kindle/ Savage Lies: A Bratva Enemies to Lovers Romance (The Empire of Vows #1) by Clara Dunn

  amazon

 Book 1 of 4: The Empire of Vows 

 ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FRYLMW89

391 Pages

Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 4, 2025

I’m falling for the Bratva king I was trained to destroy.

I wake up in a penthouse with no memory, a stranger in my bed, and a husband I don’t remember marrying.

Dmitri Kozlov says I’m his wife. That I was in a terrible accident. That he’s here to protect me.

But the man calling himself my husband is nothing like the gentle partner he pretends to be.

He’s cold. Controlling. Deadly.

And every instinct I have screams run.

But my body doesn’t listen.

It obeys him.

Hungers for him.

Even when I catch glimpses of the truth—the weapons, the violence, the lies—I can’t stop wanting him.

Because underneath the possessive alpha who watches me like I’m his next breath… is a man who’s already mine.

Only I don’t remember why.

Every day brings me closer to the truth.

And when my memories return, I’ll have to decide:

Do I destroy the man who stole my life?

Or stay with the one who might be the only person who ever truly loved me?

Savage Lies is a dark mafia/amnesia romance with a possessive husband, forced proximity, and a heroine torn between revenge and the only man who has ever truly loved her.

Book One in The Empire of Vows series of interconnected mafia romances. Each one follows a new couple and delivers its own HEA, with recurring characters and ongoing world drama that’s best enjoyed in order.

MY 5 STAR REVIEW TITLED:  Revenge or Love?

For one year FSB Agent Katya "Kotyonok" Sidorov  is undercover as Andrea.   She's an art appraiser and her handler Viktor warns her that her target is getting too close to knowing who she is.  It's aleady too late because 6'3' Dmitri Kozlov already knows. He kidnaps her and intends to make her pay. It starts out as revenge but will it stay that way? It does make for a thrilling start and continues to be thrilling and intense.His personal doctor Mikhail Orlov is a former military medic who sure comes in handy for Dmitri and Katya.  

I kept thinking shouldn't they be suspicious of Pavel? I sure was.  He just kept pushing his way in more than he needed to. And Dr. Vikto Petrov? I kept shaking my head at Dmitiri because for a smart Bratva  boss man he sure was careless at times.  But I also know that he cares about Katya even though he doesn't want to.  And what about the memory Dr. Anya ?  Some surprises lay in wait especially about her. 

Katya does some dumb emotional stuff  which irked me but hey she's trying to figure things out !   I get it. .

I liked how everything played out because it really kept my interest all the way ! Dual Points of View get me every time. 

 

 

Review by Feb 07, 2026/Arc Bksprout/ Bound by the Mafia’s Code by Nina Costa

  Booksprout    Amazon

 Hosted by Nina Costa

 Elena Rossi, fiercely loyal daughter of Sicily’s most feared Mafia Don, protects her family’s legacy with more than tradition—she’s the secret hacker known as “the ghost,” locking down their operations from digital threats. In her father’s opulent mansion, Elena’s intelligence and confidence are matched only by her devotion to family. But a new threat is closing in, and this one is far closer than she dares imagine.

Enzo DeLuca, the ambitious Don of New York’s most powerful syndicate, has been on the receiving end of the ghost’s cyber warfare for months. 

Determined to put an end to the attacks, Enzo uncovers her identity and orchestrates a bold extraction. Under the pretense of interfamily business, he infiltrates the Rossi estate just as Elena slips from the opulent meeting room to her hidden tech sanctum. 

With lethal efficiency, Enzo and his men seize her, spiriting her away through concealed corridors to a waiting car. The Rossi family’s security is no match for Enzo’s planning—within hours, Elena is aboard his private jet, drugged for safety, and flown into the glittering unknown of New York City.

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My 5 Star Review TITLED: Caught me off guard

Elena Rossi (The Ghost) is playing the role of the Don's sweet, compliant daughter at the event.  Enzo DeLuca from New York enters the ballroom not impressed with the Sicilian party. But people see him and make way instantly for him; most without realizing they recognize his authority. But Enzo doesn't care because he's on a carefully planned mission to snatch Elena.  He and his team work smoothly and get her out of there and back to his place in New York. She's not happy when she waked from being drugged but she's already plotting ! She's dangerous too. And she's tired of being underestimated, controlled, contained and of people trying to make her smaller. She's not. She's dangerous too !  

Enzo is a man of few words. He isn't aftaid of silence; he know that it holds power of it's own. And he's holding a lot of secrets from Elena and she just won't stand for that for long. . He can already see her mapping the room, the house, exits, cameras.  I really liked Enzo he was a different kind of Mafia Don. A lot different that her father the Don.  It still takes a LONG time for any trust to develop between them. But they need to hurry up about that because they have a clever enemy inside the works. I don't trust her cousin Marco, who is close to her father. He's almost like the son he doesn't have and influencing him more than he should be able to. 
What caught me off balance for a while was all the computer speak. It made me  uncomfortable at first because I didn't understand what was going on. Well at least at first !

But the story was really good and I got used to the writing style of this author and things began to get really intense with betrayals, the precision and alignments.  

I really enjoyed the dual points of view and how the story worked out in the end. 

 I  received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.