| Title | : | The Boss (The Killough Company, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 248 |
| Publication | : | First published August 18, 2019 |
Sloan Killough means business. He’s brash, violent, and tough. He’s the boss for a reason and he doesn’t deal in excuses or exceptions. He visits The Exotic Virtue for a taste of his product, and when he sees Conall, he knows he must have him as his pet. When Sloan demands Conall on his knees, Conall’s horrified. He may be bisexual, but he’s not the guy who takes it. When his brother sells him like one of their whores, Conall has no choice but to submit to their boss if he and his brother wants to live.
Being a whore to a mob boss isn’t what Conall expects. He fights Sloan’s orders at every chance he gets, but the boss seems to enjoy the fights, and has no problem in teaching Conall his place. Conall promises himself he won’t give in, but with each touch and taste, he finds himself addicted to the dark, dangerous man who could rip out his throat the very moment he gets bored of him.
Trigger Warnings: This book is a dark romance. It contains triggering scenes which includes public humiliation, ownership, and violence. If you're unsure whether you wish to read this book, feel free to contact the author for more detailed warnings.
The Boss (The Killough Company, #1) Reviews
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2 stars
DNF @ 73%
This was my first read by this author and it was a disappointment. I didn’t like the MCs. Conall said something and still acted the exact opposite and Sloan annoyed me the most of the time (like 99% of the time). Sloan couldn’t act as a dark mafia or show his passion toward Conall as a dark lover. The writing wasn’t good either. It lacked the angst it should have had. To be honest I didn’t feel anything reading it; no emotions, no love, no hate, nothing. I can’t call this story a romance or even a dark romance. Overall, it didn’t work out for me but I hope you enjoy it more than me! -
★★ — 2 Stars!
I don’t trust myself to pick the books I’m going to read anymore.
PROGRESS UPDATES:
10% — I’m trash for these types of books. Even if they tend to be a bit problematic.
16% — I hate when people dislike you for no reason at all. And it’s super annoying in books because those characters tend to do shitty things to the MC for stupid reasons.
19% — Damn! I didn’t expect things to get this dark!
20% — Call me a wimp but now I feel I can’t even “support” this relationship after that scene.
21% — Damn give Conall a moment of piece!
26% — Really? He can’t even get his own plate of food.
27% — Killough is so ridiculous. I can’t even stand him.
28% — Every time I read books like these I enjoy parts and hate others. And usually love and hate those parts at the same time. Like I know what I got myself into but at the same time there has to be balance and this book has none. Not sure if this is for me.
29% — Really Killough? Shut the fuck up.
30% — Why does Killough feel the absolute need to dominate Conall in front of a high school acquaintance when there is absolutely no need to do so when Conall isn’t attracted to the guy and the guy isn’t attracted to Conall. Just to be an ass, I guess?
30% — So now Conall can’t speak? Omfg, I can’t. But then Killough you want to say he is above your guards? Please.
31% — Oh wow, Killough feels bad for once. And probably the only time too.
43% — At least the author is trying to make Killough a bit more of a good person by revealing some information that puts him in a better light than before.
44% — oh, wait. Never Mind. He’s still an ass.
47% — Oh Joy... I know how this is going to turn out... and it won’t be good.
48% — How romantic! *vomit* I knew what I was getting myself into when I read a mafia romance but this is almost too much. I feel like in some way I have to root for the romance but I can’t.
49% — OMG can we pleeeeassssseee stop talking or thinking about killing someone every two seconds.
50% — All I can do is laugh. This is getting straight up wild. Out of all the things to happen in this scene I DID NOT think it was going to be this.
51% — I have a theory about how Killough’s other partners have been captured or disappeared and who will be the one to turn on Conall.
52% — I would be so dead in this situation.
71% — Pretty much just skimming at this point.
75% — How is that the hate to love part came kind of quickly. Like it just feels a tad bit rushed.
84% — Oh shit. Conall actually said it!
87% — I knew that would happen. Knew it since the first few pages.
88% — Conall, you should have just kept your mouth shut!
100% — I’m not reading the sequel to find out who betrayed them even though I’m 90% sure I know who did betray them. -
4 Stars!
I was still in the mood for some dark reading after the books I just read and happened to come across this book. I've never read anything by this author, but I couldn't pass it up after reading the synopsis. Plus I was ready to get back into some MM after reading all that MF, lol. In the end I was happy I picked this one up. I really liked it.
Conall went from helping his brother run a whore house, to being the whore. Well... pet. Conall is not happy one bit being the new pet to the boss Sloan Killough. He's not shy letting his displeasure show either even with the mob boss. But Sloan thinks Conall is the prettiest man he has ever seen and the more Conall pushes and fights it the more it turns Sloan on. They had amazing chemistry and were pretty hot together.
