When you owe money to a powerful mafia kingpin, you find a way to pay it back or you get hurt, and the only thing twenty-six-year-old Jimmy Poe has to offer a man like Boss Cold is himself. Cold agrees to give Jimmy a chance to have his debt cancelled, but it will mean surrendering his body to Cold’s rough, ruthless demands every night until the very last penny has been repaid.Over the coming … coming days, Jimmy learns what it means to be truly mastered, and Cold’s stern dominance arouses him far more intensely than he would have thought possible. But as their business arrangement grows into a romance, can Cold keep Jimmy safe in his dangerous world?
Publisher’s Note: Cold Hard Cash includes spankings and rough, intense sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.
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I always enjoy a good m/m mafia romance, and Cold Hard Cash doesn’t disappoint. Not only is it a romance, it spins a tale of suspense.
I will admit the first few opening paragraphs confused me. I think this happens when authors try to be too clever. Don’t be clever. Just tell me what’s going on, because after the author began letting the story roll, her natural voice came through and I found myself knee-deep in the story.
Since the blurb is available to read, I’ll get straight to my review. Jimmy took some time to grow on me, but once I knew his circumstances, everything changed. He was naïve and gullible, but loyal and determined. Determined is right because he never gave up on his father, or what happened to his mother. He even went waaaay into debt because he refused to let his father rot in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
Jimmy was a character I couldn’t think of as the hero. More like a starstruck kid in search of someone to care about him, and given what he’d endured during the early part of his life, of course he was searching for someone to love him. He was wonderfully drawn for such a tough backstory he had going on.
Read more here: https://maggieblackbird.com/2020/06/27/k-l-hiers-hard-earned-cash/#more-15567
Cold Hard Cash is everything I want out of a novel. It’s fun, it’s got action, humor, hot sex and a dash of romance. The characters are fantastic, Maury is my personal favourite. You can’t help but fall in love with them all. Definitely carve some time out in a quiet place because I couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait to see what is next from who I think is the best “new” writer around. It’s been a year now since it’s been out and I still never tire of reading it or the sequel.
Oh be still, my tingly lady bits. One of the hottest books I have read lately. This book is uber hot, has some hard core dangerous mobsters and some of the funniest scenes I have ever read. Loved this book and loved this author. 5stars and many kudos.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This one was surprisingly good to read. BDSM tag might have made me skip it if I had research it before I pick it to read. It really wasn’ t heavy in this book. It was a good debut book for this author. The heat between the characters was good and the secondary characters were a lovely addition. I want to know more about them. It was funny.
Great characters, Jimmy owed Maury the mouth a lot of money, Cold buys him out. Suddenly Jimmy owes Cold. I loved Maury the mouth! It’s a BDSM with light aspects. Age gap. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story, but it ended up being pretty good, enjoyed the steamy side. Enjoyed the Gangster aspect of it.
I am voluntarily leaving a review form an ARC that I received. My reviews are solely based on my thoughts and opinions
Perfectly Imperfect
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this.
New author, New series, and the Blurb?
It listed a few of my favorite tropes
Mafia – om\ym – a touch taboo – action – suspense
And it didn’t disappoint!
This was a balance of all the above with the added bonus of a splash of humor, a dash of mystery, and the sweetest capitulation
There is violence and some bloodshed but that’s expected in a mafia read (just an FYI)
Jimmy is young and a touch “excitable” and still believes in fairy tales. I really liked his character. He was just … IDK how to describe him honestly – I wanted to wrap him in bubble wrap – protect that enthusiasm from the real world.
I enjoyed his honesty (couldn’t lie his way of a wet paper bag) and where he lacked in street smarts he more than made up for in book smarts
Cold – his name describes him – He isn’t ruthless just for chit and giggles. He paid his dues. He has made a name for himself. He is calculated, looks at things from all angles, prefers to avoid bloodshed when possible.
But if you touch what is his? Harm what is his?
There is nothing that will save you.
I don’t want to risk spoiling anything – the ‘why’s’ are a big reveal in the story line IMO
Young Jimmy has borrowed a lot of money from his pseudo father Maury ( I really really liked Maury the mouth he was so in your face) and was paying him back slowly … Snail pace slowly … Things were fine until Cold bought the contracts.
Now Jimmy needs to come up with the money and quick if he wants to avoid being burned (you will get this when you delve into the story)
And that is how our story starts
Plenty of twists, bloodshed, the usual betrayals and some pretty significant “OMG did not see that coming” moments.
I don’t know if I would define this as a dark read for me – keep in mind though I do spend a lot of time in the darker end of the romance pool so …
The relationship between Cold and Jimmy, for me, was pretty spot on. I liked the back and forth. I enjoyed how Jimmy just sort of fell head over heels.
