I really liked the combination of formula one and Mafia Romance, it was something different to what I've read before, so it kept me intrigued. I loved the chemistry and forbidden love tension and drama from being rival families. There's a good plot to spice ratio, and their relationship feels believable and genuine, building from their lust. I enjoyed the balance of high stakes from their families finding out, and the drama from their rival formula one racing, and their families secrets and schemes.
Cesare's character was a fun mix of dominance, possessiveness and caring protector, and his weakness is the girl he can't get out of his mind, who happens to be an enemy. It definitely had the Romeo & Juliet vibes, but without the tragic ending.

4.5 ⭐️
📕: The Mastermind by Zara Cox
Dark Secrets
Fast Cars
Filthy Lust
Mafia Boss
Enemies To Lovers
Dark Mafia Romance
Sworn Rivals

This book is a roller coaster of High stakes, suspense, and a thriller in a dark mafia world romance!! This is my first book to read of Zara Cox and it won’t be the last.. I loved the action and intense moments of this book. Cesare is a F1 driver and also the underboss to the Sicilian-American Crime Family .Maddelena Mancinelli is Cesare’s rivals sister in F1 and the mafia world.He knows the mafia world is cruel and brutal .

So Much to be Found in These Pages!!

Cesare is the underboss of a Sicilian-American crime family. Maddelena Mancinelli is consigliere of her family’s assets and CEO of Furia Racing. Cesare races for his family. Arch enemies, family politics, traitors, a mix of innocence and siren, and dark sinister undercurrents.

The relationship is forbidden and scintillating. The action is fast paced. The females are bargaining chips. A propensity for sleepwalking and talking provides a heightened danger.

Quite the page-turner. Will keep you glued to the page.

Zara Cox delivers a sizzling, high-stakes romantic thriller in The Mastermind, where love, loyalty, and legacy collide in the most dangerous of ways. Set against the brutal backdrop of two rival mob families locked in a generations-long feud, the novel centers on the forbidden romance between their heirs—evoking shades of Romeo and Juliet, but with far more heat, grit, and bloodshed.

From the first page, Cox plunges readers into a world of power, violence, and obsession. The chemistry between the leads is electric, and the spice is balanced beautifully with emotionally charged moments and sharp dialogue. Despite the violence surrounding them, their love story remains the beating heart of the novel, creating a constant tension between desire and danger.

The mob dynamics are vividly drawn—ruthless, unforgiving, and complex. Cox doesn’t shy away from the brutality of this world, and the emotional stakes are raised by the fact that even family isn’t safe from betrayal. The action is fast-paced, and the loyalty tests are relentless, making for a truly compelling read.

The Mastermind is a bold, sexy, and suspense-filled start to what promises to be a gripping series. Zara Cox masterfully blends romance and dark underworld intrigue, leaving readers breathless and eager for what’s to come.

📱E-Book Review📱

The Mastermind
Zara Cox

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is my first read by this author and also the first book in this brilliant new series, Mafia Rivals.
I really love a good mafia romance read and so didn't hesitate to grab this on with both hands.

This book set off at a pace and it did take me a little minute to get to grips with all of the interlinking characters and work out which sides they were in withing the different families.
But it soon became easy to see the main players and focus on the storyline.

The storyline does follow a pretty standard mafia style read - however, I found this had a really unique twist with it combining a bit of a sports romance trope in there too.

I've not read many F1 reads, but the couple that I have, I've really enjoyed and I think adding this, r ally makes this read stand out among the rest.

I really liked our main characters and the little bits of background that we got for each of the families.
Seeing all the other family members and the dynamics between them as well as the dynamics between the two families gave us an intriguing baseline to work forward from in the rest of the series.

The writing style was engaging throughout and once I got to grips with all the characters, I was completely invested and raced through this.

I can't wait to see how things develop over the course of the series and am.really looking forward to seeing book 2 soon.

This book was okay. I went in with an open mind as I wasn’t sure what to expect but at times it had me rolling my eyes. I’m not sure if I liked the mafia/f1 mixed together as at times it felt like at I wasn’t sure what to focus on.
I did like both characters on their own and together and when the spice came, it was good.
I would like to read more in this series though.

If you like,
motor racing , passionate clinches, family feuds, enemies to lovers and some hot and naughty brothers and situations. You’ve chosen the right book to read.

It took me a few chapters to get into and let the story get hold of me , but then I was hooked.

Great characters that I can imagine in their own books , I’m looking forward to reading them.
I received an Arc copy of the book and chose to post this review

This book was so well written. The details, descriptions, and storyline weaved together to create a beautiful story. I loved the tension between Maddelena and Cesare. The Romeo and Juliet references were perfect, not too overdone with their enemies backstory. I’ve read more Mafia enemies to lovers stories than I can count and I really enjoyed how both Maddelena and Cesare acknowledged that they were enemies but also gave in to their attraction to each other, each using it for their own means. Everything felt so real and I can’t wait to read more especially about Sofiya (I really hope she ends up with Rafaelle!

