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Anti-Heroes in Love #1
When Heroes Fall
I am the villain of my own story...
Jilted by my fiance.
A disappointment to my family.
Haunted by my childhood traumas.
I felt so much all my life that I resolved to feeling nothing at all.
Until I met my match.
As the most infamous mafioso of the 21st century, Dante Salvatore was madly passionate, unequivocally bad, and entirely too dangerous to know. He was everything I abhorred, yet I found myself representing him in the biggest criminal trial of the decade.
I was so focused on winning and achieving the success I deserved that I didn't notice the gorgeous black-eyed man's effect on me until it was too late. My icy heart had been held too close to his flame and now I wouldn't let Dante go down without fighting with everything I had in me.
Even if the cost of a new life with him meant the loss of my old life and everything I thought I held dear.
Jilted by my fiance.
A disappointment to my family.
Haunted by my childhood traumas.
I felt so much all my life that I resolved to feeling nothing at all.
Until I met my match.
As the most infamous mafioso of the 21st century, Dante Salvatore was madly passionate, unequivocally bad, and entirely too dangerous to know. He was everything I abhorred, yet I found myself representing him in the biggest criminal trial of the decade.
I was so focused on winning and achieving the success I deserved that I didn't notice the gorgeous black-eyed man's effect on me until it was too late. My icy heart had been held too close to his flame and now I wouldn't let Dante go down without fighting with everything I had in me.
Even if the cost of a new life with him meant the loss of my old life and everything I thought I held dear.
508 pages, ebook
First published May 28, 2021
1,924 people are currently reading
33.2k people want to read
About the author
Giana Darling
50 books9,640 followersGiana Darling is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Top 40 Amazon Best Selling Canadian romance author.
I love to write about all things dark, forbidden, and angsty.
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I love to hear from readers so please contact me at giana@gianadarling.com if you have any questions or comments.
You can also contact my PA at gianadarlingpa(at)gianadarling.com !
I love to write about all things dark, forbidden, and angsty.
★CONNECT WITH GIANA★
GOODREADS GROUP: http://bit.ly/GianasDarlings_Goodreads
WEBSITE: gianadarling.com
FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/2tKhTKO
READER’S GROUP: http://bit.ly/2CFNVsK
GOODREADS: http://bit.ly/2J5Evtq
AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2E5LPRW
BOOKBUB: http://bit.ly/2lI2UNn
IG: http://bit.ly/2eNG8Bp | @GianaDarlingAuthor
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/gianadarling/
NEWSLETTER: https://gianadarling.ck.page/0b909dc860
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@gianadarling...
I love to hear from readers so please contact me at giana@gianadarling.com if you have any questions or comments.
You can also contact my PA at gianadarlingpa(at)gianadarling.com !
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,529 reviews
December 11, 2021
I kinda have a thing for ice queens...
October 7, 2021
– 3.25 stars
This was my first Giana Darling book and I'm glad I didn't DNF-ed it at 30% because of the pompous writing. Jesus, the way I struggled with it. 💀
Nah.. bishh, I believe in the law where the writing is less pretentious and flowery. Another example
911–HELLO AM I SPEAKING WITH CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR U ABOUT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 🤡
I read this book in June and wanted to write a more in depth review about what I liked and disliked about this book, but I just have to accept that I will never do it, so I'm trying so summarize my feelings as short as possible so I can finally read When Villain Rise .
Elena and Dante were great characters, especially Elena is amazing. We need more cold & closed-off bitches in romance novels. Ice queens hit differently 👸 Elena and Dante had great chemisty together, loved their development from hate to love and Dante was exactly the type of guy Elena needed. Had the book been more focused on them as a couple, I'd would easily give this book 4 stars, but everything else (the plot, the court drama, the mafia business etc.) it was boring as hell.
My pulse was pretty much 📈📈📈 all the time, because it was mentioned many times how Elena was betrayed by her ex-fiancée and sister Giselle. There is only so many times I can read about the cheating, before my head explodes. Giselle and Sinclair didn't even appear on screen and I had such a hatred towards them throughout this book and it was mentally draining 💀 If Giana's goal was it to convey how shitty her other characters are, then I take my hat off for this amazing performance, cause it totally worked!! Never going to touch Giselle or Cosima's books with a ten foot pole.
Elena deserves all the stars and the world. But minus stars for the rest that was meh.
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
ANTI-HEROES IN LOVE DUET
#1 When Heroes Fall – 3.25 stars
#2 When Villains Rise – tbr
┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙
This was my first Giana Darling book and I'm glad I didn't DNF-ed it at 30% because of the pompous writing. Jesus, the way I struggled with it. 💀
"Those boys incarcerated for years because they were black? Amanda Knox? The LA Times postulates that the rate of wrongful convictions is between two and ten percent. Yet you believe absolutely in the law?"
Nah.. bishh, I believe in the law where the writing is less pretentious and flowery. Another example
So, we iterated, reiterated, again and again. We were an amorphous shape, constantly changing with the times and adapting better than any other institution or organisation because we didn't have to worry about pesky things like the law or morality.
911–HELLO AM I SPEAKING WITH CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR U ABOUT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 🤡
I read this book in June and wanted to write a more in depth review about what I liked and disliked about this book, but I just have to accept that I will never do it, so I'm trying so summarize my feelings as short as possible so I can finally read When Villain Rise .
Elena and Dante were great characters, especially Elena is amazing. We need more cold & closed-off bitches in romance novels. Ice queens hit differently 👸 Elena and Dante had great chemisty together, loved their development from hate to love and Dante was exactly the type of guy Elena needed. Had the book been more focused on them as a couple, I'd would easily give this book 4 stars, but everything else (the plot, the court drama, the mafia business etc.) it was boring as hell.
My pulse was pretty much 📈📈📈 all the time, because it was mentioned many times how Elena was betrayed by her ex-fiancée and sister Giselle. There is only so many times I can read about the cheating, before my head explodes. Giselle and Sinclair didn't even appear on screen and I had such a hatred towards them throughout this book and it was mentally draining 💀 If Giana's goal was it to convey how shitty her other characters are, then I take my hat off for this amazing performance, cause it totally worked!! Never going to touch Giselle or Cosima's books with a ten foot pole.
"I'm wearing heels bigger than your dick, so if this is a pissing contest, I think it's safe to say I win."
Elena deserves all the stars and the world. But minus stars for the rest that was meh.
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
ANTI-HEROES IN LOVE DUET
#1 When Heroes Fall – 3.25 stars
#2 When Villains Rise – tbr
┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙
December 16, 2021
3 stars
Better than the second book - but overall this duet was not worth my time.
I have a list of things to review for this one so Review to come
Review 16/12/21
I’m writing this having read the second book as well.
This was my first book by this author. I kept wanting to read her MC series but I was putting it off because some stuff/tropes just didn’t appeal to me and the reviews were pretty divisive.
First thing I noticed was that the writing is NOT my thing. God, I had to exercise the type of patience I’ve never had in order to push past the first 50-100 pages after that I absolutely ignore the stupidly flowery and nonsensical descriptions and just followed the plot.
Second thing that bugged me was the portrayal of an ice queen as un undesirable trait in a woman. It was drilled into us how Dante in his magnificent generous spirit was interested in her despite her awful awful flaw. I was disgusted at how much Elena put herself down because of her “personality” and how everyone around her always made her to be the problem.
Apparently women have to be some wilting flowers in order to be seen as worthy of attention.
And all the hero worship of Cosima!? Bitch please, so that girl has a soft voice, a tragic past, legs for days and the face of Aphrodite. GOT IT she’s the best thing to walk the Earth with female parts. Understood
I hated how everyone kept Elena in the dark and treated her with such little regard to her feeling and to her freaking strength!
Dante for his part wanted to pick her apart and love the bits of her that he saw as worthy, namely: her vulnerability, her cluelessness and obviously her looks.
He liked her when he detected cracks, when he saw that she was damaged, when he saw that the ice Queen thing was a facade to hide the cracks of her insecurity. He exploited that.
He’s not a man that wanted to build her up to love all her parts, he loved the challenge he presented and that for me it was NOT love.
The man did nothing that spoke to true respect and appreciation - not in my eyes.
God, I wanted to take Elena by the shoulders, give her a shake, then a pep talk and then open her eyes to her true worth and what she truly deserves.
Her family was a bunch of toxic assholes. Everyone. Absolutely everyone. I’m the kind of person who believes you can also choose your family. And blood relation does not bind you into a contract of dealing with narcissists and suffering through emotional abuse at the hands of people who do not appreciate you. Elena is better off without them to constantly put her down.
I hated Dante, I hated Cosima, I hated Giselle, I hated her brother too (saying he sided with the cheating sister because she was more vulnerable - fuck your toxic logic). I hated Yara as well, how she didn’t think to protect Elena and not feed her to the wolves without having her prepared with information. I hated everyone that just walked over her.
Gosh I hated everyone.
Better than the second book - but overall this duet was not worth my time.
I have a list of things to review for this one so Review to come
Review 16/12/21
I’m writing this having read the second book as well.
This was my first book by this author. I kept wanting to read her MC series but I was putting it off because some stuff/tropes just didn’t appeal to me and the reviews were pretty divisive.
First thing I noticed was that the writing is NOT my thing. God, I had to exercise the type of patience I’ve never had in order to push past the first 50-100 pages after that I absolutely ignore the stupidly flowery and nonsensical descriptions and just followed the plot.
Second thing that bugged me was the portrayal of an ice queen as un undesirable trait in a woman. It was drilled into us how Dante in his magnificent generous spirit was interested in her despite her awful awful flaw. I was disgusted at how much Elena put herself down because of her “personality” and how everyone around her always made her to be the problem.
Apparently women have to be some wilting flowers in order to be seen as worthy of attention.
And all the hero worship of Cosima!? Bitch please, so that girl has a soft voice, a tragic past, legs for days and the face of Aphrodite. GOT IT she’s the best thing to walk the Earth with female parts. Understood
I hated how everyone kept Elena in the dark and treated her with such little regard to her feeling and to her freaking strength!
