Sweet Temptation was a perfect addition to Reilly's mafia romance repertoire. It focuses on Cassio, the Underboss of Philadelphia and someone you may remember from brief cameos in the Born in Blood series. However, Sweet Temptation is a standalone so you don't need to have read either the Born in Blood or Camorra Chronicles series' beforehand - though if you haven't read them, you'll definitely want to after this one! It was so good!

Cassio is recently widowed with two young children under the age of 3. As a busy Underboss, he needs to find a wife who can raise his children during the day and warm his bed at night. Enter Guilia - 18 years old, recent high school graduate with no experience caring for children. What she does have is a strong determination to make the marriage she's been thrown into work and bring together her new, instant family.

One of the things I genuinely loved about this story is the way Reilly tackled the topic of age gaps. There is an approximately 13 year age gap between Cassio and Guilia, and at the beginning of the story, the age difference is quite obvious as these two characters are suddenly thrown together in their arranged marriage. Cassio is in his early 30's, a leader in Philadelphia and heavily focused on work and maintaining power and control in his region. He cares for his two young children deeply but his role requires he puts his job first. Since Guilia is a teenager, she knew she'd eventually become a wife but she never expected to suddenly become a mother too. At the beginning of the book, she just wants to paint and discover who she is as a person. As their marriage and life together progresses, Cassio and Guilia's age gap becomes less obvious. Guilia matures quickly in her new caretaker role and uses this opportunity to discover herself. At the same time, Guilia's presence in Cassio's life is also slowly ridding him of his cynicism as he learns to love life again and all of Guilia's quirks (including her sunflowers!). They were such a perfect couple together!

I adored seeing Guilia's role as stepmother to two young children. As previously mentioned, Guilia has no experience around young children but she's expected to suddenly know everything about them. That doesn't stop this smart, strong, young woman from making the best of her situation by researching all she can on caring for children. As most people know though, theory and practice are two completely different things and you see Guilia's inner strength continue to grow further as she gets thrown learning curve after learning curve. Despite it all, she refuses to give up and becomes exactly what each member in the family needs to overcome their own shadowy past. She was their bright sunflower standing tall in the face of adversity!

I don't want to give too much away about the rest of the storyline but will say it was so incredibly well written. I was hooked from the first word through to the last and didn't want it to end. Cassio was a fantastic character to read more about and I'm so glad Reilly decided to write his story. I can't wait to see what else Reilly releases in future - but in the meantime, I'm going to be re-reading Sweet Temptation and the rest of the Born in Blood and Camorra Chronicles books.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Cora Reilly, Next Step PR and Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Giulia, Cassio, and their kids with all my heart. They made me laugh and cry, they made my heart melt and break. Never for a second had they ever made me feel anger or annoyance towards them, just love and heartbreak. 

I know I've said not too long ago that Gemma Bazzoli was my favorite girl from both series, but that ship has sailed. Giulia (Rizzo) Moretti is definitely my favorite. She was everything I hoped her to be and more. My girl has a backbone. She's cute, she's strong. She's simply PERFECT. I love her, period.

Cassio, Cassio, Cassio. This is my new man right here, who I love. He was better than I could ever imagine. His story broke my heart. I wanted to murder some people on his and his kids' behalf. His relationship with his kids, especially Danielle, made me SO EMOTIONAL. I shed a bunch of tears.

Danielle broke my heart too. My whole soul cried for him. I just wanted to wrap him in a blanket and protect him. Still do, just thinking about the future and that traumatizing plot twist. I CAN'T DEAL WITH IT.

As for Cassio & Giulia as a couple. It is as Cassio said, they were completely opposites, but they complemented each other. They were perfect together, Giulia was indeed everything Cassio and his children needed and some. 

So yeah, I love this book. I honestly didn't think any of Cora's books could beat Twisted Bonds for me, but this one just did that. My favorite of hers so far.

p.s. Cassio is now sharing the number one spot with Nino and Luca.

*ARC PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

Wow!!!!! What an amazing 10 star story that consumed me until the very end. A solid page turner that must be read.

When Giulia turns 18, she will wed Cassio a widow mafia underboss. She must become wife and mother to his 2 children. What starts as an arranged marriage of convenience will turn into so much more.

Yes this is about the mafia but it’s so much more. A young lady who come at a time where a family was destroyed by tragedy. She will put this family back together. It’s a beautifully written love story. I wouldn’t call it dark. Yes there events that are brutal but easily managed as a reading.

The characters were perfectly developed and made me feel for them. An amazing storyline that was unique. This is my first book by this author and I’m really impressed by the quality and dept of this story. Bottomline this is a must read.

Standalone told in a dual POV with an HEA. I strongly recommend this story. I will soon be checking more from this author.

Hello mafia deliciousness! This was my first book by this Author and it doesn’t disappoint! The storyline packed punches, shocking moments and hot heated passion. I loved reading Cassio & Giulia’s journey. It was a terrific mafia read!

I’ve been wanting to read this book to awhile and I just started reading this book yesterday and I just finished it was a really great book I really loved the female lead in this book she is so strong but knows how to handle the H when he is really angry but I really enjoyed this book