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Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #1
Bound by Honor
A modern mafia fairytale.
Born into one of the leading mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi is a mafia princess known for her beauty. What many consider a gift means her doom when she’s forced to marry Luca Vitiello to bring peace between two mafia dynasties. Luca is the future Capo of the New York Famiglia, a man known for his brutality—and for crushing his cousin’s throat with his bare hands.
Aria is terrified of marrying a monster like him. He may be one of the most sought-after bachelors in New York, thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma. But Aria knows the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.
In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.
Yet, there’s no escaping the arranged bond, much less a man like Luca. He’d follow her to the end of the world.
Her only chance to survive in a marriage with Luca is to gain his affection and work her way into his heart—even when rumor has it that Luca doesn’t have a heart to begin with.
A mafia princess known for her beauty given to a monstrous man.
Even monsters have a heart.
She has every intention of working her way into his.
Born into one of the leading mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi is a mafia princess known for her beauty. What many consider a gift means her doom when she’s forced to marry Luca Vitiello to bring peace between two mafia dynasties. Luca is the future Capo of the New York Famiglia, a man known for his brutality—and for crushing his cousin’s throat with his bare hands.
Aria is terrified of marrying a monster like him. He may be one of the most sought-after bachelors in New York, thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma. But Aria knows the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.
In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.
Yet, there’s no escaping the arranged bond, much less a man like Luca. He’d follow her to the end of the world.
Her only chance to survive in a marriage with Luca is to gain his affection and work her way into his heart—even when rumor has it that Luca doesn’t have a heart to begin with.
A mafia princess known for her beauty given to a monstrous man.
Even monsters have a heart.
She has every intention of working her way into his.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2014
About the author
Cora Reilly
48 books26.3k followersI'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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 9,367 reviews
January 11, 2015
Obscene lack of morality...selling your daughter's virginity...to a man who has no respect for marriage vows and is cheating with days of his wedding. Really felt like trafficking and her father should be shot, and Stockholm syndrome that she accepts him after his cheating. And fed into this crazy virginity obsession.... There is nothing grosser to me than a women's virginity going to a man who has just used another woman sexually and within 2 days of his wedding shits all over the sacrament of marriage. It's a total perversion of virginity as morality...either it means nothing because sex is just a bodily function, or it it depicted as something that means so much to someone, it actually defines a woman's value...how can they take something that was pure and beautiful and defile it with a whore.
I think it's a very sick worldview that can show a scene where he sleeps with another woman and thinks he's entitled since his wife didn't put out for a day and treat it as a great romance. He didn't spend one minute with her during their entire engagement to get to know her. After one night he thinks he can cheat?
If the woman he slept with is a whore, what does that make him? A manwhore is a whore...I'm so tired of demonizing women and canonizing men for the exact same act, with each other. Why do women think that if they characterize a woman he is banging as a whore, sex with her doesn't reflect on the man doing it? He is so unworthy of this all important virginity. This book feeds into women's self-loathing, just like The Unfaithful Wife. But this is worse because he knew she had no choice but to marry him, acknowledged it was a prison, even acknowledged that a woman in her position she could consider killing herself to escape her prison, gave her one dinner and then when she didn't immediately put out (primarily because of the crudeness of his comment), he went right out for the next 2 nights of cheating with a woman he slept with and then invited to their wedding. He is total garbage and nothing else... The marriage vows included a pledge to honor her and of his fidelity. What an asshole. He calls every woman he's ever slept with before a slut and says he took them all from behind so he didn't have to see their faces. So that's how he got so much experience at oral? Not.
Feel like I have to say this would be a 4 star if it weren't pretending to be a romance. It's a well-written and gripping story about modern day slavery, abuse of women, and women who are owned like chattel, kept controlled and away from men to be sold into slavery in the form of marriage to a man who owns them, and whose very lives are worthless. It's actually a pretty good horror story about an evil criminal society, and the terror of being born into it. Why pretend it's a romance? There is nothing to romanticize about the hell of such a life. Great, her slavemaster is benevolent. Sadly, there is no escape for her but killing or castrating him and killing herself. She was a captive slave and I don't understand the pretense that he's going to be faithful forever when his vows mean nothing to him, or that there is this love story that has any meaning when these people are animals. They are probably raping and trafficking young girls...what do these crime families do? Break into 7-11's? Weakness is going to get them killed...he can't keep her safe. So the final speech where he pledges this "love" to her is really silly.
I think it's a very sick worldview that can show a scene where he sleeps with another woman and thinks he's entitled since his wife didn't put out for a day and treat it as a great romance. He didn't spend one minute with her during their entire engagement to get to know her. After one night he thinks he can cheat?
If the woman he slept with is a whore, what does that make him? A manwhore is a whore...I'm so tired of demonizing women and canonizing men for the exact same act, with each other. Why do women think that if they characterize a woman he is banging as a whore, sex with her doesn't reflect on the man doing it? He is so unworthy of this all important virginity. This book feeds into women's self-loathing, just like The Unfaithful Wife. But this is worse because he knew she had no choice but to marry him, acknowledged it was a prison, even acknowledged that a woman in her position she could consider killing herself to escape her prison, gave her one dinner and then when she didn't immediately put out (primarily because of the crudeness of his comment), he went right out for the next 2 nights of cheating with a woman he slept with and then invited to their wedding. He is total garbage and nothing else... The marriage vows included a pledge to honor her and of his fidelity. What an asshole. He calls every woman he's ever slept with before a slut and says he took them all from behind so he didn't have to see their faces. So that's how he got so much experience at oral? Not.
Feel like I have to say this would be a 4 star if it weren't pretending to be a romance. It's a well-written and gripping story about modern day slavery, abuse of women, and women who are owned like chattel, kept controlled and away from men to be sold into slavery in the form of marriage to a man who owns them, and whose very lives are worthless. It's actually a pretty good horror story about an evil criminal society, and the terror of being born into it. Why pretend it's a romance? There is nothing to romanticize about the hell of such a life. Great, her slavemaster is benevolent. Sadly, there is no escape for her but killing or castrating him and killing herself. She was a captive slave and I don't understand the pretense that he's going to be faithful forever when his vows mean nothing to him, or that there is this love story that has any meaning when these people are animals. They are probably raping and trafficking young girls...what do these crime families do? Break into 7-11's? Weakness is going to get them killed...he can't keep her safe. So the final speech where he pledges this "love" to her is really silly.
October 9, 2021
I'm sorry y'all but this was one of the worst mafia books I've ever read 🤣🤣 I can't stop laughing it was so BAD. This universe has no sense of logic or normal human motivations. I first realized it when Luca was making sure neither of Aria's bodyguards wanted to bang her and her bodyguard responded like this:
BOI WHAT?? 🤣🤣 who would say such a cartoonishly villainous thing in the same room as her father and future HUSBAND? this idiot right here apparently, and we thank his pinky for the sacrifice Cora needed to show us how badass Luca is when he dolls out retribution.
another thing I was dying over is there being no plot til 80% (which im fine w) but then at 80% Luca is randomly like 'the bratva are gonna try to get you' and aria's like huh? and i'm like huh? and then 30 pgs later the bratva tries to get her and the story just ends 💀💀💀
as for the characters, i can make this quick: aria is a buzzkill, luca is made of double-sided cardboard: one side is a 30 y/o mafia boss and the other side is a horny teenage fuckboy, and also, i'm convinced both MC's are (respectively) one quarter of a full human being
(and one more sidetone: i'm happy for aria and all, i'm sure it ain't easy carrying the mantle of the tightest pussy on planet earth, but she might have a condition and need to visit a doctor soon...... i'm concerned to say the least) this book was essentially 200 pgs of me going 'just put it in luca👿' so we can all get on w our lives
anyway that was a long-winded way of me saying imma jump on over to gianna/matteo's book bc they are the only ppl who have expressed personalities so far which makes them my default #1's. it's called dumpster diving ok, i take what i can get
Raffaele flushed red. “You aren’t a member of the Outfit. Nobody would tell you anything even if I raped her. I could break her in for you. Maybe I’ll even film it for you.”
BOI WHAT?? 🤣🤣 who would say such a cartoonishly villainous thing in the same room as her father and future HUSBAND? this idiot right here apparently, and we thank his pinky for the sacrifice Cora needed to show us how badass Luca is when he dolls out retribution.
another thing I was dying over is there being no plot til 80% (which im fine w) but then at 80% Luca is randomly like 'the bratva are gonna try to get you' and aria's like huh? and i'm like huh? and then 30 pgs later the bratva tries to get her and the story just ends 💀💀💀
as for the characters, i can make this quick: aria is a buzzkill, luca is made of double-sided cardboard: one side is a 30 y/o mafia boss and the other side is a horny teenage fuckboy, and also, i'm convinced both MC's are (respectively) one quarter of a full human being
(and one more sidetone: i'm happy for aria and all, i'm sure it ain't easy carrying the mantle of the tightest pussy on planet earth, but she might have a condition and need to visit a doctor soon...... i'm concerned to say the least) this book was essentially 200 pgs of me going 'just put it in luca👿' so we can all get on w our lives
anyway that was a long-winded way of me saying imma jump on over to gianna/matteo's book bc they are the only ppl who have expressed personalities so far which makes them my default #1's. it's called dumpster diving ok, i take what i can get
April 22, 2023
Re-read: 4/22/23
4 Stars *Upgraded to 5 Stars*
After re-reading this - yet again - I've decided to just say, screw it, and bump it up to 5 stars. I just love this book and this series, for whatever reason. Especially Luca and Aria. As you can see below, I rated this 3 stars the first time I read it (and you might too). But I just keep coming back for more, so it deserves an upgrade.
3 Stars *Upgraded to 4 Stars*
After re-reading this a couple times now, I have decided to upgrade it. I really like Luca and Aria and the world Reilly built here. Definitely a solid guilty pleasure read. It's still not the best mafia romance I've ever read, but as I said, I like the characters and the world...and me wanting to re-read something multiple times means I really like it.
Original Review:
Liked it, but didn't really, really like it.
Which is a bummer, because I really wanted to.
I am a sucker for mafia romance...and good mafia romance is hard to come by (or as I've said in another review) perhaps I've simply read to much of it and...over saturated myself.
Regardless, I was expecting this to be super gritty and visceral and...just more than it was, I guess. I felt like instead of building and showing relationship development, Reilly just made it all about sex and Aria's virginity, which I thought left a lot of potential on the table.
I also thought Aria's behavior and actions were sometimes inconsistent.
On the whole, this should have been a stronger read for me, but just wasn't; however, being that it was the first book in what looks to be a full series, I have hope that later books will meet the potential I (maybe?) saw here. And I am definitely interested in Gianna's book despite her annoying me to no end in this one.
After re-reading this - yet again - I've decided to just say, screw it, and bump it up to 5 stars. I just love this book and this series, for whatever reason. Especially Luca and Aria. As you can see below, I rated this 3 stars the first time I read it (and you might too). But I just keep coming back for more, so it deserves an upgrade.
After re-reading this a couple times now, I have decided to upgrade it. I really like Luca and Aria and the world Reilly built here. Definitely a solid guilty pleasure read. It's still not the best mafia romance I've ever read, but as I said, I like the characters and the world...and me wanting to re-read something multiple times means I really like it.
Original Review:
Liked it, but didn't really, really like it.
Which is a bummer, because I really wanted to.
I am a sucker for mafia romance...and good mafia romance is hard to come by (or as I've said in another review) perhaps I've simply read to much of it and...over saturated myself.
