Fragile Longing is another story set in the mafia world created by Cora Reilly. It’s the story of Danilo Mancini and Sofia Mione, and it’s a somewhat unexpected match, considering Danilo was supposed to marry Sofia’s older sister Serafina in Twisted Pride.

After the aftermath of Serafina’s kidnapping in Twisted Pride, in need of a bride, Danilo is promised her younger sister Sofia, despite their 10-year age gap. Sofia is over the moon, at 12 she’s always had a crush on the Indianapolis underboss, so is excited that he is her future husband, but Danilo proves time and time again that he sees her as a consolation prize, after losing Serafina to the Camorra. As Sofia grows up, she becomes more and more resentful towards her estranged sister, and eager to prove to Danilo that she isn’t second best. When one night the opportunity presents itself for Sofia to show Danilo she’s all grown up, it majorly backfires causing her even more self-doubt and insecurities, just weeks before their wedding. Will they be able to make it work as man and wife or have they been doomed as a couple from the start?

Okay, so Cora’s mafia books have been a favourite of mine since Bound by Honour, but my absolute favourite is Twisted Pride which is Remo and Serafina’s story. So, with Fragile Longing about Serafina’s ex fiancé and her little sister, I was intrigued to see what lay ahead for this unexpected couple. But I found myself struggling with some aspects of their story throughout, because of the constant bashing of Remo and Fina. I understand that both Danilo and Sofia were angry with how Fina left and with the rivalry between the Outfit and the Camorra, there was a lot of pride there which had taken a big hit, but I never truly felt like I was on Danilo and Sofia’s side when it came to the war of the Mafia families, because I completely backed Fina for leaving, and never really liked how the sisters were essentially rivals in the end, despite how much they wanted to be close. There was an almost unhealthy obsession with Remofina from the start and I just wanted them to get over it and moves on with their own lives.

Sofia was a difficult character to understand, because I feel like this shadow of Fina she thought she lived in was almost created solely by her. Her parents and brother never compared them, but she always thought they did. Initially Danilo did because he was embarrassed that his bride-to-be had left for a rival family, and so needed to get his anger out, but Sofia interpreted that personally. She was fairly naïve throughout the first half of this book, and although I loved her change in mindset after the event which changed everything, it was horrible it took that to make her see things differently. It broke me how she had to go through that, but she then saw that she could be who she wanted to be, without trying to live up to this ghost of Serafina, which were expectations she only pushed on herself. I adored her friendship with Anna, she seemed to be the little devil sitting on her shoulder pushing her to do things out of her comfort zone, but I really liked how they were both there for the other to lean on always, almost like a substitute sister.

Whereas my opinion on Sofia improved at 50%, I am still unsure how I feel about Danilo. As a mafia man who had been humiliated in front of the entire Outfit, I could understand his anger, but I felt like it was far too drawn out, it got a bit annoying in the end. I get his pride took a hit but come one, move on and prove that you’re still a strong leader, which he never really did. The second half, he marginally improved, but again I couldn’t believe it took that to show him that his actions were affecting others. I liked how attentive and caring he was with Sofia, especially after she stopped doting on him, and it was clear that his affections were genuine, it just took him a while to get there.
As a couple, I liked how they built their relationship slowly once they were married, they learnt to trust each other and slowly built on that trust to turn to love. I think that seeing the build up to their marriage did help, as you see every stage, they both went through until they were married. Danilo was so patient, his affections for her grew each day and he really cared for her, despite how rocky their road to a HEA was.

The Outfit has always been my least favourite family, starting with their treatment of Aria, and I’m not sure if this is just my interpretation but I’ve never felt that they were the strongest of the families. That doesn’t even mean they’re the underdogs who you’re rooting for, they just seem the weakest, with countless examples of when either New York Famiglia or the Camorra get one over on them, with the Familglia being cunning and strategic and the Camorra ruthless in their protection of their family, but the Outfit always seemed like their members were somewhat disposable and not nearly as tight knit as the other two.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as some of the others set in this world, there was little action and suspense, but a lot of drama which usually came from their own insecurities. As much as I love Remo and Fina, I felt they were mentioned far too much, almost everything was blamed on them, and it became fairly recycled by the end, like I was reading the same part of the book over and over. I am excited for Anna’s story, her hinted love interest is bound to cause waves in the mafia community, so I will continue to read the books from this series. There were some aspects which I genuinely loved, especially Sofia’s lesson of not needing to try and fit a mould for someone else, you should be who you want to be for you, and although some things missed the mark for me, I would recommend a read if you like Cora’s work.

– 1.75 stars

How many times does Cora Reilly want to write about the same events in Twisted Pride? Remo kidnapping Serafina is making such an impact on everyone that CR is shoving that fact down our throats from 1030 different angles. I get it, Remofina living in everyone's mind rent free, but maaaybee try to write something different for once? All of CR books are reading the same.

I'm also tired of the Hero being a manho, sleeping around on the heroine until their wedding. It's always the same, these mafia guys can't keep it in their pants.

Warning: There are going to be spoilers from here on, only read it if you have read the book already or never ever want to read the book. Also very long review cause there was a lot to rant about!

