Book: The Knight’s Queen: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Romance (Eternal Checkmates) by Hallman, C.
Reviewed by Suzy Wickedly Good Reads
Rating: 4/5
I love a good mafia romance, and when I see Cassandra Hallman's name, I already know one thing: It's going to be SPICY. Not cheesy spicy. We're talking melt-your-panties spicy. 🌶️🔥 So obviously...sign me up.
The Knight's Queen is the first book in a new mafia series. Liam (Knight) has spent years plotting revenge against the man he believes was responsible for the deaths of his family. When Liam and his men finally storm his enemy's home, they take out his men and Liam takes something far more valuable: His enemy's daughter, Aurora. The plan is simple. Kill his enemy and all of his men present, marry Aurora, gain control of her father's holdings, and take over his enemy's empire. There's just one little problem. Aurora doesn't exactly want to be rescued from Liam. Her father has kept her under lock and key, mistreated her, and essentially viewed his daughter as another bargaining chip to eventually use in an arranged marriage. Liam expects a spoiled mafia princess loyal to his enemy. Instead, he discovers a woman who might actually be the perfect match for him. Too bad he's already made a deal promising her to another rival mafia family. Oops!!
This is labeled a dark mafia romance, and these are absolutely morally gray people living in a violent world. People die. Revenge is very much on the agenda. But I appreciated that the darkness wasn't dependent upon Liam abusing Aurora. He treats his new wife with respect, and I really enjoyed watching his original plans begin to unravel as he realizes Aurora is nothing like the woman he expected her to be. And the chemistry? Well...it's Cassandra Hallman. 🔥🔥🔥
The story alternates POVs by chapter, letting us see the developing relationship from both sides, which worked really well for me. I actually picked up The Knight's Queen because I wanted to read the SECOND book in the series. Characters important to that story are introduced here, and there's a nice lead-in setting up what's coming next. Could you probably jump straight into Book 2? Yes. Would I? Nope. Reading them in order gives you more insight into the characters and connections, and now I'm even more ready to see what happens next.
Mafia. Revenge. Marriage of convenience. Morally gray men. A heroine who isn't remotely what her captor expected, and enough spice to remind me exactly why I pick up Cassandra Hallman books. I'm in. ♟️🖤🔥