He is somewhat distracted from his plans by the delicate beauty of the elfin ballerina. Nessa can’t think of Mikolaj as a man because she is terrified of her kidnapper; she considers him to be a violent beast. The tension between the two of them of is growing and becoming a twisted dance between the innocent girl and the dangerous mobster. This did have a more slower development tho. Not too fast like the first book, but still kinda fast if it makes sense. It wasn’t really dark for a “captive/captor romance” but it had some fun action scenes. They had that attraction, but I wouldn’t call what they have a true romance. They rarely interacted and when they do she completely surrendered which lessened my enjoyment. Terrified by the growing tension with her kidnapper, Nessa loses herself in a dark fairytale ballet that parallels their increasingly twisted relationship. I’m surrounded by jealous actresses, crazed fans, and ruthless directors. The only person I can trust is an off-duty detective who may be more distracting than helpful. I only have two weeks before the movie wraps. And I may be working right next to a killer…!”

I liked the whole idea of unravelling in an emotional sense, finding someone you can be completely at peace with, and trust them with everything, but I don’t like the idea of change at such a base level just cause a pretty boy who is not your usual type unbalances you a little. Come on, it’s gotta take more than that to make yourself question every aspect who you are and what you want. Especially not with a timeframe that spanned less than a month. I am sitting here very underwhelmed because I genuinely thought I was gonna love this which is why I waited for the perfect mood to read it. I also hoped this would be slow burn but no they did it 35% in and after that they weren’t enemies anymore- not friends, no, but not enemies either and you would expect them to hate each other until the end bc he literally destroyed her brothers dream and she threw his most special possession away but no And I get that to love usually means to compromise but why is it always (I'm not actually asking why, I know why) that this compromise leans suspiciously closer to a woman bending her goals and dreams to fit someone else's life? I mean, I liked the fact that Raylan was ready to move to city for Riona, it was cute and shit, but in the end it was of course Riona who went from "why is Cal the head of family just because he's a guy, I WANT IT AND I'LL GET IT" to "nah, partnership what partnership lemme ditch my beloved city, spend thousands on an office in Nowheresville and live on a ranch".

Obsessed would be an understatement when it comes to this series. I love the mafia school so much wow. The dynamic of it is amazing and the students are so interesting… I am intrigued at all their stories (specifically Ares).

This is a mafia spin on Beauty and the Beast and I honestly loved how Lark handled it. I loved that there was an old dark musty mansion in this with a east wing and west wing, a huge library and a housekeeper who barely understands English. I found it charming and intense at the same time. I loved the whole "if you really love something you must let it go" nod to the original story. The amount of history research for all the rival mafias in Chicago and attention to detail was great. I loved all the dialogue in Polish between Miko and his guys. I loved that Miko felt atypical even for an anti-hero, his cunning intelligence was probably the most attractive thing about him. And the whole full body sleeve tattoos? It worked. 🔥 i've never been a huge fan of the kidnapping trope but i must say that sophie has done it so well. nothing intimate happened up until 50% of the book and thank god for that because with this trope it’s necessary to build up their relationship We all consume movies created there, without really understanding what it means to live and work in that space. I thought it would be fascinating to throw an outsider into that hotbed of glamor and sin, with the imperative of unearthing a secret that everyone else wants to keep buried…” Their already established friendship could’ve been a great catalyst for romance to ensue but instead were fobbed off with a love triangle. Which made no sense at all. We already knew who the couple were.Synopsis: “I’ll Protect Her… Whether She Likes It Or Not. Riona Griffin is gorgeous, intelligent, and iron-willed. My perfect woman, except she hates my guts. She thinks she doesn’t need anybody. But she needs me. Throw in Rylan who is the HOTTEST man I MEAN 🥵🥵. I loved him, the way he was to patient and understanding with Riona, the way he was so open with his own feelings, the way he loved this family!!!! BAHH I loved this book so much 😫 But she fought like a Valkyrie. Gorgeous, ferocious, and unbreakable. I saved her so I could make her mine. She says she’ll never submit to a man. I guess we’ll see… I’ll push her to the limit. And far beyond.” She was cute, I liked her but there are some things she did that didn’t feel like her and something she did that I did not feel comfortable with. The way she was portrayed throughout the story didn’t fit in with what she did at times, they were very out of character.

I personally loved the three POVs, between Leo, Anna, and Leo's cousin/enemy Dean. It provided such a different dimension to this book, and set up Dean for his (dare I say) Draco Malfoy-style redemption arc (in book 3). Dean provided so much tension and angst - I think that if we hadn't gotten his POV the story wouldn't have been as interesting or dynamic. I loved him (and wondered why he wasn't the hero) - then I hated him, even when I kind of pitied him. It made me so excited for his book. Mikolag, known as the most vicious mobster in Chicago, wants revenge. He kidnaps Nessa and holds her his prisoner in his old, ratty gothic mansion. He sets to plotting his revenge and the demise of all Nessa cherishes. Riona Griffin is gorgeous, intelligent, and iron-willed. My perfect woman, except she hates my guts. All I’m going to say about Dean is that Sophie Lark has a serious redemption ARC to write. The rest are spoilers, so I’ll remain quiet about that.Her father took everything from me: my money, my family, my life. He has to pay for what he’s done. And she’s the only thing that can hurt him…”

I saw her being stuffed in a trunk: Yelena Yenina, only daughter of the most vicious Bratva boss in Chicago. When it comes to life, Lex has chosen an unusual path. She’s not only a heart breaker when it comes to men, but she makes her living as a thief. She’ll do whatever it takes to pull the wool over men’s eyes and feels entitled to take what she wants from them. She’ll be even more interested in taking it if it is expensive.

Publication Order of Kingmakers Books

Oh and I really like klara and marcel (not sure abt the names tho) they were adorable lol I wish we got more of them together