out after her father died. When Joey walks into her massage office, she dreads what's going to happen because she doesn't want to be dragged into the Family drama anymore. Too bad Joey isn't about to take no for an answer.

There's all kinds of tension in this story. Sofia and Joey don't exactly have smooth sailing from the start. There are so many things that they have to overcome. I got mad at both of them at various times and well as very sad on their behalf. Broke my heart. Of course, in my opinion, that's the mark of a good story, making one feel strongly for the characters. It seemed like it happened in just a couple of days, but looking back at it, I realized that there was a lot of time in the story, but that didn't really bother me so much.

Overall, I really enjoyed the whole story and I'm really glad that it ended the way that it did.

I’ve been wanting to read this one for a long time and I now that I have I’m kicking myself for not digging in sooner!

Sophie is against everything mob related. It took her father away from her during a time when she needed his guidance the most and then it took his life. When Joey shows up in her life again she fights against the attraction she feels for him. But Joey is one sneaky, charming hero and he finangles her into one date after another and then surprisingly into a hot as heck spanking. What should have felt humiliating actually turns Sophie on and soon she’s craving his complete dominance.

I loved reading how this couple both come to explore how punishment can add a deeper dimension to a relationship. For Sophie it is a means of letting go and finding a safe place to land. Joey finds an intense enjoyment out of knowing he’s providing her with what she needs emotionally as well as physically and sexually.

This is a fast paced read that is so steamy I’m sure my glasses fogged up a time or two. The mafia angle was well done, although I must admit I haven’t read a lot of mafia romances. The secondary characters were okay and the ending was pretty perfect.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Riverdale Avenue Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I definitely enjoy this book a lot. It is a quick, smutty romance and does not disappoint! There is a very niche audience that will be captivated by this title, and Renee Rose does a very good job of descriptive scenes. I would prefer a bit more character description. I do enjoy reading about subjects that I know nothing about...this gave me a glimpse of mob life!

I was provided an ARC from netgalley for an honest review. This was billed as a spanking romance and it totally delivered. Renee Rose did a fabulous job of combining a story of about mafia and erotic spanking. Sophia was born into the mafia but after her father died her mother kept her away from them. Joey's mom sends him to Sophia after a knee replacement and the chemistry starts right away. This is a fast past romance that does not let dust settle. Sophia has reservations about getting involved with Joey due to his position in the mafia but Joey wont let that stop him from getting his girl.

What’s not to to love about this book? At first I thought it would be like every other Mob book. I was shocked how excited I got as the pages went on. The story between Joey and Sophie shows a lot of love. Knowing her struggles between the Family then falling in love with someone from there. The bonus for me was the Spanking. This book was HOT (in a good way)

Sophie has swore off men from the mafia but Joey gets under her skin. A thrilling spanking romance that will keep you interested and leave you satisfied.

I received an arc via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Wow! Joey is one supremely sexy Alpha Mafia tough guy with a sweet side. What a terrific character! So well written and yummy. Poor Sophie didn’t know what hit her when he took over. She tried to stay away from the Family but Joey was too much to resist. She did hold her own though. Great dynamics between these two and steamy chemistry. Great read. I voluntarily reviewed a NetGalley ARC.

Sophie wanted nothing to do with the Mafia. It took her father away from her when he was tragically killed. After hearing how her mother felt for years, she decided to distance herself away from that life. After meeting Joey, she fights against getting to know him or staying far way to avoid how she feels. Her emotions run rampant aeavh time they are near one another. Will she ever change her mind?

I really struggled with this one. The plot, which was not smooth in places, was about Mafia(we did not see a lot of in situations but the hint was there) and kink, which Renee wrote brilliantly. Both are strong, dangerous and addictive. Joey was great at everything, yes EVERYthing. Sophie annoyed me. He is what she needed but she was punching above her weight with her attitude and "I am better that you" out look on life.
This was a quick, insta-love with the right amount of kink.

This book was really good; even better than I expected because while Joey is connected to the mob, he’s got personal integrity and that Alpha bad boy aura made his character appealing right from the start. The book is fast paced and very well written and the storyline is compelling because of Sophie’s tragic childhood and the trauma that affects her many years later as an adult. It’s easy to sympathize with her very real fears of a long term relationship with Joey and I admired her for acting on her convictions. Smart dialogue, lots of naughty sexual encounters and a great storyline; this book is a real treat. I read a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

This was a great book to read. All of the characters were captivating and kept the story going strong. Perfect chemestry between the H and h and a HEA

Read the full book but found it hard to focus as it jumped about too quickly. A lot of characters were thrown at you in quick succession and it was difficult to remember who was who. The book jumped from setting to setting without leAding to anywhere specific. If you like a racy read without too much of a plot then so you can just focus on “juicy” bits then would be a good read.

Enjoyable!

Intense and sexy yet emotional journey of love with some parts to make you chuckle.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.