Heavy Crown" by Sophie Lark concludes the Brutal Birthright mafia series with a gripping tale of love and danger. Sebastian, a former basketball player, finds unexpected romance with Yelena, daughter of a ruthless bratva boss. The story weaves a captivating narrative, blending action and emotion seamlessly. Lark's skillful storytelling introduces twists, including a blood contract and a memorable wedding scene, keeping readers hooked until the final page. The book's beautiful artwork adds visual depth to the characters, making it a satisfying and intense finale for fans of Lark's engaging series.

I’m a big fan of the series and I can agree with other readers that I do not think this was my favorite installment and was not the best conclusion to the series ever, however, I still greatly enjoyed it and hope to read more work by this author in the future.

Heavy Crown is the 6th and final book in Sophie Lark’s Brutal Birthright mafia series. I had such a great time with this whole series!

I loved how the story starts and we see Sebastian with his siblings! I just love the Garro family and seeing him together with Aida, Dante, and Nero was so much fun. Sebastian played basketball in college and after an incident in book 1 left him with a crushed knee, he hasn’t felt the same since. While out one night he sees Yelena almost getting shoved into a car and steps in to help her, they end up spending the night together and hit it off. Yelena is 25 and the only daughter of the most vicious bratva boss in Chicago. Once we hop into Yelena’s POV, we learn that her father wants to use Yelena to get to the Italian mafia family that he hates and that’s why he pushed her towards Sebastian.

I enjoyed seeing Sebastian and Yelena together, seeing them date and start to genuinely fall for one another while adventuring around Chicago together. The whole time you are just waiting for the other shoe to drop because you know he’s going to find out her father is using her to get closer to the Gallo family. So much starts happening in the book that I wasn’t expecting. We see a blood contract, her relationship with her twin brother, revenge, the wedding scene omg! 😱 I loved the epilogue and huge time jump, what a great setup for the Kingmaker’s series!

Sebastian saves a woman from being shoved into the trunk of a car only to find out that she is the daughter of the new Bravta boss in Chicago. These two families absolutely hate each other but hate won’t keep these two apart. Sebastian wants Yelena to be his and he will do whatever it takes even making a deal with the devil himself. However, unlike every other marriage in his family between two different mafia families, this one won’t be as smooth as the others.

This book broke my heart and then put it back together. Daddy Gallo absolutely destroyed me. I loved him even though he was a don and I couldn’t stand what happened to him. This couple is so cute but her family is a bunch of dirt bags and I hate them so much. I loved getting to catch up with all the previous couples and I wasn’t ready for this series to end but it did make me want to start the Kingmakers series ASAP. My heart doesn’t feel ready to give up on this world and I’m glad there is another way for me to stay immersed in it. I would highly recommend this series. It was perfection.

A Masterpiece!
Sophie Lark has reached the stars! If there was ever a perfect novel, Heavy Crown: A Dark Mafia Romance, is it! Its edgy, seductive, emotional, frightening, gut-wrenching, sad, funny, joyous, poignant, smart, sophisticated yet down-to-earth, and on and on and on!!! Ms. Lark's writing has been honed to the point that she has crafted a DaVinci, a Degas, a Beethoven, a Mozart, a Debussy! Whatever formula she has devised to write her novels, has worked to perfection in Heavy Crown!
The story immediately captured my attention starting with the 6'7" Sebastian, kind of a cross between my boyfriend Dante (his brother) and gorgeous Nero (his other brother), as he reshapes his life in the aftermath of the event three years earlier that altered his world the shattering of his kneecap ended his chance to become an NBA pro). Sebastian is a hard-working, savvy, and intelligent man who harbors no bitterness.

