Wild Card: a mafia romance (Advantage Play Book 1)

Holy Crap!! Where did sweet Kelsie go?? This book was dark and dirty but completely amazing!! I didn’t realize it was a series because I was thrown for a loop with the HUGE cliffhanger! Wild Cars kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There were so many things in play; my mind was going 90 miles per minute! Kelsie had me guessing at every turn! Can’t wait to dive into Dark King!!

Ace is a card shark with only one thing on her mind – revenge! She has been working up to make it happen and when her plan is finally set into motion, she finds herself in a world that just may not let her go.

Kingston plays for keeps. As the new head of a long line a mafia bosses he has a lot to prove. He needs Ace to help him out but feelings start to get in the way.

When everything blows up around them, will they be able to make it out alive?

Wow!! I don’t want to give to much away because this book needs to be experienced first hand! Be prepared to enter the underground world of the mafia; Kelsie holds nothing back!

I have been reading every book Kelsie Rae has written from her very first one and love her writing and characters so much. To say Wild Card was unexpected is an understatement. A mafia romance full of suspense, surprises and twists at every turn.

Ace is out for revenge. When she is given the opportunity to fulfill her dream, is she trading one devil for another? Ace was smart, brave and determined. Kingston was ruthless and resolute. Their chemistry was insane, but so much stood in the balance. With Wild Card, Kelsie King has shown her versatility as an author. A romantic suspense that will keep you captivated from start to end. I cannot wait for the next book!

Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!

Kelsie Rae specializes in contemporary romance that is sweet with a little heat. Her Signature Sweetheart Series was a HUGE hit! With the Advantage Play Series, Kelsie is showing us a different side of her personality. Someone has been hiding a dark side behind some sweet romances. Grab your whiskey. Come in my office and let’s have a chat about Kelsie Rae’s Wild Card.

Ace is a card-counting badass hiding behind short skirts and blonde wigs. She slips into the casino, wins at black-jack and slips out without being noticed. Ace has one thing in mind and getting caught while she’s saving her money is not an option. All is going well until she gets caught by none other than the head of the Romano family – the Dark King, Kingston. Can Ace remember her rules or will she throw them and caution out of the window in order to help Kingston exact revenge on Burlone Allegretti?

Kingston Romano has just become the head of the Romano family. Kingston has earned the respect of his colleagues through his interrogation tactics, a specific set of skills, which has earned him the title Dark King. He’s working now to prove himself worthy to lead the Romano family but, like his family before him, Kingston draws the line at violence toward women and human trafficking. When Burlone tries to frame the Romano’s, the fight against human trafficking becomes a little too personal and Kingston solicits the help of a cute, little card counter that he caught at his casino.

The heat between Ace and Kingston is scorching! Things start to spiral and Ace calls the one person that she trusts, but shouldn’t, for help. Neither of them are in a position to begin a relationship but fate doesn’t give them a choice.

Once again, Kelsie’s character development is superb! Kingston is a drool-worthy mafia boss which a soft side that he only shares with Ace. Ace is a girl who lives in a rundown apartment and has seen the evil that lives there and feeds on the needy. She is not a victim. She’s a badass who is going to come out on top or die trying. I LOVED Kelsie Rae’s walk on the dark side and think that you will too. The only bad thing about Wild Card is the cliffhanger and the fact that I have to wait until October to read Dark King. My rating for Kelsie Rae’s Wild Card is most definitely 5 out of 5 propellers.

‘Wild Card’ is the first book in the Advantage Play series by Kelsie Rae, and it is the first Mafia romance I have read in a very long time.

The book is fast paced, exciting and an incredibly addictive plot. I began reading last night and almost read it all in one sitting, refusing to end my reading journey due to being completely inmersed.

The story focuses on Ace, a beautiful young card counter who frequents the city’s casinos in order to to gain money for her ultimate goal. For years she has been focused on extracting her revenge on a man she despises, and in order to carry out her plan she needs to accrue 50 thousand dollars, and enter in the biggest Poker tournament around against her nemesis.

It all sounds simple in theory, but with Burlone having many enemies, Ace is not alone in wanting to take him down.

