Title: Stay Toxic
Series: Semyonov Bratva #1
Author: Lani Lynn Vale
Genre: Mafia Romance
Tropes: Forced Proximity/Antihero
Release Date: January 7, 2025
My 5 star review:
(
Mafia romance, adult romance, slow burn, he’s obsessed/can’t stay away)
What I LOVED about this book:
Brecken, the FMC, is smart and sassy. She is a high school history teacher who caught her ex-fiance and ex-best friend getting it on.
Shasha, the MMC, can’t stay away from Brecken. He’s enthralled by her. He’s also a mafia boss, smart, cunning and handsome. He knows being with Brecken will put her in danger. But he CAN’T STAY AWAY!
Brecken’s family is fun, quirky and interesting. Same for Shasha’s family too.
There is a moment when Brecken invites Shasha to her family’s Thanksgiving and notices he seems off/sad. When he mentions his family would love a gathering like this she takes his phone and proceeds to invite his family over. OH MY HEART! The family dinner scene warmed my heart and was perfection.
There are so many swoony alpha moments: he buckles her into her seat, carries her to the car, takes care of her…HERE FOR IT!
ALSO, The spice is delicious! DELICIOUS. There is one scene about 50% through that I can’t stop thinking about. HE TAKES WHAT HE WANTS. YUM.
I can’t wait for book 2!
—–
BLURB
There was right, there was wrong, and then there was the in-between.
The place where normal people reside, understanding that there are two sides to every coin. People that do bad things for good reasons. People that do bad things for bad reasons.
First, I knew that Shasha Semyonov was a bad man. One that did bad things for bad reasons. That didn’t mean that I was rational when it came to him.
He was toxic to my health, yet I wanted him anyway.
They say the first step to healing is admitting when you have a problem.
My problem happened to be six feet two inches tall, two hundred and twenty pounds, and bearded to perfection.
Oh, and he was also the scariest guy I knew.
Meanwhile, I was the laughingstock of the city.
The woman who was cheated on by her boyfriend with her best friend, and it was captured live while a band played in the background, perfectly accenting the humiliating video.
There was no way that Shasha Semyonov would notice me.
Right?
Wrong.
I’d definitely been noticed.
PURCHASE LINKS
COMING SOON
Releasing February 4
AUTHOR BIO
Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown. in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today Bestsellers.
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