Royal Bully by Rachel Van Dyken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars.
Something dark this way comes.
He’s gorgeous, mean, and mine.
He catches me dreaming about him, and then just like my dream, he decides to make me his.
I should have said no when he asked me to swear fealty to him.
The knife clued me in first.
The blood second.
And third, it was the blessing of the most famous mafia bosses in the known world as they sat around the dinner table and told me that I had no choice but to join.
Because they knew my secrets.
And running meant I was nothing more than target practice.
I said yes because of my bully.
And he told me he’d keep me safe.Royal Bully
But who keeps me safe from him?
Really gets to the heart and humanity (or inhumanity) of living in the Mafia!
Damn you RVD for writing such an awesome book and even though this series is a new series in and of itself, it is basically a “New Generation” of Mafia that is going to the Eagle Elite University. They are the children from her original Eagle Elite series and though you don’t need to read that series to understand any of this book, now I actually want to read that series. So now that is another whole slew of books added to my already overflowing TBR. Well actually they were on it, but now I am moving them, way up.
This book was so good. I’m not sure I would call this one bully romance at all, but the next two are being set up that way and they should be terrific. Though I don’t want to give any spoilers away about them other than to say that the couple (Serena Abandonato and Junior Nicolasi) that those books are about were in this book and were in love and the love was so forbidden that If their father’s found out they would have both been put to death.
So the main character in this book, Asher Abandonato who is the executioner for the families had to break them up for their own good. Now they hate each other. So I guess he was the bully in this book but he had a good reason.
This book was so good in its own right because it showed the brutality that these people live with. They are born into this life and have to live within the rules and can never get out. If they try then they are considered to be loose ends because they know too much and they no longer have any reason to protect the life. That means they are dead, it doesn’t matter who they are or whose kid they are or who they are related to or who loves them. What sucks even more is that their own family and especially Asher has to be the one to do the dirty work.
In this book Asher falls in love with a girl in one of his classes at Eagle Elite University. Her name is Claire and he promises to protect her if she agrees to go out with him. She knows who his family is, everybody does, and she still is attracted to him. She is excited by him and also a bit scared, but she quickly learns what she has gotten into.
I don’t want to give anymore away but Rachel Van Dyken does a terrific job of showing how exciting and tragic it can be to live a life like that and how much it can cost for the different people. I just can’t see how any of it can even be worth it. But it seems like they all are stuck in situations of their own making when they are the ones that could possibly have the power to change some of it. But what do I know. I mean if you are so afraid that your own family will tell your secrets that you end up killing them, then maybe it is time to go legit? How much money do you need? It just seems nuts to me.
Either way, it is extremely fascinating and I can’t wait for more. I went right out and bought the first four of the Eagle Elite books. I just hope I can find time to start on them…
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
View all my reviews
Books Best Blog 