The Sweetest Oblivion

Mixed feelings about this book - On one hand, I enjoyed the steam and spice and chemistry between Nico and Elena. It started off as taboo/forbidden love, because he was her sister's fiance. I liked that there wasn't too much of a cheating element, thankfully they had been 'loyal' to each other. And the steamy scenes were super hot, well done!

Buuuut I didn't like how the double standards of Nico were - why was he so possessive about any man touching Elena when he legit spent time in strip clubs and slept with random ladies? His body count (not the people he killed, which I assume is also extremely high) is shown to be quite high; so why does he keep stressing about wanting Elena to be pure and untouched?! That hypocrisy made my eyes show more roll, even though I understood it came from the Mafia tropes. I love possessive brooding men but this turned me off a lot.
Otherwise, a good quick spicy read for a cloudy day. show less

Holy Mother Of All Dons and Doms!!! First book by Danielle Lori and definitely won’t be the last. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. Everyone thinks sweet Elena is ‘easy’ when she truly is very inexperienced. She is carrying around regret and guilt. On top of everything, she is falling for her sisters bad boy fiancé. She is trying her best to steer clear of him but each day around him she falls more for him. Nico is all Don and all Dom!! What he wants, he gets. Even though he is engaged to Elena’s sister, Elena is the one that gets under his skin constantly. Let me tell you, these two have a relationship that will light a match on the first strike... HOT! I thought my kindle was going up in flames at some show more points. If you like a sexy dominant man with an equally challenging lady then snatch this book up quick and read it! Don’t plan on adulting that day because you will not want to put this book down. show less

I am looking for these gritty, angsty reads right now, but I don't want to read stick to my normal subgenre. So when I requested angst and THEE DRAMA vibes in my status yesterday, I got some great recs, which I'll absolutely be going back to, but I wanted edgy yesterday. I mentioned in a spinoff conversation with Whiskey I'm looking for like a weirdly brutal mafia type who will do anything. Somehow, the author needs to balance brutality and sweetness without over-indexing on either.

And this worked. Oh boy, did it. There's this scene that had me saying "yep, this is exactly what I was craving,"

I'll move back now to my more traditional subgenres, but this was refreshing, and this author will be on that list for when this mood strikes. show more Heck, I'd even just read this again. show less

Smut book club, dark smut
Elena's family is part of the New York criminal underground. She finds herself attracted to her sister's fiance until her sister ends up pregnant - when Elena winds up engaged to him!
It was okay. Not poorly written but not inspiring for me. Not my normal fare.

As a book blogger, I was requested by the author to read this book and volunteer a review. And I must say I was impressed by this story. Elena and Nico come from the same world of mobsters and Made Men but have nothing much in common. Except for this irresistible and unreliable attraction that makes them push boundaries and cross lines. The worst part is Nico is supposed to be marrying her sister. But as fate would have it (ironic, since Nico doesn't believe in fate) Elena ends up Marrying Nico instead.

How all this comes to pass is one twisted, gut-churning and teeth clenching journey that I cannot put into words because I'd just end up narrating the whole book to you. And it is really much nicer in Danielle Lori's voice so go ahead show more and get reading. I promise you won't be disappointed. show less

As a book blogger, I was requested by the author to read this book and volunteer a review. And I must say I was impressed by this story. This was a surprisingly entertaining read. Elena and Nico come from the same world of mobsters and Made Men but have nothing much in common. Except for this irresistible and unreliable attraction that makes them push boundaries and cross lines. The worst part is Nico is supposed to be marrying her sister. But as fate would have it (ironic, since Nico doesn't believe in fate) Elena ends up Marrying Nico instead.

How all this comes to pass is one twisted, gut-churning and teeth clenching journey that I cannot put into words because I'd just end up narrating the whole book to you. And it is really much show more nicer in Danielle Lori's voice so go ahead and get reading. I promise you won't be disappointed. show less

Never in my life have I read a book with so many threats of SA in it (that was meant to be depicted as romantic/sexy, mind you). If all dark/mafia romances are like this, then it's certainly not for me.