Review: Forbidden Mafia Prince by Brooke Blaine & Ella Frank (Malvagio #1)

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) as provided by the authors via Valentine PR.

Fans and readers of Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank know that they do sweet and steamy as well as dirty and delicious really well, whether as solo authors or as a duo, but these two also happen to be quite adept at penning slightly darker fare (I'm looking at you Shiver!). Their new book, however, is possibly the darkest that they've written so far. Forbidden Mafia Prince is the first novel in the Malvagio duet, and yes, it is, indeed, a mafia romance, albeit maybe not the lovey-dovey kind of romance we've come to expect from Blaine and Frank. This is a hate-to-lust story, or enemies-to-lovers if you prefer that label.

Luca Davis is a twenty-four-year-old medical student living his life as most people his age do. But when he's abducted, he soon learns that what he once knew about who he and his family are was nothing more than a lie. His captor is none other than Domenico Rossetti, a thirty-five-year-old mafioso and his family's heir. He's ruthless, with nary a qualm when it comes to ensuring that their rivals, the Fiores, are eradicated. And Luca? He's exactly who Dom has been searching for--the sacrificial lamb that will destroy the Fiores.

Fair warning: Forbidden Mafia Prince ends in a cliffhanger, and boy, oh boy, it was a corker of a cliffy! This isn't your typical Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank romance, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I love when authors flex their writing "muscles" because it offers readers something new, like going on a new adventure together. Funnily enough, I'm not a huge fan of the mafia romance trope. I do read it, but I'm super picky, basing my decision almost exclusively on who the author is. So yes, because Blaine and Frank are authors whose work I've loved numerous times in the past, I jumped in and read this, and I'm glad I did because this four-starred read has me itching for the sequel in late August.

Release Date: 25 July 2022

Date Read: 23 July 2022

Learn more about Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank.

Pre-order Forbidden Mafia Prince on Amazon.