🌟 3.5
🌶️ 4
🎧 3

Love at first accidental peen grab 😂

🖤 Dark Romance
🖤 Boxer // Mafia // he would kill for her
🖤 Steamy // spicy
🖤 Insta-lust // Fast burn 🔥
🖤 touch her and 💀
🖤 fanfic feels (in a good way)

⚠️ cheater violent ex, dark themes

Overall it gave me spicy fan fiction vibes, in that it felt a little underdeveloped but fun, and romantic. Very spicy as well. It felt long, but also action packed moving from one point to the next fairly quickly and quick resolution at the end as well. I liked it, and I’m curious about the other couples in this series, but I’m not frothing at the mouth to read the next one if that makes sense.

X

I enjoyed reading Distance by Luna Mason. It is the first book I read from this author and it did not disappoint!
Keller and Sienna were both great characters. They instantly had me captivated throughout the book. It was easy to see the connection they both had with each other. I definitely was rooting for them the entire time!


This is definitely a must-read book!


Thank you Kensington Publishing for a free copy of this book!

4.5⭐️ 3.5 🌶️
This dark romance had all of the tropes I love!

-Fierce FMC
-Morally Grey MMC
-Touch her & 💀

I fell in love with Keller the MMC. He just wanted to be loved and Si FMC was perfect for him. They could read each other like a book, and knew how to take care of each other. The spice and chemistry between these two was 🥵

The ending was just want I needed. I wish Jaime got worse than he got though!!!!

This book made me so excited for Maddie and Graysons book!!! I’m even ready to see who Luca ends up with and Enzo possibly 🤩

This book had all the ingredients for a sizzling mafia cross sports romance. The brooding bad boy, “touch her and die” vibes, and instant connection between the main characters really got me excited. But somehow, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

The writing style felt a little clunky, like it was trying to be poetic but tripped over its own stilettos. And I really wanted to enjoy the characters but I just didn’t feel anything toward them. It was like watching a soap opera on mute: lots of drama, not enough depth.

Still, if you're into angsty mobster love stories and don’t mind style over substance, this might be your cup of espresso. Just wasn’t mine!

Distance
1st Standalone in the Beneath the Mask Series
Author: Luna Mason
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶🌶🌶

Keller and Sienna are 🔥🔥 together! Keller's dominating mouth...delicious!
I love a spicy insta-love story mixed with some angst and danger, and Distance delivers!
—-------------------------------------------------------
“Do not f*ck with what is mine. I will burn down the earth to protect her.”

“You are my queen.”
--‐------------------------------------------------------
Sienna thought she had a sweet, secure, and reliable relationship. That was until she caught her fiance with another woman. After losing herself in grief, Sienna finally claws her way out of her pity party to go out with her best friend, only to end up face first in the lap of Keller “The Killer” Russo.

Keller lives a double life as a masked hitman for the mafia and as a professional boxer lined up to become the heavyweight champion of the world, which means no time for any distractions. But when Sienna lands face first in his lap he was instantly obsessed. And distractions, be d@mned!

When things instantly heat up, Keller and Sienna decide to have one night together to get the attraction towards each other out of their systems, both wanting to avoid a serious relationship…or so they thought.

Keller will stop at nothing to possess, claim, and protect Sienna. But Sienna has a stalker. And when she is kidnapped and hurt because of his mafia ties, Keller makes a decision that threatens to shatters them both.

-Mafia
-Boxer by Day, Masked H!tman by Night
-Sassy FMC with Anxiety
-Obsessed and Protective MMC
-Rags-to-Riches
-Secret Identity
-Instant Attraction
-Breaks “dating rules” for her
-Will 💀 for her
-Delicious Spice
-Yummy Bedroom Talk
-”Good Girl”
-Suprise Pregnancy
-No MMC or FMC Cheating
-No OWD

Luna Mason has quickly become a favorite author of mine! This was such a delightful read that had my pulled in from the very first chapter. The characters were well developed and I am finding my way through the rest of her books.

We all need a Keller in our lives. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat and ensures you don't want to put it down. Just the right spice to story ratio, and you can't help but love all the characters. I did have to push through at the start, but once it got going, I didn't want to put it down at all.

I love mafia. And Luna Mason is top tier on the mafia romance.

I love the chemistry between the main characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

A great start to this new series (even though this book can be read as a standalone)! This was my first time reading a Luna Mason book, and I was immediately intrigued reading the blurb. A good girl paired up with a fighter? Sign me up!

Distance does not disappoint. It's fast paced, which I liked, and Keller (our MMC) and Sienna (our FMC) have burning hot chemistry from the moment they meet! Keller was the perfect protective MMC, he was ready to go through fire for Sienna and I was so obsessed with him as a character. They bought had a difficult past, but seeing them flourish together was everything. And lets talk about the spice for a second - it was hot and started early on! I loved that we didn't need to wait for it.

Thank you Luna Mason, Hambright PR, Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the free copy.

You should read this book if you love these tropes:

🥊Good Girl x Bad Boy
🥊Dark Romance
🥊MMC Fighter
🥊Fast Burn
🥊Surprise Tattoos
🥊Mafia

This was my first Luna Mason book, and I went in totally blind—which honestly worked out great. I had no idea what I was walking into, and I ended up really enjoying the ride.

The story kicks off with Sienna going through it emotionally, and she’s definitely not looking to jump into anything serious. But then Keller shows up—broody, intense, and impossible to ignore. The chemistry between them is seriously off the charts, and even though Sienna tries to hold back, it’s clear these two are headed somewhere.

I’m a sucker for a strong, scary MMC who turns into a total softie for his woman, and Keller delivers on that front. He’s protective, sweet in his own gruff way, and shows up when it counts.