Regardless, I was expecting this to be super gritty and visceral and...just more than it was, I guess. I felt like instead of building and showing relationship development, Reilly just made it all about sex and Aria's virginity, which I thought left a lot of potential on the table.
I also thought Aria's behavior and actions were sometimes inconsistent.
On the whole, this should have been a stronger read for me, but just wasn't; however, being that it was the first book in what looks to be a full series, I have hope that later books will meet the potential I (maybe?) saw here. And I am definitely interested in Gianna's book despite her annoying me to no end in this one.
February 10, 2017
1 KNOWING AND SEEING ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS STAR.
I will keep this as brief as possible.
Yes, I did know that hero would cheats on his wife and that she would sees him f*cking another woman right in front of her like an animal (thanks to my Goodreads friends). But what I did not know is that it would be raw and gross and that she lets him in bed with her shortly after.
He says "we start fresh now." Yes, now that he has f*ck this woman you forget it happened because it was all your fault anyway.
SERIOUSLY?
The heroine was scared he would f*ck her bloody after he threw contraception at her a few days before the wedding.
In hindsight, I should have stopped there.
Because a woman has a right to chose what is safe for her.
He was unfaithful so condoms should have been used.
Everything else is just bullshit.
She just overlooks his infidelity and moves on but he literally had sex in front of her and she just takes his c*ck into her mouth?
REALLY HERE?
IS VIRGIN ANOTHER WORD FOR STUPID?
I would need some serious medical clearance before even getting that near me.
So the cheating for me was not the major issue, it was safe sex. Also, speaking a woman who was unable to take the pill due to clots, he was more than selfish in his demands to her. The pill can cause blood clots that can lead to death. I know it's rare but it does Happen.
She should have gone to see her doctor and got it prescribed for her here.
It's her body her choice
His treatment of her safety is my major no. The cheating was still an issue but I did not realize he himself was unsafe in his sex practice.
He also endangered her life repeatedly throughout the book and she even takes a bullet for him!
Holy cow, she was a special kind of Stupid, but hey she LOVES HIM. And he said he LOVED HER!
So all good, THE END!
So I tried and I failed.
The triggers are violence and multiple acts of violence, cheating, heroine seeing hero with OW, date rape drug, repeated treats of rape, vulgar language with regards to violent acts and unsafe sex.
I will keep this as brief as possible.
Yes, I did know that hero would cheats on his wife and that she would sees him f*cking another woman right in front of her like an animal (thanks to my Goodreads friends). But what I did not know is that it would be raw and gross and that she lets him in bed with her shortly after.
He says "we start fresh now." Yes, now that he has f*ck this woman you forget it happened because it was all your fault anyway.
SERIOUSLY?
The heroine was scared he would f*ck her bloody after he threw contraception at her a few days before the wedding.
In hindsight, I should have stopped there.
Because a woman has a right to chose what is safe for her.
He was unfaithful so condoms should have been used.
Everything else is just bullshit.
She just overlooks his infidelity and moves on but he literally had sex in front of her and she just takes his c*ck into her mouth?
REALLY HERE?
IS VIRGIN ANOTHER WORD FOR STUPID?
I would need some serious medical clearance before even getting that near me.
So the cheating for me was not the major issue, it was safe sex. Also, speaking a woman who was unable to take the pill due to clots, he was more than selfish in his demands to her. The pill can cause blood clots that can lead to death. I know it's rare but it does Happen.
She should have gone to see her doctor and got it prescribed for her here.
It's her body her choice
His treatment of her safety is my major no. The cheating was still an issue but I did not realize he himself was unsafe in his sex practice.
He also endangered her life repeatedly throughout the book and she even takes a bullet for him!
Holy cow, she was a special kind of Stupid, but hey she LOVES HIM. And he said he LOVED HER!
So all good, THE END!
So I tried and I failed.
The triggers are violence and multiple acts of violence, cheating, heroine seeing hero with OW, date rape drug, repeated treats of rape, vulgar language with regards to violent acts and unsafe sex.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2017
FREE on Amazon U.S. (5/10/2016): https://goo.gl/JTS9cn
★★★★ 1/2! Bound by Honor, book 1 of 5. Betrothed to the heir of a mafia empire young Aria is both fearing & lusting after Luca!
Books in series are Stand-alones, but most enjoyed if read in order:
Book 1: Bound by Honor
Book 2: Bound by Duty
Book 3: Bound by Hatred
Book 4: Bound by Temptation
Book 5: Untitled
Bound by Honor (stand alone, book 1) is a story of an arranged marriage between two previously feuding Italian mafia houses. At the threat of other large organizations the future head for the New York mob house, Cosa Nostr is set to marry the prettiest girl in the Chicago Outfit.
Aria Scuderi is chosen and betrothed, at age fifteen to twenty year old mobster, heir and future Capo dei Capi of the Familia, Luca – The Vice – Vitiello. She is sent off to an all-girls school awaiting her impending marriage. Fearful of her husband and of leaving her family, yet bound by honor she marries Luca at age eighteen.
The story goes on to follow Luca and Aria during their wedding and beyond as a skittish and anxious Aria has to be seduced by her husband. Setbacks, vindictive exes, trust issues and more hinders them connecting.
But Luca, though a self-imposed monster and murderer with no possibility of redemption, might be open something different with his wife… Will he brake traction and forgo his mistress to embrace his wife to find their version of happy? Not bound by honor but with love?
Nine words to describe Luca Vitiello aka The Vice: Swoon-worthy, honest, fierce, charming, loyal, ruthless, patient, fearless and honorable.
I have mixed feelings about Aria Scuderi. I admire her sense of honor and for facing her fears, but her indecisiveness wore on me. In her defense she was young; with a sheltered upbringing married off to a stranger she knew to be a murderer.
Nine words to describe Aria: Naïve, insecure, sweet, timid fearful, observant, loyal, meek and honorable.
Bound by Honor, told from Aria’s POV, was a page-turner for me. The unfolding of their story and Luca’s relentless yet patient seduction of Aria made you want them to succeed and get their HEA. And the ending was sweet but I’d welcome and extended epilogue further into their future. Quite possibly we will have many opportunities to follow them in the next-coming books about family members and friends. Up next is book 2, Bound by Duty .
Swoon-worthy and honorable hero! Sizzling sex scenes! Excellent story telling! Captivating plot!
***
Hero rating: 5 stars
Heroine rating: 3.5 stars
Sexual tension rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes frequency: 4.5 stars
Plot rating: 4 stars
Dialogue rating: 5 stars
Storytelling rating: 5 stars
Story ending rating: 4 stars
Book editing rating (5 = no edits spotted): 4.5 stars
*********************************************
Overall rating: 4.5 stars
Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Maybe later.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.
FREE on Amazon U.S. (5/10/2016): https://goo.gl/JTS9cn
★★★★ 1/2! Bound by Honor, book 1 of 5. Betrothed to the heir of a mafia empire young Aria is both fearing & lusting after Luca!
“You are far too beautiful and innocent to be married to someone like me, but I’m too much of a selfish bastard to ever let you go.”
Books in series are Stand-alones, but most enjoyed if read in order:
Book 1: Bound by Honor
Book 2: Bound by Duty
Book 3: Bound by Hatred
Book 4: Bound by Temptation
Book 5: Untitled
Bound by Honor (stand alone, book 1) is a story of an arranged marriage between two previously feuding Italian mafia houses. At the threat of other large organizations the future head for the New York mob house, Cosa Nostr is set to marry the prettiest girl in the Chicago Outfit.
Aria Scuderi is chosen and betrothed, at age fifteen to twenty year old mobster, heir and future Capo dei Capi of the Familia, Luca – The Vice – Vitiello. She is sent off to an all-girls school awaiting her impending marriage. Fearful of her husband and of leaving her family, yet bound by honor she marries Luca at age eighteen.
The story goes on to follow Luca and Aria during their wedding and beyond as a skittish and anxious Aria has to be seduced by her husband. Setbacks, vindictive exes, trust issues and more hinders them connecting.
But Luca, though a self-imposed monster and murderer with no possibility of redemption, might be open something different with his wife… Will he brake traction and forgo his mistress to embrace his wife to find their version of happy? Not bound by honor but with love?
This wedding wasn’t about love or trust or choice. It was about duty and honor.”
Nine words to describe Luca Vitiello aka The Vice: Swoon-worthy, honest, fierce, charming, loyal, ruthless, patient, fearless and honorable.
I have mixed feelings about Aria Scuderi. I admire her sense of honor and for facing her fears, but her indecisiveness wore on me. In her defense she was young; with a sheltered upbringing married off to a stranger she knew to be a murderer.
Nine words to describe Aria: Naïve, insecure, sweet, timid fearful, observant, loyal, meek and honorable.
Bound by Honor, told from Aria’s POV, was a page-turner for me. The unfolding of their story and Luca’s relentless yet patient seduction of Aria made you want them to succeed and get their HEA. And the ending was sweet but I’d welcome and extended epilogue further into their future. Quite possibly we will have many opportunities to follow them in the next-coming books about family members and friends. Up next is book 2, Bound by Duty .
Swoon-worthy and honorable hero! Sizzling sex scenes! Excellent story telling! Captivating plot!
“But I don’t care because loving you is the only pure thing in my life.”
***
Hero rating: 5 stars
Heroine rating: 3.5 stars
Sexual tension rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes frequency: 4.5 stars
Plot rating: 4 stars
Dialogue rating: 5 stars
Storytelling rating: 5 stars
Story ending rating: 4 stars
Book editing rating (5 = no edits spotted): 4.5 stars
*********************************************
Overall rating: 4.5 stars
Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Maybe later.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.
FREE on Amazon U.S. (5/10/2016): https://goo.gl/JTS9cn
June 9, 2015
Has one spoiler, which I'm not sure what it ever added to the story.
I'm not sure where I stand.
I actually hate reviewing books where I'm not sure what to rate. Those are always the hardest. While there were moments I enjoyed, there where also things that didn't bode well with me, so I'm at a standstill.
I’d turned fifteen four months ago. My birthday had felt like a huge step toward my future, and I’d been excited. Silly me. My life was already over before it even began. Everything was decided for me.
I knew going in that this dealt with an arranged marriage so it was something I had to get over if I ever planned on enjoying it. And I did. Furthermore I actually really liked the beginning of the book. We see Aria's struggles, her hardship and the unfairness of it all. Being born into a family that stripped you of yours choices for the sole reason of having a vagina. Not being able to choose your life style or decide who to spend it with because women were only born to obey and warm the beds of their husbands. She's bound to be married whether she wants to or not.
The last few words of the oath that men swore when they were inducted into the mafia could just as well have been the closing of my wedding vow: “I enter alive and I will have to get out dead.”
I liked how the story was being told and I loved that the author didn't make Aria have any underlying feelings for him before the marriage. It wasn't like she saw him and her lady parts tingled but still played the part of hating him. She did not like him and it showed. It read perfectly and it really brought you to feel for her.
But then
The strong start it had completely vanished and turned into pure smut, and sadly not even sexy smut. Aria was young and naive. And stupid. God was she stupid. She constantly acted like a kid and was made meek. This is why I don't tend to read mafia books. Women are made meek. They're made weak and gutless. I get that she does't have a choice but does she have to do everything so willingly?! The times that she had a right to be pissed and lash out, she would decide to reign in her anger! And I can't stand for that.
There are also too many insignificant details that do not add to the story unless you count length. The connection between the leads feels completely flat because the only time we ever see them spend time together is when they're screwing and that one time he took her out to eat.
Her virginity is made the biggest freaking deal of the millennium. Look, I get it, it hurts the first time around. But if you're going to spend 70% of the book teasing us with it, then when it finally happens make it hot.
