Crow

4.5 "When a Butterfly Infiltrates the Irish Mob" Stars for the story and 5 stars for the narration!

What a fantastic debut to a mafia romance series! Moreover, I love that it takes place in Boston with ties to the Irish mob which brings a fresh perspective to one of my favorite romance sub-genres, as most of the other mob based romances I have read or listened to have taken place in the worlds of either the Italian or Russian mobs. Moreover, The Boston Underworld Series has all the elements that I look for in a great romantic suspense series: appealing characters, intricate suspense plots, and plenty of chemistry and heat-filled scenes! As if that's not enough reason to listen to this audiobook, Tracy Marks' narration was spot-on and show more really helped bring to life this fabulous story filled with mobsters and the tough heroines they end up falling in love with.

Mackenzie is tired of waiting for the cops to help her. Her friend Talia is missing and Mac is sure that the Irish mob is involved in her disappearance. Being the tough girl that she is--the daughter of a now deceased underground boxer who taught her how to fight--Mac decides to take things into her own hands. First, she hands one of the Irish mobsters his behind in an underground fight. However, when that doesn't prove to be enough to engage the Irish mob's interest in her, she applies for a position at one of their strip bars.

That certainly catches Lachlan Crow's attention. However, Mac has also garnered the attention of the Russian mob, and Lachlan, who knows that Mac is also hiding something, is determined to get to the bottom of why though he agrees to watch Mac for the Russian mob in the meantime. The problem with that assignment is that the closer he gets to Mac the more he wants her, and as one of the Irish mob's most promising up and comers, he knows he must marry one of the Russian mobsters' daughters to solidify and cement the two crime organizations' amicable relationship.

Will Mac be able to find her friend or at least determine what happened to her? Moreover, what is the Russian mob's true interest in Mac? And will Lachlan be able to stick with his long-term mob career plans by putting the organization first before his personal needs?

Tracy Marks delivers a stunning narration in Crow. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the various voices that she created for the large cast, but she also managed to make each and everyone distinguishable. Moreover, Ms. Marks demonstrates her incredible range and facility with accents in this book as she creates a panoply of different accents, from Southie Boston to Irish accents to even Russian accents, Ms. Marks nails each and every one of them.

Additionally, Ms. Marks makes you truly feel the scene. Her rendition of the suspense filled scenes creates a sense of urgency and danger, and her performance of the more intimate scenes completely makes the listener feel the sensual nature of the passage being read.

All in all, I loved the fun ride in Crow, and really liked the tough as nails heroine, as well as, Lachlan's ability to both be an alpha protective while also knowing when to let his heroine take charge. Additionally, with the introduction of so many great secondary characters, I can't wait to continue on with this series in Book 2, Reaper.

Source: Review copy provided for review purposes. show less

Okay this one kind of snuck up on me. The characters felt sort of wooden to start with - I didn't hate them but they just felt flat. But this progressively got better until the ending was just action packed and tense and adrenaline filled.

I really came to adore Mack. She was so brave and fierce and broken but determined and just fantastic. I also loved that she was willing to choke people out. And that she was a trained MMA fighter. I would've liked to see more of it as well. I also liked how she handled herself with regards to being shot at. She obviously had a hard life and some bad experiences and familiarity with violence, guns and gunshot wounds, etc - but it was nice that when she was shot at she could admit her own fears and show more limitations. And I loved the banter between her and Ronan. Ronan was awesome.

Crow was fantastic - I liked that he seemed more like a forever type than a one night stand. Like he wasn't just randomly hooking up with women all the time (well maybe he was but it didn't read like he was) but if not actively looking for love - open to the possibility. I really liked that because Mack totally wasn't. It seemed like a nice role reversal. Well sort of. I mean she did want security and that but she also seemed to have stopped believing it was even an option before Crow slowly brings her around to the idea of needing/having other people. I liked that the love between them was slow - they felt instant attraction but they were still working their own goals for most of the book.

One thing I didn't like was that she was a virgin. It felt false that as a virgin she'd be willing to play the role of stripper. Kind of seems stupid really to go into a place you're likely going to get sexually assaulted if not outright raped as a virgin. The human trafficking plot was sad and tragic. I felt so sorry for those girls and it makes me sad to think of women that are currently in that situation.

This was primarily romance than mob though. There was some stuff about different outfits and a mole but there were no real details about enterprises and raids and whatever.

So yeah surprising little gem. 4 stars. show less

4.5 stars

Second time reading this and I'm still in love with this book/series. There is something special about the way that this author creates her characters and the world in which they live.

Bello, bello, bello.
Non privo di cliché, ma una lettura diversa dal solito. Ci voleva!

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Primo libro letto per la Rare Reading Challenge e devo dire che sono proprio soddisfatta!
Partiamo col dire che ci sono un paio di cose che mi hanno fatto storcere un po' il naso, tipo la verginità e l'unico uomo della vita. Per carità, è possibile, non sta scritto da nessuna parte che una debba stare con più di un uomo prima di mettere radici e nel caso di Mack è anche plausibile, però boh. Mi è sembrata un po' forzata come cosa.
Altra cosa che, come al solito, non mi è andata giù è l'insta-love/fulmi-love/attrazione fatale... chiamatela come vi pare. C'è e si fa sentire, ma se non altro - rispetto ad altri libri - è show more gestita piuttosto bene. Il fuoco della passione non brucia i vestiti in un secondo netto.

