Book review: DEATH, by Michelle Heard

Mafia Empire #3

Santiago & Ciara

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Michelle Heard is one of the few authors who can make me cry with her portrayal of vulnerable women and the men who protect them.  In this case, Ciara Devlin was kidnapped and subjected to such strong conditioning, that she was broken.  Her captor kept her completely subjugated, he fed her, bathed her, wiped her bum, beat her for disobedience, sometimes locking her into a trunk.  Eventually, Ciara came to see the trunk as a heaven, where she didn’t have to see her captor and escape within her mind to happier past memories.  

Once rescued by Santiago, she kept to the trunk to escape, so severe was her trauma.  Santiago, one of the Mafia Empire lords, breaks up cartels and sex trafficking rings and brings the victims to his compound to help them deal with the trauma.  He can be extremely violent, but he has a strong humane side.  He has the resources to help Ciara and can’t help falling in love with this delicate creature, so badly broken.  

This story was sweet and romantic, seeing Santiago so gentle and tender with Ciara, a very hard contrast to his Mafia persona, when he goes fully dark.  There’s a twinkle of danger in his eyes that Ciara detected fast, but his face is adoring to her, always.

I loved how Santiago treated Ciara, loved how hard Ciara fought to overcome her trauma, loved the reunion between sisters, and loved seeing harsh and forbidding Nikolai carrying his baby boy.  

Once again, Michelle Heard proves that she’s the queen of Mafia love stories!

Purchase links

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3QM2FKK

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F3QM2FKK

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0F3QM2FKK

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0F3QM2FKK

About the author

Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she's always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.

 

Connect w/Michelle:

Website: https://michelleheardauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHeardAuthor

FB Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/118971435201074

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormichelleheard

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/michellehorst

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18108320.Michelle_Heard

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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelleheard_author

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Book review: A CAPTIVE SITUATION, by Tijan

Kings of New York #3

Jake & Sawyer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was so surprised to start this book and not get sucked into the story, as is usual when I read a Tijan book.  The heroine, Sawyer, is so distracted and clueless, like she’s not all in her head, as she visits New York, does some touristy stuff, and starts loitering outside the building where her cousin Graham works.  Her behavior is so bizarre, no wonder she’s picked up by the police and taken to a precinct. 

Incredibly, Sawyer had wasted eighteen years of her life on a loser who used her to help him further his career goals, then when he got her best friend pregnant, he dumped her and cancelled their wedding.  I was asking myself: how can you have not seen any red flags along the way? Usually Tijan’s heroines are plucky and smart, but this one felt like a mental case.  Those wasted eighteen years really hurt me! So Sawyer traveled to New York City on the week her wedding would have been, to distract herself and find her cousin Graham, son of an estranged aunt, whom she’s never met.  She’s found loitering in front of the building where he works, is taken to a police precinct and left there, again aimless and clueless.

Jake Worthing, whom we’ve met before on the previous books of this series, had met Sawyer on the subway, saw her having a moment, asked if she needed an ambulance, then left her there.  Later on, he arrives at the precinct looking for his addict cousin who has been arrested again, finds Sawyer there, and brings her with him and Val.  And then we’re taken on a crazy rollercoaster ride of Mafia shenanigans, a war for turfs among Mafia lords, old friends Trace and Ashton, Sawyer’s crazy aunts who think they are cyber sleuths, and all kinds of fun stuff.  And here is when I got really engaged with the book, now in familiar Tijan territory.

The story is convoluted, fantastic, with so many twists and turns I got whiplash, super entertaining and riveting. The story started with the insta-lust that is so frequent with Tijan’s characters, and ended with a love story where both characters tried to sacrifice their lives to defend their loved one. In the end, I finally got clarity on Sawyer’s haziness at the start of the story, and it made total sense. As she got involved on the action with Jake, she came to life, all the sass and smarts I expect from Tijan’s heroines came forth, and I enjoyed a hell of a ride. And the end was all I expected and needed, although I wouldn’t mind an extra epilogue (hint, hint). Another Tijan hit!

Purchase links

FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/4kjjE7G

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/ACaptiveSituation

Audible: https://bit.ly/43k7F3A

Narrated by: Amelia Hugh & Jeffrey Kafer

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3EZKUb1

A Captive Situation is book three in the Kings of New York series. It can be read as a

standalone but does mention events from books 1 & 2.

Check out the series here! https://bit.ly/41KRvyY

About the author

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable

novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of

sass on the side. Tijan began writing after college and once she started, she was hooked.

She's written multi-bestsellers including the Fallen Crest series, Ryan's Bed, Enemies

and others.

She is currently writing many new books and series with an English Cocker she

adores.

