Where there’s mafia romance, there’s bound to be arranged marriages and abductions and bloodshed, and we get a bit of it all in this book. Teague and Callie are made for each other, in that I’ve never seen two people make a series of bad decisions one after the other like these two. Instead in trying to be noble, they both just end up being foolishly destructive. I initially thought it was only Teague getting on my nerves with his holier than thou attitude and consequent half baked plans, but turns out Callie matched him idea for idea and they both really just needed to chill. Even though I get that they each had pressured that they were dealing with in their own way.

The best part of this book, hands down, is the O’Malley siblings and their complicated relationships. Aiden and Carrigan are clearly the superior O’Malleys so far. While Callie and Teague were mostly meh, the romance set up for the next book at the back end of this one is already more promising and more explosive than these two were in their own book. The action kicks into high gear in the second half of the book, and the stakes get unexpectedly higher too, so that overall this feels like more of an origin story of the O’Malley series rather than a true first book and I’m excited to see what comes next.
Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book

The O'Malley series by Katee Robert is getting a revamp!! May 9th the series is getting new covers and titles and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!!
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The first book in the new revamp is called Dark Succession.
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What to expect in the O'Malley series: ⁠
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 sibling high jinks ⁠
🥵 steamy love scenes⁠
🔫 gun fights⁠
🎭️ kidnapping for the drama ⁠
🔗 familial bonds ⁠
👿 literal enemies to 😈 actual lovers ⁠
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I love a good mafia / arranged marriage romance and this series is at the top of the list!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars
3 chili peppers



Dark Succession (previously published as The Marriage Contract) is at the top of its group of mafia/ marriage of convenience combo romances. Dark Succession is the start to the O’malley series, and it really starts with all the best the series has to offer. Teague O'Malley is the tough, protective, strategic partner that Callie Sharidan absolutely needed. After being in an arranged marriage with the oldest son of another mafia family- who meets an untimely demise, Callie is then paired up with Teague who she is skeptical of from the beginning but also wildly attracted to.

This is the start of a war between Boston’s Mafia families and while it is a mafia romance book Katee Robert layers in some incredibly deep emotional topics in as well. This is one of the darker Katee Robert books I have read but that darkness makes the emotions run more deeply.

The logic/rationale of the book was a little touch and go for me- you have to suspend a lot of disbelief when reading mafia but even that wasn’t enough for me to be disinterested. I also wish that there was more of an opportunity to warm up to the other characters in the series. Had I read this one before the others in the series I probably would have hated the other characters a lot more. And while they are damaged they are very likable in their own books.

Katee Robert is rising star in the book world for a reason. I cannot recommend this author enough. I would even argue that she has gotten even better since the original publishing of this book.

it should also be noted as the new edition had a total rehaul that these upgrades were absolutely needed. Dark Succession is worthy of a cover and title that indicate how great the material is and I think these upgrades do just that. As well as modernize the book quite a lot.

Melodramatic, implausible story combined with insta-insta-love and this one really didn't work for me.

I love so many authors its hard to pick a favorite, but when it comes to monster romance of any kind Katee Robert is my go too and an author I always recommend.

Teague hates everything about his family and when his father orders him to marry Callista to create a “business” alliance, Teague is ready to quit the family once and for all. However, things change when Teague meets Callie and sees the bruises on her neck, and the trauma in her eyes. He vows to do everything in his power to avenge her. Callie wasn’t prepared for this. As they get close, Callie can’t help but wonder if the secret she’s keeping could get Teague killed and that scares her.

Katee Robert does monster romance so amazingly that I thought I would have no problem with this re-release of a more traditional contemporary romance. Some of my favorite aspects were present, the smut – she always delivers there. But I felt the story was lacking overall. I expected things to be darker than it was based on it being a mob romance. I did enjoy the love story between Callie and Teague, it was a great instant love story. There was just so much going on that I felt it took away from the story. I can definitely see this book setting up for the rest of the series.

Grab your copy of this re-release May 9th. I love the new cover!

Thank you to the publisher Forever (Grand Central Publishing), @readforeverpub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katee Robert will forever be an author I can count on. I always enjoy her books and Dark Succession was no different. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

I always love a good dark mafia romance, but did not expect to love the characters as much as I did and to have my heart ripped out multiple times. OH the tears and anxiety! Katee what are you doing to me?!

Callie was exactly what I wanted her to be. Fierce yet vulnerable as she accepted her forced need to become the heir to her family. The grief she still held on to from the death of her brother but her willingness to see the good in people and sacrifice herself to preserve it.

Teague was not what I expected at all. Usually the mafia MMC is this hardened shell that needs to be cracked where Teague was a soft heart from the beginning. I so loved getting his POV alongside Callie's and could feel his love for his family within the story.

I liked the pacing of the book. I didn't feel like it dragged at all and I found it hard to put down. I felt like the ending was a bit quick and wanted more of their story (this caused a late night search for whatever bonus content I could find). Otherwise, I definitely recommend this book.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5
🌶 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶 /5

Second book by this author I've read and I loved it , not once did I want to put it at all.steamy, hot and sexy is the only way I can describe this book.

A mafia romance that actually has some good and wholesome love in it too? Obsessed. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the advance copy.

This was my favorite Katee Robert book yet! I’m honestly impressed with the story and this book had more plot/substance than her usual ones in my opinion. While I generally vie away from insta-love, it kinda worked for me in this book. I thought some parts could’ve been developed more, but I also think the rest of the series will continue to build out the families and the mafia life.

I read this book as the Marriage Contract, and it was heart-clenchingly perfect then and it is now. This is actually the book that introduced me to Katee Robert so I will always have a soft spot for this particular story. This is one of those books that I loved so much I can't talk about it.

The main characters are wonderful and the plot kept me on my toes for what will happen next. As always the author does a good job of writing dark romance but not too dark. Her content warnings are true and followed, but this book is well written and she does a great job of setting up for the rest of the series while making sure the main characters have their own book.

My favorite series by Katee Robert, so I encourage anyone who has read her other books to give this one a try.

Content Warnings (from the author's site): Abusive father, sibling death (on page), guns, blood, assault, kidnapping, murder, explicit sex

Teague is scrumptious! Katee sure knows how to write a delicious hero! I wasn't a huge fan of the MC... she was kind of annoying. But I kinda want to read the next book because the hero in that sounds even yummier 😂