“Dark, steamy, and perfect–Renee Rose has mastered this genre.” ~USA Today Bestselling Author Alta HensleyI WARNED HER.I told her not to set foot in my casino again. I told herto stay away. Because if I see her around my suite again,I’ll claim her as my own.And once I make her mine, I’m not gonna set her free.I’m king of the Vegas underground and I takewhat I want.So she’d better run. Stay the … want.
So she’d better run. Stay the hell away from my casino.
Or I’ll never let her go.
King of Diamonds is a stand-alone mafia romance in the Vegas Underground series. No cheating, no cliffhangers.
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Audiobook Narated by: Benjamin Sands
4 Stars
Story: 5 / Overall: 4.5 Stars
Nico is a son of crime family who is promised to another mob’s father’s daughter who is trying his best to toe the line between being a mob son and doing everything legally…
Then you have Sandra who is a college educated Art History Professor but who is down on her luck trying to escape a bad situation. She leaves Reno and goes to Las Vegas to be with her cousin who gets her a job in housekeeping in a Casino till she can get herself together and after 2 weeks she meets Nico who scares her but then they find explosive chemistry that makes this whole book lite up like a match to flame.. Ms. Rose does not disappoint with these two and everything they have to deal with just to be happy, can’t wait to read more.
** I received this advanced copy of the book from the author and volunteerly decided to review this wonderful book**
I have been wanting to try this author for a while now and finally was able to sit down with King of Diamonds. I gotta say that it far exceeded my expectations and I had high hopes for it. A lot of the time, with a book like this, the male character can come across as cruel, heartless, selfish. The female can come across as wishy washy and such. This behavior, especially if they both exhibit it makes it hard for me to get into the story or stay in it. None of this was anywhere to be found with Nico and Sondra. Sondra is the embodiment of what you see is what you get. She is sweet and loving, a good girl who is attracted to Nico even when she knows she shouldn’t be. Nico, at first introduction seems like he is going to be mean but that behavior dissipates as his fascination grows. His obsession with Sondra, his affection for her endeared him to me. The focus stays on this couple, the intensity of the moments they spend together is insane. Hot and steamy aren’t strong enough words to describe the scenes between these two. I fell in love with them and Ms Rose’s writing and I will be jumping into the next one in the series at the first opportunity!
From down and out to up and coming
This book is full to bursting with strong alpha males who see what they want and get it. The author knows just how to give us the hot characters and even hotter scenes that we crave while layering it in a storyline that grabs our attention and keeps it. Through every exciting moment and intense emotion we find ourselves connecting with the characters and cheering the couple on while hoping the author brings us more HEAs for the Tacone family. I look forward to every salacious second.
A very fast, hot and intensely emotional sexy adventure filled with lots of steaming hot passion….
Sondra is sexy, sweet and a cleaning lady in a suite she is not normally sent to clean….. Nico is sexy, charming and the hot alpha male king of the Las Vegas underground. He finds Sondra cleaning his suite and takes it upon himself to find out why… sparks fly and the adventure begins… Highly entertaining.
What a fantastic Mafia romance! Had all the elements of scary, romance, tear jerking and heat!
Renee Rose tells a great story with great characters!
Loved it!
I loved reading this Mafia Romance. I really love reading all Renee Rose’s books!
This is the first book in a new series, which takes place in Las Vegas with a crime family from Chicago. Nico moved to Vegas to run his own business away from the family and ends up meeting Sondra, cleaning lady, in his hotel. There is an instant connection between them, even still when Nico scares her at their first meeting and still tries to scare her away. They are unable to stay away from each other. I could not put it down, I needed to know how it ended.
Can’t wait for Alex and Jenna Pachino AND Stefano and Corey’s stories.
An addictive, consuming story that you will not want to end. Buy this book. Renee Rose has written this totally engrossing, intensely emotional, action packed piece of fiction, and you will thank me for recommending it to you later. Her characters are so realistic that you will forget that you are reading about made up people. Sondra is a perfect mix of innocence and sexiness, and her lack of skill in hooking up with good guys is not only legendary, but also like a lot of women that I know. She’s like a recovering bad boy magnet. Nico is like a Commander in the Bad Boy Army, the poster boy of the kind of guy a good girl should avoid. But he’s more than that. He is a conundrum wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. LIke you know he is mob connected, but he runs a kind of clean casino/hotel and tries to keep it that way, you know he has a shady past, but Sondra isn’t clued in on the important part of it as it pertains to herself, and he’s trying to be better, and he wants a girl who is totally out of his league, but he doesn’t seem to care. The sex scenes are complete steam fests, top of the scale hot, and so well written that, again, you will feel like a voyeur watching it all unfold. I read this straight through once I started reading it, I just couldn’t stop until I got to the end. I am left with anger with myself for reading it so dang fast, and questions that I know will be answered in forthcoming books, like will Jenna and Alex work out the problems or is the new arrangement for Jenna another contract marriage to another man she doesn’t want. Will Corey hook up with a better guy? Will Junior meet his match? I don’t know those answers but I’ll keep going in the series because I really just can’t help myself!
A little bit different than your normal mafia romances and honestly it was a lot of fun to watch these two figures out they are absolutely perfect for each other
Nico is trying to build a “clean” life and business with as little impact from his families business’ as possible – He is your typical dark and brooding male alpha who needs to feel in control – of everything- all the time.
Sondra – I really enjoyed parts of her portrayal – the fact that she is intelligent but still makes some really bad life decisions that result in a temporary life restart – been there done that
There are some “dark” elements but I would consider this more of a gray romance
Hot, and sexy, and oh my it was kindle melting!! This book was a work of pure alpha male possessiveness and i couldn’t put it down! I loved how he cared for her and did what he needed to do. I loved how they cared for each other and the amazing chemistry they had! Can’t wait for more from this series!!!!
