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RELEASE TOUR: Too Close To Home by C.F. White (Excerpt)
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REVIEW: Always The Villain by Brea Alepou & Skyler Snow

Vitale Brothers: Always The Villain – Brea Alepou & Skyler Snow
Cesare Vitale
Man. Myth. Legend.
Or at least that’s how the world views me.
They’re not wrong; I would give anything to take back my throne. To have power again. Even if it means breaking all of my already weak familial ties.
Until I meet the one man that makes me pause.
Raphael is everything I have never wanted to admit I crave. Someone who sees the monster and still wants me just the same. But there’s more to Raphael than meets the eye. Can he be trusted?
In the midst of Vitale chaos I’m forced to ask myself something I’ve never doubted before. What’s more important?
Power? Or love?
Book 6 in the Vitale Brothers series. This will be the final book.
Does Daddy Vitale really need a redemption story?
Vitale Brothers is a dark mafia romance series by writer duo Brea Alepou and Skylar Snow. The series follows the brothers as they navigate love and crime. The family is led by the eldest Benito (Say I Do) who has the unenviable job keeping his chaotic half-brothers, Gin (Paid In Full) and his twin Paolo (Never Say Never), Enzo (Take Me Apart), and Blake (End It All) in line.
Always The Villain is the final book starring the infamous Cesare Vitale, whom we all know is a deadbeat bastard out to oust Benito from power. All the brothers except Blake hate the old man, the youngest Vitale having fonder childhood memories of his father and so still wants a reconciliation.
Much younger at 26 to Cesare’s 54, Raphael is so dangerously obsessed with Cesare, he became a sex worker just to ensnare the man. When he has him in his clutches, he sinks his claws deep and doesn’t let go, the goal being to make Cesare dependent on him. As the story progresses, we learn why.
Apart from his obsession, there’s not much to Raphael. It is shown he likes revealing clothes and dresses similarly to Harlow. But where Harlow is fiery and feral, Raphael is hollow, his threats no bite at all. It’s not lost that father and son have similar love interests, a nod to apples not falling far from trees but if Benito and Harlow had nuclear-level heat, Cesare and Raphael are a wet rag.
Sure, the plot is mostly rough sex, humiliation kink, and dirty talk, but that’s all there is. I don’t feel a genuine spark. Their connection reads more like Raphael servicing a client, especially with Cesare calling him “whore” all the time.
Cesare has no appeal either. I’m not expecting him to suddenly turn into a new leaf just because he caught feels. Heck, his sons didn’t miraculously turn into saints either. It’s just that I don’t feel his feels. I’m not remotely convince he’s going monogamous just because he likes dick now. He is also given a sob story and a kitten but no, those are not enough to redeem the old man.
So this is a totally unecessary book. That Cesare’s sins are handwaved that easily is anti-climactic and lazy. However, him returning to the bossom of the family leads to full-on Vitale mayhem which I enjoy. The best parts of the book are the brothers and it’s worth the slog just to read their scenes.
Always The Villain is a story of power, lust, and obsession. A futile attempt to redeem a bastard and a meh romance that fails to ignite, overall, never mind this Vitale.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Always The Villain
Album: Michael Grant & The Assassins
Artist: Always The VillainVitale Brothers is an all-time favorite series and I agree with some readers that it should have ended with the glorious Paolo reveal in Never Say Never. It’s best to read the books in order, starting with the intense Enzo possessiveness in Take Me Apart, the hilarious Gin shenanigans in Paid In Full, the fiery Benito bloodlust in Say I Do and the take-it-or-leave-it Blake brattiness in End It All.
