Author: S.J. Tilly
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Publish Date: May 25th, 2023
Pages: 391
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Spice: 3 out of 5
Genres: morally gray, smut, dark romance, mafia romance, contemporary
Content Warnings: on-page violence, death and kidnapping, past emotional trauma and abuse, stalking, dubious consent
“FOR THE GIRLIES WHO DON’T MIND A FEW RED FLAGS—AS LONG AS THEY’RE FICTIONAL.”
Note to self: always vet your dates…
Review:
First thing’s first, I did not enjoy the way this book ended. It was very flat and felt like I was left on a cliffhanger.
This story had one action scene that was a bit underwhelming and could’ve contained a bit more to fit the aura of the MMC, in my opinion. At least in NERO, there was an explosion when he came to save Payton. Also, the spice was not really spicing. I need to at least be able to create some sort of visual in my head based on the writer’s description, but I don’t recall much of that in this book. There were several scenes, so that’s a plus, but they weren’t seat-gripping worthy.
Now that I’ve spilled the boiling bad, here’s the gracious good (lol).
The intro scene of how Savannah and King initially crossed paths was messyyyy, lol. I feel like it was definitely a situation that anyone can experience in real life at any given moment, which is why it initially hooked me.
Their second encounter was a tad bit wild, but that’s what we love right? That’s why we read these books, right?!
I enjoyed seeing King’s character gradually soften and develop into a caring and attentive husband (noticing a trend here about myself, ha!). He definitely needed a whole lot more work than Nero did when it came to romance, affection and companionship, I’ll say that. But he meant well, I guess… haha!
King and Nero came together to form The Alliance, which makes perfect sense because they truly are brothers. Nero’s character was consistent in King’s book and the author did a great job at showing just how brotherly their relationship is with one another. They’re hilarious!
As for King and Savannah, they’re interactions remind me of Tarzan and Jane. King was highly territorial and protective, and needed lots of coaching on how to interact with the woman that he’s so infatuated by because he did not know how to approach this woman at all!
He didn’t know what to do, what to say, how to say it, how to act, nothing! Like sir, you can’t just kidnap a woman after she witnesses you do something terrible to someone else and expect her to fall in love and marry you all within a 24hr period. Are you insane?! (yes)
Savannah’s character was a bit different for me, which I enjoyed. She was raised in the suburbs by wealthy parents, but went against the path they laid for her and chose her own. She chose herself over the desires of other people, which is something I admire about her.
Unfortunately, her parents cut her off but she continued to pour into what she was most passionate about: her paintings.
Another thing I enjoyed about Savannah is that she didn’t simply fall for King because he demanded it. She resisted being married to him in several ways, and she wasn’t playing hard to get. She seriously was not having it and wanted out! That is… until she realized she actually didn’t want out and began to fall in love with her new life as his Queen.
Random thought, but I’m tickled as I’m writing this sentence because I feel like King interacted with her the way a kid interacts with observing a bug in a glass jar. He was excited, fascinated and intrigued, but he needed someone else to step in and explain how to handle the “creature” with care.
I will say, once King softened his approached, a new bond began to form between them. That’s when you really got to see just how emotionally neglected Savannah had been and how supportive and emotionally available King had become.
There was also a chapter or two that showed just how petty King could be and I hollered when I read what he did to Savannah’s ex’s! The petty playing field is much different when you’re a billionaire, that’s for sure!!!
Anyway, all in all, this book was okay. I had high hopes based on how it started, but it didn’t really excite me much throughout. I was thinking it would pick up halfway through, like NERO did, but it remained pretty steady throughout and felt more so like an in between read for the series.
So far, this series is low on the spectrum of dark romance, which is perfect for someone who’s just getting started in this genre. Although I gave it a low rating, it wasn’t a bad book by any means. It kept my attention, but it just didn’t excite me the way I thought it would. I plan to read DOM this summer as well, which was the first book I purchased in this series. I’ve heard that Dom is the crowd’s favorite, followed by Nero.
I guess I’ll have to read, review and see!
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Wander through more of my novel reviews and let curiosity lead… You won’t regret it.
Romance & Reality 
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