Broken Crown (Gilded Empire 1) by MJ Crouch-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 19, 2024

Becoming queen of the Marcosa mafia empire was never what I wanted. Yet nobody gave me a choice.

Rule or die.

For six years I’ve learned to become ruthless, strategic, and deadly in order to survive. But a new enemy is determined to rip me apart. All I can do is watch as my world crumbles at my feet. Until three ruthlessly possessive—and protective—men change everything.

They’ll burn the world to the ground to keep me safe.

But that may not be enough.

•••••

REVIEW:BROKEN CROWN is the first instalment in MJ Crouch’s (Janie Crouch) contemporary, adult GILDED EMPIRE dark, reverse harem, organized crime romance series focusing on Mariana Marcosa, queen of the Marcosa empire, and the three men who will control her heart: Greyson Andrews, Dominic, and Nate Black.

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

Told from four first person perspectives (Mari, Grey, Dominic, Nate) BROKEN CROWN introduces the players in a war for power and control. In the wake of her father and her beloved brother’s murders, Mariana Marcosa ascended the throne of the Marcosa Crime empire. With her best friend Greyson Andrews, as her protector and bodyguard, Mariana set about to rebuild and remodel starting with the grand opening of a new speakeasy named The Gilded but a power struggle was on the horizon, and with the return of Dominic, Mari’s new underboss, and a rescue by Nate Black, Mari would have to confront a new enemy in the guise of Cassius “Cash” Beckstrom, and his group known as the Aces. Having kept Greyson at a distance, and Dominic’s determination to reclaim what once was, Mari is about to face her greatest fears when the men in her life become targets of a mad man demanding everything and more. Always one step ahead, Cash is about to set Mari’s world on fire.

The world building sets the groundwork for war. Death and destruction, fires, bombings, shootouts and thefts, are but a few of the trappings facing Mari and the men with whom she is falling in love but betrayal from within finds Mari facing her own mortality, and the loss of the men in her life.

The relationship between Mari and Greyson has moved beyond friends and protector to lovers; with Dominic back to usurp his position, both men are willing to share the heart of the woman they love but Nate’s arrival adds another layer of possibilities, a possibility that has yet to take shape beyond a small spark of attraction. The lone $ex scenes is passionate.

BROKEN CROWN is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, family and obsession. The slow building premise is intriguing and dramatic; the characters are determined, dynamic and powerful; the romance is seductive but the back and forth is frustrating. BROKEN CROWN ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy