Massimo Torricelli the head of the Italian mafia is about to die and he has a vision of a woman. After many years he finally sees her in a crowd at the airport in Sicily. He knows he will do whatever it takes to make her his. Laura Biel is on vacation with her Boyfriend Martin and a few friends, it’s her 29th birthday. She wakes up in bed and at a strange house. Laura is floored when she’s informed by Massimo he’s kidnapped her and tells her about his vision, he informers her he’s giving her 365 days with him and he plans on making her fall in love with him, and if she doesn’t he will set her free. From here the story has them in danger due to him being in the mafia, Laura has a heart issue when she’s scared or stressed she blacks out and Massimo seduces her. There are some graphic sex scenes. Laura has doubts but she can’t deny she’s falling for him. I’ve never saw the movie but I enjoyed the book four stars!

It took me forever to read this book, primarily because I found the writing style to be off and I can only assume this is because this book is translated from its original language.

Also, the story was more than a bit cringe and offensive - and trust me I do no offend easily, but I found the main male character to be incredibly misogynistic and I did not enjoy the glorification of kidnapping a woman.

I am sorry, but no thanks.

At times this book is sexy and entrancing - at other times, it's shallow and poorly developed. It should definitely come with a trigger warning, so to speak. The writing isn't especially compelling. I tried to give the book a fair shot, but I found myself skimming pages just to finish it.

The best book of this genre since 50 shades of grey! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked that there was a story line to follow which isn't very common in this genre. The story line kept me coming back to the book to see what happened next.

Confession: I didn't finish the book. The content was extremely offensive, and glorified rape. There was a rape scene in the first chapter. It wasn't romantic, it wasn't 50 Shades of Grey, it wasn't BDSM... it was rape. I cannot believe in 2021 this is being published and lauded as erotic romantic fiction. This is not what the description made it out to be at all.

I will not be finishing this book.

non-Consensual sex right in the beginning. Not for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read the English version of this book.

However, it and I were not a fit.

I tried watchig the movie, but it wasn't for me, and as the book is always better, I thought I would give it a try.

And again, not for me, and I did DNF.

I know many other will love it though.

** Star rating only because I cannot review without leaving one This

This is a spicy romance through and through, perfect for February moods. It's a guilty pleasure read for sure that romanticizes a toxic relationship. If you're ready for that; jump right in!

I did knock stars because I actually thought the movie was better. The writing came across as amateur in tone and style to me (maybe due to translation?). I also knocked stars because I think we can do better than wattpad-esque kink romances where bdsm type relationships are portrayed as the man just can't control himself, safe words are never discussed, and the girl just gives right in.

I was curious reading this story as I saw the movie and I wanted to see what the book was all about.
For me, the book was slightly better than the movie but equally not impressive.
I’m all for dark twisted fiction plots with all kinds of outrageous occurrences. However, this book for me was all over the place.
I found it not believable, and not sexy. The characters were not likable or relatable and I thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head I was rolling them so much.
I didn’t score it lower because you get the point.
2.5 stars!

I didn’t finish this one.. the premise was interesting and I enjoyed the movie, but either this wasn’t well translated or the writing was just not great.. it was hard to get to know any of the characters and the sexual scenes were just lacking in any real emotion. A lot of language without any of the passion.

I received this book to review from NetGalley. I chose this book because the movie was interesting enough - dark and sexy and intriguing. This book is pretty much word for word the movie for the first half. Maybe it is the translation but it seems to simply retell what is happening with no emotion what so ever. There is kidnapping, dubious sexual assault, being kept against her will but it all comes off cold and unfeeling. So bizarre. And don’t get me wrong I am all for a dark romance - it was not the content that turned me off at first. I was hoping this book would give better insight into how the characters were thinking and feeling but it simply did to do that. It left me more frustrated. The last third of the book really deviates from the movie and honestly left me upset. I won’t be recommending this one to my followers.

“You are perverted, promiscuous, absolutely debauched, and—thankfully—mine.”

Massimo Toricelli, a Sicilian mob boss, kidnaps a Polish woman to essentially become his sex slave because he’s seen her in his dreams and he decides she must be his. But the choice is hers 🤦🏼‍♀️. But not really 🥴 . And that is the least wtf thing in this book.

Well that was...different 🤪🙊. Imagine, if you will, “the sound of his hips hitting my buttocks sounded like applause.” 😲 oh my.

Now you must go into this book knowing what it is and react as such. It is essentially a polish 50 Shades of Gray. It’s erotic. Steamy. Sexy. Cringe inducing. But, at the very least, it’s entertaining. Many of the sex scenes lose something in the translation, though.

A literary masterpiece this is not. But if you’re looking for some sexy Italian S&M or you enjoyed 50 Shades, you may enjoy this wild and crazy ride as well.

