4,5⭐
Mafia Doms Book 3
The story and both of the characters are morally gray/dark and that is shown in how they interact.
Maddox and Knives (Nayeem) meet as teenagers and they fall in love but something happens that upend their relationship and when we meet them 8 years later the love has turned into hate.
Knives hate Maddox so much and I understand why, because of what he went through as a teenager. But he also loves Maddox just as much, so I think that twists his brain and his actions because he doesn't know what leg to stand on.
One thing though that made me mad, was when Knives interrupted a scene between a Maddox and another dom and him not thinking about the consequences for Maddox in regards to subspace and him dropping out of it so quickly.
I do though want to give kudos to Knives and his insistence on using protection when having sex with Maddox.This because he knows that he wasn’t careful during his prison stint and even if he hated Maddox at the time he doesn't want him to suffer if he is not clean. In my opinion the safe sex procedure/talk is not something that is talked about openly enough between book characters. So anytime I read a story with this feature I get really happy. Because STI’s aren’t sexy and seeing the safe sex talk in books helps break the stigma surrounding not going bare.
This book is dark-ish, I would say that the beginning of the book starts out pretty dark and maybe the consent in certain aspects is on the nonexistent side. But the further into the book we get the more the dark turns to light or as light it can be in a mafia romance book. I would absolutely class this as an enemies-to-lovers and second chance romance, just with more alligators and swamps present.
This story is not for everyone because of the nature of the content. There are elements of dub-con or even non-con so proceed with caution if this is not for you. I would recommend reading the forewords and warnings R.Phoenix and Adara Wolf have in the beginning of the book to get a better understanding of what could or will happen. Since I am an avid reader of all things dark-ish and have read the other books in the series I enjoyed the book.
I can tell you though, in regards to the non/dub-con stuff, that they do have discussions regarding both’s behavior during the book's progression and before the book starts.
Also reading the prequel Against The World will help you understand the characters and where they come from. You don’t need to do that but it is advised. Also as you probably have understood this is book 3 in the Mafia Doms series, it could be read as a stand-alone, but reading the first 2 (Submit & Control) and also Surrender will make this book more enjoyable.
Until next time XOXO
Pics are not mine but the edits are!
This is an ARC Review - Release Day August 30th 2024
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