Burned Dreams (Perfectly Imperfect, #7) (2024)

2 stars A few random observations:

- Only a man could be so oblivious to the situation and dynamics between Ravenna and her husband. Only a man has the privilege to be so freaking clueless for as long as Alessandro was. Any woman would clock the abuse, control and manipulation in 10 seconds.

- The story could have been pretty great. The bones were there, the execution lacked bad.

- The amount of times Alessandro kept thinking of how he should kill Ravenna for his revenge had my head spinning. Change the script dude, you’re boring me. Not to mention, it sounded pretty stupid of him to think that, even after he learned of the fact that Rocco was abusive, that Ravenna was trapped and trying to escape and that Rocco would not give a sh*t if she died so what kind of revenge is Alessandro talking about then?
It made no sense for him to keep taking about spilling her blood and talking about hating her after knowing the facts - it looked dumb. It made him 50% less attractive. Brains and critical thinking trump a 6’7” height and a dark and dangerous aura. In my case anyway.

- He was so wishy washy about his commitment to being with Ravenna. It was clearly doable and possible and all that jazz, but he had to complicate it to drag the story. Not a good look on him - pretty dumb again.

- Ravenna was too quickly into banging him and telling him she’s had naughty dreams of him. It definitely helped that she was being abused and he was a “saviour”. She definitely was “loving” him way too quick and shallowly.

- The story wasn’t really high stakes or developed behind what you can expect in a mediocre, half assed plot.

- I definitely had higher expectations cause the hero was hyped previously and the blurb promised an angsty revenge fantasy with a woman living a dangerous life and a guy infiltrating her life and then figuring each other out. When I think of it, and all the promise in the synopsis, the result was quite pathetic.

4 You Were My Payback Stars ⭐

Burned Dreams was probably one of the best installments in this series. It was well written, full of suspense and had twists that kept me intrigued the entire time.

Revenge was my only desire. I lived for it. Nothing else mattered. And now, I’m lusting after one of my targets. It’s like fate has decided to royally f*ck with me.

He has spent years plotting his revenge. An eye for an eye. Play the bodyguard for a mafia capo he plans to kill. But not before he's destroyed everything the enemy has built and loved.

She was a debt repayment. Ravenna Pisano has been living in luxurious imprisonment since she married. And what goes on behind closed doors remains private. Until she's assigned a new bodyguard. One that despises her on sight.

This story was perfectly paced. Alessandro had very valid reasons for his actions whilst Ravi was trying to survive as she planned her escape. You saw both their stories unfold separately and then slowly twine into this unavoidable attraction with everything at stake. It was really good!

how do i get myself marked by an assassin

Az is a man eager for revenge until he meets his target, a woman who will make him realize that things are not always what they seem.

“What I feel for you is greater than anything I’ve ever felt before, Ravenna. It’s like a beautiful blaze that consumes me, shining light on a darkness that has festered in my soul for so long. And I want to stay in this light forever if you’ll let me.”

I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

To keep this short, let's just say that this book had so much potential, but the majority of it just ended up being a guy considering killing an already abused woman. I wanted pining and protection, not this. I did genuinely enjoy some of the books in this series. They were my guilty pleasures. But I'm starting to think there's more duds than hits.

I just finished this not 10 minutes ago, and I'm already salivating over the next book .... How is that even possible! I'm in denial, because Book hangover is HITTING ME HARD.
The tension between Az and Ravenna was sooo palpable I had second hand tingles. EVERYWHERE.

The characters' growth, the events 🔥🤯, the transition between emotions, hate, love, d€ath, survival.... everything was epically put into motion to create this MASTERPIECE.
I know with every book added to this series I say it's my favorite. But this is really OVERWHELMING, in the best way ever.

