- When She Tempts: A Dark Mafia Romance (The Fallen)

I love the idea of two people not meant to be in a relationship, tip-toeing around one another until they can't resist and have to have the other. The buildup and tension is so worth waiting for the eventual coming together.Martina is this sweet, young, innocent girl who has always had a slight crush on Giorgio. When he's tasked with keeping her safe in a remote location where it's just the two of them, her crush blossoms and we get to see that Giorgio doesn't just see her as his boss's little sister.The age gap, the forbidden nature, the tension - this book was SO GOOD. I loved their relationship and how it slowly grew with just the two of them and no outside opinions and forces. The mystery of the house and town also kept me on the edge of my seat.I truly loved this book and can't wait to get to read more of this world

Enjoyed how this was about Giorgio and Martina (Mari) but also picked up where book 1 had ended. So I was able to still find out what was going on but get to read about this couple. I loved the twists and turns this book took, and it shocked me a few times. Mari is the little sister of Damiano, and he is trying to take back control of the family, so he needs his little sister safe. He knows the perfect person Giorgio, the IT person and handles security. We meet Giorgio in book 1 and Mari catches his attention then, but he knows she is off limits.Giorgio takes Mari to one of his properties and no one knows where she is but him, and the three people he has working at the house. These three are people he thinks he can trust but they also don't know the real reason why Mari is staying with him. Giorgio tries to keep his distance from Mari to be cordial but give her space. Mari wants his attention, and she works at getting it and he struggles to resist her. She is no longer an innocent virgin. Giorgio doesn't think he will ever be good enough for Mari because she is mafia royalty, and her marriage will need to be with someone that strengthens the family not someone like him. He will also be betrayed by someone close to him which I didn't see coming. When the time comes because of this thought he pushes her away and she is heartbroken, and he is an idiot. He finally realizes how stupid he was, but it might be to late. I loved reading the love letters he wrote here, letting her know just how much he loved her and wanted to be with her. His words were special, and they just might work. The ending is great, and not only does it have an HEA for the couple, but things finally go right for Mari's brother.The book has some descriptive and enjoyable spicy parts. It is an easy read and keeps you entertained the whole time. There are twists you don't see coming for the good and the bad. I'm looking forward to the next book and what all will happen in it. I do enjoy when you know a book ends with an HEA but when reading makes you wonder how it's going to do that."Every object under my protection is of immense value Martina. And you might just be the most valuable of them all.""That small body of hers pressed against mine felt like coming home."“And now you teach me the meaning of true happiness,” he says, his voice hoarse. He lifts himself onto his elbow and cups my cheek. “I love you so damn much, piccolina.”

And to think, I almost skipped this one! After seriously enjoying the first installment in this sexy mafia romance series, I was itching to get my hands on the books that followed. Though the romance in each stand on their own, the overarching storyline spans the series, so they’re best read in order. So I jumped into this one, despite the fact that the age gap (33/19) made me a little uncomfortable. It took no time at all to realize that the dynamic was going to work a whole lot better than I expected, as our antihero’s main goal at the start is helping the heroine find her strength again after she experienced some trauma. I loved that he recognized the complicated things going on inside her head, and he did his best to make her feel empowered and uplifted. That helped even out the playing field, and also served as the catalyst for the chemistry that sparks between them. There are some definite forbidden vibes and angst, paired with an unexpected roommates scenario and tons of forced proximity. I loved that so much of the story is spent with them living inside a bubble, where their relationship could grow stronger by the day. It’s a tense, delicious slow burn that heats up somewhere along the way, with the storyline easily holding my interest from start to finish. I binged it in a single day - I loved it!The story follows Martina, the younger sister of a man who is making his move to become a mafia don. Martina’s abduction a few months ago kicked off the tension that’s been ratcheting up in their clan, so her brother instructs his security guy, Giorgio, to hide Martina until things settle down. The two have only met briefly in the past, but Giorgio can see that Martina is still haunted by her recent trauma. Since they’ll be spending time at a remote location for the foreseeable future, Giorgio decides to help bring Martina back from the dark place in her mind. But spending time with the young beauty has some unintended consequences, as Giorgio soon discovers that the combination of her sweetness and unexpected fire are exactly what he’s been missing in his life. As the two grow closer, Giorgio fights against his desires while trying to remember all of the reasons he should stay far, far away.The only thing that held me back from calling the first book in the series 5 stars was the weak emotional connection,so I was delighted to discover that it’s much stronger with this couple. From the start, Giorgio seems to understand Martina so well, and I loved that she snuck under his defenses in a way that he couldn’t predict. It’s a slowish burn with tons of sexual tension, and I honestly didn’t mind the age gap 99% of the time. Giorgio is all about bringing Martina back to life and making her understand her worth, even if he was keeping secrets that would catch up with him later on. He’s also a genuinely nice guy behind his stern exterior, and I loved the care he took with Martina. As for Martina, she grew on me more and more as she found her strength. I’m excited for the next couple in the series and to see where the action takes us next, which added a bingeable quality to the story. Now that I’m emotionally invested in the suspense, it’s easy to fly through the pages and become impatient for the next one. The good news? I’m late to the party, so I can dive right in.Audio note: I really enjoyed the audio! Addison Barnes is a new-to-me narrator, but she does a fantastic job throughout. Her voice for Martina was easy to listen to, and I also liked her voice for Giorgio. It was also my first time listening to Antonio Amato, and he does a great job. His thick accent might’ve been too much for me if I hadn’t just listened to the first book in the series. I recommend listening to the sample before diving in, as his accent is likely to make you feel strongly one way or another. I got used to it pretty quickly, and it added a ton of personality to the performance. Not sure I’d listen to this one at the office, but things don’t heat up for awhile. It gets spicy after that, for sure. The runtime (11-12 hours) should’ve been too much for a single day, but I was completely engrossed in the story, so I stayed up late. I’ve been loving the series on audio, and plan to continue with the format - highly recommended.

Mari & Giorgio are an interesting couple who we first met in ‘When She Unravels’. Mari suffers great loss in ‘When She Unravels’ at the hands of Valentina’s first husband. Mari’s relationship with Giorgio expands in ‘When She Tempts’ after her brother hides her in Giorgio’s care. She does indeed ‘tempt’ Giorgio in the most wickedly sexy way. A truly fantastic read with a great storyline & a lot of angsty sex that keeps it interesting!

Ohh my god.. Their love story is epic 🥺 Giorgi and Martina are love .. The bond they share is amazing

Wow this series goes from strength to strength. I love the characters and the way they interact with each other. Never a dull moment, and this story is a late night pageturner. Once you start reading this series, you can't put it down....even when your fav author has just released a book you have been dying to read. This book is so well written and a lot of emotions, twists and turns, adventure and action and of course sexy times. Loved this book and series. Can't wait to read book 3 xx

Rapidez na Entrega.

Oh my God, I did not expect to like this book this much! The first book was a 4-stars-read to me and I continued with this one out of curiosity to see how everything will play out when it comes to Demiano taking over. And then I fell completely in love with Giorgio and Martina’s story. I loved Val and Dem but Gio and Mari have my whole heart. Grumpy meets Sunshine always takes my soul, I can’t help it. I didn’t care for one second about their age difference. Their connection felt so real and genuine to me, and he taught him how to handle life just as much as he taught her. They saved and healed each other and I loved every second of it. I literally couldn’t put the book down! And Gabrielle’s writing has much improved compared to the first book. I just loved loved loved this book!