Scan barcode
A review by michellemaas
The Darkest Temptation by Danielle Lori
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First read: 5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Second read: 5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No thoughts, just complete, and utter love for this book.
I do not know how Danielle Lori got away with writing essentially the same story three times over and making it better each time but she did and now this is undoubtedly one of my favorite series ever! I am not kidding when I say that I felt the need to reread several of the scenes a mere 24hrs after completing the book.
I'm going to start with our main characters, Mila and Ronan. If you like the "Grumpy X Sunshine" trope you'll love this romance. Mila is a yellow-clad, blue-eyed vegan who hasn't experienced the world outside of her pampered and sheltered life under her father's thumb while Ronan is the leader of the Bratva with a stone-cold heart due to his traumatic childhood. Their story was beautifully portrayed and is my favorite couple in the Made Men Universe.
Another thing I enjoyed was the fact that true love wasn't the only thing needed for happiness in Mila's life in the end. There was one part in the book where Mila talked about only experiencing the inside of a house and falling in love, so if she didn't find herself that would be all she ended up experiencing. Love is great, but without other motivations such as hobbies and your job, you can still live an unfulfilled life even if you are in the most loving relationship on the planet. I love that Lori chose to include that since most romance authors make it seem that everything is cupcakes and rainbows as soon as you've found love.
Then there's Christian, Gianna, and Kat. Ahhhhhhh. I know quite a few people were sad we didn't get to see Christian as a father at the end of The Maddest Obsession but their interactions in this book more than made up for it. The Darkest Temptation takes place 2,5 years after the events of The Sweetest Oblivion and The Maddest Obsession, so we get to see Gianna and Christian as a couple who've adjusted to married life and life as parents. Also, Kat is the best character in all three books. Fight me if you must, but I guarantee you will not win. She is so sassy as well as the perfect mixture of Christian and Gianna. Every scene she was in gave me life.
Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to violence. I did not realize how much I missed the action (that included our main characters and not just the side characters) until I read this book. In the first book, neither Elena nor Nico got seriously injured and the same goes for the second book. If it's a mafia romance you know I'm either going to want a "who did this to you?" scene after the love interest sees the main character's scars or a "realizing I'm in love with you because I almost lost you and I can't stand to be without you" scene. This was the first book in the series where we got one of these and I really appreciated that.
In conclusion, you should go read this entire series (but especially this book) immediately or you will be doing yourself a disservice. I felt that the books each got better and better (so I gave The Sweetest Oblivion 3 stars and The Maddest Obsession 4 stars) but every book was great and something I'd happily reread. Go, go, go!
Second read: 5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No thoughts, just complete, and utter love for this book.
I do not know how Danielle Lori got away with writing essentially the same story three times over and making it better each time but she did and now this is undoubtedly one of my favorite series ever! I am not kidding when I say that I felt the need to reread several of the scenes a mere 24hrs after completing the book.
I'm going to start with our main characters, Mila and Ronan. If you like the "Grumpy X Sunshine" trope you'll love this romance. Mila is a yellow-clad, blue-eyed vegan who hasn't experienced the world outside of her pampered and sheltered life under her father's thumb while Ronan is the leader of the Bratva with a stone-cold heart due to his traumatic childhood. Their story was beautifully portrayed and is my favorite couple in the Made Men Universe.
Another thing I enjoyed was the fact that true love wasn't the only thing needed for happiness in Mila's life in the end. There was one part in the book where Mila talked about only experiencing the inside of a house and falling in love, so if she didn't find herself that would be all she ended up experiencing. Love is great, but without other motivations such as hobbies and your job, you can still live an unfulfilled life even if you are in the most loving relationship on the planet. I love that Lori chose to include that since most romance authors make it seem that everything is cupcakes and rainbows as soon as you've found love.
Then there's Christian, Gianna, and Kat. Ahhhhhhh. I know quite a few people were sad we didn't get to see Christian as a father at the end of The Maddest Obsession but their interactions in this book more than made up for it. The Darkest Temptation takes place 2,5 years after the events of The Sweetest Oblivion and The Maddest Obsession, so we get to see Gianna and Christian as a couple who've adjusted to married life and life as parents. Also, Kat is the best character in all three books. Fight me if you must, but I guarantee you will not win. She is so sassy as well as the perfect mixture of Christian and Gianna. Every scene she was in gave me life.
Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to violence. I did not realize how much I missed the action (that included our main characters and not just the side characters) until I read this book. In the first book, neither Elena nor Nico got seriously injured and the same goes for the second book. If it's a mafia romance you know I'm either going to want a "who did this to you?" scene after the love interest sees the main character's scars or a "realizing I'm in love with you because I almost lost you and I can't stand to be without you" scene. This was the first book in the series where we got one of these and I really appreciated that.
In conclusion, you should go read this entire series (but especially this book) immediately or you will be doing yourself a disservice. I felt that the books each got better and better (so I gave The Sweetest Oblivion 3 stars and The Maddest Obsession 4 stars) but every book was great and something I'd happily reread. Go, go, go!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use