If you like the Hades and Persephone vibe + mafia romance + arrange marriage + second chance romance … then you might want to check this book out. You guys know I read everything inspired by Hades and Persephone story 🤭🖤

I have to start this with …. Ahhh why did it have to end with that cliffhanger????? 😩 I feel like I need to know what happens RIGHT NOW, so hopefully the sequel comes soon. The story of Azriel and Astory it’s a little slow at the beginning but keep going because it gets good! There is a lot of angst and tension between the characters, lots of drama and LOTS of spice.I found this book to be similar to Promises and Pomegranates by Sav R. Miller, so if you enjoyed that book you might also like this one ☝🏼

The book comes out September 27 and you can preorder it now 😊

Thank you to Netgalley and Naya Villareal for an e-arc of this book!

I was drawn to this book initially by its stunning cover, but then I read the book description and was completely SOLD!

Like…

• Dual POV
• Lovers to Enemies to Lovers
• Mafia Romance
• Hades and Persephone References
• Spice
• Arranged Marriage
• Cliffhanger Ending

Can’t really go wrong with any of that.

The beginning of the book has several time jumps involved starting when Asteria is 16, jumping a couple times until she is 22. While I don’t know that all the jumps were necessary, I did enjoy having a glimpse into how Asteria got to where she is at 22.

I am a sucker for the multiple POV, mafia, enemies to lovers tropes so the fact that this book had them all was *Chef’s Kiss*

This book was so easy to read. It took a while for me to get into (mostly because I was just reading it a bit at a time), but from 40% of the way onwards… I ate this book up. I read the rest of the book in one sitting.

CLIFFHANGER…. can't wait for book two!

Expected publication September 27, 2022

Some of my favourite quotes from the book:

“Look to the stars, cara mia. Every night you miss me, every night you don't see me, that's where I'll be. Always.”

“You can’t forget people like Asteria. They grow inside of you like a contagion. She made a home for herself inside of my heart years ago. For years, she was an essential part of me. She was the yin to my yang, the stars to my night sky, the air in my god damn lungs.”

A mafia book that starts off with two friends a girl and a boy who has grown up together and though they are from two different families they dream of being together. This all looks good until she is told they can not be together and even though they plan to run away he does not show up and she is told that his family is gone. She cannot believe that he left without any word. Now without any word, she is told to marry someone else. Though she does not want to she knows it is not up to her but to her father and she has no say. On the day of the wedding though her fiance is killed.
Now she is told that she is to marry someone else and that person is the boy who she grew up with who is now a man yet she does not know him, also from what she has heard he is now the devil and she is wondering why she is having to marry him. The devil is out to destroy her family and you the reader do not know why. This is the first book and more should be revealed in the second book which I hope so. This first book is dark but is a good beginning and I can’t wait for the second one. I do like the characters and the beginning really does get you into the story before it turns dark so you want to continue to read it to the end.

The Princess and the Devil by Naya V. is a dark, mafia romance. The book focuses on the characters Astoria and Azriel, as young people they fall helplessly in love but at that time it isn’t meant to be and one day Azriel disappears. We fast forward a few years and Astoria is sworn to another man who is part of the Italian mob. As a woman she isn’t allowed to make her own decisions and when her fiancé is killed, it opens up a series of events which sees Azriel coming back into her life. But he isn’t the boy she remembered, this man is harder, darker and seems to want to make Astoria pay for past sins of her fathers that she has no idea about.

Astoria and Azriel have a very difficult relationship. Astoria remembers what Azriel used to be like and is still trying to find the boy within the man, but Azriel doesn’t give her a lot back and at times can be really cruel to her. It is only when they start to get together that more of the truth comes out on where Azriel has been and what he has been up too. There are certainly dark elements to this book which highlight the violent world that both characters come from. There are also some references to their story being like Persephone and Hades which you definitely pick up on throughout the story. The dual perspectives gave me a sense of getting to know both characters more and understand where they were coming from, and this is definitely a slow burn romance so don’t expect things to be happening quickly.

The book does end on a cliff-hanger!

ARC received for a fair, honest and sometimes long review. All opinions are my own. 😊

More of my reviews can be found on my blog: http://thehotmesslibrary.blogspot.com

The Princess And The Devil
by Naya V.

This book was amazing! It ended in a cliffhanger and I can't wait to read the next book and find out what's going to happen next! I was not prepared to read another book with a cliffhanger, especially when I can't read the next book immediately, because I loved this! I loved every character, the female MC named Astoria is vegetarian like me so that was really close to me.
This book has Hades and Persephone references like there was a lot of time they referred Astoria like she is Persephone(wich actually was her middle name) and later in the book Azriel like Hades.
I personally think this book was too short but I know a lot of people will love it because of that.
I think I just really love slow burn romance especially with the enemies to lovers trope. This was definitely not a slow burn but I still really loved it!
I really recommend this book!

