I would like to start my review by saying if you have any triggers caused by rape, mass massacres of innocents, slaughtering of children, miscarriages, plane crashes, bulling kids with disabilities etc…. this is not for you.
The story line starts by introducing the hero and heroine Liam and Melody in their respective roles in their irish mob & Italian mafia families and the different expectations from what they think their marriage union will bring to the table. Liam the heir to the callaghan mob family is only waiting to be married so he could ascend to cenna na conaitre (head of the family) and rule supreme over the Irish and Italians with a supportive trophy wife . As a elitist smart handsome rich and a ruthless politician with a chauvinistic personality that only sees the union as a means of more power and resources to dominate Chicago with the wife as a bonus he gets a rude awakening when he meets his financee melody.
Melody is already the boss in her family and has been ruling for years as Capo in secret as the head of her family. She’s cold, aloof, beautifully ruthless with lofty ambitions and doesn’t know how to love anything and is getting married because her father is dying and he doesn’t want her to be alone when he is gone . While Liam was still in a classroom melody was already well trained in guerrilla warfare ,going on jewelry heists, infiltrating other mob families blowing up houses calling the shots and leaving a trail of massacres in her wake. She is beautiful on the outside but a unfeeling psychopath on the inside that only thinks of gains for her empire and has no intentions of giving up her power to be a shopaholic housewife with no sense of purpose other than to support a husband or anyone other than herself.
When Liam first meets melody he is caught by her beauty but her beautiful appearance and his initial thoughts are shattered when he sees her carrying out a torturous interrogation and he interrupts her out of anger because that shouldn’t be the role of his future wife and she teaches him a lesson he will never forget for his interference while she’s working!
The plot was very good and I loved the alternative narrations from each character’s perspective. It allowed the story line to flow naturally and also giving insight on other characters I didn’t like Liam’s old fashioned chauvinistic attitude and the manipulations to capitalize on her affections displayed by the lead but their was alot of character development throughout the book. I did audio as I read for a more immersive experience and it was absolutely titillating!