Dante for his part wanted to pick her apart and love the bits of her that he saw as worthy, namely: her vulnerability, her cluelessness and obviously her looks.
He liked her when he detected cracks, when he saw that she was damaged, when he saw that the ice Queen thing was a facade to hide the cracks of her insecurity. He exploited that.
He’s not a man that wanted to build her up to love all her parts, he loved the challenge he presented and that for me it was NOT love.
The man did nothing that spoke to true respect and appreciation - not in my eyes.
God, I wanted to take Elena by the shoulders, give her a shake, then a pep talk and then open her eyes to her true worth and what she truly deserves.
Her family was a bunch of toxic assholes. Everyone. Absolutely everyone. I’m the kind of person who believes you can also choose your family. And blood relation does not bind you into a contract of dealing with narcissists and suffering through emotional abuse at the hands of people who do not appreciate you. Elena is better off without them to constantly put her down.
I hated Dante, I hated Cosima, I hated Giselle, I hated her brother too (saying he sided with the cheating sister because she was more vulnerable - fuck your toxic logic). I hated Yara as well, how she didn’t think to protect Elena and not feed her to the wolves without having her prepared with information. I hated everyone that just walked over her.
Gosh I hated everyone.
June 13, 2021
4.5 Razed to the Ground Stars ⭐
Heroism was about your willingness to right wrongs.
It was about being brave enough to live life by your own rules and accepting who you were, flaws and all.
Elena Lombardi barely survived an upbringing of struggles and poverty in Naples, Italy. Having fought tooth and nail for everything she's earned and achieved, it's no wonder her heart is closed off. Now on her way to being a successful lawyer in New York, the last thing she wants is to revisit her roots.
You might have no problem beating a man or threatening his family if he goes against you, but I’ve been the daughter of that man, and I’ve been that child who was threatened.
The Devil of NYC Dante Salvatore has also risen from the ashes. As a Capo facing charges for murder, and now under house arrest, it's business as usual. However having the Ice Queen Elena as part of his legal team is making life a whole lot interesting. She intrigues him like no other, so why not move her in too?
Elena makes it loud and clear that she abhors everything Dante stands for, yet he has every intention of broadening her mindset. And what better way than while under his roof.
“For once in your life, be brave,” he demanded. “And maybe I’ll give you what you’re too terrified to ask me for.”
“I want to leave.”
“No,” he purred darkly. “No, you want me to fuck you senseless without asking for your permission. If I don’t ask, you don’t have to pretend to be a lady and say no.”
In the mafia world where nothing is black or white, laws are compromised and truths are unclear, Elena will realise that villains come in many forms. And maybe what she loathes is everything she's scared of in herself.
Dante is the perfect anti hero. Charming, loyal and decisive in his actions. He appreciates Elena's brokenness. He wants her to embrace everything she is, not change. How could these two not be meant?
Although this is a duet, I loved the way it ended. Not exactly a cliffhanger, just let's see where their relationship leads. And I desperately want to know! As with all GD books, I feel her stories get overshadowed with too much detail and this was no different. Sometimes less is more.
Heroism was about your willingness to right wrongs.
It was about being brave enough to live life by your own rules and accepting who you were, flaws and all.
Elena Lombardi barely survived an upbringing of struggles and poverty in Naples, Italy. Having fought tooth and nail for everything she's earned and achieved, it's no wonder her heart is closed off. Now on her way to being a successful lawyer in New York, the last thing she wants is to revisit her roots.
You might have no problem beating a man or threatening his family if he goes against you, but I’ve been the daughter of that man, and I’ve been that child who was threatened.
The Devil of NYC Dante Salvatore has also risen from the ashes. As a Capo facing charges for murder, and now under house arrest, it's business as usual. However having the Ice Queen Elena as part of his legal team is making life a whole lot interesting. She intrigues him like no other, so why not move her in too?
Elena makes it loud and clear that she abhors everything Dante stands for, yet he has every intention of broadening her mindset. And what better way than while under his roof.
“For once in your life, be brave,” he demanded. “And maybe I’ll give you what you’re too terrified to ask me for.”
“I want to leave.”
“No,” he purred darkly. “No, you want me to fuck you senseless without asking for your permission. If I don’t ask, you don’t have to pretend to be a lady and say no.”
In the mafia world where nothing is black or white, laws are compromised and truths are unclear, Elena will realise that villains come in many forms. And maybe what she loathes is everything she's scared of in herself.
Dante is the perfect anti hero. Charming, loyal and decisive in his actions. He appreciates Elena's brokenness. He wants her to embrace everything she is, not change. How could these two not be meant?
Although this is a duet, I loved the way it ended. Not exactly a cliffhanger, just let's see where their relationship leads. And I desperately want to know! As with all GD books, I feel her stories get overshadowed with too much detail and this was no different. Sometimes less is more.
January 23, 2022
It's always a treat reading a new Giana Darling book and I was so excited for this new duet she was writing! This is about Elena, who is related to the heroine of the Enthralled duet. Elena is definitely a character that takes a while to get to like. She's a lawyer and is very icy and hardened because of her past. She had a very hard childhood and her fiancé left her for her sister. Elena takes a long time to let anyone in and is dedicated to being the best at her job. When her firm takes on the case of Dante Salvatore, a mafioso on trial for murder, Elena is determined to help win the case without being distracted by Dante. But Dante is intrigued by Elena and makes it so that Elena has to move in with him while he's on house arrest for the sake of the case. Sparks obviously fly, but Elena is determined to keep her heart protected. This book is more slow burn and you definitely have to be patient with both characters, but boy do those sparks fly! I was obsessed with the chemistry between Elena and Dante and the last 30% had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put this book down and I am dying for the next book to see what's going to happen. I fell in love with these characters and their romance and definitely recommend this to mafia romance lovers!
April 5, 2024
You know when u start a book and then u read a couple scenes with the MCs interacting and get this gut feeling where ur like “oohhhhh this book is GNA eat me tf up”… ? Yeah that happened with me in the first chapter. I was captivated, ensnared, spellbound by DanteElena and their tangible chemistry.
The fact that i finished this 500+ page book within two days speaks volumes to me bc I’ve not done that in what feels like months. It usually takes me at least five days bc of how busy my schedule is but this book? THIS BOOK- DanteElena had me in the tightest chokehold, I physically couldn’t stop reading.
It’s the way I’ve lost sleep thinking about DanteElena, waking up early to read more of their banter, to watch Elena grow and heal with Dante’s singular affection.
I’d be working one second and then grinning like a lunatic, remembering scenes of them being so freaking precious.
Elena Lombardi has me bewitched 😫 she’s so loyal, passionate, absorbs the brunt of everyone’s pain so her loved ones don’t have to, feels so much inside but has been burned so many times my heart bleeds for her and the heartbreak she’s been thru. She’s had to deal with so much pain and trauma and it physically hurt me to see her loved ones let her down and disappoint her time and again.
Her yearning for a simple life of love and affection was like a bullet to the heart. I was begging screaming at the top of my lungs for someone to fall so deeply in love with this amazing woman, to cherish her heart, to understand her on that spiritual level.
I wanted to give her the biggest tightest most cuddliest most comfort inducing hug ever for what she’s been thru 😭❤️🩹🫂
It was so beautiful watching her slowly start to trust and yield her heart to the bulldozer that is Dante 🤭 he was SO perfect it was painful. He would say all the right things, make all the right decisions, press all the right buttons to get her geared up ahaha i lovveeeddd it when he would piss her off on purpose 🤭💞💕🦋💗💓💘✨ Everything he did has me giggling gasping doing cartwheels in my garden HES JUST SO FREAKING PRECIOUS I WANNA PROTECT HIM AT ALL COSTS.
If you search the definition of emotional intelligence, you’ll find Dante as the answer.
It was such an experience reading about how he understood Elena on a deeper level and was so patient with her despite her icy disposition. He honestly deserves the world. The way Dante knew when to be firm or gentle, what to do and say when she needed it the most. Him not giving up on Elena and then also cherishing every tiny milestone together? HIM NEVER BEING MORE PROUD OF HIMSELF FOR MAKING SOMEONE (her) LAUGH? MY HEART- 😫🤚
It was so refreshing, reading about a mafia don that has wells of love to give, who shows his love so openly and doesn’t shy away from affection, who admits and apologises if he ever hurts her feelings, who readily laughs and shows emotions with family.
THE BANTER IN THIS BOOK WAS TOP TIER LIKE IT HAD ME GUFFAWING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT 😭 the quips and jabs? the flirting? him pushing her buttons bc he likes to rile her up?? 💘🦋 her getting under his skin bc she can? They were made for each other.
DanteElena are soulmates of the rarest kind. They’re so compatible together i just know they’re written in the stars.
I loved every single second of reading this book, there’s not enough words to describe hm this couple have come mean to me within these 500 pages.
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
Her family villainising her when she was the victim will forever make me wanna cry for her. I hate her entire family for that. And Giselle, if I see u on the streets just know it’s ON SIGHT b*tch-
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
“Elena Lombardi was an acquired taste, something to be appreciated by only the most refined palette, the most exquisite mind. As deep and brilliantly complex as expensive Italian wine, the more I learned about her, the more I wanted to drink her down like a glutton and force her to be mine.”
“I haven’t had to fight someone so fat before. It’s a lot of weight to offset.”
His laughter scored through me like a shot of grappa. He leaned back, releasing my hands to pat his tight, boxed stomach. “I like your mama’s pasta.”
“I can tell,”
~ HHAHAHAHA I LOVEEE THEM PLS
“Mmm,” he hummed, the vibration tickling thin skin. “You smell intossicante.”
“I laughed.
God, but I laughed. It burst out of me indecorously, seizing my belly and warming my chest.[…]
“Bellissima,” he mouthed.”