He cheats on her. That might piss you off but I'm not really totally against it. I mean there are instances where it might drive me insane but it's not something that will completely make me hate a book. The problem was that it didn't add anything to the story, unless you count making the hero look like an ass. I hated how Aria handled the situation. He never apologized and she basically acted like it was okay and they could move on by the next day. I know I've already mentioned it but she was made weak at ever corner. She never made a decision for herself, was constantly flinching and was a ridiculous coward all the time. I mean, I get you're married but do yourself a favor and get a fecking life.
And finally this is a mafia book. Where was all the delinquency?
I wanted gore!
January 17, 2023
This is your not so friendly reminder to not take book recommendations from those transition or slideshow BookTok videos that show an out of context snippet from a book, making it seem like the best thing since sliced bread. Do not fall for their lies.
December 6, 2022
5 stars. Rereading Cora's books brings too much joy back into my life. Love that for me. 💀💀💀
This one is so funny and wholesome. I'm actually rolling on the floor reminiscing (as I write this review) about the super melodramatic scene where Aria and Luca stare into each other's eyes, Aria standing in the doorway of some faceless apartment, Luca perched on the bed with his gun resting peacefully at an arm's length while his cock is buried deep inside some whore's pussy.
Luca's face:
3 seconds of deafening silence as Luca and Aria just kept staring at one another is still ringing so loudly in my ears, it's almost scary. The image is embedded in my head and so vivid that I can't help wondering why it sends me straight into the orbit of Mars whenever I randomly remember about it?
MY FAVORITE BITS AND PIECES
Just to get some things out of the way: the plot revolves around two mafia bands that decide to forge an alliance by marrying off their leaders' offsprings: Aria Scuderi (h), the daughter of the Outfit's consigliere, and Luca Vitiello (H), a future capo of the Famiglia.
FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS
✂ Books about trophy wives always turn out to be so endearing to me because their heroines are literally living my dream. 🌝
If the mere idea of playing dumb socialite by day and kitten by night while being pampered like a princess by a sugar daddy 24/7 soundsrepulsive worse when compared to working 9 to 5 I have bad news for you: capitalism fucked with your head nothing to tell you but reconsider your life that most likely this couple's dynamics won't excite you much.
Sometimes I do wonder what my future mafia sugar daddy (fairly young, stunningly beautiful, sinfully rich and obscenely powerful 💅🏻) is up to? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE HOE BASTARD CRASHING WHEN HE'S IS SUPPOSED TO BE SPOILING ME ROTTEN RIGHT ABOUT NOW?
On a serious note, I'm just kidding, y'all. 😔 I'm an independent woman that doesn't stand by the concept of having to rely on anyone economicallysugar daddy come rescue me from this capitalistic hell. 😔
✂ sisterly and brotherly bonds in this series make me regret I have no siblings. Aria&Gianna and Luca&Matteo dynamics are woven so magically. You can feel how close they are: they'd bleed, kill and die for each other. 🥺🥺🥺
NOT ME TRYING TO FEEL THE VOID OF BEING A SINGLE CHILD WITH CORA REILLY'S MAFIA BOOKS. SJSJSJSJSJSJ. 🤡 That bitch Cora really hyped up the institute of sisterhood and brotherhood for me. Apparently I've been robbed by my own parents. 👺
✂ Aria's sister is my spirit animal. Her getting on Luca's last nerve during her short visit to New York had me dying from laughter. Gianna took a metaphorical cross-cut saw and dedicated her time to sawing Luca's brain in half with precision and skill unmatched: plucking out sore spots, rubbing salt into the wounds, spitting facts only. 💅🏻😌 For some reason, characters that have the tough exterior yet the softest heart tug at my heartstrings. I loved that messy bitch. 😌
I wish I had a sister like Gianna or Aria, their interactions were unbearably cute and filled with fierce sister energy. Not them already missing each other after only a couple of days spent apart. 😂🥺
I felt a sort of pity for their youngest sissy Lilliana, though. She was treated like a spare tyre — stuffed in the backseat, annoying the shit out of everyone by just existing.
Illustration of Aria, Gianna and Lilliana's relationship:
✂ When she is the tightest hole he has ever fucked, a reader knows that they're in for a ride where the main characters wind up being stuck together forever in their never-ending HEA: that is pretty much Aria and Luca's relationship put in a nutshell.:D
✂ I'm weirdly fascinated by the scenes where a heroine is high/drunk as fuck and a hero saves her from a creepy guy and takes care of her afterwards. All the better when alcohol/drugs (💀💀) loosen her tongue making her proclaim her otherwise secret infatuation out in the open. YES, BITCH, DROP THE L-BOMB ON HIM and let him deal with the consequences. 💅🏻
✂ Luca acting super tender but also horny and impatient as fuck all the time. 🤌🏻
✂ I appreciated that Aria both set boundaries and adapted to her situation.
The reason as to why I prefer shy and reserved female characters to popular nowadays "badass" heroines at any time of the day is mostly due to how the latter are being written.
Whenever I stumble upon a main female character of some mafia book boss around people thrice her age and experience, flip off her 'dark, dangerous' mafia ass husband she met a few days ago and magically get away with demonstrating childish acts of defiance in front of big bad guys with nothing to/on her but a big mouth, I get really pissed. Immature, unreasonable, dumb behavior and inability to read the table that get no comeuppance whatsoever thanks to a plot armor shouldn't be confused with acting like a "badass". It's tantamount to congratulating someone on their courage after they poked a tiger in the ribs and remained unscathed because the tiger had been shot with a tranquilizer a few minutes prior.
I really like heroines who know how to pick their battles. Aria comes to terms with the inevitable, trying to make the most of the situation where she holds no power, and seizes an opportunity to fight for something that truly matters to her.
I like them smart, not "badass".
THE WRITING
✂ When it comes to anything but romance, Cora's books make no sense, and it's so fun to watch how she just keeps it rolling with innocent lack of self-awareness. Iconic. 😌
So just watch in incredulous fascination pampered mafia princess Aria shoot a Russian gangster in the head, not missing a shot on her first try ever, only to catch a stray bullet in her SHOULDER (🤣) from a seasoned mafia man (🤣🤣) in return (🤣🤣🤣), and don't ask questions.
You can see the twisted beauty of Cora's logic here, don't you? 😌
✂ Some endearing absurdity issues aside, Cora knows how to create the credible atmosphere despite the fact that her writing is straightforward and not very inventive: she certainly doesn't beat around the bush nor does she aspire to receive the best purple prose award. Yet, her writing style creates images in your head even without her going into much detail. The flow of her texts is smooth: she doesn't overexplain nor does she force you to trudge through voluminous and repetitive inner monologues, leaving some things to your imagination. Which is really welcome, for some readers don't like to be spoon fed with information.
I sincerely don't understand why so many reviewers shit on Cora's writing style so much (maybe it's an unspoken rule that people follow because it makes them feel better about reading and secretly enjoying trash sjsjsj) when it's, in fact, so ADDICTIVE. Let's be real, her writing is nowhere near Steinbeck or Shakespeare's level of mastery, but who would even expect that from a mafia romance author? 💀 Cora's command of the language is decent. For what it's worth:D
Some romance authors do indeed write way more eloquently and inventively, managing to dish out sensible plots and credible characters, yet most of them waffle too much plunging their readers into a deep slumber. <3 And then there's Cora that writes trashy content that people consistently look down on but whenever a new release comes out, they're the first one to jump on the bandwagon. 🤡 CUTE.
The argument that she's popular because her work is easy to consume is so funny to me, too. As if 100% of books in the romance genre are NOT easy to consume and digest.
You know you're a very gifted writer when they read you despite and not because. 😌
LUCA'S CHEATING
✂ I'm gonna say something very controversial now, but I think that cheating in this book made ALL THE SENSE IN THE WORLD. 🌝 It fit Luca's character perfectly.
If you're a reader who only cares about tropes and safety, you'll definitely hate that scene regardless.
I, for one, love viewing things in the context. Yeah, everyone knows cheating is bad (since monogamy is still one of the core values for many societies), but it's fiction and there's no point in explaining the obvious downside of being a cheating piece of shit to a fictional character. I think it's valid to judge questionable behavior not by an act committed in itself, but by how well it chimes in with a character's arc and whether it moves the story forward, adding anything to the plot and romantic relationship between the main characters.
My takeaway from Luca's cheating:
1) the scene was very important in terms of showing Luca's character development and the shift in his priorities. When Luca is forced to search frantically for runaway Aria, in throes of cultural shock after seeing him "in action" with OW (sjsjs), he pulls his head outta his ass and comes to the realization that he can can actually lose his wife for good. He got the message: whoring around is no future modus operandi for him.
2) Luca immediately agrees to not fuck anyone but Aria when that very night she confronts him about his cheating and explains her feelings about it. The power of communication. 🤌🏻
3) their conversation shed light on how most couples in the mafia operate.
As in, it didn't even occur to Luca that Aria would mind him fucking around on her. Most marriages in the Famiglia are arranged between the families and normally none of the spouses harbors any warm feelings for another: most wives welcome the fact that their husbands find a sidepiece and leave them alone (they can't return the favor by doing the same because, apparently, Italian mafia societies are traditional and misogynistic).
Taking into account that Aria refused to sleep with him, Luca assumed, as someone who had never had an example of a normal functioning relationship in front of his eyes, that she despises him and would be fine with that type arrangement.
So even if the foreign concept of "getting to know each other before jumping into bed" didn't ring a bell to him, he still didn't mind exploring it with Aria. Once he learned what she expected and wanted from their marriage, he had no problem ditching his fuck buddy. Which says a lot about his character: namely, that he wanted to make their marriage work and was willing to make an effortand not fuck anything in skirt sjsjsj.
I'm so confused by the sheer number of readers who apply standards of your normal, consensual real-life romantic relationships to Cora's mafia books when it's clear they have zero relevance to how arranged marriages in her work. 💀💀
Some of you expect this arranged mafia couple, with no love lost between them, to have a perfectly sweet, normal and healthy relationship ignoring the fact that the whole concept of arranged marriages is basically the opposite of that. These characters don't have the privilege of choosing their partner willingly like most of us do. They operate under different laws so trying to fit them into a pink box of hearts and flowers is weird as hell of you. Seeing things through different lens is fun, some people should really try it one day. 😌😌😌
I'm not even saying all of that to justify Luca being a sexist pig and a whore. I'm just saying that the cheating scene makes sense in the context of Luca's character, the values instilled in him from birth, his upbringing and the world he (not me or you) lives in.
More so, the cheating scene became a milestone in AriaLuca relationship, egging on a significant shift in their dynamics. It wasn't introduced mindlessly to scandalize a bunch of pearl-clutchers. Whether you like cheating or not in romance books is a matter of your personal preference that bears no relevance to the book. 😂
As you can see,
I LOVED EVERY SINGLE MOMENT I SPENT READING THIS BOOK FOR THE THIRD TIME. 🤡🤡🤡 BYE —
This one is so funny and wholesome. I'm actually rolling on the floor reminiscing (as I write this review) about the super melodramatic scene where Aria and Luca stare into each other's eyes, Aria standing in the doorway of some faceless apartment, Luca perched on the bed with his gun resting peacefully at an arm's length while his cock is buried deep inside some whore's pussy.
Luca's face:
3 seconds of deafening silence as Luca and Aria just kept staring at one another is still ringing so loudly in my ears, it's almost scary. The image is embedded in my head and so vivid that I can't help wondering why it sends me straight into the orbit of Mars whenever I randomly remember about it?
