Kept by the kingpin

Book: Kept by the kingpin by Evie Rose

Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy

Rating: 5/5

𝓝𝓞 𝓢𝓟𝓞𝓘𝓛𝓔𝓡𝓢
⚜️𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕠𝕗- Kept by the Kingpin by Evie Rose

𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 NetGalley 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐀LC 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰, 𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

⚜️ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤-
(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
🗣 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 Lucas Webley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ & Zara Hampton-Brown ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

🌡️ 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 MF 🌶🌶 / 5 -𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠

Which books have I also given this same rating? (𝑠𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛)

5⭐️ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5⭐️ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4⭐️ ACOTAR/ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird
3⭐️We Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex

⚜️𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠:
Genre- Mafia Romance / Contemporary Romance / Novella

🎧 3 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 39 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 (I 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚗 1.7 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍)

📖 158 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 Dual 𝗣𝗢𝗩 / 𝚍𝚞𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲- Ebook 4th June 2026 / Audiobook August 2026

𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 or 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 driven? 𝒜 ℳ𝒾𝓍, leaning character/romance driven

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼- London Mafia Bosses #12, interconnected standalones

𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 on 𝗞𝗨? ✅𝒴ℯ𝓈.

𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗲- ℱ𝒶𝓈𝓉 & 𝓌ℯ𝓁𝓁 𝓅𝒶𝒸ℯ𝒹 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓈𝓉ℴ𝓇𝓎

𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? ✅𝒴ℯ𝓈! Especially the reverse-kidnapping premise, Reid and Callie’s chemistry and Lucas Webley’s narration. I don’t expect to remember intricate mafia politics because there aren’t any, but I’ll absolutely remember how much fun I had listening to it.

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)❌

ℳℴℴ𝒹𝓈; 𝑭𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝑭𝒖𝒏, 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒚, 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒚, 𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒚, 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈

𝒟𝒾𝒹 𝒾 ℯ𝓃𝒿ℴ𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈?✅

𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓃ℯ𝓍𝓉 𝒷ℴℴ𝓀 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓈ℯ𝓇𝒾ℯ𝓈?✅

𝒲ℴ𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 ℯ𝓁𝓈ℯ 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓇?✅

𝖂𝖍𝖔 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖎 𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖔? Anyone wanting a quick, ridiculously entertaining and VERY spicy palate cleanser with an obsessed older mafia boss, instalove, an inexperienced FMC, possessiveness, forced proximity and plenty of humour. Don’t go in expecting gritty organised-crime politics. This is mafia-lite escapism with spice and feelings , and it knows exactly what it is.

⚜️𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕤:
🤍𝑉𝑖𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝐹𝑀𝐶
😍IᑎՏTᗩ ᒪOᐯᗴ / ᒪᑌՏT
🙏𝐻𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡
🫦Oᴘᴘᴏsɪᴛᴇs Aᴛᴛʀᴀᴄᴛ
🥵𝒟𝒾𝓇𝓉𝓎 𝒯𝒶𝓁𝓀
🌡𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕥, 𝕋𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟
🫶 𝑶𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 / 𝑷𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑴𝑴𝑪
💋 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒏-𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆

⚜️𝕋ℝ𝕆ℙ𝔼𝕊
🧐Aɢᴇ Gᴀᴘ
🧩𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚
🍭𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕪 𝕍 𝔾𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡𝕪
⌚𝔸-𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕖… 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅
☠️𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕…
💰 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝑴𝑴𝑪
🩺 𝑴𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒔𝒔 × 𝑵𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆
🏠 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈
💘 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆
🖤 𝑶𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑴𝑴𝑪
🇬🇧 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒂
🩶 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒐𝒙 𝑴𝑴𝑪

✨ TᕼᗴᗰᗴՏ ✨
Obsession • Devotion • Protection • Possessiveness • Trust • Attraction • Independence • Caretaking • Age-gap romance • Finding someone who wants ALL of you

📝Cliff Notes Review-
>This is a standalone in an interconnected series- this is the first one I have read in this series.
This was exactly the kind of quick, spicy nonsense I sometimes need between heavier books, and I mean that as the highest compliment. 😂 The plot was simple, predictable and fast, but Reid and Callie’s chemistry completely sold it and I loved the ridiculous reverse-kidnapping premise. The minimal worldbuilding worked perfectly for the novella length while still making me curious about the other interconnected couples. Lucas Webley and Zara Hampton-Brown were excellent, but Lucas absolutely stole the bloody show for me.

⚜️𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒓, 𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑵 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕?⚜️ (𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡- 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑜𝑟 𝐴𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜?)
🎧 LISTEN TO IT!
This is exactly the sort of novella that works brilliantly in audio. It’s short enough to finish in one sitting, the pacing never drags and duet narration makes Reid and Callie’s chemistry feel much more immediate.

