Hey everyone and welcome to another Throwback Thursday! Every week I'll be sharing my book recommendations within a romantic trope or theme.

Today I'm sharing the first five Arranged Marriage romance books I loved and reviewed on the blog. This happens to be one of my favorite tropes, especially when it's done as well as the books listed below. When they're enemies to start out just makes it sweeter!

If you happen to know of a book in this trope that you think I'd love, please let me know.

Deathless & Divided by Bethany-Kris

No one and I mean NO ONE writes mafia romance like Bethany-Kris. When she makes the couple struggle through an arranged marriage... I don't know what kind of magic she sprinkles into her books, but they're like my catnip. Two strong protagonists, battling their feelings and each other, making for one heck of a journey to true love and a happy ending. Need I say more?

Vein of Love by R. Scarlett

This entire series, Blackest Gold, is incredible. The heroine has no idea about her potential, the hero is so much more than he seems, and they were promised from birth. There's a ton of darkness spread throughout and if you enjoy that kind of thing with a paranormal twist, you'll enjoy these books.

Arranged by Lexi Blake

I can't be the only one who's a fan of these novellas. This couple are a pair of opposites... or are they? I haven't read much from this author, but if her other books are anything like this one, I'd read them all!

Crowned by Hate by Amo Jones

This story gave me a hard time. Seriously, this book made me realize how wholly and completely this author likes to screw with our minds. It even ends on a devastating cliffy. I was a hot mess with this book.

Secrets by Aleatha Romig

Take one part delicious alpha hero, part brilliant and brave heroine, and TONS of secrets, and you've got this amazing series. I haven't read a lot from this author, but of everything I've read, this series was the best.

One of the things I love about the bookish world is that one book can evoke different feelings in all sorts of readers. One book can be a five-star read for me and a DNF for someone else. We all see something different because we're all different and I love exploring those differences by reading reviews.

Full disclosure: I read these books years ago, but I do remember enjoying them. Have you read them? Are you interested?

Virgin (A Real Man #2) by Jenika Snow

Quinn
I met Isabel when I was ten.
I fell in love with her before I even knew what that meant.
I knew from the moment I saw her she was it for me. No one else compared to her, and I’d do anything to make her mine. But I was afraid of losing the friendship we have, so I've kept my mouth shut.
But she's leaving me, and I know I can't keep how I feel inside any longer.
Saving myself for the girl I loved isn't a hardship, but something I'm proud of. When it comes to Isabel giving her my virginity, and making her see we belong together, is all that matters.

Isabel
Quinn is like the other half of my soul, the one person I can talk to about anything. He has the bad boy thing going on but is also respectful as much as he is a rebel.
He is the first and only boy I will ever love.
Being forced to move across the country, and leave him behind is like leaving a piece of myself in the process. But telling Quinn, I am madly in love with him could put a strain on our friendship. I didn’t know if that’s something I can handle or risk.

Quinn
Nothing can keep me from Isabel. She is it for me, and I mean that in every conceivable way. Nothing can keep me from her. I hope she's ready because there isn't anything or anyone that will stop me from having her as mine.

Devil (now known as Memory) by Ker Dukey

Evi Devil.
Yes, that’s really my name.
The irony is not lost on me.
I was created from two evil souls and have the name to prove it.
Devil worshipers, perverts, murderer. Is all terms used to describe the parents I refuse to remember. My mind won’t allow me to.
And why would I want to?
One born of dirty blood running through her veins can never truly be clean from its murky hue.
No matter what they try to tell me happened in my past, my mind denies me access, therefore how can I know it’s true?
How can I believe that’s what I’m born from?
Glimpses of my past haunt me, the screams of terror echo in the silent darkness of my memories, trying to remind me that my Mother went from room to room butchering our family.
I’ve learned from scars that I suffered abuse and that my Father and siblings weren’t my Mother’s only victims.
Hearing what they tell me.
Reading the words printed in the papers. None of it can prepare me for what’s to come.
My biggest lesson is learning that some memories we suppress for a reason.

Cut & Blow Pt.1 by Ashley Giannoccaro

The smell of perm lotion and the sound of the dryer’s blowing hot air camouflages the truth, the lies, and the real stories behind the people inside the hair salon.
Cut & Blow flash in neon lights above the glass front of the outdated shop, but inside young talent shave and layer hair while making small talk with clients, that over share.
Ailee is a twenty-year old stylist with more secrets of her own than she hears from others on a daily basis. But, when a tall, long haired customer comes in and seduces her with his deep voice, the skeletons come tumbling out her closet before she can shut the door. Falling in love with him is like stepping off a ledge, she knows it won’t end well, but it feels so good on the way down.
Rainieri watches his wife from a distance, until he just cannot watch any longer. Through the salon window he sees someone else taking what is his, setting off his possessive streak. When she doesn’t get his subtle messages and her stubborn nature won’t give up, he steps in to take what was his all along.

