Book Review: Italian Devil’s Baby by Heidi Rice

There appears to be a new genre in romance - mafia themed novels. Lucy Munroe was the first author I noticed that had started to write self published mafia romance novels whilst also showcasing other authors who write in this genre. Heidi Rice is the first author to bring this type of storyline to Mills and Boon Modern and I was interested to see how it fitted in or broadened the Modern plot types. 

Italian Devil’s Baby, the first in the Captive Mafia Seductions is written by Heidi Rice is a dark mafia/ secret pregnancy romance.  Vittorio Rocco, is head of the Rocco family, a mafia boss who is feared in Southern Italy. Mia Taylor is a teaching assistant from London who has maxed out her credit cards to take her little sister, Evie on a once in a lifetime trip to Italy. Vito first sees Mia dancing with friends on his on his yacht.  She agrees to meet him and their one night stand goes from there. He whisks her off to his apartment, they have a great night but unfortunately a rival gang led by his half brother Dante break in and shoot Vito. 

Mia is hurriedly removed from the scene and taken back to London to the flat she shared with Evie. She discovers she is pregnant but doesn’t tell Vito as she has now realised he is very much tied up with the mafia! 

Vito comes to find Mia, realises she is pregnant and whisks her back to Italy to his private island that is like a fortress. The chemistry between them is still there but will their relationship withstand the violence, loss of freedom for Mia and the total change to her life?

I enjoyed this novel. It is well paced and doesn’t drag the plot line out. The characters aren’t over the top stereotypes but have character flaws that are relatable to the reader. It is a very sexually charged novel, violent in places, a step up from the traditional M&B Modern. I am looking forward to reading Dante and Evies’ story which is out in October. 

I love Mills & Boon UK and I think you will too! Click my personal referral link to get a discount on your first purchase http://rwrd.io/f4yjeqp?c 

I received this book via Heidi Rice in exchange for a honest review. I am a #MillsAndBoonInsider #gifted

Book Review: One Bed Between Rivals by Joss Wood

One Bed Between Rivals, written by Joss Wood and published by Mills and Boon Modern is a thoughtful eco romance.

Thea and Farrell first met at university, she added an idealistic, studious student, him the playboy son of a hotel property millionaire. Thy didn’t mix in the same friendship group. 10 years on she is a successful travel blogger whilst he has taken over the family business and is trying to fix all th corrupt and damaging practices his father used whilst building his empire of holiday resorts. 

Thea has been invited to the opening of Farrell’s newest resort, an eco resort in th Seychelles.  Financed by Farrell it is one of many initiatives to try and fix the damage done to the eco system by his father. 

A tropical storm hits the resort on the first night. They are forced to share a bed in Farrell’s bungalow and the sparks fly. The media is about to  blow open all the corrupt dealings Farrell’s father entered into when building his empire. Will their romance survive?

One Bed is quite a compact novel, the main characters could have been developed other more backstory. I Enjoyed the story being written from a dual point of view, it made the storyline more rounded as the refer saw the storyline develop from both characters standpoint. 

As usual with Joss Wood’s novels I enjoyed this book, I just wish it had been longer. 

I love Mills & Boon UK and I think you will too! Click my personal referral link to get a discount on your first purchase http://rwrd.io/f4yjeqp?c 

I received this book via Netgalley and Mills and Boon in exchange for a honest review. I am a #MillsAndBoonInsider #netgalley #gifted

Book Review: Her Forbidden Royal Boss by Jadesola James

Her Forbidden Royal Boss, written by Jadesola James and published by Mills and Boon Modern imprint is a Royal romance set in Anwu, Prince Ikem is the Prince Regent until the baby nephew takes the throne at 18. The palace becomes aware of threats gins the baby’s life so Adama is appointed as a nanny /bodyguard as she has military training. Ikem is trying to uphold the legacy of his brother whilst unrest is growing in neighbouring and his own country. Adama and her family has seen and lived through the unrest and understand how Ikem’s decisions could destroy the country. She also isn’t that comfortable around the baby as after her brother died she cut herself from her feelings. Nevertheless the attraction between the pair simmers and explodes as the prince and Adama work together to protect the baby.

A really enjoyable read, well paced and interesting as Adama is a very strong, determined heroine (with issues going back to her childhood) and Prince Ikem, whils presenting as an alpha male hero he also makes mistakes. He also had a soft protective side when it comes to his nephew. I look forward to reading other novels by this author as her writing and storylines are fresh and new. 

