Review: Sold to the Enemy: A Mafia Arranged Marriage Romance

Sold to the Enemy: A Mafia Arranged Marriage Romance by Aria R. Blue
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book caught my attention because it mentioned "fairy-tale" retold.  I am a sucker for fairy tales retold.  This book... I don't know what fairy tale it should be.  Maybe it is the Little Mermaid?  If so, it is so loosely based, that I see zero resemblance other than hair colour and the fact that Luna likes to swim. 

I thought this story would be high on the erotica and perhaps a little rough sex with captive and captor... yeah, no.  This story is missing so many pieces I feel like I'm entering in different acts but missing several scenes.  This book is lengthy and the only reason why I gave it a 3 start instead of a 2 star is because there are interesting subplots in this story.  My issue with this book is that whilst the story condensed the timeline line and moved forward quickly, there were clearly important scenes that are left out.  I don't know where these scenes ended up.  Maybe they are in another book, I don't know.  Or perhaps the author wanted to do this new style where pieces of the puzzle are in different books in this "standalone" series.

Or perhaps the author enjoys writing backstories stingily sprinkled throughout the book.  I'm not sure.  What I do know is that it causes the reader to become confused and it is jarring.  Mostly, I think readers will get lost and give up on the book.  Because I tend to see patterns and like to make connections, it wasn't a problem for me.  It just annoyed me.  

There are several subplots that are going on through this story.  The book is a lot of words and very little action which is surprising.  Rather than focus on the subplots and tying them together... the ancient enemy, the serial killer offing Nico's men, a missing wife, the story tends to be all over the place.  There are several contrived miscommunications which drives me batty.  

Overall, I give the author props for something different.  From a writing perspective, there needs to be improvement on better scene transitions and better subplot development instead of jumping around to the end and then working back to the beginning.  This isn't a Quentin Tarantino movie.  What works well in movies doesn't always translate well in the written word.   

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.