This was the perfect thriller/mystery and I couldn’t stop flipping the pages. I was hooked to the plot of the story as soon as I began reading and the characters were fascinating. While the pacing was my cup of tea it might not be for everyone.

Thank you Netgalley and Canary Street Press for the chance to read Girl anonymous by Christina Dodd. I requested this title based on the author's name, as I am a fan of Christina Dodd, even though I am not a big fan of mafia/mob romantic suspense. I had a hard time getting into the story, and just didn't connect with the main characters. Although this was a disappointment read, I do recommend the author, as I have enjoyed her other books.

I will start by saying I went into this book totally blind!! Based on the cover, I was not at all anticipating a dark, romantic thriller between a mob boss and the only living member of his families sworn enemy...but I really enjoyed it!

Maarja has worked her whole life to stay under the radar and out of the spotlight since the explosion that killed her mother as well as the head of mob. Against her better judgement, she takes a job to move that same families antiques when the matriarch decides to relocate. When an explosion hits the house, Maarja does everything she can to save the older woman.

This puts her firmly in the path of Dante, the new mob head, who has decided he is now responsible for her safety. The forced proximity situation quickly develops into major sexual tension and Dante declares they are fated. Maarja struggles between her emotions and her disagreement with "the old ways" of claiming a woman.

The banter was fantastic and even though Dante had some very outdated views, I adored him! The story also had an almost fantasy undercurrent that I could never quite figure out. It felt like the ancient feud between their families had some kind of magical component and I fully expected it to come out that Maarja's family had some voodoo or shaman origins.

The mystery component of trying to find out who was targeting Dante's family kept the stakes high and prevented the story from relying too much on the romance. Overall, I am not really sure what I read but I enjoyed it!!

Listen, I love fiction. I read fiction realizing that there are plenty of elements that are unreal. However, Girl Anonymous was just too unreal for me, without being fantasy or sci-fi. It stretched too many possibilities and I just couldn't really relate to it or find any characters to connect with.

This one is a bit of a head scratcher for me. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to read it as a romantic-suspense, or a fantasy or some combination of both. This is not the first time Christina Dodd has thrown a bit of the fantasy/mysticism in her writing, and it does make for an intriguing plot. My advice: suspend reality and fall into the blood feuds, vendettas, and ancient family secrets. My one burning question is: If Maarja Daire was in mortal danger from the Arundel Family why didn't she change her name and move across the country from them? Answer: Then there wouldn't be a book.

Maarja Daire is the last of a Romani family that the Arundel Family has sworn from ancient times to eradicate from the earth. This tale has been passed through the generations and Maarja was part of a Daire plot for revenge when she as just four that didn't go well. Now she is twenty-seven and works as a fine arts mover. She had done her best to stay under the radar, but some things are meant to be and her current job to move the treasures of the Arundel Family has her back in the scene of the crime. She is almost done when an explosion rips through the building and Maarja attempts to save the injured matriarch, Raine Arundel, which earns her the gratitude and a lot more from the family scion, Dante Arundel.

Dante Arundel is trying his best to move the family into legal business ventures. His efforts have met with resistance and not he fears they may have caused the death of his mother. The blast was intentional and now Dante has to figure out who is responsible. The blast also brought him face to face with Maarja Daire. A centuries old blood vendetta and the means to end it are about to play out, if he can keep them both alive.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

I struggled with this book. I couldn't get into it from the start - I think the one voice for different characters was just something I couldn't get my head around. I also couldn't stay focused on the storyline. I was either zoning out or confused. Hopefully my next book by this author will be better.

GIRL ANONYMOUS begins with a bang and the action, intrigue and danger move fast. Christina Dodd is an author who has a way of telling a story that will delight all types of readers.

Reviewed for Fresh Fiction by Annetta Sweetko

https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=90142

🌶️🌶️

If you love mafia romance, you need to check this one out. It has a twist of mystical elements in it, which kept it fresh. Not mafia exactly, but the MMC is from a FAMILY. I would call this a romantic thriller, not suspense, because honestly, people were dropping like flies 😅 I never truly knew who the bad guy was, because everyone was under suspicion. But the sparks and romance were there too.

