UNREGRETTABLE: A Forced Marriage Mafia Romance (Empire Academy Series Book 2) by Monique Moreau ~ Book Review with Excerpt

 

Marriage can’t fix what’s broken. If only he would see that.

Crina

If he thinks I’ll come to the altar like some meek, blushing bride, he must not know me.

Oh, wait, he doesn’t know me anymore.

Four years of a cold war will do that to a friendship.

We were friends once.

But I won’t tolerate being humiliated. And if he thinks forcing me to marry him will change anything between us, he’s lost his damn mind.

No one messes with me.

Least of all him.

Marku

Crina is my woman, bonded to me since birth. The fact that we’re from different mafia clans is irrelevant. The fact that she’s in danger just sped up a marriage that was always meant to be.

I hurt her, I know that.

I never apologized. Never explained. Never reached out. Stuck in my own pain, I let a war simmer between us.

But that ends today.

Today she will become my wife. Tonight, she will come to my bed. I’ll finally fix things between us.

But when my desire for revenge—revenge I’ve pursued for four long years—collides with doing right by Crina, everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

Content warning:

UNREGRETTABLE is the second installment of The Empire Academy Series. Marku is an OTT, morally gray, possessive hero who will do anything to win back his woman. Brace yourself for a domineering and dirty-talking alpha. But don’t worry, Crina is more than up to the task of dealing with him. If such material offends, please do not read.

EXCERPT

©Monique Moreau 2023


“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

I turn toward Marku.

He smiles that smug smile at me, the one I hate more than anything. God, I want to wipe that smirk off his face.

Exploding with rage, I give him a grim close-lipped smile as I twirl my tongue in my mouth, gathering a mixture of saliva and seed.

And then, I spit in his face."

This book was very different from the first book in the series, and it can be read as a standalone, so no worries if you haven't read UNFORGIVABLE yet. That one is a High School Bully Romance, while this one is a Forced Arraigned Marriage Romance, but they are both still in High School and are friends with the couple in the previous book, so there is some overlap.

Crina cannot figure out why her parents are suddenly forcing her to marry Marku. The two were best friends when they were younger, but the last three years have all been about Crina staying as far away as she possibly can from Marku, even if it has been hard at times because of their friends. Crina doesn't want to be in the same room as the guy, let alone be married to him, but for some reason, her father is following her mother's insistence.

Marku could admit that when he heard Crina's parents wanted to arrange a marriage for their daughter, he knew no one better for her than him. They had once been best friends, but even now, when she iced him out, he knew he couldn't let anyone else have her, and her parents loved him even if he was with a different clan. 

Monique Moreau did a great job with this story. I loved the reasoning behind why they had to get married so fast and keep it a secret. I enjoyed the chemistry between Crina and Marku, and I especially liked how Marku was with Crina once the truth of their past was discussed. The only thing  bothering me is that a part of the storyline was never fully resolved; I can only guess it may reappear in the next book.

I recommend this book to ADULT readers who enjoy Steamy New Adult Romances, Arraigned Marriage Romances, Mafia Romances, or Enemies to Lovers Romances.

Happy Reading!!!

**I have voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book for my Blog, Nadine's Obsessed with Books**

Growing up in New York City, I used to walk the hot pavements in the melting heat of the long summers, and dream. Uptown to downtown, eastside to the westside, and underground to catch a subway racing out into the boroughs.

During my wanderings, my magic pencil spun out fantasies full of romance, with first meetings, heartbreaks, and reunions. Sometimes my boy crush (unrequited, of course) starred as the hero.

I grew up, and after a stint in art school, became a lawyer ‘cuz a woman’s got to make a living. I came from parents who fled to France as refugees, and as an attorney, I dedicated my work to helping survivors of trauma and persecution.

I believe in them. In their grit, in their determination to hold on, to pull through and, somehow, someway, to keep themselves intact, body and soul.

Perhaps that is why I am drawn to writing stories of men and women who live through heart-rending pain, desperate yearnings and, ultimately, reach a place of redemption.

For a long time, I fought the urge to veer off the expected, safe path until I couldn’t go on unless I took a chance and made a change. I began to write, stopped, and began again. Finally, I gave in and here I am.

Come join me on my journey…

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