Connect with Tijan

Website: http://www.tijansbooks.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4851199.Tijan

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tijan/e/B00DJG52QE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tijansbooks/

Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/tijansreadergroup

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tijansbooks/

X/Twitter: www.twitter.com/tijansbooks

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@tijan_author

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tijan 

 

Book review: PROTECTING WHAT’S MINE, by Siobhan Davis

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had high anxiety as I read this book. This has got to be the most suspenseful book Siobhan Davis has written! I was biting my nails, reading feverishly, waiting for the moment that Sloane’s ruse would be discovered.  High stakes drama, indeed!

I loved Sloane and hurt for her so bad. She was genuinely kind, seriously gorgeous, and so very loving. I can’t imagine the pain of knowing how much her mom was suffering, and the hurt of loving a man, while also deceiving him, waiting for the moment she would lose him and her little prince Elio. I also loved Cristian. In spite of being a mafioso, he was a man of principles, hardly felt like a criminal, as Sloane observed. 

The author kept me at the edge of the seat, wrung my heart with anxiety at the gritty moments of the story. I enjoyed the love story, the lovely moments with the Accardi twins and other famiglia, and cheerfully hated Isa and her vindictive ways. The author also never disappoints when she exacts justice to the baddies and those scenes gladden my heart. 

As always, Siobhan Davis gives me a lot of drama, this time a huge lot of suspense, murder and mayhem as expected, then sweet loving sexy times. I can’t wait for the next one!

Please note: the book is a standalone, connected to the Mazzone mafia world. No need to read the previous books, but it will enhance enjoyment of this one, since the reader will know the other characters that appear in the book, and their very interesting stories.

Purchase links

https://bit.ly/PWMEBookU

Available in Kindle Unlimited

About the author

Siobhan Davis™ is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Top 5 bestselling romance author. Siobhan writes emotionally intense stories with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She has sold millions of books and her titles are translated into several languages.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.

Originally from Ireland, she now lives in Cyprus with her husband.

Join the author's mailing list to receive a free e-book plus tons of bonus content. Refer to the official author website.

Connect with Siobhan Davis:

https://linktr.ee/siobhandavisauthor 

Book review: THE HIGH PRIESTESS, by Michelle Heard

Mafia Empire #2

Cassia Dimitrou & Lincoln Knight 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Michelle Heard never disappoints!  In this new thriller, she joins a broken soldier with a vulnerable Mafia princess and together they join the pieces of her destroyed mafia empire and he gains redemption.  It’s a different vibe from the first book in the series, but it’s new, different and fresh.  I don’t know where the author gets her ideas but please keep them coming!

Cassia’s family was slaughtered by the Bratva, only she survived, saved by Knight.  He’s a broken man, driven by the destructive memories of his baby sister’s death. He has no purpose to live, except to kill bad people. However, when he saves Cassia from the Bratva, something clicks inside him, like a transfer of a force, and now he sticks to her like glue, determined to protect her and keep her alive. It’s like he needs her for redemption. It’s funny how Cassia tries to shake him off but he won’t budge.  When she finally realizes why, they join forces and the rest is another one of this author’s rollicking stories of mayhem, sex, emotions, and killing. 

Cassia was the heir to be boss of the Greek mafia, and her father was giving everyone trouble with his anger issues.  The Bratva come in a killing spree, Cassia escapes from the house with her two younger sisters but they are killed while escaping.  Knight is a sniper working for the Alliance, broken from the tragic loss of his baby sister.  He changes his alliance to Cassia, with the blessing of Dominic Varga, Santiago Castro,  Leo Toscano, and Enzo Oliveira, the other heads of Mafia who form the Alliance.

Cassia is usually scared spitless of violence and used to dread her future position.  Now with Knight in tow, he gives her the sense of security to engage and dominate.  It’s like she’s the brains and Knight is the brawn, a perfect combination.  She also gave Knight a reason for living again.  I loved their relation as they evolved from savior/captured, to conspirators, to a power couple, to being in love.  

As always, there’s lots of action, both in bed and outside as they take on the baddies in the story. There’s adventure, sadness and revenge, loss and redemption, banter and sass.  It’s hella entertaining, a page-turner kind of love story with some gore and guns, and I loved it.

Purchase links

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DVCH9G3H

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DVCH9G3H

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DVCH9G3H

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DVCH9G3H

About the author

Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she's always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.

Connect w/Michelle:

Website: https://michelleheardauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHeardAuthor

FB Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/118971435201074

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormichelleheard

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/michellehorst

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18108320.Michelle_Heard

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-heard

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelleheard_author

Newsletter Signup: https://preview.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/p6m4o4