Maddie—Sienna’s best friend—is also a standout. She’s that brutally honest, funny, fiercely loyal friend we all wish we had in our corner.

If I had to nitpick, I found the beginning a bit fast-paced for my taste—I usually prefer a slower burn—but that’s just personal preference. And while there’s a lot of spice (maybe a little more than I typically go for), I know plenty of readers will love that.

Overall, Distance is a steamy, fast-moving romance with great characters, big emotions, and a protective alpha who falls hard. If you like your love stories intense and high-heat, this one’s definitely worth checking out.

Thank you to NetGalley & Kensington Publishing for the eArc.

Book: Distance (Beneath The Mask Book 1)
Author: Luna Mason
Publisher: Kensington (Paperback)
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Page Count: 304 pages
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance / Romantic Suspense
Spice Rating: 4 out of 5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ — Heavy, especially in the back half
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

“This isn’t just spice and violence—it’s an emotional uppercut.”

I went into Distance expecting dark romance, a little bloodshed, a little brooding, and a whole lot of boxing biceps—and on that front? Luna Mason did not disappoint. This is mafia meets fight club, with a side of emotional trauma and a main course of “you’re mine now, baby girl” vibes.

Our FMC, Sienna, is trying to piece her life back together after a seriously messed-up breakup, only to get tangled up in the world of Keller—an inked-up, emotionally scarred boxer with ties to the mafia. Their chemistry? Immediate. Undeniable. And hot enough to melt steel.

The plot has legs—it genuinely does. I was invested in the mystery, the tension, the found-family moments with Keller’s crew. But let’s address the sequined elephant in the room: the spice. It starts off fast, and then ramps all the way up to “ma’am, this is a Wendy’s 😳” level in the last quarter. Not that I mind a little heat—I live in Louisiana, after all—but I found myself wanting a bit more plot in between the, uh, cardio sessions. The pacing lost some of its punch there.

Also, shoutout to the unhinged ex-boyfriend for coming in hot with Lifetime movie energy and no real thorough explanation. I love me a good villain arc, but I need it to make sense. His obsession felt more like a plot device than a fully fleshed-out threat, and I wish we’d gotten a little more context to understand the madness.

All that said, Luna Mason has a voice, and it’s confident. The emotional beats landed, the chemistry worked, and despite a few over-the-top moments, I enjoyed the ride.

*This one’s for you if you like:
*Tattoos and trauma
*Possessive MMC’s who throw punches and emotional walls
*Spicy scenes that don’t believe in “less is more

Will I read the next one? Yep. I’ve got questions, and I’m hooked enough to want the answers.

Just… maybe with a glass of sweet tea and a fan nearby.

“I need you like I need air to breathe. Without you, my life’s meaningless." like are you joking. I love this man. I was looking for a boxing romance book after reading a boxing wattled story and Distance was perfect. I am really looking forward to the next book.

I really love luna masons books, and i think i have read them all :D I loved this story so much that i will purchace this book to my trophy shelv too :P

This was one of my first mafia reads and the suspense, the spice and the passion were all just 🔥. I was just hooked and loved that Keller was that perfect morally grey man that makes you just instantly fall for him.

Really enjoyed the insta-obsession between the MMC and FMC. Also, pretty much using his d*ck as a joystick within moments of meeting was top notch.

“ What if she’s the one to pull you out of the darkness and into the light?”

Where are you Mafia romance girlies? We’ve got Mafia and boxing combined in one book 🫠

Keller may be feared by all he encounters whether in the ring or working his extracurricular Mafia duties at night, but this man is a sucker when it comes to Sienna. You can’t help but love a bad boy who is overly possessive of his girl. The high stakes, the spice, the chemistryyy. This was a wild ride definitely worth taking.

This was such a great mafia read! It had everything in it, the suspense, the SPICE, & the violence! Keller & Sienna are a perfect match, I was rooting for them the whole way. So many parts had me laughing but also screaming. I wish I got to see Sienna’s mom’s face (IYKYK) also can I please get more of Enzo ?? Cause YUM!

This is the first in the 'Under the Mask' Series - Which I have read in its entirety and as a series, it is beautiful.
This story gives me mixed feelings, however.

Keller is a Boxer who is tied to a mafia family, where he uses his skills to be the family's enforcer. We meet him as he is close to being done with his ties to the family and is getting things set up for his legitimate life. He has a one-track mind to achieve that, but he meets Sienna, and he adds his obsession with her to that.

Sienna is similarly attempting to have a life of her own, free from her ex, who can't seem to let her go. It's instant lust for them both.

Their relationship is a little too insta-lust for me, and I am all for the insta-love stories. It might have been all the nicknames or how much sex clouded things rather than adding to it (The spice is giving, though). It also could just simply be me.

I do, however, love the mafia family plot that is going on here. The suspense is what kept me around and got me to gobble the series up but I am a sucker for these organized crime stories though.

Let me say I love fighter romances and I love mafia romances. This one was BOTH, and it was amazing! I loved both of the MCs, even though at times they had a hard time getting out of their own way to their HEA. I love a growly, alpha leading man, and a sassy, sweet leading female. The side characters leave you wanting their stories, and the plot keeps you turning pages. Excellent read!

Ooh… this is my first read by this author and she penned a spicy dark romance that had me hooked. The mmc had some crazy bde. While this story was long and a tad predictable I still found it entertaining. I really liked the mmc… what’s not to like especially from a hot, alpha boxer that is also a mafia enforcer? He was deliciously sexy. I didn’t mind the fmc but couldn’t connect to her although the chemistry between the pair was scorching which kept me invested. I look forward to the next book in the series.