Immediately went and got second book!
Read on Netgalley, and Oh boy what a ride! If you are into brooding possessive MMC, and feisty spitfire FMC, hidden identities, back and forth trust issues, deep family history, and forgotten treasure, pick this one up! Ends on a bit of a cliffhanger but book 2 is available so dive in.

This was my first read by this author and she KILLED it, I was absolutely in love with every page of this book. I loved that it was dual POV. The chemistry between Lucia and Roman was perfect. I will definitely be adding the physical copy of this book to my library. I can't wait to read more books by Paula Walshe.

**Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I literally just finished this book and I am so hooked! I am already logging on to Amazon to buy book 2! I am so glad this story had so many characters and such wonderful storylines. I spent most of this book on the edge of my seat! A must read for any mafia romance lover! Sorry this isnt longer i need to go start book 2 now!

One of my favorite tropes is "mafia" romances, so I was eager to start this book by this new-to-me author. I liked that the heroine wasn't a doormat & that she was biracial (half Russian, half Latino), both of which are extremely rare with this particular trope. I also loved the "found family" bits. With that being said, while the romance was steamy, there was just too much of it & too much dialogue & not enough suspense or action, which made this 600+ page book drag due to the repetitiveness of it. I'd definitely read another book by Walshe in the future though, if only because I do think she is a good writer, just maybe needs better editing to cut out all the fluff.

Definitely enjoyed reading! Quick read and the characters were very well written! Would definitely pick up book 2!

I loved the book concept. I'm usually not a big mafia romance person, but I loved the tension between the two main characters. I love how integrated the Russian mafia element was in the dynamics of the characters and how they interacted with the world around them. The main character was stubborn, but in a way that didn't impact too much of my perception of her. The switches to backstory did have me re-reading paragraphs a few times, but it was an enjoyable book overall.

3.5

I really thoroughly enjoyed the first 65% of this book, it was engaging, steamy and mysterious. The relationship between Roman and Lucia was on point, her building relationship with the children she was the "nanny" of was wonderful to see, and Lucia and Roman were both interesting and intriguing characters in their own rights. Lucia was so unbelievably strong and just wanted to be able to finally share her load with someone. Roman was adorably in denial about his feelings while being protective and romantic. My issue came when it was late at night and I put the book down to go to sleep. When I woke up I did not want to pick it back up, and I did not pick it up for days afterwards because it was so long. And while yes sometimes more time with the characters is all we want in this case a lot of the pages felt like prolonged miscommunication on both sides. I wanted to scream at them to talk to each other a few times, and my growing frustration with the characters and the length of the book (especially since there is then a book 2) reduced my enjoyment of the book somewhat. Miscommunication is not my favorite plot device and while a lot of it was understandable and based on secrets, every conflict started to feel the same and if they had just learned from the last one 10 pages ago they would be fine.

I love the idea of this story, I love stories of women raised in the criminal world, and I love protective strong MMCs and FMCs, just a little less miscommunication and filler for my tastes.


Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this novel, all thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ngl, I went into this like okkkk...bratva, mafia, dark sounds good but I'd not read anything from this author previously & I've been on a string of mediocre books so didn't have super high expectations.

But I loved it, it was a little slower & there was a lot of build up. The one thing I think needs to me shown more clearly is that it's the first of a duet & does end on a cliffhanger. The pacing is good, things are moving, there's good spice and I needed to finish the story to the point that I went & bought the second book immediately.

Lethal Legacy: A forced proximity Russian Bratva Dark Mafia romance is the first book in the Lethal Legacy series by Paula Walshe is the perfect introduction to this series. As an avid mafia dark romance reader, I’m always on the lookout for a new series, and I think I have found the perfect new series to read. Lethal Legacy has everything that Im looking for in a mafia romance: a strong, protective MMC, a FMC who is the perfect mixture of strong and sweet, a plot full of twists and turns, and a trope that is becoming one of my favorites: the nanny. One of the things that I enjoyed most about this book is the character development. While I was invested in the relationship between Roman and Lucia, (their relationship had the perfect amount of chemistry and spice), I also was invested in the side characters, and can’t wait to read their stories. This book caught my attention and kept me hooked till the end. Once I finished it, I purchased the second book in the series, and pre-ordered the third. I can’t wait to keep reading this series. Thanks NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC! I loved Lucia and Roman's story as both of these characters are strong and tough, yet broken with lots of secrets setting the stakes high for everyone. I especially loved seeing Lucia and Roman bond, interact, and be protective over Roman's godchildren. They gave the story lots of heart and had you rooting for them all to be one big happy family. The story is fast paced and filled with lots of great banter and spice. I would definitely recommend this book to people who love a good mafia romance filled with emotional grit. Just be prepared as you will want to pick up the next book right away. :)

