Having just watched Mobland I ate this up and finished it in one sitting. I haven't read much mob inspired dark romances but will definitely be reading more after this and can't wait to read more by the author

Thank you Mary E. Roach and Netgalley for this ARC!

Greek mythology and morally grey characters... Ummm yes please!
This dark romance is filled with passion and explosive tension.

Honestly if you grew up as a wattpad girlie then run... this has all that nostalgia and more.

This story is about Helen who is caught between an arranged marriage versus the love she truly wants.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend to those wanting that dark sapphic mafia romance vibe but with complexity. this book was refreshing, thrilling, compulsively readable, and has great prose!!

It’s rare to find a romance that balances rage and tenderness this well, but this one did it with grace and power. I love stories about women reclaiming their lives. About love that blooms right at the edge of ruin. About desire that doesn’t ask for permission. This was everything I needed. It was violent and lyrical and messy and intimate. And most of all, it was unforgettable. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

What a rollercoaster of a ride! This book definitely started out slow and quite a bit confusing but the ending definitely made up for it. There are some typos that made me have to do a double-take to understand it, but I’m hopeful those are fixed before publishing. It was a great take on the Helen of Troy story (something I knew nothing about prior to this novel) and I look forward to seeing what else the author has in store.

It mixes Greek mythology, politics, and mafia all in one (whats not to love!). The book is a dark romance with 2 female leads which isnt done enough in the romance genre. It's different from the 19yr old girl and 1000yr old 6ft + dark hair Tattooed man and honestly refreshing.

As much as I'm definitely not the kind of person to do this, I'm not even going to lie: the first time that I opened this book, I read the first chapter and automatically almost threw it into the "DNF dungeon". I just didn't feel like this book was going to be what I was expecting from it, but then I told myself I was being irrational, and Paris is always going to be annoying, no matter which version of him we're getting! - so I decided to give it another chance and that is why I'm here today.

I fell for Helen right away, and I'm pretty certain she truly is the reason why I pulled through and finished this book even when there were multiple opportunities where I almost chose to just dnf and be done with it.
As much as it's a nice story that the writer has given us, for some reason it just didn't do it for me and to be quite honest, I think it's because it felt a lot like reading fanfiction, rather than a retelling - and not necessarily in a good way.

Wow. I had such a fun time reading this book! To be fair, I have no idea what the story was based on. So I went into this blind and I was EATING. IT. UP. I loved the banter and female rage. It was a fun and easy read and I would buy this book and recommend to others! Thank you so much for the Arc!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I'm not quite sure how to describe this book. It's a retelling, which I can usually get down with. There's lesbians, another one of my fave pairings. And it's mafia, aka my kryptonite.

But it just... didn't work for me. It could be a mood reader thing. That's been known to happen to me.

While we do get to see two strong women fight against patriarchal mafia foundations, I wanted to *feel* more than I did. The relationship didn't spark the way I'd hoped it would. And the start of the book was very "dropping in" vibes - as in, I felt lost from the start and had to run to catch up to the story.

I think there are definitely things to love about this book. Overall, it didn't hit for me.

Thank you to Montlake, NetGalley, and Mary E. Roach for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

We Are the Match is an actual and queer retelling of the story of Paris and Troy that is new and unexpected, bringing a lot of elements that when you read, you can't help but get hooked.

First of all, as a humanities student and myth lover, this book is everything I didn't know I needed. We all know that what captures a reader's attention it's the style of the book, the way it's written, and I must say, We Are the Match it's so beautifully written that it took my breath away for most of the parts. Every time I read it, I was floating, seeing actions that are from the modern world, but with a strong presence of Ancient Greek. Also, this is not your same old retelling where words are just words. In this book, every word matters because it's not always explicit about the meaning behind the words, which is so enchanting.

The characters, Paris, who's seeking revenge, and Helen, sweet but powerful Helen, are unique but still really well-done. They have depth, they have character, richness, and their interactions don't leave you indifferent. The way their relationship evolves in the whole book is fascinating, and they, as individuals, are morally grey and conflicted, but still, they work, and you can't help but love them, as well as other characters.

This book might not be for everyone because it's not your typical standard book. It's something else, something better in my opinion. If you're looking for a book that hooks you, have you re-read the words written on the paper and your heart aching in the most delicious way, We Are the Match is, indeed, a match.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

This is a sapphic mafia dark romance with a Greek retelling. Like others have mentioned it definitely gives Wattpad vibes. I was able to get through it, I wouldn't say it's my favorite but found it enjoyable enough not to DNF.

We are the Match by Mary E Roach is a loose reimagining of the myth of Helen of Troy in a contemporary Greek underworld.

The main reason I am rating this book as adequate is because of the improbability of some of the events in the story. I understand that the reader has to adjust to some extent and accommodate any type of world the author has created, however, some points were just too unjustifiable to allow such incongruity to make sense.

