Considering this is marketed as a Dark Romance/Mafia romance, there aren't a ton of actual dark elements in it. The best way I can describe this is its like a non alcoholic beer, the basics are there so you get the taste of what it's teling you it is, but the actual substance of what makes it that thing is missing. Well, it was for me. 

It also felt like it was trying too hard to convince you it was dark when it wasn't, I love an obsessive, jealous and possessive MMC and Nero does tick those boxes to an extent, but his constant inner monologue of how "dangerous" and "bad" he is came across very Scrappy Doo/teen boy trying to convince others that he could fight someone if you know what i mean? Plus, his reluctance to bring Peyton into his "dark world" doesn't really track with how his character is meant to be. He is meant to be this ruthless Mafia leader who will kill to get what he wants, etc and I get he is protective of her, but given who he constantly tells us he is I would have expected him to not give a single 💩 and to have dragged her to his side instead.


As for Peyton... what an absolute wet flannel of an FMC. There was no real substance to her and absolutely zero character growth. I don't mind the virgin trope, but do you honestly expect me to believe that at 27, she knows nothing about sex at all? That at 27, she wouldn't have heard, been told, looked up or researched things herself? And as for the scene at the concert... yeah... no. I'm not saying that it's impossible to fool around in that setting, but first-time slight back-door action Im not convinced. It was all very insta-lust/lovey. There wasn't much going on plot wise, and the drama at the end was cringeworthy tbh. This book was in the Audible Plus catalogue, and I've seen this series mentioned a lot for good plus size representation, so I decided to give it a try... if the other books are like this, then this series isn't going to be for me. I will read the next one to see how I get on, but after this, I don't have high hopes. 🌶🌶