Publication date: January 30, 2024

Heavy Crown is the 6th (and final?) instalment of the Brutal Birthright series by Sophie Lark. I have loved this series so far and this last book did a decent job of wrapping things up.

Sebastian Gallo is the youngest sibling in the Gallo family. One of the main mafia families in the series (Gallo’s are the Italian family and Griffen are the Irish. Both families intertwine throughout the series).

Sebastian makes appearances in most of the books leading up to this one but is very much a side character. He’s quiet and portrayed as much younger than the others.

Sebastian is walking home one night and noticed a beautiful girl fighting off what looks like a would be kidnapper. After coming to her aide, Sebastian is introduced to Yelena Yenina the beautiful daughter of the Russian mafia leader.

Their connection and chemistry is immediate and although they know neither family will approve, they can’t seem to stay away from each other. Both of these young adults are no stranger to the mafia world they were brought up in and eventually the families break out in all out war.

Can Sebastian and Yelena find happiness together or will the deep mafia ties break them apart?

I liked this story but didn’t love it as much as some of the others. I had a hard time reconciling the Sebastian we meet in earlier books with the passionate young man we see in Heavy Crown. I wasn’t fully convinced of the love between the two or at least not as much as some of the previous couples. This is a 3.5 star for me and I would highly recommend the entire series. The way the author weaves in the different families and connections is incredible!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


#NetGalley #sophielark #heavycrown

I loved this read so much!! It was super enjoyable and exactly what I felt like reading. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have no words Sophie Lark, this story was EVERYTHING and more. And the epilogue.. consider this my formal petition to create a series following all the kids to Kingmakers. I devoured this book and now I am so sad it’s over.

This was my second book I’ve read in the series, and I really like that you can read them in any order. Sophie writes with such vivid detail, it helps weave a perfect and realistic picture of life with the Gallos in Chicago. This was a love story filled with so much drama, and Mafia action. Definitely ends the series with a bang!!

Sebastian never expects to meet the love of his life while he interrupts and saves her from being kidnapped. But that’s exactly how Yelena and him meet, and eventually begin dating. Despite things going well between them there is tension between their families. Sebastian’s Italian family and Yelena’s Russian family are enemies in the Mafia world of Chicago.

But so deeply in love with each other they decide their families will just have to accept it. A meeting is had, and a blood oath is taken between the families so that Sebastian and Yelena can be married. But what’s supposed to be the happiest day of their life takes a turn for the worse. I don’t want to say much more and spoil any of this story. This book is packed full of action, blood, war, attacks, kidnappings, death, family, and even a happily ever after.

I don’t think I will ever recover from reading this book because I loved it SO much. But I do look forward to reading the remaining books in the series! If you’re looking for a new dark Mafia romance intertwined with some thriller elements, then what are you waiting for?

1.5 stars rounded up to 2

"I was swimming against the current while slowly drifting downstream.

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Nope. How is it possible that after a 6 book series full of mafia ongoings, lots of backstabbing, deals and families getting intertwined we end up with a book like this???

I was 100% expecting something serious to go down (it's the final hurrah for this series afterall), and for all the Gallos and Griffins to come together to solve it almost as a resolution to the first book when they were all mortal enemies.

Instead I got siblings who could care less about each other and are content to go their separate ways. For mafia children who claim that family is everything.... this is really how they're going to behave? Heavy Crown was flooded with character assassination after character assassination (both literally and figuratively) and I'm rather upset by it.

Miko is quite literally the only thing that redeemed this book. If any of these people are actually mafia bosses, it's him, and he's the only one who deserves that title.

I will admit I'm curious to see how the Kingmakers series spins off of this, but that also came directly out of left field?? If we'd heard about it previously it wouldn't have felt so out of pocket. But that tracks with everything else for this book so. Why the heck not.

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Heavy Crown was originally published in January of 2021 and has since been republished with a brand new cover! Thank you to Bloom Books, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Heavy Crown is the sixth and final book in the Brutal Birthright series. This is the series that I discovered writings by Sophie Lark and I couldn't wait to read about the last Gallo sibling, Sebastian. Sebastian saves and falls for the daughter of his family's enemy, Russian mob princess Yelena. Although I felt their relationship felt rushed and I found their emotional connection somewhat lacking between each other and the audience, I still enjoyed this book. Sophie Lark, again, did a phenomenal job writing this book. I loved the plot, the twist at the end, the action, the spice and the wrap up of the Gallo saga. The first book, Brutal Prince, will always be my favorite. But I still highly recommend this book and the whole series. I can't wait to read the spin-off series.