I am excited to see where our cast goes from here
Absolutely love this debut! I can’t wait for more from this author. It is scorching hot and the relationship dynamic is amazing. It’s engaging and has a great edge to it.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cold Hard Cash. Mafia, age gap, dark are three of my favorite tropes. When I read the blurb, I immediately had to read this book. KL Hiers is a new author to me so I didn’t know what I was expecting. When I first started reading, I wasn’t sure about the opening because I don’t like insta-love. I love angst and lots of it. But as I read on, there was plenty of angst as well. In addition to the thriller and mystery behind Jimmy’s mom’s murder, this story was a page turner. It got me engaged and interested in finding out who the murderer was without being predictable. And of the romance was so romantic!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved the book, the story was well written and the characters were intriguing. Once I started I could not get enough, from the start till the end I was engrossed I was even on the edge of my seat with twists and turns, lust and passion, strength happiness and funny. The story of erotic of sensation. Do yourself a favor and buy the book you want be disappointed.
Thank you for allowing me to review your book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Although this is marked as a dark, mafia romance, there was a lot of fluff and sugary sweet moments in between all the blood and violence. Jimmy is a desperate man living on the edge of homelessness. His father is in prison for the murder of his mother. Jimmy is convinced his father has been wrongly convicted and all his extra money and time has been focused on proving his father’s innocence. Boss Cold is a dangerous mafia boss who’s iron grip on the city has been won through blood and wit. There’s no reason for these two men to ever meet, until one day Cold comes knocking on Jimmy’s door demanding he pay all his debts. Debts Jimmy has no way of paying until he strikes up a deal with Cold. Although technically Jimmy’s deal is in the realm of sex work and prostitution, their relationship never has that feel. The tension and magnetisms between the two of them is so strong that there is no mistaking that they are lovers and not merely client and escort.
I enjoyed this book. It was very well written, and the sex scenes were incredibly hot and delicious. The plot and characterization was fun, but incredibly self-indulgent. There were points where I was kind of shaken out of the story because something would happen that was so indulgent that I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief. The plot was pure fun and delight mixed with blood and guts. I realized I just needed to sit back and enjoy the ride. Since K.L. Hiers is such a wonderful writer, she was able to make the story work pleasantly overall.
This was a very intense dark mafia romance. I absolutely love it! The story buildup was great. The dramatic scenes were intense. The intimate scenes were HOT. The characters were wonderful and entertaining….Maury was the best. Finally, Boss Cold and Jimmy relationship was intense but sweet.Jimmy was expressive with his feelings and it was wonderful how he didn’t care about Boss Cold being a gangster….he loved him, flaws and all. I loved how Boss Cold chose to let this young man get closer to him…trust him with his heart after all he had been through in his past. A very satisfying HEA that tied up all loose ends. This was a great book and I really enjoyed reading it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Jimmy is in trouble. He has gone into huge debt and gone without to try to get his dad out of prison. No one believes his dad is innocent but him. Now a mob leader comes calling. Cold takes no prisoners and Jimmy will pay him. Giving his body in exchange for the money is the only way for him to save himself, but although his heart is open and giving, Cole’s heart is frozen. Not even sweet Jimmy can heal him, but he will keep trying because the hard hands of Cold keep him warm. Hard and sexy, this read gives you the feels for the tortured mobster. Spanking romance.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Gripping dark mafia romance with dramatic ending
I can honestly not understand the brilliant ratings this book gets.
Because – in my eyes – this is terrible storytelling.
It’s labelled as a dark, mafia romance. It’s about a young bisexual man who – not so wisely – borrows a quarter of a million dollars from the mob to pay for a lawyer to get his wrongfully sentenced father out of jail. Then, when not being able to pay his debt, he offers himself up as payment to the gay, mafia kingpin – Boss Cold.
Yes it’s an incredibly cheezy plot-line. But no matter the story, talented writers can pull that off without a problem. Unfortunately, this in not the case for Cold Hard Cash.
This story is like a massive compilation of my top no-nos. To name a few:
1. It appears that the author writes about something she doesn’t know anything about (the mafia) and it shows. So, unfortunately, instead of a credible sub-plot about the rivaling Luchesi mafia family, only a few non-crucial scenes are actually included in the story. Most of the “mafia-events” are only re-told, glossed over and described after-the-fact. It’s obviously easier for the author but makes the writing way too much high school creative writing class.
2. The characters are more or less stereotypes. There’s nothing interesting or surprising about them and they are all very superficially portrayed. Jimmy is the young, beautiful and trusting puppy-dog. Boss Cold is the hard, in-control older guy who’s unfeeling on the surface but shows his tender side to a selected few.
3. The start of the read is embarrassingly stilted and uncomfortably rushed. It was poorly written in that obvious way where it’s only there because it’s necessary in order to get to the good stuff, i.e. the whoring out to the mob boss.
4. The naïveté of Jimmy is astounding. He borrows insane amounts of money from a mafia loan-shark with no plan whatsoever as how to pay it back. It would have been so easy to invent a story, any story, where Jimmy originally had a plan for paying his debt but then something happened to thwart that. But no.
5. Insta-love. Well, one-sided insta-love at least. Within a few days of Jimmy meeting Cold, he claims to love him. And not soon after that, he seems to be planning to grow old together with Cold. *shudders*
It’s not the writing per se that is the problem, it’s the story-telling that’s painfully lacking. The plot is crude, naïve and unlikely, there’s no character development at all and the characters are more or less one-dimensional.
So basically, I think this book is extremely over-rated.
Un-censored review at: https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/cold-hard-cash-cold-hard-cash-1-by-k-l-hiers/