MY FAVORITE BITS AND PIECES
Just to get some things out of the way: the plot revolves around two mafia bands that decide to forge an alliance by marrying off their leaders' offsprings: Aria Scuderi (h), the daughter of the Outfit's consigliere, and Luca Vitiello (H), a future capo of the Famiglia.
FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS
✂ Books about trophy wives always turn out to be so endearing to me because their heroines are literally living my dream. 🌝
If the mere idea of playing dumb socialite by day and kitten by night while being pampered like a princess by a sugar daddy 24/7 sounds
Sometimes I do wonder what my future mafia sugar daddy (fairly young, stunningly beautiful, sinfully rich and obscenely powerful 💅🏻) is up to? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE HOE BASTARD CRASHING WHEN HE'S IS SUPPOSED TO BE SPOILING ME ROTTEN RIGHT ABOUT NOW?
On a serious note, I'm just kidding, y'all. 😔 I'm an independent woman that doesn't stand by the concept of having to rely on anyone economically
✂ sisterly and brotherly bonds in this series make me regret I have no siblings. Aria&Gianna and Luca&Matteo dynamics are woven so magically. You can feel how close they are: they'd bleed, kill and die for each other. 🥺🥺🥺
NOT ME TRYING TO FEEL THE VOID OF BEING A SINGLE CHILD WITH CORA REILLY'S MAFIA BOOKS. SJSJSJSJSJSJ. 🤡 That bitch Cora really hyped up the institute of sisterhood and brotherhood for me. Apparently I've been robbed by my own parents. 👺
✂ Aria's sister is my spirit animal. Her getting on Luca's last nerve during her short visit to New York had me dying from laughter. Gianna took a metaphorical cross-cut saw and dedicated her time to sawing Luca's brain in half with precision and skill unmatched: plucking out sore spots, rubbing salt into the wounds, spitting facts only. 💅🏻😌 For some reason, characters that have the tough exterior yet the softest heart tug at my heartstrings. I loved that messy bitch. 😌
I wish I had a sister like Gianna or Aria, their interactions were unbearably cute and filled with fierce sister energy. Not them already missing each other after only a couple of days spent apart. 😂🥺
I felt a sort of pity for their youngest sissy Lilliana, though. She was treated like a spare tyre — stuffed in the backseat, annoying the shit out of everyone by just existing.
Illustration of Aria, Gianna and Lilliana's relationship:
✂ When she is the tightest hole he has ever fucked, a reader knows that they're in for a ride where the main characters wind up being stuck together forever in their never-ending HEA: that is pretty much Aria and Luca's relationship put in a nutshell.:D
✂ I'm weirdly fascinated by the scenes where a heroine is high/drunk as fuck and a hero saves her from a creepy guy and takes care of her afterwards. All the better when alcohol/drugs (💀💀) loosen her tongue making her proclaim her otherwise secret infatuation out in the open. YES, BITCH, DROP THE L-BOMB ON HIM and let him deal with the consequences. 💅🏻
✂ Luca acting super tender but also horny and impatient as fuck all the time. 🤌🏻
✂ I appreciated that Aria both set boundaries and adapted to her situation.
The reason as to why I prefer shy and reserved female characters to popular nowadays "badass" heroines at any time of the day is mostly due to how the latter are being written.
Whenever I stumble upon a main female character of some mafia book boss around people thrice her age and experience, flip off her 'dark, dangerous' mafia ass husband she met a few days ago and magically get away with demonstrating childish acts of defiance in front of big bad guys with nothing to/on her but a big mouth, I get really pissed. Immature, unreasonable, dumb behavior and inability to read the table that get no comeuppance whatsoever thanks to a plot armor shouldn't be confused with acting like a "badass". It's tantamount to congratulating someone on their courage after they poked a tiger in the ribs and remained unscathed because the tiger had been shot with a tranquilizer a few minutes prior.
I really like heroines who know how to pick their battles. Aria comes to terms with the inevitable, trying to make the most of the situation where she holds no power, and seizes an opportunity to fight for something that truly matters to her.
I like them smart, not "badass".
THE WRITING
✂ When it comes to anything but romance, Cora's books make no sense, and it's so fun to watch how she just keeps it rolling with innocent lack of self-awareness. Iconic. 😌
So just watch in incredulous fascination pampered mafia princess Aria shoot a Russian gangster in the head, not missing a shot on her first try ever, only to catch a stray bullet in her SHOULDER (🤣) from a seasoned mafia man (🤣🤣) in return (🤣🤣🤣), and don't ask questions.
You can see the twisted beauty of Cora's logic here, don't you? 😌
✂ Some endearing absurdity issues aside, Cora knows how to create the credible atmosphere despite the fact that her writing is straightforward and not very inventive: she certainly doesn't beat around the bush nor does she aspire to receive the best purple prose award. Yet, her writing style creates images in your head even without her going into much detail. The flow of her texts is smooth: she doesn't overexplain nor does she force you to trudge through voluminous and repetitive inner monologues, leaving some things to your imagination. Which is really welcome, for some readers don't like to be spoon fed with information.
I sincerely don't understand why so many reviewers shit on Cora's writing style so much (maybe it's an unspoken rule that people follow because it makes them feel better about reading and secretly enjoying trash sjsjsj) when it's, in fact, so ADDICTIVE. Let's be real, her writing is nowhere near Steinbeck or Shakespeare's level of mastery, but who would even expect that from a mafia romance author? 💀 Cora's command of the language is decent. For what it's worth:D
Some romance authors do indeed write way more eloquently and inventively, managing to dish out sensible plots and credible characters, yet most of them waffle too much plunging their readers into a deep slumber. <3 And then there's Cora that writes trashy content that people consistently look down on but whenever a new release comes out, they're the first one to jump on the bandwagon. 🤡 CUTE.
The argument that she's popular because her work is easy to consume is so funny to me, too. As if 100% of books in the romance genre are NOT easy to consume and digest.
You know you're a very gifted writer when they read you despite and not because. 😌
LUCA'S CHEATING
✂ I'm gonna say something very controversial now, but I think that cheating in this book made ALL THE SENSE IN THE WORLD. 🌝 It fit Luca's character perfectly.
If you're a reader who only cares about tropes and safety, you'll definitely hate that scene regardless.
I, for one, love viewing things in the context. Yeah, everyone knows cheating is bad (since monogamy is still one of the core values for many societies), but it's fiction and there's no point in explaining the obvious downside of being a cheating piece of shit to a fictional character. I think it's valid to judge questionable behavior not by an act committed in itself, but by how well it chimes in with a character's arc and whether it moves the story forward, adding anything to the plot and romantic relationship between the main characters.
My takeaway from Luca's cheating:
1) the scene was very important in terms of showing Luca's character development and the shift in his priorities. When Luca is forced to search frantically for runaway Aria, in throes of cultural shock after seeing him "in action" with OW (sjsjs), he pulls his head outta his ass and comes to the realization that he can can actually lose his wife for good. He got the message: whoring around is no future modus operandi for him.
2) Luca immediately agrees to not fuck anyone but Aria when that very night she confronts him about his cheating and explains her feelings about it. The power of communication. 🤌🏻
3) their conversation shed light on how most couples in the mafia operate.
As in, it didn't even occur to Luca that Aria would mind him fucking around on her. Most marriages in the Famiglia are arranged between the families and normally none of the spouses harbors any warm feelings for another: most wives welcome the fact that their husbands find a sidepiece and leave them alone (they can't return the favor by doing the same because, apparently, Italian mafia societies are traditional and misogynistic).
Taking into account that Aria refused to sleep with him, Luca assumed, as someone who had never had an example of a normal functioning relationship in front of his eyes, that she despises him and would be fine with that type arrangement.
So even if the foreign concept of "getting to know each other before jumping into bed" didn't ring a bell to him, he still didn't mind exploring it with Aria. Once he learned what she expected and wanted from their marriage, he had no problem ditching his fuck buddy. Which says a lot about his character: namely, that he wanted to make their marriage work and was willing to make an effort
I'm so confused by the sheer number of readers who apply standards of your normal, consensual real-life romantic relationships to Cora's mafia books when it's clear they have zero relevance to how arranged marriages in her work. 💀💀
Some of you expect this arranged mafia couple, with no love lost between them, to have a perfectly sweet, normal and healthy relationship ignoring the fact that the whole concept of arranged marriages is basically the opposite of that. These characters don't have the privilege of choosing their partner willingly like most of us do. They operate under different laws so trying to fit them into a pink box of hearts and flowers is weird as hell of you. Seeing things through different lens is fun, some people should really try it one day. 😌😌😌
I'm not even saying all of that to justify Luca being a sexist pig and a whore. I'm just saying that the cheating scene makes sense in the context of Luca's character, the values instilled in him from birth, his upbringing and the world he (not me or you) lives in.
More so, the cheating scene became a milestone in AriaLuca relationship, egging on a significant shift in their dynamics. It wasn't introduced mindlessly to scandalize a bunch of pearl-clutchers. Whether you like cheating or not in romance books is a matter of your personal preference that bears no relevance to the book. 😂
As you can see,
I LOVED EVERY SINGLE MOMENT I SPENT READING THIS BOOK FOR THE THIRD TIME. 🤡🤡🤡 BYE —
March 14, 2020
2 stars ✧
well folks, i can finally say that...
I READ A CORA REILLY BOOK !!
i have never ever read anything by ms. cora and being introduced to her mafia universe is a little... overwhelming. there's just A LOT of books and spinoffs that my head hurts just thinking about it. but there's so much praise and beautiful edits of "coraverse" that i just had to read the book that started it all right?
but did i like this tho?
this is a mafia book so i knew there's gonna be a lot of unsavory things that would probably, most likely turn me into the Hulk so let's just say i can see why a lot of people like this and why others don't and honestly, im kind of in between. though, this had the one thing i hate the most: cheating. to be fair, this only happened in the beginning but still! here's a little snippet:
ok so the h walks in on them doing the deed and by then the MCs have kissed and cuddled in bed soo... the fu-? and you know what his reason was? well, he was thinking about his needs apparently.
so, uh, thank you, next.
im glad that Aria (h) actually fought back and Luca (H) kinda grovelled but this whole cheating drama was resolved a chapter later which is a big no for me. and then after that all they did was have sex sex sex. no emotional development whatsoever and the plot? what even is plot?
i don't necessarily hate the characters tho. i just don't like how the resolution for the cheating was too quick and they kinda just forgot that THAT happened.
anyways, i think im gonna skip the second book because i heard that has the dead wife and H pining over her and the h feels like second best trope and i ain't about that life. but Gianna and Matteo tho... now THAT i wanna read.
well folks, i can finally say that...
I READ A CORA REILLY BOOK !!
i have never ever read anything by ms. cora and being introduced to her mafia universe is a little... overwhelming. there's just A LOT of books and spinoffs that my head hurts just thinking about it. but there's so much praise and beautiful edits of "coraverse" that i just had to read the book that started it all right?
but did i like this tho?
this is a mafia book so i knew there's gonna be a lot of unsavory things that would probably, most likely turn me into the Hulk so let's just say i can see why a lot of people like this and why others don't and honestly, im kind of in between. though, this had the one thing i hate the most: cheating. to be fair, this only happened in the beginning but still! here's a little snippet:
"Grace Parker was on her knees and forearms on the bed while Luca fucked her from behind. the slaps of his body hitting her ass filled the silence, only occasionally disrupted by her encouraging cries and moans. Luca's eyes were closed as his fingers dug into her hips and he rammed into her over and over again."
ok so the h walks in on them doing the deed and by then the MCs have kissed and cuddled in bed soo... the fu-? and you know what his reason was? well, he was thinking about his needs apparently.
so, uh, thank you, next.
im glad that Aria (h) actually fought back and Luca (H) kinda grovelled but this whole cheating drama was resolved a chapter later which is a big no for me. and then after that all they did was have sex sex sex. no emotional development whatsoever and the plot? what even is plot?
i don't necessarily hate the characters tho. i just don't like how the resolution for the cheating was too quick and they kinda just forgot that THAT happened.
anyways, i think im gonna skip the second book because i heard that has the dead wife and H pining over her and the h feels like second best trope and i ain't about that life. but Gianna and Matteo tho... now THAT i wanna read.