~BLUSHING GIGGLING FAINTING AGGRESSIVELY BEATING MY CHEST OMFDS HES SO PERFECTTTTT
“I’ve never been so proud to make another person laugh,” ”
“Don’t say I should do it more often.”
“No, the rarity of it makes it more beautiful. I’m becoming rather possessive of the sound.”
“You are not villainous. You are misunderstood. And Elena, you don’t realize this yet, but I see you, I know you, and I’m fucking undone by the beauty of you.”
“Who told you that you were hard to love? Give me a chance to prove them wrong.”
“I don’t want to be loved,”
“Let me love you anyway,”
“I let him press me like a flower between the pages of his heavy arms and strong torso.”
~HELP IM GNA BREAK DOWN AND START SOBBING RHRN
ANYWAY IF U HAVENT GOT THIS BOOK ON UR TBR DO IT RFN THANK ME LATER 💋
The fact that i finished this 500+ page book within two days speaks volumes to me bc I’ve not done that in what feels like months. It usually takes me at least five days bc of how busy my schedule is but this book? THIS BOOK- DanteElena had me in the tightest chokehold, I physically couldn’t stop reading.
It’s the way I’ve lost sleep thinking about DanteElena, waking up early to read more of their banter, to watch Elena grow and heal with Dante’s singular affection.
I’d be working one second and then grinning like a lunatic, remembering scenes of them being so freaking precious.
Elena Lombardi has me bewitched 😫 she’s so loyal, passionate, absorbs the brunt of everyone’s pain so her loved ones don’t have to, feels so much inside but has been burned so many times my heart bleeds for her and the heartbreak she’s been thru. She’s had to deal with so much pain and trauma and it physically hurt me to see her loved ones let her down and disappoint her time and again.
Her yearning for a simple life of love and affection was like a bullet to the heart. I was begging screaming at the top of my lungs for someone to fall so deeply in love with this amazing woman, to cherish her heart, to understand her on that spiritual level.
I wanted to give her the biggest tightest most cuddliest most comfort inducing hug ever for what she’s been thru 😭❤️🩹🫂
It was so beautiful watching her slowly start to trust and yield her heart to the bulldozer that is Dante 🤭 he was SO perfect it was painful. He would say all the right things, make all the right decisions, press all the right buttons to get her geared up ahaha i lovveeeddd it when he would piss her off on purpose 🤭💞💕🦋💗💓💘✨ Everything he did has me giggling gasping doing cartwheels in my garden HES JUST SO FREAKING PRECIOUS I WANNA PROTECT HIM AT ALL COSTS.
If you search the definition of emotional intelligence, you’ll find Dante as the answer.
It was such an experience reading about how he understood Elena on a deeper level and was so patient with her despite her icy disposition. He honestly deserves the world. The way Dante knew when to be firm or gentle, what to do and say when she needed it the most. Him not giving up on Elena and then also cherishing every tiny milestone together? HIM NEVER BEING MORE PROUD OF HIMSELF FOR MAKING SOMEONE (her) LAUGH? MY HEART- 😫🤚
It was so refreshing, reading about a mafia don that has wells of love to give, who shows his love so openly and doesn’t shy away from affection, who admits and apologises if he ever hurts her feelings, who readily laughs and shows emotions with family.
THE BANTER IN THIS BOOK WAS TOP TIER LIKE IT HAD ME GUFFAWING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT 😭 the quips and jabs? the flirting? him pushing her buttons bc he likes to rile her up?? 💘🦋 her getting under his skin bc she can? They were made for each other.
DanteElena are soulmates of the rarest kind. They’re so compatible together i just know they’re written in the stars.
I loved every single second of reading this book, there’s not enough words to describe hm this couple have come mean to me within these 500 pages.
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
Her family villainising her when she was the victim will forever make me wanna cry for her. I hate her entire family for that. And Giselle, if I see u on the streets just know it’s ON SIGHT b*tch-
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
“Elena Lombardi was an acquired taste, something to be appreciated by only the most refined palette, the most exquisite mind. As deep and brilliantly complex as expensive Italian wine, the more I learned about her, the more I wanted to drink her down like a glutton and force her to be mine.”
“I haven’t had to fight someone so fat before. It’s a lot of weight to offset.”
His laughter scored through me like a shot of grappa. He leaned back, releasing my hands to pat his tight, boxed stomach. “I like your mama’s pasta.”
“I can tell,”
~ HHAHAHAHA I LOVEEE THEM PLS
“Mmm,” he hummed, the vibration tickling thin skin. “You smell intossicante.”
“I laughed.
God, but I laughed. It burst out of me indecorously, seizing my belly and warming my chest.[…]
“Bellissima,” he mouthed.”
~BLUSHING GIGGLING FAINTING AGGRESSIVELY BEATING MY CHEST OMFDS HES SO PERFECTTTTT
“I’ve never been so proud to make another person laugh,” ”
“Don’t say I should do it more often.”
“No, the rarity of it makes it more beautiful. I’m becoming rather possessive of the sound.”
“You are not villainous. You are misunderstood. And Elena, you don’t realize this yet, but I see you, I know you, and I’m fucking undone by the beauty of you.”
“Who told you that you were hard to love? Give me a chance to prove them wrong.”
“I don’t want to be loved,”
“Let me love you anyway,”
“I let him press me like a flower between the pages of his heavy arms and strong torso.”
~HELP IM GNA BREAK DOWN AND START SOBBING RHRN
ANYWAY IF U HAVENT GOT THIS BOOK ON UR TBR DO IT RFN THANK ME LATER 💋
December 22, 2021
OK ELENA & DANTE OWN ME, YUP. took me a lil while to get fully into this book, but once i did.. wow. and the ending? obsessed. I can’t wait to read book 2 to see how my fav anti-hero duo ends up <3
May 10, 2022
“I don’t think you’ve had enough of it to know that, but I’m offering the love of a friend and the love of my body. The love of a man who can see that you are not hateful. You are not villainous. You are misunderstood. And Elena, you don’t realize this yet, but I see you, I know you, and I’m fucking undone by the beauty of you.”
Thank you, Giana and the publisher for providing me this ARC.
I was so excited about this book and omg I loved it.
Giana's writing is beautiful, I loved every second of this book and I couldn't put it down.
I love Elena so much my ice queen, She's such a strong character and I love her, she's is so cold to everyone but deep down she has a heart of gold, and even the people who hurt her, she kept caring for them. I loved how she cares about her family even when they hurt her, my heart broke for her, I was crying at 4 am and I wanted to hug her. She's now one of my favorite heroines. Dante becomes one of my top favorite book boyfriends, this man is everything. The way he dealt with Elena was so beautiful and how he cares so deeply for the people he loved will make your heart melt and I loved everything about this man.
I need the second book because there's a lot of questions and I need the answer like who is hurting my Bambi. The last few chapters gave me anxiety, the action scene was just perfect and I loved everything about the ending. Elene and Dante are my favorites and I love them so much.
Thank you, Giana and the publisher for providing me this ARC.
I was so excited about this book and omg I loved it.
Giana's writing is beautiful, I loved every second of this book and I couldn't put it down.
I love Elena so much my ice queen, She's such a strong character and I love her, she's is so cold to everyone but deep down she has a heart of gold, and even the people who hurt her, she kept caring for them. I loved how she cares about her family even when they hurt her, my heart broke for her, I was crying at 4 am and I wanted to hug her. She's now one of my favorite heroines. Dante becomes one of my top favorite book boyfriends, this man is everything. The way he dealt with Elena was so beautiful and how he cares so deeply for the people he loved will make your heart melt and I loved everything about this man.
I need the second book because there's a lot of questions and I need the answer like who is hurting my Bambi. The last few chapters gave me anxiety, the action scene was just perfect and I loved everything about the ending. Elene and Dante are my favorites and I love them so much.
February 11, 2024
1st read; dnf
2nd read; 2.5 stars ; not bad & I’m still salty af for the heroine bc her ex lawyer bf & younger sis was having an affair.
3rd read; 3.5 stars - omfg I come to love it, my only favorite duet by this author & I wanted more scenes of them together.
2nd read; 2.5 stars ; not bad & I’m still salty af for the heroine bc her ex lawyer bf & younger sis was having an affair.
3rd read; 3.5 stars - omfg I come to love it, my only favorite duet by this author & I wanted more scenes of them together.
May 27, 2021
WHEN HEROES FALL: Is the first full length mafia romance book in the duet 'Anti-Heroes in Love', by Giana Darling. Spoken in 'Dual Perspectives.'
OMFG I had my review all written up, went to save it and Goodreads came back with an error *bangs head on desk* GAH!!
Ok so here goes, going into this I didn't know what to expect, if you follow this author you'll know that Elena is a carry on character from the 'Evolution of Sin' duet, but in this you still get a feel for who she is, what drives her and what makes her tick, both in her working ethic and her personal life, you still connect whole heartedly.
The storyline and suspense had my nerves on edge, the angsty too and fro of their attraction his fire and her ice and the suspenseful storyline had me on high alert, I never knew what was going to come at me next, this kept me on my toes, twists and turns came at me from out of nowhere, throwing out a slow burn which I loved at every turn.
We know her as 'The Ice Queen' she's clawed her way up the ranks as a lawyer, as a plea from her sister she takes on a case with a team of lawyers to clear Dante who is a capo of the NYC Camorra of murder amongst other chargers laid against him.
So many swoony highs had me by the throat, this book quickly got its hooks into me and didn't let go until I closed out of that last page.
Read
May 28, 2021💋🎉 WHEN HEROES FALL IS LIVE 🎉💋
I am so happy to be able to share Dante and Elena with you all finally! These two are so close to my heart that I actually find it difficult to express how much they mean to me ❤️ I hope you love them as much as I do!
“Between the hero and the villain, there is the anti-hero. A person who may do evil deeds and seem unscrupulous, but who, within their own set of morals, possesses a big heart and the willingness to protect that which they know to be good."
