After finishing Twisted Hearts, I was rather unsure if I want to read this book or continue with this whole series. (Well, not a series what is it even? Since we had two series and now a stand-alone.)

Cassio didn’t smile. He stroked my hair, his eyes following his fingers as they slid down. “Into everything. I was dead inside, going through the motions of every day, living for work, for building a future for my kids. While doing that I forgot about the present, about living. You showed me how important it is to live in the moment, to experience my children’s life and not just plan for their future.” Lo acabo de terminar y es ahora y quiero volver a releerlo, enserio se han adentrado en mi corazón. Siempre me mantuvo queriendo seguir leyendo, es que me lo terminé como en menos de un día, no me pude separar de él y tuve que dejar mis obligaciones de lado, es que este libro se merecía toda mi atención. Both Giulia and Cassio were solid leads. I was surprised at how Cassio was portrayed because there was such a big contrast between his work and personal facade. He was this capable, ruthless guy as a mob boss but at the other end of the spectrum, in his personal life, he was less mature and capable to deal with things than Giulia. I suppose his early examples of how a relationship looked like shaped his attitude. He had no tact in approaching his new bride and kept blaming his own misgivings on the fact that he was a realist whereas she was an optimist. I had a hard time with Cassio’s character, but he redeemed himself in the second half of the book. He’s hard on the outside which is why him calling Giulia ‘honey’ was a little jarring to me. On the other hand, I liked Giulia’s character. She’s the kind of person who knows what is expected of her and instead of being a brat about it, she finds ways to make it work for her. the development was there and i thought it was good but not believable?? at least in Cassio's side. i believed in Giulia's feelings but not really Cassio's since his pov almost seemed so emotionless to me. and when he finally said "i love you" i was like whaaat? when—? so yeah the chemistry didn't really work for me because of this and their romance was just meh. and the beginning where they did the "bloody sheets" tradition? yeah... let's not talk about that. it was NOT romantic or sexy at all.Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Guilia and Cassio’s story. Cassio’s wife is dead and the mob has convinced him to take another arranged wife to become mother to his two young children. Guilia has just turned 18 when she married the man that her dad has deemed one of the cruelest underbosses in the family, but she keeps a positive attitude and performs her expected duty. When things settle after the wedding, Guilia realizes that the whole family is in need of some major healing and she jumps into the job of doing just that. There are some big secrets revealed, some sexy times, and some sweet moments...and they get a HEA ending. A new wave of fury raced through my body, but I shoved it down. Few of the men around me were friends; most of them were looking for a sign of weakness. I was a young Underboss, too young in many eyes, but Luca trusted me to rule over Philadelphia with an iron fist. I wouldn’t fail him or my father. I loved how he constantly praised her. Although he was kinda closed off and hurt her a few times through his words, he was attracted to her immediately and they had a good start. 😊

I immediately knew when Cassio tested Guilia for her loyalty that Gaia cheated. It was an easy guess and I was right. The only surprise in this book was who Gaia cheated with. It was her halfbrother. That was the only thing I didn't see coming. Other than that everything was predictable. If you read the book you will guess the upcoming events as the story progresses. I didn't find any cute scenes in the book as I expected. I didn't find Cassio as dark as I expected. I really liked Cassio's dad, for some reason I think he was right. Cassio's children with Gaia wasn't his own biologically but the product of incest between Gaia and her halfbrother. I know Cassio and Guilia are their parents in every way, blood doesn't matter. Guilia and Cassio are hiding it now but someday I think the children deserve to know. I was glad Cassio and Guilia had another baby, at least a biological baby of their own.Giulia, la protagonista, me ha gustado muchísimo, ella me ha parecido tan fuerte, valiente, y con un carácter propio. Ella es la protagonista que más me ha gustado de los libros que he leído de esta autora, a pesar de al principio ser tan joven, afrontaba todo con una madurez impresionante y se propone convertir a esa familia desconocida que está muy rota en un hogar feliz. Ella tiene sus convicciones claras, decía las cosas que le molestaban directamente y sin rodeos, su humor es otro punto bastante especial de ella, siempre les sacaba su cosa graciosa a las cosas, es que he amado completamente a esta mujer. Cassio doesn't like many things about Giulia and wants her to change. He wants her to dress more 'lady-like' and apply loads of make up so that she looks older. He also tells her to refrain from wearing anything that consists of sunflowers *blasphemy* as he hates how much she loves them. But not soon after he realises that maybe she wasn't what he needed in a wife, but she was good for him and his children and exactly what he craved. Giulia has always known she’ll marry the man her father chose for her, but she never expects to be given to someone so much older. Suddenly she’s supposed to be a mother to two small children when she hasn’t even held a baby before. If I didn’t know of the circumstances of your wife’s death, I wouldn’t have broached the subject today. It’s disrespectful.” Luca only knew what I’d told him. I’m not gonna lie, the first 30% to 40% was a MESS. I didn’t like how Cassio and Giulia got into their first intimate scene together on the first night after their marriage. It was highly uncomfortable, absolutely un-sexy, and honestly quite manipulative. I don’t see why he didn’t take the hint Luca gave him. Oh wait, bcs being a gentleman with a little compassion and not shove your little sword inside a frightened 18 year old virgin’s hole is a weakness!