December 8, 2021
4 "Shivery" stars!!
“Maybe love is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and as you said, it’s not a choice. I never thought I would, never thought I could love someone like that but I fell in love with you. I fought it. It’s the first battle I didn’t mind losing.”
Luca Vitello, Capo of the New York Famiglia, a brutal murderer, a cold hearted bastard. He might be one of the hottest men in New York, but not even the fires of hell could melt the ice wrapped around his black, lifeless heart. People cower under his name. He is a mystery. But there's one thing they know..What's his, stay his.
Aria Scuderi, a sweet innocent girl, a mother to her younger siblings, a pawn to her father. And now she is engaged to a monster. But duty is duty. There is no turning back now. That's how the mafia world is. Once you are born there. There is no escape.
Luca is a not a good man, but once he saw the angel with blue eyes filled with fear he knew one thing. She was his. Forever. And he would not let anything harm her.
Aria is strong, but when she looks at those cruel grey eyes her confidence weakens. She is determined to make this marriage work. One way or another, she would make it work rather than sit and watch her life crumble away.
Will this marriage work? Or will it go down in dumps before it even begins? Can Luca risk his heart to Aria?
I LOVED this book! My first Mafia romance book and now I'm hooked.
The cheating part irked me at first but then I got over it after I read his POV. Luca turned out to be a better person that I thought. Not good but better than most mob bosses. And yup he was hot and all possessive over Aria which was cute and scary at the same time.
I really loved Aria. I love her bravery, fierceness, protectiveness and kindness. While most women would have just sit around doing nothing but wasting money, Aria stood up for herself and determined herself to get what she deserves. Her protectiveness over her siblings were adorable. And I love how understanding and gentle she was with Luca. And I loved her even more when she sacrificed herself for Luca. She is one hell of a Mafia Queen.
But my fav character here was Gianna. She's a little firecracker. Fierce and bratty. I love how she cares for Aria. Some might think she is nosey and annoying but all I see is her love towards her siblings. She is not scared to stand up for them, get beatings for them. She was the best.
Overall the book was amazing!! One star reduced because of the cheating part. Luca and Aria are one of the best mafia couples I've met.
A slow burn Mafia romance. A book on marriage, dignity, love, understanding, kindness, sacrifice and care. Highly recommended!!! Enjoy!!
Note: Contains violence, blood spilling, cheating (once), HFN
December 14, 2023
2 stars
Luca — Is such a baddie in the other books of this series, and even though I knew he'd be nice to Aria, I didn't expect him to be SO NICE.
So much that hecheated on her. sorry I mean that was not his fault because Aria was denying him. He has his own needs, so yeah, I don't blame him. 😗 Or do I?
In a world full of Remo, Nino, Cassio, Matteo, he's a LOSER.
Aria — She's actually pretty amazing. By crying and being scared, she still had him wrapped around her fingers because duh, she's the prettiest in the outfit. She actually had so much self-control and didn't let him have his way at all. She's the better one in this relationship.
– Unlike the other books I've read of Cora, this book had 0 action. None, nada. It revolved around how Aria is scared to have sex, and Luca kept on assuring her HE'S GONNA BE GENTLE, SLOW, NICE blah fucking blah.
• Bound by Hatred had Gianna running away from the mafia, and Matteo finding her for months (being celibate, mind you).
• Twisted Pride had Remo kidnapping Serafina and being celibate for a year before getting her back again.
Meanwhile, Luca here implied that he WOULD cheat AGAIN if,
The fucking audacity? He told her HE RESPECTED HER, but he literally cheated on her on day 3 because she wouldn't allow him to get in her pants. I would've liked if he was, you know, smitten by Aria and remained loyal because THEY'RE MARRIED. His motto was kiss Aria in the day and fuck Grace at night...
Bitch?? Weren't you emotionless? Hide your freaking expressions, loser 👎🏻
#RemoFalconeIsSuperior #RemoIsLove
#GiannaMatteoAreBabes
• Bound By Hatred – 4 stars
Luca — Is such a baddie in the other books of this series, and even though I knew he'd be nice to Aria, I didn't expect him to be SO NICE.
So much that he
In a world full of Remo, Nino, Cassio, Matteo, he's a LOSER.
Aria — She's actually pretty amazing. By crying and being scared, she still had him wrapped around her fingers because duh, she's the prettiest in the outfit. She actually had so much self-control and didn't let him have his way at all. She's the better one in this relationship.
– Unlike the other books I've read of Cora, this book had 0 action. None, nada. It revolved around how Aria is scared to have sex, and Luca kept on assuring her HE'S GONNA BE GENTLE, SLOW, NICE blah fucking blah.
• Bound by Hatred had Gianna running away from the mafia, and Matteo finding her for months (being celibate, mind you).
• Twisted Pride had Remo kidnapping Serafina and being celibate for a year before getting her back again.
Meanwhile, Luca here implied that he WOULD cheat AGAIN if,
❝ I’m not a patient man. If long means a year...❞ He trailed off.
The fucking audacity? He told her HE RESPECTED HER, but he literally cheated on her on day 3 because she wouldn't allow him to get in her pants. I would've liked if he was, you know, smitten by Aria and remained loyal because THEY'RE MARRIED. His motto was kiss Aria in the day and fuck Grace at night...
❝ What if I don’t like it? ❞
Luca shrugged, but it was obvious from his expression that he didn’t like the idea. ❝ Then you don’t. I won’t force you. ❞
Bitch?? Weren't you emotionless? Hide your freaking expressions, loser 👎🏻
#RemoFalconeIsSuperior #RemoIsLove
#GiannaMatteoAreBabes
• Bound By Hatred – 4 stars
December 15, 2020
Update:15,December, 2020
Tho GR says I've read this book once
But
Since October 2020 I've read this book five times ✨
Luca Vitiello has bewitched me
And
I love grovelling 🥺
And after reading Bound By Love I would say no one deserves thrid chance
BUT
EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE
This Is Not A Review I Am Putting The Whole Book Out There 😑
BECAUSE I NEED TO RANT REALLY BAD Sue Me!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
So........
It had cheating
i don't know why but I feel like nauseous and suffocated whenever I read about cheating
I don’t understand why it happens but it just happens !
So cheating is a bad trigger for me
but it is not always like that
obviously it depends on book's circumstances and how deep the H and h have proceed in their relationship.
It especially happens when I caught feelings towards (H)
In this book I totally loved Luca the second he started talking 😪
I was feeling this weird adranile rush the second I meet Luca
For the first time in my life I was feeling like a Clingy reader 😂
I wanted him in every single page may be because this book was only from Aria's Pov .
I literally skimmed "that part" not even bothering to grasp my mind around the words
Later the excuse he gave was he couldn't keep it in his pants !
I mean ? Excuse me.........!!!!
Even Still it hurts so bad!!
So yeah It was tough.
The Kiss Thief , Sparrow, Playing with Fire are my classic favourites, those books also had cheating but they were far from lovers or even friends so it didn’t matter a bit to me
I felt also nauseous
after reading
Broken Knight's tree house part 😪 but thankfully baby Knight kept it in his pants 😂 (thank f**k)
So I am not totally opposed with the idea of reading a book that has Cheating but Luca(H) and Aria(h) were already into Lovey-Dovey
mode and had already formed a steady connection then Luca cheated so I couldn’t cope up with it well.
.
.
.
Apart from the cheating part
if I cut that part from my mind
then Luca easily could have been one my Favourite book boyfriends
and this book would have been a easy 5/5 read
though It felt like I am reading something from wattpad not an actual book. (Love wattpad btw 🙈)
Even Now I wanna throw a tantrum and blame the author for her
miserable choice of storyline😂 and I wanna add him to my book boyfriend shelf
But holding that thought Luca Has his separate book and I definitely wanna read it and I want to know his psychology before doing anything like that
.
.
Luca and Aria's Character Development
Aria this naive 18 year old girl forced married with a 23 year Mobster Luca
Honestly speaking I Didn't think Aria would have character development.
I thought Aria Being beautiful and young
Luca will eventually fall for her.
But she was stubborn minded. She handled the obstacles smartly.
She was resourceful and courageous.
And how she handled her family and Luca time to time really impressed me.
Apart from "that part" Luca really managed to crawl into my heart.
Protectiveness, Possessiveness these two Ps are really my weaknesses 😂
So I am Being biased there 🤐
How he made an effort to impress Aria how gentle he was towards her was just purely beautiful 😭 I loved him for that.
Tho he was purely being a jerk at first and "after that" but later he did a lot of grovelling
And Luca's character development was really good
From
Jerk➡Monster➡ inconsiderate➡ Denial
To
Soft➡Human➡Patient➡Acceptance of his Love
So yeah his journey throughout the book was really good.
They Protected each other and were there for each other every time through out book and I live for things like that let’s be real.
I found them Compatible and I think they fit and they really Complete each other
In my Opinion They are the perfect match 🖤
Tho GR says I've read this book once
But
Since October 2020 I've read this book five times ✨
Luca Vitiello has bewitched me
And
I love grovelling 🥺
And after reading Bound By Love I would say no one deserves thrid chance
BUT
EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE
This Is Not A Review I Am Putting The Whole Book Out There 😑
BECAUSE I NEED TO RANT REALLY BAD Sue Me!
.
.
.
.
.
*****TRIGGER WARNING*****
.
.
So........
It had cheating
i don't know why but I feel like nauseous and suffocated whenever I read about cheating
I don’t understand why it happens but it just happens !
So cheating is a bad trigger for me
but it is not always like that
obviously it depends on book's circumstances and how deep the H and h have proceed in their relationship.
It especially happens when I caught feelings towards (H)
In this book I totally loved Luca the second he started talking 😪
I was feeling this weird adranile rush the second I meet Luca
For the first time in my life I was feeling like a Clingy reader 😂
I wanted him in every single page may be because this book was only from Aria's Pov .
I literally skimmed "that part" not even bothering to grasp my mind around the words
Later the excuse he gave was he couldn't keep it in his pants !
I mean ? Excuse me.........!!!!
Even Still it hurts so bad!!
So yeah It was tough.
The Kiss Thief , Sparrow, Playing with Fire are my classic favourites, those books also had cheating but they were far from lovers or even friends so it didn’t matter a bit to me
I felt also nauseous
after reading
Broken Knight's tree house part 😪 but thankfully baby Knight kept it in his pants 😂 (thank f**k)
So I am not totally opposed with the idea of reading a book that has Cheating but Luca(H) and Aria(h) were already into Lovey-Dovey
mode and had already formed a steady connection then Luca cheated so I couldn’t cope up with it well.
.
.
.
Apart from the cheating part
if I cut that part from my mind
then Luca easily could have been one my Favourite book boyfriends
and this book would have been a easy 5/5 read
though It felt like I am reading something from wattpad not an actual book. (Love wattpad btw 🙈)
Even Now I wanna throw a tantrum and blame the author for her
miserable choice of storyline😂 and I wanna add him to my book boyfriend shelf
But holding that thought Luca Has his separate book and I definitely wanna read it and I want to know his psychology before doing anything like that
.