Today's flashback is the Ruthless People series by J.J. McAvoy. This was my first foray into this author's work and I was blown away with the world she created for these two rival mafias ruling Chicago. This is the story of Melody and Liam, their arranged marriage, and everything that they grew to be. They started out as enemies, each the heir to a kingdom, eventually joining forces to rule together. It's a story full of chaos, death, drama, family and love.

All of these stories are told in either dual or multiple first person perspectives. The heat ranges from descriptive to almost explicit and there is a happy ending.

I read this series many years ago and can still remember how amazing it was. Have you ever read these books? Are you interested?

Please Note: I had intended to read this author's Children of Vice series after this, but I chose not to and will continue not to because readers, whom I trust, have advised me not to. To leave the love I have for these characters right here, to remember them this way. Supposedly the author ruined everything LOL.

1. Ruthless People

To the outside world, they look like American Royalty, giving to charities, feeding the homeless, rebuilding the city. But behind closed doors is a constant battle for dominance between two Bosses, cultures, and hearts. Ruthless People is a romantic crime fiction set in modern day Chicago, and follows the life and marriage of Melody Giovanni and Liam Callahan-rivals by blood and leaders through fear. Their marriage, arranged by their fathers in hopes to end years of bloodshed between the Irish and the Italians. Liam believes he's getting a simple-minded wife, one he can control, one who bends to his every need . . . the complete opposite of Melody. She knows exactly what type of man he is, and would rather die than give up the power she has spent her life building. The Mafia of the past has evolved, and with rival bosses gunning for them, Melody and Liam will have to learn to work as one to take down those who stand in their way.

2. The Untouchables

Everything Melody Callahan has ever been told about her past is a lie. Her father lied. Her husband lied. But like all secrets…they come out. Not only is her mother, Aviela, alive but she won’t stop until she tears down everything Liam and Melody have spent the past year building.

With a new target on their back and the media now focused on their family as the Presidential election approaches, Liam and Melody must fight on two battlefronts. Melody is torn between being in love with Liam and wanting to kill him for lying to her. Being in love and showing love are two different things in her world. Liam wants to do anything to protect his family even if that means hurting the people he loves.

Family is everything… but what happens when they’re out for your blood? Everything they have been through is nothing compared to what is coming...

3. American Savages

Melody is nowhere to be found, Liam is in jail, and the Callahan family is cracking, just as Avian Doers, the FBI Director and puppet master behind their downfall, planned.

But just because they’re down doesn't mean they’re out. To fight back, Liam and Melody will have to put everything on the line. The kid gloves are coming off, and no one is getting out alive. Nothing will compare to the reign of terror that is about to envelope the entire country. First they were Ruthless, now they are pure Savages. The end is here, and no one is safe…

4. A Bloody Kingdom

It has been eight years since the Callahans defeated Avian Doers and conquered Chicago. Melody is now the Governor and public face of the family, while Liam rises as the Ceann na Conairte of both the Irish and Italians.

Their reach is limitless; their power endless...but is it possible to have too much power? Can Liam and Melody raise a family, a city, and an empire?

Only a fool would try to stop them now....

Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Rating -
Book Two of the Cat and Mouse duet
Genre/Trope - Dark Romance / stalker / vigilante
Release - January 28, 2022
POV - Dual 1st person
Heat - explicit scenes
Source - Kindle Unlimited
Length - 531 pages

Don't forget to check out the first book of the duet:

I really had to suspend my belief for this one. Some things just didn't make sense in a realistic sense, but I'll tell you this: I was entertained!!

Adeline was kidnapped and being trained to be sold. I really enjoyed this part of the story. She went through so much pain and torture and it all fundamentally changed her. I kept thinking "Will she see Zade in a different light?" She gave Zade such a hard time for everything he did to eradicate the world from abusive scum, but at the same time she celebrated the fact that he would be killing everyone who hurt her while they were apart. Girl was too funny, for sure.

I know there are people who find the topics discussed in this duet as terribly dark and horrific. If that's what you think, you should definitely not read Deliverance for Amelia by Bonny Capps or The Life of Anna series by Marissa Honeycutt—those are truly dark and horrific. This duet was pretty mild in comparison, but it did gut me in places. I cringed, gasped and my eyes did bug out for some scenes. However, I also enjoyed myself a ton.

My biggest issue with this story was Adeline. While I lived in delusional-ville for the majority of this story, I couldn't let the delusion take me too far. Was I supposed to believe that Adeline became fully capable after a couple of months of training? Seriously? And every time she mentioned "we" did this in order to fool or trap the bad guys, I laughed. I know she was using the "we" figuratively, but there was no "we". She wasn't hacking anything. She wasn't building bombs or placing them to detonate. She wasn't tracking or really doing a damn thing.



H. D. Carlton is an International and USA Today Bestselling author. She lives in Ohio with her partner, two dogs, and cat. When she's not bathing in the tears of her readers, she's watching paranormal shows and wishing she was a mermaid. Her favorite characters are of the morally gray variety and believes that everyone should check their sanity at the door before diving into her stories.