❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Mafia Romance that failed to move me in the chemistry department, but the story is passable and realistic.

The characters are genuine and have a good/ interesting relationship, but even though there are bedroom scenes they felt wooden and not much emotion, as did other areas of the story.
It’s a shame because it could have been very good.
Obviously this is just one opinion, I suggest you read a selection of reviews before making your choice.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

This book would have thrived on Wattpad in 2016. Today however,I thought this book was very mediocre. I was bored by Viktor and his mood swings, even though I understand the reasoning as to why he had these mood swings, they made him seem more childish than 'dangerous alpha mafia boss'. I feel bad for saying this about Alexandra because I understand why she acts they way she acts, but she was so so so so annoying, immature, reckless, and naive. This is obviously because she has been raised solely for the purpose of being married off, and has never been valued for anything other than her virginity, but even though I understood why she did certain things, I still rolled my eyes at her every time. The "mystery" element to this book was horribly done. It was so obvious I genuinely laughed when the murderer was revealed. I believe this is the author's debut, so I'm sure she'll grow as an author and strengthen her writing.

Not exactly sure what I was expecting going into this, but it was a fast an easy read. Loved Alexandria and Viktor and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

3 1/2 stars

I was excited to read Savage Boss. Mafia romances are often my easy escapism and this one looked promising from the blurb. I did find it to be an enjoyable read but felt it had some unrealized potential.

Alexandra has been groomed since childhood to become a mafia wife. When her wedding day finally arrives, she is shocked to find out that not only has her groom been murdered, his eldest son, Viktor, plans to marry her in his place. But Viktor is cold and seems unconcerned with her and Alexandra's dreams suddenly seem very far away.

Viktor is the oldest son and new leader of the Russian mafia. He's concerned with finding his father's murderer while also trying to placate his new bride. Even though he married her spontaneously without really thinking through the ramifications, he's finding that he admires her strength and can't help but be attracted to her beauty. She's a complication he doesn't have time for and it doesn't help matters when her father becomes the prime suspect for his father's murder.

These two are thrown into an arranged marriage where they find they actually have chemistry but unfortunately there is underlying suspicion on Viktor's part about Alexandra's family. This pits them against one another and just like that their marriage becomes a type of battleground.

The book was relatively short. With a little more time spent on character and plot development, I think this book could have really been something special. As it was, I still enjoyed it because as I said earlier.....I'm a mafia romance fan.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

A classic mob romance, fairly predictable but still entertaining. The story didn't have much arch and the relationship between the main characters seemed a bit unrealistic.

Honestly, just another romance novel. Like so many others that are written. If your trope is Russian bratva, then this book will be for you. It’s not really my thing, but I thought I’d give it a try.

The only thing missing for me is a real conflict. I’m a huge believer that the story must have an epic, earth shattering conflict that then gets resolved, or leaves me hanging over that cliff, waiting patiently for book two. This book sadly did not give me that at all.

I love a good mafia romance, and this one did not disappoint. As a first time reader of Bella Ash I was intrigued at how she wrote about her characters, the way the story played out, and above all how she made them fall in love. It was apparent from the beginning Alexandria was brought up to love her husband, no matter who he was. And Viktor did not believe in love at all. But seeing Alexandria tame him was one of the better parts of the book for me. Also that her loyalty for her family despite the evidence and making Viktor take a step back to think it over.
A great storyline and book and I will be waiting for the next one in the series.

Savage Boss by Bella Ash was a solid read. “Alexa” was born to marry a Bratva boss, but on the morning of her wedding, her groom is murdered. Viktor intends to find out who murdered his father and the first step in doing so is to take his father’s place at the end of the altar and marry Alexa. Alexa is not sure of her new husband or his intentions but nevertheless she has a job to do, be the wife of a Bratva boss. If you like quick Bratva stories you’ll like this one.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I’m rating this book two stars because I wished that there was more depth to the characters. I also wished I seen more chemistry between the two main characters. I believe this book should be longer to give me more detail with their relationship. This book focused more on the mystery at hand then the romance. Overall it was a quick read and I wanted to see the mystery solved.