I don't know what Sophie put in this, but it was like crack and I devoured this book in a manner of hours. What I really liked about this book is that she took the different usual mafia tropes and mixed them together to make a brutal, smutty romance, which I very much enjoyed. I loved the twists and turns, and even though I assumed somethings would happen, there were a lot of other surprises. I also really loved the characters, particularly Enzo and I was gutted when he was killed. The writing was done really well and the story line in my view was flawless, would recommend to my friends and I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

What a great way to end the series! I loved the twists and turns. Sebastian … was everything I imagined and more. I had been waiting for this book to come out forever and I’m so glad we finally got his POV.

“Heavy Crown” is the story of Sebastian and Yelena. It is a true standalone and does a good job of keeping you informed with what has happened in the past books without spoiling the rest of the series. In “Heavy Crown,” we get the last of the Gallo’s love story. Sebastian, a prince of the Italian mafia, first encounters (and saves) Yelena in an alley where she’s being kidnapped. The two hit it off, but Yelena is the Russian mafia princess, an enemy of Sebastian’s family. Regardless of the disagreement between the families, the two continue seeing each other. Their chemistry is on fire, but Yelena is keeping a dynamite of a secret from Sebastian. And what happens when the secret explodes?

I’ve read a few of Sophie’s books and have always enjoyed reading them. However, this one just didn’t do it for me. Sebastian and Yelena’s relationship felt incredibly rushed. I honestly didn’t feel much of a connection between the two. I really liked the beginning, but ended up skimming the last 60% due to boredom and predictability.

I have been waiting for Sebastian’s story since Brutal Prince and was not disappointed! I loved seeing how Seb’s character grew and developed from the broody brother we all know and love. The plot was incredible in this one and focused a lot more on the mafia politics. The action and twists were nonstop. I’m excited to decide what Sophie Lark series to explore next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was my first mafia romance and it’ll probably be my last? Just wasn’t for me. Maybe this is just not the right book though. I just could not connect with the protagonist at all, and the insta love didn’t help.

I don't know what I expected but I wanted to love Yelena, I miss the strong women of this series Nessa, Aida and Camille. I just can't handle Yelena and her train of thought, nothing she does makes sense, not even when she tries to help Sebastian, she had me the whole time thinking "what?!"
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I loved the action scenes, they are incredible and they completely immerse me in the plot. I was sad about Enzo, I was angry with Dante and I loved seeing Mikolaj and Nessa, Aida and Callum and Nero and Camille
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Like every book in the series, Sophie Lark writes stories that are impossible to put down until the pages run out.This is a magnetic enemies to lovers with a little Romeo and Juliet.
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While Yelena's father has a plan to take revenge on the Gallos and recover the lost business by the previous boss, Sebastian can only see coincidence in every meeting with Yelena and how beautiful she is, until he can’t let her go
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When the plan is put into action, everything changes the family’s and Sebastian is the only one who can save them and end the threat over their heads recovering their lost honor and power
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Many thanks to Sophie Lark and SourceBooks Bloom for giving me a copy of this good book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

Heavy crown 2.75⭐️3.75🌶️

Mafia Romance
Dark Romance
Dual POV
Morally grey couple
Insta-love
Rival families
Secrets


For a finale of a series this was a complete bust. Generally a finale brings people together and this book just didn’t. It did a good job of bringing past couples into the story, probably more than any other book, but not in a good way.

The insta-love was just that, with not a lot of relationship development. There was a little bit too much dub con for me. The situation put the FMC at a huge emotional disadvantage making the scene borderline emotionally abusive. Just yuck.

The book was a sloppy ending to this series and felt like it was just to set up the kingmaker series. There is no emotional resolution for this generation, only setup for 3 kids in the next one.




Thank you NetGalley and Sorcebook Bloom Books for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow, the youngest Gallo took me by surprise, who knew he had a dark side. 

