ARC Review-

Luna Mason doesn't fail in my eyes.
Book 2 was good. There were some sections where I felt like the book felt a little draggy but overall the book was good!
As far as spice I'd give it a 2/5. The spice wasn't the same as book one but the scenes the bool had were amazing.
Overall a 4.25 stars. I enjoyed the book and I cannot wait for book 3!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington and Luna for allowing me the opportunity to review this book for the Kensington release of this series!

Overall the book is good, it’s high spice content. The plot was…. fine. I really liked the first book of the series but this one was just so much worse in multiple aspects. FMC had no personality whatsoever, her whole personality is just based on how much she wants to fall in love. There were multiple cringy moments and some parts felt too repetitive. I guess it just was a filler book for the third one.

Detonate by Luna Mason

“𝚂𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚐. 𝙼𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚎. 𝙸’𝚖 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚋 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝙶𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜. ”

4 stars

This book right here!! This is the first book by Luna Mason, Ive read and absolutely loved it!. If you love a Mafia romance, where the MMC who is a boxer and a hitman and a FMC who is in seek of her Prince Charming but little does she know she falls for someone who she wasn’t supposed to. The banter between the both is gold and do not get me started with their chemistry like OH MY GOD MAN!! I was rooting for them and their happy ending.

Also, thank you to @authorlunamason and @kensingtonbooks for this eARC. I enjoyed this book wayy too much!!

𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 ʙᴏᴏᴋ 𝟸 a stand alone story within the in the series. Grayson is a golden retriever with muscles and a dark side! I love this dark mafia romance series. It’s the perfect blend of spice, romance and mafia adventure. I personally liked Maddie (the FMC) more in this book than the FMC in book 1.
If you love mafia romance I would highly recommend. The series is fast paced, binge worthy, and addicting.
I have already recommended to several friends.
Thank you NetGalley, Luna Mason and Kensington Publishing for the ARC.
⠀

Loved this book. Luna Mason is amazing.

Grayson and Maddie were amazing.

The chemistry was on point, spice was amazing. I love the grand gestures he made. He was an iconic dark romance daddy and i am here for it.

In Grayson Ward's line of business there can be no complications, no relationships, no distractions and no real ties to anything. Then he meets a woman who changes everything, she storms into his world, turns it upside down and leaves him rethinking his rules. Maddie Peters is going to make him rethink his stance on love too...

Detonate is a dark and dirty little page-turner that will have you blushing throughout! These two want to deny the feelings brewing between them, but as much as they try to ignore them the stronger those feelings become. It's an intense little dance, that brings lots of emotion, banter and steam to the pages! Highly recommend!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley request, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
sunshine x grumpy mafia “hitman” = good time

once he became obsessed with her, there was no going back. this is full of banter and fighting, but then turns to growth, and eventually a loving obsession.

I wasn't sure about this book because I know book one is focused more on boxing, but the summary really intrigued me. Boy am I glad that I picked up Luna's work with this book. It sucked me in and I was binging this as much as possible because I didn't want to stop reading. The tension between Maddie and Grayson was absolutely slow burn delicious. I enjoyed following their push and pull so much, but I also really appreciated that we got such a rich storyline and world-building with this, too. It wasn't just a story; but there was history both from Grayson and from Maddie. I think that Luna did this interconnected standalone brilliantly for those who want to start with this book rather than the first book - which has spoilers for that story.

Thank you to Kensington Books for this eARC of Luna's book. I will absolutely be purchasing a copy of this when it is released.

I haven’t read the first book yet but will be doing soon. This book was so good, I had to read it in one setting. I loved the fights in it, loved the characters and loved the storyline and how they came together to the end. 10/10 rating.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book. Detonate is the second book in the Beneath the Mask series. This book can be read as a stand alone and you will not be confused. This book tells the story of Maddie and Grayson. The story of these characters is great. Also this book is very spicy and the spice is well written. This is a dark mafia romance. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Detonate by Luna Mason is an emotional rollercoaster and a must-read for fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope. Luna Mason expertly explores themes of trust, betrayal, and redemption, crafting an intense romance filled with palpable tension. Her captivating prose and engaging style bring the story to life, making the spicy scenes even more memorable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this reread, with the new cover adding an extra touch of excitement. If you love passionate, gripping love stories, Detonate won't disappoint.

Not sure how I feel about this book. I read the first one in this series and enjoyed it, but this one not so much. There was almost no plot, and a lot of spice. So if that is what you're into - this book is for you. Not so much my favorite thing though, but this is my opinion.

I had read the first book in the series and liked it so when this story came out I wanted to read it quickly. I love mafia romances and the angst, enemies to lovers element but absolutely loathe surprise pregnancies. Now while that isn't a total let down, I give books a chance, but this story was so closely written to this first that I was really shocked. So similar right down to the surprise pregnancy. Just was a little repetitive, however the story was really sweet. I do like this author but just wish the stories would be a bit more different.

Thanks to NetGalley and Luna Mason for allowing me to review this ARC!

This just wasn't for me unfortunately. There were some good spicy scenes, but ultimately it was lacking in plot and build-up between the characters which made it fall a little flat for me.

Thank you so much to Kensington Publishing for the ARC via NetGalley and for giving me the opportunity to share my honest thoughts on this book.

These two constantly bickered and you know damn well this was their foreplay all along. They had amazing chemistry, and the spice was just right. It never took away from the story or from the relationship development.
The subplots were just as interesting as the main plot, it all just kept you on your toes wondering where things were headed. The twists towards the end were surprising and this makes me more excited for the next book!

I love a grumpy/sunshine trope but throw in mafia, possessive MMC, banter, and spice and I'm all in!! The plot was wonderfully paced and the subplots were just enough without muddying the waters. We really got to know Maddie and Grayson this way and I throughly enjoyed it. The chemistry and passion between this 2 was perfect. The spice was delicious too! Perfect plot to spice ratio.

Sexy mafia read. Ties directly into book 1 with characters and plot so 100% needs to be read in order. Plot is a little weak- it’s mostly just sex with a little drama and mafia/hit man thrown in. Fun vibes, nothing deep.

It has all the aspects of a great mafia book. The emotions were high and the chemistry was hot. It was alluring and spicy. This combines two of my favorite tropes, mafia and dark romance. Although I think it was on the tamer side.

Dark world of the mafia, intense emotions, violence, revenge, betrayals - yet maybe everything isn't as it seems. Maybe fighting against emotion will only make it that much stronger when it does appear. Some familiar characters in a continuing story that can be standalone. A lot of emotion and spice - and some triggers.

The second novel in Beneath The Mask series features Maddie and Greyson. I was very excited for this couple to be featured, as I felt it would be a true enemies to lovers.
Upon connecting, I felt like it was not enemies to lovers but a pair of those lusting with some dramatics. There was definitely an increase in spice level between books 1 & 2. But where spice increased, plot decreased. For what the book delivers; mafia romance, spice, with some plot. It was fine.
But my critique is the writing, repetition and confusing contradictions in dialogue between characters. I do like the new covers!