Ruthless Monarch is a mafia romance featuring the enemies to lovers trope. I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book, and it was a decent story. It held my interest, and I was curious the entire time.
Do I think some things could have been elaborated on? Oh absolutely. I'd love to tell you specifics, but that would lead to spoilers, so I can't.
Was there a twist that I wasn't expecting? YES there was. Plus there was another moment that wasn't specifically said, but I did guess it. So yay for me on that.
Did I like the characters? I did. Both Matteo and Viviana were intriguing. Now there were times where Viviana bothered me slightly, but it is what it is. I will say I enjoyed how Viviana was able to magically get Matteo to open up to her. That was impressive. Not to mention how she could easily read him. As for the side characters (Julia, the Governor, Salvatore), they kept me on my feet. If I'm being honest, I would have appreciated more of the Salvatore storyline.
How was the romance? It was good. You have the classic enemies to lovers trope, along with a bit of forced proximity. The steamy scenes were just that, steamy.
Overall, the story was decent, but honestly it left me a little wanting. When I was 3/4 of the way through the book, I was debating that it could wrap up in the last quarter as I knew it wasn't going to cliffhanger. I actually wish Ruthless Monarch had been a duet, as that would have allowed the storyline to delve a little deeper and add in more action/drama.
Let's talk rating! As you know, on Goodreads, Amazon, and Bookbub, you can only give full star marks. That makes those in-between ratings a bit more difficult. I chose to mark Ruthless Monarch as a 4 on Goodreads. In reality, it was probably more of a 3.5 or 3.75 for me. Could I have dropped it to a 3, eh maybe, but I think it is better than that. So I'm sticking to my 4 star rating.
Do you read mafia romance? What do you look for in the story? Is it the romance? The storyline? The length of the story?
Happy Reading,
Please keep scrolling to read the teaser for Ruthless Monarch! I have it included below.
Matteo Amante.
Dangerous. Deadly. And most of all, devastating.
He’s the king of the city.
Running the mafia and ruling the East Coast.
He’s at war with his cousin, and I am the casualty.
There is nothing Matteo won’t do to win.
He’ll burn everything down to the ground, my hopes and dreams included.
He’s no hero.
He’s the handsome devil who will probably kill me in the end.
Falling in love with the enemy can destroy me, especially when he is my husband . . .
Meet Ava Harrison
Ava Harrison is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author.
When she's not journaling her life, you can find her window shopping, cooking dinner for her family, or curled up on her couch reading a book.
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Thank you to Grey's Promotions and Ava Harrison for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Ruthless Monarch in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required, all thoughts/opinions regarding the book are my own.
