I just discovered this author last year and am slowly devouring all of her books. I was really excited about this book after reading the blurb because I liked how they were tying the various mobs together. The only big one that they were missing was the Yakuza. I am assuming that each other in this collection will be writing the book from one of the other factions that are a part of this deal.

While I did like many aspects of this story, it did take me a little bit to get into the story. I think that was because there was a lot of world-building to be done and it fell on this book as the first in the series to be connected. Other than one pivotal scene, it didn't seem to focus on the violence or gore typically associated with Mafia-based romances.

My favorite character of this was Ivy. She accepted her position as Tiernan's wife and went with whatever her husband wanted, even if that meant being with Collin and Shay. I have to be honest, that part seemed odd because of Tiernan's behaviors. One moment he is for it for a specific reason and in the next moment he suddenly has a change of heart and then everything is copacetic and he loves her and she loves him. It just didn't make sense to me, especially with how emphatic he was to not be involved or invested. Even the Reverse Harem aspect was different. . The steamy scenes were hot but I did wish that there was more depth to them. I never felt the bond between the characters. It was more just implied that this was a Reverse Harem and then went on with the story. I was expecting DARK based on the blurb. However, other than the idea of forced arranged marriage, I did not find this to be dark, or even very in your face with the criminal mafia aspect

I am rounding this up from 3.5 to 4 stars because the author is gifted at writing and that it did pave the way for the other stories in this series. This series is very different from other books (Society Series) that this author has written that I have read and loved, and maybe that was why it didn't rank as high. This is not to say that this is not a good book by any means, nor does it mean that I am disparaging the author by not swooning over the book. I admire her skill as a writer because Lord knows, I cannot do what she does. I implore others to try it because it might just tickle your fancy because that is the beauty of books, what doesn't work for one reader does for another. ( )