As an Underboss for the Zanetti famiglia, Arlo Zanetti has agreed to marry for duty rather than love. In fact, he abhors the woman he’s forced to walk down the aisle with. However, duty and the famiglia mean everything to him. He’s not a man that skirts his responsibilities, even to his own detriment. That is, until he sets his sights on Elenora Lewis. She’s everything he’s attracted to and … attracted to and everything he thought he could never have.
Elenora should run from him. She can feel the danger oozing out of Arlo’s very core. However, she has a problem, she’s fallen for him, head-over-heels. His blue eyes hold her completely captive.
Secrets, lies, betrayal, and infidelity plague them both. Guilt fills them, their morals are completely obliterated. Unsure if they’ll make it out alive, this is the second book in the Zanetti empire.
INCLUDES SHORT STORY: BECOMING HER HERO
more
love the hard way
I read this via my ku subscription and am leaving my review voluntarily.
Triggers:
infidelity, violence, murder, kidnapping
Becoming his Mistress b2
Arlo, forced into a contract marriage to a woman he despises. He see’s Eleonora and is instantly smitten.
Eleonora, innocent of the mafia world. Falls for Arlo. She was blind to what was really happening.
Sexy time. Violence. HEAfn
I don’t like cheating stories but this was okay. It wasn’t like Arlo and wife were in love. He met Eleonora before his marriage. I didn’t care for the constant name changing (Eleonora, Leonora, Lennie, Arlo, Carlo) It was difficult to believe Eleonora never questioned more about Arlo and his life.
__________________________________
Becoming Her Hero b2.5
Luca, a Made Man in the Zanetti Famiglia. Chloe bestie of Eleonora. Falls hard for Luca. A bit of drama. Violence. HEA
Becoming the Mistress is the second installment to the Zanetti Familglia series. This story is about Arlo and Elenora. This book aggravated be to no end! Ok more specifically Arlo did. I can’t believe he went forward with the wedding! Anyway like any good book, it pulled out so many emotions from me. I was ANGRY, hurt and just literally shook my head at some of their actions. At one point I was willing to throw my Kindle! Overall I was entertained and enjoyed it to the end.
*KU Review/Read
So the first thing I will say is I hate cheating. Cheating and drugs are like my two biggest triggers in a book and life. Becoming His Mistress is on a very thin line when it comes to the cheating aspect of that. So at some points in reading this book, it was hard to read. That is why I went down one star since there was no trigger warning.
I loved Arlo in the first book and was excited to read his story. Of course, we knew in the first book that he had to get married and assumed that he would marry one of those women. Little did I see was him finding the woman he would fall so hopefully in love with. The thing that pi**es me off the most. Arlo had plenty of time to stop the marriage to that horrible woman and marry Lenora.
I love Lenora. She is strong, independent, honest, and so in love with Arlo that she doesn’t find faults in him until it is too late. I enjoy how much these stories are so real life, and that you fall into the story and can’t get out until the very end. A very enjoyable story and characters!
Another great story in this one going series.The story was filled with romance
intrigue and betrayals and it had a great cast of characters that we absolutely loved and we have to say we loved the twists that we never saw coming.
Arlo’s story was a train wreck waiting to happen right from the very beginning and the whole time you waited on pins and needles just waiting for the ball to drop all the while waiting to see how he was going to get out of the mess he created.I have to say we wanted to smack him a time or time for his stubbornness other than that we loved his character.We loved the sinful sexy man and we loved that Elenora was having him want to be a better man for her.
Elenora we loved from the onset of the story.We loved the sweet and innocent and love-able woman who loved her independence but, thought for a savvy business women she was so naive that she bordered on stupidity. “I kept shouting in my head go with your gut women!”
We loved Gavino this time around he was almost human. lol
Overall we loved the story from beginning to end and were rooting for Elenora and Arlo to have a happy ending.We loved their bumpy road wrought with the twists and turns that we never saw coming and we love when that happens.The characters were amazing and we loved Massimo and Luca even a little bit more than the others has they were team Elenora all the way even if it was only in emotional support only.”I thought this was so sweet my heart melted!”
Another great edition to this on going series that we are so loving.Looking forward to the next read in this on going series.There was more that beats the eye going on in this series and we can’t wait to see what happens next.We love when harder-end men fall and they fall hard especially when they live in such a dangerous world its all so bittersweet to see that they can just be themselves even for a little bit in the company of the women who were brave enough to love their dark and dangerous and secretive men with all that they have to give.
“We loved it!”
5 Stars
As this book suggests, our heroine is the “mistress” so for some readers you may be uncertain as you don’t like “cheating” in your books. This books is so well done, do NOT let that stop you from picking it up. This is not your usual “cheating” scenario, it is a realistic part of the mafia lifestyle. Arlo is the underboss, forced to do what is best for the “Famiglia,” even if it means sacrificing his own happiness. Lenora and Arlo are destined for one another but their path is full of twists, turns and heartache. From the minute I picked up this book I could not put it down! I absolutely love the Zanetti Famiglia! Oh and there is a bonus short story as well, which is fantastic!
Cara – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
I am loving this Mafia series from Hayley Faiman. Just like her MC series I am hooked from beginning to end and becoming quite intrigued and addicted to this Zanetti Famiglia.
Soon as Arlo Zanetti and Lenora meet the connection between them is instant and electric, this is what makes it completely heartbreaking with these two as Arlo is promised to another woman. This isn’t a situation they saw themselves being in, and yes I know some people will probably moan and rant about ‘Another woman’ but this situation is far from clear cut. You can really feel the indecision, the torment, between doing what is ‘right’ and doing what feels right and is right in their hearts. This is what makes my heart hurt for them. They are living on a knife edge in their dangerous world.