4 reasons why this book didn't work out:

1. The timeline of FL was just not great

The book starts after Serafina's return from the kidnapping, when Sofia is promised to Danilo as a consolidation price, cause he can't marry Fina. She is 11 and he is 21. I'm not a fan of long time jumps but in this case I wished it would jump to their wedding right away when Sofia is 18 with occasional flashbacks to the past. But instead more than 50% of this book was when Sofia is still underage and had barely interactions with Danilo, because that would be just downright creepy with their 10 years age gap. Which brings me to reason numero two

2. The lacking romance & Sofiadanilo's first time

What can you expect from the romance if more than half of the book Sofia and Danilo have scenes alone, because that would be inappropriate.

Their first time together was just ew. Sofia and Anna are going to Danilo's birthday party. Sofia is putting on a blond wig and some of Fina's perfume to look more like her and because she knows Danilo likes to fuck blondes. Sofia catches Danilo's eyes and he takes her outside for a quickie against a tree from behind. Note: Sofia is 17 years old when this happens. Danilo asks Sofia a couple of times if she is sure and every time she nods. Danilo is pretty rough to Sofia, enters her without any foreplay and realized that he's fucking a virgin. At a closer look Danilo realized that he it's Sofia and feels guilty while Sofia is in some kind of shock because she doesn't know this rough side of Danilo. She only knew him as the gentleman.
His mouth returned to my ear. “I’m going to fuck you hard right against this tree. I’m not in the mood for fucking foreplay, so you better tell me now if your pussy is ready to take my cock,” he growled.

“Say it.”“Yes.” I didn’t even recognize my voice. He turned me around, so I had to support myself against the tree. The bark of the fir was dry and rough against my palms as I braced myself against the tree trunk. I stared at it, breathing shakily, tears stinging my eyes. He pulled down the zipper at the back of my leather pants and shoved them down. My panties followed. The cold hit my skin and I shivered. “I like your ass,” he rasped. He pushed my legs further apart with his foot and squeezed my ass cheek once. I couldn’t connect these actions with the Danilo I desired and loved. It would hurt. He’d tear me apart.

The sheer stupidity of these characters. I have no words or I do have words but none of them are nice. First of all, how can you not recognize your own FIANCEE??? The hell Danilo? How blind can you be?! All Sofia did was put on a blond wig .. It can't be THAT dark inside to not have recognize her. Wow the power of one single wig.. my mind is blown. What pissed me off is Sofia's reaction. She acting all shock and as a victim when she could have said NO so many times. I blame Danilo for a lot of things that are happening in this book, but the fuckery that is their first time is mostly on Sofia. She knew Danilo fucked other women behind her back and went to the party with the intention of being one of them. He did what he did and she thinks he's a monster.
I couldn’t say anything, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could hardly breathe. I’d stopped living, merely existed now. I was gone, gone, gone.

Girl please stop being so dramatic. You could have stop. Idk i just can't feel sorry for Sofia in that scene.

3. Danilo panini head Mancini

Since Serafina was taken away from him, he has an UNHEALHTY obsession with Remo and Fina. It was infatuarting. All he was striving for was taking revenge on Remo for what he did. Remo's power is tury a sight to behold to. So proud of my husband.

I was going to kill Remo Falcone for stealing my fiancée, for breaking her in ways that made it impossible for her to marry me. I was going to destroy everything that mattered to him. I wouldn’t rest until I’d ruined his life like he had ruined mine.


What was the worse about Danilo's character is his obsession with Serafina. After she went back to Las Vegas with Nevio and Greta (as she should), Danilo started to hate her for her betrayal. From there all he does is fuck blonde women to get her out of his system. When he fucked one of his blondes, he picture how it's Fina that's why he treats all the blondes so rough and shitty cause he imagine it being Fina. How disgusting is this?! Dude Fina is not even thinking a second about you. It's super pathetic. All these sex scenes with OWs … things I really didn't want to see. Why did we get all these details? For once I would been grateful for fade to black scenes.
After a short chat and a few more drinks, we stumbled into the restroom together. I fucked her hard against a bathroom stall, her front pressed against the wall, her back to me. I focused on her blonde hair and let out my frustration and anger. Remo had taken Serafina from me, had stolen her innocence and her heart. I could imagine his feeling of utter triumph every time he fucked her, knowing he’d taken this from me. I came with a violent shudder and untangled myself from the woman in front of me . I wasn’t sure if she came, but I didn’t care.

The door opened and a tall woman with long blonde hair stepped in. She was dressed in a white wrap dress matching the theme of the room . In my exhausted , half-drunk state, she looked like a bad replica of Serafina. Fuck Marco, the bastard. He could read me like an open book. Only her seductive smile and her sexy movements betrayed her true identity . Accepting her was admitting weakness; sending her back would send the same message. Either way, I was a fucking mess. “What do you want?” she said in a beckoning voice. “No talking,” I growled, jerking her against me. “Now suck my cock.” She fell to her knees and I tilted my head back, staring up at the ceiling adorned with ancient Roman mosaics. I didn’t look at her as she sucked me, didn’t look at her as I fucked her. Images of another blonde woman entered my mind, and my thrusts turned almost vicious as the prostitute knelt before me, but the images were distorted, clouded with bitterness and a sickening need for revenge.

Ew. Ew. Ew. EWWWWW!!!!

