Although not nearly as spicy as some of her other stuff, this is still a good romance. If you are into mafia romances, you definitely need to check this one out. I loved the way the younger generation is trying to right the sins of their fathers, so to speak. To avoid unnecessary deaths and suffering in the face of an all out turf war. I loved the side characters as well, including hints of another relationship forming. I can’t wait to read the next one!

Callie is the heir to her family’s empire, after her brother died. Apparently her father thinks that means she should marry the heir to another empire. It might not be so bad, but Callie has heard rumors about him. After not being able to meet him, she sneaks into one of his businesses and everything goes to sh*t. A turf war is coming, and the 3 main families in town are gearing up and making plans.

Loving this trend of re-releases with new covers and other updates! If you know me, you know I'll read anything and everything Katee Robert writes. Well now I am officially signing up to be part of the Boston Irish mafia scene because PHEW the chemistry in this book is wild! Murder, secrets, 3 rival crime families, arranged marriage - look no further for your next mafia romance read!

Hands down my favorite mafia romance series!!

I love Katee’s writing, she’s incredible. So I’m not super surprised to be writing such a positive review for this. Mafia romance is not necessarily my preferred romance, if I’m going to read it I want it done right. And I’ll be honest, many of the popular mob romance novels out there that I’ve read have been huge letdowns. I usually end up feeling like it’s a caricature of the trope, poor character development for the leads, super 2D villains, ect. Not so here! I genuinely enjoyed the portrayal of our main couple and (of course because it’s Katee Roberts) the chemistry between them was off the charts. The plot driving the story was also believable and engaging right from the very beginning.

This will be my go to recommendation for mafia romance in the future! No doubt about that! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series come out!

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

Katee Robert is and always will be an auto-buy author for me. She is so incredible and talented and draws you in with the way she writes chemistry between her characters and manages to have a fun and invigorating plot to move the story along. This was such an enjoyable read and I’m so happy I got the chance to read it! Katee is a genius and I adore her writing so much!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up as mafia type settings are not my usual cup of tea, however from the beginning this book had me hooked. Katee Robert did a great job of capturing her characters, and the tough family dynamics they were consistently forced to deal with in order to survive. I loved that each character had their own way of dealing with things, and that some of them were trying to break out of their families illegal ways.

I loved the romance, as it skewed toward soulmate territory and them not being able to resist the other, and instantly feeling connected. The book had action, romance, some spice, and a little bit of banter. I enjoyed it and I can't wait for book #2.

Katee Robert never misses. Never. Misses. Even as someone who doesn't usually love mafia romances, the arranged marriage in this one, combined with enemies to lovers has be eating this book up. Loved it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the Advanced Copy of Dark Succession by Kateen Robert. This is a great one shot piece of erotica to get the blood pumping!

No matter the content, I always love Katee Robert's writing and I'm always willing to pick up a book from her, no matter the genre.
I think Teague and Callie are adorable and not at all what I expected from a marriage of convenience in a mafia romance. I felt a bit overwhelmed at times with the amount of characters being introduced, but I think it will lend well to the rest of the series, which will not only build on future relationships, but also the larger plot between the families. The beginning of the book was a bit slow (probably due to all the characters), but once I hit the second half, I couldn't put it down.

I'd give this book a solid 3.75 and will very likely pick up the next book in the series soon.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley!

This was my first book my Katee Robert and it was pretty entertaining with all the romance and the drama. The ending was a bit abrupt but I enjoyed all the side stories also and will probably read the next one too.

Dark Succession started out pretty intense and set the stage for this crime family romantic suspense novel. Teague and Callie were both likable characters and both were trying to break away from the world they were raised in. I always enjoy marriage of convenience novels, but a lot of the tension that I love was missing since the instalust/love was so strong between Teague and Callie. Since this is the first book in the series, a lot of time was spent introducing other characters and setting up future books. This really took away from the main romance and left me not very invested in Teague, Callie, or their families. I did like the sparks between James and Carrigan though and their book is sure to be explosive. I'm just not sure if I care enough to continue on with the series.

