Fierce Monarch (Gilded Empire 3) by MJ Crouch-review

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About the book: Release Date May 17, 2024

Mari Marcosa has been betrayed by a person she let inside her life in every possible way.

The pain is unbearable, not just because of what he means—meant—to her, but because now she’s got a huge damn target on her back.

Almost as big as the hole in her heart.

Every mafia leader in the city sees this betrayal as a sign of Mari’s weakness and they can’t wait to use it to their advantage.

Her back is to a wall that is crumbling more every second and the men she needs most are struggling just to stay alive.

She’ll have to align with the unthinkable to survive—as secrets she thought were buried deep start rising to the surface.

And it turns out the truth she thought she knew…might not be true at all.

•••••

REVIEW: FIERCE MONARCH is the third instalment in MJ Crouch’s contemporary, adult GILDED EMPIRE dark, erotic, reverse harem, criminal underworld romance series focusing on Mari Marcosa and the three men whom she loves: Greyson Andrews, Dominic Ricci and Nate Black. FIERCE MONARCH should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events and cliff hanger of book two DAMAGED KINGDOM.

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, Greyson, Dominic, Nate) FIERCE MONARCH picks up immediately after the cliff hanger of book two DAMAGED KINGDOM. The betrayals against Mafia Queen Mari Marcosa are coming hard and fast but the most recent betrayal hits the hardest at her heart and her soul. Struggling to move on Mari’s world begins to crumble including further betrayals from people she once considered family and friends. With the help of the men who stood by her side, Mari needs to set a plan into motion but all does not go according to plan when several more attempts are made on not only Mari’s life but on the people closest to our story line heroine.

The world building continues to be complex and detailed, following several paths of betrayal and vengeance. Most of the ruling families, as well as the capos and their men do not like to bow to a woman in charge, and in this Mari has become the number one target, not only of the people beneath her but of someone else gunning for the chair at the top.

The relationship between Mari and the men that she loves is crumbling; destroyed by betrayal, secrets and lies, and going forward Mari will focus on a permanent union to keep the monsters at bay. The $ex scenes are erotic and intense.

Once again there is a large ensemble cast of dangerous and dynamic secondary and supporting characters, many of whom are targeting our story line heroine. Cassius ‘Cash’ Beckstrom continues to focus on taking down the woman in charge, believing his place is on the seat of the throne.

FIERCE MONARCH is another story of power and control, secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, dysfunctional family values, deception, heart break and loss. The premise is dramatic and emotional; the romance is crumbling but provocative; the characters are dynamic and determined. FIERCE MONARCH ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Broken Crown
Damaged Kingdom

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy