Val is as always a GREAT heroine, never meek or dull. She was such a loving and fun mom to Anna & Leonas. I enjoyed those moments! Every moment of the day I think of the things I want to do to you, catch myself remembering your taste, your smell. Sometimes I think I'll go insane if I don't bury myself in you." He'd have done it too, which is something that Luca and Remo wouldn't even dream of offering to their heroines. And that's why there's a special place in my *Book Boyfriend heart*, for Dante. It was Valentina, however, who refused to accept that honour, because that wasn't part of her plans.

Luca became a made man at age 11 after armed men broke into his family's house, and he killed two men in both self defense and to save his father. They used these deaths to initiate him into the Famiglia early. When Aria was talking to Umberto about these events, she called him a monster, but Umberto said that is what he needs to be, that ruling over New York, you cannot be a pussy. Umberto told Aria that Luca is a good catch, "He'll be the most powerful man on the east coast soon enough. He'll protect you." She in turn asked, "And who will protect me from him?" She knew that the truth was nobody could, not after the wedding. Women in her world belonged to their husbands; she would be Luca's property to deal with however he pleased. And so you do not need to read my whole review which is rather long (sorry!) the main reason why I rate this book relatively low is that I just did not enjoy reading it, it was dragging for me. Plus it started when Dante was nineteen and ended when Dante's what forty-eight or nine? It covers a pretty long time and therefore it's very jumpy, a scene here and then a scene that takes place months/years later. It was tough to get into the story and hardly even felt like a story, more like notes on what was happening in the Outfit when the focus was on different characters. Even from Dante's POV and him saying I still do not feel like he loves her. And for how small Carla's part was his feelings toward her resonated more than anything towards Val. And I don't mean it just here but the moment I finished the book I still had a hard time believing his love towards Val.

He doesn't appear to be as savagely uncivilised as the Camorra heroes or as coldly ruthless as Luca. He's the H who appears, on the surface of it all, to be the most aloof, urbane and perhaps the classiest. Dante's the sort of guy who will fit in well amongst bankers, businessmen and politicians. And for him thinking Val cheated......jerk? Yes. But do I hate him? Maybe a little. Again I understand how he felt because he is a mob boss and sometimes its people whose near you that hurts and break you the most. Lili St. Germain—Vicious Prince; bonus content is the first chapters of the upcoming release Vengeful Queen—Book two in the Violent Kingdom Trilogy.

First of all, was there a point in dedicating more than half the chapters on the couples' sex life? And the rest of them were about them having kids, but I'll get to that in a minute. One of my highlights of this fantastic story was seeing Val and Dante interact with their kids and watching them grow up and develop quite the interesting and completely different personalities as well as seeing some of my beloved secondary characters again like sweet Bibianna and finding out who her love interest is. There are also hints for some more potential couples in the future books as well which you will find very exciting!In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you. I hope that Dante has a bit of a jealous streak in this book. Maybe someone makes the moves on Valentina and he shuts them down fast. A kidnapping narrative could be cool. Having Dante go crazy looking for his dear wife, but I am not sure of that would be best in the long-term. So what does she do when she gets to a place of influence? She behaves like every other mafia MAN. Uses her kids whom she loves so very very much *rolling my eyes hard* Yeah, but at the end of the day when you use said daughter to advance your goals (even if you tell yourself that it’s for their own long term good) in my eyes, you become less then the dirt under my shoe.. so that’s where I stand.

There isn’t enough room in our bedroom for me and the memories of your past. If you ever decide you want to give this marriage a chance, then you can come to me and apologize for what you said. Until then, I’m done with us.”With time their marriage becomes consummated and Luca's feelings for Aria grow. He tells her he loves her.

Out of the Capos / Mafia Leaders, Dante is the wisest and the most intelligent. Some of you thought either the Famiglia or the Camorra are stronger. To me, Chicago Outfit is the strongest. Many questioned Dante's leadership because of his decisions. He isn't perfect and he committed a lot of mistakes throughout and may considered as betrayal. Yet he did it for good intentions. He has morals and he can masks his emotions. At first, he's not the best husband to Valentina but she sets him straight. We are all frustrated when he didn't say the "L" word. He's not a fan of PDA and likes to keep his love for Valentina privately. In this book we get to see the past of Dante, and it shows all of his betrayals to the Outfit. But more than that it gave me the feels, I felt so many feelings that I got whiplash, and loved every minute of it. We get to see Anna and Leonas, which I am so in love with them that I want their books right away PLEASEE CORA!!! You get to see Dante's relationship with his family and with Val's family as well. You get the see the man behind the Cold Fish mask. You get to see other characters that are so amazing you'll fall in love with them and will cry at night because you don't know if they'll get a book and when that'll happen. The secondary characters shone very brightly to me and I'm so anxious to read the stories of the future couples we saw in it. All in all this book was amazing, and I absolutely loved every minute of it! I could not put it down for the life of me.

I read all of Cora’s books but I really can’t like the ones set in the Outfit. They are so archaic and disgusting. Give me Remo-Camorra madness any day because that guy is in your face and gets what he wants without playing games with the future of kids. He never disrespected her in public, he gave her space without forcing the issue, but most of all HE DID NOT CHEAT ON HER! K Webster—This is War, Baby; bonus content is a new thrilling “training” chapter in the villainous Gabe’s POV with Baylee.