| Title | : | Deceptive Vows |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 431 |
| Publication | : | First published October 13, 2021 |
What kind of happily-ever-after do you get when you’re forced to marry a monster?
A monstrous Bratva leader who bounds your wrists and promises to break you.
Mikhail Dmitriyev is a beautiful devil with a villainous heart and a thirst for revenge.
The choices he gave me when he stole me away from my home with an army of men were very clear—marry me or die.
I chose to marry him and live.
But there’s one small problem with his grand plan to reign Armageddon on the Mexican Cartel.
I’m not the woman he thinks I am.
I’m not the cartel princess he thinks he took to make his enemies bow to him.
When my captor finds out my secret and realizes he married the wrong woman, love won’t be enough to save me.
And neither will his obsession.
Deceptive Vows is a dark mafia arranged marriage romance. It contains dubious situations, mature content, and graphic violence some readers might find offensive and/or triggering.
Deceptive Vows Reviews
-
2 DNF Stars
WAY too long. So many repetitive thoughts, and if the book was cut down by at least a 100 pages, I probably would have been able to finish it. The development and chemistry is also severely lacking, making the romance boring. The heroine only has two reactions to pretty much every little thing too, fear or arousal🙄, and I'm so over her being so weak. Hero is also gross and immature and likes to talk about how much he likes virgins and going bareback with women and how virgins "taste" different than other women. Barf. He also doesn't seem so smart so it's hard to take him seriously 🤷
Safety up to 40%
V*rgin heroine, manh*e hero
9 year age gap
Dub con
No ow drama up to where I read, but Idk about after -
**5/5 stars**
This book was so good!
The story starts with Natalia, a young maid of 19 years old, who wakes up in a bloody and cold room, wearing a wedding dress. She is mistaken for Adriana Alvarez, the Cartel princess. Caught in a crossfire between the Cartel and the Baranov Bratva, she has no other choice but to pretend she is said Cartel princess. But how long can she fool them? And most of all, can she survive Mikhail, the son of the current Baranov Pakhan, who absolutely despises the Alvarez and only seeks revenge?
Now with this premise, you can easily understand that this is an Enemies to Lovers story and that the rocky beginning is inevitable. Mikhail is shown to be dangerous and ruthless at first. And if certain things he did were very questionable, I could also understand the motives behind his actions. The beauty of his character was his development throughout the book. He was an antihero and I absolutely loved him especially when he starts to warm up to Natalia. And I’ve seen a few DNF reviews saying he was a manwhore but he was absolutely NOT. Of course, he had women in the past but never did they matter to the story. He never says names or think about an old flame cause he's never had one. He was obsessed with Natalia and the mystery surrounding her, because he could notice things that didn’t make sense about Adriana/Natalia but couldn’t put his finger on what it was. And he was sooooo attracted to her. Many times, he thought of her as the most beautiful woman he’s ever met.''I run my gaze over her body and think of her as a work of art again. She’s the kind of woman you paint to preserve the memories of feelings and emotions.''-Mikhail
As for Natalia, she went through so much in her life…but she was so strong. I really liked her character. She did have a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome & Body Betrayal Syndrome but it didn’t bother me. The fact that she was attracted to him actually helped me accept whatever was happening between Mikhail and her. The situations at the beginning really made me feel conflicted because they were obviously dubious and wrong but in the best way plot-wise. They are enemies, so it's to be expected that he won't be nice to her (at first). I could understand why things were happening the way they did. Natalia was strong, sweet and she did have some spunk too at times.''I’m drawn to him because he lulls me into a false sense of freedom. Something I’ve never had but always wanted.'' -Natalia
I found myself hooked by the plot because on one side I was rooting for Mikhail’s revenge (and trust me, he had really good reasons to want revenge) and on the other side, I was anxious and praying for Natalia who was trying to survive and lay low.
Please, don’t let the beginning deter you from reading this story. If you DNF you are definitely missing out on an amazing standalone that wraps up perfectly. Mikhail questions himself a lot, changes the way he is with Natalia and eventually he starts caring for her. And the ending, my god…I’m just going to say that Eric was the real MVP of this story.
