Summary
I’m out for revenge.
After careful planning, I gave the man who messed with my family a taste of his own medicine.
I thought it’d end there.
It didn’t.
Landon King is a genius artist, a posh rich boy, and my worst nightmare.
He’s decided that I’m the new addition to his chess game.
Too bad for him, I’m no pawn.
If he hits, I hit back, twice as hard and with the same hostility.
He says he’ll ruin me.
Little does he know that ruination goes both ways.
Excerpt
Tonight, a certain eyesore presence will get a taste of his own medicine.
I stride through the darkness of the night with a chip on my shoulder and rage boiling in the very marrow of my soul.
My fingers splay on the strap of the mask covering my face. Breath condenses against the plastic and sweat coats my upper lip.
The place where my plans will take place materializes in front of me—huge, imposing, and dreadfully heartless.
Not empty, though.
These types of hedonistic meccas are often brimming with wannabes who like to think they’re worth more than their parents’ bank accounts.
But, oh well, none of my plans would have meaning in the absence of a crowd.
The dazzling lights of what can only be called a mansion slash through the night with the brightness of a falling star.
There’s nothing modest about what I’m looking at. It’s a huge three-story architectural wonder whose front brims with wide, tall windows.
That’s where all the lights shine through, particularly on the first floor. LED strips cover the trees in the vast garden surrounding the property. I can’t help feeling bad for the poor trees that are being suffocated for some random celebration.
The mansion’s exterior boasts a welcoming Victorian-like vibe that promises great fun, but I’m not fooled.
Inside that mansion lurks skin-crawling danger wrapped in a dazzling appearance.
And tonight? I’m going straight for that danger’s throat and bringing him to his damn knees.
“Slow down, Mia!” a feminine voice calls, crowded with frustration.
I throw a glance back to find my twin sister, Maya, holding her carnival mask with golden ornaments in hand as she pants.
My eyes grow wide behind my own mask and I pull her to the side before we cross the property’s gate.
She struggles under my firm grip, her whines resembling those of a petulant child.
“Ugh, you’re hurting me.” She releases herself from my merciless hold after a long struggle. It’s no secret that I’m the twin who loves strength training. Maya is more interested in massages and sculpting her model body.
We’re under a tall tree with bent branches that offers some form of camouflage from any onlookers.
Maya hikes a hand up her hip over the skintight glittery black dress that leaves nothing to the imagination. My sister has always been proud of her slim hourglass figure and C-cup breasts, and she’s never shied away from showing them off.
We’re identical twins, so we have the same petite facial structure, almond-shaped light-blue eyes, and full lips, though hers are slightly bigger than mine. Our hair is shiny platinum blonde, but she keeps hers long—currently swishing to her lower back—while mine falls just below my shoulders.
Usually, I’d have a ton of ribbons in mine, but since I’m trying to stay under the radar, I have it in a ponytail tied with only one blue ribbon.
I’m also wearing my least attention-grabbing outfit—a simple strapless leather dress that reaches the tops of my knees.
My boots for the night are the tamest I have and the only ones that aren’t chunky or covered with chains.
Maya, however, chose to wear heels, as usual, not seeming to care about whether or not that would hinder our mission.
Review
(audiobook) I’m dubious about the romance, and it’s my least favorite book in the series so far. But there were aspects I enjoyed very much in this story: the reflection about art, or the study of siblings dynamics, for instance.
I also appreciated that the main characters were treated equally. It wasn’t just one character justifying the other’s growth. On one hand, we have Mia, mafia princess who lost her voice as a kid and has been protected by her family since then–sometimes denying her free will in the process. On the other hand, there’s Landon, prodigy and emotionally handicaped young man who’s bored and detached. It was interesting that they basically have an opposite journey: while Mia is winning her independence, Landon is actually trying to get closer to people, to find some attachment.
The whole premise is that Landon suddenly… decides? Realizes? That Mia is his Muse. And that he needs to have her around to inspire him. To be honest, we don’t really see the process. We get to see some results through Mia’s or Landon’s eyes, but since they appear to like hyperboles, it’s hard to believe them. But that’s not the point. The point is, Landon’s art was technically perfect but soulless, until he finds Mia.
She makes him feel something, though he’s incapable of understanding what, exactly. That’s when Landon’s family, his siblings especially, intervene. He asks for their help in understanding his emotions. Even learning some. It felt a bit unbelievable, but it created some humor in a read way too heavy at times.
As for Mia, she jumps through hoops in order to take back control of her own life, and her siblings aren’t helping her at all, on the contrary. Landon is another obstacle, but at the same time, he’s her main ally in her journey. Getting her voice back is part of the process, and she needs to free herself from her ‘monster’. The mystery of its identity is well kept, though the revelation fell flat.
But overall the characters were immature, the romance forced, the heat lukewarm.
As for the narrators, while the female narrator expressed Mia’s brattitude perfectly, I felt the male narrator missed the mark–he did great with Landon’s coldness, but I never felt anything else, even when he was supposed to actually feel. It was okay all in all.
Quickie
- Series: Legacy of gods #4 (can be read as a standalone but linked to several other books by the same author)
- Hashtags: #mafia romance #college romance #enemies to lovers #virgin #dubcon #kinks
- Triggers: violence, past kidnapping, PTSD, dubious consent, somnophilia, mental health
- Main couple: Mia Sokolov & Landon King
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + the mystery about what happened to Mia that took her voice was well maintained until the very end
- – sometimes they all act like kids with a stupid grudge…
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