-“ 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙞,” ....“𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙩. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡-𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.”
-“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙡𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧,”

(These are my babies AND NO ONE is claiming them before I do. so here I am. )

Alsooo THAT ENDING 🆆.🆃.actual.🅵

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (ARC Review)

''My descent began the moment I set my eyes on you''

Safety warnings:
- H late 30s / h 24
- No cheating (between MCs)
- No OW/OM drama
- Physical abuse
- S*xual abuse
- Attempted r*pe
- Loss of loved ones
- Violence/torture/d*ath
- HEA

Alessandro was just out for his ultimate revenge when instead what he got was another chance at a HEA. All the plans and plotting went right out the window because of Ravenna. Everything he knew was put into question because of feelings he thought were long dead.

I was really intrigued by the little we got about Alessandro in this series so to finally get his story. He spends 8 years trying to find out who was responsible for basically destroying his life, he sets out to take out his targets wife just so he can feel the same loss but not everything is how it seems in that house. We see/hear about a few familiar faces too.

Ravenna is forced to marry her abusive husband because of her younger brother’s mistake and the life she leads after that is not one the fairytale the world sees (even Alessandro) but a nightmare.

This is a slow burn, but it was so worth it! I refuse to spoil anything because I want everyone to go through the pain that these two caused me for yourselves.

There were a few moments where I was not sure how the story would go based on a few certain events. Towards the end everything was super intense, especially since Az had to make difficult decisions and each would lead to different end results.

The ending was insane! We get to see someone who I am pretty sure will be getting their own book and I cannot wait.

Top two favorite in the series. Bold, I know.

MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES
Ravenna “Ravi” Pisano, née Cattaneo (24) | Alessandro Zanetti (37)

FEATURES
∘ mafia romance
∘ one-sided hate
∘ revenge plot
∘ enemy’s wife
∘ bodyguard

REVIEW
Ravenna was that girl. She had plans, and even if Alessandro hadn’t entered her life, she was going to save her family.

Alessandro’s obsession (and own annoyance at said obsession) was a delight. His insistence on his revenge plan got a little old, but honestly? I didn’t mind it. He’d be like, “Ravenna, I can’t be with you.” And then cover her with blankets at night. He literally could not stay away.

Perhaps it wasn’t fair to her, but that man was a goner, and really, a man who worships the ground his woman walks on is all I need for a romance novel to be a hit for me.

OW/OM DRAMA not really OM — Revanna is married but her husband is a POS, so…🤷‍♀️ | past OW — Alessandro is seeking vengeance for his dead wife, and he often puts his revenge plot above his feelings for Ravenna (but he also describes how his love for Ravenna is different and more intense than it was for his wife)
CHEATING yes, with each other
THIRD ACT BREAKUP yes, but it lasts for not even a few minutes
ENDING HEA — two years later epilogue

POV dual / first person
SPICE LEVEL 4 / 5
RATING 4.5 / 5

Mafia Romance
Revenge
Bodyguard

La verdad quedé un poco disappointed.
Esperaba más de este libro, de la historia de los personajes.
No es un libro tan largo, sin embargo, se me hizo que duré una eternidad en terminarlo.

Los protagonistas son Alessandro y Ravenna, a ellos los conocimos en el libro de Salvarore y Alessandro es Az el compañero de Sergei como asesinos a sueldo en esa organización.

Alessandro entra a la Cosa Nostra para buscar venganza por la muerte de su esposa y las pistas dan a que es uno de los intregrantes, ahí dentro se entera que fue Rocco y de suerte anda buscando un guardaespaldas para su esposa por lo que se ofrece a ser él.
Quiere desquitarse ojo por ojo y parte de su venganza es matar a Ravenna lo que nunca esperó es que se enamoraría de ella.

Ravenna está viviendo un infierno en su matrimonio, ella piensa escapar, pero ahora tiene un nuevo guardaespaldas, serio, aterrador que la hace sentir segura y protegida.