Content Warning
✔️HEA
✔️Age gap
✔️Enemies to lovers
✔️No cheating
✔️No OW/OM
✔️Possessive/Jealous/Dangerous H
✔️Push and pull
✔️Virgin h
✔️Steam level: 3.5/5
⚡Dub/Non con
⚡Mention of rape
⚡Mention of human trafficking
⚡Violence/Gore
Worth reading. I had a real good time. Don't miss out!
PS: When he called her ''malyshka'', I was done for. I love it when russian heros do that haha. I'm a simple girl.“When a man calls you his, it’s not because he hates you, Malyshka.”
He runs a finger down the edge of my neck and lingers over my cleavage.
“But allow me to show you how much I don’t hate you.” -Mikhail
If you want to know when things get better between Mikhail and Natalia -
Hot mess. Everyone is jumping on the Mafia/ cartel bandwagon without having a proper plot in place
-
Another great read!
Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trope: Captive/mistaken identity
Angst: 😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Triggers: dubcon
Another action packed story by Faith Summers! In a case of mistaken identity, Natalia is abducted by Mikhail when he comes to avenge his family. Mikhail believes Natalia is Adriana, the daughter of his hated enemy and forces her to marry him. Its just a matter of time before the truth comes out.
What a ride! This story has everything: love, betrayal, vengeance, and a twist you'll never see coming. Deceptive vows is well written and fast past. The character development is great and you are really pulling for the both of them to get the happily ever after they both deserve.
Merged review:
Another great read!
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: Captive/mistaken identity
Angst: 😰😰
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Triggers: dubcon
Another action packed story by Faith Summers! In a case of mistaken identity Natalia is abducted by Mikhail when he comes to avenge his family. Mikhail believes Natalia is Adriana, daughter of his hated enemy and forces her to marry him. It's just a matter of time before the truth comes out.
What a ride! This story has everything: love, betrayal, vengeance, and a twist you won't see coming. Deceptive Vows is well written and fast paced. The character development is great and you really are pulling for them both to get the happily ever after they both deserve! -
My review is coming soon.
-
This is a dark mafia revenge forced marriage romance and I definitely enjoyed this one it had just the right balance of darkness and light and the chemistry here was sizzling.
Natalia’s life has not been an easy one she’s definitely suffered under the cruel hand of her captor, Raul. He’s had both her parents murdered leaving her with so many emotional scars and the future he has planned out for her selling her virginity to the highest bidder will only lead to her death.
When the compound is stormed Natalia is mistaken for Raul’s cruel daughter Adriana and a case of mistaken identity manages to save her life as she now becomes the new sole focus of Mikhail’s revenge.
Mikhail’s sister and mother were targeted in an attack by Raul one he managed to survive; now he will take the cartel for himself by killing his enemy and marrying his daughter whose just become collateral damage in this war.
Mikhail is Bratva taking his new fiancé back home and keeping her under heavy guard in his home the plan was always to make her pay for her father's sins but Mikhail’s original plans of marrying the princess then getting rid after she has served her purpose swiftly Start to derail as he finds himself reluctantly drawn and captivated by his new bride.
This was definitely an easy page-turner there’s a lot going on here and there are plenty of twists and turns action angst and betrayal. This was well written and very enjoyable. If you like mafia with a dark slant this is definitely a good one and on a scale of darkness, this one really isn’t that severe a big thumbs up from me this one was great.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Deceptive Vows.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com -
DNF @30%…
This book had so much incredible potential. Honestly it did. There were a few things that weren’t plausible, but I over looked them. Then it was a constant babble of, “virgin this” and “virgin that” and “virgins taste better than other women..” and it was constant. It was a turn off. Ok, you’ve shared with us multiple times on multiple pages, we GET IT. So stop going on about it. I really want to know what happened, but it’s just not worth my time. Sorry, this one will have to sit it out. ✌🏼 -
Russian mobster Mikhail Dmitriyev wants to avenge his mother and sister who was brutally killed by the cartel. He arrange a take over, where he kills the central leaders and kidnaps the cartel princess. Marrying her is the way of getting control over the cartel. Unfortunately he mistakes the identity and he actually kidnaps the slave and soon to be sold as a virgin, Natalia de Leon.
Natalia sees the chance of freedom and pretends to be the cartel princess.
This book was too predictable for me. I felt like I had read this one several times before. And it has what I absolutely hate the most in romance - a heroine who gets so hot for the hero when it shouldn’t be possible.
