These gangster-esque books need a strong female lead and not the wet leaf needy character of Cassidy. But what she does know is that she wants Max and so will accept whatever she must if it means having him in her life. This was 2 books, for a total of 650 pages, and it could have (should have) been edited down to half that. But he’s so gentle with Cassidy there are some areas where you can see when Cassidy grabs onto some of max ‘s darkness.

I don’t mind a ridiculously over-the-top pulp fiction, but I just couldn’t get over the fact that the heroine, an 18 year old Pollyanna who grew up coddled by her loving family, who is a professional ballet dancer, and who says “frick” instead of “fuck,” all of a sudden is capable of stabbing and shooting her would-be rapist then go on her merry way, still saying “frick” this and “frick that.Each book represents a chapter in the broader narrative, introducing new twists, turns, and perhaps the occasional talking dragon (disclaimer: dragons depend on the genre).

The lengths he’d go to protect Cassidy and to make her happy is 🙌🏻 Cassidy knows the world Max lives in, but she wants him and she stands by him no matter what. The storyline had potential, however, both the female and male mc’s personalities were SO BAD it made the book extremely cringe worthy. Sometimes authors try way too hard to make a character seem innocent and instead of innocent they just end up extremely annoying and this was one of those cases.As she picks up the broken puzzle pieces of her life and begins arranging them, Cassidy truly begins to mature and I couldn't help but tear up to see my little girl all grown up.

You can relate to how Cassidy behaves after this, because really, how does one react after something like that? She shines in crafting novels that toe the line between dark and dangerous, and sweet and sexy, which culminates into a deliciously sinful story of passion, truth, and acceptance.These 2 had it rough, but their unwavering love for one another was just beautiful, something good in amongst the darkness. Sure it took towards the end but the ball didn’t stop rolling after that point and it was un-put-a-downable. Max supposed to be a bad mafia boy kind of type but acts like every damn playful college quarterback type. My main problems with it are I remember the author used the word "penis" instead of "dick" or "cock," the way most books use.

I ugly cried through a good portion of this book (I am an emotional hot mess express, so take that warning how you will). the book is about dense Cassidy who has a major crush on Max Butcher and convinces herself that a sexual relationship would be enough for her. People from the outside who don't know them would have seen them as a toxic couple, but Cassidy and Max know each other best and what they want from each other so that other people's opinions don't matter. The focus of the plotline heavily falls on romance; there was little exploration and explanation of the world which I am curious about and hope we get to see more of that in the second book. Even at almost half way through, Im still throughly confused about who is even involved in the mysterious, big bad “stop asking questions, Cassidy” backstory/mystery.Her depiction of the mafia and the commitments and struggles of those "in" the lifestyle are raw and honest. Unfortunately, my mind didn't get the memo, because there is always one name playing on my lips: Max Butcher. Cassidy is quite young and naive, sometimes painfully so, but I think this is how she's supposed to be portrayed. Max kept evolving and so I needed to step up to the plate for him - he's a big character with lots of depth.