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REVIEW: Covenant by Cora Rose & Lark Taylor
The Firm: Covenant – Cora Rose & Lark Taylor
The Firm can make any wish come true.
Money. A job promotion. Murder.
Whatever you desire can be yours—for a price.The Firm has ruled St. Dismas for generations. To most, they’re just a myth.
But in truth, they are the last resort of the desperate.I never understood why anyone would go to The Firm. There’s always a price to pay—a price you won’t discover until your request has been granted.
It was a path I swore I’d never walk.
Or so I thought.When my brother is gravely injured, everything changes.
I have no choice but to go to The Firm.
I don’t know what they’ll ask of me, but I’ll give anything to save Jackson.
He has his whole life ahead of him, and I’ll make sure he gets to live it.But when my price comes due, it’s nothing like I expected.
Not drug smuggling or murder. Not the darkness I braced myself for.
No, this is worse.My price is to fulfill someone else’s request.
To give them what they asked for.A marriage.
For anyone else, it may seem simple. But not for me.
Because the man I must marry is my worst enemy.
My rival.
The man I once trusted above all others—until he shattered that trust and threw it back in my face.The idea of pretending to be Matthias’s doting husband for a year is my worst nightmare.
But I won’t do it for me.
I’ll do it for Jackson.
For my brother, I’ll pay the price.Even if it means condemning myself.
The Firm is a very, very promising new series by authors Cora Rose and Lark Taylor, giving us another lovable band of brothers. The Buckingham brothers are billionaires, gorgeous, memorable, and neck-deep in secrets and danger. Insta-faves!
Covenant opens the series with a second chance, arranged marriage romance between childhood friends-turned-enemies-to-lovers.
Wyatt Malone came from the trailer park and managed to build himself up as a top lawyer at a prestigious firm, only for everything to come crashing down when his brother, Jackson, was in a near-fatal accident. Barely affording food, much less physical therapy for Jackson, who lost a leg, he was forced to go to The Firm in a desperate bid to provide for his brother.
The Firm, the secret society ruling St. Dismas, grants requests for a price. They are more urban legend than reality for Wyatt, until that fateful day he made a request and they accepted it in exchange for marrying Matthias Buckingham who needs a husband to claim his inheritance.
Wyatt and Matthias were childhood friends looking forward to spending college together when a betrayal almost cost Wyatt his dream of becoming a lawyer. He never forgave Matt and never saw him again until 10 years later, when Matthias brought the firm Wyatt was working for.
The story is in Wyatt’s POV, with a few chapters in Matthias’s. I don’t encounter many stories where the POV is from the person experiencing bisexual awakening and is the top, so it’s a treat to read Wyatt’s thoughts. His internal dialogues were repetitive at some points, but the writing kept me hooked from start to finish.
As much as I enjoyed the story, I have to admit but as it progressed, we see Wyatt being spectacularly naive and whiney and Matthias’s remarkable selflessness. I low-key thought Wyatt doesn’t deserve Matthias.
The miscommunication trope was somewhat annoying as Matthias clearly wanted to explain his side of the story several times but Wyatt wasn’t ready to listen. I get he hates Matthias for what he thought his childhood friend had done, and being forced to be his husband is a punishment. But is it really?
Meanwhile, our boy Matthias is feeding the underfed Wyatt the most delicious food his chef concocts, housing him in the most sumptuous room, whisking him to a tropical island paradise, a.k.a. spoiling the heck out of the bratty Wyatt, and didn’t even require him to consummate the marriage. Just pretend to be a doting husband for a year.
My low-key thoughts became high-key annoyance at Wyatt when I learned that’s not all Matt was doing for him. Since the beginning, Matt was deeply in love with the oblivious Wyatt and had quietly taken care of him, even sacrificing his soul to the devil, a.k.a. his evil dad, to save his friend, who again had no clue. So I was incredibly pissed at the third arc break-up scene where Wyatt demanded Matt fight harder for them.
The way Matthias’s POV comes in flashbacks makes his connection to Wyatt even more compelling and heightens the mysterious way they fell apart and Matt’s return to Wyatt’s life. Matt’s perspective is angsty and heartbreaking, his loyalty to Wyatt unbreakable, and it made me root so hard for him!
Matt gave Wyatt everything he could, but I think it’s Matt who deserved the world.
Meh at Wyatt aside, his chemistry with Matt is undeniable. From the beginning, their interactions were positively electric, and watching them fall in love was a joy. It even made me forget there was a shoe waiting to drop. When it did, it exploded like a bomb!
The last chapters whiplashed from one shocking reveal after another. Keeping details to a minimum because finding out is the most fun part. That and the tear-jerking groveling from Wyatt tied everything into one hell of an emotional rollercoaster conclusion and the hard-earned happy ending the boys deserve.
Overall, Covenant is a poignant story of friendship, sacrifice, second chances, and awakening, beautifully weaving beloved tropes into a moving narrative, that even with a flawed MC, it’s worth the price!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Dare
Artist: The Mary Onettes
Album: IslandsP.S.
Oooh, the Buckinghams! These boys made my day!
