Tag Archives: Rachel Van Dyken

Broken Crown (Mafia Royals 5) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

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Broken Crown (Mafia Royals 5) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Apple /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 1, 2022.

Jamais Vu.

When you see something, you should know but don’t remember or recognize.I felt this my entire life when I looked in the mirror. A boy growing into a man who’s supposed to fill the shoes of his father, follow in his footsteps without question.And lead the Five Families.

It’s not the pressure that gets me.It’s the fact that I’m not him. And I don’t have someone by my side to help me lead.So when a powerful mafia family from Italy gives us no choice but to join families by way of an arranged marriage…I say yes.

But that’s not where my story begins.Because I saw her.I fell for her.Long before they ever made the arrangement.

She loves someone else.I love her.So I go along with it in order to keep her by my side, knowing she’s seeing him.Touching him.Loving him.Tolerating me.

Our love story is complicated.I give her everything in hopes that one day she’ll give me a smile, a hug, something…Soon I’ll be the most powerful man in the Cosa Nostra. I have everything but her until the tide shifts, and I have to rescue her from the very family who promised her everything.

I used to be afraid of my namesake.Of my future.But now?Now, I’m giddy as hell to rain destruction on the families who oppose my rule. Who oppose what we represent.

I’ll destroy what I love most before I let them destroy her.My crown was broken, singed, and torn the minute I was told she was promised to someone else before me, and I’ll die before letting him have her.

You want broken? Come at me.I dare you.

••••••••

REVIEW:BROKEN CROWN is the fifth (and final?) instalment in Rachel Van Dyken’s contemporary, new adult MAFIA ROYALS dark, erotic, Mafia romance series-a next generation series and spin off from the author’s Eagle Elite series. This is heir to the throne, and Tex and Mo’s (Elicit) son King Campisi, and Del Buratti’s story line. BROKEN CROWN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

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

Told from three first person perspectives (King, Del, Roman) BROKEN CROWN follows the building relationship and arranged marriage between Mafia heir King Campisi, and Del Buratti. King Campisi has been in love with Del Buratti for as along as he can remember but Del Buratti is in love with someone else. In an effort to reinforce their control, merging with another powerful underworld family, King Campisi is forced into an arranged marriage with the woman he loves, and only has seven days to prove he is worthy but just days into their honeymoon, King and Del are called back home when disaster strikes at the top, and our couple are caught in the direct line of fire as everything spirals out of control. What ensues is the building relationship but ‘reluctant’ marriage between King and Del, and the potential fall-out as a fight for control turns dangerous, leaving King unable to trust family or friends, including those closest to our story line couple.

Del Buratti is in love with Roman, a made-man in the Buratti family but a man beneath our heroine in status and wealth. In the wake of her father’s death, Del’s Sicilian uncle has offered our heroine’s hand in marriage to King Campisi, a marriage of unrequited love for our story line hero. King has loved, and is in love with Del Buratti, and in an effort to keep her close, offers up a ‘loveless’ marriage and Roman on the side but King isn’t willing to sit back and watch from the sidelines, and wants seven days before walking away. Del Buratti knows her rightful position is beside the King, a position that proves she is worthy of the title of Queen, when she is willing to sacrifice her life to save the man in charge.

The relationship between Del and King is that of a love triangle, as Roman is assigned bodyguard and protector of our story line heroine, the woman he loves. Watching and waiting, Roman will come to the conclusion that Del belongs at King’s side, a conclusion that offers Roman a new position within the Family. As King seduces the woman both he and Roman love, Del quickly discovers that her heart has always belonged to the man who would one day sit on the throne. The $ex scenes are aggressive and spirited but I felt little passion or warmth-it was more of a claiming and ownership.

There is a large and familiar secondary and supporting cast of colorful and energetic characters including all of the previous story line couples, and several Eagle Elite couples. In the wake of threats against his life and that of the life of the woman he loves, King is unable to trust anyone, even suspecting those closest to our couple, people he calls family and friends.

BROKEN CROWN is an emotional story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, death and destruction, sacrifice, tragedy and love. The character driven premise is captivating, gritty and sensitive; the romance is heart breaking and impassioned; the characters are broken and desperate yet taking control. Although this is the final instalment in the Mafia Royals series, the story line is left open ended with the possibility of another chapter in the lives and members of the Seven Families-hint hint-Roman needs to find his own HEA.

