Sasha. He’s dark and mysterious. Quiet and lethal. An Irish mobster. Pure sin wrapped up in a beautiful package. But there’s also something off about him. He doesn’t feel anything. He shows no emotions. Sometimes I question his humanity. He hasn’t spoken to me in two years. Not a single word. But we share a secret, he and I. And if it ever comes out, I have no doubt in my mind… comes out, I have no doubt in my mind…
He won’t have a problem killing me too.
Ronan.
I’ve slain for her. I’ll do it again.
When it comes to Sasha, there isn’t a line I won’t cross.
I watch her. She doesn’t know it.
She thinks I hate her. Sometimes, I think I might too.
But I’m always there, lurking in the shadows.
Craving her. Trying to keep the beast within at bay.
I’ll keep her safe. I’ll slaughter anyone who tries to hurt her.
The only thing I can’t do… is protect her from myself.
*This is a full-length standalone novel full of hot Irish guys with accents. Dark mafia themes throughout. HEA included.*
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I love everything about Reaper. Dark. Tragic. Sexy. Not for the faint of heart, but oh so deliciously good.
This installment of the Boston Underworld series was dark and gritty. We met Ronan Fitzpatrick in Crow, but he was a quiet enigma, just protecting and following orders. In Reaper, we come to know the man and all the gory details that have gone into shaping him and this life he leads.
Sasha, broken and damaged, is the light to his dark, in his eyes. He quietly watches her and protects her, and while Sasha isn’t completely unaware, she longs for more. They share a secret that forges an unbreakable bond. Ronan never imagined he was capable of anything other than killing but Sasha shows him that he is capable and deserving of love, of having her, and of having a family. Theirs is a hard fought and satisfying HEA.
I usually avoid any books about the Mafia but I found the blurb interesting. So glad I didn’t pass this one. I loved the quite hit man and the dancer. I have since read read Ghost and I liked that one also.
Reaping rewards:)
Reaper is a 5 star all the way!! Roman is quite a complex character which I figured out in this book, quite differently to how I viewed him in the first, which I thought he was just a broody character. Sasha softens him in a good way:) Absolutely love this book and Crow, looking forward to the rest!!
Ronan’s childhood, just wow. After everything, it’s amazing that he can even function in society. No wonder he is the way he is. Sasha, trying so desperately to hold onto that secret that binds them. Little does she know the level that Ronan cares for her. When it all comes crashing down, one thing will always remain the same; true love can endure anything.
This series is so ridiculously good. I guess if I had to pick a favorite, Reaper might win, but all of the books are so well-written and deliciously dark and sexy, I may change my mind tomorrow. 🙂 Ronan’s backstory is heartbreaking – I wanted him and Sasha to get together so badly. This book (this series!) does not disappoint. If you like dark mafia romance that doesn’t shy from dark, gritty themes, start at the beginning and plan to lose a week. I read one a day. SO. GOOD.
Even better than Crow, which I really enjoyed. If bookbub allowed for half-stars, I would actually give this book 4.5 stars. So far a really this is a totally entertaining romantic suspense series. Sasha and Ronan are a great couple who find an intense, healing love with each other.
Still hoping somewhere in this “Boston Underworld” series is a Black heroine.
Loved Ronin!
Reaper is the second novel is the Boston Underground series and follows Ronin, the syndicate enforcer, and Sasha, a dancer at the syndicate owned club. Ronin and Sasha have been circling each other for a while now, but emotionally stunted Ronin doesn’t know how to make the first move, never mind how to have a relationship. A secret from their past is forcing itself to the surface and will overtake Sasha if Ronin can’t figure out how to step up.
I really liked these characters and their story. This was my first A Zavarelli book and likely not my last. Ronin’s character was really what drew me to the story and I was not disappointed.
Reaper is book #2 in the Boston Underground series. Reaper is Ronan and Sasha’s story and I am left absolute speechless!!! Ronan is incredibly dark and of course mysterious since he doesn’t talk a lot. Ronan is incredibly protective of Sasha and they both have an intense understanding of each other and to make their connection even more intense they both are hiding a deep secret! I am quickly becoming obsessed with this series and each book is better than the last one!!! If you loved Lachlan and Mack don’t worry they will make an appearance in this one!!! I can’t wait to start Ghost!!!
A dark, gritty, and intense story. But, oh so deliciously sinful.
The second in the series, continues to pull me into this world and refuses to let me go. I couldn’t wait to learn more about Ronan and Sasha as they were both integral parts of Crow and Mack’s story. Reaper did not disappoint. There is suspense, chaos, twists and turns and underneath the hard outer shell, heart.
