Irish Vice by Alix Key

After bulldozing my way through IRISH BRUTE, I could not wait to pick up the sequel. Not just because it's one of the best mafia romances I've ever read, but also because it's a-- wait for it-- Jane Eyre retelling. And a damn good one, too, honestly. It's not exact retelling but it's one of those ones where it's close enough to the source material that I'm having a blast trying to figure out what she'll keep and what she won't.

As far as sequels go, this is one of the better ones I've read too, because not only is there intense development with the plot, the character and emotional development really takes off here, as well. There were some twists that made me gasp and cringe, Samantha learns to overcome some of her traumas to wrest control over her life, and Braiden (sort of) learns when to be soft and make compromises.

That said, this book is a LOT darker than the first. Towards the end there's a pretty graphic torture session and while I was glad it was not as visceral as it could have been, it was still hard to read. Braiden also does some of those totally outlandish sex scenes that feel like they're shock fodder for Booktok. In this case, filling her vag with ice and fucking her with a pool cue.

I still loved this book, though. It's beautifully written and so entertaining. I almost don't want to read the last book right away because it's the last one, but I NEED IT.

4.5 out of 5 stars