Totally feel in love with this story love scene super hot great supporting cast love the energy between the main character. I read this book through KU on Amazon great book.
This was my first Renee Rose book. I was drawn to it because of the Mafia aspect and the alpha, possessive man (my favorite). Like many others have mentioned in their reviews, I did expect it to be dark. But I quite enjoyed it anyway!! Nico and Sondra had so much chemistry, and it was very sexy (to put it mildly). Nico was definitely that alpha, possessive man I was hoping for (yummy)! I’m definitely looking forward to the next one in the series, and I hope to enjoy it just as much!
There were parts I really loved in this book, especially the beginning. However, it ended up being on the “light” side for mafia and definitely not a dark read. Nico had all the signs there to be a true alpha but sometimes seemed to falter. I think the premise was great and had all the signs for being a 5 star book; just the execution left it at a 4 for me.
Love this book. It is exciting, hot and sexy – could not put it down. Sweet Sondra have had some bad karma goes to work in housekeeping in a casino/hotel. She meets the owner Nico (hot alpha male) and their attraction is immediate and so strong but not without complications. Can not wait for the next book in this series. Highly recommend. I have read other books by Renee Rose and she does not disappoint.
Renee Rose’s “King of Diamonds” was an unexpected surprise that ticked off all my boxes that make up a good mafia romance. Nico and Sondra make for great opposing characters of dark and light that come together with explosive results that will have you quickly tapping through the pages wanting more and more. Sondra’s cousin, Corey, is a fabulous secondary character and a great sounding board for Sondra. Poor, tortured, overworked Nico makes for a marvelous tough guy who falls for the nice girl. And well, I could go on and on but if you love a good mafia romance, then grab a copy and prepare to lose yourself for a few hours in the Bellissimo Casino.
Sizzling hot
Mafia books aren’t normally my cup of tea, but since this is by one of my favorite authors I decided to give it a try. I loved this. I hate spoilers so I won’t go into details.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Happily Ever After, Wonderful characters, Page-turner, Great world building, Unpredictable, Original, Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Action-packed, Twisted, Sizzling hot and Steamy, Scary.
Bookshelves/tags:
adult, contemporary, favorites, mafia, read, romance, series, spanking, suspense
This book was given to me at my request from the publisher or author and I provided this unbiased voluntary review.
This was a devour it in a single sitting kind of book for me. The author has mastered the dynamic of two people that know they are completely wrong for each other, but still can’t stay apart. Nico is incredibly hot with his take no prisoners attitude. Sondra is submissive, yet strong enough to let Nico know what she needs. They work perfectly together. I hated to see the book end, but was excited to see we get at least two more books in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book
The first book in a new series by Renee Rose and it takes place in Vegas. It is not a very dark book, i would say it is grey in a few scenes at most.
It is the story of Sondra and Nico. Nico moved to Vegas to try and run his business as clean as possible. Sondra is working in the hotel after a string of bad luck.
There is in instant connection between them although Nico and his connection scare Sondra too. Nico is torn between his love and his duties to the family. he is changing because of Sondra.
Sondra also has conflicted emotions about Nico. he can be scary and protective and giving at the same time. She is faced with hard choices.
It is fast paced, well written book with lots of sexy scenes.
Renee Rose masters whatever genre she turns her hand to. I’m pretty sure she could write a tech manual on putting together flat pack furniture and it would turn out to be the best written manual evah. But Nico and Sondra’s story isn’t a manual, it’s a living, breathing story about two wonderful people who are trying to figure out their love and deal with all the crap that goes along with it.
Sondra is an art history professional who happens to have crappy taste in men. She’s left Reno to stay with her cousin Corey in Las Vegas while she figures out what to do after she found her slimy ex-boyfriend cheating on her. On her way into Vegas, she crashes her car. Then when she tries to get a job as a dealer at the casino where Corey works, it turns out that the only openings are in housekeeping. At least it’s a job.
Nico may be part of an organized crime family, but they live in Chicago and he lives in Las Vegas and he tries to run his casino as cleanly as possible. He’s also doing it almost all alone, which means he’s insanely busy and he never sleeps. He can go days without sleep. So when he comes back to find Sondra in his bathroom one day, his serious lack of sleep catches up with him and he gets really paranoid and scares the ever-loving piss out of her.
Nico goes through a really interesting evolution. I enjoyed seeing who started out as and who he ended up as. I disliked him occasionally through his journey, but that’s going to happen in any good book, I think. I love when the characters feel so real that I get really upset at them. Sondra does occasionally jump before she looks, and she listens to that voice of wrong a few times when she probably shouldn’t, but she is a reasonably strong character who struggles with who her lover is and what he does.
I devoured this book from the first word to the last. I can’t wait to read more books that take place in this world. I hope we get to see more of Nico and Sondra.
An impossible relationship.
What do you think happens when the Mafia prince falls in lust with the girl from housekeeping? Well, Sondra is not really a housekeeper, but she she took the job in Nico’s casino until she can find a teaching post.
Both with lots of baggage in their lives, they are sure this delirious blaze of a hook-up comes with an end date.
Or does it?
You know you want to find out. It’s by Renee Rose after all! 🙂
This is a great book!
Sondra recently moved to Las Vegas and is staying with her cousin, Corey. Sondra is sick and tired of always picking the wrong man. Every relationship she’s had the man always cheats on her. After a humiliating and frightening experience while working as a maid in a hotel run by a man in the mafia, she still can’t help but be drawn to Nico. Nico has secrets and pushes himself to the cusp of exhaustion. When he sees Sondra he knows he needs to have her and what Nico wants he gets. Grab this absolutely fabulous book and find out if Sondra’s choice in men is still bad or will she finally get her HEA?