I liked that it had just enough darkness to it with a mix of romance. Sloan was quite the smooth talker even though it was wasted on Conall, lol. That boy fought real hard to not feel anything for his master. But his body betrays him and soon his walls start crumbling and Sloan makes his way under his skin.
I really enjoyed all the action as well. The author didn't hold back with the gory side. I love a good mob story and this one balanced business with pleasure on an even scale. Sloan was a ruthless mob boss. I liked that he just didn't depend on his men, that he got his hands bloody too. Speaking of his men; I really hope a few of them get their own books. Arden. Ronan. Daire. Elois (I'm pretty that was the Italians name). I wanna know more.
Happy reading dolls! xx -
This was so good, I loved it.
Right away, this story pulled me in and I could not put it down except to sleep last night until I finished it today.
Conall runs a brothel with his brother Terrance, and this opens with Terrance telling Conall to get changed and get the prostitutes in the front to meet The Boss, as in the big boss, as in Sloan Killough, the head of the Irish mafia, who owns several brothels all over NYC.
When he gets there, they intend to give one of the prostitutes to him for his pleasure, but who Sloan wants is actually Conall. At first Conall is very opposed to it, but their brothel isn't doing as well in profits as the others, and Sloan just might kill Terrance and maybe Conall if Conall doesn't agree to be Sloan's "pet" and so he does.
Conall is a very feisty and opinionated "pet" and at first he acts like doesn't want to be with Sloan and doesn't like any of the sexual things they do, but he clearly does.
These two had great chemistry from the beginning and I loved this deliciously dark and dirty romance between these two.
At first it's just lust, and Sloan is very clearly a bad man, but he will protect Conall at all costs and won't tolerate anyone hurting him, and Conall turns out to be his favorite "pet" so far.
The plot was interesting with some turf wars going between the Irish and Italian mafia, although they have to deal more with a bastard son than anything.
The sex between these two was HOT and I loved me some possessive Sloan mhmm. I enjoyed this a lot and will definitely continue with this series. I hope the rest are as good as this was. I loved it.
Definitely recommend, two massive thumbs up from me! -
I couldn’t get into this - felt a bit messy & rushed. Just didn’t work with Conell bring called pet ...I love a good dark storyline but this lacked the angst / grit I like.
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This was a good enough read, but there was something missing from the development of the relationship. Sloan kept insisting that Conall was rebellious...blah...blah...blah, but I never really saw that. He just mouthed off while his body language was completely opposite, so it felt fake in some way.
I did like the ending though. I wish we'd seen them torture the Italian idiot tbh. Woulda helped understand Sloan's "ruthlessness and sadistic personality" better. -
I was liking this, the synopsis was good. Great even. But Conall was annoying and Sloan wasn’t really bad or menacing. He didn’t instill fear. The writing lacked and it just needed up being a hot mess.
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hm I've actually read this 3 times including now but Goodreads doesn't seem to have a record, for some reason?
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The Boss
By M.D. Gregory
Conall and his brother, Terrance, run a high-end brothel for the Irish mafia led by Sloan Killough. When the brothel isn't bringing in as much money as it should, the boss stops by to have a look and put a little fear into them. When Sloan's eyes land on Conall, he knows he must have him as his new pet, but Conall isn't like Sloan's previous pets. He has a mouth on him with an attitude to match and it only stirs Sloan's interest further. When his brother betrays him and agrees to the demand Conall must learn to deal with his new circumstances. After all, no one says no to Sloan Killough.
I'm not into mafia stories at all. The only reason I even looked at this was because I loved the cover. When I read the blurb, it sounded somewhat interesting, so I gave it a try. I was quite shocked to discover I actually loved it and read it straight through because I couldn't put it down.
Sloan isn't as hard ass with Conall as he is with his minions and especially his enemies. He's also surprisingly human when Conall is kidnapped and tortured by the Italian mafia. Conall is a spitfire and that never changes. I loved that. Terrance is a PITA, but he protects his little brother doing whatever it takes. -
I was left with a love-hate relationship with this book, if on the one hand we have some moments of romance, the truth is that there is a lot of violence and their relationship has an unhealthy basis, almost like a Stockholm syndrome. I liked it more towards the end, but I still didn't love it.
3,5 -
It's freaking kinky! Characters were kinda loveable. But tbh first 70% is hella slow, there's barely any plot!
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About as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. There is no nuance, no finesse and no understanding of basic human psychology. The author calls this dark romance but there is no romance to be found here because the two main characters aren't actually people. They are walking, talking puppets animated by not even plot.
