ARC REVIEW

A total sucker for mafia romance, The Princess and the Devil was great! The blurb got my attention straight away.

Asteria, The ‘princess’, is the daughter of a capo who has grown up with Azriel, who is the son of her fathers right hand man. As teenagers they have slowly fallen in love over time however Asteria’s father arranges a marriage when she is 16, to someone else to strengthen the mafia ties between families.
Once her father finds out about their sneaking around, he casts Azriel and his father out.
Asteria has always been shielded from her fathers way of life, she is naive and only truly sees what her father is like when she fits his decision.
Years later, the day before her wedding Asteria’s world changes when her house is under attack and her fiance, a man that she had come to respect is shot dead right infront of her.

The book time jumps again and this is when she sees Azriel again years later. She is still stubborn and naive but a new Azriel brings out the sass in her. She realises that the boy she fell in love with is gone and only a cold blooded killer remains. She gives as good as she gets and I loved the back and forth between them.

I quite enjoyed this however it ends in a cliffhanger which I didnt know 😫😫 cant wait to read the next book!

If you like:

Childhood friends to star crossed lovers ➡️ Enemies to lovers
Mafia Bully Romance
Arraigned Marriage
Light touch on Hades and Persephone
From Naive to Strong Sassy Heroine
Alpha Hero turned Alpha Asshole Villian
Fantastic Smut

Add to your TBR!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was intriguing from the start! It had everything from enemies to lovers, to arranged marriage and was a mafia romance! I believe it was also a Hades and Persephone retelling. It was definitely darker and spicy. I will definitely read the next book!

thank you netgalley for the arc!!

“He’s hung the moon for me. Painted the night sky for me. He’s handpicked every star and constellation in the sky and laid them at my feet.”

I originally picked this book up because i was very intrigued by the synopsis, childhood lovers to strangers? count me in.

Azriel was such a good character. I love when characters go from innocent kids then with a time jump they suddenly appear cold and vindictive. Get you a man who gets you a butterfly farm.

AsteriaI had never read a book with a character quite like Asteria. She has been a prisoner in her own home all her life, all she had was azriel and after he was ripped from her, she had nothing.

Overall this book was well written, an easy read, the romance was so interesting, I NEED THE NEXT BOOK IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT.

I think I am enjoying the dark romances more right now because I ate this up. I read this book in one sitting and I enjoyed the plot a lot. This book is a mafia/dark romance with an arranged marriage.

Azerial and Asteria were lovers when they were teens but were dramatically split when Asteria's father arranged her marriage to another mafia family's son.

Years later, Azerial comes back into Asteria's life and she is forced to marry him, but they are no longer the young kids in love and have a lot of individual history. Azerial became the leader and with that comes a ton of enemies and threats which start to come into play once the marriage becomes public.

I cannot wait for book two because I want to finish Azerial and Asteria's story immediately!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I enjoyed reading this book, although I don’t think it’s substantially different from a number of other books on KU I’ve read in this subgenre (dark mafia/bully romance). I appreciated the twist at the end (although, perhaps, not so much the cliffhanger ending), which kept it a little fresher than your average mafia romance. What really held me back was Asteria’s character. She’s willfully ignorant and immature: she is aware of what her father is/does yet is constantly (!) surprised by his actions. When she goes to Azriel’s house following her marriage she continues to behave and act as though she is a child instead of a woman with agency. I realize she was never allowed to be independent BUT she does make some immature and unwise decisions of her own agency with tragic consequences, which could have been avoided if she hadn’t insisted on “rebelling.”
(Not that I’m excusing murder as punishment, at all, but frankly that’s par for the course in these books. I think you know what you’re getting into when you pick one of these up.)

I wouldn’t mind picking up the sequel so I’ll give this ⭐⭐⭐.

Soooo I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it. But wait, did I? Actually yeah, I did. Atleast in the beginning. Or so I thought.

Okay but seriously...I had such high hopes and maybe that’s the worst part. Cuz marriage of convience? Check.
Star crossed lovers? Check.
Persephone & Hades refrence? Check. Check. Check.
But honestly it all went down the drain. The beginning was great, tbh. The thing with Asteria’s father, Azriel leaving and an arrange marriage was selling it. And then Azriel coming back and claiming her, keeping her in the dark, keeping her safe. Man, it was fine. I was living for that but shit got too boring. I’ve read so much dark romance so I expected some pushing away and lying and insulting but what I just COULDNT take was the fucking secret he kept hidden under his tail. At almost 60%, and we still don’t know about it?? Not even a scratch? Any leads? I always appreciate a good suspense but this was just too much. Like TOO TOO MUCH. Plus there was no progress in their relationship for more than half of the book. It was almost like Asteria had more chemistry with Giovanni and Romeo than her own husband, good lord.