Also it reminded me of "The Book Of Azrael" by Amber Nicole but maybe it's just me, like I just keep thinking about that book and try to see every book like that.😄

✨enemies to lovers
✨mafia romance
✨arrange marriage
✨dual pov
✨cliffhanger

Release date: 27/09/2022

Thank you so much NetGally for this book in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars. This book was decent I definitely didn’t love it and I felt like some things were over explained which I do not like but some people do but I did really like the main female character Asteria and i definitely liked 1st person pov. Overall it was a good read and I would definitely read what happens next and recommend it.

Wow I will anxiously await the next book! The twist and turns had be on endge throughout this book! Azriel and Asteria have some serious history.and then were seperated. When they are brought back together again he is no longer the same person. Great read!!

Thank you NetGalley and Naya Villareal for an eARC!

*SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD*

I was immediately interested in reading this book based on the description alone. I love mafia romances and Hades and Persephone retellings, so both in one book? Sign me up.

I loved this book. I was hooked after the first chapter and devoured this book within two days. I have read a lot of dark romances, specifically in the mafia realm, and “The Princess and the Devil” is definitely one of my favorites.

I love a great mix of angst and romance. The MMC (Azriel) is definitely an anti-hero. For a large portion of the book, I was wondering how he was going to redeem himself and how the FMC (Asteria) was ever going to forgive him. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a bully-romance, however Azriel is not a nice guy for much of the book. One thing I found slightly frustrating was how quickly and easily Asteria forgave Azriel for his treatment towards her. Some of the things he said to her were incredibly cruel, and though she wasn’t particularly docile, she never really gave him any sh*t for how he initially treated her.

The spice was well written, the angst was delicious, and it had just the right amount of romantic/sweet scenes to balance it out. I was hooked from beginning to end, and I can’t wait to read the next book. Fair warning: the book does end on a cliffhanger.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it for any lover of dark romance. I can’t wait for the second book to come out.

This was a decent book. I got really annoyed at the beginning of the book with all the time skips. There were 2 one year time skips and then a four year time skip. I found the first 2 completely unnecessary and just annoying to the plot. Everything that happened at the beginning before the 4 year time skip could have happened together without the other time skips, in my opinion.

However, after all of that, the story got more interesting and I was actually able to enjoy it. I did really enjoy the lovers to enemies to lovers trope in this book. Getting to see Azriel's side to story was nice too as it gave me insight into his struggle of loving Asteria, but also being a mafia boss.

The ending!!!! What a cliffhanger! I have to read the next one just to see what happens.

Overall, it was a decent read, but I can't necessarily say that I would recommend it.

I loved this story. It was my first mafia romance and I can honestly say I’m hooked. My favorite part was definitely the Hades and Persephone spinoff.

The spice level in this book was perfect and I always love a feisty strong female character and I think she was portrayed beautifully in this book. I cannot wait to read more from Naya. I also like the writing style it wasn’t difficult or tedious to read where I had to put the book down multiple times. I pretty much read the book in one sitting loved every minute of it.

*Thank you Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

A mafia princess and the devil.

From childhood lovers to enemies, Azriel and Asteria are all consumed by each other. Azriel, is possessive and needs to protect her. Asteria is the typical mafia princess who leads with her heart.

For all mafia romance lovers, this one I could not put down.

I liked the characters in this story. They had a good chemistry and the storyline itself was entertaining to read. I did get a bit blogged down but thought it was still an interesting read.

I read this arc thanks to NetGalley, and it did not disappoint.

Asteria and Azriel have been through quite a ride since they were teenagers. Asteria is your typical naive mafia princess. At times I feel horrible for her because sh3 had no choice and was in a gilded cage. Other times I wanted to scream at her because she was just so naive and ridiculous. When your husband comes home covered in blood half the time I feel like that’s a good indication she is protected for a reason.
Azriel has been through hell. He’s no longer the sweet teenage boy she used to love. Honestly, he’s better. This man is so fine! Emotionally damaged, definite,y, but sexy as sin also. The spice is just right in my opinion. I am excited to see what comes next.

"It feels like he's the stars and I'm the moon, and together? We're the universe.We're infinite possibilities. We're that love that refuses to quit. The love that never stops.
We're always and forever."