Hasta el romance que Neva lo hace muy bien, me quedó a deber y es que el estilo de ella es de matrimonios arreglados, chicas en apuros que ellos las protegen, pero en gran parte del libro están juntos lo que hace un buen desarrollo del romance y este libro si están juntos pero su interacción es muy limitada lo que hizo que la relación tuviera un desarrollo lento que hasta más de la mitad al fin vemos que avanza.

Al próximo libro le tengo muchas ganas y fe porque ese si es MATRIMONIO ARREGLADO y aparte la escenas final de éste libro da para otra historia y es que este mundo de Neva todavía tiene mucho que dar.

Give me Kai's book and I'll be happy🤞

It has been a while since I picked up a mafia romance. And I am not disappointed at all with Burned Dreams. This is a wonderful book. A dark, brooding, intense mafia romance. I love Alesandro. He is that type of antihero that I would love to fall in love with.
The majority of the story is told from Alesandro's POV. Ravena is there but her character is rushed. Not quite develop well.

Miss Altaj done a brilliant job writing this story. I have not read the previous books in this series and now I am itching to pick one.

4 stars

Another great one from Neva Altaj, I continue to be engaged in this Mafia series and I eagerly await each new entry she shares.

This one felt very unique within the series. We were away from a lot of characters we have come to know and love. We are also in a very dark situation, that is nothing new, but this may be apart of the darker spectrum of this series. Please take the CWs to heart.

Our heroine, Ravenna is in a horrible position. She has been forced into a marriage after her brother lost a poker game with a powerful and sad*stic mafia man. She wants to rebel but due to the viciousness of her new husband, she must be very covert in her resistance.

Enter Alessandro, her new bodyguard. A position that has historically been very short lived. As Ravenna's husband is quick to remove them when they get too friendly with her. But he's not really there to look out for her, he's there for revenge. Or so he thinks.

This book has a lot of tight ropes to walk and I feel that it succeeds on the whole. The only thing I wanted more of was the time these two are falling love... I felt like we went from hate to love without any shifting gears...

Overall, I flew through this book and I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

4 stars
3 on the spice scale

CW: Domestic abuse, violence towards women, death of a spouse, cheating (not between MCs), SA

I received an early copy for review.

"Do you keep everyone you hate safe?”
“No.”
“Just you.” when he said this-
this book delivered, it gave what it was supposed to and I loved it. alessandro mf zanetti, this man just raised my standards 💋

Çok fazla iç ses, çooook fazlaaaa 😒

»He will. Never. Touch you again.«

★ ★ ★ ★

❥ 𝑹𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒂
She‘s a smart woman and knows how to pick her battles. I got to like her real quick and could relate to her.

❥ 𝑨𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒐
I was curious about Az since he appeared in Sergeis book and I was excited to read about him. He was big, dark and intimidating but he fell for Ravi and it was awesome to read.

✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
Enjoyed it!
This was another good mafia romance from Neva Altaj although I think the first three of this series are the best.
Az and Ravi glued me to my kindle and I was curious about their story. It didn‘t disappoint but there could have been a little bit more. The whole plot was predictable without any big turns.
I liked it but it was no five star read.

plot: 4/5
spice: 2/5
humor: 2/5
couple/tension: 5/5
world building: 5/5
happy end?: yes

keywords: mafia, costa nostra, bodyguard romance, forbidden romance, traumatic past, abusive husband, protective and possessive hero

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

#1 Painted Scars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 Broken Whispers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#3 Hidden Truths ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
#4 Ruined Secrets ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
#5 Stolen Touches ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
#6 Fractured Souls ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#7 Burned Dreams ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#8 Silent Lies ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#9 Darkest Sins ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻.5
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️.5
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨.25

First Impressions
Burned Dreams is the most recent release in the "Perfectly Imperfect" series. Its the seventh installment in the series and this is where we get Alessandro's book. This has a great mix of tropes with revenge and forced proximity. And this is also where we see some tortured characters who find some solace and redemption together. There is something about how this author writes that I am immediately drawn to. I just adore how she writes these stories. And what really appeals the most for me is how her characters are so easy to invest in.