 

Reading Order and previous reviews
.5 Royal Bully
1. Ruthless Princess
2. Scandalous Prince
Destructive King
Mafia King
Fallen Royal

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Haven’t started the MAFIA ROYALS series?

ROYAL BULLY is FREE ebook Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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My Summer in Seoul by Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

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My Summer in Seoul by Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /Apple /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 14, 2021.

It’s not all K-dramas and happily ever afters.

Intern with Korea’s number one record label? Yes, please.
Find out there’s a huge scandal I need to help “manage”… not so much.
Add in the fact that I don’t recognize the “superstars” of the label and think they’re interns…
And my dream job quickly becomes more of a nightmare.

But I’m in Seoul, the one place that is beginning to feel more and more like home…
Except it isn’t home, and the drama surrounding the biggest K-pop group in the world, SWT, is consuming my every moment.
Spoiler alert. They hate me.
Everything I do is wrong: wrong clothes, wrong honorifics, wrong manners.
Till the leader of SWT takes pity on me.
But pity is dangerous when it comes from someone as beautiful as him.

Every SWT member is gorgeous, perfect, and cultivated to be an idol… lethal to a girl’s heart.
And sanity.
But fame plus a perfect face and voice don’t equal an easy life. As their comeback nears, the stakes rise higher.
Suicide watch…
Angry fans…
Threats…

All I want to do is survive.
But the price for survival might mean losing my heart.
And like a character in a K-drama, I’m not sure if there will be an actual happily ever after…
Or simply a lesson learned.

•••••••

REVIEW:MY SUMMER IN SEOUL by Rachel Van Dyken is a stand alone, contemporary, new adult, romance story line focusing on Korean/American music intern Grace Lee, and K-Pop superstar/ lead singer Lucas Baek.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including issues of eating disorders and suicide, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person persepctives (Grace and Lucas) MY SUMMER IN SEOUL follows twenty-two year old, Korean /American Grace Lee in Seoul, South Korea, where she is hired by her ‘uncle’ to intern for the scandal ridden K-Pop group SWT (Something Worth Taking). Having graduated with a degree in music production, and no prospects for a job in America, Grace is stunned when her Korean uncle offers her a three month internship in Seoul, South Korea. Upon her arrival, Grace quickly discovers she is out of her element, naïve and ill-prepared for a country whose belief systems and business ethics are beyond anything Grace could have ever imagined. Immediately snubbed by everyone, including the members of the SWT, Grace finds herself on the outside looking in as even the language barrier feels like a personal attack. When Lucas Baek, lead singer and face of the group, takes a personal dislike and hatred towards our story line heroine, Grace must endeavor as lives are on the line, and the group’s mental health is fragile at best. What ensues is the slow building romance and relationship between Grace and Lucas, and the fall-out as South Korea’s ethics and morals are not conducive to a ‘boy band’ romance.

Lucas Baek is struggling to recover from a scandal that has disgraced our leading hero and affected all of the members of SWT. Fans have turned against Lucas Baek, and our hero is battling the will to carry on. Meeting Grace Lee throws Lucas into another spiral; a tail spin of hatred and jealousy, envy and lust when Lucas finds himself falling for our story line heroine but he may not be the only member of the group desiring a relationship with American Grace Lee.

The relationship between Grace and Lucas begins acrimoniously. Lucas despises Grace’s lack of ‘grace’; her naivety about the industry and Korean culture; and most of all, his attraction to a woman that could destroy his career. Grace had no idea she was to intern for the superstars of K-Pop but thrown head first into the proverbial lion’s den meant there were going to be a few bumps and mistakes along the way. But..Grace had no idea the furor that was about to erupt when another member of the group takes aim at our storyline heroine. The $ex scenes turn to black and are mostly implied.

We are introduced to the members of the group, all with secrets that cannot be revealed. Each member has his own quirks and foibles, likes and dislikes, a different personality that is suppressed by management, and the people in charge. Here’s hoping the author has plans to write a story for each member of the group as other love interests and attractions are slowly revealed throughout the story.

