Her father's the most feared man in the city, the king of the underworld. The police want him in prison. His enemies want him dead. Life for Violetta Valentine has always been lived under heavy lock and key. With a cold and distant father, a cruel older brother, and a sweet mother who just doesn't get it, Violetta is nothing more than a bird in a gilded cage. That is until her twentieth birthday when she decides to break free.

On a whim, Violetta sneaks out for some spontaneous fun and meets a gorgeous, tattooed stranger at an underground fight. He's charming and gentle, so unlike everyone she's ever known. After spending the evening flirting and exchanging hope, Violetta returns home where she discovers tragedy has struck and life as she knows it is never the same again.

Six months later, as Violetta is coping under high security detail and even stricter surveillance, all comes to a head when she comes face to face with the stranger from that night. Her father's newest soldier, Rian. He's everything she should stay away from, but the one thing she can't resist. Tempting and dangerous, a love affair could destroy them both. When Violetta gets too close and finds out Rian is a man with a deadly secret, she must confront everything she knows. In a world of death before dishonor, loyalty will be tested, lines crossed, and hearts shattered.

character & book aesthetics

Epigraph
❝ there are two tragedies in life. one is to lose your heart's desire. the other is to gain it. ❞

– George Bernard Shaw

Genre
crime x forbidden romance

In Vein of
The Departed meets Beautiful Disaster with a mafia romance twist

Theme Song

Enchanted | Taylor Swift

https://youtu.be/fvg01l43XBc

Content Warning
age-gap, violence, sex, murder, vulgar language

Note
posted this before, but I've been in my crime movie bag, so maybe something'll happen here. it's giving mafia, but at the same potentially bodyguard as well. i definitely see some possessiveness in Rian which i'm a sucker for.

idk when i'll post, maybe i'll write this simultaneously with The Darkest Redemption. either way, i hope it sounds interesting now that there is a full summary. another twisted romance for the roster!
– B.