Summary
Alessandro has been on a long road of revenge for those that killed his wife and never had to suffer the consequences and he is determined to make sure that they do suffer the consequences. So he starts to work undercover as a bodyguard for the Nostra's wife. Ravenna, was forced into becoming a wife and is practically a prisoner in her own home. But she is slowly working her way through to get her freedom and free her family and trying to keep up appearances with her abusive husband. What she doesn't expect, is to find a protector with her new bodyguard. But his goal is to kill her as part of his revenge but when he falls hard for the woman, he will have to choose the best way to keep her forever...

What I Loved
This story really packed a punch, especially on a deep human level and this is one of the talents from this author, she just makes these characters come alive for you and you just connect instantly with them no matter what they do. This is definitely a bit different from what we normally see from this author, but I enjoyed seeing her go this route with this book and seeing how it develops between our characters. There are so many ways that this one is forbidden, and forbidden love is one of my favorite tropes to read in romance. And seeing the small moments that these two pack just a strong connection and build between them was so superb. Neva AltaJ really developed their relationship just right that fit within the machinations of the plot. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. And if you love mafia romance, then this author most definitely needs to be on your list there.

What I Struggled With
There was a bit of anti climatic the conflict ended up in, it ended up being resolved in ways I least expected. And while a surprise is fun, I definitely thought it would be more intense than it turned out to be. But the epilogue was good to see our couple in their HEA but also prepping us for what we need to be ready for in book 8!

Overall View
Burned Dreams is a story that builds perfect tension, chemistry gradually built up to perfection, and a plot to keep you on your toes! A THRILLING MAFIA GEM!

Favorite Quote(s)
y feelings for Ravenna Pisano don't resemble a forest stream. They're a f*cking waterfall. Unexpected. Ferocious. Passion, desire, and beautiful madness. I crave her more than a condemned man wanting her next breath.

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Dark Romance
Character Types: Mafia, Assassin, Law Enforcement, Abused Heroine
Themes: Crime, Secret Ops
Tropes: Forbidden Love, Forced Proximity, Revenge

Book Perspective
Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
A blend of both

Song This Book Inspires
One Woman Man by John Legend

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as standalone if needed, but for the connections within the world, I recommend reading these in order

Steam/Spice Explanations

Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

3.8 ⭐ para Burned Dreams, séptimo libro de la serie Perfectly Imperfect de Neva Altaj.

📖 Esperaba un poco más de esta novela porque la autora venía dejándonos vistazos del personaje de Alessandro desde hace ya unos pares de libros. Por lo tanto, todo parecía indicar que su historia iba a ser algo más explosiva y memorable de lo que realmente fue.

➡️ Con lo anterior no quiero insinuar que esta entrega haya sido mala. Simplemente creo que podría haber sido mejor porque tenía unos tropes bastante buenos y con mucho potencial para explorar más, pero se mantiene igual de atrapante para el lector que todos los libros que componen esta serie hasta el momento. Son ideales para leerlos en uno o dos días por lo mucho que te envuelven del primer al último capítulo y mantienen el hype y las vibras que rodea a la serie con cada lanzamiento.

First half was good but second half was boring🥱

Not my fav in the series but I LOVED the “who did this to you?” Moments and the sexual tension was off the charts.

I just didn’t connect to the couple as much as the previous books! Still very excited for the next one!

3.5 ⭐

I'm conflicted about this book, but that's my problem. 😅

Safety warnings:
- Violence
- Domestic abuse
- Torture
- Gruesome death
- No owd
- Cheating (Ravi is married up to 88% of the book)
- Forbidden romance
- Bodyguard romance
- Age gap (24/37)
- Death of a loved one (Alessandro's wife)

Alessandro/Az (37) is on the revenge path against the guy responsible for his wife's death. He has been planning this for the last 8 years, and he'll never stop until that guy dies in a slow and painful way.