He is uncertain of how or where exactly he fits into any area of his world (with his family, his former basketball teammates, or his place in the many Gallo enterprises). Sebastian's leadership and aptitude for strategizing and deal making, along with the lessons learned at his father's and brothers' side about handling enemies, managing underlings, and human nature, seamlessly evolve into him replacing his beloved father as head of the Gallo family. Then he meets Yelena, a strong-willed woman of character and fortitude, and she turns his head around! Yelena has violet eyes, white-blonde hair, is tall and strong as a Valkyrie warrior, and ever battle-ready to protect and care for those she loves! Then the reader is hit with one of my favorite elements in her novels, something | call: "the Sophie Lark TWIST" - it is the one factor that makes you do a double or triple take on what has been presented, causing you to have to rethink everything up to this point! In Heavy Crown, the TWIST turns out to be that Sebastian's meeting Yelena is a setup, orchestrated by one of his families' bitterest enemies! Sebastian is headed for a fall, a very big fall, since he has never experienced the way he feels for Yelena ever before in his life.

Of all the novels Ms. Lark has ever written, without a doubt she has taken Heavy Crown to a wonderfully exciting new place. By including elements like auctioning Yelena off to the highest bidder; juxtaposing Sebastian's size/strength and eruption of his closely held anger with his initial sexual tenderness, then physical restraints and ultimate brutality with Yelena; and Sebastian's demand for the absolute capitulation/submission of Yelena to his desires/needs, Ms. Lark brought this reader to her knees! This was beyond powerful to read, it was an actual experience!

This was a good story with characters you will root for. There are a lot of strong characters who are trying to change and be better than their previous generation but things never go as planned. You can’t help but get invested and keep reading until you finish.

Thank you Bloom and Netgalley for this free arc in return for an honest review.

For starters, this is such an easy read. I read this in 3 hours straight. This book was full of action, spice and grit. The only thing about this series i hate is the amount of babies there are. Like everyone has a baby. I feel like one characters death was unecessary really. Apart from that a solid ish ending to this average series

The perfect ending to this incredible series. I absolutely adored Sebastian and Yelena. The twists and turns this plot took had me on the edge of my seat. I love the ‘Brutal Birthright’ series and I’m really sad it’s over. I will definitely be rereading this series in the future. I highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the arc of this book.

Not badly written but Mafia romances just aren't for me!

Heavy Crown is the last book in an interconnected series by Sophie Lark. It follows Yelena and Sebastian and how their romance unfolds. I've liked a couple other Sophie Lark books but I found myself skimming parts and not really caring for the mafia aspect.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The final book in the series! So sad to see it end, but excited for the next series that follows the children of the Brutal Birthright series!

Seb and Yelena’s story was heartbreaking- I absolutely hated her father. Overall though I loved how things turned out! This book has beautiful artwork throughout that gives you a visual of the characters and I love that!

Thank you to Bloom Books, NetGalley and Sophie Lark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Yelena and Sebastian met instantly and it was a quick and fast attraction, but secrets may tear these two apart.

Sebastian fell hard and fast for Yelena. After losing so much he felt he finally found something that not only brought him to life but put it into perspective. He wouldn’t be deterred but when truths are revealed and things blow up in his face the quiet broody man turns into a man with a mission.

Yelena has always tried to do what her father needs, trying to make him happy but has never made a single choice for herself! When Sebastian comes into her life she finally finds a freedom she never had. But the truths she holds might tear it away and she has to fight to save the man she loved and hold onto the love she never knew existed!

Thanks to NetGalley, Sophie Lark, and Source Books Bloom Books for allowing me to review this ARC!

Sebastian Gallo is son of an Italian mafia boss in Chicago, Yelena is the daughter of a Russia boss. When Yelena's father orchestrates them to meet to seek revenge on the Gallo family, Yelena reluctantly goes along with it to appease her him but she will inevitably fall for Sabastian. Her father wants to control the relationship but Yelena resists since she truly cares for Sabastian regardless of his family ties. A blood pact is drawn up to allow them to marry; however, the wedding brings unexpected chaos and pain. Sebastian struggles with his grief and loyalty as Yelena deals with just wanting him to trust her. When Sabastian seeks revenge it is uncertain whether their marriage will survive it.