There is no thrill to Sloan's ownership of Connal because it is never in doubt. Sloan shows up, decides he wants Conall and while Conall puts up a token fight he pretty much has a boner for him from the word go. That's the dynamic. Conall's mouth says one thing, he does the complete opposite and there's none of the internal conflict that makes this trope so sizzling.
There is also no internal journey for any of the characters. They are exactly the same people they started the book out as when it is done and those people aren't interesting at all.
Waste of a great premise -
I liked this!
Its shelved as a dark romance and has some pretty violent things happening with very colourful language thrown in so if you get easily triggered by words like "whore", please do not touch this. It is chock full of similar words which didn't bother me because this being dark meant there wasn't supposed to be any hearts and swoony romantic shenanigans so I took it all in stride.
Also, like any morally ambiguous characters in such books, Sloan intrigued, annoyed and terrified me in equal measure. Lol!
His pet, Conall, was a brat. I decided early on to ignore his attitude and enjoy the story . This served me well on my reading experience.
Forrest's book is next. Since I read about him in The Kings of Men series, I've been interested in him and how he got together with the overprotective Rourke. Lets see how that goes! -
DNF @ 10%.
It's a little too crude for my tastes. "Whore" is used ~90 times in the book, with over 25 being in the first chapter. Not to mention "pussy" and "cunt" thrown in.
Conall seems like a piece of shit. He essentially lives off his brother, fucks his employees, runs his mouth, cusses like crazy, doesn't seem to care his actions could get his brother killed.
The POV alternates, but there isn't much distinction between Conall and Sloan.
And I'm pretty sure "provocateur" isn't being used correctly. -
Loved it
Really enjoyed this. Not super dark but if you fancy a little Stockholm Syndrome with your dubious consent then you'd do worse than giving this a try. Plenty of shoot outs and PDA of the sexytimes kind. I loved the characters and the way the story played out and am looking forward to more in the series! -
This was ok. I wish the relationship between Sloan and Connel was fleshed out more because it goes from non-con hate to not-quite love without too much explanation. Though this doesn’t end on a cliffhanger I have no idea where the series is going. A bit middle-of-the-road for me so far.
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Hot steamy scenes here and there with an okay-ish storyline. Neither hate nor love it. Failed to wow me but the good thing was it was never boring. Just the usual mob shenanigans blah blah yada yada. Overall, it was okay. Curious about the others.
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Characters were bland, repetitive and boring.
Plot was predictable.
Major yawn fest on this one. -
DNF @81%
GOD DAMN IT. I’ve been waiting for this book for so long only for it to suck (in my humble opinion) and for me to not finish it.
I shall start by saying, THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE. It doesn’t matter what the author tries to make you think, this is not a romance. Please, don’t ever think this is a romance. This is pure power imbalance, Stockholm syndrome, a little bit of brainwashing, domestic abuse, sexual abuse (with the author trying to excuse it because Conall had an erection), later on it becomes dubious consent if you really don’t want to call it what it is...which is rape, Conall is forced to give Sloan a blowjob and have sex with him in front of people without his consent first, etc.
I dint enjoy the concept of Sloan and Conall together at all.
Conall gave up way too fucking fast (at around 56%). This is a man that said multiple times that he did the fucking not the other way around, a man that claimed he was strong and independent. At around 56% he just....gives up. I understand he accepted to be Sloan’s pet/slave to save his brother but he could have maintained his independency (Sloan wouldn’t mind at all. In fact, at around 75-80% he starts complaining to himself that Conall is being way too submissive and he misses his spark and defiance).
Conall also goes from being a spoiled brat to being turned on by Sloan killing people in cold blood and instigating Sloan to fight/murder people. A complete 180 out of fucking nowhere BUT it also goes with the Stockholm Syndrome.
From the very beginning, Conall is all “shivers” “shivering” every time Sloan even breaths in his direction. It’s annoying and unrealistic as fuck. Seriously, if I knew the author was going to write Conall shivering that many fucking times, I would started counting them.
I just....dint enjoy them together, alright? It felt...off.
PS: If you’re an escort/sex worker in real life, don’t read this book. Sex workers are treated like trash, like they are disposable (seriously. There is a shot-out. Some sex workers die and Conall and Sloan are like “ah its okay. We’ll just get more whores and sluts”. Yikes. Big ass yikes. Sex workers are ALWAYS called whores and sluts, never escorts and never sex workers. It’s just a little something that bothered me. -
Just.NO. This wasn't dark romance, non-con or manipulation. It was a distorted effort of all three in a way that ended in something frustrating, infuriating and laughable.
What do I comment on first?
1) How the whole gay thing isn't so natural in either the Irish mob or the Italian mafia?
