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Review: The Mastermind by Zara Cox
The Mastermind
Zara Cox
Mafia Rivals Series, Book 2
344 pages, Kindle Edition
July 8, 2025, by Boldwood Books
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 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.
4 Stars
I am a sucker for a good mafia romance. Always have been and always will be. Zara Cox definitely caught my attention with The Mastermind.
We may start off a little bit on the slow side, but let me tell you, we definitely pick it up for a fast pace edge of your seat story. Mafia meets Formula One racing. Not only are they rivals by their family names, they’re arrivals on the track as well. Cesare Salvatore is a race car driver and the heir to his family legacy. Maddelena Mancinelli is the daughter Mancinelli family head and over sees the running of their racing team. The two arrivals by birth, but yet have this crazy irresistible attraction to one another. Their relationship borders on hate and lust. When they find out, they have a mole on their team, Cesare goes to every length to get to the bottom of what is going on. Even if that means taking the one person that he feels, he can get the answer answers from. Maddelena is one tough cookie, she will see toe to toe with the best of them. yet she has two weaknesses, one feeling things for a man that she should never want to and something completely beyond her control, which could totally destroy her family.
I really enjoyed The Mastermind. Zara Cox puts a nice twist on the typical mafia romance. The addition of F1 racing almost made this book move at break next speed once we got going. It’s a darker modern day inspired by Romeo and Juliet type of story that caught me off guard in the best possible way.
Review: Detonate by Luna Mason
Detonate
Luna Mason
Beneath the Mask Series, Book 2
460 pages, Kindle Edition
May 27th, 2025 Kensington Publishing
Grayson
Seven years ago, I left the special forces and my home after a tragic betrayal.
I carefully constructed a new life in New York.
I thought I had it all.
A world-famous boxing trainer by day.
A Mafia hitman by night.
Free to live in the darkness to do what I was trained to do.
To kill.
I finally felt free.
But one kiss was all it took to shatter life as I knew it.
The one woman who hated my guts, scaled the walls I built around my black heart.
My ray of sunshine.
Just when I believed I could have it all, life blows it up right before my eyes.
I know how far I’m willing to go to fight for her.
But can she truly love someone who could never give her the fairytale she so desperately craves?
Maddie
I was sick of being the family disappointment.
The one who could never get a man to stick around.
So, I kissed a lot of frogs to try and find my Prince.
Instead, I fell in love with the villain.
The last man on earth I thought I could ever love.
He might call me sunshine, but I crave his darkness.
I wasn’t meant for his world, but he took me anyway, and I never wanted to leave.
Sometimes life doesn’t give you a choice.
Can I give up on my search when I have the monster offering me the world?
Even if loving me puts us both in danger.
3 Stars
Detonate by Luna Mason is sports/dark mafia romance that follows Grayson and Maddie. Grayson is emotionally guarded, former military, and was portrayed by people he trusted the most in life. He is a boxing trainer, and mafia hitman. The only place for women in his world is for a physical release, nothing more. No strings whatsoever. Maddie is a disappointment to her family. She doesn’t want to have someone else dictating her life. She wants to be her own woman, believing in fairytales and happily ever afters.
Both of our main characters have their issues and things in the past that have made them the way they are. However, from their first meeting things were explosive. They had chemistry, but yet come from two completely different worlds. Detonate is an entertaining read, and for most part of the book is fast paced. I do feel it had a lot of potential and could have been a little bit more. Not saying that I disliked it because I did enjoy the read but it just felt like there was something missing or fell short, just a bit.I do look forward to looking into this Author’s catalog because her storyline was good and she kept me entertained.
Review: Storm Wood by Donna Grant
Storm Wood
Donna Grant
Elven Kingdoms Series Book 3
359 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 13, 2025
Donna Grant always takes her readers on an adventure. It may be dangerous, but it’s always got a happily ever after at the end. Storm Wood is an enemies to lovers story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Rohan and Farah are on the same mission, but yet neither one knows exactly what the other is doing. Both have lost their sisters, both have put their lives on the line to find them. An attempt to save his sister Rohan embarks on a wild plan that involves kidnapping Farah and using his leverage to be able to have her help him find his sister. Rohan may know exactly what Farah is,
but he does not know her reasons. Each of them have their motives and each of them will do what it takes to save their loved ones however, what they didn’t count on was overtime actually developing feelings for one another.
I said it before and I will say it again Donna Grant is a master world builder, and her imagination comes up with amazing stories. Storm Wood is a dark, dangerous and magical journey of two people trying to find their loved ones that end up finding love themselves. From where their journey begins to where it ends, Rohan and Farah discover a lot about themselves and the people that they love.
Review: Prince of Darkness by Rebecca Zanetti
Prince of Darkness
Rebecca Zanetti
Dark Protectors Series, Book 17
Unknown to humans, beyond daylight lies a world of intoxicating darkness where deadly creatures prowl with insatiable desires and unbelievable power: vampires, demons, witches, shifters. When vulnerable humans find themselves thrust into that realm, they’ll never be the same. . .
In the aftermath of war, a fragile peace hovers between the Kurjan nation and the Dark Protector coalition. Yet amid labyrinthine politics and intrigue, Vero Phoenix, a Kurjan, stands apart. He has lived devoid of legacy or lineage—until the day he backed his newly found brother as king, putting himself into the treacherous position of enforcer and shield. Yet there is another thorn in his side, no less vexing, undeniably captivating—and all-too-human . . .
Lyrica Graves was once ensnared by Kurjan captors and now embodies defiance and freedom as she guides other women to independence and modernity. She is particularly amused—and breathtakingly fearful—by her tangles with Vero. But their clashing also belies a sizzling connection, a dark attraction between supernatural and fully human that threatens their chosen destinies and makes them a target for far too many enemies . . .
4,5 Stars
A fantastic beginning to a new chapter of the Dark Protector series.
Vero is a Kurjan, a prince and in charge of trying to integrate his people into a new way of life. Diplomacy is something that he doesn’t have and patience he has even less of. Trying to rebuild a broken nation, avoiding assassination attempts and trying to get everyone on the same page, Vero feels that weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Although the presence of a certain female keeps Vero off his balance, just a bit. Whether he feels that she is a thorn in his side or that’s just his excuse for something he’s not quite ready to admit.
Lyrica is an enhanced human female, an empath who was kidnapped during the previous ruler, but yet has been given a job that she has taken very seriously. Lyrica has been put in charge of helping those who have been kidnapped relocate or re-oriented with society however they wish. Lyrica is a modern woman in all sense of the word and wants all the females to be able to experience anything they should desire. She does have a bit of a hard time understanding why any of them would want to stay. She’s a strong woman and willing to stand toe to toe with anyone. Even with that Kurjan who makes her blood boil, but for so many different reasons.
I love this new chapter that Rebecca Zanetti has given us on her dark protector for. This is the first book within the 17 book series that has been primarily of a kurjan point of view. That is one of the reasons that this series stays so fresh and interesting. Vero and Lyrica are a perfect opposites attract match. I love their tension, their banter and how hard they fight their attraction. In places it’s comical and others you just want to shake them both and hope they get with it. They are so opposites of one another it’s but it so works for them. He is in all sense a warrior built for battle, but truly would rather be in a lab and she is a foot shorter than him and has enough sass for all of them. I very much enjoyed their story. And I’m very excited for what will be happening within this new arc of the dark protector’s world.
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