Sweet Temptation

Cora Reilly is one of the best mafia romance writers of our generation, and Cassio and Giulia are proof of it.

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1. SWEET TEMPTATION by Cora Reilly

SYNOPSIS

The first time Cassio meets his fiancée, she calls him ‘sir.’

After losing his wife, Cassio is left to take care of two small children while trying to establish his rule over Philadelphia. Now he needs a mother for his children and someone who can warm his bed at night. But in a world as traditional as his, choosing your wife is duty not pleasure. Rules have to be followed, traditions heeded. That’s how he ends up with a woman—a girl—barely of age. She may not be what he and his children need, but she’s lovely and a sweet temptation he can’t resist.

Giulia has always known she’ll marry the man her father chose for her, but she never expects to be given to someone so much older. Suddenly she’s supposed to be a mother to two small children when she hasn’t even held a baby before.

Giulia quickly realizes that Cassio isn’t interested in a relationship on equal footing. Her mother has warned her that men of power, like Cassio, don’t tolerate insolence. Tired of being treated as a nanny and clueless child-bride, Giulia decides to fight for her version of a happy family.

BOOK REVIEW

Although Sweet Temptation is included in neither the Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles nor the Camorra Chronicles, the main characters had a number of cameos in some of them. The book was such an arranged marriage trope treat for me. Yum. Sweet Temptation was as enchanting and addicting as any other book by one and only Cora Reilly. It instantly made me swoon and melted my heart…

“Giulia encompassed that word ‘love’, that feeling, in every action, every smile, every fiber of her being.”

Giulia Rizzo was like a hurricane that swept everyone off their feet, including me. With her quirkiness, sweetness, don’t-give-me-your-bullshit kind of attitude, and immense strength of an experienced woman (which was so refreshing to witness, considering Giulia was barely of age when she married Cassio). And I mean not her sexual experience, of course, but her resilience to the convenience of fitting the ‘trophy wife’ mold. I honestly admired her determination to make the best out of the whole situation she was basically forced into while staying true to her own self. Despite all the challenges (the chilling rumors about the ruthlessness and brutality of her husband, as well as a great responsibility to take care of two demanding in their own way children and a completely untrained and unloved dog), Giulia never cowered. She never lost hope and practiced patience to achieve the happiness she deserved. She knew exactly what she wanted and refused to settle for anything less.

“I’d never been a man for the sweet things in life, I suddenly craved it.”

Cassio Moretti was quite a good mix of Luca and Dante, broody and ruthless and controlling as fuck. But despite his bloody strong mafia man facade, he was such a cutie with lots of vulnerabilities! I really enjoyed his character and his progression to a better version of himself as a husband and a father. Giulia and Cassio’s children were treated with respect all the time, even when they got on his nerves haha. And I absolutely loved that Daniele and Simona weren’t just the fillers. They stayed at the epicenter of the main problem, being loved and cherished and thought about, which made me extremely happy.

“Are you jealous?”
“Possessive. I don’t share well. Or at all.”
She laughed.
“That’s funny to you? I’m dead serious.”
She rolled her eyes. Rolled. Her. Eyes.

The chemistry between Giulia and Cassio set me on fire. Literally haha. My jaw was practically on the floor when my hubby started to read one of the sex scenes, and I burned my fingers while making us an omelet. So embarrassing but also so irresistibly captivating.

Overall, I would say that Sweet Temptation is the most consistent book by Cora Reilly. And what I mean by that is you get exactly what you expect from the book—the well-balanced coming of Giulia and Cassio as a couple and as parents. Despite the lack of some mafia action in the book, you won’t get bored at all. More than that, you won’t get enough! Of the Moretti family, of their romance, of their passion and dedication and loyalty. Make sure to check Sweet Temptation out!