Broken Vow by Sophie Lark

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Broken Vow by Sophie Lark is the fifth book in her Brutal Birthright series. I'm hoping to get through at least this series before her live show with Jenn (The Book Refuge) June 19th. After getting teased for this couple at the end of Bloody Heart, I was super excited to move on. I was also able to apply this book to the stable romp prompt for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo and small town prompt for Summer of Swoon.

We pick up not too long after Bloody Heart and Riona is working in her office. After a long day at work, she's an attorney, she heads home. She goes to work out in the swimming pool at her condo and is almost drowned. She escapes and calls her brother who also brings in Dante. Dante calls his friend Raylan, a.k.a. Long Shot, whom we met at the end of Bloody Heart. He's tasked to be Riona's bodyguard until they can deal with the hit out on Riona.

This is kind of a reverse of the grump/sunshine trope with Riona being the grump. I wouldn't necessary call Raylan "sunshine," but he's definitely very optimistic and gives off a very laid-back/easy-going vibe. He is a veteran that's currently working in the private sector and was a sniper with Dante. After Riona's building catches fire, he escapes with her to return to his family's horse ranch in Tennessee. I really enjoyed the push and pull between Raylan and Riona. He kind of sees her as a challenge, but once he starts getting glimpses behind her walls, it becomes more than that. I also loved that Riona was also up for the challenge and they were both super competitive. It did go a little overboard a couple times and I wanted a little bit of bend from them. Either swapping who bent or both at the same time. The steam level is pretty high again although a lot of it is the sexual tension between them. I do have to say, I was not a big fan of the riding crop scene. I would've wanted some discussion a little about it. I know if Riona had said something about it Raylan would've stopped, but it just was a little too much "sudden kink" for me. I'm not super into the spanking or whipping, so I was definitely a little squeaked out. Like I said, its probably just me.

That's really the only complaint I have. Otherwise I really liked the book. If I were to be a little more strict, my rating would be more like 4.5-stars. I loved seeing Riona around horses for the first time and her being forced out of her element. It was also fun to see how at ease Raylan was on the ranch. I really enjoyed the other little side stories and want Bo to have her own book (Raylan's younger sister). Maybe a novella? His family was really great too and it was fun to see it contrasted with mafia families. This is a super unique setting for a mafia book and it makes me want Sophie to write some small town and/or cowboy romances now too! I'm a little sad the series is almost over and I only have one more book left. Although that does mean I can start her spin-off series Kingmakers which focuses on the children of this series. I've heard a lot of great things about them and the third book actually just came out on Tuesday (June 15th)! I can't wait to get to them!

Have you read Broken Vow?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Broken Vow, Sophie Lark, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 406 pages, published in 2020