MY SUMMER IN SEOUL is an emotional and heart breaking eye-opener into the unreality of a K-Pop star, established and in the making. The competition is brutal and fierce; the strict guidelines and regimen including relationships, food, public appearance and private lives is tightly controlled by the people in charge. Anybody wavering outside of the rules is questioned about loyalty and strength, and in this, Lucas will take the fall for something out of his control. Fans turns viscous and cruel, leaving Lucas on the precipice of ending it all.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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Fallen Royal (Mafia Royals 4) by Rachel Van Dyken-review tour

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Fallen Royal (Mafia Royals 4) by Rachel Van Dyken-review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Apple

Goodreads: https://smarturl.it/FallenRoyalGR

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 5, 2021

“The truth may hurt for a little while, but a lie hurts forever.”—Ryan Bigge

I grew up knowing it would happen one day.
Believing that I would fall into my father’s footsteps and become a monster of my own making.

So I fought it.
I lived.
I loved.
I teased.
And then one day… I destroyed.
And realized I loved the pain.
Obsessed over the feeling.
So I cut again and again and again.

She saw my rage, my madness, and tried to stop me from destroying myself, and I hated her for it, pushing her away past the point of no return.
Izzy Abandonato was supposed to be mine.
But there are some things people can never come back from. I hurt her, she hurt me, and now I’m living a lie. Telling the ones I love that I’m on one side when for years I’ve been forced to play both.

I’m not the hero.
I’m the villain.
And I may single-handedly bring down the Cosa Nostra—by default.

I, Maksim Sinacore, will have my vengeance.
I will win her back.
Even if it means I have to kill everyone in my path.
The pain masks the betrayal.
I never realized that one day—I’d be the very rat that I hated. That I was sent to kill. But once you’re deep in a lie—you’ll do anything to hide the truth.

She fell for the bad one.
She fell for the sinner.
So why does that make me smile?

••••••••

REVIEW: FALLEN ROYAL is the fourth full-length instalment in Rachel Van Dyken’s contemporary, adult MAFIA ROYALS erotic, dark, Mafia romance series-a spin off/next generation from the author’s Eagle Elite series. This is twenty-one year olds, Maksim Sinacore, and Izzy Abandonato’s story line. FALLEN ROYAL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.

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

Told from dual first person perspectives (Izzy and Maksim) FALLEN ROYAL follows Maksim Sinacore as he spirals into darkness, pushing the woman he loves, his soulmate, out of his life. Months earlier Maksim, to prove his allegiance to Chase Abandonato and the ‘family’, and his worthiness of Izzy, was sent to do a job, a job that would initiate Maksim’s slide into darkness but with each ‘assignment’ Maksim would lose a little more of himself, leaving a shell of the man with whom Izzy had fallen in love. Not all was well in Maksim’s less than well ordered life, and his shift into darkness was becoming a threat to everyone he loved.

FALLEN ROYAL is an emotional, heart breaking and difficult story line as the reader is pulled into a tale of power and control, family and friendships, issues of mental health, love and understanding.From the outset the author and the characters, circumvent and dance around the reality of what is happening such that the back and forth, up and down of our leading hero is questionable on so many levels. We are up close and personal with Maksim’s descent into madness, a madness from which he may never return but for the love of a woman who slowly begins to understand the man with whom she has fallen in love.

On the flip side, there are a few ‘debatable’ and ‘problematic’ issues with what was happening and how it was handled but this is a story of fiction, and often, we have to suspend reality in an effort to enjoy and feel the story.

Reading Order and previous reviews
.5 Royal Bully
1. Ruthless Princess
2. Scandalous Prince
Destructive King
Mafia King

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Haven’t started the MAFIA ROYALS series?

ROYAL BULLY is FREE ebook Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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Falling for the Villain by M Robinson/Rachel VanDyken-Review Tour

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Falling for the Villain by M Robinson/Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3vvaOcu

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 22, 2021

“Play for me, Juliet…”

Those four words whispered in my ear again and again until I craved what I used to fear.
Such a simple demand from my captor—the man who stole me and refused to tell me why he wouldn’t let me go.

I was his.

He made me need him, just as much as he needed me.
I broke all the rules of the golden prison he put me in.

During the day he ruled his dark, seedy world.
His subjects and me.

During the night—he bowed before my feet.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the villains in all the fairy tales you read?
You’ll soon find out.

It all started when he kidnapped me and made me his pet.
And it all ended with me…

Calling him master.