The book started off really rocky tbh. The dialogue was choppy and awkward. The inner monologue was flat but had more personality than the actual dialogue. It took a good chunk of the book to adjust to the writing style and eventually I started enjoying it.

It’s very smutty for sure. Their relationship did feel substantial but it also went too fast. The emotional aspect was written at an odd pace.

The writing style was also inconsistent. Easygoing and playful one second and then it becomes almost formal the next. And not only in the inner monologue but the actual dialogue has unnatural vocab.

Idk why it was irking me so bad but it just felt annoying and took me out of the story.

Other than that the story was pretty interesting. Kept me hooked enough to stay till the end. Ngl tho the ending was kinda anticlimactic?

It was fast paced enough it took me out of my slump so I’m calling this a win 😝

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC! ♥︎

It’s a 3 book series and wow if you love mafia romance and I really enjoyed this one here is blurb

Dark secrets, fast cars, filthy lust...your new mafia romance obsession 🖤🏎️
Ruthless Underboss. Clever Mastermind. Sworn Rival.

Just a handful of reasons why I should hate Cesare Salvatore, heir to the Salvatore Sicilian mafia throne. Other reasons? His insanely gorgeous face. How hot he looks in his Formula One race suit. The feral look in his eyes when he’s pounding his enemy into the ground… But as a Mancinelli, I abide by one family rule: Stay away from the Salvatores.

Betrayal. Forbidden Attraction. Vendetta Ignited.

Cesare believes there’s a traitor in his crew…put there by me. He’ll uncover the truth by any means, including blackmailing me into his bed. What he doesn’t know is I’ve crushed on him since high school; have craved his blood-stained hands on me since one mistake sparked a lust-hate relationship. Discovering he’s equally hot for me risks re-igniting a family vendetta and unearthing brutal decades old secrets many have been killed for. Can we stop before sparks turn to inferno? Because if it does? Forget Romeo & Juliet. Our forbidden attraction will destroy empires.

An enemies-to-lovers dark mafia story full of dark secrets, fast cars, filthy lust and deceit. Perfect for fans of Kylie Kent, Sadie Kincaid and Penelope Sky.

Wow this was one of the more spicy book which i found
that was very topical as it was F1 race weekend. I
loved both of the main characters and the undertones
of the Romeo and Juliet which is a tale as old as time.
This was a romance which had a relatively happy
ending but the way to get there was fraught with
danger. I can not wait to read the next 2 in the series.

This is a dark romance focusing on a Romeo and Juliet-esque Mafia couple and is set in the Formula One world.
So, there's lots going on from the off, and lots of characters who interlink in various ways so it took me a minute to get to grips with that.
I enjoyed the Formula 1 stuff, my husband watches it so I'm familiar with some of the terminology used here.
Maddelena is a strong, sassy, independent woman. I do feel she loses a bit of this as her relationship with Cesare grows though.
Cesare is a powerful player in his family, and sometimes the things he is involved in was a bit darker than I would usually choose to read.
I was really interested in the family dynamics, and I thought there were lots of siblings that could make this into a really interesting series.
Despite the darkness throughout this read, I still ploughed through it quickly, finishing it over the course of a day in a few sittings. It just had me gripped from the off.
I haven't read anything by this author before but I definitely want to read more and hope there's more to come in this Mafia series soon!
Fans of dark, Mafia romances will really enjoy this!

Parabolic curve? Talk dirty to me. Call me by my name because now I am securely in pole position as an F1 girly.

This was just such a fun ARC read for her. Had all the high-stakes drama as your fav mafioso series mixed in with the speed ranged, fast-paced danger of fast cars and fast family. In short, I loved it. My only wish is that it came out sooner so I could chat shop with the girlies, because I just know they are going to love this duo as much as I did.

Call me thoroughly scandalized, this certainly felt like a part one to what we can only hope is a series that will keep us wrapped up tight the whole way through.

Oh, and Zara, I am gonna need to know about that look in Renzo's eye stat.

As soon as I saw this book with advertised with Mafia AND F1 I was sold! Cesare is the grandson of a Mafia boss but is trying to follow his dream in being a racing driver. Maddelena is the granddaughter of the rival Mafia's family boss. I really enjoyed this forbidden romance element and it was compared a few times to being like Romeo and Juliet. In my opinion this book was very spicy so if that's your thing, I think you'll really like this story. The spicy scenes were well written and added to the tension between the characters perfectly. I would have liked there to have been a little more F1 involved but really liked the idea of having both Mafia and F1 featured in a book together. I'd never seen them merged before and think it was an interesting concept that worked well! I did find some of the flashbacks at the start hard to understand as it wasn't clear it had jumped back in time but one the pace of the story had set in it was easier to follow.

