Super spicy, super mysterious. I didn't know it was part of a series and ended on a cliff-hanger. That's a no-go for me. But, Sky is a great writer and I'll keep reading and waiting on the next title...

The book started off strong then just became unbelievable. The MMC being a jerk going forward because he had to buy her..come on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This the story of a young woman “Sapphire” who is on the run from the mob - who killed her brother and the government who she owes money for a mortgage. She has lost everything so she does the most logical thing- flys to Milan to enter a top lingerie model contest ( the start of my eye rolling) There designer- perfectly sculpted green eyed masculine Conway is instantly taken with her - to the point he can see no one else. They spar - she takes of her clothes- because she has her pride- but she relents to be his top model. Evidently all of her proportions are perfect like he has never seen before. Chapters alternate between her telling the story in 1st person and him.
The female voice was fine but the voice and dialogue of the male gave me serious ick and ewww.
Example- In one scene he cant stand the thought of a such beautiful girl ( never woman- always girl) sleeping in the street…one could only conclude its ok for less attractive girls to sleep in the street.
Im sure some readers that will like this story- but I like my characters, smart and strong ( not prideful and stupid) are into this sort of story, but Sorry but at 21% this was a DNF for me. I understand this book is a series and have no desire to spend more time with the characters.

I'm so excited that Penelope Sky created this second generation of Barsetti's that fight sex trafficking. Like his father, Conway is helping to get women out of the clutches of traffickers but he never thought that his own model and muse Sapphire would fall prey to them. He also never thought that there was a man out there who was as obsessed with Sapphire as he was. - A costly mistake in more ways than one.

This story is much like the original Buttons series with Sapphire being as outspoken, and feisty as Conway's mother Pearl. Will Sapphire and Conwsy also have the dysfunctional relationship that they had?

I really enjoyed the chemistry and dynamic between Conway and Sapphire. The running theme of the obsessed alpha who reluctantly falls in love with the heroine is definitely continued in this book. I'm r
curious to see how this series will differ from the original.

Again, Penelope loves using her tried and true narrator Michael Ferraiuolo who can make any alpha antihero sound both vicious and sexy. He is definitely doing some good work in this audiobook.

I can't wait to listen to the rest of this series and to see how Conway and Sapphire's relationship grows and what challenges they will have to overcome to get to their HEA.

"Buttons and Revenge" presents a compelling premise of redemption, ambition, and conflict. The story follows Safire, a woman running from her past, trying to rebuild her life by diving into the cutthroat world of fashion. She hopes that this fresh start will allow her to leave behind her secrets and painful history. On the other side is Conrad, a wealthy and powerful man who is used to having control and getting things his way. The two characters collide in a story of passion, power struggles, and self-discovery, with their lives forever intertwined in unexpected ways. As the story progressed, it felt like it was building toward something significant, but then it ended abruptly. There was a sense of unfinished business, leaving important plot points and character arcs unresolved. The tension and momentum that had been developed earlier in the book seemed to dissipate too quikly, leaving the reader wanting more—yet without the satisfaction of a complete resolution. I listened to the audio. Safire was believable but Conrads was not.

I’ve been waiting for this one to come to audio I remember reading this awhile ago and it just made it so much better when you can hear the emotion and feel what the characters are going through 10/10!!

This is NOT my genre, so take my review with a grain of salt if you like this sort of thing. I found it incredibly crude and sexist. If you told me this was written by a man I would believe you. Even the FMC talking about herself says “my tits” and just various other terms that sound like manspeak.

I won’t get into details about the actual plot because it’s so outlandish and quite frankly, sad. It’s “dark romance” I guess, but I just found the story unbelievable and tragic. The MMC is crude, sexist and treats the FMC horribly. I think at one point he even thinks “I enjoy seeing her in pain.” I drew the line when the FMC wants connection because she has zero experience, and the MMC basically wants to SA her because he “owns” her. Conway has zero redeemable qualities. I would have loved if he saved her from being trafficked and promised not to touch her. But alas… Not my cup of tea!

On a brighter note, it ends on a cliffhanger, with the FMC finding some semblance of protection from the MMC. Although I don’t think I will be reading to find out what happens.

