Release date: March 8th, 2020
Series: / standalone
Pages: 289
Genre: Romance
The first time Cassio met his fiancée, she called him ‘Sir’.
After losing his wife, Cassio is left to take care of two small children while trying to establish his rule over Philadelphia. Now he needs a mother for his children, and someone who can warm his bed at night.
But in a traditional world as his, choosing your wife is duty not pleasure.
Rules have to be followed. Traditions heeded.
That’s how he ends up with a woman—a girl barely of age. She might not be what he and his children need, but she’s wicked lovely and a sweet temptation he can’t resist.
Giulia always knew she’d marry a man her father chose for her. Only she never expected to be given to someone much older.
Suddenly she’s supposed to be a mother to two small children when she hasn’t even held a baby in her life.
Giulia quickly realizes that Cassio isn’t interested in a relationship on equal footing. Her mother always warned her that men of power like Cassio don’t tolerate insolence; yet, tired of being treated as a nanny and clueless child-bride, Giulia decides to fight for her vision of a happy family.
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This might be the most non-mafia mafia book I've ever read. It didn't feel much like reading a mafia book as if the author just said 'let me throw some Italian names in it and call it a mafia book'. It's also my first Cory Riley read and I primarily read it because it was nominated for Goodreads rewards.
Okay, so we have quirky, young Gulia here who has no experience in literally anything when she marries the big bad mafia man Cassion, who's much older than her and already previously married. Now he has two young kids to deal with, one of them suffering from a big trauma.
When Giulia moves into his house, it's like she immediately knows what to do. Upon stepping into the house, she suddenly gets some powers about how to train an untrained dog and deal with him and, best of all, she immediately becomes an expert in how to deal with problematic children, even though she's never had any experience in her life before.
And, as I said, this really didn't feel like a mafia book. There was no drama, no suspense (except between Giulia and Cassio), just nothing that would make this book really mafia-like.
It was still a good read, I liked reading about both Cassio and Julia's characters progress and change, seeing Giulia maturing and Cassio becoming more trusting and more loving.
But there were aspects I didn't really enjoy, like his dead wife constantly hovering between them and the chapter when it was explained in detail how she died was, in my opinion, kind of unnecessary and I'd much rather learn about her death through Giulia and Cassio's conversation when he explained everything to her.
Not a bad read, but I kind of expected a little bit more out of it.
I'm an author of romance and new adult novels. I'm a lover of good food, wine and books, and I'm hopelessly addicted to bad boys (in books).
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