Anna the best character in the whole book said it best
“Still,”Anna said pointedly. “It’s weird how he picks all those blonde bimbos. It’s been years. Why can’t he get over his hurt pride?”

One of the reason why I'm not a huge fan of how Cora writes mafia books is because the guys are always sleeping around. I expected Danilo to sleep with other women, because when Sofia was promised to him, she was only 11 years old and of course he wouldn't have any romantic feelings about her for years that would make him such a pedo, BUT what makes me rage are these bros who STILL fuck around on the heroine even AFTER their engagement party. Sofia was 17 at her engagement party and for the few months until their wedding Danilo could have waited, but no even after the OFFICIAL engagement party he's still fucking blondes and it was pissing me off, cause that's cheating. The disrespect jeez!! That's another case of Twisted Heart..while Sofia didn't crush on Danilo as hard as Gemma did on Savio it's still a no go how Danilo disregarded their engagement.
“You weren’t supposed to be at a party, Sofia. We weren’t married yet, so I was still well within my rights to do as I please.”

Aheem, the audacity?

4. Sofia Mione

Sofia's fixation on her sister Serafina was as unhealthy as Danilo's obsession with Fina. Sofia CONSTANLTY compared herself to Serafina to the point that it was her only personality trait. It was really annoying how Sofia can get pissed when people compare her to Fina, but girl you're doing it yourself all the time?? She wants other people to acknoledge her existence like they did with Fina, then she goes and dyes her hair blond like Fina and gets pissed at them when they say that she looks exactly like Serafina… the hell? WHERE IS THE LOGIC??
Danilo with blonde girls. Nobody had taken Serafina’s place in Danilo’s heart. With every new conquest, he seemed to look for a replica of her. For the first time, a flicker of anger mingled with my usual feelings of inadequacy.

I mean can she just stop doing that? It was soo annyoing. I can't hear Serafina's name anymore.
My throat clogged up. With Fina’s hairstyle and color, I looked like her. We had the same eye color, the same high cheekbones and narrow nose. I had a few freckles, but my makeup covered those, and I was shorter, but seated, I was Serafina’s double. It was so close to the original that my heart ached, and my pulse sped up.

As a comparison Sofia's name came up 431 times in this book, while Serafina/Fina's name, who is NOT the main character, came up 386 (!!!!!!!!) times. That's almost as much as Sofia's name. Wow Cora really knows how to hold onto characters.
My stomach sank. Danilo and his cousin Marco stood off to the side of the large wooden patio, talking to two girls. Naturally, Danilo was with a blonde— again. Always with blondes. Always with women who resembled Serafina but couldn’t hold a candle to her beauty. They were less, a copy of the original. Less. So was I. Not what Danilo wanted. I was the consolation prize, would always be.

Sofia would make all these comparison like how Fina would have wear the same style of veil if she had gotten the chance to walk down the aisle. And here I'm sitting and asking myself "Who the fuck cares about that?"
Even if my hair wasn’t blonde anymore, my resemblance to Fina was unmistakable. Suddenly, I didn’t want this anymore. I wanted to be different. As long as I looked like Fina, but not quite, people would keep comparing us.

Oh wow really??? Never thought of THAT. Someone call MENSA so that Sofia can join their rank asap!!

Even on her wedding day Sofia couldn't stop comparing herself to her sister. I'm tired. I'm so tired.
My fingers trembled as I smoothed down my wedding dress and lowered the veil over my face. This was my day and yet . . . . . . it wasn’t my name they would whisper in the pews today. Because I was the consolation prize. The surrogate bride. Worst of all, I was not my sister.

Dressed like this, I almost looked like Serafina, minus the blonde hair. Still less. Always less. But maybe Danilo would see the similarities between my sister and me. Maybe, for a second, he would look at me with the same longing he used to direct at Serafina. Before he realized I wasn’t her. Before that look of disappointment settled on his face again.

Not to mention that even on their wedding night the only thing Danilo and Sofia talk about is Remofina. Do they have a life outside of remofine? I don't think so. The best thing Sofia said was acknowledging that she's stupid.
“Why is it so hard for you to believe that you mean the world to me?”“Because I’m stupid.”

4 Reasons why not 1 star

1. Anna Cavallero & Leonas Cavallero

Anna was without a doubt the best character for me. I loved her scenes and her friendship with Sofia. Even the couple of scenes where she's bickering with her brother Leonas were better than the rest of the book.

I'm also intrigued about her and her bodyguard Santiago's romance.

2. Emma and her relationship with Danilo

While I think Danilo is trash. Not boyfriend or husband material, he's relationship with his sister Emma was very cute. I love how he is so protective of her since her accident.

And Emma she's baby 🥺 I already love her so much and think she deserves better than Samuel! He's just another manho fucking everything with legs before their wedding whie ignoring Emma. Just the thought is making me so angry!!

3. Serafina & Remo cameo + Nevio & Great mentions

After years of no contact. Sofia finally contacts Fina through Samuel and can talk to her. I enjoyed their scenes together even on the phones more than the mentioning of Fina's ghost. Also when Fina talks about her babies uwu
Nevio? How’s the little daredevil?” Fina laughed in exasperation. “Don’t get me started. He tests my patience on a daily basis. He and his cousins stir up nothing but trouble. But I can’t really stay mad at him for long because he’s such a caring boy when it comes to Greta.”

