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    SERIES REVIEW: Mafia Bound Books 1 & 2 by K.M. Neuhold

    Mafia Bound: Deadly Little Sparrow – K.M. Neuhold

    Is there such thing as love at first bar fight?

    I may be small and pretty, but what I lack in intimidation factor, I make up for in violence.I made a vow five years ago that the motorcycle club responsible for my brother’s death would pay the price, and I’m finally ready to collect. May God have mercy on the men who hurt my brother, because I don’t plan to.

    Accidentally breaking the nose of the deadliest man in the city wasn’t my best move. Xaviaro Saviano, trigger man for the Moretti Crime Family… and now my own personal stalker. But if I have to go through him to deliver well-deserved justice, so be it.

    As strange as it sounds, Xaviaro seems to want to help me more than he wants to hurt me. I can’t shake the man no matter what I do. Threatening him feels like foreplay, tying him up only turns him on… I could play nice, but that’s never been my strong suit.

    I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t starting to grow on me, especially when he calls me his Deadly Little Sparrow from his knees. I’ve never met a man who could handle me, let alone one who can’t stop begging me for more.

    Can love and revenge live in the same heart? I guess there’s only one way to find out…


    Rating:
    3.5 Stars – that place between like and love

    Soundtrack: Submit
    Artist: Brek Milo
    Album: Submit


    Mafia Bound: Beautifully Savage Butterfly by K.M. Neuhold

    Being savage in the ring is one thing. The way Elio Moretti craves my violence outside the ring is another.

    I feel like I’ve been fighting my whole life, and tapping out has never been an option.

    I can live with owing money to the Morettis. I can even live with the constant guilt that my brother is the one paralyzed in a hospital bed while I live his dream. What I can’t live with is Elio Moretti, second in command to the infamous crime family, showing up to all my fights, sitting in the front row, watching me like he can’t look away, and barging into the locker room to patch up my wounds and invade my space.

    The Morettis are monsters. Vicious, brutal sociopaths. So, why is Elio so eager to get on his knees for me?

    He’s as desperate to give up control as I am to take it, but is giving in to these primal urges enough of a reason to sell my soul?

    He claims there are worse people in this city than his family, and the deeper I get dragged into his world, the more true that’s starting to seem. Can I really fall in love with a Mafia underboss? Is it even possible to walk away?


    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Blow
    Artist: Ghinsu
    Album: Blow


    Mafia Bound by K.M. Neuhold is a dark, gritty mafia romance series that dares to put mafiosos on their knees.

    Deadly Little Sparrow opens the series with a revenge story and an unlikely romance between the avenger and the hitman stalking him. Sparrow, real name unknown, is out to exact vengeance against members of the motorcycle club who abused and murdered his brother.

    Xaviaro Saviano, the most notorious hitman of the Moretti Family, spotted him at a bar and, after getting off the wrong foot, began stalking the smaller man. Partly as part of Moretti business crossing with the targeted MC, partly due to his strange but undeniably strong attraction to the deadly little Sparrow.

    The plot didn’t delve deeply into the characters’ backstories. There is just enough barebones information to give credence to how Sparrow went from a former billionaire’s son to a highly skilled killer able to take down dangerous men twice his size.

    Xaviaro was already established as not only the top hitman but also Enzo Moretti’s best friend and one of the Moretti boss’s inner circle. The thing to know about Xaviaro, he’s feared on the streets, submissive in the sheets. And he was quick to recognize the dominance of the smaller man. Sparrow took unholy glee in topping from the bottom.

    The story did its best to be consistently intense. There’s a lot of focus on the kink and while the dynamics were enjoyable, there were moments that I tuned out because they were too blah.

    Beautifully Savage Butterfly is Elio Moretti, underboss to the Family, obsessing over undefeated MMA fighter, Orion Barros. Orion couldn’t understand why one of the top Morettis kept coming to his locker room after his fights until Elio showed how willing he was to get down on his knees for him.

    The MMA fighter is working overtime to pay Moretti debts and earn money to keep his paraplegic brother, Jack, in a good nursing home. When things took a turn for the worse, Orion had no choice but to make a deal with Elio, something he promised his brother he would never do.

    I feel this was better executed than the first story. The backstories were more complete and the various threads were concluded more convincingly, even Jack was given his little HFN. The boss/brat dynamics wasn’t my favorite but Elio and Orion’s chemistry was sizzling!