Lethal Legacy is the first part of a dark Bratva romance series that is full of intrigue and drama. From the very beginning I could not put it down! This book has everything you could want in a dark romance. An Alpha male super protective MMC, a strong but still soft FMC, a sexy contract, AND a nanny trope!? Sign me up! The plot was fast paced, full of twists and turns, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The character development was outstanding, the banter was witty, and even the peripheral characters have you hoping they get their own stories. The kids were even well developed and lovable. Truly one of the best mafia romances I have ever read and that is saying something!

This book was provided to me as an ARC but all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

This is a tough one because I really liked the book and the story but it’s all just lead up to book 2 and 600 pages is a lot for dialog and nothing to happen. I will 100% pick up the next one and I would rate this a 3.75 but it didn’t need to be this long when it just leads to a whole other book for action!
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Holy shoes! This mafia adventure romance got me and never let go! I avoided life to sink my teeth in deep! And of course there a second book! So rude!

I really liked this story. I was constantly reading for far longer than I had time for because I just always wanted to know what would happen next or I was wanting to know how something was going to happen. At least until about 60-70%. This book was just too long to hold my attention past that. Yes, I still enjoyed it, but I was also really bored with it and just wanted to get to the end. Part of the problem was that these two had so many secrets that they wouldn't tell each other so they both were making assumptions about everything and eventually when that's all a book ends up being, it just starts annoying the crap out of me. Like here. So by the time we get to the cliff hanger ending, I just don't feel like reading the next book at all. Do I want to know what happens? Definitely. Just not at the expense of all the time it would take to read it.

Lucia and her father have been on the run for years after their Bratva family was violently overthrown. Her father is not in good health, having not only endured torture at the hands of their enemies, but also numerous strokes. So Lucia does whatever she has to do in order to keep them safe and keep her father cared for. She ends up working in a cafe for a sleazy boss, but he hires illegals like her with no questions. It's while working there that she meets Roman. Big time CEO of his own company across the street and she also knows another Bratva member when she sees one. Their attraction is immediate and they have been flirting since day one trying to one up the other.

Roman has been working hard to build the inheritance for his godchildren that he has legal custody of since their father died. He doesn't want them involved with the violent world that got their father killed so he's had as little involvement in their lives as possible. But when their most recent nanny quits he finds himself with a dilemma and an opportunity. He uncharacteristically finds himself wanting to take of and protect Lucia because he knows she's running from someone, so he decides to sign her on as an employee. During the day she will care for the children, and night will serve at his beck and call.

It's a contract with a time limit and Roman has made it abundantly clear no strings or feelings, but Lucia already knows she's too attached to him. But the pros outweigh the cons for her. Bratva protection for her and her father, amazing pay, and most importantly, constant and great care/rehab for her father. Despite telling herself that after the contract is up, they will be able to move again, only days after meeting the children Lucia can't imagine leaving them. As more time passes and she sees more sides to Roman with the kids and with her, she can't help but think just maybe she can find a little happiness. That is until Roman finds out who she really is. Granted, he's not as angry about it as she was expecting, but from there things between them get more complicated. Especially when he starts to learn what her brother has been up to.

It's really about this point that the story started losing me. Despite the fact that a lot more is going on now both within Roman's company and out, there was too much assumption making going on and I just wanted these two to finally talk about all the crap that was happening. But no. Heaven forbid main characters ever do that. Despite both of them repeatedly saying that they would have a discussion, they never did because something would always come up.

The ending would have been good except, yet again, Lucia can't fucking speak up so Roman makes another assumption and sends her running again. Honestly, it just kind of pissed me off at this point.
Like I said, I definitely do want to know how things end with these two, but I also don't want to put in the effort to actually find out by reading the next book.

Dark mafia romance where the fmc Lucia is on the run with her father where she ends up meeting Roman while working at a cafe in Malaga.

There is so many twists and turns throughout this book as more information about the main characters gets revealed! It is gut wrenching seeing how they interact with each other but aren’t open and honest about who they are or what they’ve been through.

It had nanny romance, mafia tension, no strings attached relationship, pining for each other, explosive chemistry! This book was spectacularly written in a dual pov which helped with understanding both sides of the relationship.

