She was a broken angel that had the light beat right out of her.I was the man responsible for her life, her protector… Rescued by my brother and shoved into my arms I never expected to fall for the fragile woman, with soft eyes, and lips that begged to be kissed.I know what she saw when she looked at me, a ruthless fighter, a man with a broken past, too far gone to be reached, sinking deeper and … reached, sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness.
Still, somehow her light reached me, the innocence inside her called to me and the moment her soul touched mine I was tamed, ensnared in her love.
But love comes at a cost, and in our world, you pay with your life. With all the danger surrounding us, I don’t know if I can protect her. Not only from myself, but also from a past that refuses to let go.
This is book four in the series but it can be read as a complete standalone. This is a full-length novel. It contains NO-CLIFFHANGER, NO CHEATING, and has a HEA. It is a DARK mafia/crime romance and contains subject matter not suitable for all readers.
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This is an intense emotionally chaotic roller coaster ride into darkness, fear, terror, brutality & love.
Of all the males in this series, I think Roman (anti-H) is the most intense & frightening. Why? Because up until now the others were cold, emotionally controlled (most of the time~~ especially Xander), but Roman is most definitely NOT. He is huge, muscular, daunting; is almost always on edge, almost always ready to burst into some type of violence: verbal or physical,he is always filled with barely controlled rage. The only satisfying outlet he has are the illegal bare knuckle fights to the death he is the Champion of & the drug he takes to ‘calm & intensify’ his personality & focus. A drug he refuses to quit despite the repearted requests/demands of Ivan, his brother & Mac & Devin, his friends/assistants/guards.
And this raging hulk is the only one able to penetrate Sopie’s (h) near catatonic state when she is rescued by Ivan’s men & Roman. The tiny, horrorifically traumatized & pysically abused woman responds only when she hears & sees Roman, her knight in tarnished armor who carries her away from Hell into his protection & safety. And Roman is completely nonplussed & shocked when Ivan places the pyschologically fragile woman in his care until a safe house may be set up for her.
Safety she refuses to go to; only with Roman does Sophie feel safe, only Roman calms her torment & terror. Only Roman is strong enough to protect her & she won’t leave him.
And despite his better judgement, against his will & intent, Roman finds Sophie’s trusting, sweet nature & delicate beauty calm his mind & the violence in his soul, her voice & gentle touch call to his shattered & rage infused heart & soothe it. But Roman knows he cannot, must not, give in to his ever increasing lust & desire for Sophie.
This one is filled with brutal death fights, with a rage filled anti-Hero that has limited control of his anger, has chaotic emotions & yet the very intensity of these boiling emotions is what sucks the reader into the swirling plot & lives of these characters. I couldn’thelp but care abput Sophie & an ever increasingly tormented Roman who begins the fight of his life, against himself in order to be the man he believes Sophie needs & deserves.
And Sophie, despite her history, has a depth of total love, loyalty & gentle unselfishness for Roman that he has never before experienced in his life.
But Roman has formidable demons to battle that only he may conquer & Sophie has foes from her past whose goals would destroy her present & any possible positive future she may have.
I greatly enjoyed this entire story, the only quibble I had with any of this book came in the epilog. The epilog plot resolution was RUSHED & simplistic beyond belief, to the point of seeming silly to me. BUT, it was nothing that tainted my enjoyment of everything else about this book which I wholeheartedly enjoyed.
The Rossi Crime Family series gets better with each book, adding to the world that J.L. Beck and C. Hallman have created. While it does have elements of a mafia trope, I wouldn’t fully say it’s a book that oozes this sub-genre.
While Roman is Ivan’s little brother and has agreed to help him build the Rossi business after they stepped away from human trafficking, he is not a part of the organization. He is an underground fighter who has a gym and does numerous illegal things. This, however, doesn’t make the book less interesting. In fact, the story of Roman and Sophie works and it’s a page-turner. Roman is broken and a very complex character who finds his counterpart in a sweet woman who is afraid of her past yet, he chooses to see the good in him. Their relationship and interactions are complicated.
While the books in the series can be read as standalone, I recommend reading them in order as many details of the Rossi Crime Family make more sense when following the chronological order.
Book Four of the Rossi Brothers’ series follows Roman, Ivan’s brother, and Sophie, the last captured girl in the compound where Ivan has taken over and is shutting down the slave trade / auctions. Sophie had been destroyed and sold by her own family. Unwilling and unable to go home, Roman takes her in.