He loved his wife, but it was something that gradually happened. They both grew up in the foster care system and have been together since they were 17. They started as friends that turned into something deeper over the years. They were together for more than a decade, but I don't think the love he had for her was all deep and consuming.

But one day some drunk guy hit his wife and ran from the scene, and the guy's father did everything to clean up that accident and for his son not to be punished. He was heartbroken and made a vow to get revenge on those responsible for killing his wife.

Since his wife died, he has never been with a woman. He had a one-track mind, and his sole purpose was to finally get revenge by killing Rocco and Rocco's father.

---------

Ravenna/Ravi (24) is a Capo's daughter, but since her father died, they have been struggling a lot. One day, her younger brother decided to play poker with Rocco, and he lost, and she was taken as payment instead. She married him, and he has been abusing her (physically, mentally, and sexually) ever since. She tried to fight him at the beginning, but the abusive asshole only enjoyed it even more.

The asshole is also a jealous f*cker, and he killed his previous three guards because he thinks they look at her in a different way. But then he hired Az to be his wife's bodyguard, thinking he's gay thanks to the rumors surrounding him that he's not interested in women.

---------

Az and Ravi met, but he hates her, or rather, what she represents and her connection with Rocco, but he cannot stop himself from being intrigued by her. Since the first time he saw her, he couldn't get her out of his head. That's not the case with Ravi; she's intrigued too, but she's more afraid for his safety because, again, her asshole husband is a jealous prick and doesn't have any problem killing her previous bodyguards. So she tried to be professional and cold with him at the beginning.

But then, with all the forced proximity and him being with her all day, the potential relationship buildup slowly happened. The mutual attraction got more intense with each passing day, as did the sexual tension. Until one day, everything snaps, and they both give in.

This is a slow-burn romance, and nothing happened between them until 63% of the book. After that, Az kept his distance, and he reminded himself that she shouldn't mean anything to him because she's part of his plan. It was annoying and frustrating to be reminded that all of his efforts are for his wife and that he would see to it that his revenge would be exact. His hot and cold treatment with Ravi is maddening too; one minute he wanted her to be his, then another hot minute he's pushing her away. Seriously, make up your mind, dude!

When Alessandro finally told Ravenna about what happened to his wife and his actual plans, she didn't get afraid of him but rather felt sad for what he went through. She also realized that he loved his wife so deeply that it sustained him for the last eight years as he plotted his revenge. According to her POV, she can't handle being a consolation prize, but then she loves him and is hoping one day for him to eventually feel the same way about her. And I was like, are you for real? Why would you even settle for something like that?

What annoyed me the most is that she asked him, not once but twice, mind you, to choose her over his original plan, but both times he didn't do so. His revenge outweighs everything; even Ravi and I just can't get with that.

But when she finally set him free, another group of enemies came and rained gunshots at the event she was attending. That's when he only realized how much he loved her, and he can't even bear to think about losing her. After that sh*t show, he dropped the love bomb on her, and she accepted him so quickly. And I really want to shake her so hard, because a few minutes before that shootout, he rejected her for the second time when she asked him to "run away together." And this realization only sinks into Az for about 85% of the book. So for me, it seems that the majority of the story is all about him executing his revenge plan and that, in the back of his mind, it was all for his dead wife.

I know that they fall in love, and what he feels for her is something he never felt with his wife. But it still didn't sit well with me how much he can't let go of his revenge or the fact that he didn't choose Ravi for the huge part of the book. Tbh, I'm so conflicted too, because I also want to give justice to the wife, but she's been long gone and Ravi's here, breathing, living, and loving him unconditionally. But he's so stuck in that payback, and he's letting her slip from his fingers.

On the positive side, he was very protective of Ravi. He shot her husband's hand when he saw the bruises on her neck. He also killed a guard who knew that Rocco was abusing Ravi but didn't do anything. He also scares away all the guys who are trying to talk to her or get close to her. And how he also protects her mother and brother. Also, their scenes together are hot, and though what they did was cheating, it is still hot. I can't deny that.

