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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Double Romance Review-Perfect Sinner & Brutal Defender by Maggie Cole

by | May 21, 2022 | Book Reviews, Double The Romance Reviews | 1 comment

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

I’m the mafia princess Nolan O’Malley hates to love.

The moment we collide, he wants to destroy me.
He should. My blood is that of his arch enemy.
I’m unsure if the war raging inside him or me is stronger.
Instead of running away or ending me, he keeps me close.
He watches my every move, and monitors each threat my estranged family delivers to me.
The close quarters we share only get smaller until there is no more distance between us.
Yet I still am who I am.
Time and again he saves me from every dark demon.
When we think the one person who wants to ruin me is dead, she isn’t.
This time, she won’t win. I’m coming after her.
Except my actions have unintended consequences.
And I should have known he’d come after me.
After all, he’s my perfect sinner.

”Perfect Sinner” is the seventh jaw-dropping installment of the “Mafia Wars” series. It’s an enemies to lovers Dark Mafia romance, interconnecting stand-alone, and guaranteed to have an HEA.

My Review

Perfect Sinner is the seventh installment in the Mafia Wars series and this is Nolan O’Malley’s story and I have been so eager to return to this series ever since the teaser of a cliffhanger in the previous installment, “Unchosen Ruler” where we get Gemma and Nolan’s story. We got so many teasers of this pairing from the previous book as the storyline are mirrors of each other. What I have really liked is how the storylines are mixed in the various installments, so you can easily read them as standalone or even out of order in the sets or order of these books. I knew that going into this book that there would be some delicious angst and lots of fun entanglements and some suspense due to what is happening to Gemma. But I found that Maggie Cole did a superb job in captivating their story so well. I was so intrigued into seeing how these two would work together because they are so opposites of each other but intense circumstances can really shift the priorities and bring the two most unlikely people together. From their first meeting, Gemma and Nolan had a fierce attraction to each other, but then Gemma revealed her true heritage, and as she comes from a family that are bitter enemies with the O’Malley’s, and now Nolan can’t believe Gemma has the same blood as his enemies. But when he realizes that she and her family is in danger and need protection, he will do anything it takes to protect her. Gemma has been tormented for months and it’s wearing on her mental state. She is losing everything that she is, but a love builds between herself and Nolan as the unexpected chemistry builds between them. But their enemy is gunning for them….Will Gemma and Nolan survive the coming tide?

This was a story that I was so eager for and I really had a fun time reading their story. It was so intriguing because you see how well matched they are for each other despite their differences. I really liked seeing the way in which they learned to adapt to living together, and I had a delicious time with these moments of angst that crop up. I was so intrigued from the get-go to seeing Gemma and Nolan learn each other and how they adapted to settle their differences, to what was more important. I also was fascinated by seeing the way Nolan was fighting his desire for Gemma and learned to see the other side to Gemma, the side not many are able to see. On the other side of the story, we have Gemma who has been psychologically tormented and we see the effect that it has had on her both emotionally and mentally. Maggie Cole really capitalized on this so well, and there was such an intense edge to the story that kept me hooked all the way through. I knew that Gemma would be driven to the edge, and we see how that builds into a crescendo and really respected the unique format of the plot that is grown throughout the story. The chemistry between Gemma and Nolan is intense and addictive and It was such a unique experience to see them work through their differences and find common ground and fight for each other.

You wanted to know who you are to me. I’ll tell you. You’re my everything—the woman I want to marry and knock out a dozen Irish babies with. The only woman on earth who can push all my buttons and stand up to me, and I still can’t handle having you out of my eyesight. You may have Bailey blood in you, but you’re the exception to the rule, a miracle among a cesspool of vile human beings. And one other thing, you’re not their princess. You’re my princess. So get it through your head. You belong to me, an O’Malley. Not them

Overall I found Perfect Sinner to be an intensely formed romance that was a battle of adjusting to commonalities, thrilling suspense to keep you on edge, and a passionate romance to leave you breathless!

Title: Perfect Sinner

Author: Maggie Cole

Genre: Dark Mafia Romance

Format: eBook

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Length: 446 Pages

Amazon| Goodreads| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Book Evaluation

Storytelling Quality: 4

Story Itself: 4

Character Development: 4

Writing Style: 4.25

World Building 4

Feels + The Romantic Heart 3.5

Pacing 4.5

Plot 4

Cover Art 4

Ending 4

Book Ratings

Overall Rating of the Book

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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.