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ALWAYS THE VILLAIN: Amazon UK | Audiobook
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SERIES REVIEW: His Enforcer & His Reaper (Unexpectedly Twisted Books 3 & 4) by Cora Rose

Unexpectedly Twisted: His Enforcer by Cora Rose
Working for a notorious mob boss like Anthony Costello for fifteen years has taught me a thing or two about dangerous men. I myself have been chiseled and beaten into someone to be reckoned with. And I’ve even come to relish in the pain, to crave it. But no one gets under my skin quite like Luca Rossi, Anthony’s right-hand man. I hate him more than words can express, I always have. He torments me and toys with me, just a plaything in his twisted and cruel game of control, until I’m feral with rage and barely able to contain myself.
But when a series of unidentified bodies begin showing up on our property and it becomes clear someone is trying to take the Costello family down, Luca and I are teamed up to solve the mystery. And working up close and personal with this man has me realizing that there’s no one in the world quite as dangerous to me as him. Because the real reason I hate Luca so much, and maybe even the reason why I hate myself, is because he’ll never really want me.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Lust To Love
Artist: Renforshort
Album: Off Saint Dominique

Unexpectedly Twisted: His Reaper – Cora Rose
Some say I’m too soft and cuddly for a guy who wields bone saws and strings friendship necklaces with human eyeballs—but I just call that work-life balance.
And honestly, I love my job as the Costellos’ reaper.
Lately, though, my biggest problem isn’t the dismembered corpses, it’s something far more seductive. Georgiy Sokolov. He smells mouth-watering, like disinfectant and fancy aftershave. Plus, he comes with a stern promise to ruin me with surgical precision—and believe me, I will be begging him for it.
If only I could get him to return my texts…
But when a shadowy evil threatens my found family, and my nightmares stir up repressed memories that somehow feel connected, Georgiy and I will stop at nothing to protect what is ours.
Armed with my bloody handsaw and Georgiy’s dainty scalpel, we try to uncover the dark truths about the past that haunts me and the Death that stalks me. It’s all very romantic.
So if you’ve come to witness my final chapter…good luck, friend.
My name’s Bane. Say it while you still have your tongue.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Beautiful Monster
Artist: Lolux
Album: Beautiful Monster
Here I go with yet another dark mafia romance…
Unexpectedly Twisted by Cora Rose is a mafia romance series starring members of the Costello Family. The Silencer introduces mob boss Anthony Costello, who finds love with Tatum, his son’s best friend. In His Prince, Anthony’s younger son Angel falls for his husband after an arranged marriage with Mikhail Ivanov.
His Enforcer stars Luca, the underboss and Anthony’s bestfriend who used to be a third in his late wife’s bed. Bodyguard Viktor has a bad crush on the older man since he was a teenager.
Viktor is a favorite at the sex club being an exclusive bottom game for anything. One night, Luca witnessed him in a rather intense session, put a stop to it, took him home, and slept with him. Then, pretended it never happened for years.
Viktor makes no secret of his desire for Luca, which the underboss uses to his advantage, pushing the bodyguard’s buttons and cockteasing, knowing the younger man has no self-control. It happens so frequently that the supposedly straight Luca ends up sleeping with Viktor like a bad habit, having fallen in lust.
I like reading series in order and this was a necessary hurdle to get to the next installment. It is indeed a chore since I didn’t like Luca and there was barely any romance. It’s mostly lust with Viktor too needy, too desperate, too ready to bend just to get Luca’s dick in him.
Luca likes control and that’s all I can say about him as he had no other personality traits. There was some sob story tacked on the latter part but it was meh. I say, skip this if you can.
His Reaper stars Bane and his doctor boyfriend Georgiy Sokolov. Bane, the Costello’s torturer and interrogator who collects body parts and turns them into jewelry, was an instant favorite since the beginning. The series has a fantastic found family dynamic and Bane is fiercely protective of his loved ones who in turn adore the labrador retriever psycho.
In the previous books, Bane laid eyes on Georgiy, Mikhail’s interrogator, and immediately became obsessed. So much so he stood in front of Georgiy’s window and jerked off. Wasn’t a bit shy, was in fact quite proud when Georgiy caught him. They got into an off again, on again thing, and last we know, Georgiy ghosted and Bane was devastated.
