This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
I’ll Protect Her… Whether She Likes It Or Not.
Riona Griffin is gorgeous, intelligent, and iron-willed. My perfect woman, except she hates my guts.
She thinks she doesn’t need anybody. But she needs me.
She’s being hunted by an assassin who never misses his mark.
I’m going to stay by her side, day and night, keeping her safe. Riona thinks that’s a fate worse than death but I know she’ll learn to love me.
If this hitman wants to kill her, he’ll have to go through me first.
“Broken Vow” is the wild and dangerous fifth installment in the “Brutal Birthright” series. It’s a standalone Bodyguard Mafia Romance, with a HEA and no cliffhanger. Contains steamy scenes.
The Lark Notes:
I knew I needed someone hot as hell to melt Riona’s icy heart. Raylan is a rancher, a soldier, and a southern boy with charm to burn. Best of all, he loves a challenge. My favorite parts to write were the fish-out-of-water scenes, when uptight Riona ends up on Raylan’s ranch. I loved finding creative ways for Raylan to use his riding crop…
“I want to choose you, Raylan. I want to choose you over anything else.”
My Review
First Impressions
Broken Vow is a book that I have been so eager for, but I had to get through the first four books first and I had heard so much love for Raylan and I just knew that I had to read his book. I have been wanting to get to his book and I just couldn’t resist picking this up and wanting to kick my May off with a bang and this book was spectacular, I just loved everything about this one here. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, but I knew it was well-loved by so many and I was *crossing my fingers* that this book would be a winner for me, and it most definitely was. I have no regrets or issues with this one, so many fun aspects that brought together such a beautiful story. There are many fun factors that come together in this book here. The first is that our hero is a military cowboy and has that southern boy charm to him, who while he has demons, is a protector and a smile and a twinkle in his eye. Then we have a bodyguard romance, and as an added plus its a grumpy sunshine with the heroine being the grumpy one. The dynamics were just right for these two and what a journey they have together and Sophie Lark wrote such a beautiful book here.
I gently touch her cheek, our faces only inches apart. Her expression is more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen before. I don’t know how I ever called this woman an Ice Queen. Riona isn’t only one thing. Once you chip past the frost, she has a whole universe inside of her.
Summary
Riona Griffin is smart, sexy, and proper. She is determined to take her place in her family and not for traditional reasons. She wants to give to her family and have a sense of purpose other than her being female. She has no desire to be a wife or a mother. But when she is almost killed and barely survives an attack, her family is determined to keep her safe. They bring in sexy cowboy Raylan, who has spent years in the military. Raylan is a charmer and Riona hates him. She doesn’t understand his personality and is determined not to let him get to her. But through a set of circumstances, they are forced together and on the run and end up escaping to Raylan’s family ranch in Tennessee. Riona doesn’t know what to do without her stern office and organized life, Now she is in an environment that she doesn’t understand but Raylan knows it’s the safest place for her. And he is determined to protect her and give her freedom and to show her what she is capable of becoming. The chemistry between them is off the charts, and Riona begins to let loose of her strict demeanor and allow Raylan to show her where she is most at home. But will Riona be able to embrace these newfound parts of her or will she throw out this new life and Raylan or learn to fight for a new chapter in her life…
“I don’t want to trap you,” I say to Riona. “I want to unleash you. I want to set you free. I want to show you what you really are . . .
What I Loved
Broken Vow was such a tantalizing read and I had a blast with this book and it was such an easy “in one sitting” type of read and I breezed through this 450-page book in two hours so yes I was completely hooked within this story and I have no regrets. I have been hoping that at least ONE book in this series would be such a win and I am so joyful that it was Raylan’s book. He is one of her most beloved heroes by her fans and I wanted to love him so dearly, and it HAPPENED! There is such winning chemistry between Raylan and Riona and they are such opposites. You really wouldn’t think on the surface that these two would be such a solid match, but they complement each other so well. “Yin-Yang” really comes to my mind when I think of these two together. And it’s such a pleasure to have a grumpy sunshine trope where the HERO is the sunshine,., I absolutely adored Raylan in every way. He is a protector, capable, strong, sexy and has a great talent with a riding crop, and knows how to have a good time in life. Then we have Riona, who is so strict and stern and needs control in her life. She doesn’t like messy emotion and is so different than most heroines but I admired her tenacity and strength and seeing her journey in learning to see another part of her and embrace it was such a RIDE. We see how Raylan pushes her in unique ways and how she learns to let go of her strict controlling nature, and embrace the best parts of the country life. We really see parts of her character fly free in this story and the journey that these two have together was so EPIC and JOYFUL!! I will admit I had forgotten there was a bit of kink in this book and this barn scene was delectable! If you like BDSM or even light BDSM, you definitely need this book in your life. The side characters that we see in this book were so fun, I especially loved the energetic natures of Raylan’s family. I loved the country feel to this book so if you like a well-written contemporary western, you definitely need to try this one out. I will say that this book will work for both contemporary romance lovers and dark romance lovers. In fact, this series isn’t really all that dark in many respects. So I think if you want a beginner book that straddles both worlds, you can’t go wrong with Broken Vow and I do think it can be read as a standalone.
What I Struggled With
There wasn’t much that I struggled with, It wasn’t quite a five-star read for me, but I don’t know why exactly, I think the investment of the romance faded in and out a couple of times throughout the reading of it.
To want to impress him. To want to please him. There was a kind of pleasure in being conquered.
Overall View
Broken Vow is a brilliant story that worked so many elements of unique romantic elements, delivers in the steam and sensuality that only Sophie Lark is capable of, and such depths of heart are woven in its pages that will unify in a magical read!
You’re happier here. This is where you belong: here, with me. I’m afraid. But I want to choose Raylan over that fear.
Title: Broken Vow
Author: Sophie Lark
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Length: 446 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 5
Story Itself: 4.5
Character Development: 5
Writing Style: 4.5
World Building 4.5
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4
Pacing 5
Plot 5
Cover Art 4.25
Ending 5
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Brutal Birthright
Brutal Prince-Pub 2020 #1 in the Series
Stolen Heir-Pub 2020 #2 in the Series
Savage Lover-Pub 2020 #3 in the Series
Bloody Heart-Pub 2020 #4 in the Series
Broken Vow-Pub 2020 #5 in the Series
Heavy Crown-Pub 2021 #6 in the Series
About The Author
Sophie Lark is an Amazon Bestselling author who writes intense, intelligent romance, with heroines who are strong and capable, and men who will do anything to capture their hearts. She lives with her husband, two boys, and baby girl in the Rocky Mountain West.
She has a slight obsession with hiking, bodybuilding, and live comedy shows. Her perfect day would be taking the kids to Harry Potter World, going dancing with Mr. Lark, then relaxing with a good book and a monster bag of salt and vinegar chips.
This sounds lovely. It says lot that you read it in two hours.