Ronan doesn’t know how to feel. Sasha feels too much. Together they try to meet in the middle. When everything seems to be heading in the right direction, Sasha’s world is ripped apart and nothing is keeping her in Boston. It’s about that time that Ronan realizes that he’s not ready to let her go and comes up with a plan to keep her just a little longer. I loved their time together, Sasha learns how to get him to communicate with her, and he opens himself up to her like he’s only ever with Crow before. Then it all comes crashing down. His ruse becomes real and he risks it all. This series is becoming addicting…. who’s next? Ghost~
His words doused me with gasoline, his eyes light the match.
Phew! I loved Crow and the Alpha Mafia boss Lachlan but Ronan, strong, silent with a dark & gruesome past, I loved his character even more.
Tortured and held captive as a child, a stolen childhood. Ronan is all man but very much a small boy inside, still trying to comprehend the whirlwind of feelings and emotions and Sasha is the right woman who gradually brings this complex man peace.
Ronan has been fascinated with Sasha since he first met her at the club which is owned by the mafia syndicate, he silently watches her, secretly looks out for her, he doesn’t know what to do with the feelings he has for her only to protect.
Sasha is a strong character with a meekness and calm about her, she gave up any college dreams to work and pay for her sick mother’s medical bills and to send her sister to school then college by becoming a dancer.
Ronan becomes Sasha’s savior when she faces danger and they start to spend time together and begin to act on the pull they both have towards each other.
You gradually begin to see a new side to Ronan from the man of few words to an overprotective Alpha, someone who would lay his life down for the woman he loves.
Danger, action, hotness, Reaper has it all. A brilliant Mafia romance with great characters. If you have read Crow you will be pleased to know you also get glimpses of Lachlan and Mac.
Recommended Mafia romance.
“Damaged souls have their own beauty. A dark, terrifying beauty.”
You know when you read an author for the first time, and you think to yourself, this author has it. Well, I was thinking this all through the book, extremely excited I took a chance on a new author to me.
Reaper hit all my spots. I’m a lover of dark reads, but I’m not big on the mob scene, I’m not sure why, maybe because I’ve watched so many mob movies. I think Zavarelli has changed my mind, or she just painted it differently, I was hooked from page one. This book contains scenes of torture, abuse, and murder. Some you may find disturbing, just warning you. I found this story to be the perfect balance of light and dark. Ultimately, I’d label this as Dark Romance.
Sasha is wrapped up with the wrong guy, a member of the Irish Mob. Twice it seems, she’s fighting to keep her family safe, to support her dying mother, selling her soul is the only option. When she’s finally free, her world is once again turned upside down. Will she ever be free from the mob, will she ever have a life without sacrificing herself. As much as she wants to be free, there’s something – someone that will forever hold her back. Ronin. He won’t speak two words to her, but their souls are attached. There’s a unspeakable connection that they can’t deny. Does he hate to love her, or love to hate her?
“The feelings I have for this man at times are unexplainable. I’m drawn to him. I always have been. But this is something else altogether. This is pure physics. He’s the lightning, and I am simply a conductor. We were always bound to converge.”
Ronin is mysterious, a quiet killer. Damaged since he was a little boy, he’s not normal, he doesn’t think, act, or speak with all the emotions we would expect. His brutal past has left him scarred on the inside and out.
“I’ve seen him kill. I’ve tasted his rage too. Tasted it so fiercely that some of it spilled over onto me, tainting me with the mark of the animal that lives inside of him. I crave that animal. I crave everything about this man with his perfect suits and his complete lack of human emotions. Maybe, just maybe, I envy him too.”
The spark between the two had me on the edge of my seat. The past slowly unfolds, showing the man beneath the killer. It was heartbreaking yet endearing. I was so totally in love with Ronin. Sasha was never the damsel in distress, that I could relate to, not a whiny heroine. Thanks to the author for that. Completely refreshing. I loved both characters equally. The plot was unexpected and completely unique. A fast paced, page turner of action, darkness, and suspense. I absolutely loved this book.
I’d highly recommend to dark romance readers. Readers who love light at the end of all the dark.
I loved this so much! I wish I could give it more than 5 stars – it was that good!
Intense fantastic story. I couldn’t put this book down. This is my first book by this author, but it won’t be the last. Thank you
Phenomenonal read! You won’t want to put it down! Ronan… You will absolutely fall in love with him! Alpha, endearing… She’s mine… Sasha feels like she’s broken… Losing her ma…. Protecting him…. Loving this Irish mafia series… A must read!!!
Wow, just wow is the first word I say after and during reading Reaper by Ashleigh Zavarelli. It’s the 2nd book of the Boston Underworld series, and it’s even better than Crow, if that is even possible. It’s Ronan (Reaper) and Sasha’s story and it’s an amazing one. Ronan, known as Reaper for obvious reasons, is part of the same Irish mobster syndicate, the MacKenna Syndicate, that Lachlan (Crow) is part of. In fact, they are best friends, brothers even. Ronan’s a cold blooded killer who has had feelings for Sasha, a dancer at one of their clubs, for years now. Sasha returns Ronan’s feelings, but their relationship is complicated because Sasha belongs to Blaine, the boss of this part of the MacKenna Syndicate.
