What a great quick read! The two MC’s are well developed and fit so well together. There were some triggers, such as violence, r*pe, assault, predators. I do feel that the story was great, and would have loved to learn more about the MMC‘s family. A lot of times the characters in these types of stories are so drawn to each other and ever leave each other’s sides that it can get quite predictable. In this story, however, there were many twists and turns that were riveting!

This book was fantastic - especially if you like mafia romances. Haley and Callum were great together. Haley used alcohol to escape her brutal past but everything changes when she meets Callum - who is being groomed to make over as Mafia boss. The connection between these two were great. I would highly recommend.

This is the story of Callum and Haley. Callum is a big player in the Irish Mob in Boston. Haley is a war hero and trauma doctor. The immediate magnetic attraction between these two characters keeps you reading and wanting more. Haley learns to heal and overcome her PTSD from her traumatic childhood of sexual abuse. Callum tries to soften his mob boss reputation in order to help her trust again.

This is told as a dual POV. The character development was masterfully done. From just the first few chapters I really care about these characters. To help the reader understand the different POV there are sweet little images at the beginning of each chapter. Callum’s chapters have a celtic pistol. Haley’s chapters have a celtic stethoscope. I really loved that because I’m totally guilty of not reading chapter names when I’m deeply focused on what happens next.

Overall I loved this story and can’t wait to see where this series goes. This is my first read from A.N. Stauber and certainly won’t be my last. Thank you Net Galley for my ARC. This review is completely honest and my own.

5 Beautiful Black Clover Stars!!

This book is about Haley, a surgeon and military vet, and Callum, an Irish mob gangster. Both characters have traumatic pasts, including very dark and heavy topics such as sexual abuse/grooming of a child, loss of a family member, kidnapping, homelessness and drug abuse. This book is not for the light-hearted. But for us dark hearted and thrill seeking fiends, this checked all the boxes. Hell, any book where the hero calls himself a "monster" and has to hold himself back during their first sexy time is my jam!

I loved the character and relationship dynamic between Haley and Callum. I love groveling heroes and Haley definitely makes Callum grovel a couple times and earn her respect and trust. I also loved Callum's family. Something about supportive mob families defrosts my heart a little.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves dark and twisted mafia romances.

I received an ARC of this book and have reviewed it voluntarily.

Very powerful and perhaps also very classic "alpha-mob-romance".
But it is a great read, and I will definitely be looking after part 2. Surely, Cal's brothers also need to be stories.

Read this when I am in a slump and it took me just one sitting to finish it! Very easy to digest and I especially love how there's a proper arc towards their relationship

Haley is a strong independent woman, we could see. And her traumatic experience is relatable at most. Her character developed into someone who grew out of it when she found her soulmate and that's the best part. Callum on the other hand, needless to say, is a caring and observant person. Thankfully he did not have that typical alpha male character given that he's a mafia.

I'd say this book is pretty decent, there's a real plot and good character development which satisfy my need in romance books

P/s: Also glad that there isn't many explicit scenes since I'm reading this in the Holy Month :')

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I absolutely enjoyed Haley and Callum's characters. This book is set in Boston. If you enjoy mafia romance then you will love this book. The writing style puts you into a trance and sucks you in it is fantastic. It will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering how he is going to make her feel safe. This book is so well written and the romance will make you blush. I highly highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This book is stores for $3.99 (USD).

Haley has been through so much and now she is haunted by the man who hurt her and uses alcohol to numb her pain. She meets Cal, heir to the Boston Irish Mafia and sparks fly but can he break down her wall and get her to trust him? Fast-paced read with loads of drama, suspense, emotion and steam. I liked it.

Attending his brother Paddy’s birthday party at their family pub Callum is surprised to hear that he has brought a girl along. Making his way into the bar he spots Griff Paddy’s best friend and war buddy sitting next to a beautiful girl. Introducing himself he can see that she is a little unsure and withdrawn. Griff explains that she is the trauma surgeon that attended to Paddy’s injury.

