The Princess and The Devil was the dark romance I was looking for. It has they mystery aspect that had, and still has me wondering what is going on! I literally can't wait to pick up book two.

We have a sheltered mob bosses daughter. She gets little information from those around her and is constantly kept in the dark. Her life is lonely and heartbreaking. The forbidden, star crossed lovers aspect of the book was also fun. The cliff hanger has me reeling and I think Naya V. is fantastic at giving us just enough so we are kept wondering and unable to put the book down. If I'm not mistaken this is a debut novel, and it's wonderful!

I will say that some of the vocabulary used was really repetitive. The amount of time "percolate" was used in this book was a bit off putting, but nothing that I couldn't handle. I also felt like the internal dialogue of the characters could be repetitive at times as well.

The title and cover intrigued me the most and while i like the tropes within this book. I was not vibing with the pacing of the story and it overall was not a favorite. But I understood what the author was trying to accomplish

I will preface this by saying this is not the type of book I normally choose to read and at times I did struggle with the pace and some of the content. But overall it was alright and if you love this type of book I can see you enjoying it.

Mafia romance excellence arranged marriage, slow burn brings me the best joy ever. Azriel is was bad in the best way. Dark romance and a morally grey man makes me jump for joy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not a good fit for me. I couldn’t get behind the premise of the story (even though it’s a trope I generally enjoy), and the pacing just didn’t seem to work out. I wanted to like it, but felt it was a slog to get through.

This book was so good .. between character development, angst, passion and drama, it had it all!!! Great new author for me and definitely need to read the continuation.

I would like to thank the Netgalley for an opportunity to read this book before it was released. First. I'd like to say that this usually isn't what I would prefer to read. I tend to vacillate between high fantasy and light hearted romance. So, I didn't love the book. Forced marriage is hard for me to get in to, but I really wanted to like this book, as it is a retelling. I enjoyed the troupe about the childhood lovers being ripped apart and then reunited. I think it was interesting. There was a lot of sexual tension and buildup. However, it the whole thing fell a little flat for me. I don't think the dual point of view added to the story as much as I wanted it to. I know this is part of a series. I'm willing to give the next book a shot because I think the author could do something interesting with the world we are in. I would recommend this if you are into mafia romance and the forced marriage troupe.

5 OFF THE CHART STARS for THe Princess and The Devil

Absolutely loved this book ! My kind of read ! If mafia dark romance is a favorite genre of yours as a readers I highly recommend !

I loved :

The cover and book blurb
Great characters in Asteria and Azriel
Enemies to lovers / second chance romance
Arranged marriage
Mafia genre
Great storyline and plot
Chemistry

I can’t wait to check out more by this authors work.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and this is my honest review.

❛ Who knew you were such a hero? ❜ A scoff works its way up my throat. I slide a possessive hand around the nape of her neck, surprising us both. ❛ A hero? No. See, the difference between me and a hero, a hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But a villain, a devil like me, would sacrifice everyone just to keep you safe. I’d burn this entire world to the ground for you. You’re mine, Asteria. You’ve always been mine. ❜

3 STARS ✨

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of The Princess and the Devil from NetGalley a couple of months ago in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I had to persevere through a large percentage of this book, and I was close to DNFing it. When reading the blurb, I wrongly insinuated that the novel would be about Azriel doing whatever it took to get Asteria back six years later, and that straight away, there may have been some form of angst, but the connection would still be there. Alas, for a large proportion of the novel, Azriel is unnecessary cruel to Asteria. The angst and tension is fantastic for those who are fans of bully romances, and we do hear the reasonings from Azriel’s perspective, but for me personally, it’s not what I enjoy reading.

The storyline of the book is intriguing, but I do feel as if there is room for improvement. There are points, especially at the beginning in the prologue, where Naya V writes with a lyrical beauty that sets up really strong foundations for the novel, yet ends up falling flat with some of the pacing and characteristics of the protagonist. Although it is understanding that Asteria is naïve due to a lifetime of concealment from reality, she is so naïve and immature that it is exhausting to read at points — I am in no way, shape or form condoning the way that she has been treated, or how any of the women are treated in this novel (because it is absolutely awful) but there are moments where she demands to be treated as an adult and be educated on the dangerous lifestyle that those around her lead, yet she goes about it the same way that a young child would. It doesn’t help that she tends to faint numerous times in the books, either — personally, as someone who used to see it as a literal trope in fanfiction when I was younger, the distressed woman fainting at any inconvenience, it just didn’t really fit for me and only added to the argument that Asteria was unable to handle reality.

