In this story you get introduced to the character Cian. Cian meets Nessa after her father in a card game bets her virginity to pay off his debt. Cian after winning the game goes to her fathers house to pick her up undenounced to her what has happened. From there they become intrigued by each other and their relationship starts to blossom. Despite Nessa being a curvy, full figured women with a love for reading, he does not look at her the same way others do. He starts to contemplate whether he's collecting a debt or if there's something more there. When she becomes a distraction and realizes his facade is fading it's used against him in more ways than one. Nessa although a bit shy, awkward and self conscious she fakes it till she makes it and I love that about her. she really finds strength through out the story and is no longer anyone's pawn and can make her own life decisions.

I rate this story 3 out of 5 stars. although I could relate to Nessa in so many ways and I appreciated Cian's love of her body type, I feel like the story could have had a little more. I did find it sweet in the end so I did enjoy it overall I just wasn't wowed.

I'd like to say thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but I wasn't able to connect with either of the main characters and disliked how quickly they progressed from being enemies to being in love. There were several scenes I really liked that balanced out those I didn't, but not enough.

Things I DID like:
- whenever Cian called Nessa "little mouse"
- the maze scene
- Cian's attentiveness
- Liam Campbell
- Cian's family
- cameos from the characters of Brooklyn Kings :)


Things I did not like:

-I wasn't a huge fan of Cian mainly wanting to sleep with Nessa as a big 'fuck you' to her father before sending her back once he'd had his fun. (Planning to use the heroine and discard her is the same reason I didn't like Hooked by Emily McIntire very much.)

-There was also a scene with questionable consent, of which Cian was aware of and even thought to himself, "I should put a halt to this. At least until the wine wears off. A better man would, but then again, I’ve never claimed to be one."
... yeah.

-I also hated how Nessa folded like a lawn chair after a few kisses. I don't need a slow burn, but maybe if you claim you'll never sleep with someone, you should at least hold out more than 24 hours. Not to mention, they fell in love within the course of a few days. It felt way too rushed and I would have loved seeing them fall in love more gradually.


That being said, I'm sure many will love this book and enjoy Nessa and Cian's story. Even though they aren't my favorite couple, I will absolutely continue this series, especially since Liam is next.

Nessa, the female lead, has been trapped by her Irish mafia abusive father in the family home for years. When he offers up her virginity as part of the stakes in a game, Cian, the male lead, collects. He’s leadership in an enemy mafia group but they don’t treat women the way Nessa’s father does. Cian is intrigued by Nessa and, slowly, Nessa’s true personality emerges. But there’s a war brewing between enemy families and Cian and Nessa’s relationship may be a casualty of that war…

This story is dual POV, well written, and an interesting, angsty, enemies-to-lovers romance starting a new series. It is a spin off from the author’s previous Irish mafia series, of which I have read none. This story stands alone, though I think engagement with secondary characters would have been enhanced if I had read their stories. I enjoyed Nessa’s determination to start to have her own choices. I enjoyed Cian’s support of her emerging independence. I appreciated the realism of her response when her abusive father confronted her again. I enjoyed the secondary character interactions and the immersion of Nessa in a family. I applauded Cian’s approach to consent, and the sweet and steamy intimate relations. I enjoyed the overarching plot and am looking forward to more in this series, though mafia romance isn’t usually my thing.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and this is my voluntary honest review.