She thinks: ”This monstrous man is going to force me to marry him so he can rule the cartel, then kill me.”
What woman would seriously be turned on by this kind of person? If you really was afraid and believed he would kill you?
Spoiler‼️
When the hero finds out about heroines real identity, he takes her down to the basement/dungeon, locks her up and leaves her down there. The next day, he is “sorry”, and she UNDERSTANDS what he was coming from. And they have sex in the dungeon where she 5 minutes before thought he had killed her only “family” she had left, and was about to kill her too. Seriously? The girl was a slaaaave soon to be sold, and he has a fit where he shows his true colours and she just takes it. It was weird and I was disappointed how it was solved.
Hero is an asshole, but also not the worst I’ve read. He doesn’t cheat or do anything with others, he is at least loyal 😒 But there is something disgusting about him 🤓
”I like virgins. I like being the first man to break them and train them to please me.” I found him too unattractive 🤷🏻♀️
”With virgins, though, the scent is somewhat different. There’s something primal in the scent that makes it feel like it belongs to you forever.”
”Good girl. No panties. So obedient.” He cups my bare sex and strokes over my pussy lips.
“As if I have any choice.”
“You always have a choice, baby girl. It’s just a matter of which you like or what consequence you wish to pursue or avoid.”
I suppose the author wants us to believe that the Hero is a changed man at the end.
- No cheating
- OW/OM drama: h gets pissed when a maid speaks Russian to the hero and she doesn’t understand. H gets jealous of h relationship with one of the cartels older man (father-figure).
- Triggers: sexual abuse, violence
- HEA with epilogue
”Weakness is a curse in the Bratva. To be weak is to sign your death certificate, yet I chose it, and now it’s crippled me.” -
Okay so in the beginning I really wanted to dnf because there were non consensual scenes but the more you read on the better it gets.
“I'm the villain here, so I don't get
the happily ever after with the wife I love,
or the future I want with her. No matter
what anyone says, what's happening is my
fault.”
“As I hit the ground, my last thought is
of the beautiful woman I stole because she
wore a wedding dress that didn't belong to
her.
But she belonged to me.
I promised her life would be better.
Now it's not going to be, and there's
nothing I can do
I will love you always, Natalia. I'm so sorry”
“But I can't bring myself to say the words.
I can't tell her she shouldn't be with me when
I want her so badly I'm in physical pain. I can't
tell her I'm not good for her when I want to be
whatever she needs me to be. I can't tell her any of those things because
love her and I want nothing more than to be with
her.”
“My wife and my child--the two great
loves of my life.
And it
all began when
I met the princess”
Love this book so so much but I cant give it 5 stars because of the non consensual scenes. I get it’s supposed to be dark romance but that was too far
Overall; 4.5/5⭐️ -
Not as dark as I was expecting
This definitely had graphic scenes, both sexual and violence, and there are lots of dead bodies and gruesome deaths for sure. Natalia, aka Adriana, pretty much melts for him when he takes her. She went along with everything he did, and enjoyed it, but she didn't want to. The sex was a little porny and I skimmed over some of it. It wasn't romantic. I didn't think it was any darker than any other mafia romance I have read. There is so much going on and you just can't look away. I figured out who the villain was, but then it wasn't them. Lots of twists. I don't want to give much away because it is engrossing. It's safe, as in faithfulness, and free in KU. The violence and abuse might disturb people though. Just FYI. Typical mafia romance. -
ALL MY REVIEWS CAN BE FOUND ON MY BLOG:
ABSTRACT BOOKS
Star Rating : 5/5 Stars
POV : Dual
Cliffhanger : None
Hero : Mikhail
Heroine : Natalia
Pace of the story : Moderate
Angst Rating : 6/10
Heat Rating : 7/10
Triggers Involved : Dub cob , Kidnapping , Past Trauma
Plot Summary :
Mikhail is a man on a mission. A mission to destroy the people who took his family away from him. Starting with Adriana's family. The pretty beauty will be his, including her whole empire and her family will be in the ground, just like they all deserve to be.
