Part I

They call me a monster. Murderous and hateful. Beautiful but broken. Nothing can calm the ever raging storm inside of me. As the ruthless leader of the Doubeck family there is a certain standard of brutality, I have to uphold.

Then I meet her.

Beautiful, innocent, and so very afraid. Valentina is a rival family’s daughter, and the little temptress has purposely tangled herself in my dark web. She seeks me out, needing my help, but the price for what she wants will be steep. Since my father’s death, I’ve needed a wife to solidify my family name, and this woman has piqued my interest. So we strike a deal, intertwining our futures.

I’ll put a ring on her finger, own her body, keep her safe, and kill them all.

I make a vow to protect her at all costs, that is until her secrets come to light, and I’m left with the choice of becoming the monster she’s only ever heard rumors about.

Part II

I knew running from Adrian wouldn’t be easy. That there was a risk I would be caught, but I never anticipated he would go to such great lengths to find me. Now that he knows what I’ve done I wonder if there will ever be love between us again, or if we were always meant to be enemies?

Avery’s Thoughts About the Book

This duet had me riveted from beginning to end. The mafia drama and the bad blood histories keep the story moving at a pretty good pace, and there are a number of twists that will have your jaw on the floor. Particularly the cliffy at the end of the first book. I wouldn’t imagine having to wait for the second book. Fortunately for me, this was a back list read I listened to via Audible so both books were already out.

The Doubeck Crime Family duet has quite a few characters, some of whom continue on within the world (I haven’t listened to their books yet). This duet’s couple is Adrian and Valentina. Adrian Doubeck is everything we’ve come to know and love in mafia romance: the morally gray, alpha boss antihero. Valentina ‘Val’ Novak is a mafia princess who’s V-card has been used a bargaining chip by her father. She’s young but some of her innocence has been lost due to all of the abuse she’s endured. I will warn you, if you listen to the audiobook, the female narrator is awful. She makes Val sound like a whiny newscaster but the character’s words are not whiny. It’s just the performance. The male narrator is wonderful. Between his talents and the truly captivating story, it’s worth sticking through it if audiobook is your preferred form of reading.

Val’s family sucks balls. Seriously. Her dad is an abusive pile of horse manure who has peddled her off to a guy so terrible, you just know he would bang a corpse if the mood was right. In a move of utter desperation for safety, she turns to Adrian Doubek, the boss of a rival family, and offers herself in exchange for the protection of her cousin Rose and the murder of her fuckface fiancé Sal (dude… I really don’t like him). Adrian agrees and before the move can be made, shit goes sideways, igniting a whole mess of violence.

Fun fact: I didn’t know this was an age gap romance through most of the duet. I mean, looking back, it makes sense and I genuinely don’t know why that fact flew over my head. That being said, I think that speaks to the lack of creep factor over their age difference (not always the case; sometimes….it’s a thing), and I think it speaks to the authors’ ability to normalize the dynamic rather than fetishizing it. So if age gap isn’t your thing, just ignore that there is one and you’ll barely notice. Honestly, the only part that made me really notice was in one scene, he’s watching her sleep and his internal dialog is waxing poetic about her beauty and he thinks something along the lines of she looks soooooo young. That’s about the most in-your-face reference to their age difference, which really isn’t much.

Heat Level
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Avery’s Rating
🖤🖤🖤🖤

Tropes Used
Mafia Romance
Age Gap Romance
BDSM Elements
Emotional Scars / Trauma
Arranged/Forced Marriage