I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

We are back with the final book at the Sicuro Academy. This time we have a big rivalry going on between the Italians and the Russians. How should we solve that? Marriage! The playboy that has been in the previous books, Dante Accardi is set up to marry the Russian ice princess, Polina Aminoff. They are not happy about this arrangement but anything to keep the peace. Things start to heat up, but will their relationship last, and will their people accept this truce?

This book was hitting all the tropes for me. Mafia romance, enemies to lovers and even the hotel only had one bed. There was some pretty good character growth - Dante turned into a sweetheart but fiercely loyal and would do anything to protect Polina. Polina went from being the ice princess to a very loveable character. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the romance and if you are a fan of enemies to lovers you should try this book out!

A super short and simple read that was an okay palate cleanser and and made me roll my eyes so much and was very cliche. I would recommend this to people that don't really want to read something that will amaze you.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, P. Rayne, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Turns out I do enjoy mafia romance and especially enjoyed Polina in this one! I really liked that I could read this out of order and still understand. I think I may even go back and read the entire series in the correct order!

Craving My Rival was everything I hoped it would be and more. P. Rayne has delivered a perfectly addictive enemies-to-lovers romance that’s brimming with tension, danger, and undeniable chemistry. If you love a classic rivals dynamic wrapped in Mafia intrigue, this book is right up your alley.

Dante, the quiet playboy with secrets of his own, contrasts beautifully with Paulina, the icy Mafia princess who doesn’t let anyone in easily. Watching them slowly unravel each other’s walls and grow individually and together was genuinely heartwarming.

P. Rayne does a fantastic job of weaving an undercurrent of suspense beneath the romance and spice, making the stakes feel real without overshadowing the love story. I could not put this one down. As the final book in the Mafia Academy series, Craving My Rival is a powerful, satisfying conclusion.

Piper Rayne has a dark side and whew they can write the steam! I am loving this duo's new adventure to the dark romance genre and this series is amazing, I couldn't put it down. It does lean heavier on the spice, but it has an amazing plot to balance.

This is a mafia book with the younger characters, but they are strong, possessive, and obsessive as well. It’s an enemies to lovers where he falls first. It’s seductive and the plot keeps you hooked from start to finish.

A forced arranged marriage between two rival mafia families. It had a good plot lots of tension and spice with a broody protective MMC.

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC copy of Craving My Rival and it was so much fun! I knew something was going to happen towards the end of the book and it would likely happen to Polina, I didn't expect what actually ended up happening though! The character growth was really well paced and the dynamics just worked really well!

Craving My Rival by P. Rayne was a phenomenal dark romance story!
I flew through this one and loved every second of it.
I instantly fell in love with this author's writing style, from the minute I started reading this book. Her words kept me engaged the entire time, the emotions running thru me as I was reading took me an emotional ride.

This is a good wrap up to the Mafia Academy series. While it can be read as a standalone, I'd recommend reading them all in order so you have a better understanding of the story and the dynamics. I really loved Dante and Polina, and I loved seeing their relationship progress from her wanting to kill him to love in a realistic way. Their banter is good, loved how Polina didn't get an F and oh don't get me started on Dante's mouth, that man has a way with words 🔥. I read this book in one sitting. It's well-written, intense, the plot and the twists were entertaining, the drama and these characters' growth was good. Definitely recommend the entire series if you're looking for mafia x college vibes.

✨ARC Review✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I. Am. Obsessed! I devoured this book in one sitting and immediately will be added the entire trilogy to my cart. Even without reading books 1 & 2. Yet that is! I was hooked from page one.

Polina and Dante are forced into an arranged marriage. Russians meeting Italians, and absoleuly nothing about it is smooth sailing. But her brother and his father have a plan. They're both stubborn, fiery, and totally resistant to the idea of the marriage. That is until Dante makes a bold move and asks Polina to simply try and set the bad to the side and simply try. And wow, do things start to shift for them.

Their banter was sharp and addictive. Polina is a powerhouse FMC. She is confident, clever, and impossible not to love. She is guarded but has her reasons. And then we have Dante. Total dark romance dreamboat with serious character growth. He’s got that broody, protective energy I absolutely live for. He is current my book boyfriend.

Now I’m just over here wishing we got a second epilogue with their future. I want to see how much they grow and their families.

Thank you P. Raynce and Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this.

There was so much to love about Dante and Polina, and the relationship that was hard-fought to develop between them. Dante was not the typical Mafia made man that I've read in the past, and I really loved that. He was a touch softer, really let his emotions guide his actions, and was at his core a sweet human. I loved the way that he got to know and learn Polina. The way he approached getting to know her was so sweet and honest. He showed vulnerable aspects of himself and gave her the safety to give him the same sides of her.

