Tempted by Deception: A Dark Marriage Mafia Romance (Deception Trilogy) Paperback – October 4, 2021

Want to be thrown back in time. This book starts out 6 yrs before the first book and how they met and them getting married and Jeremy being born. Still don’t have answers so off to the 3rd book

The story is good but Lia is infuriating and I find her extremely annoying.

Oh my gosh this book!!!! Ahhh. I love Rina Kent but this one by far is one of my favorites! Absolutely fantastic read. Can’t wait to jump into the third book!!

Ok! So if you haven’t read Vow of Deception (book one) you will want to skip this review because it does reveal secrets from book one.....LAST CHANCE....Following the events of book one, book two gives us the history between Adrian and Lia and we get to see how their story began. We see how it escalated to the point the where Lia is broken seemingly beyond repair and we see a man who refuses to give up on her or let her go. The one broke my heart in ways I wasn’t expecting it to..Lia was an incredibly talented prima ballerina who was at the wrong place at the wrong time when she meets Adrian. Adrian is determined to have everything he wants and Lia is no exception. Through a journey of ups and downs we witness small things that add up over time and fester. Of course there were times she was right to be angry in their relationship but staying silent and letting all that toxicity build up created the perfect storm for their demise. Adrian has a multitude of faults but overtime you begin to realize that those ‘faults’ are more of a calculated mask he wears. He saved her in ways she couldn’t fathom but he destroyed her in ways he was too blind to see..These two gave me the emotional sweats.. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then good on you, but just know that this book in particular got me so wound up at times that I was a sweaty mess! Not just because the smex scenes were hot because sweet lord they were so intense and yummy 🥵, but I got so emotionally invested in the way these two tore each other apart that at times I was sweating profusely. It’s not pretty but we’re all friends here and I felt like y’all should know that it affected me physically 😂..Like with anything I recommend, you should check your trigger warnings before reading. This one does get a bit heavy at times with mental health struggles.

This review is for bk2 of a trilogy of books. Since the story does deal with alot of characters from other books it can get confusing.“I’ll meet you over and over again if I have to.” Adrian's comment above pretty much sums up the storyline but ...Adrian is first introduced in Rai's bks & we meet Lia a bit in that bk. At the end of Rai's bks Lia comes to Rai & asked her to help her run from Adrian so Rai hides her at a safe house. Jeremy who is Adrian/Lia son is mentioned in Rai's bk. Reina&Rai are twins. Reina's (All The Lies/ All the Truths ) & Rai's ( Thorne of Power/ Thorne Of Vengeance ) & all the Royal Elite ( havent read Seb/Naomi books (Red Thorn/Black Thorn ) yet but they seemed to be more of a side story) I did decide to read Adrian/Lia story as their children are important to the Legacy Of Gods Series which starts w/ God Of Malice which deals w/ the books mentioned above & Rina Kents Royal Elite Bks (7 bks ) characters childrens. I also suggest reading the Empire of Desire books which tie both Royal Elite & Reina/Rai/ Adrian's story into it.SPOILERS BELOWBK 1 drops you right into Adrian (MMC) & Lia (FMC) story ( right after Rai bks ends) But BK2 starts in the past & childhood. MMC grew up w/ a mom who abused him. She thought Dad would leave his wife for her but wife was important (bratva marriage) so mom broke MMCs arm & ordered a hit on wife (who was always kind to MMC). Lia(24yrs) is Italian & a prima ballerina in the NYC Ballet. Childhood friend is Luca they don't see each other alot bc he's into illegal things/mafia. FMC had something happen as a child that affects her now with hallucinations & paranoia. Nightmares she isnt sure are real or fake. She uses pain to determine if what she is seeing is real or not.FMC saw MMC murdering people in a parking area of her apartment. MMC holds a gun to her head & threatens her & lets her go.MMC shows up later to FMCs ballet rehearsal for 'Giselle' where she is the lead & asks her out to dinner. MMC has a thing for patterns. Youll see these patterns from the 1st bk come through in their relationship origin story and how he claims Lai as his. Honestly it makes this bk repeative . 50% in Lia goes to party at vcorp w ppl from ballet & happens upon Adrian & finds out he is engaged to Igor's daughter Kristina & Lia doesnt want to be a mistress but still sleeps w him . After this Lia is at rehearsal & she ends up breaking her tibia badly & has surgery. Its a career ending break. Lia attempts to jump out the hospitals window but Adrian shows up & tells Lia he broke off the engagement. Few weeks later Lia finds out she's 5 wks pregnant then MMC forces her to marry him that night which he had planned for weeks even had her dress custom made. He planned it all to ultimately protect her. She decides shes going to make MMC pay by planning with Luca even though Luca said no one will save her including him. 75% in the book jumps 6 mths to Jeremy's birth where a group tried to kill MMC. Then jumps again a few months (1yr after wedding) where Lia tries escape w/o any real plans. MMC catches her. She realizes she loves MMC but the eacape really affected him. Then jumps 4 years which gets you to the timeline in bk 1. You find out she made the bratva document for herself. She goes to Mikhails Bday party where Luca tries to kill Adrian but Lia saved him. Luca tells her she is Lazlo Luciano’s illegitimate daughter & Lazlo ordered the hit on her mom & stepdad in Italy. Luca said MMC was using her & she told him to give her evidence & she'd kill Adrian herself. Lia goes "ghost" & is depressed/ mental breakdown barely registering Jeremy's existence. Then blow up happens about her parents about their death & how she had to hid in a black box until someone came & she went to live with her grandma. MMC also figured out Lia was getting outside help (Luca) but doesnt know who. During Rais Coffee event ( in her bk) where Lia gets shot at is mentioned towards the end of thos bk. Lia is sprialing & hallucinating more. She meets someone at the homeless shelter that looks like her named Winter & makes a plan to trade places. MMC knows right away this is not Lia & tracks Lia via a dental tracker. Winter fell while all this was going on & hit her head. While Lia is on the way to safe house MMC finds her so she runs in the woods. They talk & she realizes shes an idiot she jumps off a cliff.Honestly Lia is super frustrating in this book.

****ETHAN AND AGNUS HAVE SO MANY APPERANCES IN THE RINAVERSE THAT THEY DESERVE A BOOK***Wow, this novel was such a whirlwind! I loved how it takes us back to when the characters first started dating. There were definitely moments when I just wanted to yell at them to talk things out! Despite that little frustration, I found myself really invested in the story. The back-and-forth timeline was a bit tricky, but it kept things interesting. And I have to say, Adrian is such an amazing character! He goes through so much, and I can't help but admire his strength