Natalia does not know what to do. She never had an easy life. From being a normal girl to becoming a slave to the mafia, her life has been one painful even after the other. And now she was in the clutches of another monster who thought of her to be the lost mafia princess. He does not know that he took the wrong girl and that might be the only thing keeping her alive. But never safe. Mikhail is a man who terrifies her and makes her surrender all at once. He knows how to push her buttons and she knows that he won't rest until he makes her surrender in all the ways possible.
Overall Opinion :
Holy shit. First of all, why did no one tell me that this was a standalone lmao! I was so prepared for the huge cliffhanger and the HEA actually threw me off a bit.
This book was just so amazing! It is an amazing mafia read that I loved so freaking much. The way it's framed and the characters, everything was perfect. There was steam, suspense and so much hotness! The one reason why Faith's books drive me crazy are her heroes and Mikhail was one of them! He was dominating and so scary but damn when the man fell in love, he was a sight to see.
Definitely recommending this one to all the dark romance loving people out there!
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Newsletter -
We have a dark illustration on page 1...no spoilers but you will love 💀🖤
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, and, I’m about to do it again..."
Welcome to the Baranov Bratva
Mikhail & Natalia romance let's just say starts bloody and a protection of a old family friends. Peasant girl mistaken as a cartel princess...no more spoilers on that. Yes this book is true to its title I LOVE IT 🔥 I love Mikhail sees her pain in her eyes and he starts to think she not who she appears to be by rumours of the princess...no spoilers
The Alvarez cartel family are cruel and fate lead her to their cruel world and before she was taken by Mikhail, Raul has plans for her, his slave...no spoilers. Let's just say am happy they think she was the cartel princess
Get ready for action and the suspense was killing me. When is he going to find out? And the small few that seen the cartel princess are they alive? Ahhh was at the edge of my seat the whole time with this book!
☆MUST READ & FAV☆ -
4.4 stars.
This was really gripping.
It had me unable to put it down, wanting to know what the hell would happen next, immediately.
The plot was so dangerous and intriguing.
I’ve never read anything where the girl has to pretend to be someone else so the man will spare her life, because he’ll gain more from marrying ‘her’.
Then the tension and the sex.
Fuck me.
It was hot as all hell.
There was some seriously conflicted feelings all around.
Honestly I really enjoyed this book.
I literally could not force myself to put it down before it’s completion. I was up until after 7am to finish it.
Almost worth feeling like shit right now from lack of sleep.
It ended beautifully.
I really liked the writing in this and I definitely plan to check out other books from this author.
I had a pretty fun time reading this. -
DNF (83%):
The way I genuinely couldn't keep going any longer- I truly tried to stay strong💀🙏- this was painful to listen to.
I don't know what made me listen to the audiobook version of this for so long, but I did- and let me tell you it was traumatic 🤡🥲.
This book was essentially about a maid (Adriana ⛓️🥀) pretending to be a Spanish 'cartel princess' who was forced to marry a leading member of the Russian Mafia (Mikhail 🤡👹). I think it had so much potential to be great, but instead went down the very generic immature route of a mafia romance 😐.
The story as a whole (although I didn't finish it) wasn't awful, it just wasn't all that pleasant either. Every single character was insanely immature and honestly had some of the longest internal monologues I've ever seen- and I couldn't deal with it anymore.
The story was just so unnecessarily long and so repetitive to the point that you could tell the voice actors themselves had enough 💀.
STOP DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THEIR ACCENTS LMFAO I WAS DYING 💀🔫. That russian accent was geniunely atrocious and I don't think I'll ever be the same-
There were points that I found myself enjoying the story, but I soon got over that because of how ridiculous some of the characters acted- it's insane to believe that characters in their positions (no matter how dramatic the book) would act the way that they did.
To be honest, I don't really remember much of what happened- everything was pretty predictable. The main thing however that I enjoyed was the climax of the romance, I thought that was pretty fun.
But yeah, overall, this was not it 😭🙏. I had a couple of laughs, almost cried because of my man Mikhail's accent, contemplated what I was doing with my life- but ykw I had fun while it lasted?
I stopped listening to the book at a pretty important part of the (second) climax, so idk how the story ended- but I'm just going to assume they're out drinking mimosas somewhere, so I'll leave it at this:⛓️🥀 ''I'm already broken'' 🥀⛓️
-
My god...I absolutely loved this story.
I was so glad it wasn't a short read like so many books. I read reviews about complaints about length of book but I have to disagree. This was definitely a story that needed length and not rushed.
So I wasn't sure if I like Natalia. I was in between of feeling sorry for all she endured to she annoyed me because her personality was either:1. Scared and indecisive or 2. Horny and ashamed of it smh.
Mikhail I like. We can expect him to be ruthless caveman because..hello...he's Bravta. I read so many faith summers books and was so happy to hear Eric, Aiden and Lucca appear in this book even though it's a stand-alone book.
Both Mikhail and Natalia have a rough story on their own so it makes sense for them to be a perfect pair along the line. What this story has that so many previous books didn't have was the amount of plot twist and betrayals. I suspected one from the beginning but never the others so that made the book so much better.
Great story. Bravo Faith Summers. 👏 -
This book started out okay but then the s*x scenes came too quick and I personally don’t like it when they come real quick. However, the ending was very heard warming and the plot twist really got me shook!!
-
2.5
chemistry was very lacking and it was like every other mafia book tbh. only read bc of the guy on the covers tiktok vid where he said he models for romance books iykyk🤣 -
DECEPTIVE VOWS is the third instalment in Faith Summers’ contemporary, adult BLOOD AND THORNS dark,erotic Bratva romance series. This is twenty-eight year old Mikhail Dmitriyev, and nineteen year old Natalia de Leon aka Adriana Alvarez’s story line. DECEPTIVE VOWS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. There is a slight cross over with the author’s DARK SYNDICATE series with the cameo appearances by Eric Markov (Heartless Lover-Dark Syndicate 5).
WARNING: Due to the graphic nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Natalia and Mikhail) DECEPTIVE VOWS follows in the aftermath of the obliteration of the Alvarez Cartel, leaving Natalia de Leon aka Adriana Alvarez alive, and her body guard clinging to life. Years earlier, the Alvarez Cartel abducted, tortured and murdered Mikhail’s sister, and in the years following our hero sought his revenge. Fast forward to present day where a few months earlier Mikhail’s mother was murdered, leaving Mikhail struggling to survive. Enacting revenge against the Alvarez Cartel, Mikhail sets his sights on taking control by first taking the only daughter of Raul Alvarez. Enter Adriana Alvarez aka Natalia deLeon. What ensues is the building but acrimonious relationship predicated on mistaken identity between Natalia and Mikhail, and the potential fall-out as Natalia’s secrets are revealed, and the remaining members of the Dmitriyev family are targeted from within.
Natalia de Leon was nothing more than a slave to the Alvarez Cartel, and a handmaiden to the princess Adriana Alvarez but an attack against the Cartel leaves Natalia as one of the sole survivors, and a case of mistaken identity, finds our heroine assuming the role of the Cartel princess. In an effort to take control and assume the top position, Mikhail Dmitriyev kidnaps and marries our story line heroine only to discover that betrayal from within forces Mikhail to reconsider his future options.
The relationship between Natalia and Mikhail begins as a forced proximity, mistaken identity, imprisonment of our story line heroine. Mikhail and his father have plans to take control of the Alvarez Cartel by staking a claim on Adriana Alvarez. Natalia knows that once her true identity is revealed, there is nothing saving our heroine from her immediate demise. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic, aggressive and intense with some questionable issues of consent.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the appearance of Eric Markov (Heartless Lover 5). We are introduced to Mikhail’s father and Pakhan of the Baranov Bratva Sergei Dmitriyev, a man whose life is nearing the end; Sergei’s sister Sophia, and Mikhail’s half-brother Ivan; Natalia’s ‘bodyguard’ Jose Diaz, caretaker Aleksander as well as several members of the Mexican Cartel.
DECEPTIVE VOWS is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, betrayal and vengeance, murder and blood, dysfunctional family, jealousy, hate and love. The premise is dark, haunting and raw; the romance is unconventional, and dramatic; the characters are tragic and impassioned.