During the first half of book two, the main focus was of Roman’s drug addiction and his underground MMA style death matches along with the insta-lust/love connection between Roman and Sophie.
The second half brings all the siblings from book one to four, plus a couple more together and throws a heinous new twist into the mix. Ending unfolded quickly and the epilogue felt even more rushed. However, it was truly sweet.
Intruduces us towards the end to our next sibling linked character and their VIP per se, plus prologue starts us off with their storyline.
This book was hard. Similar to Xander’s book mostly because of how crude he can be when pushing Sophie away. But mostly it centered around his problems with adderall. He uses to stay focused and fight harder but you can see he punishes himself over the death of his sister Mira. Iva. Cashed similar issues in his book but self punished by isolating himself and throwing himself into work. I love how much he cares for Sophie when he finally caves to his feelings. And she is a rockstar for helping him through his issues. It’s hard but this book shows addiction and it’s difficulties. I didn’t like how Ivan and everyone else treats Roman because of his issues especially when he is getting better. Recovery isn’t easy and that isn’t what he needs. I understand the doubt and uncertainty but There are better ways to handle it. Love the instant connection Roman has to Luke after things are figured out. And his connection to Hero after the dust settles. Love the ending the the next set of protective siblings.
Tame Me: A Mafia Romance (The Rossi Crime Family Book 5)
by Cassandra Hallman and Jl Beck
Wow what a Phenomenal fifth book in The Rossi Crime Family Mafia Romance Series. It has suspense, danger, murder, betrayals, twist and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Yet though all of that it’s the damaged and broken spirit of Sophie that calls to that of the same damaged soul of Roman.
Ivan has taken over ever since Rossi Sr. was taken out by his sons and he was given his business. He doesn’t trust a lot of the men so he ask his brother Roman to be his right hand man .He vowed to shut down the human trafficking side and everything is going well except one girl remains. Unable to take her home he ask Roman to watch after her. Roman is furious at the idea because he is barely able to take care of himself and the way he uses and treats women won’t be what this girl needs. Against his better judgment he agrees to take her to his place.
Sophie battered and beaten is catatonic barely holding on when Ivan and Roman walk into her cell. She would rather die than go back home. Considering they are the ones who sold her. Once Roman sees her he wants save her to protect her from all the bad in the world. She reminds him of a “fallen angel…fallen because someone clipped her wings.”
Their journey isn’t an easy one it’s full of trials and tribulations. They both had a lot of soul searching to realize that they are worth love, to forgive themself and others if needed. It’s about how two wounded broken souls can be mended and made whole. It truly is more than a typical mafia romance suspense it has so much more to offer. It’s about redemption, hope, forgiveness, and yes love. Yes this is a standalone but highly recommended you read the the first four books in this wonderful series since you will get a better picture of all the characters.
Five well deserved
I have been patiently waiting for Sophie’s story. It was so worth the wait. I loved it. Beginning to end gripping mind blowing surprises just amazing. I have to say this is my favorite one. I loved Roman. This big tough guy who doesn’t want to be anywhere near this girl. But she slowly works her way under his skin. So many different emotions while reading this book. Going through this story you get a whole new picture of what love is. The love these two have is raw and in its purest form. There is just so many different feelings you go through when reading this one. I am glad they saved this story for last as it was the best way to finish out what has been happening in this series. An amazing series amazing well written book. I love these two writing together and can’t wait for more.
Another excellent addition to the Rossi Crime Family series that is wonderfully written. It has well developed, interesting characters. This intense emotional story will have you on a chaotic twisted rollercoaster of fear, brutality, terror, darkness, sizzling chemistry, and above all deep love of two broken soles who complete each other together. I love comeoes and glimpses of other characters from previous books in the series. A must read as your heart is put through a wringer with Roman and Sophie’s story. I voluntarily reviewed this ARC.
Another beautiful, well-written story from Cassandra Hallman. One that yet again you won’t be able to stop reading from beginning to end in one sitting. If I can give it more than five stars I would!
I knew that Roman was going to be my favorite the first time he was mentioned in Guard Me. A tortured soul with so much baggage that it was impossible not to fall in love with how his story has panned out. I feel like I was part of his life and could not help but cheer him on the whole way through the book.
From the moment Sophie was introduced, I knew that she was the one who would tame the beast inside him. I love how she was brave to face Roman and his demons and stood by him through it all. I could not fall in love with both of them more than I have in the first few chapters.
