If you haven’t read Prince of Hearts, the first half of this duet, yet, you can check out my review here.

Talk about INTENSE! The conclusion to a dark and twisty duet, this picks up right where the last book left off and keeps on going from there. This half is much more about the mafia lifestyle, overcoming obstacles in the path to happiness, and falling deeper in love with the person you’re meant to be with. It’s still got all of the nods to Romeo and Juliet found in the first half – complete with a couple who are madly in love despite all of the reasons why they shouldn’t be together. The writing is gripping and the storyline unpredictable, though I definitely found this half to be unnecessarily long and repetitive at times. I wanted more focus on our couple, not just the problems in their way. But it does a great job wrapping up this love story while setting up a few others.

Normally I’d talk about the plot here, but… as the second half of a duet, you should already be up to speed! You can’t appreciate this love story without reading the first half of the duet, and that will tell you everything you need to know about this installment. It’s dark and complicated (with a whole lot of TRIGGERS), featuring an instalove-style relationship that builds upon the initial connection. This installment dives much deeper into the mafia connections, and all that the lifestyle entails.

All in all, a solid conclusion to a refreshingly different romance. I definitely preferred the first book, but that’s probably because most of the “romance” was in that one. Ari and Nicco are already very much in love here, so while there were plenty of sweet (and sexy) moments, they weren’t the kind that give you butterflies. Had the storyline been tightened up a bit and the length reduced, I wouldn’t have hesitated to give this a 5-star rating, but as it stands it was just a little too repetitive. The suspense loses its impact when it’s so prolonged, and I felt like we heard some of the same sentiments over and over again. That being said, the author has created an intriguing set of characters and I know we’re in for a wild ride with the next couple. I received an ARC via Give Me Books and am voluntarily leaving a review of this mafia romance.

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Blurb:

Arianne Capizola is living a lie.
Angry. Abandoned. Afraid.
She’d rather spend her days locked away on her father’s estate than with the guy who stole her innocence: her fiancé.

Niccolò Marchetti is living a nightmare.
Broken. Banished. Betrayed.
He’d do anything to save the girl he loves, even if it means paying the ultimate price.

As the truth surround their legacies begins to unravel, everything they thought they knew shatters. But Nicco will do anything to protect the girl who taught him how to love, and she will risk it all to save the guy who stole her heart.

The clock is ticking as old and new enemies close in.

Only this time, their love might not be enough to save them.

*King of Souls is the second book in Nicco and Ari’s duet. Due to mature content that some readers may find distressing, this book is recommended for readers 18+


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Audio coming soon!

EXCERPT

“Nicco!” Arianne clambered off the bed and rushed to my side.

“Wait.” I held up my other hand to stop her. A dark angry storm was raging through me. I wanted to hit something, to hurt and bleed.

I needed it.

Dark rivulets of blood seeped over my hand, but I barely felt it. I was too wired. Too hungry for the kill.

“Let me take a look at it.” Arianne stepped forward and I jerked back, like a caged animal being riled.

“Nicco, it’s me. It’s only me.” She had me cornered with no way out. My body trembled violently as I desperately tried to hold on to my frayed rope of control.

“Nicco…” Arianne brushed the hair from my face. My head hung low, my shoulders hunched and tight. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to hunt him down and kill him with my bare hands.

“Come back to me.” She gently lifted my busted hand and inspected the damage. “It needs cleaning. Let me see what there is.” Arianne left me and went into the bathroom. When she came back, she had a small first aid kit. “I found it in the cabinet. Sit.” Her gaze went to the bed, but I remained rigid.

“I need to stand.”

“Okay. Hold still.” She worked in silence, cleaning me up and bandaging my hand. My pulse began to slow, the tightness in my chest easing.

It was her.

Her touch, her calmness.

“I’m sorry,” I choked out.

Arianne took my face in her hands and looked right at me. God, I wanted to drown in the dark pools of honey. “Talk to me.”

“I want to kill him… I should have killed him.”

“So why didn’t you?”

It was the last thing I expected her to say, but I knew this wasn’t about her, it was about me.

“It’s not that simple,” I released a heavy sigh. “If I’d have killed him… it would start something we might not be able to finish. I can’t do that to the Family, to you.”

She nodded, dropping one of her hands to mine and lacing them together. “I hate Scott for what he did to me. I hate him so much that sometimes I wish you had done it.”

Arianne took a shuddering breath. “But I want a life with you. I want a future. I can’t have that if you’re behind bars… or worse.”

“If he hurts you again, I can’t promise I won’t do it.”

Something flashed in her eyes, but before I could decipher it, Arianne kissed me. “I don’t want to talk any more, Nicco. I want you to love me. I want you to make me forget about the monsters.”


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GIVEAWAY from the author!

There is a giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift card + a set of signed paperbacks & 5 audio codes for Prince of Hearts (book 1) (6 winners total, open internationally)

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AUTHOR BIO

Author of over thirty mature young adult and new adult novels, L A is happiest writing the kind of books she loves to read: addictive stories full of teenage angst, tension, twists and turns.

Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time writer with being a mother/referee to two little people. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find L A immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.


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Website: http://www.lacotton.com
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