Review: Bound by Honor (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #1) by Cora Reilly

Print Length: 

Publisher:  (May 31, 2016)

From Goodreads.com: Born into one of the leading Mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi struggles to find her own path in a world where no choices are given. Aria was only fifteen when her parents betrothed her to Luca – The Vice – Vitiello, the oldest son of the head of the New York Cosa Nostra to ensure peace between the two families. 

Now at eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca. 

Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.

In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.

The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again.

Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s.

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

When I first found this as a freebie on Amazon, I will fully admit - I choose it because it said "mafia" and I was going through Eagle Elite withdraws (and if you liked this story than I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Eagle Elite series by Rachel van Dyken ALTHOUGH I must warn you that the Eagle Elite series DOES NOT have the explicit sexual content that this novel does).

At first.. I wasn't too sure how I would feel about this story. For example I felt there were some parallels between this story and the aforementioned Eagle Elite series. And Luca seemed like such a raging jerk that I didn't think I would ever find myself liking him. And then the wedding night happened. And I found myself with a new-found respect for him. And then Aria catches him (literally) in bed with someone else - and I found myself hating him. That seemed to be the ongoing theme through out this story. Just when Luca redeemed himself, something happened that made me hate him all over again. 

I did enjoy seeing the more romantic moments between the pairs (although this story does include scenes of a graphic sexual nature), and I also enjoyed seeing how events played out not only between the main characters, but with the feuds between rival mafia families as well. This was just book one in a series, however it was a standalone (meaning a journey of characters with a beginning, a middle and an ending). 

Overall, I was intrigued enough by this story to continue on with the series. However, I will admit that these books are not for everyone. If you are unsure as to whether or not it is for you - then see if you can catch it as I did (a freebie) and give it a chance. If not - read the other reviews and make your own judgement call. 

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Bound by Honor (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #1) is available from Amazon.com