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

Carnal Urges by J.T. Geissinger

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After bingeing a bunch of historical romances for the Historical Romance Readathon, I needed a little bit of a change of pace. I couldn't wait much longer to start Carnal Urges by J.T. Geissinger. This is the second book in her new series Queens and Monsters. This actually was released on June 30th! Tuesday I received my paper copy and immediately jumped in. The only prompt I applied this to was published in 2021 for Summer of Swoon board 2.

We pick up shortly after the epilogue to book 1, Ruthless Creatures, and with Sloane and her Irish mafia captor Declan. He quickly becomes the new head of the mafia and is thrown into the head role with war starting and a captive he doesn't know whether to just kiss or choke out. Sloane is her normal effervescent self and draws not only Declan, but his associates as well. She is very charming and a complete chatter box. Even though she's very confident, we learn how she's constantly worked on herself and her mental and physical well-being. Even then she has down moments and has to really be her own cheerleader. Lots of crazy things happen all the while Declan and Sloane are falling for each other.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, just not as much as Ruthless Creatures. I was so torn about the ending and don't really know what to think. My rating might change depending on how my thoughts percolate as time passes, and the third book could also change how I feel about this. At the end of the epilogue there's an author's note that says Declan and Sloane's story continues in the next book. This did definitely feel more of a hfn (happy for now) instead of hea (happy ever after). The first book was more standalone and I felt and trusted in the hea. Here I was just kind of left wanting. I've been trying to figure out what exactly it is that I'm missing. Part of it I think is the aftercare and/or cuddling after their more intimate moments. It happens sometimes, but it's over so quickly. I definitely felt the connection between them, but it just didn't hit me the same way. If I were to be picky, maybe the rating would be more like a 4.25 or 4.5-stars but rounded down.

I also was not too big of a fan of the twist in this. I don't want to give too much away, but I feel like Sloane getting kidnapped and forced into trying to join his life in that way was too much. I'm also not sure what's going to happen with the surprise in the epilogue with Kage. I just feel like maybe my enjoyment and hype after reading Ruthless Creatures hurt this a little bit. It just didn't make me feel the same. While I try not to compare too often, with these being released so close together and in the same series it's hard not to. I was hoping the romance would be more standalone again and we'd meeting a new mafioso or lady to get her hea for book 3. I mean, I really want the Italian boss to get an hea, but I'm guessing he's dead now? I'm not too sure. 

I'll definitely be picking up the next book when it comes out. As of now it's set to release October 29th. I'm definitely not as hyped for it as I was for Carnal Urges though, but am intrigued to see how things will turn out. I might not pick it up quite as quickly as well. I also still want to get into J.T. Geissinger's backlist. I guess Diego (Declan's boss that died) and Declan make appearances in one of them. We'll see where my mood takes me.

Have you read Carnal Urges?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Carnal Urges, J.T. Geissinger, 4-stars, 1 day, paperback, 346 pages, published in 2021

Ruthless Creatures by JT Geissinger

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The third book I read for the Mafia Romance Readathon is Ruthless Creatures by JT Geissinger. This is the first book in her Queens & Monsters series. Fun note, the second book actually comes out later this month on the 30th! I can't wait after the teaser in the epilogue! This covered the prompts new author, Bratva, tattooed hero and title with ruthless or brutal prompts. I also applied Ruthless Creatures to the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo tattoos prompt and Summer of Swoon cover love prompt.

This started off with a super intriguing premise. We meet Natalie the night before what would've been her wedding anniversary. It's not however since 5 years ago her fiancé disappeared the morning of the rehearsal dinner while hiking. As it has now reached 5 years with nothing new in the case, he's now considered legally dead. Natalie gets pushed by her friend Sloane (who I absolutely adore) to go out to the bar instead of moping at home. There she meets Kage. He's new to town and has been the number one subject of town gossip. He turns Sloane down, but seems drawn to Natalie. He's also her new neighbor!

I loved how all-in Kage was for Natalie. I don't want to go too much into it since it'll be major spoilers, but obviously Kage is a part of the mafia. He's actually the #2 in the Bratva (Russian mafia), but since the head dude is in prison Kage is acting as the defacto leader. He has a few encounters with Natalie, but she doesn't want to move forward with Kage. He leaves and comes back a few months later. He just can't stay away. Another thing I want to mention is the way JT wrote about grief in the beginning of the book. It just really hit a cord with me and was one of the best ways I've seen it described in fiction. I also loved that Natalie said she would punch (or something similar) anyone that told her time heals all wounds. It was so apt. I loved the humor of this too. While it was definitely dark at points, it also had a lightness that was unexpected. The banter between Natalie and Sloane was on point. I also loved all the modern references that made it feel current. It might not age well though. We'll have to see.

This book was also very steamy. Kage is definitely on the more dominant side, but I loved that he made it clear on multiple occasions that all Natalie had to do was say no and he'd stop. I didn't really enjoy the whole spanking thing that was woven through, but that's just not my jam. And the ending was just perfect. Throughout all the craziness, Kage still stood firm in that he only wanted Natalie. I also love it when the hero goes all mafioso for the heroine. It was just perfect. We also got an epilogue that set ups the next book Carnal Urges that focuses on Sloane. Thank goodness it comes out soon. I can't wait. There's also a 3rd book listed, Savage Hearts, that I'm excited by as well. There isn't a description yet, but I'm hoping that it (or a future book) will be with the Italian mafia boss that we met briefly. It look likes it's due to be out October 29th of this year. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in early July and the 3rd in early November. I've had some of JT's other series on my tbr for a couple years now, so I might have to move those up on my list since I enjoyed this so much. She's definitely in my authors to keep up on and I'm excited to dig into her backlist. We might have a new favorite author. We'll see! I also purchased this with my late night Sunday shopping after the readathon (where I also bought A Bullet Between Us).

Have you read Ruthless Creatures?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Ruthless Creatures, JT Geissinger, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 376 pages, published in 2021