Overall, I think this is still a good book. Probably a 3 or 4 ⭐ but the retribution for the dead wife isn't just working for me. I tried, but the last 15% of the story isn't enough to make up for the majority of the book. Though this didn't work for me, other readers might find this up their alley.

When your hate consumes you for a long time, you are blinded by the truth in front of you

this is the 7th book in the Perfectly Imperfect series, and I think it is the best one in terms of writing style. '
The level of complex internal dilemma and struggle is shown throughout Alessandro's and Ravenna's thoughts
Also, this book has more Mafia elements than the rest of the series where the Romance is focused on more
So, we first hear about Alessandro "Az" in previous books. We know that Him and Sergio were part of a secret military organization called Z.E.R.O but he disappeared on them almost a decade ago. Why?

Alessandro was looking for the man who killed his wife. after years of searching, he finds out he's the son of a capo in the Cosa Notra organization. So he works himself to infiltrate it and become Rocco's wife's bodyguard.
Ravenna was blackmailed into marrying Rocco and suffers physical abuse by him.

Alessandro's plan of revenge is "an eye for an eye". Rocco took his wife, so he plans on killing Ravenna. He goes into this thinking she's just a typical spoiled Mafia wife.
Meanwhile, Ravenna has her own plan of escape
slowly, the two start noticing each other and plans change

so by now, you have your typical "bodyguard" enemies to lovers-ish kinda trope. It reminded me a lot of Turkish drama which is usually full of cliches, however, you cannot help yourself but fall in love with the characters.

The story was also very well build and told from two points of view. We, as readers, get an inside look into Alessandro's deep hate and desire for revenge. We also see Ravenna's struggle and how brave and resourceful she is. We root for these two to be together.
And when Alessandro falls, he falls like a boulder splashing into a lake. Fast, Hard and with a loud Splash. The "i'll kill anyone who touches her" was truly strong with this one once he got over the idea of killing her.

I liked the concept that it took Az a while to warm up to the idea of him being with Ravenna. When you were obsessing over your revenge for eight years to the point that nothing else matters in your life, it's not easy to give up on your plans immediately.

I also loved how Ravenna was not portrayed as this helpless Mafia wife who accepted her fate and was waiting for someone to save her. When she knew no one will help her, she used her wits to plan her escape.

but here are my issues

1- Most of the time, we are reading the internal thoughts of the two protagonists. As readers, we get their reasoning and their suffering. However, there was very little interaction and talk between Ravenna and Az that the romance did not make sense to me. It felt like it was the physical appearance that drew them together not their common goal and personalities.

2- The reason for revenge was weak. Az's wife was killed during an accident when Rocco was driving drunk. and it was a helluva coincidence that Rocco was part of the Mafia. It would have made more sense if Natalie's death was intentional.

3- up until 70% of the book, there were no spice scenes because the build-up was slow. But once Az and Ravi did it, oh boy! they were humping like rabbits and the plot lost its taste. The decisive Ravi is gone to be replaced by this wanton chick who melts with one touch.

4- The ending felt missing. What happened to Ravi's family? all the time she was doing what she was doing to help her family, but then what? she left them?

but all in all, I enjoyed reading this book so much. The writing is so much improved and it is obviously a lot of research was involved.

um, the bodyguard trope but he actually wants to kill you for revenge and ends up falling for you? yeah, sign me up.

the sergei/az reunion was to die for, i also love felix and he needs to be appreciated more

La neta le tenía muchas ganas y fue el que menos me gusto de la serie hasta ahora. Estaba muy buena la historia e incluso los personajes, pero siento que fallaron en muchas cosas.

En sí estos libros son ligeros y adictivos, por eso mismo me los leo, pero esta historia no logro llenar mis expectativas.

