Review: Beauty in Lies: A Dark Mafia Romance Boxed Set
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked up this box set because I saw Ms. Forrest as
the author. I previously read a paranormal romance or maybe paranormal fantasy from
her, that was pretty good. Full disclosure. I did not read the blurb for this
boxset other than the fact that it is a mafia theme. In retrospect. I probably
should have read the blurb and understood that it was not only a dark romance,
which I'm fine with but a mafia heavy theme.
Although quite honestly, there weren't that many mafia scenes. The first book had a bit of mafia in it and the story started out pretty good for me. It was a little disturbing regarding the stalkerish type of ways that Rafael was interested in a 16-year-old girl. Rafe did have a little bit of impulse control as he decided to wait a couple of years until Isa became at least legal. His character seemed to be an anti-hero at first and just overly protective which I thought was sweet.
As far as Isa, I kind of felt bad for her because she didn't know
what was going on. In addition, her twin sister was just an absolute lunatic. It is painful to witness siblings become so torn apart that they hate each other. Or I should state, that one hates the other.
After book one, I immediately went on to book two. Book two started to take a downward turn for me. This is when Rafe finally gets to meet Isa in person. Isa decides to have her Roman Holiday fling with the enigmatic Rafe. She's having the time of her life, exploring Europe before she heads out to college. The way Rafe goes about reeling her into his life, it is definitely non con. For those that like that movie 365 days, it is a similar type of vibe, but better written. There is an unfolding plot that takes quite a bit of liberty in the definition of love. I can't say that I fully enjoyed this book because I felt that it took some of the kinky lifestyles and portrays them in a negative view. And that it makes Vanillas think that we're all crazy like Rafe. This is why I rated book two as a two-star.
When we move into the third book which starts off right after the Cliffhanger of book two, I am close to tossing this box set away and flagging it as a did-not-finish book. Book three is the worst read for me. I gave it a one-star. If I could give it negative stars, I probably would. I loathed this book. There was nothing redeeming about this one. This was filled with corrupting an innocent and full-on abuse.
What irritated me was making things that are beautiful turn into something really horrible. It's all about intent. And Rafe's intent is mixed on what he wants to do. I didn't agree with any of his justifications. This dark erotica could have been erotically kinky. However, these acts are all really bad non-con situations being portrayed as love or as a contemporary romance. The blurring of this line has always been a problem for me. I don't like it; I don't condone it.
The actual acts themselves were
not bad. It's the way they were portrayed that really bothered me, but I pushed
through got through book three, and then moved on to book four. Book four ended up being much better. I can't say that I am enamoured of Rafe. I still
think he is a loose cannon and I don't think he ever got over his daddy
issues. His daddy issues are a recurring theme seen throughout this entire series and impact Isa in negative ways. Isa is forced into this lifestyle of violence where "might
makes right".
I'm not sure how I feel about Isa's goodness perverted. But it seems that she's
okay. Keep in mind, Rafe is in his 30s and Isa is still only 18. A lot has
happened to her in only a few months. An 18-year-old attempting to cope
with all of this is ludicrous. The good portion of the story comes across like a
predator grooming a child. Not cool. Overall though, this is a
well-written story. The plot does kind of make sense. It is a little convoluted
at times, but it all comes together in the end. Overall. I gave the box at a
three-star because the writing is well done. If you like dark romances, this is definitely one for you. As far as the acts the men commit and their rationalization, I give that a negative 100 if I could.
This erotic romance box set is recommended to kinky
readers that like it dark with possessive jealous psychotic, alpha males.
* I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
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