Sinful Crown by Ava Harrison

I love a possessive antihero, and that’s what we get with Gideon in this tense mafia romance. This story gets into things very quickly, and we find that Gideon is made to promise our heroine Sasha’s dying brother to protect her from whomever is after her. Unfortunately for Sasha, this means that she’s stuck with Gideon, whom she despises upon first meeting him. She’s essentially being held captive for her protection, but Gideon’s also besotted by her and possibly takes things a bit far. Eventually, things evolve between them, but can they even be together with everything else going on and when secrets come to light?

I enjoyed the plot of this story and how it enfolded. The reasons for Sasha being stuck with Gideon made sense in the story, and I found myself grinning at their interactions. I’m a sucker for a forced proximity/alpha-hero storyline, and everything that led to Gideon and Sasha’s relationship changing kept me engaged. The story did slow a bit for a moment as it sort of changed gears, but then the twist at the end was rather satisfying.

And Gideon with all his possessive grumpiness was just what I wanted him to be. He wasn’t easy to like at first, but then an anti-hero shouldn’t be. I like that as the book progressed his character unraveled to become someone I rooted for. Add in Sasha’s feistiness and her sad past, and we get main characters that I seriously wanted to have a HEA.

If you enjoy forced proximity/enemies-to-lovers romances coupled with slow-burn tension, then you’re going to want to read this one.