Some things you can expect from this Mafia Romance:
💋 Enemies to Lovers
💋 Car chases
💋 Forbidden Love
💋 Assassination Attempts
💋 Kindle Melting Scenes
Breathtaking romance, gut-wrenching emotions, constant suspense, danger lurking from every corner- this book will have you glued to its pages.
- Weronika - Little Steamy Reads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Amazon US: amzn.to/3fs80HT
Amazon CA: amzn.to/3yJnlLP
Amazon UK: amzn.to/2TpBrC5
Amazon AU/Universal: https://geni.us/WhenHeroesFall
I am so happy to be able to share Dante and Elena with you all finally! These two are so close to my heart that I actually find it difficult to express how much they mean to me ❤️ I hope you love them as much as I do!
“Between the hero and the villain, there is the anti-hero. A person who may do evil deeds and seem unscrupulous, but who, within their own set of morals, possesses a big heart and the willingness to protect that which they know to be good."
Some things you can expect from this Mafia Romance:
💋 Enemies to Lovers
💋 Car chases
💋 Forbidden Love
💋 Assassination Attempts
💋 Kindle Melting Scenes
Breathtaking romance, gut-wrenching emotions, constant suspense, danger lurking from every corner- this book will have you glued to its pages.
- Weronika - Little Steamy Reads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Amazon US: amzn.to/3fs80HT
Amazon CA: amzn.to/3yJnlLP
Amazon UK: amzn.to/2TpBrC5
Amazon AU/Universal: https://geni.us/WhenHeroesFall
Read
May 30, 2021dnf 30%
A story about a mafioso whom I'm convinced wears red lipstick, a lot of useless conversations and lyrical writing that tried really hard to be above average.
Reasons for dnfing: don't care. I might've read too much mafia romance and they just bore me at this point.
A story about a mafioso whom I'm convinced wears red lipstick, a lot of useless conversations and lyrical writing that tried really hard to be above average.
Reasons for dnfing: don't care. I might've read too much mafia romance and they just bore me at this point.
May 1, 2022
4 stars
An enemies to lovers written by Giana Darling, of course I had to get my hands on this one! When Heroes Fall is the first book in the ‘Anti-Heroes in Love duet and I cant’t wait to see what happens next! Dante was absolutely fantastic and I really liked Elena, she grew on me as the story continued. I am so curious about her family and I see that her sisters have books too. I’m fairly certain I don’t want to read about one in particular, but I definitely want to check out her ‘Enslaved duet’ with Cosmia.
An enemies to lovers written by Giana Darling, of course I had to get my hands on this one! When Heroes Fall is the first book in the ‘Anti-Heroes in Love duet and I cant’t wait to see what happens next! Dante was absolutely fantastic and I really liked Elena, she grew on me as the story continued. I am so curious about her family and I see that her sisters have books too. I’m fairly certain I don’t want to read about one in particular, but I definitely want to check out her ‘Enslaved duet’ with Cosmia.
Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 4 stars
Narrators: Rose Dioro & Jeremy York
Narration Rating: 4.5 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 12h 31m
![Profile Image for moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645500038i%2F37448930._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 7, 2021
5++ stars ☆
❝ But we are more than our flaws and our mistakes. Who told you that you were hard to love? Give me a chance to prove them wrong. ❞
PHEW. Dante (H) and Elena (h) were one hell of a pair. the tension?? everything i could have asked for in a mafia romance. the slow burn, small touches, lingering glances. it was all there and i ate up every word of this book. i was honestly surprised with how much i loved this because it was my first GD book so i wasn't sure what to expect (even tho i've heard so much about her The Fallen Men series, which i'm sure i'll end up reading at some point) but i'm soo glad i gave this a chance!
Dante was kinda hard for me to figure out in the beginning because he was actually more humorous than i thought he'd be and he laughed quite a lot (which i liked but just not something i was used to with mafia Hs lol) but, like most mafia capos, he's serious and possessive when he needs to be and i love the contrast within him. Elena, on the other hand, i loved since the very first page. idk, there was something so real and special about her character. not only was she strong in her own way, but the fact that she had always felt like the black sheep in her family, at work or wherever she goes, made me sympathize with her character. these two were so explosive once they finally gave in to their feelings and it was worth the wait. i'm glad the . so excited for the second book!! <3
P.S. does Dante's men have their own books? since i haven't looked into GD's backlist books yet, i feel like they might but, if not, hoping they'll have their own books in the future. they were an interesting and entertaining bunch and i loved them sm. 🥺
❝ But we are more than our flaws and our mistakes. Who told you that you were hard to love? Give me a chance to prove them wrong. ❞
PHEW. Dante (H) and Elena (h) were one hell of a pair. the tension?? everything i could have asked for in a mafia romance. the slow burn, small touches, lingering glances. it was all there and i ate up every word of this book. i was honestly surprised with how much i loved this because it was my first GD book so i wasn't sure what to expect (even tho i've heard so much about her The Fallen Men series, which i'm sure i'll end up reading at some point) but i'm soo glad i gave this a chance!
Dante was kinda hard for me to figure out in the beginning because he was actually more humorous than i thought he'd be and he laughed quite a lot (which i liked but just not something i was used to with mafia Hs lol) but, like most mafia capos, he's serious and possessive when he needs to be and i love the contrast within him. Elena, on the other hand, i loved since the very first page. idk, there was something so real and special about her character. not only was she strong in her own way, but the fact that she had always felt like the black sheep in her family, at work or wherever she goes, made me sympathize with her character. these two were so explosive once they finally gave in to their feelings and it was worth the wait. i'm glad the . so excited for the second book!! <3
P.S. does Dante's men have their own books? since i haven't looked into GD's backlist books yet, i feel like they might but, if not, hoping they'll have their own books in the future. they were an interesting and entertaining bunch and i loved them sm. 🥺
July 16, 2021
Mafia romance and enemies to lovers are catnips of mine so I was excited to read When Heroes Fall. Sadly this book fell short on all accounts. It took me such a long time to get into the story mainly because I felt the pace was slow and there’s a lot of inner monologue. Especially Elena. Also I felt there was a lot of chapters that had to tell what happened to the side characters which I felt was unnecessary. If I wanted to know I could just read their books.
The chemistry and connection between Elena and Dante was lacking so when the story finally started to pick up, which was halfway through, I really wasn’t that invested or interested. In either the story or with Elena and Dante which was a shame cause with how the story began it definitely had potential.
A determined and competent female lawyer and her client the mafia capo. It sounded so good and promising in the blurb so I’m disappointed that When Heroes Fall wasn’t the book for me.
The chemistry and connection between Elena and Dante was lacking so when the story finally started to pick up, which was halfway through, I really wasn’t that invested or interested. In either the story or with Elena and Dante which was a shame cause with how the story began it definitely had potential.
A determined and competent female lawyer and her client the mafia capo. It sounded so good and promising in the blurb so I’m disappointed that When Heroes Fall wasn’t the book for me.
April 8, 2023
➥ 1 Star *:･ﾟ✧ dnf @ 75%
What the fuck was this shitshow - actual garbage, I'm in shock. I cannot think of a single thing that was done well, it was so exhaustingly bad. The writing was horrifically bad, as shown by the featured quote. But that's not the only instance.
The female character was an absolute joke. She was supposedly meant to be written to be this strong woman, and I love strong female characters, especially in dark romance, but it was so badly written. Every retort and response she gave from the bitch mmc's onslaught, was a stutter or otherwise unsuccessful, where she was ultimately left humiliated. Every single time.
Then the mmc is probably even more of a joke. He actually reminded me of Massimo from 365 [derogatory], he made me want to puke.
Dante says #notallmen !! LMAO. He seems like one of those attempts at writing an "alpha male" when really, they're just writing about an arrogant, misogynistic dick.
Like what the fuck is this:
Bro needs to shut the fuck up.
Wow you really love saying that word 😀 say it one more time.
Wowww!! So dreamy!! 😍😍😍
Spewing nonsense, istg. And once he even threatens to rape the sister of a man he's torturing like🧐😑👎.
Weirdo.
I want to know what type of editor let this line fly. Then, there's this moment where Dante assumes Elena is a lesbian, and this bitch is mortified like he threw the worst possible insult at her. Like wow. Clap clap. Amazing. Well done. And then says this shit.
Yeah, I wish he were also dead in addition to a man.
WHY ARE YOU GRABBING HIM BY THE EARS?? IN SEX?? 👂❌
Someone pass me a bucket 🤢. I can't bear to discuss this piece of shit any longer, let alone review more of it. May we be blessed with better mafia romances in the future!
“They fucking thrived. Not even cancel culture could cancel the mafia.”
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
What the fuck was this shitshow - actual garbage, I'm in shock. I cannot think of a single thing that was done well, it was so exhaustingly bad. The writing was horrifically bad, as shown by the featured quote. But that's not the only instance.
The female character was an absolute joke. She was supposedly meant to be written to be this strong woman, and I love strong female characters, especially in dark romance, but it was so badly written. Every retort and response she gave from the bitch mmc's onslaught, was a stutter or otherwise unsuccessful, where she was ultimately left humiliated. Every single time.
Then the mmc is probably even more of a joke. He actually reminded me of Massimo from 365 [derogatory], he made me want to puke.
“You are substituting a part for the whole. The actions of one bad man do not extend to every other man in his community,” he argued.
Dante says #notallmen !! LMAO. He seems like one of those attempts at writing an "alpha male" when really, they're just writing about an arrogant, misogynistic dick.
Like what the fuck is this:
“It wasn’t her looks that did it for me. Beauty was easy. I was a handsome man, a powerful one with money to boot. I could have fourteen gorgeous women in my apartment within the hour if I so desired. Beauty was boring.”
Bro needs to shut the fuck up.
“I knew from Cosima about Elena’s past actions and mistakes, it didn’t surprise me she was known as a bitch.
I didn’t mind working with a bitch.
In my humble opinion, they were underrated.”
Wow you really love saying that word 😀 say it one more time.