Tra le cose che invece mi fanno sicuramente gioire, c'è l'ambientazione. Non avevo mai letto un libro ambientato nella mafia, men che meno quella irlandese, e devo dire che mi è piaciuta parecchio. Non so quanto ci sia di vero, ma onestamente non mi interessa: è un romanzo, e lo prendo come tale. Mi sono piaciute molto le dinamiche e la lealtà all'interno della famiglia, ma soprattutto ho molto apprezzato il background cupo che non è forzatamente rosa e fiori solo perché c'è una storia d'amore all'interno.

Altro punto decisamente positivo è la protagonista. Mack è una bad-ass di quelle vere. Lei è alla ricerca della sua amica e il suo obiettivo le resta chiaro fino alla fine. Non è che perché si innamora lascia perdere. No, lei ci prova fino alla fine, mettendo in gioco tutto, anche il suo cuore.
Anche Lachlan è fatto molto bene come personaggio, ma avrei preferito più capitoli dal suo pov perché molto è lasciato all'immaginazione del lettore dato che i suoi sono i capitoli dove ha luogo la maggior parte della violenza del libro.
I personaggi secondari mi hanno incuriosita moltissimo e non so se farò in tempo prima del Rare, ma sicuramente leggerò i volumi che mi mancano perché voglio saperne di più.

Riguardo la lettura in inglese, all'inizio non è stata semplicissima perché ci sono molte parole di slang gaelico, ma una volta preso il ritmo di quei quattro termini che ripetono spesso, scorre che è un piacere. show less

Read: August 2017
Rating: 5/5 stars

I have been looking for a good contemporary romance series to start for a while now, and the premise of Crow combined with Val's positive review, enticed me into picking it up. And I am so glad I did, because I absolutely loved it; I read it all the way through from start to finish in only a couple of hours, and immediately downloaded the second book in the series afterwards. I fell in love with the characters of Mack and Lachlan, and the world of the Irish Boston mafia that Zavarelli has created. I have found a new favourite author and series to enjoy and I can't wait to see what happens in the future for Mack and Lachlan, as well as for Ronan and Sacha, who are the focus of book two, Reaper.

That cover though right?

Wow, get this just for the cover, what a hottie!

Seriously though, Lachlan and Mack, WOW! Mack is a badarse woman who has had a crappy life. She has few people in her life that she cares about, and one of them disappeared. She meets Lachlan trying to get information and the sparks fly. Yes, another mafia romance, but this one is worth reading!!

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Crow is the first book in the Boston Underworld series and this is show more where we get a look into the series of the Irish mafia in the beautifl city of Boston and this is a story that will dig deep into sacrifice, sensual heat and finding love in the most brutal of circumstances and what it means to truly be willing to give it up all for the one you love. This might be one of my favorite mafia romances because of how deep it digs into the heart and soul of true love.

First Line
I hate cops.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Lachlan
The Heroine: Mackenzie (Mac)

Summary
Mackenzie is on the hunt for one of her two best friends, Talia. She is like her own sister and she will do anything to find out what happened to her. The police isn't willing to look too deep into the situation. So she goes undercover posing as a exotic dancer to find clues to where she is or if she is dead who killed her. She runs into Lachlan who ends up being her boss and even though they both have their own motivations in what they do, heat and something deeper is building between them. But Mac is keeping secrets from Lachlan and it could cost them everything including their lives....

What I Loved
The story between Lachlan and Mackenzie was utterly captivating in every way. I don't read too many Irish mob romances but I have to say that this definitely is going to be at the top of my list and I can't wait to delve deeper into this captivating world that the author has delivered. From their first meeting, there is instant chemistry that is between them and you just know that its going to be fiery hot between them. The sensual exchanges between these two are rough and intense and HOT!!! So keep that in mind while reading. And it won't be for everyone as it does get violent at times but the way that its written really worked for me. The writing just sucked me in so quickly here. The heroine is very unconventional, sassy and can fight if she needs to as she grew up on the streets to survive. But how fierce she is when it comes to those that she loves captivated me. And seeing what she is willing to do for Lachlan in the end ......broke me in every way. Lachlan may be your typical mafia hero but you can see how divided he is. He has such loyalty to his crew and family but love is causing a division in his loyalties. Seeing that both Lachlan and Mac are willing to sacrifice so much for each other had me swooning all over the pages. We also see such a brotherhood bonds with Lachlan and his boys and I can't wait to get to their stories because I know they will be just as good as Crow is here. If you want a mafia romance that will dig deep into your heart and never want to let you go then you definitely need to grab this one up.

What I Struggled With
Honestly nothing much .....I LOVED every single moment and was hooked from beginning to end.

Overall View
Crow is a story that is stunning and sweeps the reader into a dark and dangerous world of divided loyalties, betrayals and secrets and a deeply layered love tale that is fierce and sensual in every page!

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Dark Romance
Character Types: Mafia, Morally Grey Hero, Exotic Dancer, Unconventional Heroine
Themes: Tear Jerker, Danger/Suspense, Secrets, Band of Brothers
Tropes: Boss/Employee, Forbidden Love

Book Perspective
Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Both

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
LJ Shen
Gabrielle Sands
Cora Reilly

Song This Book Inspires
Again by Noah Cyrus

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes. I would say read it in order is best for this series.

Steam/Spice Explanations

Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes. show less