Sebastian is establishing his position within the family. Yelena is the daughter of the ruthless Russian mafia boss.  Their paths cross when he comes to her rescue but Yelena has a secret.

Sebastian and Yelena's forbidden romance is sweet until betrayal puts everything and everybody at risk.

The story is fast-paced and I found myself completely immersed.  I can't deny that I felt the danger and emotional twists. The HEA is a journey of heartbreak and anger-inducing moments.  

This can easily be read as a standalone, but reading the entire series is best. With that said, as a series conclusion I did find some things lacking. As a standalone setting up for a spin-off series, The Kingmakers, the ending delivers.

🗡 insta-love
🗡 mafia romance
🗡 family drama
🗡 arranged marriage
🗡 dark romance
🗡 morally gray characters
🗡 open-door spice
🗡 first-person, dual PoV

For my first try with this author, Heavy Crown was a good one. It had found family, plenty of action, some dark and sad moments, and tons of chemistry between the main characters.

Unlike his siblings, Sebastian was footloose and fancy free. He was starting to think that maybe he wasn't as content with his life as he should be. When Yelena crosses his path, things start looking up. She's absolutely gorgeous, a fierce warrior, and everything he could want in a woman. Too bad her father was the leader of the Bratva, his family's enemy. But isn't forbidden fruit so much sweeter?

It was easy to like both characters. There wasn't a lot of depth to them, or to the story, but it worked for me. There was something light about this book that softened the blow of all of its dark moments.

Lark continues to write bangers that I can’t put down. This book did not disappoint being the very last one in this series — I still wish there were more books!

Yelena is a total firecracker! She doesn’t back down. Sebastian on the other hand is the most loyal — completely unmatched. I loved the miscommunication trope they had going on here. The spice was real, and some of the scenes? Phew.

That being said I would recommend reading at LEAST the first book in the series as it helps make some things make sense.

This book is packed full of pure lust, deceit and so many secrets. The amount of angst within these pages gives some of my favorite angsty novels a run for their money. Overall, highly recommend.

WOW! What a fantastic end to the series! I was so excited to see what Sophie did with this last book and she did not disappoint. The vibes and characters were 🤌🏻

Yelena ranks right up there with Nessa with favorite FMC's of this series. Her fiery personality was so enticing. She was not afraid to back down. Then Sebastian was everything I expected him. His loyalty was unmatched. Reading them coming into their own and wearing their crowns was amazing.

Sophie has not written a book that I have not loved. I can not wait to see what she has in store for us next!

I was quite satisfied with the last book to this wondeful series. More secrets, lies and betrayal lead to the epic conclusion of the Brutal Birthright books. Although it is marketed as a standalone, I think it is best that the other books are read as all the old characters appear.

As usual, Sophie Lark brings fantastic chemistry to her characters. I liked both Sebastian and Yelena. I'll admit, this book felt particularly spicy. As for the plot, it had unexpected twists and solid action. More mafia content and drama.

I think out of all of the books in the series, I enjoyed book 5, Broken Vow the most. I was coming off the high from that book. Although Heavy Crown was a good read, it wasn't my favourite so I gave it a 3.5 in ratings.

Tropes:
Miscommunication trope
He falls hard
Insta love
Dual POV
Mafia romance
Virgin heroine

Thank you Sophie Lark, Netgalley and Bloom for providing an ARC, my thoughts are my own.

This isn't a perfect book- but it is an extremely enjoyable one. It is exciting to read, the pacing is great, the characters are dynamic and the spice is seamless. I recommend this!!!

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up

I’’m rounding up simply because I really should stop reading Sophie Lark, I don’t know why I continue to try again and again, her writing really is just not my cup of tea.

Sebastian and Yelena were fine. Nothing memorable. The miscommunication trope in this was insufferable for me, and the entire arc of the story depended on it.

The way Sophie writes Mafia is…. completely boring. Is it probably closer to reality than others? Sure. But I’m not reading it to learn about the mafia 😂. This whole series was just meh imo.

The last book in the series did not disappoint. Sophie Lark’s writing style and spice is one of my favorites. She does mafia romance right and I love it!