This book was released in 2018 in Polish (and there is a Netflix movie out with a VERY sexy Massimo 🤤). Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Being one of the few in America without Netflix (I know!), I hadn't seen the movie version of this story, so I was mildly curious as to what all the fuss what about. Needless to say, the book isn't always better, contrary to popular belief.

I had some major issues with the storyline within the first chapter... and it never really improved. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me.

I had heard so much about the movie that I had to read the book and I was not disappointed. They could not keep their hands off each other and their journey moved at a decent pace. There are a few word choices that I don't agree with because of context but otherwise I thought it was engaging and has more details than the movie. #thebookwasbetter

The book is always better. I'll admit I skipped to the "good parts" when I watched 365 Days by Blanka Lipinska. Who could resist looking at Michele Morrone? Not me. Not you. Not anyone. So I got my Michelle Morrone fix and then patiently waited for the book to be translated from Polish to English. I'm so glad that I read the book first and then watched the movie in its entirety. The book was better. Don't get me wrong; this movie is nuclear HOT. It's a dirty sexy story where a woman named Laura is kidnapped while vacationing with her boyfriend in Italy. Massimo, Laura's mafia boss kidnapper, gives Laura 365 days to fall in love with him. I have to be honest; I wouldn't say I liked both characters at times, but ended up liking them more in the book. Laura did get on my nerves at times. I mean if some insanely hot guy kidnapped me and forced me to go shopping for closets of designer clothes and drink champagne all day, I might be annoying. Yeah. No. Kidding. 


If you've read my reviews before, you know I'm not a critical reviewer. I have to say that I felt a few plot elements needed some tightening up and general editing. It might be due to the translation. With that said, I'm excited to see where this story goes. 365 has that Fifty Shades of Grey curbside appeal, and this story is totally addictive. I'm going to stay spoiler-free, but the book ended a little differently from the movie, and I'm thankful that there is more to come.

I watched this movie and was curious how the book was but this didn't really suit me. The dubcon/non-con blurred too many lines that didn't feel as overt in the movie version.

3.5 stars—365 DAYS is the first instalment in the contemporary, adult 365 DAYS erotic, dark romance series focusing on twenty-nine year old, Polish born Laura Biel, and thirty-two year old, Sicilian Don Massimo Torricelli.


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


NOTE: 365 DAYS is the re-release of Blanka Lipinska’s best selling novel, and turned into a Netflix movie in 2020.


Told from first person perspective (Laura) 365 DAYS follows in the wake of Sicilian Don Massimo Torricelli’s ongoing visions and dreams (during and following weeks in a coma) about a woman he has never met but a woman he is determined to own. A chance meeting at the airport finds Massimo obsessed over our heroine Laura Biel, a woman already in a committed relationship with a man she doesn’t love. Kidnapped and held as a virtual prisoner in a gilded cage, Laura comes to learn she is Massimo’s captive for the next 365 days, wherein she will either fall in love or walk away at the end of the year. With several threats looming over her head, her family, and those of her friends, Laura reluctantly agrees to Massimo’s terms, terms that find our heroine falling for a man who will control every aspect of her life. What ensues is the tempestuous and contentious relationship between Massimo and Laura, and the potential fall-out as Massimo’s enemies have targeted our couple, and in this, Massimo is unwilling to place Laura in the direct line of fire.


The relationship between Massimo and Laura begins acrimoniously when Massimo kidnaps Laura to claim as his own. Unable to leave without the possibility of losing everybody she loves, Laura agrees to 365 days but refuses to make life any easier for the man with whom she will fall in love. The $ex scenes are erotic, intense, and aggressive, and not without some questions of dubious consent.


We are introduced to an ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters including Laura’s new assistant Dominic, and her best friend Olga; Laura’s parents, her ex-boyfriend Martin, dance instructor Petrov, as well as several members of Massimo’s security and staff.


365 DAYS is an erotic tale of obsession and lust, power and control. The questionable behavior of both characters borders on disturbing and abnormal-our heroine’s behavior is often immature, up and down, back and forth but under the circumstances, she is otherwise a prisoner of man she knows very little about. Massimo’s temper and darkness is exacerbated by our heroine’s conduct and attitude, conduct she purposely employs to anger our story line hero. The premise is entertaining and interesting; the romance is erotic and dramatic; the characters are animated. 365 DAYS ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned. There are currently no English versions of book two available. The author /publisher has pulled all copies from current release.

On a side note, the book as original written in Polish, and therefore there are some issues of grammar etc with the translation.



