First I would like to thank NetGalley for an ARC of Dark Succession by Katee Robert.
This is the first book in the O’Malleys Series. I’m a fan of Katee Robert, and mafia romances. I had high hopes but this book kind of fell flat for me I wanted more spice. I will continue the series though!

I'm a little disappointed by this one. I honestly just didn't care about the characters, and reading this so closely after Cruel Seduction, you can see how much her writing has improved since writing this.

I love Katee a Roberts but this one was just not for me. I wanted there to be more of something I’m not sure what? Love maybe. I didn’t feel much towards any of the characters and wasn’t that into the story. I think it was more me and not loving the mafia romance though.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I love Katee Robert and I love this series. As always, I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. She always has the absolute best romance plots and dialogue!

This was so dumb. None of this would *ever* happen. It's been 3 minutes—how are you both this horny for each other? Let's take it slow and then you're getting it on the backseat of a car twenty minutes later. Like be so fking for real right now.

Also five stars and where the hell is the second one.

4/5. I really enjoyed this! I'm not usually one for marriage of convenience tropes but this one totally hooked me. I live the idea of the three warring families, and get the feeling we'll be seeing more of each family.

I love Teague. Seriously he was swoon- worthy. And Callie is so sweet, and clearly just trying to keep everyone alive. I would love to see more of them in the future books as well.

Thank you so much @ReadForeverPub for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 09 May 2023)

SYNOPSIS | Boston is run by 3 major crime families (The Sheridans, The O'Malleys + The Hallorans). Callie is the heir of the Sheridan family & in the hopes of uniting themselves with an even more powerful family, her father arranges for her to be married to the eldest son of the Halloran family however his nasty reputation precedes him.

WHAT I LIKED:
- my first introduction to mafia romances

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the romance. Insta-love was eye-roll worthy & I didn't really feel them growing into their love for each other either.
- there was a lot of characters introduced & I didn't feel particularly connected to any of them
- too much mafia politics that I wasn't invested in (it felt like a lot of set up for future books)
- the stakes didn't feel gritty enough & there wasn't enough tension considering they are on the brink of war

Dark Succession starts off with Callie getting assault by her fiancé (who she hadn’t met previously) and she end up killing him in self defence. The impending fall out has Callie’s crime lord father marrying her off to another powerful family in an alliance.

Having seen the bruises on Callie, Teague is determined to figure out who the culprit is now that they are engaged to be married. Teague exudes “who did this to you” energy making it his mission to get revenge on Callie’s abuser. Little does he know she already has.

As the daughter of a mafia boss, I expected Callie to come off more assertive and independent. Some of her actions show her being a strong FMC like during the first dinner when Teague is being controlling and ordering for Callie she calls him on it and tells him she won’t put up with it. But many times her inner monologue doesn’t show her as strong so I have this mixed imagine of her in my mind.

Katee Robert re-edited this previously published work to remove ableist content. This attention to older work written in a different time and personal growth is something all authors should aspire to do.

Unfortunately this book didn’t hold my attention. I found I took long pauses to read something else and then come back and read a few chapters but at that point having forgot where in the story I was. Details that were meant to be remembered were lost and I was counting on Katee’s writing to remind me why things were important.

Towards the end I kept getting more frustrated with Callie’s inner monologue about how everything was her fault. And how she should just come clean to Teague. It was the only thing that kept the story interesting was anticipating Teague’s reaction to finally hearing Callie admit that she was the one that killed Brendan. And unfortunately it didn’t pay off. Instead of honouring the partnership that they had Callie chose to self sacrifice herself instead of working it out with Teague. The revelation just fell flat and the all the anticipation that was built just seeped away.

This definitely wasn’t the worst Mafia romance book I’ve read but it definitely felt like it was lacking. The romance, though quick, was believable but the characters were not. Callie ended up just grating off my nerves. Though I’m a Katee Robert stan I probably won’t be revisiting this series.

I didn’t think that I was a huge fan of mafia romances - but I guess that’s because I hadn’t read one by Katee Robert! I’m excited these are being re-released. I love the covers. And I really enjoyed Teague’s and Callie’s romance storyline. There’s an element of insta love - but in the context of the story, I thought it worked pretty well. This one is fast paced and had me hooked. And the intro to Carrigan and James’ storyline has me abandoning my original reading plans to pick up their book next. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Katee Robert is an auto buy author for me when it comes to dark romance. The Dark Olympus series are definitely stand out works for me, I loved this mafia romance and loved that the female MC's were such powerful women and I love that that is the case in a lot of Katee's books. Can't wait for what's next from Katee!

I could not finish this book. This surprised me, as I love Katee Robert's work. But I didn't like anything about the characters that made me what to get to know them. I couldn't care less what was going on with them.

Thank you NetGalley. I received a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was interesting reading my first Katee novel that wasn’t in the world of fantasy/mythology (Wicked Villains / Dark Olympus), but of mafia romance. Not in a bad way, just a shift.

In true Katee fashion, there is spice but it’s actually tame compared to other things that I’ve read of hers. It has me intrigued enough to want to find out more of how things will net out in this mafia romance series, so looking forward to that.

I don’t consider it a “dark romance” but can see this being a good entry level/introduction if you want to slowly transition into that area of the romance genre.

If you do enjoy mafia romances, I’d definitely recommend to check this book out.

Highlights:
Multiple POVs (mainly FMC and MMC)
Arranged marriage trope
Mafia romance

Spicy and dark... Yes, please!! Katee Robert just knows how to write this kind of romance. Really enjoyed this one and can't wait to read more from her!!

*Thank you @readforeverpub for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Dark. Twisty. Spicy.
Oh boy does Katee Robert know how to straddle the line of dark and too dark. Just wow.

Loved Teague and Callie’s story. When Callie goes to check out her fiancé, things didn’t go well at all! She had to kill him or he would kill her. But is that a secret that might cost her everything ?

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of dark succession. Anything Katee Robert's writes I love. I am such a big fan and have enjoyed everything by her I have read.

Another solid Katee Robert read.

Robert continuously writes stories that have a good balance of spicy romance, with plot that isn't spice related. They are always relatively quick reads that are enjoyable and make you wish you could be in some of the scenes.

I would still like to see a bit more growth from Robert's writing: stronger plot, and some growth in the writing style/voice.

Any fans of her previous books will love this one as well.

I devoured this book! Such a captivating story and totally loving the characters.
Author Katee Robert keeps surprising me with each book she releases. Can’t wait for the next book!

3.5 stars. Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy of this book.

First of all, love the cover. It definitely gives a dark and mysterious vibe - perfect for this mafia romance. It was fast paced and kept me at the edge of my seat! I liked Teague and Callie a lot - very strong and loyal characters. Despite being set up in an arranged marriage, they fell for each other fast and for me, it worked. I am looking forward to Calligan's story!