They have my heart!!

The ghost of remofina is hanging over sofiadanilo's head most of the time. But after reading about their ghost all the time at the end we finally get an on screen scene with them when Sofia's meeting Fina!

4. It's bad, but it's not as bad as Twisted Hearts

Nuff said.

– I still have so many great quotes about Fina in case you haven't had enough her ghost yet 😌 but you can thank goodreads because they said no it's enough rant for today, ma'am please go to sleep and leave Sofia and Danilo alone in their remofina obsession

Fragile Longing is Cora’s latest mafia stand-alone that picks up where Twisted Pride left off. The story starts with the fallout from what Serafina left behind - her family and a fiancé, Danilo, to whom she’d been promised. While the book does tie in characters from her Born in Blood and The Camorra Chronicles, it’s not necessary to read those first.

Danilo still sees the benefit of being bonded to the Mione family and proposes an arrangement to marry Serafina’s baby sister, Sofia. Sofia is only 11 when this arrangement occurs but she’s thrilled - she’s always had this childhood crush on Danilo.

Danilo, hyper aware of the age difference, puts her at arms length until they can marry which leaves Sofia feeling dejected and like she needs to change herself to try to appeal to him. Only problem is her plan works opposite of how she expected.

Cora does such a wonderful job focusing on intimacy within her mafia relationships. I loved the focus on Sofia and Danilo’s relationship building from the ground up. It started slow - which I completely understand why - allowing for the trust and bond to build.

I hated Danilo but ended up liking him in the end. He was selfish, arrogant and disrespectful to any and all women outside of his family. The only gentleness he showed was towards his sister. He always thought Sofia was a child, needing to grow up to be worthy of him. I found that so ironic in that through the same time period, they both were at the same place with their emotional maturity despite the 10 year age gap.

In terms of steam - this one has it. You do have to wait a good 70-75% of the book to get there but man, Cora let’s it loose after that!

I’m still fairly new to this authors books, and have loved everything I’ve read so far. Fragile Longing was no exception to this!

I love a good mafia, arranged marriage, dark romance and Cora definitely delivered on that. As all arranged marriages go, Danilo is promised to Serafina, the daughter of a fellow underboss. Everything seems perfect, until she is stollen from a rival mafia group and ends up breaking her engagement. In order to save the bond between the families, her father offers Serafina’s younger sister, Sofia. With there being such a large age gap, their union of course would wait until Sofia is of age. During these years, Sofia is blinded by what she thinks is a fairytale, that Danilo is her knight in shining armor and that they’ll live happily ever after. As the years get closer and closer to their promised union, the blinds are open and she can see what their union really is: a means to an end in order to keep the bond. Danilo never allowed to think of Sofia, drowning his misery and hatred towards Serafina in other women, but as the years go on, he has no choice but to truly see Sofia. Throughout the book, both Danilo and Sofia must figure out and navigate the situation they’ve been put in, whether they’re ready to stop running from the past and move on to a happy future together. None of this is done of course without plenty of drama, quick wit and dialogue and steam!

This book had me turning pages as fast as I could to find out how events would play out. And even though this was Danilo and Sofia’s story, the other characters drew me in, wanting more! I’m so hopeful that Samuel and Emma will end up with their own story as well! This book also really makes me want to read Twisted Pride, Serafina’s book.

So if you’re in the mood for a stand-alone (although in an establish world) mafia romance, then this book is for you!!

Thank you to Netgalley, The Next Step PR and Cora Riley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

Well, this book was a surprise to me, mainly because of the characters.

So, Danilo was a surprise because I thought he would be this major asshole I would want to dismember. Turns out, he wasn't that bad. He didn't have the best behavior before that incident. But I have to admit I'm glad he stayed away from Sofia and didn't parade her around (like she delusionally hoped) because that would have been freaking creepy since back then she was, you know, a kid. He ended up being a gentleman and caring with Sofia when they got married, which made me like him. I also really liked his relationship with his sister Emma. That dance they had together brought tears to my eyes.

As for Sofia, it was the opposite. I seriously thought I would love her so much, but it wasn't the case. There were times I thought she would beat Gianna as my least favorite. While Gianna grated on my nerves, Sofia made me cringe, so much so I thought my face would be forever frozen in a cringe expression. And second-hand embarrassment is real, people. In my view, Sofia was rather pitiful, for lack of better words. I felt sorry for her at times. Her teen crush on Danilo and the whole 'I-want-to-be-like-my-sister-when-I-grow-up' thing went from something innocent to something obsessive. Danilo and Serafina were her only thoughts. I blame her parents for not paying enough attention or assure her of some things. Another character took that role, and I appreciate this character for it. I also blame Sofia's daydream nature. In her case, it was something negative rather than positive. It made her think and do some pathetic shit. She was basically her very own enemy. I get she's young, and that can be used as an excuse, but even with that knowledge, it didn't make me feel any different about her. I did like her in the last few chapters. I also liked her friendship with Anna, one of the highlights of the book.

ONLY after Sofia and Danilo put all the past bullshit, obsessions, and delusions behind, they became a beautiful couple to read about. AND also kind of hot.