Moving to Boston four months ago, Haley is still finding her pattern between work and her new home. Meeting Callum was an unexpected surprise, even more so when her body starts to feel things she never expected to. A history of childhood sexual abuse from her stepfather left her pushed out of her family and homeless at sixteen. Naturally, she is wary of advances from men and her mental traumas leave her drowning her sorrows in vodka to forget everything.

Feeling a possessive nature toward Haley he inserts himself in her life when a stalker starts to come out of the woodwork. Leaving her with a bodyguard and camera, Callum attempts to discover the monsters from her past - which he is determined to rectify when he discovers the cause. Slowly opening up to Callum, Haley finds herself relying on him but what happens when he isn’t there to save her?

I didn't like this book at all, it's confusingly written, the plot is all centered around an inexplicably sweetened view of the mafia, and it's absolutely not something I would recommend reading, not even to lovers of the genre.

Questo libro non mi é piaciuto affatto, é scritto in modo confuso, la trama é tutta centrata su una visione della mafia inspiegabilmente edulcorata e non é assolutamente qualcosa che consiglierei di leggere, nemmeno agli amanti del genere.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 2/5

“Maybe it’s twisted. But I’m not a normal person, Haley. I want to give you your justice. Let me.”

The Plot:

Haley is a retired war surgeon who has been fighting battles long before she enlisted. Callum is the stereotypical mafia boss who falls hard for the girl who’s off limits. Throughout Her Vengeful King, Haley and Callum work together to uncover Haley’s stalker, while overcoming Haley’s childhood trauma and forming a relationship built on the safety and honesty, they share with each other. The dynamic between the two start off as an enemy to lovers, but by the time you reach a quarter of the novel, Callum is certifiably in love with her.

“It’s time I settle down. Marriage, kids, and the likes. Haley is the woman I see myself doing it with.”

Characters and Relationships:

Haley & Callum:

“Being without her has been like being without air. Impossible. Insufferable. Suicidal.”

Haley and Callum are come off as if they’re both not supposed to want each other, or at least Haley makes that very clear in the beginning. Haley, although she has deep rooted childhood trauma from her sister dying to the sexual assault from her father, seems to magically let Callum in very quickly. Callum on the other hand seems like he didn’t have a single hesitation about her being the one from very early in their relationship. He is obsessed with her for much of the novel.

“A woman can be straight and hate the idiocy that is the male species.”

Haley gives of every intention of being the strong female lead yet falls so quickly for him and seems to ‘get over’ her sexual assault and prior trauma. This is a bit far-fetched and unrealistic of someone with sexual assault trauma as it is not curable and though the heroine found safety with Callum, referring to the sexual assault as something that can just be moved past is unfair. Sexual assault is something that needs to be worked through for the rest of your life. Personally, if Haley found a way to cope with her sexual assault from day-to-day and acclimating would be more admirable then just moving past it.


Haley & Scotty:

“Scotty makes me tea when he sees I’m upset. He keeps the car warm, so if I decide to go to work, I’m not cold.”

Haley and Scotty’s relationship was one which I really enjoyed reading. He became a friend and a protector beyond what Callum was to her. I would have loved to see more of their interactions as it was more believable to me that out of all the relationships Haley has in this novel, that Scotty would have been the first one she opened up to or even developed an intimate relationship with.

Hayley & Andi:

“Normal is boring. It sucks. Andi’s words spin around in my head. She brings me back to the real world, even though she isn’t here with me. Of all the things she ever said to me, those are the truest.”

Andi’s character is an interesting one to me. Her role as the comedic best friend comes in handy for Haley during different situations where Haley is in desperate need of someone honest to god advice.

There are multiple mentions of her relationship and even an appearance of her husband who had been referred to many times prior. The author adding in this relationship and almost implying that the reader would know of their story made me think that Andi had a novel before this one and Haley’s story is meant to be the sequel, which I have seen done a lot in smut series to connect the characters together, but Andi’s story is not in this series and apart of her own series Cracked Open. I wonder if the author is planning on developing more stories connected to these characters and if they will all be receiving their own series instead of being apart of one collection?