This book had equal parts plot and spice! I’m so excited to find out what happens to the couple after the ending of this book!

Wow! This was a fast paced, hot read! I loved the chemistry between the characters. The plot was amazing and I will definitely read again from this author.

It took me a while to get through this. At first the book felt slow, then all of a sudden it was HOT. I enjoyed the plot and the book overall was a great read. I was confused on if I read the book in the right order or not because at the end of the ARC it said Lethal Alliance is already out on Amazon. I have added it as my next read but really confused if it is the continuation of the story because the end was such a cliff hanger, or is Lethal Alliance supposed to be read first? Or are they stand alone books.

This book is intense!!!! Got to say it took me by surprise that it ended in a cliffhanger and there are two more books.. guess I will have to continue reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review!

I don't always reach for mafia romances, but the description of this one caught my eye and I found myself quickly drawn into the world. While a little long for my taste, I enjoyed watching the relationships play out throughout this story. There's a little bit for everyone here--forced proximity, mafia/crime families, nanny/employer, etc. I enjoyed the duel POV and felt like both main characters had very clear and distinct voices, making it easy to know who was narrating. Overall, this book was a very quick read (considering I finished it in under 36 hours!) and I enjoyed it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (10 stars in my heart)
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It made me laugh, cry, fall in love, and it broke my heart. I am forever wrecked from this read in the best way.

I want to preface by saying that this is a series and it does leave off on a cliffhanger, but please don’t let that detour you. I truly think this is a story worth investing your time in if you are someone who is into smutty mafia romance.

The storyline is everything I didn’t know I needed in a mafia romance. It was so well planned and executed, I was honestly in awe with the authors brain power to be able to accomplish such an amazing feat. But it’s not just well written. The depths of this story is honestly unmatched. I truly spent a lot of time trying to wrap my head around how a human being could possibly write a story with so many layers and keep everything so organized. I personally didn’t notice any plot holes and I was actually looking for them because surely there was no way something wouldn’t be missed with the amount of detail in this book. I was wrong and Paula Walsh’s is some sort of literary wizard.

On top of the story line being impressive, the character development is unmatched. There are quite a few characters in this book and the author pulled it off effortlessly. It’s very easy to get confused when reading a story with multiple people in it, but that was definitely not the case here. Every single person had so much personality that it was easy to distinguish who was who. Even the lizard in the garden seemed to jump off my kindle screen. I mean honestly, what person can make a simple garden lizard come to life through words? A damn good author, that’s who.

Even though all of the characters deserved to be raved about, I specifically want to talk about Roman. When we meet him, he is cold and distant. The way Lucia helps him open his heart especially towards his godchildren….. my heart can’t possibly swell any more. It was so beautiful to witness the children thawing this man out and taking part in his journey from becoming guardian to father. Daddy Roman seriously has my heart.

As if the general story wasn’t enough, we are given incredible backstories to our characters that really bring them to life and makes them more relatable. I’m not saying I know anything about the mafia life, but I can definitely understand what it’s like to have a difficult childhood and having to shape your adult life accordingly.

I will say, the miscommunications between our couple could be frustrating at times but I definitely understood where both of them were coming from. Despite the trust they have for one another, both have secrets that they can’t share. There was definitely times where I wanted to yell at these two to get it together and talk it out, but I also know why they couldn’t. In short, I’m mad but I’m not mad at it lol. As annoying as miscommunications can be, these weren’t pointless and only added to the depths of my affections for the characters and this story.

The spice in this book is honestly *chefs kiss*. There is a ton of spicy scenes that will have your toes curling. I will say, it’s not necessarily kinky so no whips and chains here. It’s just well written and often which I am totally here for. If you are someone who doesn’t do a lot of spice, I would definitely avoid this read.

Now the ending… like it said earlier, huge cliffhanger. Even though I was gasping at the last page, I’m not even upset. Thankfully the next book is already available but I don’t think I am able to pick it up right away. I desperately need a moment to breathe and process everything. I will say, even though the story is far from over, I am satisfied with the ending of book one in the series. I think it was the perfect stopping point for the next installment but it also leaves the reader dying for more. I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store.

Overall, I’m in complete awe of Paula Walshe and this book. Somebody give this author an award!

I recommend to anyone looking for a mafia romance with all the spice and all the feels. Especially if you are looking for a very intricate and captivating story. Don’t hesitate and read this book.