Overall, I kinda like the book. Although I'm disappointed with the lack of romance, there was way too little time with Danilo and Sofia as a couple.

p.s.: I enjoyed Anna's, Santino's, and Leona's cameos.

*arc provided in exchange for an honest review.

Fragile Longing was super expected and I enjoyed every moment, Sofia has a lot on her shoulders since Serafina left and saved Remo. Her family have a hard time adapting to her betrayal and everyone mourned her at their own way, leaving Sofia a little forgotten. Sofia tries to deal with the situation that is destroying her family and unite them again, but she is losing herself in the process.

"I was an echo of the perfect melody. A shadow of an immaculate image. Always less. Never enough."

Sofia was really sweet and sometimes naive. She wants to please everyone and end up doing silly stuff, but I totally understand her reactions to the situation. Her big crush to Danilo and their age gap really make it difficult for them to connect. Her friendship with Anna is delighful. I loved every scene with them, they have a super tigh bond. Anna was there for her when she needed the most, like helping Sofia with her self esteem. We have more insight on Anna's book and i'm so excited!!

“Be selfish for once, Sofia. In this world, we women get so few choices, so little freedom. We have to grasp happiness by the collar and drag it with us. We can’t hope for happiness to jump into our lap. Be selfish. You deserve it.”

Danilo is extremely prideful. So much that he makes some mistakes until he realize that the past will only bring him misery and he needs to move on. Afterwards, we get a more conscious Danilo fighting for his marriage which i absolutely adored. His love and fierce protectiveness towards his sister, Emma, was incredibly cute. Can't wait for her story with Samuel! Furthermore, I loved all the familiar faces throughout the book.

"Our life together had been an abstract concept."

"I wondered which Danilo was the real deal. Which was his true self? The restrained gentleman or the ruthless predator? I feared it was like Anna had told me."

Fragile Longing is a standalone. However, I do recommend reading at least Twisted Pride and Bound by the Past for a better understanding since the events in there lead to the story of Sofia and Danilo.

*ARC kindly provided by The Next Step PR in exchange for an honest review.*

4 Outstanding Stars!!

I thought Danilo and Serafina were mean to be, but so happy for Sophia after all those years crushing for him, ever since she was a little girl. It was also appealing not seen Danilo falling for a little girl, because that would definitely have been a turn off for me. So the timing was just perfect.

I really loved and enjoyed following Sofia and Danilo's journey. Sofia's strenght and courage grow with her character, and it was very refreshing. I love seen how affectionate, caring, and loving this rough mafia guys can be. All secondary characters are likeable, and some brought something especial that makes want to read their own stories in the near future.

All in all, this was a very entertaining and enjoyable read, and can't wait for the audible version of it!!

Cora Reilly really brought out everything in this book that I was looking for. Age gap, forbidden, and mafia.

Sofia has been in love with Danilo since she was a child. It might have started off as just a crush since she was only 11 years old, but it soon did develop into love as she started growing up. But unfortunately for her, Danilo didn't feel the same for her. He was destined to marry Seraphina but she did the unthinkable and now he was promised Sofia as a consolation, which doesn't sit right with Sofia. No matter how many times she tries to make advances and flirts with him, it just doesn't seem to work. She even went as far as trying to look just like her sister with the blond hair and all, but Danilo wasn't impressed with her drastic change. He wanted her to be herself, even though that didn't change how he felt for her, especially since she was so much younger than him.

But as the years pass and Sophia has pretty much given up on her love for Danilo, that's when things change and Danilo finally sees Sophia in a different light. Even if they are 10 years apart, that never seemed to bother Sofia, age wasn't ever an issue for her even though it was for Danilo, but the way he started falling for her was just sweet and I loved how their romantic relationship finally started to take off.

Loved this book and the characters along with the secondary characters in the book. Cora Reilly is the queen of mafia that's for sure!

"People say there aren’t two snowflakes identical in shape, every single one of them unique. Magnificent icy perfection.
Like my sister Serafina.
I tried to replicate her, but a replica would never be the original. I was the echo of the perfect melody. A shadow of an immaculate image. Always less. Never enough."

After Danilo and Serafina's engagement falls apart following the events of Twisted Pride, Sofia is set to take her sister's place and marry Danilo, the man she's been crushing on since the beginning. But what starts as a dream come true for little Sofia soon has her feeling like a second choice, the consolation prize. Losing a finance to another man can crush any man's pride, especially when that man is the enemy; but Danilo has more pride than most and as a new underboss more to prove. Incensed by his slipped opportunity for revenge, Danilo is filled with resentment and an inability to put the past to rest.

I liked the individual growth of the characters throughout the book. I felt for Sofia, she was struggling with constantly not feeling good enough and feeling like a shadow in her own home after her sister leaves. She really comes into herself, growing into a confident woman and learning to stop comparing herself to her sister; as she's been subjected to by others for so long. Danilo was so stubborn and filled with spite in the beginning, but luckily he comes to his sense and realises the precious gift he's been given with Sofia and works on winning her affections back. He could be sweet and attentive, and I admired his relationship with his sister he was so caring and protective of her.