*This story is not for the faint of heart and may be uncomfortable for some readers. But, then again, stepping outside of your comfort zone may be exactly the thing you need…

Care to play with us, readers?

••••••••

REVIEW:FALLING FOR THE VILLAIN is the second instalment in the contemporary, adult, dark, Mafia, romantic suspense series co-authored by M. Robinson and Rachel Van Dyken. This is businessman Donovan, and Mafia Princess Juliet Sinacore’s story line. FALLING FOR THE VILLAIN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Juliet is Romeo Sincadore’s sister (Mafia Casinova)

WARNING: Due to the graphic nature of the story line content there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

NOTE: The cover blurb, image and story line content have changed since the original inception.

Told from three first person perspectives (Donovan, Juliet, Romeo) using present day and memories from the past, FALLING FOR THE VILLAIN focuses on the master/slave relationship between Donovan and Juliet, the twenty-two year old princess of the Sinacore Mafia family. Juliet Sinacore is a captive to be beaten and broken, and eventually sold to the highest bidder but Donovan soon realized that Juliet is a part of his heart, and a part of his soul, to be broken and used in whatever manner he chose. A fellow ‘Master’ demanded that Donovan hand over his prized possession but refusing to obey, Donovan found himself fighting for the life of the woman with whom he would fall in love.

We are witness to some of the events of Donovan’s past that formed the man he would one day become. At the hands of his father, he would learn to brutalize and kill; at the hands of his mentor, Donovan would learn to destroy the will, the heart and the sole of every woman he had the pleasure to break.

FALLING FOR THE VILLAIN is a raw, gritty, dark and powerfully haunting and tragic story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, emotional, physical, mental and sexual torture and abuse. FALLING FOR THE VILLAIN is not a story of romance, or hearts and flowers but a story of sadistic pleasure of pain and persecution, torment and suffering, acceptance, revelations, family and love. There are elements of BDSM and obsession as our heroine succumbs to her captor in a Stockholm Syndrome relationship where Juliet falls for the man who is determined to destroy her life.

Once again, if you are susceptible to triggers, FALLING FOR THE VILLAIN is not the story for you.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

About M. Robinson

Wall Street Journal & USA Bestselling Author M. Robinson loves to read. She favors anything that has angst, romance, triangles, cheating, love, and of course sex! She has been reading since the Babysitters Club and R.L. Stein.

She was born in New Jersey but was raised in Tampa Fl. She was pursuing her Ph.D in psychology, with two years left. However, she dropped out of school and became a fulltime writer.

She is married to an amazing man who she loves to pieces. They have two German Shepherd mixes, Kobe and trooper, a Wheaten Terrier, Teddy and a Tabby cat, Gio.

She feels blessed to be living her dream.

Website:www.authormrobinson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormrobinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormrobi…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMRobinson
Snapchat: AuthorMRobinson
Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/M.RobinsonVIP/

•••••••

About Rachel Van Dyken

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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Mafia King (Mafia Royals 3.5) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

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MAFIA KING (Mafia Royals 3.5) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 27, 2021

One of the first rules they give you when you’re undercover—never fall for the enemy.
I didn’t just fall for the enemy.
I became what I was supposed to hate.
What’s worse: I fell in love with one.
I live a double life, and both sides know it’s only a matter of time before I’m forced to choose.
Rebirth through mafia blood.
Or death at the hands of the very government I swore to protect.
I have one more job before my time’s up.
I just wish it was anything but babysitting a mafia princess who’s half my size but knows how to pack such a brutal punch I worry about my ability to have children.
Tin’s small but terrifying.
And I’m her new bodyguard while we all go on a much-needed vacation.
I just have to stick to the plan.
And remember rule number one.
And stop kissing her.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

••••••••

REVIEW: MAFIA KING is a contemporary, new adult, erotic, Mafia, romance story line found in Rachel Van Dyken’s MAFIA ROYALS series, and the latest novella in the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights series. This is undercover FBI agent Tank DeLange, and seventeen-year old, Mafia Princess Kartini ‘Tiny’ Abandonato’s story line. The MAFIA ROYALS is a spin off from the author’s Eagle Elite series. MAFIA KING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order as Tank’s story builds throughout. Kartini is Sergio Abandonto’s daughter.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Tiny and Tank) MAFIA KING follows FBI agent Tank DeLange as he is tasked with protecting our story line heroine. The Mexican wedding of Junior and Serena finds Tank the assigned security to Tiny Abandonato but Tank is well aware that our heroine has a target on her back, a target placed when another FBI agent was murdered, one year before. Tank will quickly discover that the wedding has been infiltrated by outside sources, and isn’t a about to let Tiny out of his sight. A couple of attempts on her life push Tank to the edge, as he reconsiders his future with the FBI.