The Ending/Overall Opinions:

What had appeared to be a solid HEA ending for Callum and Haley, switched as the author added a cliffhanger for Scotty and Griffin, when the main characters receive a call telling them that Scotty had been shot defending Griffin and they sped off to go see the newly injured bodyguard. Leaving this open gives direction to a sequel story for Callum and Haley though I’m not sure how much more there is to explore in their relationship.

“Haley has to get through whatever storm awaits us when we reach that warehouse. If she crumbles, so will I.”

As a whole, the story is your average smut novel set in a mafia world and a light read. Though it will only get a 2/5 from me for many reasons. The smut scenes all felt choppy and forced and were lacking the detail which makes smut so fun to read. Many sex scenes seemed to be added in just so the main characters had an excuse to not face their problems. The pace and timing of the novel holistically is a bit off and could do with adjustments. It felt somehow way too long and yet too short at the same time. On a few different occasions I would lose track of when the narrative was taking place, just to find out we skipped ahead 2 weeks. Many details are told to the reader instead of shown, which makes some dialogue and plot points feel forced and unnatural. And finally, the struggle of Haley’s sexual assault is downplayed as her relationship with Callum progresses.

The basic plot has potential to be a great, smutty, sexy read, but it did not follow through on what I was hoping it could give.

this book contains issues about ptsd, trauma, substance abuse, rape, stalking, child grooming, violence and torture
I found the book nice and engaging and was not able to put it down
the backstories for the characters were well developed and the i liked the plot and was invested in the development of Callum and Haley's relationship
I did realise that some of Haley's actions seemed unjustified towards the end but at the same time because of her past it's understandable but only at the beginning of the story
overall, I enjoyed reading this book

THIS BOOK HAS TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR: violence, swearing, sexual content, murder, torture, sexual assault, mention of sexual abuse, mention of child grooming, stalking, PTSD, childhood trauma and substance abuse.
I absolutely loved the writing style, it was engaging and made me want to keep on reading. This book had very clever plot ideas, and well developed back stories for all the characters. It honestly made me hate corrupt cops even more than I already did(which was a lot). I also really loved the character development of Callum, how he went from ‘f*ck women, I don’t need em’ to ‘I will be your couch cushion my little lassie’.
I loved a lot of the side characters(Sean, Andi and Saoirse in particular) and I think that most of them were well explored and well developed.
ALSO THAT ENDING!! oh my I am mighty intrigued, I cannot WAIT for the next book to come out.
4.5 stars overall, and I would absolutely read it again.

Callum is the future leader of Boston’s most feared crime family, whilst Haley is a doctor who has swapped her military career for working in a hospital in Boston. She saved Callum’s brother’s life when they served together, and when she meets Callum, sparks fly. Callum is determined to have her, and when it becomes apparent someone is stalking Haley, he steps in to protect her. But Haley’s past has left her with deep scars, both physical and mental, that will make a relationship between them difficult.

I have complicated feelings about this book. On one hand, I found it very engaging and I wanted to know what happened. There were some interesting ideas in the book and the plot worked well for me. I thought the romance was enjoyable in its way; there was good chemistry between them and I was interested to see where their romance would lead. Callum’s character felt distinct to me and I really believed his feelings for Haley. However, I struggled to connect with Haley. It felt like her personality switched a lot through the course of the book and she made some choices that felt very hard for me to understand as a reader. I never really felt like I believed her feelings for Callum.

I also felt that some of the writing could have been a bit tighter. The pacing felt a bit off in a few places - some parts felt a bit slow whilst others felt rushed, and as a result some of the plot felt a bit disjointed, with some major plotlines being introduced and then ended quite quickly, and others that felt more minor taking up a lot of space. As I said earlier in this review, there were some interesting ideas, and I think if the author had narrowed the focus a little bit it would have worked better.