Present day Bane, desperate to get Georgiy’s attention sleeps with other guys until Georgiy finds him and proceeds to tattoo his name on his butt. Trademarked and insured too as Georgiy wants to protect his property. Bane’s life and his family are in danger from his ex who betrayed them and Georgiy vows to exact his revenge.
This is absolutely the best book in the series!
The play of opposites is just pure delight with the touch-starved Bane bringing his lovable chaos into the touch-aversed Georgiy’s life. Bane is a messy, childish ball of energy, sharp and intuitive with no bounderies what so ever, while Georgiy is a highly skilled surgeon, a stoic, clinical, germaphobe giving Bane the calm, firm hand he needs. They build a relationship rooted in respect, obsession, and surprising tenderness.
I loved how Bane respects Georgiy’s limits, knowing when too much is too much. Bane is perpetually horny and Georgiy gets creative to satisfy his man, avoiding skin to skin contact until he gradually becomes comfortable with touching Bane. They are each other’s rock when past traumas and hurts resurface, particularly important during the full circle moment at the climax.
It’s not only the nuclear-level chemistry, but the all-consuming obsession and, most of all, the genuine care they had for each other is the deepest and most heartfelt in the entire series. Given that they’re the most fucked up characters too, cardboard Luca could learn a thing or two from them.
The book is chockful of content warnings: violence, blood, gore and heavy into voyeurism and exhibitionism. Bane has no qualms watching other couples have sex, whipping out his dick in public, and getting horny over every attractive man he meets.
He likes to cuddle with other couples in bed, joining them without warning. They let him knowing Bane is being Bane. Until Georgiy tattoos his claim and Bane happily finds his anchor in Georgiy
Georgiy stimulates Bane with machines and toys and one time, Anthony walks in on them. Instead of being embarrassed, the mob boss stands there and watches, hella cringe after he claims Bane is like a son.
Bane also plays matchmaker to Jax and Kit, encouraging the two men to get handsy in public while he watches and gets horny. The bonding ceremony is also very Georgiy and Bane with skin branding and more sex on display.
Content warnings aside, I want more Georgiy and Bane! Hearing Georgiy call Bane, “Bane of my existence” or “Bane of my life” everytime is making me swoon. To which Bane replies, “Just so you know, you’re the Georgiy of my life.” Seriously, I died of squees…
We need the guards, too. Jax and Kit crackle with electricity, no wonder Bane is shipping them hard. Teddy ‘s silent appearances speaks volumes about how much of a teddy bear he is. Shipping him hard with Jake. The creepy and perverted Andromeda twins need their own book too. I’m super curious how they will handle their new boy when he wakes up from his coma.
Unexpectedly Twisted is a mixed bag of lust and love, with mafia shenanigans on the side. While there is an overarching thread running throughout the series and many recurring characters, the books can be read as standalones. You can skip the weaker installments, The Silencer and His Enforcer. His Prince is worth a read, mostly for the secondary characters.
Overall, nothing unexpected about the entire series but His Reaper redeems it in the most deliciously twisted way.
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HIS ENFORCER: Amazon UK | Audiobook
HIS REAPER: Amazon UK | AudiobookIf 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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PROMO BLITZ: Catching Midnight by Morgan Elektra
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REVIEW: Godless by L. Eveland

The Ferrymen: Godless – L. Eveland
His bite marked me. His kiss ruined me. His return damned me.
LORENZO
I was built to kill—flawless, heartless, and loyal only to the man who made me. Now he’s my next target.
When a rare Judas Coin forces me to hunt Dionysus, I need his son: Rafael. A fallen priest I marked with my teeth years ago.
I don’t need a partner. I don’t need a conscience. But I’m stuck with both. And every moment we spend together reminds me what it feels like to want something I was never meant to have.
RAFAEL
I was damned the moment he touched me.
Now he’s back with blood on his hands and a contract on my father’s head.
I should run. Pray. Turn him in.