❛ God, you truly are the devil. Pure evil—a menace in the flesh. Should I call you Hades? ❜ His eyes glitter dangerously. ❛ And who would that make you, Persephone? ❜ I huff out a disgruntled breath. Bastard.

Although the Hades and Persephone elements do feel slightly over reiterated in this one, I would recommend it to fellow Hades and Persephone retelling lovers. You just have to keep hanging in there.

Pacing aside, the book did improve, and I was enjoying it by the end and wanting more. I have seen a lot of reviews about the second book being a much easier to read, so I will be delving into it to see what happens next for these two after that cliffhanger and the questions that remain unanswered.

I thought I was gonna hate it....but it was soo good!
At first I thought it was gonna be a typical mafia arrange marriage story. But Naya wrote this generic trope in such a way that sucked me in and prompted me to keep turning the page. I love the addition of the teenage lovers to strangers to enemies to lovers, and what a (sorta) Hades-Persephone retelling this was. Aside from the plot, Naya's writing is REALLY good. She has this poetic prose that are beautiful to read and paints such a vivid picture in your mind!

I received this arc copy a while ago and finally got to read it, and I have to say I'm disappointed in myself for not reading it earlier. It was a pretty good mafia romance, lovers to enemies to lovers storyline with a sheltered and slightly immature main character. The small details that Azriel would throw out there were enough to make you smile and wish you had someone who thought that deeply and remembered that much about you. A good, quick mafia romance read that I would recommend! Can't wait to read book 2!

Mafia romances are really not my thing. However I enjoyed this story and characters great writing and pacing.

This was a very middle-of-the-road book for me. But I do know people I can recommend this book to that will love and enjoy it.

I got just about exactly what I was hoping for/expecting in this book. The classic dark and brooding mafia man with a soft spot for the soft, innocent "girly" woman is a classic and while this book doesn't revolutionize the trope, the characters and plotline were interesting and different enough to keep it from being overly cliche and predictable. There's a good mix of violent action and romantic tension, and the steamy scenes are well-placed within the plot. I liked that even though she's characterized as the "princess", the main character has fleshed-out interests that are respected and admired by the male lead.

I love a good mafia romance and the moment I started reading The Princess and the Devil I was hooked.

Azriel and Asteria were childhood best friends and star crossed lovers. When Azriel leaves and Asteria never hears from him again, she is heartbroken. Years later they are reunited but where there was once only love and affection for each other, now there is only hatred and distrust. Their arranged marriage and ultimately being placed in yet another gilded cage only heightens Asteria's resentment towards Azriel. But underneath it all they still have an unbreakable connection and it's only a matter of time before they both succumb to their feelings once again.

✔Arranged marriage
✔Friends to enemies to lovers
✔Dual POV's
✔Grumpy/sunshine
✔Secrets, danger and intrigue

I would recommend this story to other mafia romance lovers and I am excited to see how Azriel and Asteria's story continues in book two.

Persephone and Hades retelling with a modern mafia twist
Big cliffhanger at the end!

I enjoyed Azriel and Asterias story but I found it pretty predictable. I knew just about everything that was gonna happen before it did. There also just wasn't enough spice for my preference, it's a mafia romance and generally they are super spicy. But there was only a couple scenes.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely love Mafia romances and knew I just had to read this one when I saw it. I enjoyed the writing style and the two main characters. I love the second chance romance trope. I enjoyed this one so much that I went straight onto the next one.

This is the first book by this author that I have read and I have to say it has good bones and storyline. The concept behind the arranged marriage and mafia is something I am a sucker for. I loved the twists which added to the depth of the story. There is passion and sizzle within these pages as long as the darkness that the mafia world brings. Will be reading more from this author!

great mafia romance! i loved the story—which had so many good twists! the second chance storyline was well written and dual pov gave insight to both sides of the couple. four out of five stars for me, the only ick for me was a couple instances of cheesiness. but other than that loved it! i already downloaded the second book ;)

If I am being honest, I really like this book. I like the characters and the plot.
My only issue with it was the pacing. The first quarter of the book was so fast pace and I couldn´t grasp what was going on but in the middle is when it really gets really good. In that moment you really start to like Azriel a lot and also Asteria.
There is something about those two that lives you grasping for more. I can't wait to read book two.

With that been said I think that my final score is a 3.5 stars