Risky Vows (Chicago Mafia Bosses 1) by Carmen Falcone-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 2, 2024

Amara
Marrying the mafia boss is the last thing I want. But, like everything else in my life, I have no choice.
So I’m forced to marry a hot, dangerous man to save my family’s business. He’s moody, ruthless, and stubborn, all wrapped into one tempting, tattooed package.
We need Massimo Gallo and his family.
Little do I know—I need him too. I can’t resist the intense chemistry between us.
The problem is, if he finds out the secret I’ve been keeping, he’ll get rid of me for good.

Massimo
As the head of an influential mafia family, I must fulfill my duty. I’ll marry Amara.
Do I want to? No. But she’s a means to an end, even if I don’t trust her fully—or her family.
But the sexy, curvy brunette has a lot to offer, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
I vow to make this sinful marriage work… by any means necessary.

••••

REVIEW:RISKY VOWS is the first instalment in Carmen Falcone’s contemporary, adult CHICAGO MAFIA BOSSES erotic, Mafia romance series. This is forty-one year old, Mafia boss Massimo Gallo, and twenty-three year old Mafia princess Amara Montefiore’s storyline.

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

Told from dual first person perspectives (Massimo and Amara) RISKY VOWS follows the arranged/forced marriage between forty-one year old, Mafia boss Massimo Gallo, and twenty-three year old Mafia princess Amara Montefiore. In the wake of the head of the Montefiore family’s health struggles, and their plummeting business ventures, their only daughter Amara has been offered up in marriage to Gallo Mafia boss Mossimo Gallo but Amara has previously loved and lost, and a forced marriage to Gallo means a loveless union for our story line heroine. Mossimo Gallo is only doing his duty as the head of the Gallo Family but something about Amara pulls Mossimo in like a moth to a flame, a moth that will be burned when the truth is revealed.

The world building follows the growing relationship between our story line couple as Mossimo struggles with his attraction to a woman he does not trust. Calling her ‘rat’ at every opportunity, the lack of respect for our heroine does nothing to prove his actions have changed but secrets revealed prove Massimo is willing to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love, defending her against the people who should have loved her the most.

The relationship between Massimo and Amara begins as an age-gap, forced marriage in which both families are to benefit from the questionable arrangement but the Montefiore family has secrets, and Amara may pay the price for the sins of the family. The $ex scenes are provocative and intense.

We are introduced to Massimo’s brothers Dante, Nico and Rocco; Dante’s girlfriend Andie, as well as their father Aldo Gallo; Amara’s parents Enzo and Vittoria, her brother Alonzo, their questionable security guard Ugo, and Massimo’s friend with benefits Daphne.

RISKY VOWS is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The premise is dramatic and intense but not as dark as some other Mafia story lines-there was more telling than showing . The characters are determined and desperate; the romance is impassioned but I did not feel any palpable sexual attraction-there was more $ex than passion, more hostility than chemistry.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy