📖 Detained | Luna Mason | Beneath The Mask Series Book 4
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing.

This is a dark mafia romance featuring Frankie and Zara.

Frankie is now the mafia boss of New York Ciry and seeking a long term revenge against Romano who took his family from him in a fire 10 years ago.

Zara is a detective for the NYPD and is looking to take down the head of the mafia however she needs to.

Downside - it’s very “insta-love”. That being said, there is tension and banter. Pushing of boundaries.

Absolutely wonderful story. I loved it from start to finish! Easy 5 stars! Will be recommending to everyone and buying a few copies for friends and family.

This was an interesting read. It was a great mix of plot and intimacy between Frankie and Zara. I was genuinely intrigued in the events of the book, and I really liked the cast of characters (like Jax). I think the pacing was just right. I also liked watching Frankie and Zara learn to trust each other.

I’m also glad we got so much information about the characters from the epilogue. It was nice to see what happens after the main storyline was resolved.

3.5 stars

I really wasn’t sure about this - the first half was a bit ridiculous and I wasn’t keen on the insta-lust and insta-love that came out of it. This is also the first book in the series I have read.

Saying that, I’m glad I didn’t dnf because the story really picked up by the half way point. There were high stakes and high losses which I didn’t expect. It was actually way more emotional than I thought it would be.

I loved the revenge arc and seeing Zara live up to her bad ass reputation.

Also, a man who cuts her initials into his body is always a plus 🫣

The Bonus chapter was amazing and it’s fully convinced me to read the rest of this series.

If you like your smut pretty much straight away then you’ll probably love this.

I started off loving the book, I mean - who doesn't love a good mafia romance with a sprinkle of forbidden?

While 3 stars is still a great review to me, just certain aspects felt lacking or rushed. While I am NEVER against the "insta-lust" trope, I felt like the book didn't mean to go in that direction. I love when there's lead up and tension, and I really thought we'd get more of it due to the tropes but it felt slightly lacking in that aspect.

I did really enjoy Zara's character, I love when FMC's are also badass and she for sure was! Frankie took me a bit to warm up to, he was fun to read but Zara was THE moment for me!

ARC - I love this series, and Detained is another standout. Luna Mason keeps the focus tight on the characters, giving us those layered, individual perspectives she does so well. The cat-and-mouse dynamic crackles from the first chapters, fueling sharp banter and a slow-burn that turns blistering fast. The chemistry is undeniable, and the darker mafia threads give the romance real stakes without dragging the pace. Even at 500+ pages, it reads like a quick binge—high tension, clean plotting, and scenes that keep you flipping. If you want dark romance with grit, heat, and two leads who can outsmart and undo each other in equal measure, Detained delivers. (As always with darker themes, check content notes.)

I liked this story overall, it definitely wasn’t my favourite of the series. I felt like there was so much more potential for an enemies to lovers slow burn to really build the chemistry but the insta-love was just not my vibe. It was a nice conclusion to the series. I wasn’t sure about getting a book from Frankie’s POV considering he hasn’t been the most consistent character but I did enjoy seeing previous events from his perspective and that did change my opinion on him. As a standalone, I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it, but to conclude the series I’d suggest it.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, the characters were great but very overdone. Storyline seemed too drawn out. I thought the main characters had great chemistry but story lagged a bit.

The mafia boss and the cop daughter of the commissioner?! SIGN ME RIGHT UP.

Zara and Frankie are such an innovative spin on the cop falling for the morally gray partner. I loved Zara’s spunky, fiery personality and how she compliments the closed off mafia boss who is really just hiding the biggest heart from the world because he isn’t sure he can take another heartbreak. Their story is FULL of twists and turns that I have come to expect from Luna, but even these twists caught me off guard.

Perfect if you like
🩶Morally Grey MMC
🚓Cop FMC
🫆Twists and Turns
☠️Dark Romance
🌶️Spice

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
The final book of the Beneath the Mask series by Luna Mason features Frankie Falcone, the new leader of the Mafia. He's ruthless, obsessive, and magnetically captivating. He finds himself in Detective Zara's crosshairs. She is fierce and determined to bring justice.

The enemies-to-lovers dynamic and cat-and-mouse tension between Frankie and Zara is 🔥. Frankie wants revenge. Zara is battling with loyalty. The emotional vulnerability and lust laced with danger completes the book!

Some Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Morally Gray Hero
Forbidden Romance
Cat and Mouse Dynamic

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for letting me read this book! From the opening pages, Luna Mason dives us straight into the heart of New York's criminal underworld, as Frankie—war-wounded and hardened—declares, "I don’t have to hide behind a mask anymore. I rule New York. It’s time to finish what I started ten years ago—destroy the man who took my life." His voice crackles with vengeance, presaging a gripping and dangerous mission.
Zara O’Reilly, on the flip side, is carved from resolve and betrayal. As the police commissioner’s daughter turned detective, she’s spent her career chasing shadows—but when Frankie is arrested for murder, she sees more than a criminal; she sees a threat to everything she stands for. And yet, caught in that fiery magnetism, she can't help but think, "He doesn’t know I’m watching his every move—and I want him to know." Their tension crackles like electricity.
What I particularly loved was how their dynamic evolves. There’s a scene late in the book—when Zara reluctantly teams up with Frankie during a violent siege in his penthouse. She watches him dispatch attackers with brutal precision, then catches him off guard with a gentle question: "Are you okay?" His eyes soften just for a moment and he replies, "Not until you're safe." That exchange—raw, unexpected—is the hinge of their connection.
By the climax, Frankie’s obsessive pursuit of vengeance collides with Zara’s duty—especially when they unearth who truly betrayed Frankie years ago. The reveal: his childhood friend Luca, once like a brother. The betrayal sends Frankie reeling—and Zara feels the seismic shift, unwilling to abandon him even as she should uphold the law. She whispers, "I’m not letting you fall apart alone," and he finally lets his guard down—tears, rage, and relief mingled.
The epilogue seals the transformation beautifully. Frankie, scarred but softened, stands by Zara in the precinct, her badge gleaming on his chest. He murmurs, "Mask or not, you’re my law now." It’s a masterful twist that completes their arc: two opposing forces entwined by fate and desire.

Title: Detained
Author: Luna Mason
Series: Beneath the Mask #1

Originally published in 2024, rerelease in November 2025 with a new cover.

What to expect:
*Mafia romance
*Enemies-to-Lovers
*Accidental pregnancy

Pros:
Started off good, morally black MMC and a badass FMC. I always enjoy when the FMC stalks the MMC, I like my girls a little unhinged. Turned very insta-love once they were officially together though.

Cons:
There was no talk of safe sex after he had been with multiple women on page. Also, the main characters were almost immediately having sex again after the FMC had a miscarriage. Absolutely not!

Safety:
One scene where the MMC kisses two girls that are leaving his house and the FMC witnesses. One scene where the FMC witnesses the MMC at a sex club. I’m not sure what all happened in that scene, I skipped it due to my personal triggers.
FMC has an on page miscarriage.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Format: NetGalley ebook
Genre: Contemporary fiction, dark romance
Overall score:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Characters: Zara (FMC) & Frankie (MMC)

i was really enjoying this until the pregnancy trope tbh… if that hadn’t been included, i would have loved this book

Book Rating: 2.5 stars, rounded down to 2

I rounded my star rating down instead of up because it was a very loose 2.5 stars. The 0.5 was more because I felt bad that I didn’t like the book, so to be fair, it needs to be rounded down.

I wanted to like this book so much. I love dark romance, and I will read the same tropes over and over again. Because of this, I was super excited to dive into this book, especially because it sounded a little different from everything I’ve read before.

But, unfortunately, this book just wasn’t good to me. The characters felt lackluster and stereotypical. I was expecting this awesome, powerful, super cool fmc, and what we get is not that. She’s just a woman: that’s it. And our mmc was…just kinda there? I didn’t feel any sort of way toward him. He didn’t make me swoon, I wasn’t excited for his pov, and he basically said and thought the same thing over and over again throughout the whole book.

Insta lust is not my thing, and we get huge helpings of it in this book. And then their nonstop lust basically throws the rest of the plot of the book away. I’m not anti-spice by any means, but I need plot with my spice, and our plot definitely became secondary.

I don’t regret reading this book, but I can’t say that I’ll ever read any of the other books in this series. Some of my dislike for this book might come because there are other books in this series, but I was under the impression that they all could stand alone.

Ultimately, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I cant tell you how much i love this series ! Lunas writing just seems to get better and better as each book goes on !

Loved it. Couldn’t put it down was completely in a trance while reading it. So good. Thank you for the chance to arc read this.

If you like mafia romance with a solid plot, lots of action, and a very generous amount of sizzle and spice, you will love this series. They can be standalone, but more fun to read them all.