Instead, I’m hiding him in church basements, watching him bleed for me. Kill for me.
Lorenzo is temptation wrapped in violence, a sinner sculpted in scars.
And the more I fall, the further I drift from the God I once served.
If redemption is still possible, I’ll find it in him—or burn beside him trying.
GODLESS is a dark, high-heat MM romance about assassins, fallen priests, and what happens when the devil you fear becomes the only one who makes you feel alive.
Godless by L. Eveland, the second book in The Ferrymen series, expands its John Wick–style world of assassins steeped in Greek mythology. This time, the story follows Lorenzo, Luca’s best friend from Ruthless.
Once a feral child muzzled like an animal, Lorenzo was bought and trained by the South American Director Dionysus. His rather memorable childhood encounter with Rafael, Dionysus’s son, resurfaces twenty years later when Lorenzo is ordered to kill a cardinal. Rafael, now a priest, is sent to hunt the assassin, only to discover it’s Lorenzo.
The dying cardinal hands Lorenzo a Judas Coin, binding him to kill whoever ordered the hit, which turned out to be Dionysus himself, the man who raised him. Failure means death, but killing a regional director is equally fatal. Caught between Scylla and Charybdis, Lorenzo must also convince Rafael that the cardinal is tied to child trafficking. Reluctantly, the two join forces, pursued by Pantheon and Vatican agents, as they uncover a high ranking traitor.
When Lorenzo was introduced in Book 1, he was a drag race watching diva with fabulous hair. Here, he barely had time for a beauty regiment while fleeing from safehouse to safehouse with Rafael, Diego, and Jasper. We get glimpses of his playful side, had no qualms seducing a priest, but he’s mostly serious. He seems like a different person, understandable given their dire situation.
Rafael, ooh the good father brought all the angst and the pining, devastating and deliciously heart-melting. Not much Catholic guilt, he quickly abandoned his faith when he felt betrayed, a.k.a his mother’s and brother’s untimely deaths, things he was taught were lies and that he was sentenced to death for questioning orders.
He then turned all that intensity into a ferocious obsesession of Lorenzo, the only true thing in his life, discovering a biting kink he’s eager to explore. They were primal and savage that even right out in the middle of a storm they were a nuclear explosion. They didn’t even catch pneumonia. Their transition from enemies to lovers, building the trust, the teamwork and passion was fast but done convincingly,
The villain is as hateful and manipulative as in the first book. I hated that he used eagles for his evil machinations. It might be triggering for some but just know these magnificent birds did not have a happy ending.
The most thrilling part was Rafael and Lorenzo having to survive a labyrinth and defeat the bad guy for Lorenzo’s sentence to be reversed. It was a claustrophic and deadly experience, they were in pitch dark, lost their map and chained together at the ankles. However, it was never explained why the bad guy could somehow see in the dark.
The plot barely lets Rafael, Lorenzo, and their friends rest, moving fast, throwing curveballs, and keeping me intrigued with Pantheon politics. The mysterious head of the Pantheon, Zeus, has yet to make his appearance but his schemes have far-reaching consequences. We might finally see him in the third book.
Godless is a story of betrayal from the highest places and choices between lesser evils. Overall, it delivers an eye-opening mission, an all-consuming truth, and earth-shattering decisions.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Godless Soul
Artist: Sad Lovers & Giants
Album: HeadlandP.S.
The Ferrymen books is best read in order.
Witness the Pantheon’s top assassin burn the world for a plant-daddy therapist in Ruthless,
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Godless. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
GODLESS: Amazon UK | Audiobook
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REVIEW: Ruthless by L. Eveland

The Ferrymen: Ruthless – L. Eveland
Falling for my target was never part of the plan. Neither was killing my mentor.
LUKA
I was created to be the perfect weapon with forty-eight confirmed eliminations and counting. I’m the best in the business.But my newest target is threatening to destroy everything. Who puts a hit out on a therapist? His biggest crime is talking to his plants every morning.