❤️ Tropes ❤️
💋 enemies to lovers
💋 forbidden romance
💋 forced proximity
💋 fated mates

Dante knows someone is trying to kill his mom and will do everything in his power to save her. As the next head of the family, he has resources to move her to safety. But an explosion rocks their home as the fine antiques were being sent out the door. The worker who charged into save his mom looks familiar and unfortunately put crosshairs on her back by attempting to save his mom. Which means she now is under his protection and not given the option to leave his home and all of his safety precautions. While they race around dodging assassins, it is revealed that she is the last surviving member of the rival family’s line. Everyone will expect him to finish eradicating the line, but the feelings he is developing for her are anything but hate.

Maarja Daire's family has been the sworn enemy of the Arundel family ever since her mother and the Arundel mob boss were killed in an explosion. Now a fine arts mover, Maarja is working for the Arundel family in the same place tragedy occurred all those years ago.

She's working to move their priceless collection when another explosion occurs. Doing whatever is necessary to save the family matriarch from the fire puts Maarja squarely in the sights of Dante, the new head of the family.

Part old-world customs, part mafia romance, part Romani lore, this genre mashup is just what my reader's heart needed. A dark mafia thriller with a spicy romance and otherworldly touches kept me glued to the page and I devoured this one in one sitting. The complex twists, turns, and surprises coupled with the concept if destiny and fate made it impossible to put down

It pains me to do a one star review. This is something I’ve barely done in my time of being a book reviewer. But I think when you read a blurb, you should have enough comfort in what you are about to read. There are two factors that are in this book that are not relayed in the blurb and it could put off other readers as I was put off. And then, considering that I have enjoyed many of Christina Dodd’s books over the past several years, this is not something that I really wanted to do. I will only mention one thing that factored into this “review”. Here are my initial thoughts:

I hate to DNF a book, but sometimes it is necessary. Not into explicit novels. Not at all. Also, I am not a skimmer, reading each book from cover to cover has always been very important to me. However, a few chapters into the story, I had to fast forward a chapter to get past a steamy sex scene. Then, past the midway mark in the book, another sex scene. And I thought, okay, I could fast forward one chapter. No, I had to fast-forward the following chapter. They were still hot and heavy for yet the next chapter. I had to close the book. So, definitely a DNF.

I wanted to like this book, but I did not. I felt the FMC was really naive. I feel the story was repetitive and very disjointed. It was slow and drawn out.

I liked the adrenaline-filled start of this spicy story and was intrigued by the concept of a fine arts moving company. Maarja’s perceptions about an objects past add a touch of the supernatural to this Gothic-adjacent novel. A blood feud, a mysterious bottle, a brutal family organization and assassination attempts keep tension high. A domineering, experienced male and virginal female was very 80s, and not a trope I enjoy; nevertheless, Dodd excels at creating characters you care about. Momma Octavia is a highlight and I look forward to more about her girls. Dodd is a high-demand, must-buy. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

A very very interesting and different kind of story than I have become used to seeing in a Christina Dodd book. We have had her romance stories, a very gothic series in the town of Gothic, her romance comedy books, but this stand alone novel lends itself to a mafia type Dante, who rules the Arundels, and who meets Maarja,a Daire, who’s tribe had been enemies of the Aurndels for years. Maarja is the last of the Daire family and Dante wants to join forces. A lot goes on in this book and it took me a bit to figure out the characters and who they belonged to, but once I figured that out, it was a roller coaster of a story. I will always be a Christina Dodd fan, and this book just emphasized why.

*Girl Anonymous* isn't my usual read, but I couldn't put it down. Even when I had to, I kept thinking about it. I was eager to see if Maarja found her HEA. Dante's commanding and mob boss persona frightened me. I feared for Maarja and Dante throughout the book.

This book is filled with magical realism, darkness, and action. I enjoyed Maarja and Dante's history together. However, the ah-ha moment was predictable for me and didn't have the impact I hoped for.

This is my first Christina Dodd book, and I look forward to more.