I do enjoy Sophie Lark stories, they always have a lot suspense and quite a bit of spice! The main characters had you rooting for them from the beginning, wanting so badly for them to live their happily ever after. If you like mafia stories with dominant male main characters fighting for love then this is for you! Would definitely recommend!

Yelena is the only daughter of the most vicious Bratva boss in Chicago. The Bradva hates Sebastian's family. They burned his uncle alive. But once he saved her, he had to make her his.
This forbidden, dark mafia, spicy romance is the sixth and last book in the Brutal Birthright series. And I think it was my least favorite. I did not like the fact that all of the characters from the previous books seem to have changed so much, they didn't even feel like they were the same characters. I did not like Yelena, not only because of the fact that she was super soft and gave mostly a "victim" vibe (I would've loved to see a badass bitch), but because of what she did. I hated the secrecy and the betrayal. And I am also not a fan of what Sebastian of her for him to give her his forgiveness. For me, that went a little too far. I would've liked to see a grown-up conversation, you know? All of the action and the mafia side of the book was great but the romance? I didn't care about it at all.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This series is a ride. Each book is so individual to the characters and their part of the story that preferences are easy to find. I don't know that this is one of my favorites, but watching Sebastian find love and find his role in the family was rewarding at times. His story is HARD and challenging in ways that other books aren't. It's a battle from start to finish. But the wrap up and conclusion to each character's role in the overall story was nice to see come together...and the hints to what could come next....

4.5⭐, 3🌶️

Book 6, and the finale of the Brutal Birthright Series, we get SEB AND YELENA! 

Okay, so Seb and Yelena were one of my top two couples I think (Nero and Camille are their tie) - I loved getting a tall baddie, that has no filter, and is just as quality as Aida. I loved the added drama with the Russian ‘deployed spy’ plot that Yelena was originally on, that Set just charmed his way out of unknowingly. The wedding gave me major G.O.T. Red Wedding anxiety which made it so dramatic. And how the book ends and leads into the Kingmaker series was just chefs kiss. Amazing book, ugh I loved this series! (So ashamed of how long it took me to read it, but oh well).

Brief Plot: Yelena is on a mission to infiltrate the Gallo family by ‘seducing’ Sebastian. But through a couple dates, she is limping over him (like we all have for the past five books). But her revenge driven father has plans up his sleeve to keep the couple separated and the families at war. After an attack, Sebastian is mourning loss of Gallo members, as well as trying to figure out if he can ever actually trust his Valkyrie love match.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for an eARC of Heavy Crown by Sophie Lark! This is my unpaid and honest review!

Finally an ending to the brutal birthright series! Yet again, this series went out with a bang. I love that each book was different, yet all of them still have that interconnection. This last book is about Sebastian. I knew he would have a golf story, especially after seeing bits of pieces of him and how he started to get darker in the books leading up to his. Yelena Was sweet, but as a reader we could definitely see where this story was going to end up with her and her father. While they weren’t my favorite couple out of the 6, this book is true to Sophie writing, and it was an excellent story. I can’t wait to start the kingmakers next!

We get Sebastian and Yelenda's story a mafia story with everything you love from Sophie Lark characters and stories, full of passion and emotions. A bit rushed for my liking but it was entertaining, the audiobook was a great way to get this story, narrated by Michael Gallagher and Kat Auden, I think they worked well together, I really like how they both narrate and the pacing they did for this book.

I loved this book, the development of the book is okay, I loved the ending! Sebastian and Yelena’s love developed a little bit too quickly for my liking but loved their story nevertheless, a great ending to a series!

Heavy crown is a sad and heartbreaking ending to this series, but also does a great job at pushing the characters into the men and women they were meant to be during one last battle. It was fun seeing all the characters back again, and even though the circumstances weren’t the best, overall you could see the love between the families.

On the other hand, the relationship felt a little rushed for my tastes. I’ve been waiting for Sebastian’s story for a while and I wished it would have been flushed out a little more. Overall, though I’m happy I read this series!

This was my second Sophie lark book and I enjoyed it immensely. The writing was beautiful and I was hooked from the start.