    This was also pretty intense and atmospheric throughout. You could almost smell the blood and sweat, and images of dimly lit alleys and shaky camera shots come to mind.

    Another compelling part was the Morettis and Orion working together to stop a child trafficking ring. This was resolved in a suspenseful rescue mission while leaving an opening for future installments.

    Mafia Bound is a mixed bag for now, but it’s mostly good. The Morettis as MCs are something I’m really excited about. They are a head-turning bunch, and here are the rest to watch out for:

    Salvatore – I bet he’s next. He was tasked to look after the sassy night club dancer/hacker Dante and they played a significant part in the child trafficking investigation

    Alessio – guy’s flirty with Dante but it’s mostly harmless. Not much is known about him yet other than he’s part of the inner circle and is a cousin

    Enzo – ooh, this one I’m looking forward to the most. The big boss occasionally shows his softer side. There’s a mention of a rival Irish gang leader so hmm….

    P.S.

    Mafia Bound is best read in order. You can read Deadly Little Sparrow and Beautifully Savage Butterfly as standalones but the Morettis are worth knowing from the beginning.


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    DEADLY LITTLE SPARROWKindle I Audiobook
    BEAUTIFULLY SAVAGE BUTTERFLYKindle I Audiobook

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    SERIES REVIEW: Kage Trilogy by Maris Black

    Kage Trilogy – Maris Black

    *** KAGE (Book 1)

    My name is Jamie Atwood, and I’m an addict. I never thought I’d say such a thing. Never had a problem being overly-attached to anything in my life. I came from a perfectly middle-class family, made good grades, and had a hot cheerleader girlfriend… but the truth is, nothing ever really moved me. So how did a guy like me become an addict?

    I met Michael Kage.

    Kage is an MMA fighter. A famous one. I like to think I helped him get that way.

    He’s charming as hell, with looks to rival any movie star and talent to back it up. So why did he need to hire me as an intern Publicist? Simple. He has a darkness in him– like a black hole so deep it could swallow him, and me, and everyone we know– and that’s not good for business.

    The first time I met him, I felt the pull. I think the addiction began at that very moment. And even if I’d known then what I know now, I would have fallen for him. How could I not?

    For me, Kage is everything.


    Rating:
    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: Stay In My Corner
    Artist: The Arcs
    Album: Yours, Dreamily


    *** KAGE UNLEASHED (Book 2)

    In a battle of the heart, who will be the first to submit?

    My name is Jamie Atwood, and I am an idiot. Against all odds, I got the attention of Michael Kage, the hottest MMA fighter on the planet. To say he rocked my world would be an understatement. He transformed me completely, made me depend on him, and made me love him. And the sex? Let me put it this way: I’d never been with a guy before I met Kage, but I’d gladly spend the rest of my life on my knees for him. He is my obsession and my addiction. But I did something stupid, and now I’m paying for it. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Kage again.

    Being Michael Kage was never easy. Too many demons, too much anger, and not enough to live for. And then I met Jamie Atwood. He’s got this innocence about him that speaks to something deep down inside me- in a place that’s never been touched by anyone. He’s beautiful, smart, and courageous, and he hasn’t been tainted by the darkness that’s ruled my life. I wanted him from the first second I laid eyes on him. It’s selfish, I know. Because you can’t bring an innocent thing into the darkness and not expect something to rub off.


    Rating:
    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: Teleport 2 Me, Jamie
    Artist: KID CUDI
    Album: Teleport 2 Me, Jamie


    *** KAGE UNMASKED (Book 3)

    CAN THEIR LOVE SURVIVE THE MOST SHOCKING REVELATION?

    SEXY COLLEGE SENIOR Jamie Atwood has fallen hard for MMA dark horse Michael “the Machine” Kage. With his hot muscled body, intoxicating green eyes, and proclivity for rough sex, Kage is a potent aphrodisiac to the innocent boy-next-door. The danger, the intrigue, the feel of his strong hand around his throat, the knowledge that his fighter would kill or die for him. From the moment Kage grabbed onto his hips and channeled all that masculine aggression into claiming his body, Jamie was ruined for anyone else.

    PASSIONS RUN HIGH as the lovers try to assimilate into each other’s lives: coming out to family and friends, blending into the high-profile MMA world, dealing with Kage’s sketchy uncle. But behind Kage’s mask of strength and indifference lies a crippling vulnerability, and a devastating secret. As the mask comes off, past traumas surface, dark desires spin out of control, and the damaged fighter is driven to hurt the man he loves more than life itself.


