Savage Hearts by J.T. Geissinger

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The first book I picked up for the Mafia Romance Readathon was Savage Hearts by J.T. Geissinger! This is the third book in her Queens and Monsters series. I was able to use this for the prompts Bratva mafia, tattooed hero, captor/captive, next in a series, Irish mafia and outsider to the mafia. I was also able to use this for my other reading challenges and applied it to the prompts tattooed cover model for Love Has Sprung board 2 and Champagne Problems (book with alcohol in the story) for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge.

Riley suddenly receives a call from her older sister Sloane and is invited to reconnect with her and meet her new fiance Declan. When she arrives at his secret location in Bermuda, she is also seen by Malek. Malek is an assassin from the Bratva and takes pity on the "poor prostitute" being played with by Declan and his woman. He sneaks in to help her "get out of the business" and finds himself drawn to her. When Malek finds out that Riley is actually the future sister-in-law, things quickly change. When Riley accidentally gets shot, he rescues her by whisking her away to the wilds of Russia to recuperate and get revenge for his brother's death.

Wow. Just wow. I absolutely adored Malek and Riley. I have to say, going into this one I was a little nervous since I was left feeling let down by Carnal Urges. Riley had some of the characteristics that I like about Sloane, but also so much more nerdiness and adaptability. I just really found myself connecting to her and loved all of the moments when Malek kept sneaking into the different safehouses to visit her. Malek is probably my new favorite hero of the series, but I think the book takes a close second to Ruthless Creatures. I also do have to say, I did not like Sloane in the beginning of the book and really didn't like the decisions she was making and forcing upon Riley. I understood why it was like that so Riley could be in the position she was to meet Malek, but I didn't like it. I also could've had less POVs from Declan and Sloane. I do have to say she got a little better in her attitude towards Riley near the end, but I still wasn't happy since I felt like she didn't take as much accountability as needed for her actions.

But back to Riley and Malek because they are the focus here and why I gave this book 5-stars. I just absolutely loved when they were together in Russia and how much wonderful caretaking Malek was doing for Riley. I love caretaking, but having this badass Bratva assassin helping her go to the bathroom, and bathe, and change her dressings and get through the PTSD of getting shot was just so freaking swoony. I love Malek and how much he just couldn't stop himself from staying away from Riley. Even when he pushes her away "for her safety" he's secretly watching and making sure she actually is safe.

I am so happy that this book lived up to the expectations that I had about the series after reading Ruthless Creatures, especially after struggling with Carnal Urges. I can't wait to read the last book in the series and it seems like it'll but a fun story that might be my favorite trope. I'm hoping to get to it before the end of the year, but hopefully more by the end of the summer. We'll see when I can get to it, but I have left it out on my headboard to get too it soon! 

Have you read Savage Hearts?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Savage Hearts, J.T. Geissinger, 5-stars, 2 days, Paperback, 392 pages, published in 2021, indie published