Summary
Oran
Lina Schultze is a pawn.
A shiny piece of plastic I’ll use in my plan for revenge.
I’ll seduce her. Claim her.
Then flaunt my acquisition in front of her ex, Lawrence Wellington—
The man I plan to destroy.
Once my mission is complete, I’ll send Lina packing.
She’ll be the easiest and most … pleasurable part of my vengeance.
Charming her away from a man old enough to be her father won’t be an issue.
And if it comes down to it, I’m not above using force.
Lina
Oran Byrne has made his intentions clear—
He’ll stop at nothing to have me.
But he’s just like every other rich, entitled asshole.
He doesn’t know me.
All he sees is a pretty object to be possessed and discarded.
They all underestimate me.
I’ve come back to the Olympus Club for a reason,
And I won’t let anything stop me,
Least of all a smooth-talking criminal with arsenic on his tongue.
If Oran expects me to fall into his open arms,
He’s in for a world of disappointment.
Review
After the end of the previous book, I couldn’t wait to know what the deal was between Oran and Lina. The former had been betrayed by his wife, the latter had been seen besides a really bad guy, both two books prior. Yet Lina arrived on Oran’s arm at Torin and Stormy’s wedding and was introduced as his fiancé. I was intrigued.
This book starts several weeks before the wedding, but after the events involving Wellington, one of the villains in this story. Lina and Oran both have plans about the man, and they meet at a club. Plans means secrets means miscommunication. Despite having biased opinions on each other, they also feel instant attraction. It’s cliché to have two characters lusting after each other when they also despise each other, but that’s okay. It created some tension that kept me interested.
The other kind of tension was the mysteries the author kept to herself for a long time, mostly about Lina’s motivations. While Oran’s story was told completely in a previous book, in order to make this one a standalone, the author includes the main plot points. As for Lina, we barely saw her before and know nothing about her, so her schemes are a total mystery. There are hints here and there, but the biggest revelations are kept for key moments between Oran and Lina. Also, even though we are in the know about Oran, Lina has no idea who he is, hence her mistrust. All along, only the author has all the pieces of the puzzle. Usually, miscommunication as the main conflict is my pet peeve, since it’s so easy to just talk, and that should be an important element in a relationship. But here, it was mostly understandable for the reasons listed above. I say mostly, because there was one instance that was avoidable and it annoyed me a bit.
Human trafficking has been in the background of this series since the beginning–with the ‘virtuous’ main family innocent of this particular crime of course. We delve a bit more into the trafficking ring, and the corrupted elite that is okay with it. They are written with no redeeming qualities, which I found a bit too much. I enjoy my villains with more nuances. But I suppose it’s required when your heroes are also criminals.
Families–the one you hate, the one you choose, the one you’re jealous of, the one you’re looking for–were an important element of the story. Oran’s and Lina’s are opposites, and that point came across a few times. On the other hand, the fact that they had both lost their father could have brought them closer, but it was never even suggested.
Did I buy the feelings they claimed having for each other? Not totally. I mean, the author develops the way Oran’s opinion of Lina changes by watching her, admiring her then falling for her. While Lina’s feelings never go past lust, I felt, until it was suddenly love.
It was still a nice addition to the series, and I’m glad Oran got his happily ever after too.
Quickie
- Series: The Byrne brothers #4 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #mafia romance #enemies to lovers #fake relationship
- Triggers: technically cheating, violence, torture, death, degradation, mentions of past rape, sexual abuse, murders, psychological abuse and parental neglect
- Main couple: Carolina Schultze & Oran Byrne
- Hotness: 4/5
- Romance: 4/5
- + I loved how Oran’s priorities shifted after meeting Lina
- – I understand the author doesn’t want to write too dark, but some people needed to be more heavily punished, and on paper too
Stalker mode
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EDIT: that was a quality audiobook. The male narrator was good, as usual, but I especially enjoyed the female narrator. Her voice was perfect for Lina. She brought all the character’s emotions to life.
Vero Ticker 