    Rating:
    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: Forget the Past
    Artist: The Irrepressibles
    Album: Mirror Mirror


    Kage Trilogy by Maris Black is an intense, angsty, frustrating, compelling, and hella swoony sports romance between an MMA fighter and his publicist.

    Journalism major and college senior Jamie Atwood scored a summer internship as upcoming MMA fighter Michael ‘The Machine’ Kage’s publicist. This after the dork blustered his way through his first interview with Kage. The man was so impressed (and smittened) that he demanded the college boy work for him. Thing is, Jamie is straight and has a girlfriend.

    Did it stop Kage? Hell no!

    Meanwhile, Jamie couldn’t help but be magnetized by enigmatic Kage. And I couldn’t blame the boy because, damn, the man has quite the presence!

    I came into this series blind. The first two books end in cliffhangers, so the trilogy must be read in order. Kage, book 1, is written solely in Jamie’s POV. We see a bumbling, naive college student playing the sports publicist, pretending to know what he’s doing and boldly declaring he’s going to make Michael Kage famous.

    In fairness to Jamie, our boy did work hard, building a website, social media presence, and Kage’s image as a sexy MMA fighter. Multi-tasking as the photographer, some of his picture-taking sessions has Kage in temperature-raising poses that led to our boy questioning (and lowkey denying) his sexuality.

    Jamie could be spectacularly oblivious to the fact that Kage was doing a slow but thorough wooing. Kage was obsessed from that first interview and proceeded to wine, dine, and splurge, but our boy remained clueless (or in denial). And it wasn’t until, a very provocative pose and Kage spelling it out for him that our boy fell on his knees and willingly swallowed the truth, among other things.

    Kage Unleashed and Kage Unmasked are written in both Kage’s and Jamie’s POVs. The two sequels chronicle Kage and Jamie’s struggles as a secret gay couple and how they navigate publicly coming out while they introduce Kage to Jamie’s family and try to outmaneuver Kage’s evil uncle.

    There are scenes that might be disturbing to some, like the dubcon-ish scene in the gazebo or that minors were forced to fight to the death. Kage also has PTSD and childhood trauma cause by his abusive uncle.

    When I say frustrating, I’m mostly talking about Jamie and the villain, Peter Santori. Jamie is impulsive and makes stupid decisions. I could forgive him. He’s young and still has lots to learn.

    Kage and Jamie’s relationship is tested by misunderstandings and miscommunications made worse by separations caused by Kage’s uncle’s evil schemes. This asshole is mostly absent, but his presence and machinations can be felt through their negative impact on Kage and/or Jamie. He’s a psychopath who uses Kage to further his own goals and has no qualms attempting to kill his nephew when he proved too much trouble.

    Kage the man is why Kage the trilogy packed a punch. The Machine is highly skilled, unbeatable and hyper-focused on his targets, whether it be winning Jamie or the MMA championship belt. Life threw one challenge after another, first losing his family as a young child, then living under his evil uncle’s thumb and forced to toe the line by pretending to be in a relationship with a woman.

    Kage still managed to come out on top, fighting for his and Jamie’s lives. And there is always a fight and a separation. Then Kage getting Jamie back through sheer willpower and two middle fingers to the world and his uncle. Arrow right in my kokoro every time!

    Here’s a little spoiler why Kage is everything. Whenever I read somebody’s reaction to a book saying, “I’m a sobbing mess,” I tend to roll my eyes at such hyperbole. Well, there was this scene where Jamie and Kage were forcibly separated and had no contact for some time (evil uncle in action). Jamie convinced his friends to watch Kage’s fight on TV because he missed his boyfriend badly.

    Jamie was bragging he helped choose Kage’s entrance song, Kanye West’s I Am A God. But when Kage entered, Jamie was surprised it was a different song playing. His friend googled the song and showed him the title: Teleport 2 Me, Jamie.

    You guessed it, I was a sobbing mess! Songs are my krytonite and Kage just had to pick the perfect song!

    Kage Trilogy ends with a HFN, a cliffhanger really. I’m glad I read it now and not when it was first released because now I know the story continues with Santori Trilogy. Kage and Jamie aren’t perfect, but with the distinct honor of being the third book to make me cry in all my reading life, I’m giving them 5 stars. These boys hit me with a knock out punch!


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