Mafia Lullaby by Alta Hensley and Measha Stone

4 Stars

The writing and editing of this novel was clean, with few typos that I caught in the ARC version of this manuscript. The world building of the House and Lullaby drug and was vibrant. The characterization was competent, with both hero and heroine being complex individuals. The development of the romantic relationship was good, as far as dark romance goes. I just had a hard time picturing a man who actively trains and rapes sex slaves without any moral qualms being capable of real connection and love with a woman. This novel was the first by these authors that I have read, and the premise and storyline was not one that personally appealed to me, with the sex slavery and age play elements, but it was well written and I can see how other people would thoroughly enjoy this story. The plot and pacing was exciting and interesting. There was a medium amount of angst on the heroine's part, which is understandable and consistent with the trauma she was going through. The stakes were very high in this story, and the authors were really good at making me doubt the possibility of an HEA. This story used the Enemies to Lovers trope, and also the Daddy trope. The world building, plot, and pacing were four stars. The characterization was also four stars. The development of the romantic relationship was three stars, because I did not really buy into these two character's relationship. The combined score for this novel was four stars. I rounded up. This novel had a Happy Ever After ending instead of a cliffhanger, so that is a big plus for this story. I recommend this story to fans of dark BDSM romance with age play elements. I personally do not plan to buy myself a keeper copy of this novel. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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