I know, okay? What girl doesn't want to be the one for the handsome, brooding guy? To break his ice, get past his defences, and under his skin? But Azriel was really one tough crack. And Asteria...oh my god, she worked too hard. Damn, girl, i get it. But this was really testing me and i had to put the book down for full two days cuz i was so close to giving up on it. I was praying the whole time that the dangling carrot better be worth it. and??? seriously????

If “surprising” means “totally predictable ” then oh yeah the ending was very surprising. So surprised i still can’t get over it.

Anyways, the smut was good. I’m gonna give that. Maybe it was the magic spell that kick started their relationship cycle cuz newsflash! As we crossed the 70% mark our bad boy is suddenly finding his love back and telling stuff and being a lil less ass to his wife. Honestly, the whole anti-hero thing didn’t convince me very much. Again, maybe I expected a little too much and it completely fell flat.

Thankyou sm netgalley for sending the e-arc along my way in exchange for an honest review. I really appreciate it!!

If you’re a fan of mafia romances, enemies to lovers, forced marriage, grumpy sunshine, hades and Persephone retellings, then this one is definitely for you. Dark themes mentioned, check TW. She is to marry a. man for power but ends up having to marry her teenage love. Except he's not the boy she knew. He's the devil. This story is a dual point of view, between the FMC Asteria and MMC Azriel.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. It has a lot of reference to Hades and Persephone, and the storyline has similarities. The plot and writing are excellent but Azriel was the most frustrating character. At the beginning of the book he was so sweet to Asteria but once they married I wanted to strangle him. Obviously it's part of the story and he has his reasoning. But for me it's different when a mafia boss is cruel to his wife because it's an arranged marriage than when they are childhood sweethearts. So far there isn't a whole lot of spice but the scenes that are in this book are HOT! Beware that this book ends in a cliffhanger, and I really want to find out what happens next

This was a very fun read. I love mafia romances. Beginning with Azriel and Asteria being lovers, Az gets outcasted and later returns hellbent on revenge. I really liked the tropes in this book, and I enjoyed the character of Azriel with how brooding and intense he was and then, way later on in the story, he was soft for Asteria. However, I feel like I've read this, especially the beginning, and the characters. Asteria tended to be annoying and childish. I really hope she gets more character development in the next book. Overall, if you enjoyed friends to enemies to lovers and mafia romances, check it out!

Had to remind myself to breath! Tense mafia romance, but much more. Yearning, deceit, love, violence, and mob politics and revenge - no stop to the tension. I wanted to kill him myself through most of the book. Where is that sequel....

Ughhh why does this end on a cliffhanger??? I Obvs don’t know where the story of going but I had hoped it could’ve been read as a stand-alone. This second chance romance/arranged marriage is def a bully romance. I was worried when I read reviews that this was a hades/Persephone retelling bc while I love a good mythological retelling hades/Persephone has been soooo overdone lately. But it’s less a retelling and more a funny/not so funny joke between the two characters and I can appreciate that.

Asteria is a fiery ball of sunshine trapped in impossible circumstances and Az is a man who has seen and had to do too much and has shut down his emotions because of it. I felt for both Asteria and Azriel and the lives they were born into and loved their clear love for each other. Totally rooting for them to make it through the 2nd book alive and together!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc copy.

Dark themes mentioned, check TW.

I enjoyed this story. An Italian mafia romance.

We start with a teenage love in an evil world. It's sweet, it's pure. It gets torn apart.

We then follow Asteria as she grows up shielded from the mafia world but still dealing with its rules and impact.

She is to marry a. man for power but ends up having to marry her teenage love. Except he's not the boy she knew. He's the devil.

The tension was great. The banter as well. The characters were very different, opposites attract type of thing. The spice was very nice when they were both legal.

I do have a couple of critics:
- the explicit scenes from the beginning of the book where both characters were teens were very unnecessary and uncomfortable
- we had a lot of repetition that "he wasn't the boy she knew". After the 5th time, it got redundant.
- we still have a lot of unanswered. questions: her mother, the real reason she is a target...
- I feel as though she was too shielded from the mafia world, even though it is part of her characteristics, I think being married and introduced to a new section of the mafia world, she could have gotten to know some basics, or maybe learned to defend herself...

Overall I did enjoy this story as a mafia romance but it is average.