For anyone wanting to make a start on Mafia romance with spicy bits then this would be perfect for you.
When Viktor’s father is killed on the morning of his wedding, he is forced to marry his father’s betrothed in order to uphold business arrangements. Alexandra marries Viktor in good faith wanting to be the perfect bride and uphold her family honour, however when Viktor accuses her family of killing her father she fears for her safety and is determined to show Viktor that both her and her father are innocent.
The plot for this is well paced, fast without skipping over the good bits but not droning either. Alexandra is feisty and keen although there are parts of her ‘wanting to please her husband and obey’ that were a tad chauvinistic for my taste.
This is my first Mafia romance and I found it great for getting into the genre. It wasn’t too heavy but was exciting and naughty enough to keep my interest.

Really short and easy to digest, but didn't feel realistic for a Bratva book.

I get that the main plot point is the building romance between Viktor and Alexandra and the focus isn't entirely on the Bratva itself, but I read these stories in the hopes of getting a really juicy mafia romance with the hot, deadly mob boss who's only soft for the heroine. This didn't deliver here.

For one, Alexandra is too naïve. I understand innocence is part of her personality, but it was too much. She was brought up in the life. Her father is a mob boss himself but the woman doesn't know anything. She's got no sense of self-preservation, no self-respect, no self-worth. There truly is nothing wrong with wanting to be a wife and a homemaker and letting your man do all of the hard work, but Alexandra just let herself be a door mat. It was difficult to take seriously.

Also - she was excited about marrying a man forty years her senior? On what planet? That confused me.

Viktor was unrealistic, too. He is meant to be the boss of one of the most powerful Bratva's in the country, and he didn't do a lick of the dirty work himself. I get these guys have their enforcers, but he wasn't scary, he wasn't intimidating, he was just a weak-willed guy who couldn't control his impulses.

The writing was also immature and that was hard to get past.

It wasn't the worst book I've ever picked up but I don't think I'll be carrying on with the series.

mafia romance, for better or for worse, have become a recent obsession of mine and this didn't disappoint! mmc was a little bit annoying with his constant mood swings but I guess that was part of his charm. besides that, it was deliciously dark and the romance was *chefs kiss*. i'd definitely recommend this for any fellow (guilty) mafia romance lovers!

This was a good book. All you’ve come to expect from an arranged marriage book. Thank you to NetGalley
And the publisher for the early read.

Amazing Plot but the author should have focused on elaborating it even more fir the readers. It was a short mafia story so suitable for anyone who loves to read Mafia Romance. Alexandra is a strong female who knows how to keep her Jerk husband on check.

I did enjoy this book and didn't want it to end soon.

I'm a big fan of the Bratva romance stories but this one fell short. The story is too quick so there is no depth of characters. The romance falls flat. The sex scenes are steamy and that's about the best thing I can say for the story. There is no suspense. Alexandra comes across as not only naive but pathetic. Viktor reads as a wanna be bad boy. The end is left open for a next book but it wasn't enough to make me want to read it.

This was a short mafia romance. I personally didn't care for it. I did not connect with either Viktor or Alexandra. The spice was good, and the story was wrapped up well. Just not a favorite of mine.

I thought that this was a really enjoyable story!

The book had a good storyline and I thought that it was well written.

The characters were well developed and I loved getting to know them.

The only downside for me was that I thought that it concluded very quickly.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!

Rating: 3.5/5🌼

Publication Date: January 12th 2023

Author: Bella Ash

Review: This was my first book from Bella Ash and I enjoyed it. This was the first time that the female MC was excited about the arraigned marriage, it feels like you always see the FMC be forced into situations like this and if it’s not done right it can be very tasteless and hard to read. BUT I enjoyed this twist, I liked that she wanted to do it for her family and for herself. The story line was also easy to follow and stay interested with I read it in 1 day so that can answer your question if I liked it.

👎🏼: only thing I would say is the story between Alexandria and Viktor was good don’t get me wrong just some times were a little predictable but that is just me playing devils advocate.
I cannot wait for the second book in this series.

The story is a fast paced one. But this was just another typical romance mafia trope. Alexandra was too naive to my liking. I won't judge people's preferences of their partners but wouldn't she at least wonder why she was engaged to someone who's old enough to be her father? Actually I felt like so many things didn't connect. The characters were actually interesting but sadly they didn't recieve enough character development. Thank you NetGalley and Relay Publishing for the copy.

Loved reading the engaging and engrossing story. On Alexandria's wedding day, she finds out her husband to be, Boris, has been killed, and she is going to marry Boris' eldest son, Victor. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a riveting must read love story. Can't wait to read the next story in the series!