My goodness, where are my smelling salts? Where is my fan? I find myself reaching for them and not for the first time since I started reading Christina Dodd’s Girl Anonymous. A much racier book than most of Ms. Dodd’s most recent books. The hotness is getting to me. Not that I am complaining my dears, Ms. Dodd is in the top tier of racy writers without going too far.
Years ago, Maarja Daire’s mother purposely blew up Dante Arundel’s father, a feared mafia boss. This time around, as a trusted employee of Saint Rees Fine Arts Movers, Maarja rescues Dante’s mother, Mrs. Raine Arundel from another explosion earning Dante’s trust. Almost immediately the newly established trust starts eroding after the explosion and other crimes are committed the day Maarja is at the mansion. The book starts with a bang and keeps the tension up, with one exhilarating moment after another.
Maarja hopes in vain that Dante doesn’t remember her as Maarja was there when her mother blew up Dante’s father and severely injured Dante, leaving him scarred and broken. Although Dante is healed except for the scar he kept as a reminder to his friends, family, and enemies that he is a worthy successor to his father. Marjas and Dante were both children when the bomb blew. Maarja has spent her life on the run, until finally she has decided to hide in plain sight. Evidently not a decision that is working out well for her with her assignment at the Daire mansion.
The duo spends their time on the run, hiding out in Gothic— a special treat--, fighting, extremely not fighting, and trying to figure out not who is after them, but who isn’t after them.
Those lucky enough to be long time readers of Ms. Dodd will recognize several of her tropes from past books including a bit of magic, a bit more of mysticism, main characters fighting, and some very funny lines in the middle of very unfunny scenes, trust me, those lines work. These may be tropes, but she makes them all fresh and fun. There are also some James Bond worthy car chases, crazed relatives and general mayhem. Such a satisfying read! The language is rough, there is an on-going battle between Maarja and Dante about Dante going to G-rated language. There is no battle about being in the sack.
Both Dante and Maarja have a lot to learn, about each other, about the world they inhabit, but most of all about themselves. Girl Anonymous is a fun read, that keeps the thrill level up.
“Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing Girl Anonymous for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.”

This book fits the following adjectives: earthy, carnal, dark, and exciting.
Maarja’s run of the mill job is anything but,
The steam between she and Dante is off the charts and I liked their back and forth with each other.
I loved the old world tendencies and the demand and loyalty.
One of the funniest scenes is between Connor and Dante while Owen and Maarja are nonchalant about it.
Dodd kept springing the surprises until the very end.
It kept me on the edge of my seat. I just want to know where I can find my own Dante?!

Girl Anonymous by Christina Dodd

I picked this one up because it was touted as The Godfather meets West Side Story. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to those two for me.

Here are some thoughts:
⚡️ pacing felt disjointed. Fast and confusing at first then slowed down and didn’t keep me quite as engaged.
⚡️ characters were hard to connect with, which made it hard for me to get into the story.
⚡️ genre fusion - romance and thriller. Readers will either love it or hate it.

I haven’t read any of Dodd’s other works, so I don’t know how it compares. Readers looking for a genre mashup, mobster motif, or fated mates may enjoy this one.

This was my first read by an author that is seems to be very popular. Honestly, I'm not really sure how I felt about it. Was it supposed to be a thriller? At some points, it did feel like it was but others felt like it was trying way too hard. Was it supposed to be romance? Definitely had that alpha male thing going which I generally like but I wasn't terribly fond of Dante throughout most of the book. Was it romantic suspense? I suppose it was but again, did it try to hard to add twists where perhaps they weren't needed? I skimmed a bit because some parts just bored me. I love a good, sexy suspense story, this just didn't hit me right, unfortunately.

There are many layers to this story from hints of mafia, to dark romance, thriller, along with betrayal, twist and turns, and a hint of paranormal. At first, I wasn't quite sure what to make of the interactions between Maarja and Dante - were they attracted to each other or was he an evil force that she needed to deal with? But boy did they have hot chemistry between them! There were many intriguing aspects to this story that had me eager to find out what was going to happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Girl Anonymous" by Christina Dodd. The story is action packed and keeps you invested until the very end! At times, I felt like I was on a rollercoaster and didn't know what explosive event would happen next. On top of that, there was a lot of moments that just made me chuckle. Maarja was a character that was fun to root for and her chemistry with Dante was palpable. If you want to read a solid escapist read, this is the book for you!