I stole my trophy wife
Her father killed my brother, so I took Carmela hostage. I didn’t know how to execute my revenge, but when the innocent little honey attempts to bargain for her father’s life, I devise the perfect plan. I won’t just take my revenge. I’ll savor it. She’s desperate to save her father. Her offer: One night. No strings.My counter-offer: The rest of my life, no strings, but … strings.
My counter-offer: The rest of my life, no strings, but plenty of rope.
I need a mother for my two kids. A wife to warm my bed. A lover to break.
That’s Carmela.
I thought my only battle would be between us…in the bedroom.…but marrying her incited a war I never saw coming.
If I don’t win…I lose everything.
I lose her.
CARMELA
He kidnapped my father, so I offered myself as payment.
Michael Costa, my new husband, is many things. He’s one of Boston’s most powerful gangsters. He’s a devoted single dad. A fantastic lover. A beautiful contradiction. A monster cut from the same cloth as my ex.
I don’t trust him.
I never meant to love him.
But I’m falling for his kids. Now I’m bound to him because I can’t bear to leave them. And he’s promised me what’s been denied to me all my life—a baby.
Our marriage might’ve been a happily-ever-after, until my ex showed up.
He’s out for blood, threatening my imperfect, messy, beautiful life with Michael.
Nick is my worst nightmare.
Michael is my forever.
But somehow…I lose no matter who I end up with.
Author’s note: Taken is NOT a love triangle. It is a single dad, standalone dark mafia romance. This is book #2 of Sinners of Boston series. However, these books can be read in any order.
This Beauty and the Beast-inspired dark and titillating romance is not for the faint of heart, but if you like over-the-top alpha heroes, troubled heroines, and impossibly evil villains, you’ll love this book. Deals with sensitive subjects some might find triggering
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This mafia romance was laden with gritty violence, betrayal, and filled with intense unwanted passion.
Michael’s attraction to Carmela started off as a revenge game to avenge his brother’s murder. It morphed into a deep passionate love for Carmela that he purposefully resisted.
I’ve been reading a lot of dark mafia and MC romances lately that were just missing something. Not so with this romance between Michael and Carmela.
The storyline was complex but flowed well and was easy to follow.
The author was able to capture Michael’s tortured and twisted angst as he battled with his feelings for Carmela and how she affected him and his children.
Carmela’s broken past with Nick and how he influenced her current relationship with Michael was also deep and moving. Kudos to the talented writing that even gave an insight to Nick’s psychotic personality as he managed to elude Mafia and MC alike all the while focused on getting Carmela back.
I loved the way the author paralleled the personalities of Michael and Nick with their similarities with obsession, dominance, control and pain. It was great when Carmela finally got that Michael was nothing like her evil ex.
Full of well written passionately erotic scenes with zero cheating and a satisfying feel good HEA!
This was a definite keeper for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A captivating read from beginning to end! An exciting storyline that leaves you breathless wanting more! Sexy steam filled chemistry! Emotionally heartfelt, enjoyable and fun! One heck of a twisted, intense rollercoaster ride! An amazing must read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Carmela wants to save her father. Michael needs someone strong who can help take care of his children. A deal is made but Carmela is surprised by how it all turns out. Instead of anger and fear she feels safe and protected. Will it last? This was a really good read! Full of twists and turns and plenty of drama!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
My first book by Vanessa Waltz, and what a read. Part of the Sinners of Boston series though each can be read standalone. this dark mafia tale is filled with action, lust, romance, humour, suspense. twists and turns and desire fueled hot scenes! with BDSM tones.Well written with great detailed scenes and nicely paced. this is the story of Micheal and Carmela born into the mafia world not destined for each other yet one deal changed it all.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved this story. Michael and Carmela were great together, I liked seeing them really fall for each other. Had some ups and downs they had to work through to stop hurting each other, but in the end they found their HEA. Really looking forward to the next story in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
First I recommend if you haven’t read Arranged, that you do so. This book picks up where that one leaves off. Michael and Carmela are a force as a couple. Michael tries to deny his feeling for her but you can feel them jumping off the page. This is a day read it’s so good.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a wild ride! Loved the steel spine and soft heart of Carmela. I have been desperate to read her story after reading about Mia and I was not disappointed!
Action, intrigue, suspense and nail biting moments that leave you rushing to turn the page! Definitely a read I recommend!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I thought that this was an excellent read. Dark, intense, steamy, dramatic and emotional, Michael and Carmela’s story checks all the boxes. As much as I enjoyed this book, I will say that this book will not be for every reader. It features content that may be too disturbing for some and what could be outright triggers for others inside. A very gripping and raw read. This is my frank, freely posted review.
So I’ve read literally everything by this author and love what she does!
I received a free ARC in return for an honest review.
Micheal and Carmela are a powerhouse couple. The book starts where Arranged finished and if you’ve not read arranged in a while it might be worth a reread before this as I got a little confused and had to re read arranged before finishing this book.
The whole book is great! Altho not as dark as expected there are certain triggering moments in there.
I love how much Micheal tries to hide his feelings and how he calls out Alessio of his ways from Arranged. The whole book was unputdownable I finished in one sitting (after a quick re read of arranged)
I highly recommend this book to people and advise everyone to look at her other books because she doesn’t disappoint.