Hayley as always does a fantastic jon with adding brilliant twists and turns to some addictive characters
Wow! I didn’t know it was possible to hate and love a character at the same time! But that’s what Hayley Faiman does in her newest release Becoming His Mistress.
Secrets, lies, mystery, and infidelity scatter the pages of this mafia romance. I’m generally not one who reads books with cheating, but Hayley never condones the act; instead, she recognizes the circumstances that cause the situation to happen.
Arlo is impossible to hate, not because he is charming but because he is so loyal it’s made him a bit broken. I want to strangle him a lot throughout the book, but I also want to hug him simultaneously.
Lenora is sweet and somewhat naive, but she’s strong. She holds firm when she first finds out the secrets that Arlo is keeping.
My only critique, and I’m not even sure that it’s really a critique, is that toward the end it gets a bit overloaded with information. A lot is thrown at you in a small section, and you have to be paying attention to follow the who done it.
I really enjoyed this second book in the Zanetti Famgilia series, and I’m excited to see who Hayley might bring us next!
Oh wow! I’m fairly certain that Hayley Faiman can’t possibly write a sub par book, she never fails to intrigue! Becoming His Mistress is the second book in the Zanetti Famiglia series and it is fabulous! We met Arlo in book one and I for one was really excited to get his story, he’s such a great character. Lenora is also amazing. She’s sweet and so unlike the women Arlo usually surrounds himself with but the two of them fall quickly for each other. A sweet relationship would be ok, although the book would have been quite a bit different, only Arlo is set to marry and that leaves Lenora in a difficult position. Not going to give any hints, read the book. I will say that there’s a whole cast of exceptional characters that really need their own books and I really hope they get them. Also love Wynter’s name, but that’s all I liked about her. I also loved that Ms. Faiman gave us Luca and Chloe’s story in a short novella at the end of Becoming His Mistress, so great! Amazing job, once again, Ms. Faiman, you never let your readers down. I’m looking forward to seeing what your more than vivid imagination comes up with next!
Maybe I’m slightly twisted but I love a good cheating book so as soon as I saw the title I knew I had to read this book.
Arlo is a man bound by duty to his family and because of that he’s getting married to a woman he despises. Lenora is like a breath of fresh air in his dark world and he can’t resist her pull. I loved every angst drama filled second of the story. This is a mafia book and Hayley doesn’t spare the reader any of the grittier aspects of that life. Arlo makes some questionable decisions but he is a married man after all. I couldn’t stop reading, turning the pages quickly so I could see what was going to happen next. I knew that car crash moment was going to come it was inevitable. With more twists and revelations than I expected this was an amazing story.
Go buy it now you won’t be disappointed.
I was so freaking nervous about reading this. I have loved every single book Hayley Faiman has written, but I don’t do cheating and the title of this one alone had me on edge. But I took a leap of faith and put my trust into the fact that Hayley’s writing is always nothing short of phenomenal and I’m so glad I did! Becoming His Mistress pushed me far out of my comfort zone and I flipping LOVED it!
Arlo and Lenora’s story gutted me, healed me, had me on edge, kept me up all freaking night and ultimately made me fall completely in love. These two are full steam ahead almost immediately whether right or wrong. What they have is more than just a connection, it’s that soul deep knowing that you belong with that other person. There’s not much in the way of sweetness here, what Arlo and Lenora have however is raw, powerful and passionate and it is utterly captivating.
The question- ‘Can confession absolve intention to cheat on another person?’ is a good one and something I pondered throughout this story. My first reaction would have have been a hard no but then again with the mafia what is right and what is wrong?
Elenora or Lenora Lewis is a sweet twenty-four year old woman who owns and runs a lingerie shop, this is where she meets Arlo or Carlo Zanetti. He is definitely not who he seems but the attraction she feels for him is intense.
Although what Arlo sets out to do is wrong I do feel sorry for him. As the underboss he is determined to do what is right for the family and that’s marrying a woman he loathes, mind you Wynter McClain isn’t someone warm and fuzzy so I understand, I really do. Falling for Elenora wasn’t in his plans and he goes back and forth a bit with his intentions, I will admit he had quite the quandary however I wanted to shake him a time or two.
Lenora desperately wants to settle down so this situation she’s found herself in is the very worst for someone set on finding their happy ever after, my heart bleeds for her. She admits she is weak where Arlo is concerned and she is because she senses things aren’t quite right yet blindly continues. However, the way she is made to feel is abominable and that’s when my heart went from bleeding to breaking for her.
The famiglia is full of ruthless men and strong women but there are others characters in this story that make them almost seem tame in comparison. Great descriptions through actions as well as words build their profiles until you really can’t stand them, good writing!
There certainly are quite a few twists in the story that make for an exciting and interesting read, I never knew what was going to happen next-perfect! Plus a fabulous bonus surprise story at the end.
Becoming His Mistress by Hayley Faiman had me at the blurb and I knew I wanted to read it. Imagine agreeing to a marriage to fulfill a duty only to meet the love of your life afterwards? Arlo Zanetti knows honor and duty to the famiglia is first and foremost. So, when he is asked to enter a marriage of convenience for the benefit of the family, he agrees. Even if he hates the woman he is now committed too.
Then he meets the woman that will take his breathe away and will own his heart. He knows he wants her and must have her. Though he also knows she will hate him when she learns the truth. Arlo was a loyal and determined man. That is why it was hard for him to walk away from the commitment he made, but he could not let Lenora go either. Lenora was drawn to Arlo immediately and she knew their connection was not one-sided. But she did not know the truth behind Arlo. All she knows is she lost her heart to him.
Becoming His Mistress by Hayey Faiman was an emotional, full of angst and suspenseful read. I loved Arlo and Lenora, but will they be able to have their happily ever after? This was my first read by this author, but definitely not my last!
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!