“There is something about all that studied perfection that makes me eager to break her.”
Wowww!! So dreamy!! 😍😍😍
“I’m not some eager young stronzo. I don’t want to fuck her. She doesn’t look like she could even take my cock, let alone enjoy it.”
Spewing nonsense, istg. And once he even threatens to rape the sister of a man he's torturing like🧐😑👎.
“Take your heathen hands off me,” she snapped. “People are watching.”
“I bought the dress,” I argued calmly, my fingers splaying over her slight hips and loving the feel of her long, delicate bones. “It’s only right I should enjoy it."
Weirdo.
“I wanted to trail the flush from her neck down her chest, discover if her nipples were pink or brown, sweet or salty with sweat.”
I want to know what type of editor let this line fly. Then, there's this moment where Dante assumes Elena is a lesbian, and this bitch is mortified like he threw the worst possible insult at her. Like wow. Clap clap. Amazing. Well done. And then says this shit.
“I hadn’t lied.
I was done with men.
Unfortunately, Dante Salvatore was so much more than a man.”
Yeah, I wish he were also dead in addition to a man.
I tugged too hard at his ears, pulling him up my body and squeezing him close with my thighs. “Now,” I begged.
WHY ARE YOU GRABBING HIM BY THE EARS?? IN SEX?? 👂❌
“Figa mia,” he asserted, my pussy.
Someone pass me a bucket 🤢. I can't bear to discuss this piece of shit any longer, let alone review more of it. May we be blessed with better mafia romances in the future!
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
May 30, 2021
3.5 || Elena Lombardi, new love of my life, my soul sister, a custom made character for me.
In all honesty, this was my first Gianna Darling book and I don't know if it would pick up some of her old work... but I just know I need the conclusion of this duet NOW!!! I wasn't a fan of the writing style and I think it was a bit tedious sometimes, but I made it through it all because of the bond between Elena and Dante, the chemistry, the sexual tension flowing in the air... EXCUSE ME!? FIND A ROOM!!
I really liked the contrast of this relationship with Elena being an ice queen, and Dante a capo who wasn't scared of displays of affection. Him driving her out of her mind; her being all judgamental at first only to change her vision of things as she spent more time with these characters; Elena finally finding a place where she felt she belonged, etc. Anyway, I really need that happy ending to come sooner.
P.S. That bitch Giselle was only mentioned here, but she clearly didn't deserve to breathe the same air as Elena, and if I find her on the streets 🔪🔪🔪
They’re all afraid of you, and they all hate me. What a pair we make. Two villains in love.
In all honesty, this was my first Gianna Darling book and I don't know if it would pick up some of her old work... but I just know I need the conclusion of this duet NOW!!! I wasn't a fan of the writing style and I think it was a bit tedious sometimes, but I made it through it all because of the bond between Elena and Dante, the chemistry, the sexual tension flowing in the air... EXCUSE ME!? FIND A ROOM!!
I really liked the contrast of this relationship with Elena being an ice queen, and Dante a capo who wasn't scared of displays of affection. Him driving her out of her mind; her being all judgamental at first only to change her vision of things as she spent more time with these characters; Elena finally finding a place where she felt she belonged, etc. Anyway, I really need that happy ending to come sooner.
P.S. That bitch Giselle was only mentioned here, but she clearly didn't deserve to breathe the same air as Elena, and if I find her on the streets 🔪🔪🔪
April 12, 2023
Reread 12 April’23: 3.5 stars ⭐️
first read: 28 May’21
5+ stars ⭐️
“This woman who was barely alive made me feel like a live wire, a lit fuse raw with power.
I hadn’t even kissed her, and I felt like roaring, like beating my chest and crowing with glory.”
Oh my dear lord. This has been one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I’m SO HAPPY because it didn’t disappoint AT ALL. This was my first book by this author and I’m in ✨love✨. I never knew Giana was so amazing with words. I legit have half of the book highlighted (not kidding) and I’m mentally kicking myself for not picking up her books sooner.
“Elena reminded me of an Arabian, she had all the raw power and majesty of the stead, but someone had mistreated her, taught her to bite and shy away from the rider.”
Elena Lombardi is a fighter. I don’t know but I was getting major Lana Myers (mindfuck series) and Gianna Allister (the maddest obsession) vibes from her personality who are my favs FMCs ever! Elena has gone through so much and I don’t know what she did in the Evolution of sin series to make people think of her as a villain but the last thing i thought abt her reading this book was that she was one. She has gone through so much with all her past and stuff which makes me want to protect her and wrap her in a bubblewrap even more. Her issues made her feel more human and I could totally feel why she wasn’t that open to everyone and kept stuff to herself. I loved reading about her relationship with her sister, brother and her mother. She’s so strong and I admire her strength with my whole heart.
“Because the truth was, I was intrigued by Dante in a way I’d never been with another soul. He was such a contradiction in terms, a puzzle that my lawyer’s mind couldn’t help but want to piece together.”
Dante Salvatore is just something else. I’ve had many experiences reading mafia romance but I’ve never really read a character like him. He may be called “cold” but how am i to believe it when I see him calling a kid “love of his life”, battering with his fellow mafia colleagues and being such a good and kind soul🥵 I loved his character so much. I thought that he was a unique character and I didn’t really know what he would do in future sometime which really intrigued me even more! I LOVED HOW HE WAS WITH ELENA!! I will die to have a person like that in my life ugh (fucking characters ruining my life and expectations). I loved how he cared about his people, how he treated his best friend , Elena, his people😭😭
Oh my god, i really love him, don’t I? Fml.
“You are not villainous. You are misunderstood. And Elena, you don’t realize this yet, but I see you, I know you, and I’m fucking undone by the beauty of you.”
I could probably write 10 more paragraphs about these two together but I won’t cause I would prefer y’all reading the book and experience what I’m feeling on your own. I loved the dynamic of Elena and Dante. I loved the side characters so much. You’re going to do yourself a huge favour if you pick this up, just sayinggggg 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
I also loved the fact that it didn’t end on that big cliffhanger but rather a satisfactory ending (for now, obvio). I CANT WAIT FOR BOOK 2. I NEED IT. Please🥺🥺
“They’re all afraid of you, and they all hate me. What a pair we make. Two villains in love. I’m not afraid of anything that will come at us, Dante. I just don’t want to be without you”
first read: 28 May’21
5+ stars ⭐️
“This woman who was barely alive made me feel like a live wire, a lit fuse raw with power.
I hadn’t even kissed her, and I felt like roaring, like beating my chest and crowing with glory.”
Oh my dear lord. This has been one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I’m SO HAPPY because it didn’t disappoint AT ALL. This was my first book by this author and I’m in ✨love✨. I never knew Giana was so amazing with words. I legit have half of the book highlighted (not kidding) and I’m mentally kicking myself for not picking up her books sooner.
“Elena reminded me of an Arabian, she had all the raw power and majesty of the stead, but someone had mistreated her, taught her to bite and shy away from the rider.”
Elena Lombardi is a fighter. I don’t know but I was getting major Lana Myers (mindfuck series) and Gianna Allister (the maddest obsession) vibes from her personality who are my favs FMCs ever! Elena has gone through so much and I don’t know what she did in the Evolution of sin series to make people think of her as a villain but the last thing i thought abt her reading this book was that she was one. She has gone through so much with all her past and stuff which makes me want to protect her and wrap her in a bubblewrap even more. Her issues made her feel more human and I could totally feel why she wasn’t that open to everyone and kept stuff to herself. I loved reading about her relationship with her sister, brother and her mother. She’s so strong and I admire her strength with my whole heart.
“Because the truth was, I was intrigued by Dante in a way I’d never been with another soul. He was such a contradiction in terms, a puzzle that my lawyer’s mind couldn’t help but want to piece together.”
Dante Salvatore is just something else. I’ve had many experiences reading mafia romance but I’ve never really read a character like him. He may be called “cold” but how am i to believe it when I see him calling a kid “love of his life”, battering with his fellow mafia colleagues and being such a good and kind soul🥵 I loved his character so much. I thought that he was a unique character and I didn’t really know what he would do in future sometime which really intrigued me even more! I LOVED HOW HE WAS WITH ELENA!! I will die to have a person like that in my life ugh (fucking characters ruining my life and expectations). I loved how he cared about his people, how he treated his best friend , Elena, his people😭😭
Oh my god, i really love him, don’t I? Fml.
“You are not villainous. You are misunderstood. And Elena, you don’t realize this yet, but I see you, I know you, and I’m fucking undone by the beauty of you.”
I could probably write 10 more paragraphs about these two together but I won’t cause I would prefer y’all reading the book and experience what I’m feeling on your own. I loved the dynamic of Elena and Dante. I loved the side characters so much. You’re going to do yourself a huge favour if you pick this up, just sayinggggg 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
I also loved the fact that it didn’t end on that big cliffhanger but rather a satisfactory ending (for now, obvio). I CANT WAIT FOR BOOK 2. I NEED IT. Please🥺🥺
“They’re all afraid of you, and they all hate me. What a pair we make. Two villains in love. I’m not afraid of anything that will come at us, Dante. I just don’t want to be without you”
May 29, 2021
I'm honestly at a loss of words.
I don't think I've ever read a duet, but I had to go for it with this one, knowing it was Giana Darling. And let me tell you something... I wasn't disappointed.
This book is freaking wonderful, a celebration of the written word like I've never seen before from other New Adult authors. I've said this before and I'm saying it again, Giana Darling can write! She's seriously one of the best writers I've ever come across, and I think I highlighted more than half of this book. I never highlight, but it felt almost criminal not to celebrate such beautifully put together sentences! Her and Catherine Wiltcher are like my two unicorn authors with the best, most poetic proses.
Y'all, the sexual tension here is off the charts! I found myself panting at some point by how hot Dante was! The hot and cold dynamic between the main character makes this so memorable. I will forever be grateful to authors that can manage to write genuinely good and at the same time complex and flawed characters. The two main characters in this book are some amazing role models!