The relationship between Tank and Tiny has been building for several instalments but Tank’s original assignment was to get close the to Abandonato family, a family he was more familiar with, than most. Tiny had always had a crush on our story line hero but their age difference was going to be a problem, and Tiny’s struggle with what happened one year before, continued to haunt her every night. The $ex scene is intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

All of the previous couples, and story line characters in the Mafia Royals series play secondary and supporting characters. There is some flirty fun and camaraderie even in the face of danger and death,

MAFIA KING is a fast paced, quick novella length story. The premise is intriguing and engaging; the romance is seductive; the characters are determined, energetic and strong. Here’s hoping the author has something more planned for our story line couple.

Reading Order and previous reviews
.5 Royal Bully
1. Ruthless Princess
2. Scandalous Prince
Destructive King

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Haven’t started the MAFIA ROYALS series?

ROYAL BULLY is FREE ebook Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

Share

Destructive King (Mafia Royals 3) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

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Destructive King (Mafia Royals 3) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 12, 2021

…When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
— Mary Elizabeth Fyre

“I’m sorry for your loss.” I would rather be tortured for an eternity than hear those damn words from one more person, as if Claire, my dead fiancé, was a cell phone or car keys.

How about, I’m sorry your life is over.I’m sorry you want to die too.I’m sorry you see her in your dreams and wake up only to relive the nightmare.I’m supposed to be the strongest of them all. Ash Abandonato, ruler, assassin, made man, brother, friend—instead, I hurt everyone I touch in hopes that they’ll feel even a sliver of the pain that bears down on my shoulders.I didn’t lose.It was taken from me.And it’s all her fault, Annie Smith.I daydream about her death.And then I close my eyes, and I see her soft smile. I feel her touch, her kiss—it was a mistake what we did that night, but I can’t take it back, and now she’s under my father’s protection—my protection.

My worst enemy.The woman I’m the most attracted to.I can’t decide if I want to strangle her or kiss her, and now that she’s stuck in my life, my only goal is to make her feel the same loss I do and destroy her in the process.I’ll trick her with my touch.Seduce her with my kiss.And in the end, when my enemy is at her most vulnerable—I’ll bring down an entire Empire and continue my reign as King.Bow down, I’ll say as I bring the Five Families to their knees.

Blood in.
Never out.
Damned.

•••••

REVIEW: DESTRUCTIVE KING is the third instalment in Rachel Van Dyken’s contemporary, new-adult MAFIA ROYALS dark, Mafia, erotic, romance series- a next generation spin off set in the author’s Eagle Elite world. This is heir to the Mafia empire Ash Abandonato, and student Annie Smith’s story line. DESTRUCTIVE KING can be read as a stand alone: you do not have to have read the Eagle Elite series but I recommend reading the FREE prequel novella Royal Bully for back story as it pertains to Asher and Claire.

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

Told from three first person perspectives (Annie, Ash, Chase) DESTRUCTIVE KING picks up approximately ten months after the events of ROYAL BULLY wherein Ash’s pregnant fiancée was killed in a motor vehicle accident, an accident Ash blames on our heroine Annie Smith. In the aftermath of the death, Ash Abandonato’s life spiralled out of control, and Annie was sent to school in Italy in an effort to protect her from our story line ‘hero’. Fast forward to present day, Annie has returned to the Abandonato family fold, and Ash is about to make her life a living h*ll. What ensues is the acrimonious relationship between Annie and Ash, and the potential fall-out when the truth is revealed about what happened and why.

