I've really enjoyed Serena and Enzo's story and who can forget the adorable Harper.
This is Book 1 of the Made Men series, although it does bring in some support characters from the authors other series. Tempting Secrets (Bridge City Security Firm Book 3) so all the things I like about this genre:
Found families
Mafia romance (Definitely not as dark as some I've read)
Morally grey Alpha males (puppy dog for their love, but full on Attack dogs for anyone who wants to harm their loved ones)
Strong female leads (Serena is a bad a$$)
Spicy level 🌶️🌶️
From the beginning through to the end Enzo is methodical in his goal to win Serena, and of course Harper. He took it slow, often stalker like, but not in a creepy way. With some often light-hearted help from his Mafia brothers Marcello and Rafael and of course they were backing up Enzo when he was in need of help. I liked these support characters, especially Adrienne, Marcellos better half, from the Tempting Secrets) so I will be checking out the above mentioned series too
I really thought the storyline was written well in regards to being a single parent dealing with a narcissist sperm donor (Charles is a typical example of a narcissistic man who treats their child as something to pick up when he's got nothing else better to do, or only wants them when someone else is interested) I thought that the author really created a believable scenario of a mom who will do anything to keep her child happy when dealing with this situation, but who knew when to accept help.
I even felt a connection with the the mom guilt for trying to do all the things we mom's try to juggle, or never feeling like you’re doing enough, we all want our kids to have a better life than we ourselves did.
And this really helped connect me with Serena. And I was happy she was trusting enough to allow Enzo into her life.
The slow burn works beautifully, we get to experience both Serenas doubts and insecurities to believe her feelings for Enzo are worth pursuing (we can all relate to feeling like we're not enough)
Then we have Enzo's OCD approach, the way he goes about it was a typical Mafia alpha male dominance, but underneath all actioned from the love he has for both Serena and Harper ( there are some super sweet interactions between Enzo and Harper... Oh and the younger security guys with Harper too).
The tension and action just flows with the storyline, keeping you turning the pages to find out who is behind all the attack's.
The action scenes are intense, fast paced and had a refreshing change to what is a very popular sub-genre.
I thought the date night was ❤️🔥 ❤️🔥👏🏼.
Serena grew as a character, learning to trust herself, and knowing she wasn't battling alone, realizing that Enzo's the person who sees her as a strong talented woman, not just the mom who's just trying to give her daughter a happy life, struggling to make ends meet.
I Loved how it was important to Enzo to support rather than just protect and take over, the old abandoned building scene was one of my favorites.
I definitely recommend if you enjoy your Mafia romance with a good old fashioned courtship, with an Alpha who would 🔥 the 🌎 down for his ❤️ that has a HEA, you'll enjoy this story.
I would say this is in the milder category for Mafia romance, with a HEA, and hopefully (seeing we've had a crossover already) the prospect of catching up with the couple as the other books in the series are published. Maybe Rafael will be next?
I also love the Mafia family world in this book, the supporting characters are all enjoyable. From the Mafia men who were all tough on the outside, marshmallow on the inside, to Italian Auntie Martina to Minnie, Harper's Grandmother, who was definitely a Team Serena, I really felt sorry for her, having a son like Charles.
This was my first Read from this author but I will be watching out for more of this world and looking at the other back catalogue.
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