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I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I read Taken by Vanessa Waltz in one sitting! I received the ARC from Bookfunnel, and I am voluntarily leaving this review! Vanessa; Michael and Carmela’s story amazing! Enjoyed it very much!
Warning: the story has dark theme subjects *do not read if you have triggers or don’t like those types of scenes*
So their story begins when Carmela shows up at Michael’s house to make a deal….
Carmela’s offer: One night. No strings.
Michael’s counter-offer: The rest of my life, no strings, but plenty of rope.
Their story starts as an arrangement with alot of twists and turns, lies and betrayals, angsty moments, and let’s not forget hot sex scenes between Michael and Carmela!
I’ve been wanting to read about Michael and Carmela since I read the first book and I really loved them as a couple but some thing in this book really isn’t something I like to read about but I really did love this book and I can’t wait to read more about these couples and other couples in this series.
*KU Read
I jumped from Arranged to Taken right away. We met Carmela and Michael in the last book. Michael is the father of two children and they lost their mother in the first book. Carmela is in need of help and decides to break into Michaels’s house to get it. Things don’t go as planned for Carmela but she does get his help. But to get it, she will marry him and become the mother of his two children.
I LOVE Michael. He is not a nice man, but he loves his children and will do anything for them, including marrying Carmela. These two will fight like cats and dogs because of the misunderstandings they will have, as usual, they will not communicate until they are forced to.
I enjoyed the story and characters in this book. On to the next story.
Style: Mafia/ Mobster/ Romance
Story: 4/5
Sexual: GOOD
Enjoyment: 4/5
Series: Book 2
I liked the second book in the series and the storyline the author mapped out for both Carmela and Michael. I was invested in the plot and all that was unfolding, I got action, sexual excitement and got see see familiar characters from book 1. I got to see a more in depth view of Michael as he had a crazy wife who is no longer in the picture and want a mother figure for his kids. It was interesting seeing him with his kids but then having to be ruthless with everyone around him. Carmela, I liked her, obviously didn’t like her ex as he plays a big role here.
Overall, a good story for me and I am hoping there will be a story about Vinn as he is definitely mysterious.
Liana has loved Vinn since she was a child. He was her brother Michael’s best friend and older than her. Everyone knew it but Vinn. But she never stopped. Even through the years as she watched him go into service, get shot and be with other women, she still loved him. Vinn was a don in the mafia but she could overlook that because her brother was part of it too. She knew he did bad things but she still loved him. Until one day when she started to hate him. Vinn started paying attention to her but not in the way she wanted. So she tried to move on with her life. Then she found out she was being used as a bartering tool for her Uncle. He promised her to a biker. And he let a Vinn know. Vinn was furious but all he could do was tell her Uncle he was engaged to her. But that didn’t matter until he told him she was pregnant. That changed things. Now he has to convince Liana to marry him and make everyone think she is pregnant. And she is not on board with that. But the alternative is worse. So she goes along with it. They move into together and try to convince people it is real. And then it actually becomes real. But things can’t go smooth when you are part of the mafia. Lots of action, suspense and some surprises. Great book.
I loved this book and the series Michael is a loving father going after what he wants and Carmella has been pinning for Michael for a while it took some drastic stuff to happen for them to know they love each other
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Good **Spoiler**
I was waiting for this story since I read the 2nd book. I just knew it was going to be an emotional roller coaster.. I have to say it was, I was Sad, Frustrated, Happy, Mad, and back at it again. The story was about Vinny and Liana, her love for him since she was 4 yrs old. You feel the tragedy of a young child losing her entire family, how she was being mistreated by her adoptive older brother, and the best friend of said bothers was her emotional saving grace. You go through their journey of life, how they got to be adults with one of them caring for the other but oblivious to the others affections, of the demons each of them had to work through and what was expected of them due to the family they belong to.
The only reason why I didn’t give it a five star is because it left us with unanswered questions. I feel the end was a bit rushed she just mentions Vinny is a Don, but it really doesn’t make much sense due to Anthony’s re-appearance, yes the author does say we will get all the answered in the next book, but in her previous books she gives us a glimpse of the next story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
what a great read! I could not put it down. I highly recommend this story to others. Lots of fun in store for you
Michael is a widower with two children, head of the mafia and wants revenge for his brother’s death. He decides to kidnap Carmela, the daughter of the man that killed his brother. He also has her father and mother captive but Carmela doesn’t know if they are alive or dead. Carmela offers Michael one night no strings to let her parents go but Michael sees the opportunity for much more. He needs a mother for his children and a wife to warm his bed. The problem is that by the time he realize he could lose everything it may be too late to stop events that are in motion.
I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am leaving a review.
This is the second book in the Sinners of Boston series by Vanessa Waltz which is a dark mafia romance. The book features Michael Costa, a Boston mob boss and single dad, and Carmella, who is forced to marry Michael after her father kills his brother. She is forced to marry him in order to save her father’s life. This novel is filled with unexpected twists, surprises, secrets, mafia violence, and sizzling chemistry.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It was good to see another book come out from this author. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I just love this author’s books.
I loved the chemistry between Carmela and Michael. There is drama and plenty of steamy parts. You will not regret reading this book.