.
Luca and Aria's Character Development
Aria this naive 18 year old girl forced married with a 23 year Mobster Luca
"My lips trembled against his mouth as his eyes bored into me. Their message was clear: You are mine."
Honestly speaking I Didn't think Aria would have character development.
I thought Aria Being beautiful and young
Luca will eventually fall for her.
But she was stubborn minded. She handled the obstacles smartly.
She was resourceful and courageous.
And how she handled her family and Luca time to time really impressed me.
" I feel safe in your arms.
I don’t know why, don’t even know why I love you, but I do,
and that won’t change."
“Then so be it. I’ll go where you go no matter how dark the path.”
Apart from "that part" Luca really managed to crawl into my heart.
Protectiveness, Possessiveness these two Ps are really my weaknesses 😂
So I am Being biased there 🤐
How he made an effort to impress Aria how gentle he was towards her was just purely beautiful 😭 I loved him for that.
Tho he was purely being a jerk at first and "after that" but later he did a lot of grovelling
And Luca's character development was really good
From
Jerk➡Monster➡ inconsiderate➡ Denial
To
Soft➡Human➡Patient➡Acceptance of his Love
So yeah his journey throughout the book was really good.
“But you are my first choice, Aria. I’ll burn down the world if I have to. I’ll kill and maim and blackmail. I’ll do anything for you.
Maybe love is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and as you said, it’s not a choice. I never thought I would, never thought I could love someone like that but I fell in love with you. I fought it. It’s the first battle I didn’t mind losing.”
They Protected each other and were there for each other every time through out book and I live for things like that let’s be real.
I found them Compatible and I think they fit and they really Complete each other
In my Opinion They are the perfect match 🖤
" I touched my hand to the tattoo over his heart,
felt his heart beating against my palm. I smiled.
“Mine.”
“Always,” Luca said."
May 25, 2021
4.5 🌟
I’m shooketh by how much I enjoyed this.
The reviews on this were mixed, but the world Cora Reilly created seemed to be so well-loved, I had to give it a try and to my surprise, it did not disappoint.
The content was problematic but I was here for it.
It’s a dark, misogynistic and sexist world. So naturally it would be problematic.
But I’ve decided that my morals do not need to exist when I read dark/mafia romances. Actually, they’re being challenged. But, that part of me is temporarily locked away and resides in all things grey and toxic, since these worlds deal with fucked up characters. Which I’m now realising how much I’m liking.
I’ve always liked morally grey characters, but there’s something different about reading this type of archetype within this particular setting, since it almost seems so close to real life. Lines are completely blurred. Their justifications now become your justifications. You weirdly understand their motives and character.
Aria and Luca were 😍! I’m hooked on the world and the characters that were introduced and I can’t wait to see how this will expanded upon in the other books.
I’m shooketh by how much I enjoyed this.
The reviews on this were mixed, but the world Cora Reilly created seemed to be so well-loved, I had to give it a try and to my surprise, it did not disappoint.
The content was problematic but I was here for it.
It’s a dark, misogynistic and sexist world. So naturally it would be problematic.
But I’ve decided that my morals do not need to exist when I read dark/mafia romances. Actually, they’re being challenged. But, that part of me is temporarily locked away and resides in all things grey and toxic, since these worlds deal with fucked up characters. Which I’m now realising how much I’m liking.
I’ve always liked morally grey characters, but there’s something different about reading this type of archetype within this particular setting, since it almost seems so close to real life. Lines are completely blurred. Their justifications now become your justifications. You weirdly understand their motives and character.
Aria and Luca were 😍! I’m hooked on the world and the characters that were introduced and I can’t wait to see how this will expanded upon in the other books.
September 6, 2020
3.5 stars
This was my first book by Cora Reilly and I really enjoyed it. I'll be the first to admit, I rarely read mafia romances or dark romances anymore, but I was in the mood for something a little different and I'm glad I picked this one up. Luca and Aria's story hooked me from start to finish and I'm looking forward to reading more books from other members of the family.
Aria Scuderi always knew she might never marry for love. But she never expects to be forced to marry Luca Vitello, a mob boss from NYC. Being forced to leave her siblings and family is bad enough, but she's a bit terrified of Luca. Luca is not an easy guy to love. There is one scene in particular where I just wanted to slap him silly, but by the end, he truly won me over. I rooted for Luca and Aria to make this relationship work and I loved watching them fall for each other.
I listened to the audiobook of Bound by Honor and it was narrated by Juliana Solo. This was my first audiobook by this particular narrator and I thought she did a good job. I do think she sounded a little older than eighteen, which is the age of the heroine but she didn't sound old. She did a nice job with the voicing of Aria and expressing her emotions through the story.
If you're looking for a mafia romance that has an arranged marriage, some drama, angst, and heat- pick up Bound by Honor. I loved the family dynamic, especially Aria's relationships with her siblings, and can't wait to read some of their books!
This was my first book by Cora Reilly and I really enjoyed it. I'll be the first to admit, I rarely read mafia romances or dark romances anymore, but I was in the mood for something a little different and I'm glad I picked this one up. Luca and Aria's story hooked me from start to finish and I'm looking forward to reading more books from other members of the family.
Aria Scuderi always knew she might never marry for love. But she never expects to be forced to marry Luca Vitello, a mob boss from NYC. Being forced to leave her siblings and family is bad enough, but she's a bit terrified of Luca. Luca is not an easy guy to love. There is one scene in particular where I just wanted to slap him silly, but by the end, he truly won me over. I rooted for Luca and Aria to make this relationship work and I loved watching them fall for each other.
I listened to the audiobook of Bound by Honor and it was narrated by Juliana Solo. This was my first audiobook by this particular narrator and I thought she did a good job. I do think she sounded a little older than eighteen, which is the age of the heroine but she didn't sound old. She did a nice job with the voicing of Aria and expressing her emotions through the story.
If you're looking for a mafia romance that has an arranged marriage, some drama, angst, and heat- pick up Bound by Honor. I loved the family dynamic, especially Aria's relationships with her siblings, and can't wait to read some of their books!
"Maybe love is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and as you said, it’s not a choice. I never thought I would, never thought I could love someone like that but I fell in love with you. I fought it. It’s the first battle I didn’t mind losing."
December 2, 2021
Luca Vitiello is a cheating scumbag.
Anyway this was a snoozefest😴 200 pages of how tight Aria's pussy is and when will he finally fuck her.
Anyway this was a snoozefest😴 200 pages of how tight Aria's pussy is and when will he finally fuck her.
August 13, 2020
273 pages and the only information that really stuck with me:
Luca Vitiello (H) is the future capo dei capi de la familia, he’s cheating within a few days of marrying Aria Scuderi (h) and he once crushed a man’s throat with his bare hands.
A vital fact that Cora Reilly mentioned about a million trillion times to emphasise what a monster Luca is.
As much as Luca and Aria were annoying the hell out of me, they didn’t even come close to myhate love I have for Savio Falcone from Twisted Hearts. Therefore 2 stars.
#1 bound by aria's virginity ↠ 1.75 stars
#2 bound by dante's dead wife ↠ 2.75 stars
Luca Vitiello (H) is the future capo dei capi de la familia, he’s cheating within a few days of marrying Aria Scuderi (h) and he once crushed a man’s throat with his bare hands.
A vital fact that Cora Reilly mentioned about a million trillion times to emphasise what a monster Luca is.
As much as Luca and Aria were annoying the hell out of me, they didn’t even come close to my
#1 bound by aria's virginity ↠ 1.75 stars
#2 bound by dante's dead wife ↠ 2.75 stars
March 21, 2023
4 Sworn in Blood Stars ⭐
I'm no expert on the mafia romance genre, but this author writes some seriously enjoyable smut. Now to put it out there from the beginning, this story contains cheating. But in my opinion it only added authenticity to what you'd expect from a made man. Luckily in this instance, it meant that our hero Luca had to grovel that much harder.
“Someone once told me not to run from monsters because they give chase.”
Luca Vitiello is heir to the throne of the New York syndicate. Ruthless, dangerous, monstrous is precisely what he is. But with the threat on the Italian territories by the Bratva and Triad, it means that feuding Italian mafiosi must unite. So what better way to unite families but through blood.
“You are far too beautiful and innocent to be married to someone like me, but I’m too much of a selfish bastard to ever let you go.
Aria Scuderi is 15 years old when she is betrothed to Luca. Uniting these families will ensure peace. It is irrelevant what she may want, her fate is sealed. At 18 years old she becomes wife to one of the biggest crime bosses. However what could she know about navigating this new life? Fortunately a woman with self worth and a little backbone is a mighty opponent.
“I can’t deny you something that you don’t have the right to take in the first place. My body doesn’t belong to you. It’s mine.”
A man accustomed to taking what he wants and a young woman discovering herself for the first time. Aria may not anticipate love but she hopes for happiness. Her husband wants a real marriage in every sense and she expects fidelity. Mmm how delicious was it discovering a middle ground.
“I love how you blush whenever I say something dirty. I can’t wait to see your blush when I do something dirty to you.”
Bound by Honor was what I love in romances. A redeemable hero and a heroine who tries not to cower even if she isn't completely brave. Not too much mafia details to bore me to tears and hot and sexy romance. I'm a happy girl. 💜
I'm no expert on the mafia romance genre, but this author writes some seriously enjoyable smut. Now to put it out there from the beginning, this story contains cheating. But in my opinion it only added authenticity to what you'd expect from a made man. Luckily in this instance, it meant that our hero Luca had to grovel that much harder.
“Someone once told me not to run from monsters because they give chase.”
Luca Vitiello is heir to the throne of the New York syndicate. Ruthless, dangerous, monstrous is precisely what he is. But with the threat on the Italian territories by the Bratva and Triad, it means that feuding Italian mafiosi must unite. So what better way to unite families but through blood.
“You are far too beautiful and innocent to be married to someone like me, but I’m too much of a selfish bastard to ever let you go.
Aria Scuderi is 15 years old when she is betrothed to Luca. Uniting these families will ensure peace. It is irrelevant what she may want, her fate is sealed. At 18 years old she becomes wife to one of the biggest crime bosses. However what could she know about navigating this new life? Fortunately a woman with self worth and a little backbone is a mighty opponent.
“I can’t deny you something that you don’t have the right to take in the first place. My body doesn’t belong to you. It’s mine.”
A man accustomed to taking what he wants and a young woman discovering herself for the first time. Aria may not anticipate love but she hopes for happiness. Her husband wants a real marriage in every sense and she expects fidelity. Mmm how delicious was it discovering a middle ground.
“I love how you blush whenever I say something dirty. I can’t wait to see your blush when I do something dirty to you.”
Bound by Honor was what I love in romances. A redeemable hero and a heroine who tries not to cower even if she isn't completely brave. Not too much mafia details to bore me to tears and hot and sexy romance. I'm a happy girl. 💜
August 3, 2019
DNF @ 65%
This was not what I expected! It’s not really a good enemies-to-lovers (actually they weren’t really enemies) and they didn’t hate each other. I didn’t get the angst that I expected (it was low on angst so far). Sometimes it felt too childish (especially the h’s behavior) and she forgave him so easily and so quickly!! So far it was told in single POV and I prefer if there were some of Luca’s thoughts too, so I could really understand his monster because in my eyes he wasn’t really a monster! Hope you enjoy it more than me though!