The thing I loved most about Reaper is that Ronan is not the typical killer, if you will, or even the typical mafia guy in romances these days. He may be a cold blooded killer, and drop dead gorgeous, but he is also almost childlike in his inexperience with women. He also lacks good communications skills but there’s a reason for that. Reading his backstory about how and why he came to be the killer he is now is heartbreaking. But as with most of us humans, he is not without his redeeming qualities, and Sasha brings those redeeming qualities out in him. They really are soulmates. His and Sasha’s story is filled with palpable tension, suspense and passion. If you are interested in an atypical mafia story, you really should read Reaper.
Anam Cara
A Perfect follow up to Crow.
Ronan Fitzpatrick is the Dreaded Reaper. Criminals in the underground world of Boston quake in their boots hearing his name. And rightly so . He is a methodical, unemotional killing machine. Hacking his enemies bit by bit or torturing them to extract information is all in his day’s work. His training at the hand of the Irish Rebels ,when he was a child , has hardened his heart to steel and his body to iron.
he doesn’t feel a thing for his ‘jobs’
There is an endless amount of rage burning inside of me. I only ever have to tap into it, drawing off small amounts to complete each task I’m given. It is nothing more than a business transaction. A dot of the i or slash of the t. I don’t particularly feel much of anything when I dim a human light. I’ve been called a sociopath. A monster. But I don’t fancy myself one. I’m simply a man doing a job that needs to be done. If it wasn’t me doing it, someone else would be. The men that I kill, they’ve all had it coming. They knew what they were getting themselves into.
In this club -Slainte , works a stripper , Sasha. She’s kind and sweet and Ronan is hooked on her. He protects her with his life , literally after rescuing her from Blain and Donovan.
Ronan is a rare specimen. His childhood trauma has left him to be sociopath. His connection between his heart and brain has severed. So much so that he cannot formulate thoughts , cannot guage their intensity or depth , cannot direct his actions based on them. He’s silent, detached and isolated.
But he loves Sasha. Only he doesn’t know it as yet that it is love.
Tragic events bring them together and he protects and loves her with an intensity that takes them both by surprise. She hugs him so hard that pieces of his broken heart start to glue together.
It’s a strange love story of a hardened man and broken girl who have nothing else to do but love each other and start to build a life in the strangely fucked up world of The Syndicate !
My favorite in the series
He’s a mixture of brutal and sensual. Sweet and hard. Rough and thoughtful.
Reaper is book #2 of the Boston Underworld series. It is a stand-alone and can be read as such. I had no problem following the story.
What can I say about Reaper? I loved it!!! We meet Ronan Fitzpatrick in book #1 Crow. Ronan is Lachlan’s (Crow’s) best friend and second in command of the Irish syndicate. He is also known as the Reaper. The name speaks for itself. He is Quiet. Dark. Deadly. Mysterious. I fell in love with Ronan! His layers are peeled away. One by one the mystery of the Reaper is laid out. We learn about his past. What is really underneath this man? How did he become so feared?
“I’ve been called a sociopath. A monster. But I don’t fancy myself one. I’m simply a man doing a job that needs to be done.”
Ronan Fitzpatrick was taken from his parents and raised to be a killer at an early age. Now an adult, this leaves him knowing almost nothing about love, affection and human emotions. Reading the flashbacks of his upbringing was raw and uncomfortable. He also has quirks. He needs order and timeliness.
We met Sasha Varela in Crow. She has had a difficult life and has had to make certain choices to protect her family. She is a stripper at Slainte, the locally owned “mob” club. Due to her circumstances, Sasha feels tarnished, sullied, and unclean.
“Damaged souls have their own beauty. A dark, terrifying beauty. The same type of beauty I recognize in Ronan.”
I loved their story. There is this thread or connection between Sasha and Ronan, linking them together in an invisible way. I loved how accepting Sasha was of Ronan’s quirks and antisocial behaviors. How she peeled away the layers to see the man underneath.
“I can no longer deny that we are connected on some strange level. And I know I can’t be the only one who feels it.”
What more can I say about Ronan…. I was just overwhelmed at times with his story. It broke my heart watching Ronan try to understand basic human emotions. He even feels insecure at times about his ability to be around others without being “a monster.” The way he discovers new things from something as simple as food….brilliantly written! The characters are complex, the emotions are high and the chemistry is hot!
“He isn’t at all sweet. But if I wanted sugar, I’d eat a fucking cupcake.”
I also must give props to “Daisy” the dog. The scenes with Daisy and Ronan were great! I am really enjoying The Boston Underworld series! A. Zavarelli is a new to me author. I read Thief which is book #4 (not knowing it was a series) and I was hooked. I wanted to go back to the beginning and get to know all of the players. I am glad that I did. Next is Alexi & Talia’s story!
“Always you. Only you, Ronan.”
4.5 stars!