Wow! This book was wonderful. The main characters are the best kind of morally gray. So many different vibes from friends to enemies to lovers; “touch her and you die”, Hades and Persephone and typical mafia daughter naivety. I could not put it down! Well written and developed but that cliffhanger was the worst! I can’t wait for the next book

OMG I really really loved The Princess and The Devil! Naya V's writing was so good and I was instantly hooked from the first chapter. If you enjoy dark romances, mafia, enemies to lovers, dual POV, or Hades x Persephone retellings, this is the book for you! Azriel is super toxic towards Asteria but I can't help rooting for them throughout the book. I felt like the tempo of the book was good until the very end. The end comes in hot and things go down really quickly. My only critique would be making the last 10-15% of the book a little less 0 to 100. This book does end on a BIG cliff hanger so I am extremely excited for book 2!

Overall: 9/10
Spice: 3.8/5
Be sure to check trigger warnings before reading!!

I didn’t really know if I would like this when I started it but having recently read the These Violent Delights Duology I wanted to give a chance to another gangster book.

Pros:

Character development is strong. You get to know the characters through their actions and reactions to the main female character who has a way of getting through to the core of people.

Being able to see things from both the main female and main male’s point of view at different times really makes their behaviors understandable and their difficulties make sense. They truly are coming from two different realms of experience.

I worried with the theme of Hades and Persephone being brought up. It seems like endless retellings are coming out for the couple and I’m getting sick of them. This is done with class and style and just to show their differences not to be them. There is also a bit of a Romeo and Juliet vibe I’m digging.

Cons:

Parts of the story feel a little rushed and skimmed over. You don’t really get to know much about the family/gang and what they are up against. I’m hoping we can get more development on that in book two.

The cliff hanger here is rough and will leave you with a book hangover!

Thank you, NetGalley for recommending me this because I honestly didn't think I'd love this book more than I thought I would. This is my first read from this author and it leaves me wanting more. The whole arranged marriage mafia romance got me hooked right away.

Azriel Costa has a way with words that had me swooning and other times I was a wreck. Basically the mafia god who will do anything to keep his wife safe, even if it means to keep secrets from her. Asteria Costa, the beautiful, sassy princess she is, I just love her to death. She'll do whatever it takes to show her love for Azriel, even if though she knows that she'll get hurt in the process.

Can I just say that the suspense in this story was intense. The banter is awesome, the characters are so well written, and the spice? *chef's kiss* Like seriously, where can I find my own Azriel? But that cliffhanger though?! I mean... what?! I definitely can't wait for the next book. I highly recommend this!

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

So full disclosure, this book starts off slow. I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters. Even by chapter 10, I was feeling like, ok come on…. However, by 15 things pick up and then it moves at a good pace. It had some twists and turns and the cliffhanger at the end! Holy moly!

I enjoy both main characters in the book. I felt they both had a lot of depth and personality. I almost hated Azriel. If it weren’t for his chapters I would have!

I love a good mafia book with a great plot. This book had friends to enemies to lovers and I was so here for it!!! So not only was it a great trope but add the mafia and manliness in all in all a great book.

Ignore a few of the awkward beginning chapters and give it a chance, you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to Netgalley and Naya V. for this ARC.

I found the middle abit taxing that I took a break and came back to it. After about 60% it really got going again and I was steaming through it. And what a cliff hanger! I need to now know what happens!

This book is what you would expect from a mafia romance, with Hades and Persephone as the base. The dual POVs helped me connect with the characters - without Az's POV I would have disliked him more and I'm already not his biggest fan. His redemption arc felt rushed. I would have liked to see more of the motivation behind his actions, because the hot and cold/ cruel and kind felt like it was for no reason and didn't really do it for me.

I'm hoping that book 2 will flesh out the plot more because I don't feel like it's really clear. If you're looking for a quick read mafia romance then this book is for you. It just wasn't my cup of tea because I was hoping for more plot and insight into the characters motivations.

*Disclaimer: I was generously provided with an ARC from the author. However, all viewpoints expressed above are my own.

Love lost, mafia bosses, heartbreak, rekindling romance, danger, suspense, this book really has it all. Azriel is a character that I loved immediately as well as Astrea. It broke my heart when he had to go and she was so heartbroken over it. Then everything that happened with Fabiano to further traumatize the poor girl, and the way her father was to her just because she was “principessa” and was expected to act like it. Finally at 22 she’s reunited with the boy who should’ve been and always was the love of her life. The problem? He’s not that teenage boy anymore and he makes sure he knows it. He’s not the biggest of her problems, but she doesn’t know that. Someone’s out for blood, her blood, and she has no idea. They’ll go to any lengths imaginable to get exactly what they want, all while she has no idea who it is or that they’re trying in the first place. This book ended on a cliffhanger that has me wishing the second book was out and ready to read already, I’ll be watching for it to come out and hoping the situation she’s in is rectified, in the way it should be. I hated Azriel, at first. The way he acted when they were reunited was a shock and made me angrier than I care to admit, until I realized WHY he did it. He can lie to her all he wants, she (and anyone who reads this book) knows that he loves her more than he may ever admit.