With regards to the romance between the two, I really liked development of their relationship, especially in the second half of the book. They had a strong physical attraction and chemistry and I really loved how their relationship grew from physical/infatuation to something deeper and more meaningful. My only issue is that I wish there was more of the book/story after their marriage, it felt a little short in comparison to the first half that was full of angst and longing.

All in all I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to see the following stories for some of our secondary characters.

Thank you Next Step Pr and Cora Reilly for the ARC.

From the moment Sofia and Danilo were paired together, I knew this book was going to destroy me. But what I didn't expect was how much damage Sofia did to herself. Cora expressed how much self-love is important with Sofia's character and I about cried my heart out for the girl. All her life she was pushed to the side of her family because of the shadow she lived by her older sister. Even though this book can be read as a standalone, I did recommend you to read Twisted Pride.

Danilo, the young Underboss of Indianapolis is a dangerous enigma to the world, who carefully conceals his soft heart and gentle manner. There are many layers to him and once they unveil it is difficult to hold resentment towards his behavior. Just like every other made man, Danilo has to hide his true nature from the world. In public, he is cold and angry but behind closed doors, he is gentle and kind to those close to him.

BTW, I did not expect Danilo to be the way he was in the sheets...WOW! Sofia is one lucky young lady and Danilo is one lucky stud.

Some characters from the previous book due make cameos in her but you also get introduced to upcoming characters who (fingers crossed!) may have a book coming in the near future!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book just like any book by this amazing writer. Danilo and Sofia's story was magnificent and enjoyable from page one to the last. This book is filled with hurt, comedy, angst, and overall romance!

Cora really is amazing!

After Savio’s book I swore off from this series.
But then I got this book and I was like let’s just give it a try you know?

Why should the woman always pine after the man? Why can't it be the other way around for once?
What vibe I have gotten from the past two books is that it's okay for the man to cheat and the woman to still be hopelessly in love with him. And then The man will towards the end realize that "Hey I actually am in love with her but I don't have to do much, Just show my sexy face and maybe just throw out the word sorry If my face isn't enough and she will open her legs and heart for me willingly again"
Like what do these MG's even see in these guys in the first place besides their looks being "a gift from god?" They don't even have any personalities

I have come to a conclusion that Serafina and Remo are from a complete different universe. They should not even be considered from the same league as the rest of the characters from this series.

And now I’m going to go back to their book and read from the scene where Serafina comes to rescue Remo in order to uplift my mood.

I really enjoyed this book and loved reading from the perspectives of Sofia and Danilo. They were both interesting characters and so very different from each other.

This book also served one of my favourite tropes - the arranged marriage, opposites and age-gap trope.

In this book, we grow with Sophia from a young age as she finds out about her arranged marriage to Danilo. Although Sophia is not opposed to it, as she has always had a crush on Danilo, even though he was to be married to her sister. There is so much angst and feelings and emotions involved with these characters, especially Sophia. There was so much longing and yearning within Sophia in wanting Danilo’s love and so much angst accompanying it. I also really enjoyed Danilo, and understanding his side of things, especially if you have read Twisted Pride also by Cora Reilly.

Also, appearances of other beloved characters also appeared in this book which was very exciting to read about and it just makes me miss some of them.

One thing that I didn’t really like when reading this book, was that it started from when Sophia was young. So it battled with lots of childish jealousy and feelings that I did not particularly like. I think it was heavily focused on her when she was young and I didn’t really like reading about that. But that’s just personal preference for me, I wished she was a little older, perhaps seventeen when this book took place and some small flashbacks.I also thought the story was slower paced and felt like it was dragging in particular scenes and moments.

Overall, this was book was really enjoyable to read and if your craving your fix of Cora Reilly or an arranged marriage, age-gap and opposites attract tropes, then this book will fill your cravings.

ARC received from The Next Step PR. Voluntarily reviewing and all opinions are objective and my own.

Read in one sitting! Because it is Cora Reilly and can we expect anything else?!?! Although this is listed as a standalone attached to her two mafia series, I would find value in reading all those first. Since I read the Born in Blood Chronicles, all except the latest one (and it’s been a while since those) and not the Camorra Chronicles (yet), I wasn’t sure who Sofia and Serafina was, and although I knew Remo was a name from Camorra, I didn’t have knowledge of the kidnapping they spoke about at the beginning of this book. So while it is classified as a standalone and I felt fine reading it in the end, my personal preference would have been to have every other book read beforehand to go into this one with a complete background of the characters.

I didn’t dislike one thing about this book! I loved the characters. Sofia isn’t too smart at times, but what redeems her is that she’s aware of this and pointed out her own faults. She knows she’s being dumb, and that’s step one. Also factoring in her age; it’s likely she would make the calls she did when faced with that all-consuming crush. Danilo wasn’t always the nicest of men, but he did have his reasons, and in the end he did come out on top for me. He is sweet to her and I loved all those scenes.

I enjoyed this plot and I enjoyed the mistake because it really did wonders for her character, and in the end, their relationship. Without it, she would have gone into that marriage the sweet-eyed girl who thought the world of him and all would be dandy. It played out that he needed to atone for mistakes and she didn’t feel 100% comfortable with him. It gave the plot time to develop the romance in a more natural and not forced way and showed his true feelings for her, and I love it for this.