Annie Smith’s backstory is heart breaking and raw. She survived horrific abuse at the hands of her father and foster family, and in this she was one of the young women rescued from the horrors of the De Lange crime family. Best friends with Claire Petrov, Ash’s soon to be fiancé, Annie struggled with her place in the familywhich worsened following the accident that claimed Claire’s life. Annie is a strong female character but her place in the family, her proximity with Ash, is caustic and dysfunctional- I struggled with Chase’s (Ash’s father and Mafia head) overwhelming need to push our couple together but in this Chase is trying to save his son who is spiralling out of control. Ash Abandonato is a bully and cruel; no one is safe from Ash’s vitriol, and with Claire’s return, Ash pushes the limits of Claire’s ability to love. The back and forth, caustic attitude of Ash Abandonato threatens Claire’s already fractured persona but the twists and turns in the lives of Annie and Ash reveal secrets and lies that will expose the truth.

The relationship between Annie and Ash is tumultuous and stormy. Ash does everything he can to make Annie’s life miserable and yet our heroine continues to accept that Ash’s actions and betrayal are as of a direct result from the loss of his love. When we think that Ash has pushed a little too far, Annie all but walks away, only to return for more emotional and verbal abuse at the hands of the man with whom she will fall in love. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and familiar secondary and supporting characters including most of the Eagle Elite couples, the second generation couples and young adults, as well as FBI Agent Tank. Tank and Kartini’s story is next in Mafia King.

DESTRUCTIVE KING is a story of family, relationships, friendships and loss; a story of guilt and grief; of obsession, betrayal and vengeance; of twist, turns, secrets and lies. The premise is heart breaking, emotional and engaging; the romance struggles in the face of hatred, blame and loss; the characters are broken, battered but healing.

Reading Order and previous reviews
.5 Royal Bully
1. Ruthless Princess
2. Scandalous Prince

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

ROYAL BULLY is FREE ebook Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

RUTHLESS PRINCESS only 99¢: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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Mafia Casanova by M. Robinson & Rachel Van Dyken-Review tour

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Mafia Casanova by M. Robinson & Rachel Van Dyken-Review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 17, 2020

Trust.
Loyalty.
Family.
The tangled web of mafia life.
We grew up together. Me, Eden, my brother Tristian.
He was always the safe bet, the sure thing, the good guy.
And me? Well, I was the Casanova, the killer who flirted with anyone and anything, breaking Eden’s heart again and again.

We both loved her.
Mind.
Body.
Soul.
Until I gifted her to my brother as if she meant nothing, when she meant everything to me.
Tristian was safer.
Better.
Could give her the life I never would be able to.

But things changed.
We changed.

My only goal was to protect her, making her hate me in return. Except once my brother wasn’t standing between us anymore, I decided…

It was my turn to claim what had always been MINE to begin with.

••••••••

REVIEW:MAFIA CASANOVA is the first instalment in the contemporary, adult, dark, Mafia, romantic suspense series co-authored by M. Robinson and Rachel Van Dyken. This is Mafia assassin Romeo Sinacore, and Eden DeRossi’s story line.

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

Told from dual first person perspectives (Romeo and Eden) following several time lines MAFIA CASANOVA focuses on Romeo Sinacore’s obsession and love for his brother’s wife. For years, brothers Romeo and Tristian loved and protected Eden DeRossi, the daughter of the family’s head of security but as the eldest brother, Tristian took advantage of his position within the family claiming Eden as his future wife. Forced to watch from afar, Romeo would always resurface at certain times throughout Eden’s life until he could no longer sit back and watch her life implode. As Eden and Tristian’s life begins to spiral out of control, Romeo must stop the proverbial train wreck before the lives of the people he loves are lost to power, greed, betrayal and revenge.

Romeo Sinacore has never stopped loving Eden De Rossi but Eden said ‘yes’ to his brother’s proposal. As Romeo was forced to watch the woman he loved fall in love with someone else, betrayal at the hands of someone he loved, would place the focus on an assassin’s blade.

The relationship between Eden and Romeo was one of the forbidden. Having never crossed the line after Eden and Tristian were married, Romeo knew he would always be tied to Eden, regardless of her relationship with another man. His love for Eden was greater than his love for his brother, and with it, the relationship between the brothers was irrevocably destroyed. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and intense.

We are introduced to Romeo’s brother Tristian, and their sister Juliet; Eden’s father Bartollo De Rossi, as well as fellow mafia bosses Andrei Sinacore, and Phoenix Nicolasi.

