This is the third book in Sophie Lark’s new Kingmakers series, which is dark, college-age, mafia romance. Her premise – that mafia families from all over the world send their kids to an isolated school where they become the next generation of mafia leaders – is refreshingly different, lovingly thought out and realized (I loved little touches like the classes they take in Torture Technique, Money Laundering, and Espionage), and as always with Sophie’s books, beautifully written.
The “hero” in this book, Dean, was introduced in the first book of this series as part of a love triangle, and my heart broke for him then. He’s even more tragic in this book, desperate for love and yet going about it ALL wrong. The heroine, Cat, is introduced in the second book in the series, and she’s all kinds of wonderful – clever, devious, but heartbreakingly unsure of herself. This book could be read as a stand-alone, but you’ll get more out of it if you read the first two books in the series and they’re wonderful, so why wouldn’t you?
Most of Sophie’s couples bring out the best in each other, and that’s never more true than with Dean and Cat. It’s wonderful to watch them mature into the best versions of themselves in this book. The love story is real and raw and with the constant tug of war between Dean and Cat, super-steamy.
Highly recommended and free to read in KU here.
E J Frost 