When the romance does hit, oh boy, turn on a fan because these two are hot! Sizzling with the perfect amount of sweet...Danilo knows how to work!

With this story is the introduction of another marriage, with both characters connected to Sofia and Danilo. They’re talked a lot about before the wedding and not so afterwards and given the female character involved I really hope to see a book from them too! At this rate the connected ‘standalones’ that the author keeps writing will need a series name too.

Is there one book from this author I dislike?! She’ll have to just keep writing them I suppose and we’ll find out...

Before reading this book, Cora Reilly was a new to me author. I know, where have I been?! I have so much catching up to do!

“I’d loved him innocently, wholly, desperately with my stupid naïve heart.”

Fragile Longing held me completely captivated from the prologue. Also, a rare occurrence took place–I read this entire book within twenty-four hours. That may not be a big deal for some readers, but for me, the world’s slowest reader, this is huge! Usually it takes me up to 3-4 days to read a book. I simply could not put this book down!

“I waited silently. Brokenly. Hoping that this would finally set me free. Free from my crush on a man who never wanted me.”

Arranged marriage. Age gap. Sister’s ex-fiancé. And all in the mafia world! To say I was intrigued on how Danilo and Sofia’s situation would play out would be an understatement. The road to their union spanned the course of years, and I was living for the level of angst their relation entailed. There were times where these two also drove me absolutely crazy with the actions and decisions they made. The “grip my kindle a little tighter” out of frustration type of crazy. However, everything they put me through made the moments where they opened up to each other, fully succumbed to the other, made it all the more satisfying. The growth in their chemistry, passion, and love was EVERYTHING I look for in a romance!

“You’re the proudest man I know.” “I am, and that’s my greatest sin.”

Fragile Longing is a very character driven story. There’s not much outside action when you think of mafia, but honestly, I was so wrapped up in the course of their relationship that it wasn’t something I found myself missing. Also, I adored the friendship Sofia and Anna shared–they were literal BFF goals!

so first things first I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review shout out to Nextstep for making that happen!
*insert HEY LOOK MA I MADE IT*
gonna try to make this spoiler free but I ramble so let's see :)
I devoured this book in 2 days stayed up until 2:30 am on Friday night and until 1 on Saturday. Ignored my family (mom of 4 and husband) I had no business doing this but the book had me swiping and swiping for more.
Ok so let's get started:
I love love loved Sofia while she had MAJOR insecurities she was so kind, caring and at times naive bless her little heart, but watching her grow throughout the book was probably my favorite part. One thing I LOVED is she didn't allow herself to be a doormat when it came to Danilo in the beginning though it seemed a little dicey about whether or not she'd stand her ground. After several hiccups though she finally found her footing and had me saying YOU GO GIRL. Don't get me wrong there was A LOT of times Sofia had me ready to give her these hands, but again GROWTH & PATIENCE.
Now on to Danilo. The level of PRIDE this man has! LAWD. No but seriously it's literally mentioned I felt on every page. To a point where I was like ok we get it you're prideful.
He wasn't a dick purposely just came natural to him hehe. Was he redeemable!? In my OPINION yes he groveled in his own weird prideful way, and Sofia made sure he worked for it! He was a total alpha male, but his soft side was swoon worthy! Especially when it came to his sister and eventually Sofia. He also had some great lines that had me book marking like a mad woman. Also the level of sexy this man oozed. WHEW.
Sofia and Danilo as a couple have great chemistry the sex was tastefully smutty!! Which I was ALL for😉🍓
All in all I'm giving this gem a 4 out of 5! Why not the solid 5? Because there was somethings in this book that had me saying ALRIGHT ALREADY. The recap of fina's kidnapped from yet another POV was a bit eh, but thankfully wasn't super drawn out.
✅age gap
✅swoon worthy moments.
✅tasteful smut
✅good amount of angst without overdoing it
✅great side characters interaction and banter

PS- CHAPTER 23 was a wonderful surprise! Thank you Cora! Also this book made me so much more excited for Anna's book. I just know Anna's about to AGEEE Dante hardcore lol

-b00kSnob

To say that I'm disappointed will be an understatement because I am very much disappointed.

The story wasn't really going anywhere from the start.  It was but a retell of Remofina's story from Sofia's and Danilo's point of view and its damaging effects to them. It was really tiring.  Especially the countless times Sofia felt like just a consolation prize. The never ending lack of self esteem and constant self pity and comparing herself to Fina. It was both irritating and frustrating at the same time.

What could have been a great story has become just an afterthought. I know Sofia was infatuated with Danilo from an early age but what about Danilo? He's constantly having sex with other people and Sofia was just supposed to be okay with that because apparently,  that's how it works in their circle.

It was all lust when Sofia started to show some curves. Even when they finally get to spend some time together,  it was for me,  revolves around having sex and their exploration for it. If I'm not mistaken,  it seems that almost 30% was nothing else but pure smut read. Honestly,  I lost my interest.

Secondary characters were great though and  I was now more interested about Emma and Samuel's story. Anna's a well. I really hoped that the possibility of having a great storyline wouldn't be ruined with being just another smut read.

(𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝑷𝑹)
𝑅𝐴𝑇𝐼𝑁𝐺: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5

𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒍𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's been waiting for this book since Twisted Pride.