MAFIA CASANOVA is a story of family and relationships; power, control, betrayal and revenge. The premise is gritty and dark; the romance is heart breaking; the characters are strong, impassioned and angry. MAFIA CASANOVA ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

About M. Robinson

Wall Street Journal & USA Bestselling Author M. Robinson loves to read. She favors anything that has angst, romance, triangles, cheating, love, and of course sex! She has been reading since the Babysitters Club and R.L. Stein.

She was born in New Jersey but was raised in Tampa Fl. She was pursuing her Ph.D in psychology, with two years left. However, she dropped out of school and became a fulltime writer.

She is married to an amazing man who she loves to pieces. They have two German Shepherd mixes, Kobe and trooper, a Wheaten Terrier, Teddy and a Tabby cat, Gio.

She feels blessed to be living her dream.

Website:www.authormrobinson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormrobinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormrobi…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMRobinson
Snapchat: AuthorMRobinson
Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/M.RobinsonVIP/

•••••••

About Rachel Van Dyken

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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SCANDALOUS PRINCE (Mafia Royals) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review tour

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SCANDALOUS PRINCE (Mafia Royals #2) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 22, 2020

The Woods are Lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go, before I sleep —Robert Frost

I was born under fire and swore to protect her until my dying day, I just never knew that one day, I’d be the very monster I was protecting her from.
She didn’t know it was me.
She didn’t know that I had no choice and would do it again and again to save her.
I may as well have given her the mark on her finger.
The one that shows where her loyalty must lie.
Because we don’t sin in silence.
And eventually, you have to pay up what you owe.
My need to protect her turned into a lie to save her.
And when she found out—I turned in to the very monster I was trying to protect her from.
Watching Violet Abandonato walk out of my life was like a knife to the chest, a wound that refused to heal.
The bosses sent me to protect her, to watch over her even though I was the demon she fled.
We both carry scars.
But if all I can have is her hate for as long as I breathe.
I’ll take it.
Because at the end of the day, I should burn in Hell forever thinking Chase Abandonato’s perfect angel would pick me—over her perfect life.
“I broke you,” I confessed.
“The worst part… is that you liked it,” she snapped right back.

Welcome to the second generation of the mafia, may the best man or woman, be left standing.
May God bless our tainted souls.

••••••

REVIEW: SCANDALOUS PRINCE is the second full-length instalment in Rachel Van Dyken’s contemporary, new adult MAFIA ROYALS dark, mafia romance series, a next generation spin off set in the author’s Eagle Elite world.. SCANDALOUS PRINCE can be read as a stand alone: you do not have to have read the Eagle Elite series but I recommend the prequel novella Royal Bully for back story.

WARNING: SCANDALOUS PRINCE contains scenes of violence and assault that may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from four first person perspectives (Breaker, Violet, Valerian, Ash) SCANDALOUS PRINCE focuses on love, loss, betrayal, secrets and lies. Breaker Campisi has loved Violet Abandonato most of his life but Breaker knew he would never have been allowed to marry the woman he loved being the ‘adopted’ son of Capo Tex Campisi. With his life about to change direction, Breaker made plans that would break the heart of the woman he loved, and forever alter his connection with family and friends. When a new king of the Russian mob is crowned, Violet finds herself caught between love and hate as she is claimed by a stranger who professes to know everything and more about our story line heroine. Secrets run deep, betrayal and dishonesty are at the heart of the story as Violet must come to terms with her future, a future without the man that she loves.

SCANDALOUS PRINCE is a story of family, of blood, of perception, and power. In the world of the mafia, blood is power, and in this the rightful heir has claimed his throne. Valerian Petrov, back from the dead, takes controls in an effort to protect the woman he loves. One year earlier, Violet Abandonato, would be claimed by Valerian Petrov, and in doing so, sealed the fate and the families between the Cosa Nostra and the Russian mob.

Rachel Van Dyken pulls the reader into a tale of twists and revelations; of heart break, anguish and pain; of acceptance, retaliation, betrayal and love. The roller coaster premise is captivating and compelling; the romance is impassioned and fated; the characters are broken but strong, energetic and charismatic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews

Royal Bully
Ruthless Princess

ROYAL BULLY is FREE ebook Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

RUTHLESS PRINCESS only 99¢: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Website / Facebooks / Goodreads / Twitter /  Instagram

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

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