I hybrid read this book (ebook and audiobook) and the narration by Charlotte North was enjoyable, but there wasn't a lot of variation in her voices as she switched between characters.

Audiobook Review
Overall 3 stars
Performance 4 stars
Story 2-2.5 stars

CW: death of loved ones, gun shots, fighting/violence, murder, sexual assault, mentions of human trafficking, kidnapping

*I voluntarily read and listened to a review copy of this book*

This has all the best mafia romance tropes and I’m here for it! I can tell this is one of her earlier books as the writing is a bit clunky in places, but overall a solid start to a series I can’t wait to continue!

This was a reread for me. I have the original in mass market form. It was great. Enjoyed it as much as the first time.

Katee can do no wrong and I will forever be a fan of the way this human tells stories. They have a way of first page sucking you in!

A Dark Mafia Romance - arranged marriage between two previously warring families in order to create an alliance in the face of a brewing war amongst Boston’s ruling families. Callista and Teague may not have chosen each other, but they soon find themselves growing closer as a couple. However, their developing feelings tangle with dark and violent secrets as they try to find peace in the city.

This was a solid, quick read. The theme was pretty dark but not extreme for the sub genre (check tw). I’m not as big of a fan of romances that develop unnaturally quickly, but I did love the main characters individually, as well as the sibling side characters. The morally grey mafia family theme always pulls me in, since the reader has to determine how they feel about characters’ love for their families vs their violent personas and gritty pasts, as well as the blurred lines between right and wrong. I give this a 3.5!

This is a consuming mafia romance, full of danger, spice and intrigue. You never know what is coming in the next chapter. This is an enjoyable and fast paced romance read that is sure to keep your attention and is certainly a steamy read!

I still love Katee Robert SO much even though this wasn’t my favorite of hers. I still enjoyed myself and kept reading and finished the book. But I felt like I just kept comparing it to her Dark Olympus Series, which isn’t fair to these books.

But overall, it was enjoyable, just not a favorite.

Delightfully horny and full of mafia intrigue. I enjoyed the world building and the dynamics of the mafia. The characters were captivating and fun to follow. Love Katee’s books and I am so excited for more!

This book was just kind of bizarre to me.

The relationship between Teague and Callie was sweet. Usually I love this, but this book was a Mafia romance. There isn’t much sweetness in the beginning of a mafia arranged marriage. They instantly fell in love. This also doesn’t work well for mafia.

Teague was a bland, weak man. He didn’t have much to him. He didn’t unalive people on the side. He didn’t get into constant fights. Most of his pov’s centered around him feeling sorry for himself because he hated being apart of his family.

Callie was the star of this book. She shot people who needed to be shot. Unalived people who needed to be unalived. She stood her ground when people tried to undermine her. She was a true boss lady. I loved her character.

The multiple, constantly switching povs were distracting and often not needed. There were so many side characters that were given povs like they were main characters. It was too much to keep track of and follow, especially since they happened sporadically in the middle of chapters and didn’t have sections explicitly displaying the character switch.

The plot was weak. We were constantly told that a war was coming from the start of the book. When the “war” came it was very underwhelming.

I think the issue is that the Dark Olympus series is just intoxicating and everything else I try to read pales in comparison.

Katee knows how to drag you right into her work though. No matter my overall feelings for this book, I cannot deny that I was hooked to this from the start. Teague and Callie are two heirs of different families who are trying to let their name take over Boston. When Callie's engagement shifts gears and she finds herself with the O'Malleys, she is surprised that while her previous engagement brought so much dread.. this one is shaping up to be more exciting. The two find their footing quick and off we go with them into the mess and drama of a mafia life.

It was a fast read. I literally started this like 2 hours ago it feels like. I almost feel like more time should've passed because we were hip-hopping all over the place. This wasn't disorganized but it was just very surface level as far as stories go. I'll be back for more from her though... I might hang up the series for a little while in the meantime.