Whyyyy? The cover synopsis sounded sooo good. But this book fell short. Really, this author has a great imagination but he/she/they need more practice on engaging their readers. I just couldn’t stay in the book. Kept putting it down because it felt like a telenovela rather than a romance fiction. Kresley Cole does a great job of hooking you and keeping you binging till the end. This author does not.

Her ex fiancé rejected her, his family was the reason behind her torture, her family and the mafia world considered her a pariah but Giovanni saved her, loved her and protected her.
This was a steamy, quick novella (I wish there was more) that I really enjoyed.

TW: Death of loved one (off page), abduction and torture (off page)

*Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for a review.*

A good book overall it's was a good story... Some twists and turns throughout the book but a page turner.....

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I think this is the book that made me fall in love with Sam Crescent. I love the entire story, the writing style, ALL OF IT. I loved these characters. I love that the females in these books dont take any shit!

Mafia Monster's Forced Bride by Sam Crescent is the First book in the Mafia Brides Series. This is the story of Alex and Roman who are forced to be married. This marriage is designed to keep peace between the two families but Roman doesn't want the marriage. Roman also really doesn't have interest in her at first until her life is threatened.

*3.5 stars*

Love with epic family expectations…

Yeah, it wasn’t like a casual ‘meet a doctor, date a lawyer, see what happens’ kind of thing. No, their marriage (forget about a courtship) meant Alex and Roman were going to unite two powerful, mafia families regardless of love or even like. Throw in some self-worth (go Alex!), misconceptions and stubbornness on both sides and a familiar trope became an emotional and satisfying read…

Alex and Roman butted heads (and soon their hearts) at every turn. Just when they seem to come to a tentative understanding, something would happen. Whether it was family, enemies or even themselves, bumps in the road were a constant. I really enjoyed Alex not giving up on herself or what she needed to be happy, regardless of the friction it caused. Roman had his own issues but seeing him soften over time meant his gruff exterior revealed a lot more to like… I liked them, wanted them to figure things out, even when it seemed they would be lost to the harsh world they lived in.

A bit repetitive in spots but a story, and characters, that begged to be read and savored. Am looking forward to a lot more in the series.

Mafia Monster's Forced Bride was my first book by Sam Crescent. I had high hopes for this book as I love the tropes - age-gap and mafia are some of my favorite.

I did enjoy Alex character - her Dad is head of a large crime family and he has made a deal for her to be married to Roman. Alex was a strong and feisty woman who spoke her mind often, loved that she was not written as a weak and submissive female!

Roman took a while to really like - at first he has zero interest in Alex and their marriage and his tactics are very immature. He basically ignores her without even trying to get to know her given their circumstances. I never felt a true connection or hot chemistry form between Roman and Alex and was hopeful for more throughout.

Mafia Monster's is definitely on the lighter side as far as mafia romances, has a very slow build-up and I found myself easily distracted with the story. Overall I'm happy I gave this author a try as she has been on my tbr and would try a different series at another time.

This was a great read. Most arranged marriages don't start off great, then add the mafia to it and its really bad. I liked that this had children that were in an orphanage and Alex loved them no matter what and wanted them as her own. They worked together and made their marriage work even through the hard times. I'm a new reader to this author s books but look forward to reading many more.

3 stars.

This book was one hell of a ride. First things first, I did NOT expect a strong female character in a mafia book, let alone one with unwavering support from her mob boss father. That was a pleasant surprise that I truly did not expect. The male lead however was somewhat infuriating to me with all the games he continued to play throughout.

Alex and Roman's relationship was one that I didn't expect with the Mafia/dark-romance genre of books. Her being so head strong and him wanting nothing to do with her had me wondering how the author was going to put this romance (that was seemingly broken for two previous months) into action.

The book's romance built at a believable pace and I enjoyed how gestures that previously just seemed like instinct was actually partially care/love even if the two didn't realize it at the moment. However, the only reason this isn't a four star is the orphanage plot. I thought it was interesting but the end result had my eyes BULGING OUT OF MY HEAD. I love kids but not THAT MUCH.

The book was a quick read that kept me on the edge of my seat. Would love to see the author's other books and see if they read the same as this one did.

Thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like this book Alpha heroes that are secretly softies for the heroine great book and writing one of my favorite. authors

Alex is married to Roman Greco, a Mafia boss. But she didn't want to. It was her father's decision. A scheme to join both families. His father is a crime boss so the idea of being united with the Mafia was just fantastic.
What starts as an obligation, starts to change little by little.
I love Mafia books so I liked this one. It's true that there is not much action (Mafia action) but the story is nice although pretty unbelievable at some points.

as much as i really wanted to enjoy this book, i felt that both characters acted nothing like the roles they were meant to support. while roman came off as cold, he also was written in such a way that he didn't feel like a soon to be don or a man groomed to be one within the mafia hierarchy. alex was written in a manner that felt immature and too reckless with the lives of others and herself. their chemistry felt both slow to build and clunky, lacking a bit of charm and heat that i've found in other books with a similar premise. in the end, this just wasn't the book for me.

The story of the book was pretty good. Really like both the MC of the book. One thing that needs to be improved is that there was not a lot of explanation given about the Male character i.e., Roman's family. No explanation about his mother, how many siblings he has, about his friends. Other than this the book was good. Alex's loving nature for orphan kids and her determination to adopt all the kids was what appealed to me the most.

Alex enters into an arranged marriage with Roman to keep the peace between the two crime families. Neither of them want to be married to the other and mostly ignore each other until an attempt is made on Alex's life. Roman saves her and has to protect her and while his father tells him quite crudely to make his reluctant wife fall in love with him, Roman has feelings of his own. He grows to like her and wants to make their marriage real. I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers romance. Roman was an alphahole who got his friends to try and seduce his wife to discredit her to his father and they believed that Alex was a good woman way before Roman did. Very much a slow burn for Sam Crescent but still with enough spice to keep me interested. I liked that they got to know each other and that it was in no way an insta love and Alex was no door mat.

I loved this one!

I really enjoyed the fact that the heroine Alex wasn’t the usual mafia bride. She had a backbone and when the hero messed up she actually made him earn her forgiveness.

Roman wasn’t your typical mafia alpha guy, don’t get me wrong, he was dark and dirty, but he actually had a brain and grew as a character through the story.

Dude....this was good! I didn't expect to like it so much but honestly the only complaints I have is a few continuity errors and typos.

I absolutely loved his friends trying to teach them how to pretend to be in love. I laughed out loud at those parts. The pure craziness of how clueless those two were. Freaking adorable.

When Roman finally realized what love is. Wow. Just wow.

Excellent slow burn, age gap, grumpy sunshine arranged marriage...all the stuff. 😂😂😂

This book was really a good book. Yes, it had moments where you were like really? But when you get past those you can see that the author really developed these two characters throughout the book.
Alexa and Roman are forced to marry to untie two families. Neither care nor like the other one. Roman is really just a character with no emotion so he runs on fear and responds that way. Alexa living by herself for the most part decides she does not need a man or a marriage to complete her. Once Roman finds love for her and you think she is for him another piece comes undone. So instead of running he stays and works at fixing himself hoping she will see. Yes, it has moments of violence and suspense but really it is a love story of two people finding themselves so they can be hopefully a stronger couple if they both can get past their fears. A very good book.

Dang!!! What a book! I loved the storyline of Alex and Roman. When their arranged marriage began it looked hopeless. Due to Alex's steadfast personality and immovable morals, this gave Roman a heck of a lot of trouble. He thought she was an anchor around his neck and not worthy to be his wife and doubted the truth of her virginity. Most of the book surrounded their struggle getting to know one another and fall in love. At the same time someone was out to kill Alex. Little did anyone know it was an inside job. Roman also found out about Alex's love for the orphans of a particular orphanage. There was a dark secret there and it really was despicable when it came to light. A great story. A must read. You will not be disappointed.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed
Easy-to-read
Entertaining
Happily Ever After
Page-turner
Realistic
Steamy
Tragic
Unpredictable
Wonderful characters

Mafia Monster’s Forced Bride was a different take on a mafia romance. Alex and Roman are both strong characters. The story follows their arranged marriage in an effort to unite their two families. Easy read that kept me engaged throughout.

There were a few issues with incorrect pronouns used but it never really affected the reading experience.

This was my fourth Crescent book, and although it wasn't my favorite, it was still enjoyable. I wish our male MC would've been a bit more likeable. He had some endearing moments, but he spent way too much of the book being a childish jerk. As for our female MC, she was fine. Nothing about her really stood out. That describes most of this book though. All of it was fine, but nothing in it sticks. Its a book to occupy time, not a book to change a life.