Review: Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly
"You showed me how important it is to live in the moment, to experience my children's life and not just plan for their future."
This is the first Cora Reilly book I’ve read, and it was fun! It’s a mafia romance, which follows Cassio, a recent widow and the ruthless underboss of Philadelphia, and Giulia, who is his soon-to-be wife, who just happens to be 14 years his junior. It has some of the best tropes: arranged marriage, age gap, single dad, brooding alpha male.
My favourite thing about this book has to be the characters. They all felt like well-rounded, unique characters which I gained a connection with. Giulia was a really nicely developed character - she had a lot of personality: her own hobbies (painting, which you get to see quite a bit of) and style (she loves sunflowers, how cute) and she was powerful. If Giulia wanted something, she’d get it; if she didn’t like something a character was doing, they’d know about it. As for Cassio, his “redemption arc” (if you can call it that? He just gets a bit nicer) was okay, it was a bit rushed and sudden for me. At the beginning of the book he’s a bit of an asshole, and then he suddenly switches? But, I do enjoy the character he becomes, it’s nice to see a more wholesome fatherly figure side to the underboss. Finally, I adored the children - Simona and Daniele - I think they were the real highlight of this book, especially their interactions with Giulia.
The plot is definitely where this book is lacking. To be honest, I don’t really think it has a plot? The vast majority of the story takes place in their family home, and you really don’t get to explore much of the outside world at all. For a mafia romance, it didn’t seem to have an awful lot of mafia aspects? Yeah, you get to see some bodyguards, a couple phone calls, maybe a handful of fight scenes, but nothing too intense. Further, I thought the sex scenes were a bit repetitive and bland… and there was one specific sexual aspect I hated, not going to state what for spoiler reasons, but it was a definite no from me. My last fault with the plot is the time jump at the end, it felt a bit pointless? But, I did enjoy this book overall, and some of the quotes are god-tier.
"Maybe she wasn't the mother my children needed. But fuck she was what I craved."
I would recommend this book to fans of dark romances, and those who want to get into mafia romances - I think it’s a good place to start.
If you've read this, let me know what you think in the comments!
Books and bouquets. x
Comments
Post a Comment