2) How Sloan Killough (the Boss) told the other MC, Conall, to trade his body for his brother's life and said he didn't want an unwilling partner, but what would you call Conall, when he wasn't allowed to leave his room, was publicly sexually forced because the "Boss" was a territorial dickhead, wasn't allowed any communication with his brother or friends without guards or Sloan being there, was continuously threatened with his throat being slit and was generally treated like a literal cum hole? Oh yeah...A PRISONER and a blow-upDOLL.
3) How apparently having an "amazing" dick is a cure for every bullshit Sloan does to Conall and somehow all is well and Conall...falls in love with Sloan?
4) How this whole story is an insult to the bond between a Master and his Pet/Sub? Sloan put a collar on Conall, but it didn't make him his master, it just made him look like he had childhood repressed feelings, because he treated Conall like the dog he never had. Minus the furry proclivity.
5) Don't get me started on the ridiculousness of simple everyday things in this story.
So, it's a NO from me. -
After reading two books I didn’t like this one was a winner for me. I love stories with a tough main character, and you couldn’t get more Dom than Sloane. From the first moment he enter Virtue he took over as Conall’s master. Although Conall tried t fight it, he secretly loved it. Conall was certainly a brat, but it never got on my nerves. There’s some graphic violence, but it’s a book about mobsters so it’s expected. M. D. Gregory is new author for me , but I’m certainly going to check out some of the other books by this author.
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DNF 50% this was torture to read.
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The reviews on this book were a little all over the place so I was hesitant to start reading it. I am sooo glad I did. This was a great semi-dark read. I liked the characters and how they got closer and moved on from a purely sexual relationship. Connal was a bit bratty but he wasn’t over the top. I feel like there is a fine line between depicting a character as a likable brat or a brat that you hope gets killed!! There was some good mafia action and one part made me tear up a bit (hint: blue shoe clue). Great mafia romance that I 100% recommend.
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No soy yo, es el libro! 2.5* siendo muy benévola.
Nada tiene pies ni cabeza porque no consigue que conectes con la historia ni los personajes.
Connall es un repelente y no sabes de qué va en ningún momento y Sloan es plano y totalmente estereotipado como jefe de organización criminal, ademas la historia paralela con las personas y actos de dicha organización no consigue que te la creas porque también es un cliché...... a lo mejor mejora en los siguientes, pero no estoy con ganas de descubrirlo -
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS OFFERING FROM A NEW TO ME, AUTHOR.
i LOVE A GOOD MOB STORY AND THE ADDITION OF 2 GAY LEADS ADDED EXTRA SPICE.
CONNAL WAS FEISTY AND NOT GOING TO LET SLOAN TREAT HIM AS ANYTHING LESS THAN A PERSON AND PUSHED HIS LIMITS WITH A MAN WHO WOULD SLIT A THROAT AS SOON AS LOOK.
( I loved Connal's explanation of the difference between a whore and a pet, while maintaining his dignity, strung up and bleeding)
Sloan was hooked from the start and these two will have a exciting relationship. Of all his pets he feels Connal is the one who will keep him interested - and he will.
Things speed along reasonably quickly and the body count was high, but I'll be up for more of these two.
4 precious Jazzy'smum stars -
Third reread on 24 June 2022, and it’s still 5 stars, I don’t know why 😂, I just love them!!
Reread on 7th March 2022 and still loved it. It’s rare for me to reread a book when I just read it a couple of months ago but I was jonesing for some Sloan and his pet’s 🔥 antics!! -
This is a big sexy mess. I wanted it to scratch my id harder than it did though.
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For a book that is about the mafia this was a bit gruesome but I never felt like there was any fear/tension for Conall in his position, especially early on, which dampens my idea of "dark". This was OK but it seemed like it missed a lot of opportunities for both subtle tender moments and true power imbalance that Conall unknowingly loved. Descriptively, I just could not wrap my head around the visual of Conall sitting on Sloan's lap. This happened in Sloan's desk chair (do these not have arms?) and other places, like restaurants. He isn't a small child or a small woman. This had to be awkward as hell. Every time that happened, and it happened a lot, my visual of two 6'+ men sitting like that was just not sexy.
Finally, I felt like the sex scenes were tame and not nearly as combustible as I would expect in this situation to make Conall accept his fate so readily while fighting it at the same time. -
This was a decent read. The mob side had a reasonable level of threat to it, though the enemy guy was a little goofy instead of homicidal/threatening. A bit of mob business that I kind of wish was fleshed out more - I thought the interactions with the police detective would be more of a trouble source, but maybe she comes back in the other books? I probably won't find out.
I had expected more from the sex side - a mob boss gets a sex slave who used to work in a brothel, (even if he ran it) so he's not innocent at all...surely they could get up to more interesting things? Especially since the blurb suggested more punishment for disobedience, but that was really lacking. Ah well.
This reminded me a lot of
Cold Hard Cash, but improved.
