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The problem for Dahlia was that I didn't want to love her. I didn't want to make her happy. I just wanted to wrap her so tightly under my skin that she couldn't breathe unless I let her." There were a few descriptive things that were missing from the story, that at times kept making me wish I knew this information earlier in the story, as the time it was mentioned I’d already made an assumption. That’s the only reason why I dropped a star on my rating, as the story overall is well written and captivating. Wilted Orchid is a bit different than the other books, as she is the youngest, but that doesn't mean she isn't as fiesty! I love Val! She may be a bit sheltered, but she isn't afraid to speak her mind. When this one gets spicy, it gets spicy! Sal, Fausto and Armani are 🥵🥵🥵 So many twists and turns! An intense plot that kept be reading late into the night. So many smexy scenes! Hello first class. Gahhh! I'm gonna be remembering that as I walk down the plane aisle from now until forever. This definitely wasn’t the book for me so I don’t think I’m going to be rating it. If I did rate it I think I would give it 2 stars. But, the reason I’m not rating it is because I didn’t read the synopsis and that’s on me. If I read the synopsis I would’ve known that it wasn’t for me and skipped it.
There was no redemption to the main characters. Tbh I’m probably going to forget everything about them in the next two books I’m going to read. There was no redeeming qualities, even the main heroine was childish and felt like there was nothing special about any of them. As for the characters? Eh, they were okay, but I wasn't invested in them by any means. The drama was also kind of annoying to read about because I just didn't care. Unless it was about Dahlia's past which definitely intrigued me. I wanted that certain asshole to suffer. Semi-graphic descriptions of past sexual abuse/assault and rape (anal, to the point of bleeding) of a child. Referenced multiple times throughout the book. The author can write an engaging story, but I just felt like the pacing for the relationship growth of these characters was off and I had a really hard time connecting to any of the characters. I felt there were too many side dramas/stories and not enough focus on her relationships with the guys. And their relationships with each other. This did not end with the strong cohesive bond between all parties in the reverse harem that I have grown accustomed to in these books, they all felt like individual units connecting with the same woman (I hope her other RH books are not like this). Overall I just felt frustrated while reading this. And I did want to give up multiple times, but the author can write well and I have a couple of other books of hers on my TBR list so I wanted to finish this. It’s me against them, and only time will tell If I'll be the winner or be destroyed in these cruel and merciless Mafia Wars .This series having only reverse harems is getting ANNOYING. I am the biggest fan of reverse harems and almost only read them. I know we aren't going for realistic here, but what are the chances that every single mafia boss is willing to share with brothers/family members. Reverse harems are difficult to write to begin with, but then these authors are restricted to 1 book which is rarely enough time to really dive into each character (see my note above).
The story begins with Dahlia heading from London to New York to meet her future husband - which surprisingly she knew about her arranged marriage beforehand. Her life has moments where triggers really do need to be taken note of, but these things blend with her character to make her the woman she is. This was an engaging story and told from multiple points of view, every character possessed a troubling history to become the flawed persons with which they interacted in the world and each other. These were gun-totting mafia men, unafraid to met out of violence when necessary. Dahlia and these antiheroes were depicted with a great depth of development, all experiencing pasts of childhood trauma. New York City, the powerful head of the Cosa Nostra, is my new home. Where Lucian, Raphael, and Gabriel Rossi now think they own me. This was much closer to my perfect reverse Haren! The brothers were intent on sharing her from the start, there was practically no jealousy between them, and two out of three relationships felt well-developed! I'm excited! I've read the whole six-book-long series and I can honestly say this is the worst (from my POV of course). It's not till halfway through the book that things start to get interesting. The plot doesn't seem credible, and I know that in a mafia themed book things are bound to get quite unbelievable, but still. It seemed like it was all just a pretense for the smut, which was okay I guess, but I could have lived without half the book before the smut finally started that could have been sumarised in just a couple of chapters, not the the more that 15 the author put me through before it.this is not your typical arranged marriage situation. This book is deeper, darker and sorta makes you feel the pain or heartache of the young women characters. I could think of so many things I usually would've rolled my eyes about, but I just didn't care. I was going to continue on this dark path. Now even if I found this meh, they are on arranged marriage so they don't own anything to each other yet..
Sorry, but it's rant time. This could have been good, it's a bit ott with all drama (have to suspend the belief yet still enjoyable), had decent steam and also at least 2 decent Hs🙄 and it was intriguing enough as I couldn't stop reading...but.. one major point had me just like WTF. Ruining Dahlia is a full-length STANDALONE reverse harem novel in the dark and twisted Mafia Wars world. We aren't Butchers in name only, and surely the Rossi family can’t be as bad as the devil that’s been destroying me since I was eight years old. Animal abuse/cruelty. There are multiple passages talking about animals being killed and mutilated, including two pets (a cat and a bunny - the bunny was rather descriptive).Next up in the series is Valentina and the difference with her story from the others is she is completely left out of the loop of the pact that was made 10 years ago and with her barely turning 18 she has no clue what is in store for her. But let me tell you that doesn’t mean she doesn’t give these men a run for their money. While she has been kept away from all of the day to day stuff that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what her family is involved in and she is not some shy girl that wont stand up for herself. No she is feisty and while she may be inexperienced you see her deep desires stirring in her soul and these three men Sal, Fausto and Armani are here to bring all her fantasies to life. Them spicy scenes will leave you panting for more and fanning yourself so you don’t overheat. Ruining Dahlia is written with multiple POV’s from Dahlia, Lucian, Raphael and Gabriel, with the main focus being from Dahlia.