[ 573 ]

[katara]

Devil's Mistletoe: A Dark Mafia Romance by Roselyn Ash, Sasha Leone

Series:
N/A

Genre:
Romance, Dark, Contemporary, Standalone and Novella, Dual Points of View, Age Gap, Mafia, Touch Her and Die, Steamy Romance, Spicy Romance, Short Story, Adult

Publication Date:
November 30, 2023

Pages Numbers:
69

Read Date:
December 2nd, 2023

Date Finished:
December 2nd, 2023

Rating:
.5/5

Blurb:

He’s the devil. I’m his maid. It’s Christmas Eve, and everyone else has gone home...

Domenico Bianchi is the most handsome man I’ve ever met. And the most dangerous. It’s no secret. The powerful mafia boss doesn’t hide who he is.

But he is hiding something. I can tell by the way he looks at me. There’s a forbidden desire behind those silvery blue eyes… And something else too. Something darker.

Well, he’s not the only one hiding a secret. I’ve got my own. An innocent crush on my older boss.

It doesn’t matter that I would shatter under his hard, tatted body. When we finally meet beneath the mistletoe, everything unravels. I see what he’s been hiding. And I finally understand.

I’m not going anywhere.

*Devil’s Mistletoe is a short sweet and spicy ott standalone 18,000-word forbidden age-gap cozy dark mafia romance novella with forced proximity, mature themes and a happily ever after. It’s a prelude to the Night Bloom Mafia series.

Review:

While short novels are nice, they do not always establish character growth or do anything to the plotline. This was one of those books. Our main female and male lead have had some crush or another on each other with the latter being more obsessive. He does everything to rid anyone who stands in his way of gaining said female lead upon her eighteenth birthday.

Throughout the story, there is no tangible character development or growth for either the main female or male lead. They remain static, with their feelings for each other remaining largely unchanged. The male lead's obsession with the female lead is borderline unhealthy, as he goes to extreme lengths to eliminate anyone who poses a threat to their relationship.

However, due to the short length of the novel, these elements are not explored or developed to their full potential. The plotline feels rushed and lacking in depth, leaving the reader wanting more. It would have been interesting to see the characters evolve and overcome their flaws or have their motivations explored further.

Final Thought:

While short novels can be enjoyable, they may fall short in establishing character growth and adding significant depth to the plotline, as demonstrated in this particular book.

Similar Books:

Merciless Prince by Sasha Leone
Tempted by the Devil by Michelle Heard

[ 574 ]

[katara]

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Series:
A Court of Thorns and Roses #1

Genre:
Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Romance, Romantasy, Book Series, BookTok, the Fae, Faeries, Magic, First Person Point of View, High Fantasy, Fairytales, Paranormal, Spicy Romance, Science Fiction, Hades and Persephone, Beauty and the Beast, First Person Point of View

Publication Date:
May 5, 2015

Pages Numbers:
419

Read Date:
December 1st, 2023

Date Finished:
December 2nd, 2023

Rating:
4.35/5

Blurb:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.

Review:

I had been promising myself that I would read this series but I always kept putting it off. Mostly, this was due to the fact I had read A Throne of Glass a long time ago and found the female lead not readily to my liking. I had always promised myself that I would eventually give it another try but first, I wanted to read A Court of Thorn and Roses. I had been hearing a lot of mixed reviews but my friends have mostly been the ones telling me that the series was much better once you started reading it.

I won't lie when I have been told that the series is a mixture of Hades and Persephone with Beauty and the Beast. I have always been a sucker for these and I had placed this series on my TBR. Now that I had time, I decided this would be the series for December. The final books that would end my 2023 reading year.

But now having read the series, I am a bit torn about where to rank it. While the story felt slow - too slow for that matter, it did have its moments. But again, the female lead is what drove me insane. I don't what it is about Maas's female leads but they end up being extremely annoying. I don't feel she improves much. I don't want to give too much away, but I found her decisions and actions frustrating at times. However, there were also moments where she showed strength and resilience, which I appreciated.

On the other hand, the world-building in this series was phenomenal. Maas has created a rich and vivid world, filled with different courts and creatures. I was completely immersed in this fantastical world and loved learning about the various realms and their politics.

The romance in this series felt slow. For one thing, I am glad that this was not some insta-love with both declaring how much they were made for each other, blah blah blah but it was taken slowly allowing the characters to see each other's flaws and strengths but at the same time I also felt that it was at a crawl. It could be frustrating at times and at other times it felt right.

Final Thought:

Despite its flaws, I did enjoy reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The rich world-building and captivating romance kept me engaged despite some of the frustrations with the main character. I would still recommend giving it a try, especially if you enjoy fantasy and romantic elements.

Similar Books:

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros