I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
Broken Crown by MJ Crouch Series: Gilded Empire
Published by Calamittie Jane Publishing on April 19, 2024
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Mari Marcosa was raised to be a mafia wife—a bargaining chip, a tool, a toy. All that was expected of her was to look beautiful and stay quiet.
She never anticipated becoming queen of the Marcosa empire. But when her father and brother were killed, there was no other choice.
For six years she’s learned to become ruthless, strategic, and deadly—to keep her empire intact. That path has been stained with her enemies’ blood.
And sometimes her own.
Now a new enemy has appeared. He hides in the shadows determined to destroy her piece by painful piece.
With everything falling apart, she’s unsure of who to trust. Except for the three men at the very foundation of her survival:
Greyson - Her best friend, her second-in-command, her savior. They’ve been bound together since birth and will remain so until they leave this life behind.
Dominic – Her new underboss with molten eyes and a smile made for war. He was Mari’s first. He’s determined to be her last. He brings out a gentle side in her she doesn’t know if she can afford.
Nate – Her good Samaritan who is also a weapon, a killer—she can’t let herself forget that. He has secrets, which sometimes prove deadly in her world. But resisting him isn’t an option.
Danger is coming at her from all sides. Without her three men, she won’t survive. They’ll burn the world to the ground to keep her safe.
But that may not be enough.
•••
Author’s note: Broken Crown is the first book in the Gilded Empire series and ends on a cliffhanger. This is a "Why Choose?" romance with violence, dark themes, and ruthlessly possessive—and protective—men.
Attention grabbing and addictive! Janie Crouch is letting a whole new side to her voice shine with a dark mafia/why-choose romance as brand new pen name MJ Crouch, and I loved every minute! Yes, there should be more development to the backstory up front of what happened to her family, and yes I wanted a tad more angst to intensify that cliffhanger, but overall Broken Crown was intense, dramatic and really enjoyable to read. I’m looking forward to picking up where we left off with the next book in the series!
Mari is a really connectible character. She’s sincere, and she’s heartfelt but she also has a cutthroat side to her that she’s had to develop in order to survive the curves life has thrown at her. I really enjoyed her.
I highly recommend this first installment of the series to anyone that enjoys a woman led mobster family with endearing characters, passionate encounters and danger lurking around every corner. This is most definitely a cliffhanger series, so each book must be read in order and you will be hanging on for a bit to continue each finale.
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