not my fave, a little different than my normal dark/mafia romance taste.... i thought this would cure my slump but it only made it worse

Lumaia was a child sold into trafficking and as a gypsy wife. She presents a unique case of Stockholm syndrome for her gypsy camp, believing in her role to serve men and basically, nothing else. She struggles with loneliness and rejection, being married for 11 years and never even kissed. She has random bough's of strongwill, but often is overcome with feelings of being alone and never enough. While she has seen many instances of torture, she is quick to be appalled by the romantic interest (Bram) ever suggesting any violence to protect the people close to him.

Bram is a fight club trainer and owner who spends most of his time at the gym. His family talks him into a (imo stupid) kidnapping and he is stuck holding the hostage. Bram thinks with his... you know what, and that's about it. There are times where we are informed he's essentially the best fighter ever, but then fails to contain what is likely a 100lb woman multiple times.

I struggled through a lot of this read, it's very sex oriented and focused on how "beautiful" the main character is. The story is rather brief, and many elements of it feel unrealistic. Why is Bram really the only option to watch her? And nobody else comes to the house to help out? He really cares SO much about a lady who attacked him, sliced him, with glass? And then immediately forgets to act like she may be a threat 3 more times? The whole set up for the kidnapping is also pretty far fetched, they could've done a hundred other acts and chose a to kidnap the queen?

If the plot had a lot more depth, and the characters more braincells, I would like the story. The concept of the colliding cultures is super interesting, and a fresh idea to read. I also know its a perspective that is real, and we don't often get to learn about.

Thank you to Net Galley and Belinda Wright for the ARC in exchange for review.

This book had an intriguing premise with complex family dynamics and forbidden attraction, but the execution fell flat. Character motivations felt unrealistic. The pacing was off, and the romance was lagging despite good tension. This book wasn't for me.

Personally, this book was not my typical style of dark romance - I am unfamiliar with Romani traditions so I should have done more research to understand the storyline better. I thought the yearning and tension was great, but overall this was not something that I would recommend unfortunately.

I’m feeling pretty torn about this one.
The blurb said it was book one of a duet, but when I opened it up it mentioned being book 3 of a series, so I’m guessing it’s an interconnected standalone duet as part of a bigger series, which lines up with talking about characters like there’s an established history that I have no idea about.
The lack of content and trigger warnings at the start didn’t sit well with me either. Yes there was a paragraph explaining a little about Romani culture in the context of the book, but there was nothing about torture or infidelity for example.
The plot had promise but I found it too repetitive and lacking depth. I just wasn’t invested in any of the characters.
It ended on a cliffhanger and I’m not sure if I’ll even come back for the next book because I’m not itching to see how it plays out.
I’m not writing this author off though based off this one book, but this just missed the mark for me.

Ope this is spicy. I liked it, but at the same time I do not think it was for me. Definitely fits the tropes of a specific audience.

WHAT THE FUCK. IM SPEECHLESS😭
I hated this book oksy and I will admit that. I was so disappointed and unattached to all the characters. THE SPICE WAS TERRIBLE. AND SHES MARRIED (To an ass AND DIDNT HAVE SEX WITH HER TGE WHOLE 11 YEARS OR SO THEY WERE TOGETHER) BUT STILL CHEATING IS CHEATING. Actually he husband was an ass and hit her for asking for sexand called her a whore and that’s FUCKED UP. But cheating is still cheating😭😭😭😭😭
Her kidnapper was okay I guess. I would prefer a more morally grey man


This dude kidnaps this girl and they got together blah blah AND IT ENDS WITH HER SHOOTING HIM. LIKE I DONT KNOW IF HE DIED???
I GUARANTEE I WILL READ THE SECOND BOOK JUST TO FIND ANSWERS!!



THIS IS HOW IT ENDED:

I hold my arms steady in front of me trying
to stop them from shaking. My heart is beating so loudly.
'Lamaia, what are you doing? Put the gun
down.'
I ignore him and take a step into the room.
'Babe, put the fucking gun down,' he says.
There's disbelief in his eyes. My hands shake. I don't want to kill him. I love this man. But I can't let him set fire to the camp and kill my people. I take a shaky breath; I have to do this, I have to kill him. I squeeze the trigger, screaming as the gun explodes in my hands.
He falls backwards, collapsing to the floor, blood immediately colouring the white of his shirt.
I drop the gun. Tears streaming down my
face, I turn and run for the door.



Thankyou so much netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

This was an interesting read to me. There were some issues with the storyline that irritated me but for the most part, I would say a 2.5 to 3 star read for me.

The story surrounds Bram and the Gypsy clan that come into town and start messing with the unwritten agreement seen between all the local gangs/players. Break and his brothers are the peacekeepers. When Abram is tasked with being in charge of the weapon being used to blackmail the Gypsy king, feelings become an issue.

There was a few too many things to follow at times and some really unrealistic personalities but I stayed intrigued.

Thank you to Net Galley and Belinda Wright for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very tight family of brothers who are all willing to bend rules. When things start to happen Bram has to take a prisoner for a while. He has never seen a more beautiful woman when things progress on feelings develop between them. Will he be able to do his job or will his feelings mess things up? I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Right off the bat, I read duet and I knew it was going to be intriguing. Truly liked the premise of the story. A local gypsy clan causing issues to Bram’s family business which leads them to kidnap the Gypsy Queen Lamaia, as a bribe to leave the area. Tensions rise between Bram and Lamaia as their growing attraction for each other potentially threatens the overall plan. It was interesting to see Lamaia’s story as a child bride and the upbringing and expectations as a gypsy queen. Essentially she’s able to find herself a bit with this time away from her camp. Bram’s story and his closeness with his family and his business was also engaging . Looking forward to reading where the story leads next in the second book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours and Belinda Wright for giving me the opportunity to read and get to know Bram and Lamaia’s story.

The gypsies are in town, portrayed as grubby, violent, uncaring, and too numerous to fight - so, in keeping the peace of current gangs the gypsy queen is kidnapped. She knows no other life, sold as a child and and in a loveless marriage with no real friends, but it is her life as she knows it. And so it all begins, the book really focusing on her and her kidnappers.