Kingston Romano is newly appointed mafia king, and as part of his role, he is determined to dominate the city and get revenge on his competition Burlone. With a big deal going down and Burlone attempting to frame his men, Kingston can not afford to fail. In order to be one step ahead, he enlists Ace to retrieve information from casinos, unaware of just how invested she already is in Burlone and his games.

But when Regina Romano, Kingston’s sister disappears, the stakes of the game just got higher and the danger gets hotter.

I absolutely loved the cliffhanger ending, and need to read Dark King immediately! An amazing read with some very intriguing characters. It blurs your view of morality when you want the Romano’s to murder and come out on top. I am looking forward to retrieving answers to the mysteries that book one has already begun, and I’d recommend to all action and mafia/ gang romance lovers.

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. It’s not often that I’ve read a mob boss type of book, but man. Once I got into the story, I fell deep into Ace and Kingston’s dark, twisted world.

Ace is such a great character. She’s been through so much in her young life, which has made her into the tough, nearly untouchable woman that she is. However, her life hasn’t stopped her from going for what she wants and enacting revenge on an enemy in a way that I thought was clever and really cool.

And Kingston. Totally swoonworthy, totally dark, totally worth more than he gives himself credit for being worth. He’s thrown into the mob spotlight quicker than he thought he would be, and I thought he handled it well – even as he battles mob situations with his infatuation with Ace.

The storyline is so good. It keeps you guessing, keeps you reading, keeps you wanting more. There are a lot of characters in the mix, but I think Kelsie does a fantastic job of keeping them distinct while perfectly mixing them in the dark, twisted world she creates in the book. I found myself gasping at several points in the book as the story unfolded; it’s definitely got its unpredictable moments!

Thank you to Kelsie for the advanced copy of this book. There’s a second book coming that I’m already diving into; you won’t be disappointed by this read.

I enjoyed this read. This book gives multiple P.O.V’s (not just main characters) and I liked that and thought it was very original. The storyline was interesting and offered plenty of excitement, danger, drama, suspense and romance. I liked Ace and Kingston’s chemistry and I found the first piece of their slow burn romance to be very entertaining. This book does end on a cliffhanger.

Revenge is nasty business and I can’t for book 2 to resolve the conundrum!

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

I have read a number of this author’s books but I gotta say I wasn’t ready for this one. This time the author takes us on a darker journey. This time we meet Ace. She sure isn’t one of the Signature Sweethearts, nope she may be soft and innocent on the inside but life has toughened her up on the outside. She has one thing in mind and it doesn’t include love. She’s out for vengeance and gets smack dab in the middle of a storm of major magnitude. It’s an action packed read that will test your emotions and take to a place where weaklings fear to tread. This isn’t a standalone read so prepare yourself. At least we wont have to wait long for the ending but man oh man does it end with you sitting on the edge of your seat. You’ll meet characters that win your hear and loyalty and other’s you want to have their toenails removed by horrendous means or then again you can just turn them over to the Dark King so he can have his way. Either way it goes prepare yourself for a different type of read from an author who has mainly given us something else. There’s a reason she’s a wild card and he’s the Dark King. IF they survive.

Wow, when Kelsie Rae decides to go in a different direction, she does it all the way! Ace and Kingston are definitely not the light and sweet characters we’ve come to know and love, and all I can say is I absolutely loved the darker side of Kelsie.

Mobsters, card counting, poker tournaments, white slavery… And those are just a little of what Ace and Kingston has to deal with.

The secondary characters were as almost as interesting as the main characters.

OMG, this book was not what I expected, but dang it leaves me on edge, waiting to see how this comes to a head.

I’ve never really been a fan of mafia romances, but Kingston, aka, the Dark King is sexy as hell and this book may have me rethinking my romance genres. Kingston shows his gentle, white knight side to Ace, but that’s not exactly the side of Kingston you meet in the beginning of the book.

I’m not going to lie, it took me until Chapter 6/7 to understand how all the characters were placed and whose side they were on. By then 8 couldn’t put the book down……well, except for sleep and work.

I was again surprised by the turn of events at the end and I cannot wait to dive into part two, The Dark King.