DEARLY BETRAYED (Costa Crime Family 4) by BB Hamel-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 9, 2024

I want to ruin my fake husband.
Right up until I sleep in his bed for the first time.
I have to marry the man that killed my father. He’s Jayson Costa, mafia prince, obscenely wealthy, emotionally distant, and sinfully attractive.
I don’t care how good that control freak looks in a suit: Jayson’s everything I despise.

But this marriage is the only way we can put a stop to the war that’s destroying our families.

Only my feelings get complicated when he surprises me with an incredible, heat-filled kiss at the altar. Mr. Emotionally-Stunted has a passionate side, and I’m the girl that unleashes his beast.
We have chemistry like I’ve never felt before. An attraction that rips me into shreds and makes me hate my own physical needs. His fingertips make my skin blush, and I can’t stop this reckless, constant need to be close to him.

•••••

REVIEW: DEARLY BETRAYED is the fourth instalment in BB Hamel’s contemporary, adult COSTA CRIME FAMILY dark, erotic, romance series. This is thirty five-year old Jayson Costa, and twenty-six year old Irish clan princess Fallon Grady’s story line. DEARLY BETRAYED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Jayson and Fallon) DEARLY BETRAYED follows in the aftermath of the murder of Fallon’s father. The Costa crime family took action against the Grady Clan when an attack resulted in several murders. Vowing vengeance, the Costa’s killed the Grady patriarch, and to end the war, Rian Grady promised his sister Fallon as a peace offering. Enter Mafia prince Jayson Costa, and the man with whom Fallon will fall in love but neither one is willing to accept their new fate in life, and Fallon has plans to destroy them all. What ensues is the building relationship between Fallon and Jayson, and the potential fall-out as Fallon’s betrayal is discovered, and our heroine is targeted by someone from the past.

The world building looks at the ongoing rivalry and war between the Mafia and the Irish Clan. The Grady family resides in Ireland but Fallon is about to be shipped to America where she is forced to marry a man she does not love. Blaming Jayson, and the Costa family for the murder of her father, Fallon digs deep to uncover the truth, and in doing so, places herself in the direct line of fire.

The relationship between Fallon and Jayson begins acrimoniously. Jayson wants nothing to do with marrying a member of the Grady Irish mob, and Fallon is unable to forgive Jayson Costa for killing her father. A virtual prisoner in a gilded cage, Fallon will quickly discover that she is no longer safe even thousands of miles away from home. The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, familiar and energetic secondary and supporting characters including most of the previous story line couples. We are introduced to Fallon’s brother Rian, the new head of the Grady Clan, as well as the return of the Costa matriarch Nessa. Fallon is taken under the wing of the Don-Adler Costa’s wife Casey.

DEARLY BETRAYED is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, murder and repercussions, family and relationships, forgiveness, acceptance and love. The premise is dramatic and intense; the romance is seductive but struggles with issues of trust and hatred; the characters are desperate, determined, dynamic and charismatic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Twisted Wedding
Wedding Disaster
Hateful Promise

Copy supplied by Booksprout

Reviewed by Sandy