Danilo and Sofia were bound by unexpected circumstances to one another. After loosing his bride -to-be, Danilo's pride was wounded. He was now consumed with rage, hatred and vengeance. He spent so much time regretting the past and what was lost that he almost lost what was given to him.

Sofia was such a sweet and adorable character. She always lived in the shadow of her sister, ever after what happed people always compared her to Fina. No matter what she did or said it was never going to be enough, because she will never be Serafina.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 . . . . . . 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆.

I felt so bad for Sofia, i mean everyone was pining after Serafina and the void she left behind that they ignored Sofia completely. She almost lost herself trying to be someone she was not. But she eventually gained her confidence and learned that she was enough and there was no point in comparing herself to Serafina.

𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒑.

The first part of the book pissed me off. Danilo was so uncaring and cold towards Sofia, and the things he did drove me crazy. Sofia interpreted his actions in her own way, thinking that Danilo was still in love with Serafina and he did not want her.
However, the second part is where things get much better. Danilo knew that if he keeps pining after the past he well end up losing Sofia too. So he really did his best to make up for his mistakes. He was caring, gentle and sweet, he gave Sofia his all and at the end he knew that she was it for him.

𝑺𝒐𝒇𝒊𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆— 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒑𝒊𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

"I longed for a bond driven by love and affection, a bond that went deeper than political tactics."

Fragile Longing follows the story of Danilo Mancini and Sofia Mione. In the aftermath of Bound By the Past and Twisted Pride, we see Sofia is promised to Danilo after his engagement with Serafina falls through. We get to follow Sofia as she learns about her own strength, self-worth, and beauty.

Sofia is a young girl who's infatuated with the idea of love. Sofia had to grow up in the shadow of her older sister and always fell into the background as her family grieved the loss of Serafina. She wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s soft and gentle but her naivety and constant need for validation made it difficult for me to warm up to her. She was always comparing herself to Serafina and it broke my heart. Like anyone, she has a lot of insecurities and I resonated with that piece. Sofia's journey was certainly difficult but I eventually grew to really like her character.

Danilo was a character that really surprised me. I was intrigued by him in Twisted Pride but after seeing his reaction in Bound By the Past after losing Serafina, he seemed so alpha-male, so over the top and annoying but this book really shows a new side of him. We see that Danilo is someone who truly cares for the people he loves. He is an amazing brother and son. Oh my god, is he such a wonderful older brother. There is ONE scene that made me swoon and brought tears to my eyes. Danilo and Emma's scenes were definitely one of my favorites in this book. 🥺

Danilo and Sofia’s story is an emotional one. You’ll find yourself so frustrated with both these characters. You’ll just want to cry and yell and shake them but when they finally overcome their struggles, they really have something special. Their sexual chemistry is hot. Their feelings for one another consume them and it’s something really different than what Cora usually writes and she did it very well.

Fragile Longing is a rollercoaster read so you better have some tissues on hand. There is so much angst, heartbreak, and loss but I promise it's followed with forgiveness, love, and happiness. The epilogue is so heartwarming. It fills me with so much warmth and happiness.

I was very lucky to receive an ARC and I was super duper excited about this book because I love angsty romance with unrequited love themes and I especially adore the Outfit (they reign supreme, why lie). I personally wished that Sofia and Danilo's marriage life would have been longer and more developed but I did enjoy how they grew and fell in love.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. The highlight of the book was definitely the cameos and some of the new characters like Bria. I loved Anna and Sofia's friendship so much. Anna is an icon. She's absolutely hilarious. I laughed so much my stomach hurt. She's going to be such a troublemaker and I love her even more than I do now (if that's even possible). I'm so excited for everyone to find out more about her. I seriously cannot wait for her’s and Samuel’s book and of course all the others that Cora has planned.

5⭐️

I re-read Twisted Pride before reading this. It's not necessary but I thought it would be helpful to be reminded.

This is Sofia and Danilo's story. If you've not been following, let me give you a small introduction. Sofia is the Capo's niece. Dante Cavallero is the capo of The Outfit. Her mom is Dante's sister and her dad control's Minneapolis. She is Serafina's and Samuel's younger sister. Her sister Serafina was supposed to marry Danilo—her now husband, but Serafina was kidnapped on her wedding by Remo Falcone, the Outfit's nemesis. This is a standalone but I recommend reading Twisted Pride, Bound by Duty and Bound by the Past to understand Sofia and Danilo's background better.

I enjoyed reading about this book! This is one of those books where you can't wait to devour it but at the same you feel anxious because you don't want it to end.

It was gripping from start to finish!

I can't wait to read about Samuel and Emma... knowing how Samuel is, how will their relationship work? They weren't mentioned in the epilogue so I had no idea. I'm also curious about Marco and Bria... it seemed like an enemies to lovers kind of story.

I love the author! How she writes, she just keeps the reader glued to the book. Such a talent! I can't wait to read more!

This book didn't disappoint! Danilo and Sofia were off the charts especially when they started developing feelings for each other. I loved that Sofia had a back bone. She was strong and stood up fo herself. Also Danilo- wasnt who I though he would be after the last book. He turne dout to be amazing. A real gentleman. I loved how he really cared for Sofia espcially after the beginning of the book and how he treated her. Great read!