Full review: https://www.inabookshell.com/2020/09/review-fragile-longing-by-cora-reilly.html

In typical Cora fashion, I have a love-loathe relationship with the characters. Sofia was bold, feisty, and fun. She has this bright, lovable aura surrounding her. Danilo is the underboss of Indianapolis. I enjoyed his angry, unleashed version more than the cool gentlemen.

My favorite thing about them was their open-minded nature. They communicated well with each other. To be honest, I didn’t like either of them when I read about them in previous novels and even for most of the 1st half of Fragile Longing. I was wary of Danilo and Sofia seemed too naive for her own good. But their character growth was beautiful.

Although I enjoyed the 2nd part of the book, the side effects of the damage caused by the Camorra are portrayed realistically, in the beginning. It was easy to empathize with the Outfit and their suffering. I loved all the background characters, every single one of them. Samuel, Emma, Anna, I'm looking forward to reading their books. Sofia’s friendship with Anna was poignant. The dynamics between the underbosses families and the Cavallaro’s family were interesting.

From all the teasers, I had this image in my head of what Danilo was, I was so wrong. He was the biggest surprise. The entire climax and epilogue are simply awesome. There were tense moments but fluff trumped the angst. Now that I read Bound by the past and this novel I understand the Outfit’s perspective better, they never really knew Fina, not really. Some of those loose ends are tied up. After I finished reading it, I wanted more but I also felt content with the way things have played out.

This novel is written in the first person in both Sofia and Danilo’s perspective. The setting is developed better than Cora’s other books. More picturesque vacation-feels. It's a short novel but has slow pacing. I read the book in one sitting. Fragile Longing focuses more on romance than the mafia aspect.

It is more similar to the other standalone, Sweet Temptation than the novels in Camorra Chronicles and Born in Blood series. I recommend it to all romance-genre readers. Read ‘Twisted Pride’ before you read this. Fragile Longing is everything Sofia and Danilo’s story is meant to be. The wait was worth it! 👏👏👌👍. ARC is provided by The Next Step PR, LLC and Cora Reilly via NetGalley. Thank you.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the first time I have read anything by Cora Reilly but my mind is blown. Why did I wait. This story between Sofia and Donila is beyond spellbinding and keeps you fully engrossed the whole time. The passionate moments to the heartbreaking truths moments. I was completely mesmerized by the concept. How deep and intense things go with the mafia world that Reilly has created. There is such a magnetic push and pull between these two. I loved their banter. That Sofia never backed down from Donila regardless of everything that has happened between them. You do get a little angst, small naive moments because of Sofia’s age but growing up in the world that they do, I fully get why she is more mature than her actual age.
Overall, this book was absolutely amazing. I devoured it in one sitting. I could not put it down. I loved the depth that was in this story as it entangles with previous books written by the author, but is a perfect standalone. I never felt lost, I felt connected to each character and in love with every moment. I honestly never wanted it to end. Now to go read the backlist by this author because her words are everything!

ARC Review
Fragile Longing was such a pleasant read. I love the story of Sofia and Danilo.

Sofia has always lived as her sister’s, Serafina, shadow. And the moment when Serafina left the family, Sofia knew she would never replace her sister, and that upset her.
Sofia was promised to Danilo as a consolation prize after Serafina couldn’t marry him. Sofia knew that getting into Danilo’s heart would be hard because she wasn’t her sister.

The story of these two shows us overcoming the past and moving forward with life. There were scenes that gripped my heart so much. Sofia’s struggles with life after her sister left, her constant trying to be more than a consolation prize.

Danilo at first thought of their marriage as a strategic deal but with time he started to see Sofia as a woman and not his ex-fiancée’s younger sister.

The chemistry between these two was on point and the slow burn built up the fire between them.

I really loved how Cora focused more on showing us the relationship between Danilo and Sofia, every step of it.

I’m giving this book perfect 5 starts. I loved everything in it.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love reading anything by Cora Reilly! I have been eagerly awaiting this book for a while!
Leaving off from the aftermath of Twisted Pride (my favorite book in the series) tells the story of Danilo and Sofia in a stand-alone, age gap romance. The writing has always been great from this series. I felt the pain and frustration from the characters through their struggles. I liked the book, but this was not my favorite from the mafia world. I couldn’t really get into the age gap romance because it started the story from when Sofia was 11, and I kept the image of her being a child throughout the story. There was a recurring immaturity that kept her too young in my eyes. There were some great side characters who were mentioned in previous books that got more character development and I hope to read more about their stories in future books. Overall it was a good read, and I can’t wait for Cora’s next book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5 stars

The first half was good, but the second half was spectacular! Oh my goodness, I really didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. It was so charming and had drama without involving too much mafia stuff. I adored Emma and I’m so excited for her book! I even really liked Bria! So many possibilities for new books!

Sofia (18) is so sweet and kind hearted. She has had an unrequited crush on Danilo for years and her dreams come true when she is engaged to Danilo to replace her sister Serafina. She makes some bad decisions, but is so delightful that it makes up for it completely. I was worried that she would exclude Emma from her friend group or something, but she was so kind towards her and not in a pitying way. Just great.

Danilo (28) was much better than I expected! I was scared, but he was really good. He was the best in the second half, so sweet and attentive. I loved that he wanted an affectionate relationship like his parents had. His explanation for dating blonde women at the end was splendid! So good!

There are so many characters that I am excited for! Anna, Samual and Emma, the twins, etc! So many books to come! I desperately hope Reilly will continue to write them regularly!

In conclusion, such a great book, that was much better than I expected from reading the blurb and the other books in the series!