Let's start with Elena first, my icy lawyer! This girl is a fighter! She went through so much with all her past and stuff which makes me want to wrap her in a bubblewrap and hug her tight so no one could harm her. Her issues made me relate to her so much and I could understand why she didn't open up easily and kept to herself. She’s so strong and I admire her strength with my whole heart.
Dante- oh my good lord, Dante freaking Salvatore was something else. An alpha with the whole meaning of the word. Often times in books you see guys being branded as alphas, because they're mean or bullies, but read this book and you will understand the true meaning of the word because Dante is the epitome of it. Ugh, I actually hate him as much as I adore him because I know men like him don't exist in real life.
I could probably go on and on forever about this book, but I will sum this up by saying this was my favorite book of 2021 and up there with some all time faves! It deserves all the freaking stars and then some! Do yourself a favor and READ THIS! It's a duet but doesn't end on a cliffhanger. It has a happy ending... for now that is.
“They’re all afraid of you, and they all hate me. What a pair we make. Two villains in love. I’m not afraid of anything that will come at us, Dante. I just don’t want to be without you.”
I can't wait for book two!
I don't think I've ever read a duet, but I had to go for it with this one, knowing it was Giana Darling. And let me tell you something... I wasn't disappointed.
This book is freaking wonderful, a celebration of the written word like I've never seen before from other New Adult authors. I've said this before and I'm saying it again, Giana Darling can write! She's seriously one of the best writers I've ever come across, and I think I highlighted more than half of this book. I never highlight, but it felt almost criminal not to celebrate such beautifully put together sentences! Her and Catherine Wiltcher are like my two unicorn authors with the best, most poetic proses.
Y'all, the sexual tension here is off the charts! I found myself panting at some point by how hot Dante was! The hot and cold dynamic between the main character makes this so memorable. I will forever be grateful to authors that can manage to write genuinely good and at the same time complex and flawed characters. The two main characters in this book are some amazing role models!
Let's start with Elena first, my icy lawyer! This girl is a fighter! She went through so much with all her past and stuff which makes me want to wrap her in a bubblewrap and hug her tight so no one could harm her. Her issues made me relate to her so much and I could understand why she didn't open up easily and kept to herself. She’s so strong and I admire her strength with my whole heart.
Dante- oh my good lord, Dante freaking Salvatore was something else. An alpha with the whole meaning of the word. Often times in books you see guys being branded as alphas, because they're mean or bullies, but read this book and you will understand the true meaning of the word because Dante is the epitome of it. Ugh, I actually hate him as much as I adore him because I know men like him don't exist in real life.
I could probably go on and on forever about this book, but I will sum this up by saying this was my favorite book of 2021 and up there with some all time faves! It deserves all the freaking stars and then some! Do yourself a favor and READ THIS! It's a duet but doesn't end on a cliffhanger. It has a happy ending... for now that is.
“They’re all afraid of you, and they all hate me. What a pair we make. Two villains in love. I’m not afraid of anything that will come at us, Dante. I just don’t want to be without you.”
I can't wait for book two!
June 9, 2021
When Heroes Fall takes a look at the dangerous underworld of a Mafia Leader that is ruthless in his own right and the tough woman who is brought on to save him in more ways than one.
Elena Lombardi has always been a fighter from an early age. Having gone through a rough childhood with her mom and younger siblings, she knows that at the end of the day all you have is family and protecting them at all cost is your only priority. Now a cut throat lawyer and making a name for herself while working her way up the ranks, Elena is about to be tasked with her biggest case yet and she’s about to learn something real quick when it comes to her new client. There is no escaping Dante Salvatore.
Capo, devil, killer, you name it and this is all the reflection of Dante Salvatore. Facing a string of charges including murder, Dante wants nothing but the best on his legal team and that includes the cold natured but feisty red head Elena and he’s not going to stop until he has in more ways than one. But for the most feared and powerful man in New York City, enemies are always lurking and these two are about to find out just how many targets they have on their backs.
I enjoyed a good portion of this story and I really liked that we had a strong heroine that didn't take sh*t from anyone. This was a woman who went through the ringer and got dealt a dose of betrayal that would scar anyone and she picked up those painful pieces and moved in the best way she knew how. My issue with this story was that I felt like I was missing a lot of things because the characters that were in this book, had their own books as well and things were discussed that left me feeling like I was reading a third book in a trilogy that I never started.
Aside from that and the fact that it was a bit over detailed, I’m very curious to see what’s going to be in store for Elena and Dante moving forward. Will these two get their happily ever after in a world of blood and chaos?
May 31, 2021
2.75-3🌟
This is my first book from this author and I obviously haven't read the books about Elena's sisters, I just know that her former fiance cheated on her with her sister. I already hate her sister so not interested in reading books about that cheating bi**h😌
The first half of this book was roughhhh. I almost dnf-ed couple of times. I started skimming because the inner monologues and that lawyer mambo jumbo put me to sleep😴
Also her writing style seems a little pretentious and poetic. English is not my first language but I usually don't have problems understanding the words but here i needed to google words like "portentous" or "exacerbate".
"Seducing Elena was mesmeric. I got tangled up in the same mechanisms I used to soothe her, transfixed by her subtle, storied responses to even the slightest touch, the most innocent of phrases."
This is what i mean about too poetic🙄
I feel like the second half was much better even tho I didn't agree with some of their actions but I'll def need to read the second book to round up my thoughts.
This is my first book from this author and I obviously haven't read the books about Elena's sisters, I just know that her former fiance cheated on her with her sister. I already hate her sister so not interested in reading books about that cheating bi**h😌
The first half of this book was roughhhh. I almost dnf-ed couple of times. I started skimming because the inner monologues and that lawyer mambo jumbo put me to sleep😴
Also her writing style seems a little pretentious and poetic. English is not my first language but I usually don't have problems understanding the words but here i needed to google words like "portentous" or "exacerbate".
"Seducing Elena was mesmeric. I got tangled up in the same mechanisms I used to soothe her, transfixed by her subtle, storied responses to even the slightest touch, the most innocent of phrases."
This is what i mean about too poetic🙄
I feel like the second half was much better even tho I didn't agree with some of their actions but I'll def need to read the second book to round up my thoughts.
June 24, 2021
This was not what I expected from an antihero romance, but it was everything I wanted and more.
↣ Elena is a character that is not easy to like. She comes across as a cold-hearted bitch, but she slowly grows on you until you realize you may actually really appreciate her. She went through so much, she is a fighter and I admired her strength so much. She never hesitated to put everything on the line for those she loves and I loved following her journey of letting more people in.
(insert quick rant on Elena’s sister Giselle and Daniel: So these two have their own trilogy where they fall in love while cheating on Elena repeatedly and apparently she is seen as the villain of that story. How??? I mean, I‘m sure she said some terrible stuff to them in retaliation, but honestly what did they expect? I can totally understand why she can‘t forgive them, what they did is horrendous. I‘ll never read their books cause I already hate those characters enough for what they did to Elena now and I can‘t even imagine how much worse it would be to read about them. Just had to quickly get that off my chest, rant over lmao)
↣ Dante is such a unique character that Elena and I couldn‘t help but be drawn to. He is a brutal mafia boss when he needs to be, but that‘s not all he is. He is fiercely loyal, protective and loving with his family and friends. He is candid and honest with everyone he meets. And he is affectionate and patient with our heroine.
↣ Dante and Elena‘s slow burn romance was wonderful. As Elena puts it, he is fire and she is ice and even though they shouldn‘t, they fit together perfectly. He helped her open herself up to love and life and she in turn gave him and his family all her loyalty. I just loved the found-family aspects in this book, too.
↣ This is my first book by this author and I was very impressed by the writing. Some lines in this book were so beautiful and poignant. Even lyrical, if you will. Now I really am excited to read her Fallen Men series.
↣ If you‘ve been here for a while, you may know that I dislike unnecessary conflicts at the end of romance books with a fiery passion. However, this one didn‘t have an avoidable break-up or miss-communication or something like that at the end and it gets massive bonus points for that. We do have a conflict at the end, but it‘s not between the characters, but instead because of their circumstances and it‘s more of a suspense situation. There is a lot of action and I really enjoyed how it all went down.
I was waiting for a big cliffhanger that would make me restless to get the next book in the duet, but there wasn‘t one and I actually loved that. I‘m even more excited for the next book in this duet now!
↣ Elena is a character that is not easy to like. She comes across as a cold-hearted bitch, but she slowly grows on you until you realize you may actually really appreciate her. She went through so much, she is a fighter and I admired her strength so much. She never hesitated to put everything on the line for those she loves and I loved following her journey of letting more people in.
(insert quick rant on Elena’s sister Giselle and Daniel: So these two have their own trilogy where they fall in love while cheating on Elena repeatedly and apparently she is seen as the villain of that story. How??? I mean, I‘m sure she said some terrible stuff to them in retaliation, but honestly what did they expect? I can totally understand why she can‘t forgive them, what they did is horrendous. I‘ll never read their books cause I already hate those characters enough for what they did to Elena now and I can‘t even imagine how much worse it would be to read about them. Just had to quickly get that off my chest, rant over lmao)
↣ Dante is such a unique character that Elena and I couldn‘t help but be drawn to. He is a brutal mafia boss when he needs to be, but that‘s not all he is. He is fiercely loyal, protective and loving with his family and friends. He is candid and honest with everyone he meets. And he is affectionate and patient with our heroine.
↣ Dante and Elena‘s slow burn romance was wonderful. As Elena puts it, he is fire and she is ice and even though they shouldn‘t, they fit together perfectly. He helped her open herself up to love and life and she in turn gave him and his family all her loyalty. I just loved the found-family aspects in this book, too.
↣ This is my first book by this author and I was very impressed by the writing. Some lines in this book were so beautiful and poignant. Even lyrical, if you will. Now I really am excited to read her Fallen Men series.
