Reviewed by Jill's Twisted Spicy Reads
Rating: 5/5
Amante by Evelyn Montgomery absolutely came in swinging.
I didn’t think Leo and Maria’s story could get more intense after book one, but book two said, “hold my drink,” and then threw me straight into secrets, betrayal, obsession, danger, and mafia chaos.
Leo is still dark, dominant, ruthless, and completely devoted to Maria, but this book peels back even more layers of who he is and why he makes the choices he does. Does he frustrate me with the secrets? Absolutely. I wanted to shake him more than once. But that is also what makes this story so addictive. In Leo’s world, secrets are protection, control, and survival. The problem is love cannot breathe when it is locked behind lies.
Maria’s growth was one of my favorite parts. She really finds her voice in this book. She is no longer just surviving Leo’s world. She is learning how to stand in it, fight in it, and claim her place beside him.
This book was packed with twists, heat, danger, power plays, and emotional moments that kept me turning the pages. Evelyn Montgomery gave Leo and Maria a dark, intense, messy, possessive love story that felt dangerous from beginning to end.
If you love dark mafia romance with morally grey characters, obsessive devotion, secrets, betrayal, and a couple that burns through every page, Amante is for you.
5 stars. 4 peppers. Check trigger warnings.