Wylder – the eldest and so very serious. He talked the least and intrigued me the most
Cade – the psychopath. His book is next and the epilogue in Covenant teases us with his pretty twink love interest.
Samson -the grump so I’d love to see him get soft for a sunshiney love interest
Matthias – arrogant, also serious, but really a self-sacrificing cinnamon roll
Dalton – klepto and pervy. He’s a fun character who loves pushing Matty’s buttons
Harley – the spoiled and coddled youngest who’s thirsting after Matty’s chef
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RELEASE BLITZ: Covenant by Cora Rose & Lark Taylor
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REVIEW: Say I Do by Brea Alepou & Skyler Snow
Vitale Brothers: Say I Do – Brea Alepou & Skyler Snow
What do you get when you mix a mobster with the son of the yakuza?
A marriage bathed in blood.
I never expected to be getting married, but when a business opportunity lands in my lap, I know I have to take it. After all, my family means the world to me. I’ll do anything to keep them safe, even if it’s entering a marriage that’s nothing more than convenience so I can pop out an heir.
However, that’s not what happens. The Hayashi’s pull a fast one and I’m left with a snarling godd*mn hellhound on my hands. Harlow is nothing like the demure, sweet woman I signed up for. No, he’s got teeth and he knows how to use them.
There’s no going back.
I’ll either fall in love or bury another lover.
When I started the Vitale Brothers series, I loved the cover of Take Me Apart but didn’t put much meaning to it. It wasn’t until the second book, Paid In Full, that I sat up and took a closer look at the cover because, holy hell, the scene connected to it slayed me!
And DAMN! Benito’s book is a killer, too! That cover is perfect, right down to the turtle tattoo!
Say I Do is the marriage between a monster and the devil. You can bet it’s one hell of a wedding night!
And did I say they’re marrying each other, TWICE!
Seriously, do we expect anything less from the merger of the head of a notorious mafia family and the son of the yakuza boss? It is as feral as it fiery, the bloodlust as intense as the passion! The hatefucks are so nuclear they set the standard for my other reads!
The opening scene set the tone with Harlow Hayashi strapped to a gurney and gagged, ala Hannibal Lecter, because our boy is too deadly. He was wheeled into his wedding to Vitale Family head, Benito, after his twin sister became unsuitable for being pregnant with another man’s child.
Surprised by this turn of events, a.k.a. shitty move by the Hayashis, but unwilling to break the fragile peace, Benito went through with the wedding ceremony. Not knowing what to do with a groom and claiming to be straight, Benito was quick to realize his life not only turned upside down, it got whole lot bloodier too.
Please check the trigger warnings before diving in. There are instances of pedophilia, trauma, death, grief, and a lot of morally grey, if not down right criminal actions.
There is also graphic domestic violence here, and by that, we have Benito and Harlow going at it like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt discovering they’re both spies. It’s not pretty, but just like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. and Mr. Vitale couldn’t resist the magnetic pull and soon channeled their aggression into a more steamy exchange of body fluids. It happens every time buttons are pushed because these two just loved pushing.
“Mostricio, non nascondetevi da me. Non eri quello che cercavo, ma sei tutto ciò di cui ho bisogno“
“Monster, don’t hide from me. You weren’t what I was looking for, but you’re all I need”The tumultuous romance blossomed while Benito is tasked to uncover who is snitching on the Vitales to a reporter. Harlow, recognizing his stake in the marriage and the Vitales, uses his skills and contacts to help gather intel on the snitch.
This brought him to an old lover, the head of the Chinese triad, who declares ownership of Harlow. Even as a child, the young man was nothing but a bargaining chip to his father who handed him over to the triad. Benito’s not having any of the triad leader’s crap and took matters in his own hands.
This series rarely pulled its punches, and Benito’s story did some heavy hitting, as well. This book is the perfect balance of sex, violence, and FEELS so swoony, the boutique scene melted me into goo! Add to that a gripping plot, and writing that keeps the tension tightly wounded until it exploded into a glorious red wedding climax.
To top it off, another brother was introduced! The mysterious Gianpaolo, Gin’s twin, sacrificed his life for the family to become an FBI agent. He’s going to be paired with his boss! Can’t wait to see how they make this work!
Say I Do blew my expectations out of the water! It is what a proper enemies-to-lovers romance should be, where real hate burns like fire of a thousand suns and the love it forges is true and unbreakable. This 3rd book of the series cements the Vitale Brothers as one of the most memorable mafia romances I’ve read this year!
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: To Be
Artist: The Irrepressibles
Album: NudeP.S.
Vitale Brothers is best read in order because these brothers are pretty special. Meet Enzo who likes ’em bloody and neat in Take Me Apart. Meet Gin who likes a toppy twink in Paid In Full.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Say I Do. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
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COVER REVEAL: You’re Not My King! by Eryn Hawk (Giveaway)
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RELEASE TOUR: Bully For Sale by Leta Blake (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Stolen Bride by Samantha Cayto (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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AUDIOBOOK TOUR: Night Of The Blood Red Moon by Patricia Logan (Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: Night of The Blood Red Moon by Patricia Logan (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: The Offering Surrender by Rosary Deville (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: The Offering by Rosary Deville (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q & A with Author)