⚜️𝔸𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕠 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨:
Lucas Webley and Zara Hampton-Brown were excellent. Even sped up, the pronunciation remained crisp and clear, the pacing sounded natural and the emotional delivery didn’t disappear. That’s something I really appreciate because some performances completely lose their atmosphere once you increase the speed.

Zara gave Callie plenty of personality and made her incredibly easy to like, but Lucas Webley was PERFECT for me. My god. His performance didn’t feel like somebody sitting in a booth reading dialogue from a page. Everything sounded as though Reid was genuinely saying it in that exact moment. His timing, inflections and emotional reactions made scenes feel like they were playing out live rather than being narrated back to me afterwards.

And the spicy scenes? -Sir.

That’s all. That’s the review.

Actually no, it isn’t. 😂 His delivery during those scenes was ridiculously convincing. Nothing suddenly became exaggerated or theatrical just because the material became hotter. He kept Reid sounding completely natural, which somehow made the chemistry even better.

Both narrators deserve praise, but Lucas was absolutely the standout for me. More please. Immediately.

🌍 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘:
The worldbuilding was minimal, but minimal in exactly the right way .

I knew enough about Reid, his position and the London mafia world to understand what was happening without wasting half of a three-and-a-half-hour audiobook explaining criminal hierarchies that weren’t particularly relevant to Callie and Reid’s relationship.

More importantly, what we did see made me curious about the wider interconnected world. The appearances and references to other characters didn’t make me feel as though I’d accidentally started halfway through a series. Instead they made me think, hang on… I want THEIR story now.

That’s exactly what interconnected standalones should do.

The pacing is incredibly fast, but again, novella . Insta-attraction and instalove are much easier for me to accept when the book announces from page one that we’re boarding the express train rather than pretending we’re taking the scenic route. 😂

There isn’t anything particularly complicated about the plot and I could see exactly where we were heading, but sometimes predictable is satisfying. I didn’t need to solve anything. I could simply relax, enjoy Reid being completely obsessed, enjoy Callie’s reactions and wait for the inevitable fireworks.

🧝‍♂️ ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤:
Callie was easy to like from the beginning. She’s a nurse who patches up a dangerous mafia boss, refuses his job offer and then discovers that instead of kidnapping her like a normal fictional psychopath, the man has bought her bloody building and moved in upstairs. Honestly, points for creativity. 😂

Reid is older, wealthy, powerful, possessive and immediately obsessed, but this isn’t trying to convince us we’re reading an authentic psychological study of organised crime. He’s a fantasy mafia boyfriend and the book knows it.

What made him work for me was the combination of ridiculous possessiveness and genuine care. He doesn’t simply want Callie. He wants to look after her, spoil her and insert himself into her life with all the subtlety of a bulldozer driving through the front wall.

Their connection worked remarkably well considering how little page time the novella has to establish it. The attraction is immediate, but I could also believe that they genuinely liked one another, which made all that spice much more satisfying.

⏳ 𝕎𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕚 𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕?
Yes and yes.

I’d particularly recommend the audiobook because the duet narration adds so much to an already fast, chemistry-heavy story.

I probably wouldn’t choose this if I were craving a dark, complicated mafia romance with extensive politics, danger and emotional devastation. But as a quick spicy palate cleanser? Absolutely.

And rather than simply making me want another book about Reid and Callie, it made me want to investigate the rest of the London Mafia Bosses series. That’s probably one of the biggest compliments I can give an interconnected standalone.

🪧𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
My first Evie Rose was a success!
This was short, fast, predictable, ridiculous, romantic, funny and filthy, and somehow those ingredients combined into exactly what I needed.

I loved that it didn’t try to make itself darker or more complicated than necessary just because Reid happens to be a mafia boss. The mafia setting gives him power, danger and that deliciously OTT ability to solve ordinary problems with completely unhinged amounts of money, but the actual focus remains firmly on Reid and Callie.

The worldbuilding gave me enough without suffocating a tiny book. The characters were ridiculously easy to fall for. The spice delivered. The pacing flew.

And most importantly, I finished wanting more rather than wishing it had ended twenty pages earlier.

The audiobook made the whole thing even better. Zara Hampton-Brown was fantastic as Callie and Lucas Webley…

Well.
Apparently I’ve discovered another male narrator whose shopping list I’d probably listen to if he read it with sufficient conviction. 😂

And yes, I’ll absolutely be investigating the other London Mafia Bosses now.

𝐹𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠;

𝕋𝕚𝕜𝕋𝕠𝕜
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IᑎՏTᗩ
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*

𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕤:
⭐️ DNF

⭐️⭐️
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands

⭐️⭐️.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

🔥⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

SPICE SCALE:
🌶️– segsual language and a little on-page action / fade to black

🌶️🌶️– a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

🌶️🌶️🌶️– a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.

Read full review on ARC Library