So my feelings for the book are conflicted, because I struggled to connect with one of the main characters and I found some of the writing a little hard to follow. Overall, though, the book was engaging with good ideas and a steamy romance, and I think a lot of people who like dark mafia romances would probably enjoy this. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content notes: Violence, gun violence, torture, blood, murder, organised crime, alcoholism, child sexual abuse, stalking, child abuse, miscarriage (in past, side character), attempted rape (on-page), human trafficking / sex trafficking, PTSD, panic attacks, on-page sex.

Read the whole thing in one night. I really enjoyed the writing and the characters. The attraction between the bad boy and the damaged girl was really well explored

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review:

3/5⭐️

Let me start with the dedication. It is perfect! I love how it calls out all smut readers who are down bad for Irish men (especially Cillian Murphy)!! I could totally see his influence throughout the book.

Next, I thought the first half of the story was exciting, thrilling, and page-turning. Callum (the attractive mafia man) definitely fell too fast for Haley (the doctor), but I didn't mind it at all. I liked how Haley stood her ground and took a while to give in to his charms. However, his lack of presence made me feel a stronger chemistry between Haley and Scotty. I actually prefer Scotty over him! But I still think that Haley and Callum had their own unique thing going on.

The second half of the story felt a bit flat to me. There's too much (unnecessary) back-and-forths and no actual foundation for the conflict. Also, the way they resolved it felt a bit rushed.. and too simple(?) I just thought that despite it being a dark romance book, not enough romance went on. The relationship felt one-sided. One of them spent too much effort investing in the relationship, while the opposite spent too much time pushing the other away.

BY THE WAY, I'M PISSED OFF WITH THE CLIFFHANGER 😫 DON'T YOU DARE DO THE UNTHINKABLE TO MY FAVORITE CHARACTER 😭 IT HURTS MY HEART TO SEE THEM IN PAIN 💔

Anyway...

Although there are some parts of the book that I'm not in love with, I will still give it three stars because it was entertaining as hell! This is a good start to a mafia series. The author definitely knows her audience and what they would love to read <3

A book worth reading for sure.... OMG.... I totally loved it.... It had action, drama, romance and a lot of heat.... Would recommend it to anyone..

This was a quick and enjoyable read that was well written with incredibly well developed characters. It was a compelling read but it does contain some triggering themes which could make it hard to read for some, althought i thought they were handled sensitively.

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter, and I read it in one sitting. It has great banter, emotional depth, amazing chemistry between the two main characters and it just touches your heart. This book took me through a rollercoaster of emotions in a very short time- from laughter to being misty eyed. It melted my heart, something a mafia romance hasn't done in a very long time.
This book is about Callum Murphy, heir to the Boston Irish Mob, and Haley, an army veteran with a tortured past. Haley has faced trials and tribulations during her childhood that have haunted her entire life, causing her to hate the male species, but somehow Callum makes her feel safe. Callum is drawn to Haley from the very beginning, and does his best to be nearer to her. He is patient and helps Haley overcome some of her fears. However, what I liked the most is that by the end, Haley realises she's the only person who can save herself, and she does. She works towards it, with Callum's support- after he does some pigheaded stuff, ofcourse.
This book was a wonderful read and I hope there will be more of the Murphy siblings!

A rollercoaster emotional ride full of interesting and deep characters.

Everyone is this story is flawed and/or hiding something, making it a real battle to get through the story but it is really worth it.

Callum fell hard and fast for Haley and quickly identified one of the main sources of her problems and then worked really hard to get her to open up about the real root of it all.
Haley was broken and in pieces using anything and everything to get through. Despite her hang ups she pushed through and wanted to be better not only for Callum but also herself.




Spoilers….
I did find some of the actions of Haley to be childish, her default was to run away which was understandable to a point but got a little trying towards the end when she was still doing it. She also judged Callum harshly and seemed to use his mafia links against him.

I also found it weird how despite being in the military she was so easily overpowered by her stalker, a subplot that seemed to be something and nothing in the scheme of the story really, as were the interactions with her family about her step dad and their history. It seemed like more could have been made of this

I think this is a hfn not a hea perhaps?? And the author notes seem to indicate the second book would continue the story.

An enjoyable read