I have read a number of mafia romance novels and some are also reimagined Greek mythology. Unfortunately, for me, We are the Match does not live up to its contemporaries. As a whole, the novel is acceptable but falls short when on par with other notable books of the same theme.

This book made no sense in the best possible way. The premise (lesbian mafia romance in the ancient Greece inspired world) was what had me hooked at first. Having said that, the world building was not great, so if you enjoy learning all the details about the universe in which the book is set, it might not be for you. It was all so strange, importing the characters and their surroundings from the Iliad and choosing this way the characters speak gave it a weird timeless quality that made a mention of a phone or a car feel so out of place. It didn’t bother me too much, it was more like iphone face actress in a period drama, weird but with no merit on quality.

I did enjoy the writing a lot, even if the insta love romance is usually not my thing, but with the chemistry oozing of the pages I didn’t mind that the relationship between Helen and Paris was a bit like that. And speaking of chemistry, Mary E. Roach certainly can write it in a convincing manner. The style at times reminded me of lit fic aspiring ao3 fanfics i read religiously in 2016.
I mean.

“I bite back the last of what I wanted to say: that I like Helen’s hair, wild like this. That I like when she looks at me like I am an explosive she cannot wait to light.”

And there’s also that one moment when covered in blood Helen says “your wife” while staring at Paris and listen. It was so worth reading for this scene alone. The context was phenomenal and the execution so good, to me it was what dark romance is supposed to be about!!

The plot, just like the world building, felt messy and at times very deus ex machina, which is often the case in mafia stories, but overall it was a quick and fun read, so I’d recommend it to people who are into the darker themes and don’t mind the trigger warnings.

Delivers exactly what it promises: a fiery, fast-paced, and passionate reimagining of the Helen of Troy myth, this time against the glittering yet dangerous backdrop of modern-day Grecian mob families. Mary E. Roach has crafted a story that sizzles with revenge, romance, and high-stakes intrigue.

This is very much one of those guilty pleasure romances where you know it's bad in a trashy Wattpad romance type of way but you love it (and t least it's not boring). We Are the Match is for fans of Elle Mae and people who will not be offended by the horrendous mythological inspiration that is clearly here for set dressing.

It is disappointing to me because I was looking for a Trojan war retelling but instead got a terrible renaming system (see Milos and Zarek for Menalus and Zeus is smart. Characters named Tommy in Greece not so much). Also this is very much a dark mafia romance that does whatever it wants with the plot.

Is it good? Not really. Is it readable and enjoyable? Probably. Would I recommend it to you? Yes but only if you have a soft spot for those Elle Mae romances or dark mafia romances. I am very happy the sapphics are getting these, I'm just not the audience.

We Are The Match is an intense, emotionally charged story that mixes raw action with beautiful writing. With its vivid descriptions, complex characters, and a world full of danger and desire, this book keeps you hooked from start to finish. The journey of Paris and Helen—driven by pain, power, and an unexpected connection—sticks with you long after you've turned the last page. It’s a powerful story about survival, taking control, and transformation. I couldn’t put it down, and I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. If you’re into stories with high stakes, slow-burn tension, and lots of emotional depth, this one’s definitely worth a read.

This is such a clever reimagining! If you love mafia-style romance and the idea of a sapphic Paris and Helen of Troy sounds like your thing, this is a must read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

While I enjoyed the premise of this book and was satisfied with where it ended up going for the characters, something about the way this book read didn’t sit right with me and I struggled to get through it. It felt closer to a Wattpad book. This is not said in a way to bring down the author, the story itself was good I personally just couldn’t fully get into it at this time.

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for a copy of this book to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“I am (redacted). I am half god, half girl, half fury, half grief. And though they do not know it yet, my death is what they have all come to see.” - This quote had me HOOKED from the very beginning!!

I have not read a good sapphic mafia romance in a longgggg time, and the fact it is a Greek retelling is just so much better. Helen and Paris are both amazing FMCs. Both have power and destruction in their veins, and the chaos they release is just...delicious. And Tommy, my man...if you know...my heart is broken (tears were shed).
A few spelling and grammatical mistakes were found (especially with Erin's name), but that’s understandable since this is an ARC.
Overall, I will DEFINITELY be reading more of Mary E . Roachs work in the future. This book was a five-star book through and through. Goosebumps...literal goosebumps!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

We Are Match by Mary E. Roach is a sapphic retelling of the story of Helen and Paris, with a mafia theme. In this version, Paris seeks Helen’s death as revenge for what Helen’s parents did to Troy (here reimagined as an orphanage for girls that was destroyed).

I found the author's writing very good — it’s fluid and quick to read. I started the book one day and finished it the next. The story and its characters are interesting, but I was a little disappointed (which is entirely my fault, I admit). I was expecting more references to the Iliad and the Trojan War, but the only ones I found were Athena, Hera, Aphrodite, Eris, and an object meant to represent Eris’s golden apple of discord.

Still, it’s a good book if you're looking for a dark, sapphic mafia romance.