I will add that Deceptive Vows seems more at home with the Dark Syndicate series than the Blood and Thorns series, as B&T is currently labelled a duet.
www.thereadingcafe.com -
I kid you not, the story had so many potential but the writing style was so mediocre. I mean the first 5% of the book was spot on and gingering me up for more, then from after the attack in Mexico,nothing and I mean nothing was flowing. The whole instant lust thingy was just a bit off. If I am going to be lying about my identity to a whole Russia Mafia cartel sex or a guys hotness won’t be on radar. I just felt the whole instant attraction and sexual encounter was so fast and a bit hmmmm… I dunno 🤷🏾♀️. This is my first time read by this author and I am so disappointed that I didn’t enjoy her writing… I honestly wanted to but it’s wasn’t hitting the right place. So many repetition of the past… like I get it, the MC’s witnessed the deaths of their family you don’t have to keep telling us chapter by chapter. Also, there was lack of chemistry between the MC’s. I didn’t really see the hatred part of it considering the fact that you supposedly hated her father for the killing of your mom and sister. I didn’t see the journey of Mikhail falling in love with Natalia/Adriana so quickly. For a 5O something chapter book it was really lacking substance. I mean like see below:
1. 30 percent was of them having sex
2. 20 percent was the reminder of the whole rape and death scenes both MC’s witness
3. 10 percent was spent on Mikhail driving to and fro to his father’s and doing literally nothing.
4. 20 percent was Mikhail going to do FBI business with Eric and hating of his brother.
5. 10 percent was how many times the author contradicted herself in writing to about the wedding date (I dunno if anyone peeped on that) first it was in a month, then letter it was next weekend then vice versa
6. Then the remaining was just blah
Moreover, the author promised us a dark romance but we got anything but that…Book was way too cheesy and cringey for my me… Even the ending was kinda of a joke to me. I felt as if I was reading a sitcom book..Then again, this just my opinion.
If you can stand the whole writing and lack of chemistry in this book, I recommend you read it but if you can’t just ignore it cus you will be so disappointed having high hopes base on the plot line alone.
Also wait damn minute… Mikhail father was 80ish something when he died and he was 35 years older than Mikhail mother. And in the flash back it’s says she was 16 when they started having feelings for each other… dude would have been 51 ish when he became involved with our missus. IYKYK 👀 -
God, I love captive romance. Faith Summers writes the best captive romances. Her heroes are always just right. Strong and ruthless but with that perfect soft spot for the heroine, even if he desperately doesn’t want to have it.
Mikhail wakes from a coma with one thing on his mind. Revenge. His sole purpose is to destroy the man responsible for the deaths of his mother and sister and his coma. He takes his vengeance and claims the daughter of the leader of the cartel.
Natalia ends up being in the right place at the right time and it saves her life. Now her life depends on being mistaken for a vapid cartel princess and the mercy of a man who should hate her. He’s terrifying but she’s as drawn to him as he is to her. The unknown remains what will happen when he doesn’t need her anymore or worse when he finds out who she really is.
Story 4/5, Heat 2.5/5, Darkness 2.25/5, Angst 2/5
Tropes: mafia, captive, forced marriage
Faster side of medium burn, there’s a lot of foreplay sprinkled throughout starting around 12% but they don’t do the deed until 38%.
No condoms, virgin h, he was probably a manwhore before, some spanking, non-con, dub-con, push away from h (as much as a captive can -anyway lol), tiny bit of OW drama, tiny OM drama, no separation. No sharing, no cheating, no cliffhanger and HEA.
Safety - I’d consider this safe in regards to OW/OM and cheating. At one point he comes home with lipstick on his collar from a waitress who propositioned him and she suspects when he’s distant that he’s cheating but he isn’t and doesn’t. He’s obsessed with her. As far as OM - there’s no one for her either but he’s jealous of her body guard and his creepy brother keeps trying to be creepy with her.
That said there are other triggers here with the non-con/dub-con, there’s also multiple mentions of human trafficking.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. -
it was like a wattpad story, the smut is good tho, ( the only thing that i didnt liked was at the beginning she didn’t give her her 100% consent , so i was like 🤨.
it was kinda cheesy but it was intriguing and the plot was good. i kinda knew from the beginning Ivan was the bad guy and the auntie too. I suspected since the scene where they met in the dining room or sum, bc the Auntie ( psycho) was so smiley and it was so fake but then i was like nah. BUT I KNEW FROM IVAN SINCE I READ HIS NAME… I WAS LIKE “HE IS GOINV TO BE THE TRAITOR.. JUST WATCH!”
anyways..