I listened to the audiobook of this, and I loved the narrators. They both did an excellent job, but the female narrator hit it out of the park.
For the story, I really liked it in the beginning and felt like it was developing nicely. I liked Sapphire's character and was growing to like Conway. Then everything changed in a really unnatural way. I grew to like the second half of the book as well, but it felt like two different characters and a different story. I didn't like either character as much in the second half. It was disjointed and had many inconsistencies. It has a lot of promise in each of the stories, but it was supposed to be one. They just felt like completely disparate characters and storyline.
I did listen to it all in one day, so there is definitely promise there. It just needed better cohesion for me.

While I thought I would enjoy this book, it is not for me. DNF at 43%

I enjoyed the narration in the short amount I listened to, but I did not realize this was a multiple title series.

3 stars
Mafia romance that didn't pull me in at all, the characters were interesting up until 40%. The story didn't go anywhere after this as well and I felt bored when we got to the climax. The tension and spark wasn't enough to carry these characters in the story.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book at about 44%.

Its very repetitive, I think the word Posture was used about 5,652 times already and we aren't even half way. The story is stalled, it doesn't advance. There is zero character development. All I hear about is how juicy the guy thinks this lady's behind is. I really don't like the dialog, the conversations are stilted and peppered with really cliché statements. The male voice actor has a very high pitched voice. The Female voice actor is monotone. I can't tell which character is speaking sometimes because they all sound the same. Overall a disappointment.

Holy Slow Burn!

Wow! I just finished Buttons and Revenge by Penelope Skye, and I’m still catching my breath after that intense slow burn! The wait was excruciating—and now I have to wait even longer to find out what happens next!

Conway Barsetti, a confident lingerie designer, becomes unexpectedly captivated by a model known only as “10.” She’s running from a troubled past and wants nothing handed to her. Despite Barsetti’s reputation for always getting his way, “10” is from a completely different world—and she couldn’t care less about his wealth or power.

With unwavering self-respect and strong values, “10” knows how to be grateful but refuses to compromise her integrity. Let’s just say, she might be giving thanks for a long time to come.

Michael Ferraiuolo and Samantha Cook’s narration is absolutely gripping. The story isn’t overtly spicy, but the book-long tension had me squirming, waiting for the inevitable explosion between these two characters!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

I decided to listen to this book because this is the same author who wrote another series that I really liked.

The spice was good. I did think some of the parts in the story were a little over dramatize, for example the main character doesn’t have any money and she’s on the run. She decides to fly all the way across the country for the shot of working for a famous lingerie designer. I think it’s a little far-fetched .

Overall, I did like the relationship growth between the male main character and the female main character.

I don’t think I will read the second one just because the first one was really not my style, but I do think the story was written well.

The narrators did a great job. I have nothing to say about that. I think they conveyed their characters perfectly, and I would listen to other books narrated them.

To start the audiobook is done well and the narrators helped th story come to life.
That is where my enjoyment of this story ended. If you like alpha holes who buy sex slave virgins and treat them poorly than this story is for you. If not go ahead and skip it.

Penelope Sky's series is deliciously addicting and hearing the audiobook was amazing fun! I loved the narrating on this book. I thought the narrators added to the story and suited the characters perfectly. It was full of tension, action, steam and in perfect Penelope sky form is full of dark romance. I thought that mixing fashion and organized crime was so fun and intriguing. I love how both worlds overlapped seamless and the couple had so much chemistry, tension and spice. It's addicting, fast paced and I can't wait to keep listening and reading.

2.5 ☆
-
Buttons and Revenge is book 1 in a 15-book series 😀.

Now, I really wanted to like and enjoy this story, but 60% into the book, I was bored. Honestly, I've been bored the entire story! I just had such high hopes for this series since I've heard good things about it, but it just didn't live up to the hype for me.
The female lead character, Sapphire, just didn't have any layers to her and was boring! For someone who didn't have anything, she complained too much for me.
Conway is considered an alpha male, and I just didn't see that in him.

The audiobook was good. I liked that it was dual narration, and the narrators did a good job telling the story. They were easy to listen to.

Thank you, Netgellay and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Running from America in order to save herself from a man looking to use her body as revenge for a debt that cannot be paid, Sapphire finds herself in Italy working as a lingerie model. But once she hits the runway her identity is known and she finds herself being sold in an auction. Luckily her new boss, Conway Barsetti buys her. But will his true feelings for her ever come to light or will she now just become his sex slave? With one of a kind characters and a storyline that keeps you on the edge of you seat, once again Penelope Sky starts off a series with a bang and leaves you craving more. Once the audiobook starts you will not be able to turn it off - perfectly narrated.