Now, instead of taking the shot, I’ve broken my contract to protect him and every Ferryman in North America is out to claim the bounty on my head.
We’ve got one chance at survival, and it means facing the man who spent twenty-six years molding me into his perfect weapon. Prometheus might have named himself after a god, but I know he’s just a man. And all men can die.
VINCENT
I knew I was in trouble when he showed up on my doorstep covered in blood and demanded I come with him.Now, hiding in an underground world built for professional killers, he’s my only chance of survival.
Luka is dangerous, damaged, and devastatingly attractive. I should run. Instead, I can’t help but try to heal the man beneath the scars.
As assassins hunt us without reprieve, I’m learning just how far I’ll go to protect the broken man I never should have survived, let alone fallen for.
I believe monsters are made, not born. Maybe they can be unmade by love.
RUTHLESS is the first book in The Ferryman series, a dark MM romance series about a secret society of assassins and the men who fall for them.
Ruthless is the first book in The Ferrymen, an assassin romance series by L. Eveland. Each installment follows a different Ferryman on a mission that unexpectedly leads them to love.
Luca, tasked with killing trauma therapist Vincent, becomes increasingly fascinated instead, spending three weeks secretly observing him. When his boss Prometheus loses patience and assigns the job to someone else, Luca is forced to act. He kills the rival assassin and abducts Vincent for protection, as the hit on him is now open to all.
Vincent, stunned to discover his gorgeous new patient is a killer, is thrust into a hidden world of assassins governed by strict laws, hierarchies, and Greek‑mythology‑inspired customs. Together, he and Luca seek sanctuary at the Acropolis, neutral ground where no blood may be spilled, while unraveling why Prometheus is determined to destroy an ordinary therapist.
The chemistry between assassin and healer is explosive, but intimacy terrifies Luca, deeming himself too broken. Haunted by a twin sister he couldn’t save and years of abuse under Prometheus, he battles 26 years of conditioning. With Vincent’s unwavering care, Luca begins to reclaim his humanity, and perhaps even envision a future with the doctor.
I love the Ferrymen world! With nods to John Wick, assassins were paid in special coins, neutral zones were sacrosant, tribunals and judges deal with those who broke contracts. Prometheus, director of the North American region, is an extremely manipulative bastard whose long‑game schemes drive the conflict.
Plucked from war‑torn Serbia and groomed to obey, Luca’s fraught relationship with his mentor adds turmoil and darkness. While I expected a full circle moment for Luca, I was still shocked when Prometheus dropped his bomb.
Luca is both lethal and vulnerable, cocky enough to call himself a sex god, yet desperate for emotional validation. Right from the opening scene, his obsession with Vincent is deliciously thrilling, their dynamic a balance of power and healing.
Vincent helps connect Luca to the boy he once was. He’s a natural carer, whether it’s plants or his patients and his loyalty and devotion to Luca was a ray of sunshine in the murk. His fierce defense of the assassin in front of the tribunal and his graceful acceptance of his place in this shadowy world made me appreciate the good doc even more.
The writing tends to be repetitive, with multiple mentions of 26 years and sexual abuse, as well as memories retold several times, making the book unnecessarily long. Content warning: grooming, sexual abuse, physical abuse, PTSD, trauma, and violence.
Ruthless is a story of reclaiming humanity and forging healthy connections. Fierce, angsty and moving, overall, a testament to the power of empathy in this cutthroat world.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Kintsugi
Artist: The Bottomless
Album: Kintsugi
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Ruthless. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
RUTHLESS: Amazon UK | Audiobook
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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RELEASE BLITZ: The Geek and The Ghost by Cambria Hebert
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: More Anger Chronicles: Freshman Year by Jessie Preisendorfer (Excerpt)
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BLOG TOUR: Ameliorate by R. Sinclair (Excerpt)
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COVER REVEAL: Be My Ruin by Davidson King





