You will be left with a rollercoaster of emotions right from the very beginning up to the last word in the last chapter. I want to see where both of them go after this book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
what a amazing read that is full of mystery and twists and turns that will have you own the edge of your seat. this book will have you hooked from the first page tell the very ending.
Loved this book. Was filled with loads of chemistry and twists. The characters are well developed and engaging enough to keep me flipping from page to page.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the fifth book in the Rossi Crime Family and is as dark as the other books in the series but i found this book to be the most brutal of all so far filled with murder, suspense and an unlikely romance between two broken lovers.
Roman is an underground fighter, he kills with out blinking an eye…….rage and violence keep him going…..there is no room for love in his life…… and now his brother saddles him with a broken trembling woman that seems to have seen something in him……….she sees him as her protector, savior and a man who needs love………
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
ONE INTENSE READ!!! Whoa! Fast and furious is definitely the way to go. Yep, talk about falling hard. I do not even know where to begin. I thought the last book was fantastic. Again, this is an unexpected delight in itself. I know, I can not make up my mind. So choose them all. You can not go wrong here, trust me on that. This is a page-turner, smooth flowing wild ride with all the thrills and explosions you can handle.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received an arc, and am voluntarily leaving this review. O my goodness, this story was just so very good. I just love a good mafia romance, and this one did not let me down. The story was well written and the characters were well developed. This was a scorching book and I couldn’t put it down!!! I very highly recommend it.
This is another wonderful book by these authors. The story is about Roman and Sophie who are both broken in different ways. They both feel attracted to the other and their chemistry is amazing. Being a Mafia book there is a lot of violence, action, suspense and love along with a slew of other emotions. There are a number of possible triggers for some readers due to the darkness of the subjects that are discussed in this story. I think this was a fantastic book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the fifth book in the Rossi Crime Family. This is Roman and Sophie’s story. This is my favorite book. Roman and Sophie are put together by Ivan. Ivan, is Roman’s older brother, and he is dismantling the sex slave organization. Roman takes Sophie home with him and promises to keep her safe. Roman is a total jackass and keeps Sophie at arms length. He doesn’t understand the feelings he is having. He thinks he can’t love and that Sophie can do better than him. Sophie feels a connection with Roman, and she knows he would never hurt her. She can see past all his crap that he throws at her. They have undeniably hot chemistry. This has suspense, angst, drug use, addiction, deception, and some twists and turns. You will get to see the other couples from the previous stories. The storyline was so well written and I loved all the characters. I highly recommend getting this book. It is a standalone, but you should read the others. They are so fantastic. You won’t regret reading this or any of them.
Loved Roman and Sophie’s story.
This is a great read and I truly recommend it!! Roman is a tough as nails underground fighter. He doesn’t do relationships and he definitely doesn’t do love. When his brother, Ivan asks him for a favor Roman is surprised. Especially when said favor is to watch over a tiny slip of a woman named Sophie who is a victim in the messed up human trafficking ring that Ivan is dismantling. Ivan has always told Roman he’s worried one day he’ll be told he’s dead cause he doesn’t take proper care of himself, but now he wants him to watch over Sophie!?!? Roman was not prepared for the obvious jolt of attraction when he touches Sophie, but he needs to keep her at arms length cause he is definitely no good for a woman like her. This story is about two broken people that if they give it a chance, just maybe they can heal each other. Grab this wonderful book today, you won’t be disappointed!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This series is so good! Roman and Sophie’s story is so raw! The thing they go through had my heart pumping so fast! I would recommend reading the books in order just so you can follow the characters, but even alone this book is great!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’ve loved every book in this Rossi serie, so far. Roman and Sophie’s story is no exception. The way all the earlier characters interact is also something that enhance the read.
You’ve got a lot in this book – love, suspense and heartwarming events.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Roman is struggling with his demons. Sophie has been captured and held against her will. Only when she is set to be released she refuses. Ivan makes Roman take her home. Sophie only feels safe when Roman is around. Will his inner demons push her away?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the fifth book in this phenomenal series, and is Roman and Sophia’s story. Roman is a dark and broody street fighter, and when he is handed Sophia to protect, he is convinced he cannot look after himself, never-mind someone else. It is great to read how their story evolves and develops as their relationship grows from strength to strength. This is a well written flawless story which is an engaging story-line, and is filled with danger, heartbreak, suspense, emotion, twists, betrayal, and is a dark read which had me on tenterhooks. I was totally captivated throughout this addictive page turner, and I cannot wait to read more form this talented duo of authors’, whose work I recommend for all.