Check the trigger warnings. This one has some dark themes.

I don’t remember how this ended up on my TBR. I had downloaded it from KU some time ago but had not started it. I don’t remember why I sought it out originally. 

The writing is skilled mechanically and the author has given characters with detailed backstories. There are lots of literary references, beyond the obvious Hades & Persephone ones. The recipe was there for me to love this one. 

The MMC Kal is the morally grey doctor who also works for the mafia. Elena is the mafia princess who has always sought her father’s approval through violence. Kal is one of Elena’s father’s hit men. Elena has been betrothed since childhood to someone for her father’s gain. She approaches Kal before the wedding to take her v1rg!n1ty. Someone recorded them and is now trying to blackmail Kal. That is all off page and the book opens with Kal offering to protect Elena by marrying her. He kidnaps her and takes her to an island off the coast. I didn’t particularly love either character. I think maybe because there wasn’t a lot of chemistry. We start the book with him obsessed and her evolving feelings don’t make a lot of sense. In addition, Elena lacks agency, which is part of the source material, but even knowing that, I still found her actions to be more bratty than bad*ss.

Some of the plot seemed extraneous. There were storylines that didn’t seem to go anywhere. Possibly setting up subsequent books in the series. But you know how when you read a series book and like one of the secondary characters so much that you hope they are the focus of a future book? That really didn’t happen here for me. 

The spice is…fine. With the exception of knife and blood play it seemed fairly derivative of other books in this genre. Kal has one hangup around intimacy that flitters in and out of the story; it is underdeveloped in the narrative and the explanation for it rings  hollow. 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Overall, the book was fine - entertaining and spicy. If you are a classic literature geek and like a mafia romance with literary undertones and touch her and die vibes, you might love this one. It kept my attention but I am not interested in re-reading or continuing the series.