↣ If you‘ve been here for a while, you may know that I dislike unnecessary conflicts at the end of romance books with a fiery passion. However, this one didn‘t have an avoidable break-up or miss-communication or something like that at the end and it gets massive bonus points for that. We do have a conflict at the end, but it‘s not between the characters, but instead because of their circumstances and it‘s more of a suspense situation. There is a lot of action and I really enjoyed how it all went down.
I was waiting for a big cliffhanger that would make me restless to get the next book in the duet, but there wasn‘t one and I actually loved that. I‘m even more excited for the next book in this duet now!
May 29, 2021
4,5. This book was WOW.
Sometimes made me cry because there was beautiful messages for me to think.
Bravo!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Sometimes made me cry because there was beautiful messages for me to think.
Bravo!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
June 30, 2022
I am not a mafia lover, but damn this was so good! I think it is the first story from this author that I’ve read and it certainly won’t be the last.
Miss Elena Lombardi needs to come take her crown as the most amazing and strongest woman who ever lived. I can't believe how she is handling herself after going through all that things. She has literally dragged herself to the top with everything stacked against her and I just love her sm🤧🥺
and then Dante, that guy is everybody's dreams. He is so understanding and sees the other side of Elena that no one else does, he sees the pain she has and wants to do nothing more than take that pain away from her. Even though he was portrayed as cold, dark and dangerous by the society, he was so different towards his friends and family. He's affectionate, loyal and would burn the world to the ground for the ones he deems worthy.
Elena and Dante’s attraction, ever since the beginning, was intense and palpable. They both have strong personality and often crashed but those were the best parts. The tension was amazing and I enjoyed it. I'm so invested and interested to see where the second book will take us! Some parts of the story dragged a little, but overall, this was reallyyy good and I'm expecting many secrets to be revealed in the next book.
Miss Elena Lombardi needs to come take her crown as the most amazing and strongest woman who ever lived. I can't believe how she is handling herself after going through all that things. She has literally dragged herself to the top with everything stacked against her and I just love her sm🤧🥺
and then Dante, that guy is everybody's dreams. He is so understanding and sees the other side of Elena that no one else does, he sees the pain she has and wants to do nothing more than take that pain away from her. Even though he was portrayed as cold, dark and dangerous by the society, he was so different towards his friends and family. He's affectionate, loyal and would burn the world to the ground for the ones he deems worthy.
Elena and Dante’s attraction, ever since the beginning, was intense and palpable. They both have strong personality and often crashed but those were the best parts. The tension was amazing and I enjoyed it. I'm so invested and interested to see where the second book will take us! Some parts of the story dragged a little, but overall, this was reallyyy good and I'm expecting many secrets to be revealed in the next book.
Read
July 2, 2021on hold - 51%
believe you me. no one is more disappointed in me than me, so hala, if you're reading this, please look away. there's nothing to see here! 🏃🏻♀️
and I would also like to blame my reading slump because I would have enjoyed it if it weren't for that―but i will come back to it once i'm out of my slump.
and this is out of the blue, but whenever I came across a difficult word, which happened numerous times, my mind kept wandering off to the scene where Oscar explains the word surpass to Michael.
Michael is me. I am Michael.
it's 2:30 am and I have yet to go to sleep so don't mind me.
p.s. this happens not only in this book but also in some other books, but here it was a bit too much and it was a little too over-detailed.
idk it was kinda distracting.
believe you me. no one is more disappointed in me than me, so hala, if you're reading this, please look away. there's nothing to see here! 🏃🏻♀️
and I would also like to blame my reading slump because I would have enjoyed it if it weren't for that―but i will come back to it once i'm out of my slump.
and this is out of the blue, but whenever I came across a difficult word, which happened numerous times, my mind kept wandering off to the scene where Oscar explains the word surpass to Michael.
Michael is me. I am Michael.
it's 2:30 am and I have yet to go to sleep so don't mind me.
p.s. this happens not only in this book but also in some other books, but here it was a bit too much and it was a little too over-detailed.
idk it was kinda distracting.
![Profile Image for Corinne [semi-hiatus].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1603449181i%2F94376563._UY200_CR13%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 2, 2021
"He was a chaos of contradictions and I was a contradictory chaos".
-----
This has to be my favorite Giana Darling book to date. A great mafia romance, with likeable characters, solid world building, great action scenes and an amazing slow burn romance.
When Heroes Fall is the story of Dante and Elena. We meet both in the Evolution of Sin (Gisele and Daniel's story) and Enslaved (Cosima and Alexander's duet). Dante is Alexander's brother and Cosima's best friend and he is a great character from the start. Elena is Gisele and Cosima's big sister and I didn't like her one bit in her sisters' books. She was bitter, cruel, calculated and driven to power and money. I was not sure how a relationship with Dante could develop as he was fire and passion and she was cold, aloof and mean.
But Giana pulled it off in the best, most believable way and made me fall in love with both characters in the process.
Dante is a capable Capo, strong, really smart but also very perceptive and protective of Elena. And Elena has a great character arc in this book. She comes with a heavy emotional baggage and she has to overcome some crippling health issues. In the beginning she is a total Boss Bitch lawyer, cold as ice but she learns how to fully live from the most unlikely frenemy.
-----
"I used to think I knew who I was, but I never felt like this before.
”“Like what?”
“So alive I burn.”
-----
The title of the duet is very fitting, as both Elena and Dante are anti-heroes and their slow burn romance is fantastic.
Giana made a lot of great choices in this book. First, the fact that she stayed true to her characters every step of the way and made their love a true slow burn. Then, Elena's redemption arc which I loved. The sex scenes were well written. The action scenes were well paced and realistic. The writing style was spot on, with great imagery but not overly flowery. Lastly, the ending is rewarding and beautiful.
I am so looking forward to the second part of this duet!
***ARC generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review***
-----
This has to be my favorite Giana Darling book to date. A great mafia romance, with likeable characters, solid world building, great action scenes and an amazing slow burn romance.
When Heroes Fall is the story of Dante and Elena. We meet both in the Evolution of Sin (Gisele and Daniel's story) and Enslaved (Cosima and Alexander's duet). Dante is Alexander's brother and Cosima's best friend and he is a great character from the start. Elena is Gisele and Cosima's big sister and I didn't like her one bit in her sisters' books. She was bitter, cruel, calculated and driven to power and money. I was not sure how a relationship with Dante could develop as he was fire and passion and she was cold, aloof and mean.
But Giana pulled it off in the best, most believable way and made me fall in love with both characters in the process.
Dante is a capable Capo, strong, really smart but also very perceptive and protective of Elena. And Elena has a great character arc in this book. She comes with a heavy emotional baggage and she has to overcome some crippling health issues. In the beginning she is a total Boss Bitch lawyer, cold as ice but she learns how to fully live from the most unlikely frenemy.
-----
"I used to think I knew who I was, but I never felt like this before.
”“Like what?”
“So alive I burn.”
-----
The title of the duet is very fitting, as both Elena and Dante are anti-heroes and their slow burn romance is fantastic.
Giana made a lot of great choices in this book. First, the fact that she stayed true to her characters every step of the way and made their love a true slow burn. Then, Elena's redemption arc which I loved. The sex scenes were well written. The action scenes were well paced and realistic. The writing style was spot on, with great imagery but not overly flowery. Lastly, the ending is rewarding and beautiful.
I am so looking forward to the second part of this duet!
***ARC generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review***
June 29, 2021
~ 𝟰
♪ ♫ at 25 and still alive
much longer than expected for a man
at 25, all hope has died
and the glass of my intentions turns to sand
and shatters in my hand... ♫ ♪
🅼🅰🅵🅸🅰 🆂🅷🅸🆃 🅰🅱🅾🆄🅽🅳🆂 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗪𝗔𝗦… good. Actually, it was really good. And there's a reason for that. Author, Giana Darling did a fabulous job creating a mafia world that's both familiar and different. Her characters felt new and inventive, and the scenario that kicked the plot into gear was actually really fun! Essentially, there's a lot to love about When Heroes Fall.
That said… I don't know… there was something… missing. I didn't feel a burning need to read this book. Therefore, I'm left feeling conflicted. On the one hand I can definitively say that WHF is a good book. And yet, on the other hand, I ended this book with little desire to even review it. Due to that, I'm gonna keep this review short and sweet.
†HÈ þRÖ§
†HÈ ÇÖñ§
✔ 𝗔𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗚𝗨𝗬𝗦 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗘… I had conflicting feelings about WHF. That's why I want to showcase a couple of reviews that do a better job highlighting the book.
✨ꜱᴇᴇ ➜ ʜᴇʀᴇ, ʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʀᴇ✨
It also could be because the mafia genre in general isn't my favorite romance trope of choice. I don't know why, but I just struggle with ~mafia shit~ as a whole concept. There's something about it that, just, doesn't work for me. It's not usually a genre a seek out, instead it finds me… or something like that. *sigh* All that being said, I still recommend the Anti-Heroes in Love duet. Elena is such a wonderful and refreshing heroine that I can't not encourage you guys to check WHF.
♪ ♫ at 25 and still alive
much longer than expected for a man
at 25, all hope has died
and the glass of my intentions turns to sand
and shatters in my hand... ♫ ♪
🅼🅰🅵🅸🅰 🆂🅷🅸🆃 🅰🅱🅾🆄🅽🅳🆂 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗪𝗔𝗦… good. Actually, it was really good. And there's a reason for that. Author, Giana Darling did a fabulous job creating a mafia world that's both familiar and different. Her characters felt new and inventive, and the scenario that kicked the plot into gear was actually really fun! Essentially, there's a lot to love about When Heroes Fall.
That said… I don't know… there was something… missing. I didn't feel a burning need to read this book. Therefore, I'm left feeling conflicted. On the one hand I can definitively say that WHF is a good book. And yet, on the other hand, I ended this book with little desire to even review it. Due to that, I'm gonna keep this review short and sweet.