natalia and mikhail ( his name is so weird tho) -
Faith Summers brings us a stand-alone with Deceptive Vows, but if you have read her books, you will see a few familiar names pop up. Plus, she brings us back into her gritty world of the Bratva, Mafia, and Cartels. There is a trigger warning because it is a Dark Romance. Mikhail’s dominance sets Natalia free in all the ways. She is the other half of his soul. This story will wrap itself around your heart, decimate your soul, feed your hunger and passion because these two have chemistry overload. The suspense in The Who and Why. The fight for their HEA. Everyone standing in their way better beware. This is a long read, worth every second spent doing so. Faith writes the dominant men I can’t get enough of, the strong, resilient women who wreck havoc on their hearts, and give us a HEA worth rooting and fighting for.
Mikhail Dmiyriyev, Obshchak to his Pakham father, looking for revenge on those responsible for his mother and sister’s death, plans to overthrow a Cartel King. Mikhail has the element of surprise because his enemies believe him dead.
Natalia, caught up in the Cartel world because of her father, has lost both parents because of its ruthless leader, Raul. So, when the Bratva show up, mistake her for the Cartel’s Princess, following along will save her life.
Natalia is thrust into the Bratva life and moved a world away to New York. Pretending to be Adriana Alvarez, whom she despises, will be worth the risk and chance at escaping a life of servitude.
But, Natalia is nothing like Adriana, whose reputation precedes her. Mikhail notices, but is caught up in trying to figure out the threat to his family. Someone still is after them. And, with his father ill, ready to pass on the responsibility to either Mikhail or his half-brother Ivan, Mikhail is working against a ticking clock.
Natalia is trying to blend in. But, as truths are revealed, and she begins to understand Mikhail’s anger and resentment, she recognizes how drawn to him she is.
As Mikhail searches for the truth, tries to keep Natalia (Adriana) safe, he finds himself unable to deny the depth of his feelings for her.
Learning Natalia’s truths floor him, but protecting her is all he wants. Even if that means sending her away and letting her live the life she has been deprived all these years. -
I finished the book in one sitting and its on repeat in my brain, based on this i will say dont read every review and don’t believe everything that is written if you click with the plot and you know its one of your favorite genres thats it, the amount of negativity that i saw was very surprising , but i have reached to a point if i like the auther and read other things by them they don’t disappoint me with new work that they release (Faith summers) is my comfort go to author for me i was in desperate need of dark mafia romance and she delivered
Mikhail and Natalia are the couple that you sit on the edge of your chair for incase something happens i was that invested in them they are a part of me now, and when he told her he loved her i started to melt T-T the fact that they were soulmate and each others half and they felt it, it was everything for me
this book is dark and it PURE mafia world a lot of triggers are in it, please look them up before going in I didn’t have a proble that is not the case for everyone (rape, sexual assault, language, death of loved ones and family members, abuse..etc.) -
DNF @ 44%
He basically rapes her.
I’m sorry but have authors ever heard of trauma? Like, she sees her mother raped and murdered. She’s been sexually assaulted since she was 14. And she’s “aroused”? By a man pretty much the same as her tormentors? I hate the insinuation that just cuz a woman is “wet” she wants it. No. It’s biology. If the mind doesn’t want it, doesn’t matter what the body wants. -
5 stars!
Loved the duet style narration (Audible)
I’ve been on made-men streak and so the plot of the arranged/forced marriage is not new. However in Deceptive Vows, the cartel Princess kidnapped to marry the high-ranking Bratva soldier is actually the cartel princess’s slave. Mistaken identity at its finest! -
Book follows the heroine who pretends to be a cartel princess i order to save her own life. The hero is out for revenge and is set to marry this princess to take over her fathers empire. He doesn’t want to fall for the enemies daughter and she doesn’t want to fall for her captor.
i liked it. Didn’t love it. It wasn’t the best mafia romance but it was okay. It could be my funk but anyways it felt rushed at the end. Some of the dialogue was a little cringe.
I honestly didn’t see THE plot twist. Not the one everyone knew about but THE twist. but it was sooo rushed! -
3.5*
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3.75 stars. I think my mood is ruining all the books for me lately. Everything feels average/eh and i’m not sure if its the books or just me. I liked this one, but once again didn’t love it.
