Lethal. Irresistible. Built for violence. Mikhail Rykov is the dark Bratva prince the Cosa Nostra forces me to marry. To him, I’m a pesky means of settling a debt.
Our twisted game begins with him behind bars—and ends the morning he walks free into my father’s office. A ring on my finger. The cage suddenly mine. I can’t escape him. So I swear I won’t give in.
But as he drags me into his underworld, I unravel under heated touches and his commanding voice. Until my resistance starts feeling like a lie.
That’s when he miscalculates. In Mikhail’s world, love is a weakness. And I’m about to become one he can’t afford.
DEVIOUS TOUCH, a standalone dark mafia romance by Rhea Harp.
Sweet mother of all that is unholy, what a ride!
OMG, you guys, this book… DEVIOUS TOUCH is a dark mafia romance story with so many different angles, I don’t even know where to begin. There is a vendetta, a redemption journey, a (not at all) mild case of stalking, a forced marriage that is manipulated into place, a massive betrayal, traumatic pasts that haunt both characters in their own way, secret agendas on top of twisty plots, and so much more.
Our mafia princess FMC is Cecilia Ferrara. Her father is the head of the Cosa Nostra and he’s kept her isolated her entire life. That isolation has left her somewhat ignorant of the “outside” world but she’s not at all kept in the dark about the realities of mafia life. With nothing but time on her hands, she’s spent years learning to play the piano and she’s spectacular at it. She believes her life is going to take one path involving music and then her dad drops it on her that she’s going to be married off instead. Enter Mikhail.
Mikhail Rykov is the brother to the current sitting Pakhan over the Russian Bratva. You learn right at the opening of DEVIOUS TOUCH that he’s been stalking Cecilia with the intention of making her his. Though, you don’t find out why her right off the bat. Even when you do, it’s not the whole reason he’s there and those breadcrumbs just keep dropping throughout the whole book. As a character, Mikhail is a creative juxtaposition: He’s unhinged and will get bloooooooooooooody with the slightest provocation, but he’s also surgical and calculated in every move he makes otherwise. He’s a touch crazy but not “strappy jacket” crazy, you know? I’m not going to give spoilers. I will just say keep an eye out for the post-wedding club celebration and how that whole night pans out. It takes the concept of “touch her and 💀” to a whole new level. You’ll see.
The chemistry with these two is off the charts from even before they officially meet face to face. This story may be a slow burn but it doesn’t feel slow because every interaction between them feels very high stakes. High tension. High heat. High all of it. The two naturally have a dom/sub dynamic. She is inexperienced but she’s not manipulated into their dynamic. He may be a monster prick at times but he’s also her fiercest defender. He builds her up. He demands that she treat herself with respect and teaches her to expect the same of those around her. But make no mistake. This isn’t one of those stories where the Big Bad Wolf suddenly has a personality transplant because he met the woman of his dreams. Nah. Instead, Mikhail Rykov remains unapologetically toxic to the very end and I love him for it.
There are a couple of different mysteries running throughout DEVIOUS TOUCH and they will all leave you guessing right up until the end. Pasts. Motives. Who can be trusted. You’re kept in the dark for most of it from one side or another throughout the whole story culminating in an explosive ending to the story. And side characters! I love them. First off, I didn’t know there was a book before this. Darkest Craving is Victoria and Wolf’s story (Mikhail’s Pakhan brother) and now I definitely need to back track and read it. You get bits of the details here and there and my curiosity is officially piqued. If it’s anywhere near as intense as DEVIOUS TOUCH, I’m all in. I also adored Rodion and Niko. My hope is that one of their stories will be the next book in this world.
This was my first time reading a Rhea Harp book and DEVIOUS TOUCH has officially made me a fan. The writing style is beautiful and haunting, the darker elements of the story are nearly pitch black, and every moment of the ride was so worth the anxiety that turning each page caused. This book has been added to my Dark Romance Must Reads list over on Goodreads and will abso-effin-lutely be a rainy day re-read sometime in the near future.
Spice Level
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
My Rating
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Mafia Princess Musician FMC
Morally Black OTT/JP Bratva MMC
Enemies-to-Lovers
Forced Marriage
Forced Proximity
Touch Her and 💀 Violently
Betrayal
Dark Secret/Dark Past
Obsessed Stalker
Slow Burn
Secret Agendas
Manipulated Memories
Past Trauma for Both
CONTENT WARNING: This is a good opportunity to remind everyone to check out the Trigger Warning page here on my website. This message applies to my books and pretty much everything you’re going to see on my blog, whether it’s dark romance or urban fantasy romance (which tends to be violent). I don’t include this message with every review but some antiheroes rise above the others and do some truly depraved shit. Ye be warned.
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Wishing you many dark fantasies & dirty dreams!
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RHEA HARP is a Transylvanian writer bringing morally-grey and possessive men to life in her dark romances. High spice, high emotional devastation levels are her specialty. When she’s not writing, Rhea is usually lost in a book somewhere or playing board games with her friends.
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