This was not what I expected! It’s not really a good enemies-to-lovers (actually they weren’t really enemies) and they didn’t hate each other. I didn’t get the angst that I expected (it was low on angst so far). Sometimes it felt too childish (especially the h’s behavior) and she forgave him so easily and so quickly!! So far it was told in single POV and I prefer if there were some of Luca’s thoughts too, so I could really understand his monster because in my eyes he wasn’t really a monster! Hope you enjoy it more than me though!
September 25, 2024
➳ never again/5 ☆
i would rather write the MCAT 5 times over than EVER read this lunacy again.
this is my first CR book and lord, i am not impressed at all. i have no clue what to even call this book because it's not dark, it's not mafia, and it's certainly not romance. the entire damn story revolves around sex and virginity, and then one thousand (horribly written) spice/smut scenes to follow. if i have to hear the word "folds" ever again, i will lose it.
➺ aria~ goddamn. she was so frenzied and not in a good way. her entire personality was being a virgin and then lusting after her USELESS dumb-fuck of a husband, which her father naturally forced her to marry. her character was so banal and jejune, even i was bored. the amount of times she called other women "whores" was truly concerning. she was an airhead FMC who was driven by internal misogyny to further dick ride luca.
➼ there are so many iterations of everyone calling the women luca used to sleep with "whores and sluts"... i am tired you guys. i already dislike men in real life, and the fact that this is the material i am working with in fiction? such nonsense.
➺ luca (a loser)~ i am laughing so hard because it got more atrocious with him. when i tell you this man had the personality of toilet water and white flour, i am being so serious. everything that came out of his mouth was blather. men being stoic and aloof/insolent are not good moving traits to carry a book. his entire character reminds me of—i know this clown came first, so i guess these authors took inspiration—killian carson (yuck), bj ballentine (yuck), and z*ade meadows (loudest yuck). the way all these men are so far up their ass about how women view them?? they are beyond erroneous but their ego is always somehow bigger than their dick... which should not be allowed to function. this was arrant tomfoolery.
➼ this buffoon should not be allowed near anyone, ever. castrate this ninny.
that donkey also cheated on her so.... yeah, fuck this. 💀
“don’t you think i recognize fear when it stares back at me? the moment i turn out the light, you’ll be back crying as if i’d fucking raped you.”
i would rather write the MCAT 5 times over than EVER read this lunacy again.
this is my first CR book and lord, i am not impressed at all. i have no clue what to even call this book because it's not dark, it's not mafia, and it's certainly not romance. the entire damn story revolves around sex and virginity, and then one thousand (horribly written) spice/smut scenes to follow. if i have to hear the word "folds" ever again, i will lose it.
➺ aria~ goddamn. she was so frenzied and not in a good way. her entire personality was being a virgin and then lusting after her USELESS dumb-fuck of a husband, which her father naturally forced her to marry. her character was so banal and jejune, even i was bored. the amount of times she called other women "whores" was truly concerning. she was an airhead FMC who was driven by internal misogyny to further dick ride luca.
“where’s luca? back with his whore?”
➼ there are so many iterations of everyone calling the women luca used to sleep with "whores and sluts"... i am tired you guys. i already dislike men in real life, and the fact that this is the material i am working with in fiction? such nonsense.
➺ luca (a loser)~ i am laughing so hard because it got more atrocious with him. when i tell you this man had the personality of toilet water and white flour, i am being so serious. everything that came out of his mouth was blather. men being stoic and aloof/insolent are not good moving traits to carry a book. his entire character reminds me of—i know this clown came first, so i guess these authors took inspiration—killian carson (yuck), bj ballentine (yuck), and z*ade meadows (loudest yuck). the way all these men are so far up their ass about how women view them?? they are beyond erroneous but their ego is always somehow bigger than their dick... which should not be allowed to function. this was arrant tomfoolery.
“don’t lie to me. i’ve fucked enough whores to know an orgasm when i see one.”
➼ this buffoon should not be allowed near anyone, ever. castrate this ninny.
that donkey also cheated on her so.... yeah, fuck this. 💀
March 29, 2020
Well, this book was.... OK. 😬
It was a good read, but it certainly didn't live up to my expectations.
The chemistry between the characters was completely dull, I didn't feel the connection at all - maybe because the book was very short, so there wasn't enough time for their relationship to develop.
Aria was too naive... Her obsession about not being ready to have sex annoyed me. Girl, look around you! You are in much big trouble!!!
Why did Luca want this girl so much...?
Plus, there were quite a few parts that made me roll my eyes (like their conversation after she caught him with another... COME ON!)
However, I'll definitely continue to the next books - because Cora's writing was good and I heard that the books in the series are only getting better. ❤😍
I am totally curious about the rest of the characters, especially Aria's sister, Gianna - she sounds like a feisty little thing! 🔥
Hope the rest of the audios will come out quickly! 🙏
It was a good read, but it certainly didn't live up to my expectations.
The chemistry between the characters was completely dull, I didn't feel the connection at all - maybe because the book was very short, so there wasn't enough time for their relationship to develop.
Aria was too naive... Her obsession about not being ready to have sex annoyed me. Girl, look around you! You are in much big trouble!!!
Why did Luca want this girl so much...?
Plus, there were quite a few parts that made me roll my eyes (like their conversation after she caught him with another... COME ON!)
However, I'll definitely continue to the next books - because Cora's writing was good and I heard that the books in the series are only getting better. ❤😍
I am totally curious about the rest of the characters, especially Aria's sister, Gianna - she sounds like a feisty little thing! 🔥
Hope the rest of the audios will come out quickly! 🙏
September 8, 2021
3.75⭐️
Meh, not my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, there are good parts here but not much really happens that interested me.
Spicy parts were good though, and there are some pretty hot words of possession 🥵 you know the kind & don’t lie I know you guys like that too 😏
But overall, good, not amazing
Meh, not my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, there are good parts here but not much really happens that interested me.
Spicy parts were good though, and there are some pretty hot words of possession 🥵 you know the kind & don’t lie I know you guys like that too 😏
But overall, good, not amazing
August 18, 2022
I FUCKING HATE LUCA WITH A BURNING PASSION
He’s the one who cheated with another woman and he had the audacity to reprimand his wife for going outside? And get this, he had sex with other women because somehow, he’s under the impression that he thought that’s what his wife wanted? Dude, that’s it. Never wanted to DNF a book badly until this one. Just no. I can’t even believe why some people swoon over what’s-his-name after what he did.
“Luca snarled. “How can I be cheating when we don’t even have a real marriage? I can’t even fuck my own wife. Do you think I’ll live like a monk until you decide you can stand my closeness?”
It is, in fact, day three of their marriage, that he decided he cannot take it anymore and went ahead to fuck with another woman because NEWSFLASH he’s that kind of guy who whines when he didn’t get what he wanted.
And get this, they barely know each other, plus the heroine is absolutely inexperienced, and he expected her to have sex with him immediately?
“I shifted away from his hand that had moved on from my hair to my throat. I didn’t want his touch.
He sighed. “You’re going to make this really difficult, aren’t you?”
I stared.
“I’m sorry for what you saw today.”
“But not sorry for what you did.”
AND AFTER THIS, HE IS NOT SORRY THAT HE DID IT. DEAR LORD, HE IS EVEN COMPLAINING. SHE SHOULD’VE GIVEN HIM HELL, AND YET, HE GOT AWAY WITH IT EASILY. It’s like it never even happened.
Let me just bleach my eyes and pretend I never read this horrendous book.
He’s the one who cheated with another woman and he had the audacity to reprimand his wife for going outside? And get this, he had sex with other women because somehow, he’s under the impression that he thought that’s what his wife wanted? Dude, that’s it. Never wanted to DNF a book badly until this one. Just no. I can’t even believe why some people swoon over what’s-his-name after what he did.
“Luca snarled. “How can I be cheating when we don’t even have a real marriage? I can’t even fuck my own wife. Do you think I’ll live like a monk until you decide you can stand my closeness?”
It is, in fact, day three of their marriage, that he decided he cannot take it anymore and went ahead to fuck with another woman because NEWSFLASH he’s that kind of guy who whines when he didn’t get what he wanted.
And get this, they barely know each other, plus the heroine is absolutely inexperienced, and he expected her to have sex with him immediately?
“I shifted away from his hand that had moved on from my hair to my throat. I didn’t want his touch.
He sighed. “You’re going to make this really difficult, aren’t you?”
I stared.
“I’m sorry for what you saw today.”
“But not sorry for what you did.”
AND AFTER THIS, HE IS NOT SORRY THAT HE DID IT. DEAR LORD, HE IS EVEN COMPLAINING. SHE SHOULD’VE GIVEN HIM HELL, AND YET, HE GOT AWAY WITH IT EASILY. It’s like it never even happened.
Let me just bleach my eyes and pretend I never read this horrendous book.
June 20, 2015
FUCKING LOVED IT!
Read it in one day and haven't done that in a long time!
It was hot and I want to choke on Luca's cock!
I can't wait to read more!
Read it in one day and haven't done that in a long time!
It was hot and I want to choke on Luca's cock!
I can't wait to read more!
February 26, 2023
estoy haciendo un vlog para youtube leyendo mafia romances 🌚. esta fue mi primera lectura.
el vlog está acá: https://youtu.be/KZpjgza4nVU
el vlog está acá: https://youtu.be/KZpjgza4nVU
June 21, 2024
— hero cheats on 18 year old bride heroine who is sold to him for marriage.
— heroine blames Grace (the woman he cheated with) for the cheating and calls Grace a whore when the hero is the one who cheated on her...
— hero calls Grace a "rat" and the heroine a "queen" meanwhile, he's the one who cheated on a "queen" with said "rat...?"
*bombastic side eye*
— heroine got engaged at 15 to the 20 year old hero who didn't stop having sex with his harem of women. Meanwhile, heroine had to remain "pure" for him...
*super bombastic what-in-the-barbaric-purity-culture-misogynistic-shenanigans-is-going-on side eye*
— all the heroine is good for is her virginity and beauty, and the grown men and women around them kept congratulating her husband on it...
— there's a scene where the 15 year old heroine was seen as the pinacle of woman and beauty, so much so that a man was threatening another for looking at her and told him that he might be "tempted" to cheat on his "old wife" with the heroine since his wife is so old and the heroine is so young and pretty...
— there's a scene where the hero is telling the heroine about how his mother was raped and abused by his father and ended up killing herself, but the heroine had no sympathy for the mother. Heroine just said, "She shouldn't have left you alone."
Girl, did you miss the part when his mother was raped and abused...? And that's the best response you could come up with?
That's when I knew I hated this bitch.
This heroine is so unlikable in that moment, it's unreal...
— this book is riddled with virginity myths.
— apparently, the heroine's mother didn't let her use tampons because she needed to keep her "virginity..."
— I guess tampons can take virginities now...
— here i am, thinking that you were no longer a virgin when you had sex, but sounds like that's not the case. News to me.
— there's a "bloody sheets" tradition to prove the deed was "done" to prove that the hero and heroine "consumated" their marriage...
— how has that tradition been kept for so long...? people must have been cheating the system. cause there's no way the sheet is "bloody" every time. I'd wager not even half the time...
— does Cora Reilly think every woman bleed the first time they have sex?
— and not every girl is born with a hymen, and even if we were, not every hymen bleeds during sex... not every hymen is even ruptured during sex...
— i just think authors should educate themselves before writing trash that just ends up annoying me.
— or you CAN write that, but maybe don't romanticize it...
— heroine keeps referring to Grace (the woman the hero cheated on the heroine with) as a whore, when the heroine is the one who was essentially SOLD to the hero as a business transaction...