2.5 ⭐️ As a massive F1 fan I really hoped I would be in love with this, but actually I think if you love F1 you might not enjoy it as much because it felt very unbelievable that a full time F1 champion would have time to be dealing with family mafia drama 🤣 on that note, I wish there was more actual drama. It all felt very he said/she said/threats until the last 5%. The ending was very predictable and it did annoy me the amount of times Romeo and Juliet were mentioned so it very very predictable unfortunately. As an F1 and mafia romance lover I requested this ARC because it sounded like my perfect book but I just spent a lot of reading time wanting more from the story.

I’m gonna need the next instalment of this and right about now because HOT DAMN, this was a good one🥵

I thought the F1 concept was a really unique one and did add to the plot very well but I have to admit, at first I found it hard to get into the flow of it, but once I found my groove I was back in the race baby.

The angst, the tension, the forbidden romance, and most importantly the down right obsessed for his wife MMC really made this book for me.

I have no other words to say other than add it to your TBR now… and Raffaelle’s book asap please

Upon reading the synopsis of this book I was instantly reading it thanks to NetGalley. The book, The Mastermind, by Zara Cox is not meant for teens. It’s a similar idea of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliette, but add in some F1 racing and a whole lot of spice and you get this book immediately.

Cesare Salvatore is the morally grey character that is the Underboss to his family’s crime family while also being the main driver for his family’s legitimate Formula 1 racing team. He’s got a temper on him as does his brothers. Cesare is devoted to his family to the highest level. He will do anything for them. Maddelena is the same way towards hers.

Maddelena Mancinelli is the strong-willed granddaughter of Bonafacio, who is the rival of Cesare’s grandfather Orazio Salvatore. She is the consigliere of the family, but just in title. Stupid misogyny,.. but I digress. She also is in the Formula 1 world, though not as a driver, but as a CEO of Furia Racing. Maddelena feels like a caged bird that just wants to fly.

They get together because of morally grey circumstances, which is to be expected, this is a mafia romance after all. The spice is great as are the storylines. The characters feel real and authentic. They pop off the page. I highly recommend this book. To be very clear though this is not a romance for teens, it’s a spicy mafia romance novel with a great morally grey man.

Could not get into this book. Nothing grabbed my attention to keep me reading. I was surprised because I usually love dark romance and F1, but this wasn’t doin it for me right now. Putting it down for now, but may pick up at a later date.

The premise of this book was so up my alley but unfortunately it just didn't live up to my expectations. I just wasn't able to get into it at all. The FMC was way too much of a pushover and I couldn't deal with that. I had to DNF.

: The Mastermind
By Zara Cox
Chapter 16 Page 128
Maddelena
4.5 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

Spice Level 🌶🌶🌶🌶

{ An alarming heart-warming act that snatched what little breath I'd regained.

Like his feeding me and catching me when I was dizzy, this felt like an act of a considerate man. Not the vengeance-seeking monster's heir from the night club or the racer hell-bent on crushing his enemies.

But weirdly, I didn't even prefer one over the other. They were all tied up in the mystery that had created Cesare Salvatore. And my growing addiction was fiercely worrisome.}

Cesare is the underboss and overall manager of operations in the Salvatore family. He is considered ruthless, menacing and a temper that could rival Lucifer himself and he was following his dream to become a Formula One racing driver. To the Salvatores, they were the best and it started, point proven.. but then trouble occurred when the Macinelli family decided to also compete and Cesare sensed trouble. 

He was right but if he thought it would be that easy to fix, he was very wrong. There was a mole in his presence and he was willing to seek them out, destroy, tame, taunt and annul their existence into a million pieces, and he would walk them through exactly how he would do that before he did it! 

Loyalty meant something to him and death swiftly follows those who did not take that into account before their actions. He would not and could now allow this insult to carry on. He must find a way to stop this and now.

Maddelena is the granddaughter of the Macinelli family, it is her job to make sure the running of her family's Formula One racing team operates smoothly, money being spent wisely and justly, for the team and nothing else getting in the way of them winning. It also didn't hurt to watch the Salvatores come second..  even third to their first place. 

If her family had more talent than me or /him/, that was a problem for him. Not her! (If Cesare wanted to react like a little baby having a meltdown because of it.. that spoke a lot about him but Maddelena is carrying a secret, one she does not want to get out so avoidance is the only way she can play this..

Cesare Salvatore and Maddelena Mancinelli. Two names that nobody knows right? Wrong. They are the characters of this mafia series in which Italian families fight for dominance over everything, from land, money, allies, power, people and anything else they can get their hands on before the competitors try to. These star-crossed lovers are like a rough and sadistic, modern-day twist on Romeo and Juliet were created and brought to life by this amazing author: Zara Cox.

I loved this book, it had the right amount of spice with a storyline to kill for not only did Zara portray both characters to perfection but she told an understanding story of two people who wanted to be together but were forced into another war between their families that were going to pull secrets out of cages once ago locked. This would be the death of her ..or him. 

That was for certain but is the risk worth taking?

A huge thank you to Zara Cox, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and relay my honest feedback. ::|