Me da coraje porque yo esperaba este libro con muchas ansias y que no me gustara como imaginé fue triste

-Mafia
-Bodyguard Romance
-Revenge
-Forbidden Love
-Age Gap
-Touch her and die

Alessandro'nun karısı öldürüldükten sonra bir intikam yoluna başlar; karısını öldüren adamı bulacak ve karşılığında onun karısını öldürecektir. Ancak karısı Ravenna'nın kendi iradesiyle orada olmadığını, kocasının kurbanı olduğunu anlayınca planları alt üst olmaya başlar.

An okayish read.
It started of well but quickly became very insta love types which instantly kills any excitement I feel for a book🫠

Normalde sevmediğim durumlar vardı ama böyle bir pisliğe her şey mübah... Hayır sen nasıl insanlık dışı bir varlıksın! Bin beter olmanı dilediğim çok sahne oldu Rocco gereksizi!

Bu seriyi, konuları daha hafif tuttuğu için seviyorum. Daha ana karakter odaklı, çevresel faktörler daha yüzeysel. Bu tür için bunu hiç sorun etmiyorum. Benim için işleyen bir sistem.

Ravenna, herkesin sevgi dolu olduğunu düşündüğü bir adamla evlidir. Ama gerçekler kat kat makyajın altında sır gibi saklanır. Kimsenin görmediği şey gerçek değildir. Alessandro görene kadar...

Az, intikam yemini etmiş bir adam. Bu uğurda kim ölmüş, kim masum önemli değil. Uzun zamandır, milim milim planladığı intikamını almaya çok az kaldı. Sadece... Koruması olduğu Ravenna biraz kafasını karıştırıyor. Ama sorun yok. Plan devam ediyor. Yersen 😂

Yazar en sonda, bir sonraki kitabın erkek karakteri kim tahmin edin demiş. Epilog kısmına bakınca Kai derdim ama Asya'nın kitapta Sienna'nın etkileşimde olduğu biri ortaya çıkmış mıydı emin olamadım. Facebook gönderime yazın, bilene ARC göndereyim demiş. Bacım ben FB kullanmayalı 7-8 yıl oldu😅 ne yapsam ki..

This female mc was almost as bad as the last.
It’s like the author decided mid series instead of strong female mcs in this series she wanted weak victims. I don’t like it:

I did like the male mc and the storyline otherwise though. But the fact that the women are weak and victims just make the rest of the storyline fall apart.

THE LAST 15% WAS SOOO GOOD!!!!

THE ENDING?? INSANE. I’M *SO* EXCITED FOR [redacted]’S BOOK 🤭🤭

Alessandro and Ravi definitely deserved the world omg. Anyways let's get into it.....
I was curious to know about AZ aka Alessandro since he was mentioned in Sergei's story and finding out his past and how his wife had passed away was really sad. But don't get me started on Ravi I truly just want to give her a big hug. I hated all the sh*t she had to go through with Rocco just because he was an insecure man. Not going to lie I was surprised it took Alessandro a while to figure out what was truly going on but afterwards I loved the moments where he taught her self defense. All in all this was a nice story I think I gave it 4 stars simply because I was in a reading slump and had a hard time finishing it.

1.5

Are these just getting progressively... worse? I don't know man. I was so excited for Az's book with the build up and teasers from Sergei's. The whole premise screamed a good guilty pleasure book.

But that execution? Tragically underwhelming. And disappointing. Disappointing that despite it being painfully obvious that Ravenna was in a forced, controlling and abusive marriage, Az seemed to hell bent on his "revenge" and apparently her death was the cherry topper even though she had no part to play in his past trauma. Also, is the woman not suffering enough? It made it all the more difficult to accept their inevitable voyage into their romance.

How my guy went from one worded responses to suddenly spewing pet names is beyond my comprehension.

I didn't feel the high stakes in this one. A weak spark.

Just give me Kostya's book. Let me laugh for at least half of it. But I hear we get Drago next and colour me intrigued. I'm game.