Being a mafia princess comes with a cost. Asteria has been sheltered for her whole life. The only good thing is the boy she loves, but her father arranges marriage with someone else. That leaves Asteria devastated and heartbroken. Azriel goes to another city, but after six years he's back, completely changed.

Asteria is sassy, stubborn and kind. She is naive but can't blame her because the way she lived. Both her and Azriel annoyed me sometimes, but still liked them. There was definetely the chemistry between these two, no matter the years apart from each other. The book is an easy read and ends on a cliffhanger. Looking forward to the next one!
If you love the lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers, mafia romance, arranged marriage, Hades and Persephone retellings, you'll enjoy The Princess and The Devil!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

This book called out to me like a siren. Mafia, lovers to enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, Hades and Persephone references, and SPICE. It was so good I finished it in one sitting!

“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." This is my favorite quote from this book.

The story of how Azriel and Asteria played out has both parts of new and reliable. The storyline of Mafia and arranged marriage being the reliable and the lovers to enemies to lovers and spice being new. The angst and tension between the two characters makes you feel like you are experiencing it for yourself. I felt like I was going through the same emotions as they were.

This book does end on a cliffhanger and I can't wait for part 2.

** I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. **

Ever since the release of 365 DNI, I’ve added mafia romance to my read list. This is a gritty, sensual addition to the genre, definitely for fans of the 365 DNI series.

Although labeled as New Adult, this felt incredibly YA to me and I know it will largely appeal to that audience in the 16 to 18 range.

Protagonist Asteria is feisty and well spoken, determined to get a loving relationship out of her lost love Azriel.

The highlights of this were the spicy scenes. That one scene involving underwear and a window? Ooof. Hot stuff. The build of the sexual tension was nicely done, with a satisfying payoff.

The relationship between them as well felt mostly natural. There is a certain level of chemistry between them as well, though it’s a little stilted.

The only things that kept me from enjoying it more was the writing style of the opening and first several chapters. It comes across as flowery, more in the style of a historical novel, which don’t quite suit the modern day Chicago vibe; and the first several chapters seem extraneous. The novel could have opened much later and relied on the flashbacks, which I think would have kept it from feeling as YA as it does.

Fun, wild read. Will definitely keep an eye out for the sequel.

A Mafia romance/arranged marriage/Hades & Persephone story.
The heroine is forced to marry an italian mobster but her finacee is murdered on the wedding date. Her former childhood love returns but with darkness and blood.....

The storyline isn't new obviously. BUT it was done very well. The 2 main characters have such great chemistry and you really want them to be together. The early scenes when they were younger in particular were very sweet. My only complaint is that it ends on a cliffhanger. :(

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc!!

Overall I enjoyed this. It was a quick and easy read. I liked the characters for the most part but Asteria was annoying at some points in the book. I did not connect with the characters much.

I found myself not really caring about what was going on until the last 20% of the book.

Overall I would recommend this if you like mafia arranged romances.

I also did not really like all the time jumps in the first few chapters. I understood why they were there it was just a lot.

I would also recommend if you enjoy Greek mythology retellings because this has Persephone/Hades retelling elements in it.

I feel like the plot was good, but it could have been planned out better. I just felt like things kind of dragged for a bit until we got towards the end. All the references to Hades and Persephone we’re cool, but it was definitely more of nickname for Azriel and Asteria. The spice scenes were detailed and done really well. My least favorite part was how annoying Asteria was. She was definitely naive and didn’t know better, but it made her weak. I wish Azriel confided in her before the ending. It does end on a cliffhanger, but I feel like we can predict what’ll happen next. I’m hoping in the next book Asteria grows up some and learns from her mistakes.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

All you have to do is tell me it has Persephone/Hades retelling elements and I am already grabbing it, no questions asked.

“Look to the stars cara mia. Every night you miss me, every night you don’t see me, that’s where I’ll be. Always.”

This really doesn’t bring anything new to the table. The characters are really just a reflection of characters I have seen in other books similar to this. But, I had fun and that’s what counts! Plus I have a soft spot for butterflies, so there’s that. One thing I really loved was the flashbacks to the early relationship between Azriel and Asteria. They were just so sweet and perfect together before the world forced them apart and hardened their hearts.

“He’s the villain in my story. Not a knight in shining armor or a noble prince. He is the devil. And, unfortunately, I’m his princess.”

On a technical level, this wasn’t the greatest. The storyline was a little wobbly at times and I am not quite sure what happened with that ending. Warning, it does end on a cliffhanger but it is almost like it stops at what should be the end of a chapter, not the end of the book. The idea is there, the execution just needs some work.

“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.”

If you're a fan of the arranged marriage trope mixed in with a mafia romance, then you will for sure eat this up!