I adored Polina. She was so intense, viscerally honest, and hanging on by a thread. I loved her inner dialogues and seeing her though processes. Her past was trauma filled in so many different ways, and her being so cautious of Dante and what their relationship could become was not only incredibly believable but also relatable. Her inner strength was something to be admired, as much as it was to be admired the way she let her walls fall when she knew that Dante was her safe place. Watching her evolve from a cold ice princess to a soft, but strong woman was so amazing.

Dante and Polina are definitely one of my favorite couples I've read in 2025.

“Craving My Rival” is the fourth and last book in P. Rayne’s Mafia Academy. This is the first book I tried to read in the series and I believe it can be read as a standalone. I’ve read other mafia adjacent stories from P. Rayne as well as other stories from Piper Rayne. I was excited to read “Craving My Rival” because it’s reminiscent to Sophie Lark’s mafia series.

Unfortunately, I could not connect with the MMC or FMC, which made it hard for me to invest in their enemies-to-lovers relationship. As a result, I decided not to finish the book.

From what I did read, the story is written well and my not finishing the book should not be a reflection of the storytelling.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read “Craving My Rival” in advance. I look forward to seeing what’s published next.

Mafia is not my favorite trope so never know if I’ll be a fan of the book, but I love an academy/university setting. Happy to say this story kept my attention. It’s the second book of the 4 book series that I’ve read and liked.

The mafia academy has all of these connected families or rivals. In this book, our FMC Polina and our MMC Dante are sacrificial lambs to be wed by the families to build a bridge between the Italian and Russian mafia’s after recent events. Polina has an evil twin in the mix. The FMC & MMC have seen each other at school, but don’t really know each other. On principle they wanna hate each other, but they get along far better than they imagined. He’s a somewhat reformed playboy and she’s an ice princess that’s thawing.

Overall, it was a pretty fun read from this mafia academy series.

I wanted to love this one but it just wasn't for me. I know P Rayne/Piper Rayne is a huge love for so many and I was really hopeful to enjoy this one but it just didn't hit for me like I was hoping it would. However, I do know so many others will love and enjoy.

I am sad to report that Craving My Rival was my least favorite of this series. I enjoyed it. It was the over the top mafia madness that I wanted, but the heroine was just almost too much for me. She was stubborn for the sake of stubborn. She refused to have a conversation. She intentionally made her life harder. All of these are Addie No Thank You character issues.

Dante was great. The resolution was good. But also needed a bit more depth. It was a good read for an easy afternoon, but not one that I will flip through a second time

This is the story of Polina and Dante. I have been longing to get Dante's book in my hands and this one does not disappoint. We all know that at Sicuro Academy that the Russians and the Italians are bitter enemies and give each other some wide wide space. So you can imagine Ponlina's shock when her brother tells her that she is to be married to Dante. She is not about to let that happen though. She is sick and tired of everyone in her life that is suppose to care about her hurting her. She has to come up with a plan to get out of this. Only once her plan is in motion does she realize that there might just be more to him than she originally thought. When we first meet Polina we would all think that she had the ice queen thing going on. However beneath it all is a girl who with her entire heart just wants to be loved and not be hurt anymore. Dante is the playboy the one who will never be tamed. They both however are stubborn and as get out and really intense. But can the playboy girl the girl who has never known love what she has craved all this time? Well, I can't tell you. You have to read and see for yourself. However, this book is absolutely one that you will not be able to lay down.

What To Expect:
🖤 MF Romance
❤️ Mafia
🖤 Enemies to Lovers
❤️ Arranged Marriage
🖤 Strong FMC
❤️ Alpha MMC

If you have read P.Rayne before you know that they deliver EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And then when the books come to audio? ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!!

This book’s storyline picks up after the third one so I recommend reading the first three just to understand the entire plot and word of this book. I love Piper Rayne and they are doing such an amazing job with these books. At first, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy Polina and Dante’s characters in this book as they were brats in the previous books but the authors changed that for me. This story surprised me as I didn’t expect the story to play out the way it did. I do wish some of the conflicts were better though as I feel a lot of receptiveness going on but the pacing was great to have a smooth story.

This book is told from both Dante and Polina’s pov. Dante is in line to get married, especially with what happened in the previous book. He becomes interested in Polina and I love seeing how much he cares. Not much development on his side but still enjoyed him. Polina was the one misunderstood and I enjoyed learning so much about her. She had a wonderful character development. There are many side characters in this book and many who make appearances again. The romance is arranged marriage and enemies to lovers with some steamy scenes.

The ending was well done and overall it was a great story. I do wish the conflicts and Dante’s development were better but it was still a great story. I totally recommend checking out this book/series as they are short and wonderful.

*this e-arc was sent to me by Valentine PR*