#Win #miffy bundle

Just like millions of other users I have been banned from Twitter/X for inauthentic behaviour. I had been retweeting lots of find my pet / animal rescue tweets. This means I cannot access my dms and send out my disney prizes. Looking into advice posted on Reddit, sometimes searching for an account helps to prove you are a real person. This is my link:Link  in order try and get reinstated and prove I am not a bot this competition will require entrants to:

Follow my blog;

Comment on any Blog post;

Search on X for @susan1375 Link

Leave a comment on this post stating how many times you have searched or left a comment (each time equals one entry) so I can message the winner. 

The prize is a mini Miffy bundle consisting of a blind box colourful light and a friendship bracelet, both are reviewed in previous posts. The blind box has not been opened so I don’t know what colour Miffy you will win. 

Rules:

The competition opens on 12 June 2026 0.01 am GMT and closes on 0/ 1 July 11.59pm GMT.

The competition is open internationally.

I purchased the items and the brands have no input into this competition. Any questions please message me through my blog.

You must:

Follow my blog;

Comment on. Blog post;

Search on X for @susan1375

Leave a Comment on this post so I can contact you

 

Book Review: Family Lies by Karen Rose

 

Family Lies is a suspense thriller written by award winning novelist, Karen Rose. This is the fourth novel in the San Diego Case File series. 

San Diego Homicide Detective Kit McKittrick and police psychologist/ boyfriend Sam Reeves. 

This case focuses on Lit’s foster sister Akiko. A recently deceased woman, Mary leaves a message on Aliko’s answer machine claiming to have information about her birth mother. Kit is shot and wounded when she goes to Mary’s house at Akiko’s request to find out what she knows about her mother and finds Her body. and the story develops from there.  Mary had been in touch with Aliko’s sensei and mentor (who was subsequently beaten up). The plot line is increasingly murky as they are drawn into the Japanese mafia underworld. 

I enjoyed this novel, but I did find it to be very long and complicated with lots of subplots and characters that were superfluous to or didn’t add anything to the storyline. I found the name changing for the Japanese characters very confusing, and unnecessary. The plot line could could have been pared down without losing the overall direction of the plot. 

Book Review: Off Grid And Off Limits by Jenni Fletcher

Off Grid And Off Limits is Jenni Fletcher’s first Mills and Boon Modern novel. It is set in the world of Formula 1. Dario is an F1 driver, recently divorced, aiming at winning the championship at the end of season whilst Livi, has recently been dumped for someone else right before her wedding. She writes biographies and sees writing Dario’s biography  as a steppingstone, a way of getting closer to her goal of interviewing and writing the biography of one of her childhood heroes. Both characters are anti relationship, focused on their careers but slowly they get closer but will it last as the F1 season heats up?

This was a short but enjoyable novel. The characters were fun, relatable and worked well together. The storyline was well written and wasn’t dominated by F1 references, which for me was was great,  as I know nothing about it. 

I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I would be interested in reading more Books by the author as I found the quality and pacing of the novel to be good. 

I love Mills & Boon UK and I think you will too! Click my personal referral link to get a discount on your first purchase http://rwrd.io/f4yjeqp?c 

I received this book via Netgalley and Mills and Boon in exchange for a honest review. I am a #MillsAndBoonInsider #netgalley #gifted

Miffy White Beaded Friendship Bracelet

The Carat Shop sell reasonably priced licences jewellery. Their lines includes  everything from Miffy, Hello Kitty to Harry Potter to Peppa Pig and football clubs. I think for the price their items are well made and nicely presented. I gave away some Harry Potter items a few years ago in a blog competition and price’s don’t seem to have increased that much since then. 

I chose this Miffy Silver pearlised Beaded Friendship bracelet (£7.99) to go in my Miffy competition bundle as it it adjustable so will fit a wide range of wrist sizes and it is quite cute. 

The white beads are pearlised. The friendship style fastening means the bracelet is adjustable from 17-21cm in length. The silvertone disc has Miffy’s head embossed on it. It comes packaged nicely Miffy packaging. I haven’t taken it out to photograph as it is a gift/ prize and I don’t want to spoil it. 

I would wear this bracelet or be pleased to receive it as a gift. The price point is great and the item itself looks more expensive than it actually cost. A lovely item. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own.