— what is the audacity of calling a woman your husband was having sex with willingly before he married you and continued to, as a whore? Girl, he didn't pay for Grace... you are the one he paid for...
girl, if i were you, id be humble in that situation, cause you were a business deal. your marriage was a money thing... if anyone is a "whore" by the definition of the word...
it's you.
Doesn't matter that you're a "virgin." You were sold to marry and have sex with this man. Stop calling other women whores... cause at least Grace wasn't an object to be sold... YOU were, baby.
— book is categorized under romance but you couldn't find any romantic anything going on if they paid you to find it...
— this wasn't a love story, cause I don't remember witnessing these two falling in love. One minute this bitch was scared to have sex with Luca, the next she's talking about her "heart..."
When exactly did Luca make you fall for him...? He literally just comes and goes, and leaves you all alone in a house. When did the "love" happen...?
— heroine blames Grace (the woman he cheated with) for the cheating and calls Grace a whore when the hero is the one who cheated on her...
— hero calls Grace a "rat" and the heroine a "queen" meanwhile, he's the one who cheated on a "queen" with said "rat...?"
*bombastic side eye*
— heroine got engaged at 15 to the 20 year old hero who didn't stop having sex with his harem of women. Meanwhile, heroine had to remain "pure" for him...
*super bombastic what-in-the-barbaric-purity-culture-misogynistic-shenanigans-is-going-on side eye*
— all the heroine is good for is her virginity and beauty, and the grown men and women around them kept congratulating her husband on it...
— there's a scene where the 15 year old heroine was seen as the pinacle of woman and beauty, so much so that a man was threatening another for looking at her and told him that he might be "tempted" to cheat on his "old wife" with the heroine since his wife is so old and the heroine is so young and pretty...
— there's a scene where the hero is telling the heroine about how his mother was raped and abused by his father and ended up killing herself, but the heroine had no sympathy for the mother. Heroine just said, "She shouldn't have left you alone."
Girl, did you miss the part when his mother was raped and abused...? And that's the best response you could come up with?
That's when I knew I hated this bitch.
This heroine is so unlikable in that moment, it's unreal...
— this book is riddled with virginity myths.
— apparently, the heroine's mother didn't let her use tampons because she needed to keep her "virginity..."
— I guess tampons can take virginities now...
— here i am, thinking that you were no longer a virgin when you had sex, but sounds like that's not the case. News to me.
— there's a "bloody sheets" tradition to prove the deed was "done" to prove that the hero and heroine "consumated" their marriage...
— how has that tradition been kept for so long...? people must have been cheating the system. cause there's no way the sheet is "bloody" every time. I'd wager not even half the time...
— does Cora Reilly think every woman bleed the first time they have sex?
— and not every girl is born with a hymen, and even if we were, not every hymen bleeds during sex... not every hymen is even ruptured during sex...
— i just think authors should educate themselves before writing trash that just ends up annoying me.
— or you CAN write that, but maybe don't romanticize it...
— heroine keeps referring to Grace (the woman the hero cheated on the heroine with) as a whore, when the heroine is the one who was essentially SOLD to the hero as a business transaction...
— what is the audacity of calling a woman your husband was having sex with willingly before he married you and continued to, as a whore? Girl, he didn't pay for Grace... you are the one he paid for...
girl, if i were you, id be humble in that situation, cause you were a business deal. your marriage was a money thing... if anyone is a "whore" by the definition of the word...
it's you.
Doesn't matter that you're a "virgin." You were sold to marry and have sex with this man. Stop calling other women whores... cause at least Grace wasn't an object to be sold... YOU were, baby.
— book is categorized under romance but you couldn't find any romantic anything going on if they paid you to find it...
— this wasn't a love story, cause I don't remember witnessing these two falling in love. One minute this bitch was scared to have sex with Luca, the next she's talking about her "heart..."
When exactly did Luca make you fall for him...? He literally just comes and goes, and leaves you all alone in a house. When did the "love" happen...?
February 10, 2017
2.75 Almost-3-Stars
♤“Maybe love is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and as you said, it’s not a choice. I never thought I would, never thought I could love someone like that but I fell in love with you. I fought it. It’s the first battle I didn’t mind losing.”♤
My Thoughts : Bound by honor is a mafia-erotica romance where our virginal heroine Aria annoys the heck out of the hero and me throughout the book with her hot and cold attitude before finally deciding to sleep with him in the end.
No seriously,I'm being 100% honest here ! The whole 323 pages revolved around her dancing around the subject of sex and whether she can really hate him or not.
In fact the Heroine is SO VIRGINAL and NAIVE its almost impossible to relate to her or picture as a real living,breathing person somewhere...
For god sake,she belongs to the bloody mafia in this read ! Wish she would just take a second and think smart about few things...
And her sister Gianna...Don't get me started on her...
Who the hell keeps provoking a mob boss when he's clearly married AND has the power to hurt your sister ?!
Let me tell you NO-ONE.
And to think I actually liked her in the beginning..*sign*
The book's only saving grace was the hero,Luca. He was hot,kind,dominating and at times vulnerably sweet.He kept all his promises to his wife and tried his best to work through different situations even when his wife and his sister-in-law was throwing things around and provoking him.
Kudos to you,Luca. Seriously.
Recommendations :
Would I recommend it? Probably not...But then again tastes vary.And a lot of people seemed to have rated this a four star....So it's really up to you.
Will I be reading the squeal ? Defiantly maybe..Still not sure yet.
♤“Maybe love is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and as you said, it’s not a choice. I never thought I would, never thought I could love someone like that but I fell in love with you. I fought it. It’s the first battle I didn’t mind losing.”♤
My Thoughts : Bound by honor is a mafia-erotica romance where our virginal heroine Aria annoys the heck out of the hero and me throughout the book with her hot and cold attitude before finally deciding to sleep with him in the end.
No seriously,I'm being 100% honest here ! The whole 323 pages revolved around her dancing around the subject of sex and whether she can really hate him or not.
In fact the Heroine is SO VIRGINAL and NAIVE its almost impossible to relate to her or picture as a real living,breathing person somewhere...
For god sake,she belongs to the bloody mafia in this read ! Wish she would just take a second and think smart about few things...
And her sister Gianna...Don't get me started on her...
Who the hell keeps provoking a mob boss when he's clearly married AND has the power to hurt your sister ?!
Let me tell you NO-ONE.
And to think I actually liked her in the beginning..*sign*
The book's only saving grace was the hero,Luca. He was hot,kind,dominating and at times vulnerably sweet.He kept all his promises to his wife and tried his best to work through different situations even when his wife and his sister-in-law was throwing things around and provoking him.
Kudos to you,Luca. Seriously.
Recommendations :
Would I recommend it? Probably not...But then again tastes vary.And a lot of people seemed to have rated this a four star....So it's really up to you.
Will I be reading the squeal ? Defiantly maybe..Still not sure yet.
February 19, 2015
Aria Scuderi
Luca Vitiello
Mini Playlist
Kelly Clarkson - Dark Side
Lana Del Rey - Dark Paradise
Miley Cyrus - Adore You
Beyonce - I Care
Aria is a mob daughter who is betrothed to a made man named Luca when she is only 15 years old. Their relationship was one that had me rooting for a happy ever after while at the same time wishing Aria would give Luca a taste of his own damn medicine. I was drawn to Luca because of his mysterious bad boy persona and felt understanding towards Aria and the fears that she felt when coming face to face with the fact that she would be marrying someone she barely knew. This isn't a story about perfect people finding their happy ever after, this is a story about a man who found acceptance and love from a woman who stole his heart and vise versa, despite their differences.
Cora Reilly's writing style is very organized and easy to read which is something I always appreciate when reading a mob-rom book,as it has a lot of different characters from different families and it is often hard to keep track of who belongs to what family :)
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a evenly paced mob romance that will have you feeling a spectrum of satisfying emotions :)
Until next time my beautiful readers,
Tierra
x
Luca Vitiello
Mini Playlist
Kelly Clarkson - Dark Side
Lana Del Rey - Dark Paradise
Miley Cyrus - Adore You
Beyonce - I Care
Aria is a mob daughter who is betrothed to a made man named Luca when she is only 15 years old. Their relationship was one that had me rooting for a happy ever after while at the same time wishing Aria would give Luca a taste of his own damn medicine. I was drawn to Luca because of his mysterious bad boy persona and felt understanding towards Aria and the fears that she felt when coming face to face with the fact that she would be marrying someone she barely knew. This isn't a story about perfect people finding their happy ever after, this is a story about a man who found acceptance and love from a woman who stole his heart and vise versa, despite their differences.
Cora Reilly's writing style is very organized and easy to read which is something I always appreciate when reading a mob-rom book,as it has a lot of different characters from different families and it is often hard to keep track of who belongs to what family :)
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a evenly paced mob romance that will have you feeling a spectrum of satisfying emotions :)
Until next time my beautiful readers,
Tierra
x
February 27, 2016
Disgusting cheater who has no remorse about it. NO EXCUSE FOR CHEATING! h was usual weak doormat. An embarrassment to women everywhere for letting this loser get away with cheating on her. And she SAW him do it.
August 25, 2015
3.75 Stars
Bound by Honor was well-written and the pace was great, I found myself invested in the characters and the story. It wasn't without fault and honestly wasn't profound or anything - but it was entertaining.
Being born into our world means being born with blood on your hands. With every breath we take sin is engraved deeper into our skin.
Aria Scuderi and Luca Vitiello were born into the mob, and to strengthen the ties between the Chicago and New York families, a marriage is arranged. At 18, Aria will become Luca's wife, and she is terrified. Luca is may look like the ideal badboy, but Aria knows he has a retribution for being brutal and cold, he isn't a good man. But Aria's choices are limited, it is a necessary arrangement to keep her family safe, and even if she ran, he would find her - so she goes through with the marriage.
This wedding wasn’t about love or trust or choice. It was about duty and honor.
Aria makes it no secret to Luca that she doesn't like him, but Luca wants Aria. He is patient, gentle, and persistent, while she is a bit naive, but I couldn't help but pull for them. I enjoyed the mafia theme and some of the side characters kept things interesting, so I'm looking forward to continuing this series.
"Maybe love is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and as you said, it’s not a choice. I never thought I would, never thought I could love someone like that but I fell in love with you. I fought it. It’s the first battle I didn’t mind losing."
BUT, I would be happy to never read the world 'fold' again. (It's not a sexy word.)
July 15, 2020
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫✨4.75 stars
This book is, for me, the classic Mafia romance. This is the book I compare all others to. I adore the character and affection growth throughout the story. It is fantastic! After re-reading this book, I found that it is actually a little sweeter and softer than Reilly’s newer ones (except for Sweet Temptation).
Aria (15/18) is a strong heroine and a mother to her siblings. She accepts her fate with the grace and dignity befitting a queen. She is beautiful, regal, kind, and cunning.
Luca (20/23) is one of the mafia heroes who I compare other mafia heroes to. He is ruthless and born for the mafia, but would also do anything for Aria.
In conclusion, if you want to read a mafia book, this is a classic all mafia romance lovers should read!
This book is, for me, the classic Mafia romance. This is the book I compare all others to. I adore the character and affection growth throughout the story. It is fantastic! After re-reading this book, I found that it is actually a little sweeter and softer than Reilly’s newer ones (except for Sweet Temptation).
Aria (15/18) is a strong heroine and a mother to her siblings. She accepts her fate with the grace and dignity befitting a queen. She is beautiful, regal, kind, and cunning.
Luca (20/23) is one of the mafia heroes who I compare other mafia heroes to. He is ruthless and born for the mafia, but would also do anything for Aria.
In conclusion, if you want to read a mafia book, this is a classic all mafia romance lovers should read!
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