†HÈ þRÖ§
✧ ᴇʟᴇɴᴀ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴛʀᴜᴇ ᴀɴᴛɪ-ʜᴇʀᴏɪɴᴇ
✦ ᴇʟᴇɴᴀ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴘʟᴀʏᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴀʟʟ ᴘʟᴏᴛ
✧ ᴅᴀɴᴛᴇ ɪꜱ… ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘɪᴄᴀʟ ᴍᴀꜰɪᴀ ʙʀᴏꜱ ᴡᴇ ᴜꜱᴜᴀʟʟʏ ꜱᴇᴇ
✦ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʟᴏᴡ-ʙᴜʀɴ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴏɴ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ
✧ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴄᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴛᴇɴꜱɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴋɴɪꜰᴇ
✦ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪᴅᴇ-ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ꜰᴜɴ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴏᴠᴇʀꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ
✧ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴅᴀɴᴛᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇʟᴇɴᴀ ʜᴀᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘ
✦ ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ɪᴛᴀʟɪᴀɴ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴇᴀᴍʟᴇꜱꜱʟʏ ɪɴᴄᴏʀᴘᴏʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ… ɪᴛ ʙᴇ ꜱᴇxʏ
†HÈ ÇÖñ§
✦ ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴅᴀɴᴛᴇ
✧ ᴇʟᴇɴᴀ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ꜰ-ᴏ-ʀ-ᴇ-ᴠ-ᴇ-ʀ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴛ ᴅᴀɴᴛᴇ ɪɴ
✦ ɪ ꜰᴇʟᴛ ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ… ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ᴀʟʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ᴀ ᴅᴜᴇᴛ ꜱᴇᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ɢᴏ ꜰɪɢᴜʀᴇ
✧ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴏᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ɪɴᴛʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ… ᴏʀ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴜʀᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ɪ ꜰᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴡᴀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ
✦ ᴅɪᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴅᴜᴇᴛ, ᴇʜʜʜʜʜʜ…
✧ ɪ ꜰᴇʟᴛ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ꜱɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴘᴀɢᴇ… ꜱᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱʟʏ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ᴍᴇ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛʜɪɴɢ…
✦ ɪ'ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ɪꜰ ɪ'ᴍ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛᴡᴏ… ɪ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ᴀɴʏ ᴅᴇꜱɪʀᴇ ᴏʀ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ
✔ 𝗔𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗚𝗨𝗬𝗦 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗘… I had conflicting feelings about WHF. That's why I want to showcase a couple of reviews that do a better job highlighting the book.
✨ꜱᴇᴇ ➜ ʜᴇʀᴇ, ʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʀᴇ✨
It also could be because the mafia genre in general isn't my favorite romance trope of choice. I don't know why, but I just struggle with ~mafia shit~ as a whole concept. There's something about it that, just, doesn't work for me. It's not usually a genre a seek out, instead it finds me… or something like that. *sigh* All that being said, I still recommend the Anti-Heroes in Love duet. Elena is such a wonderful and refreshing heroine that I can't not encourage you guys to check WHF.
January 10, 2022
"You can be your worst self with me, because it’s the contradictory nature of your soul that intoxicates me.”
What a gem this book truly was. The flawed cold heroine, who judged easily, whose tongue was ice as she attacked everyone beneath her morale compass. Who meets a man that is the total opposite of what she feels is morally good, and fall deeply in love with him. ❤
Elena, our heroine, is a lawyer who views the law above all rules. She is so cold to everyone, and even her own self. That she has never truly tasted love in all its glory. She slowly learns to forgive herself, to move on through all the pain she endured in life, and to finally open her eyes to see the world in a more clearer view. I absolutely loved her flawed character so much. Because, she changes and progresses greatly throughout the book, that you get to be proud of the woman she becomes at the end.
"Heroism was about your willingness to right wrongs... accepting who you were, flaws and all."
Dante Salvatore, the capo of the Italian mob. The lord of the underground, who is on trial for murder. He is full of passion, love and life, and when he meets Elena, his world changes. He begins to teach her how to love herself, and in return see the world as not only in right or wrong. She empowers him and he in return does the same for her.
"You are misunderstood. And Elena, you don’t realize this yet, but I see you, I know you, and I’m fucking undone by the beauty of you.”
My first book by Giana Darling, and definitely not my last. Her writing style is incredible and her research was very thorough through-out the book. This was a slow burn. So keep this in mind, before delving in.
"Not everything is so black and white, Elena,” I murmured as I slid a lock of her deep red hair between my fingers. “Between the hero and the villain, there is the anti-hero. A person who may do evil deeds and seem unscrupulous, but who, within their own set of morals, possesses a big heart and the willingness to protect that which they know to be good."
5 incredible mafia stars 🌟 ❤
What a gem this book truly was. The flawed cold heroine, who judged easily, whose tongue was ice as she attacked everyone beneath her morale compass. Who meets a man that is the total opposite of what she feels is morally good, and fall deeply in love with him. ❤
Elena, our heroine, is a lawyer who views the law above all rules. She is so cold to everyone, and even her own self. That she has never truly tasted love in all its glory. She slowly learns to forgive herself, to move on through all the pain she endured in life, and to finally open her eyes to see the world in a more clearer view. I absolutely loved her flawed character so much. Because, she changes and progresses greatly throughout the book, that you get to be proud of the woman she becomes at the end.
"Heroism was about your willingness to right wrongs... accepting who you were, flaws and all."
Dante Salvatore, the capo of the Italian mob. The lord of the underground, who is on trial for murder. He is full of passion, love and life, and when he meets Elena, his world changes. He begins to teach her how to love herself, and in return see the world as not only in right or wrong. She empowers him and he in return does the same for her.
"You are misunderstood. And Elena, you don’t realize this yet, but I see you, I know you, and I’m fucking undone by the beauty of you.”
My first book by Giana Darling, and definitely not my last. Her writing style is incredible and her research was very thorough through-out the book. This was a slow burn. So keep this in mind, before delving in.
"Not everything is so black and white, Elena,” I murmured as I slid a lock of her deep red hair between my fingers. “Between the hero and the villain, there is the anti-hero. A person who may do evil deeds and seem unscrupulous, but who, within their own set of morals, possesses a big heart and the willingness to protect that which they know to be good."
5 incredible mafia stars 🌟 ❤
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March 21, 2024
I’m in love with Elena.
A criminal lawyer avoiding anything involving organized crime. A mafia boss on trial for murder.
Elena’s sister asks for help to get Dante free of all charges. Elena would do anything for her sister, including bringing memories from her traumatic youth in Italy and around the mafia back.
Previously seeing the world in black and white, she starts to see it in black, white and red.
Elena Lombardi:
Ice Queen on the outside with a damaged heart of gold on the inside. Love her. On my knees for her. She can do whatever she wants with me. She’s iconic and one of my favorite heroine’s of all time.
“I’m wearing heels bigger than your dick, so if this is a pissing contest, I think it’s safe to say I win,”
“Only she would wear heels to surgery,”
“You remind me of my wife.”
“What’s she like?”
“She’s a real bitch.”
Dante Salvatore:
Imagine a mafia boss in his kitchen, making pasta and singing with his men around. Ruthless to those who deserve it but amazingly kind to those near his heart.
A protective and possessive teddy bear with murderous tendencies. His personality!!! Charming, flirty, funny.
“She didn’t want to get on her knees for me when I asked…” “So, I got on my knees for her”
“What? Capos need cuddles too.”
”Who told you that you were hard to love? Give me a chance to prove them wrong.”
Elena & Dante:
They would die for each other. I loved how Dante was protective but not overprotective. He let Elena grow as a person and bloom with his support. A match made in heaven.. or hell?
“I am the most honest man you’ll ever meet.”
“Why do I find that hard to believe?”
“Because you do not see me in color. You see what you want to see.”
I’d happily follow him to Hell if it meant being with him forever.
Elena Lombardi ripped out my heart to keep it for her own. I didn’t mind. I wanted her to have it.
The writing was the tiniest bit annoying. I think GD wanted to make the text poetic but was just a bit much.
Not much smut but it was perfect for them and their relationship development. The sexual tension!!
4.5 stars
A criminal lawyer avoiding anything involving organized crime. A mafia boss on trial for murder.
Elena’s sister asks for help to get Dante free of all charges. Elena would do anything for her sister, including bringing memories from her traumatic youth in Italy and around the mafia back.
Previously seeing the world in black and white, she starts to see it in black, white and red.
Elena Lombardi:
Ice Queen on the outside with a damaged heart of gold on the inside. Love her. On my knees for her. She can do whatever she wants with me. She’s iconic and one of my favorite heroine’s of all time.
“I’m wearing heels bigger than your dick, so if this is a pissing contest, I think it’s safe to say I win,”
“Only she would wear heels to surgery,”
“You remind me of my wife.”
“What’s she like?”
“She’s a real bitch.”
Dante Salvatore:
Imagine a mafia boss in his kitchen, making pasta and singing with his men around. Ruthless to those who deserve it but amazingly kind to those near his heart.
A protective and possessive teddy bear with murderous tendencies. His personality!!! Charming, flirty, funny.
“She didn’t want to get on her knees for me when I asked…” “So, I got on my knees for her”
“What? Capos need cuddles too.”
”Who told you that you were hard to love? Give me a chance to prove them wrong.”
Elena & Dante:
They would die for each other. I loved how Dante was protective but not overprotective. He let Elena grow as a person and bloom with his support. A match made in heaven.. or hell?
“I am the most honest man you’ll ever meet.”
“Why do I find that hard to believe?”
“Because you do not see me in color. You see what you want to see.”
I’d happily follow him to Hell if it meant being with him forever.
Elena Lombardi ripped out my heart to keep it for her own. I didn’t mind. I wanted her to have it.
The writing was the tiniest bit annoying. I think GD wanted to make the text poetic but was just a bit much.
Not much smut but it was perfect for them and their relationship development. The sexual tension!!
4.5 stars
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