Trigger Warning

Violence, Torture, Bullying, Psychological Abuse


This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

I choose Killian O’Malley out of desperation.

My papà gives me an ultimatum with one other option. I’ll do anything not to marry the Italian mafia boss who lives in Italy and is twice my age.
So I become Killian’s debt repayment.
When I’m forced to pick, I don’t know he’s a boxer, a decade older than me, or has a body better than Zeus.
He’s bossy.
Arrogant.
He calls me a mafia brat and creates rules like I’m his child, saying he’ll tame me.
Our angsty relationship is so hot between the sheets my head is constantly spinning.
At times, he becomes a raging psychopath destroying anyone who even looks at me, including my ex who won’t move on.
I thought Killian would be a playboy, but he takes our vows to the extreme.
Everything about him makes him my brutal defender.

”Brutal Defender” is the eighth jaw-dropping installment of the “Mafia Wars” series. It’s an arranged marriage Dark Mafia romance, interconnecting stand-alone, and guaranteed to have an HEA.

My Review

Brutal Defender is the next installment and I was super excited for this one which is why I immediately jumped right into it because it had my favorite trope “arranged marriage” and I was so eager to see how this author would implement this trope as she hadn’t really done this trope and its such a classic use in the mafia world. I really found both individuals so different and boy were they explosive together. I would like to say that I absolutely loved this one but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for me. Killian and Arianna are part of different territories Killain agrees to a trade and if he breaks his word, then it will mean his brother will face life in prison more than likely. But he will have to marry a stranger in order to do so. Arianna’s father is determined to get her away from someone who has a bad influence and gives Arianna two choices ….Killian or a mafia head in Italy who is twenty years older than her and she easily chooses Killian. But Killian and Arianna do not like each other and have bitterness against each other. And they have to work to make adjustments for each other, and learn to work together as they are now married.

I had so many issues with this book, and I am sad to say it, but these two were a struggle to read. I found both Killian and Arianna both selfish, arrogant, and acted childish to each other. Every time you would think, they have learned their lesson and will start to treat each other like decent human beings, something would happen and it would be this endless circle and it was so exhausting and if I didn’t love this author so much I probably wouldn’t have kept with this book if I am being honest. And I knew there would be other factors to the serial plot so I did want to stick with it due to that factor. But this romance was not enjoyable or fun to read at all and I wanted to strangle these two because they acted like spoiled children instead of adults. While there were aspects to their relationship that I enjoyed at times, the pettiness between them was never-ending and draining and took the fun out of the story for me. It’s just not a story that really appealed to me and felt lackluster overall.

Title: Brutal Defender

Author: Maggie Cole

Genre: Dark Mafia Romance

Format: eBook

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Length: 445 Pages

Amazon| Goodreads| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Book Evaluation

Storytelling Quality: 3.5

Story Itself: 3.5

Character Development: 2.75

Writing Style: 4

World Building 4

Feels + The Romantic Heart 3

Pacing 4.5

Plot 4

Cover Art 4

Ending 4

Book Ratings

Overall Rating of the Book

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Mafia Wars

Ruthless Stranger-Pub 2021 # 1 in the Series

Broken Fighter-Pub 2021 #2 in the Series

Cruel Enforcer-Pub 2021 #3 in the Series

Vicious Protector-Pub 2021 #4 in the Series

Savage Tracker-Pub 2021 #5 in the Series

Unchosen Ruler-Pub 2021 #6 in the Series

Perfect Sinner-Pub 2021 #7 in the Series

Brutal Defender-Pub 2021 #8 in the Series

Deviant Hacker-Pub 2021 #9 in the Series

Relentless Hunter-Pub 2022 #10 in the Series

About The Author

Maggie Cole is committed to bringing her readers alphalicious book boyfriends. She’s been called the “literary master of steamy romance.”
Her books are full of raw emotion, suspense, and will always keep you wanting more. She is a masterful storyteller of contemporary romance and loves writing about broken people who rise above the ashes.
Maggie lives in Florida with her son. She loves sunshine, anything to do with water, and everything naughty.

Her current series were written in the order below:
All In (Stand alones with entwined characters)
It’s Complicated (Stand alones with entwined characters)
Together We Stand (Brooks Family Saga – read in order)
Behind Closed Doors (Read in order)
Mafia Wars
Coming in 2022 – Mafia Wars New York

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