[updated info after reread] Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

Sorry in advance for the long-ass review and excessive amount of quotes. I told myself it would be short and sweet, so of course it all went to shit.

Joe unzips his coveralls, shimmying out of the top and letting it pool around his waist. Oh. His arms are shocking.

This was my third time reading or listening to this book, and I had sort of forgotten how much I enjoy it. This is one of those series I listen to repeatedly for comfort, but for some reason got stuck listening to book 2-4 over and over. The first one is just as good, if not better than the rest of them. There’s some really good character development, with one of the MCs finally daring to find and be himself. There’s just the right amount of action for me, and I love the balance this author manages to find between romance and external fuckery every time. And as always, you can expect top tier smut.

“Who you calling Mr. Portelli?” My throat goes dry. He really looks like a mobster when he’s irritated. Fuck, that’s sexy.

Speaking of smut. There’s humiliation kink in this one, which I will freely admit normally isn’t my jam at all. Name-calling for example can often make me uncomfortable. In this one though, there’s somehow a lot of love behind it all (and minimal name-calling, lol). It’s not extreme in any fashion, but one of the MCs gets extra hot when he feels embarassed. There’s a lot of lovely aftercare whenever they’ve had a ‘scene’, and they both need it. The MC doing the humiliating needs to be reassured that what he’s doing and saying is really wanted, and that the other MC knows he doesn’t mean it/it isn’t mean-spirited. It all feels very loving and light hearted. That was a very long way to say, this has humiliation kink and I actually enjoyed it (with these MCs specifically. Still not really my jam generally, and that’s alright).

“Ducking his chin, he rubs his forehead. “Fuck, that is so embarrassing.” I know he’s telling the truth because he’s beginning to tent his pants. I do love this little kink of his.

Brushing a knuckle under his chin, I direct him to look at me. “And even if you don’t need much in the way of aftercare, I do. If you could just let me know, for my own peace of mind, that I didn’t go too far and I’m not actually a terrible person, I would appreciate it.”

One of my favorite parts of the entire thing is how Joe, the badass ex mobster, also needs comfort and care sometimes. He’s a refreshingly vulnerable character in a trope that often suffers heavily from alpha bullshit and toxic masculinity, which is actually a topic that is heavily touched on in the book itself. It’s all done really well imo.

“You could retire early. Live a life of luxury.” I pause, looking over at Joe. “Is that really what you think of me? That I would simply luxuriate in my wealth?” “Well, somebody should. If you’re gonna hoard all this coin, at least spend some of it for fuck’s sake.”

Highly recommend this book, and the rest of the series is lovely as well.

“Psst, billionaire,” Joe says, crooking his finger at me. I lean in, nervous. “Calling anyone ‘the help’ is dehumanizing and marks you as an out-of-touch one-percenter who deserves to be eaten.”


⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Backwards baseball cap
Mafia themes
Billionaire boss
Italian MC
Closeted MC
Aftercare
Docking
Mild exhibitionism
(Briefly) enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Docking
Praise
Edging
Breath play
Cockwarming
Mild D/s dynamic
Hair-removal
Multiple O’s and overstimulation
Mild electro play

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Homophobic parent
Gun violence
On-page murder (by MC, bad guys)
Explicit sexual content
Humiliation kink
Brief mention of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
Toxic masculinity
Classist comments
Mention of death of family member (past)
On-page death of family members (bad guys)
Explicit sexual content
Spanking
Edging
Breath play
Mild degredation (bitch, slut)
Graphic violence
Attempted kidnapping of MC
Photographed having sex against will/knowledge (pictures released)
Brief mentions of cheating parents
Mild electro play

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Contemporary romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 35 and not specified
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 310
Happy ending: Yes

These men and I cling to the alpha mindset because we’re fighting against the same deep feelings of disconnection and powerlessness, despite belonging to the most powerful demographic of modern society. But I wasn’t ready for that level of self-awareness, so I kept scrolling. After making a sizable donation to a women’s shelter, I still couldn’t sleep, […]

I call my security detail because people take the whole eat the rich thing far too seriously for my comfort.

Man, wealthy people are a trip and a half.