THE READING CAFÉ: http://www.thereadingcafe.com/365-days-by-blanka-lipinska-a-review/


GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3747218746


AMAZON. COM: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1C1D5JT1SO9IB/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2869010760


B&N (Sandy_thereadingcafe) posted: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/365-days-blanka-lipinska/1137763666?ean=9781982174309&bvnotificationId=d255b1d7-6645-11eb-8b9e-0a18214fe6cf&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=hotmail.com#review/172922011

The short and sweet of this review is simply that this book was not for me. After watching the movie, I was curious about the book and how it translated, figuring the book had to be better as it normally is. And unfortunately in my opinion it was not and did not translate well. This book really pushes the boundaries on respect and consent, which in a fictional read can often be redeemed going forward. But I just felt this pushed the envelope too far for my personal preference. Perhaps it is less abrasive in it’s original language... But this was just not an enjoyable read for me. I am giving it 2 stars only because I did not DNF for the purpose of this review.

Thank you to Atria for this ARC via Netgalley for my honest review.

This book is a translation from the original published in Polish, based on that I tried to oversee the issues that come with any translation. I was able to watch the movie prior to reading the book, which was a rarity for me, as I mostly read the book first. This is a mafia erotica contemporary dark romance, the characters Laura Biel and Massimo Toricelli are interesting, the book is their first 4 months history. A relationship that is dark and might have triggers for some readers so please read with caution, there is a toxic and abusive relationship. Their situation is unique, he gives them 365 days together and things get dirty. The heroine is not strong, there are many fainting and sleeping scenes that makes it too much. Something we usually get in the hero is his redemption, so I want to see how that goes because so far I find it hard to envision that ending for him. I have read pretty dark stories with heroes that seem unredeemable and yet the author pulls it off. I don't like comparing books to other books, but seems most people will go there with this story, let me tell you that yes there are similarities but I will not go into them. I don't know how the Polish original version is, but the translation and editing seems lacking a bit, will I be reading the following, probably just to find out where the story goes and because yes I do love very dark romance stories no matter what.

I’ve never read any mafia romances before this, but having seen and reviewed the movie on Netflix, I was intrigued to see how the book might differ. (And, if I’m honest, I’m a bit of an egomaniac and like to read anything that features a character with my own name in it. As Paris Hilton might put it: “That’s hot.”) The movie follows the book’s plot quite faithfully, although readers get a bit more insight into Laura’s thought process as she goes along with Massimo’s crazy plan, since the story is told from her POV. There isn’t much to be found in the text that can’t be gleaned from watching the film, however, since most of the observations are fairly surface, and Laura and Massimo’s verbal interactions are frequently shouted or whispered, just like in the movie. These two run hot and cold, and seem to only have two modes of communication: sex or slapping (and sometimes both together).

So, given the erotic nature of this book, your first question is probably: Are the sex scenes hot? The answer, unsurprisingly, is yes. They definitely veer towards the darker end of the scale, with BDSM elements and dubcon (dubious consent) heavily stirred in. Massimo promises Laura that he’ll never do anything without her explicit consent, yet perpetually pushes the line with her – and, to be fair, she does the same with him. It’s ultimately a game between them, pushing each other closer and closer to the edge, whether that’s towards orgasm or violence, and although this isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, I can see why fans enjoy this interplay between them, since Lipińska offers it in bulk quantities.

If I’m being honest, reading this book reminded me of the time I read Cormac McCarthy’s The Road for a job application. So many scenes were so similar that eventually they all started to blur together. Soon I was asking myself: “Will they fuck? Will they fight? Will they be eaten by cannibals? Will Armie Hammer star in the second movie? Where is this even GOING?!”

Thankfully, the book does not require you to slog through 365 actual days in this bizarre relationship. I mean, honestly, who could stand it? They fuck, they fight, they fuck while fighting… rinse and repeat. For an entire year?! Thanks, but no. No erotica writer is skilled enough to keep me riveted to each individual sex scene, played out one day at a time, almost 400 times in a row. It’s a matter of quantity vs. quality. No one would ever ask for a book with 365 sex scenes in it. It’s absurd on its face.

Still, the title is 365 Days, not A Couple of Weeks of Fucking and thus I naturally found myself wondering what else happened during their year together. The sexual tug-of-war could only take up so much time, and since Laura reiterates that she believes Massimo wants her to love him, not merely desire him sexually, something else had to happen. There are a few additional plot twists and turns before the end of the book, which is different than the film’s ending (no spoilers!), since this is a trilogy and there are two more books to come. I will leave it to readers to page through and discover these bits for themselves, if they truly desire more of Massimo and Laura.

So, is this an ideal romance? Far from it. Is it a fun fantasy, particularly as we’re all still in some form of lockdown? Sure, it’s a good escape. I appreciated the short descriptions of Italian cities, interspersed between the over-the-top luxury of Massimo’s remote castle, his collection of fast cars, and various other financial holdings.

Overall, if you don’t tend to prefer mafia romances or kidnappings as the starting point of your romantic tales, this one likely won’t work for you. The whole “365 days to make you love me” conceit only works with a strong suspension of disbelief, so if you can’t get past this crazy notion, the entire book unravels. So, baby girl, what’ll it be?