Neal Walsh has spent her adult life protecting the Mancuso crime family. With the death of its patriarch and his first in command fleeing the country, Neal is now a capo and trying to hold things together so the whole empire doesn’t crumble. While navigating shifting loyalties as well as the potential betrayal of Manusco’s daughter, she begins to build a tentative alliance with Anastasia Petrov, the wife of warring mob boss Mikhail Petrov. Things get more complicated as she starts to fall for Anastasia and it seems as if her feelings might be returned. If they play their cards right, they both might get what they want, but any missteps and it could all fall down.

I really enjoyed this one. I’m a sucker for an older/younger storyline and an ambiguous or anti-hero is my jam. I really liked Neal and Anastasia, gotta love powerful women on both sides of the law. I was rooting for them and couldn’t put the book down to find out what happened with the warring crime families. Definitely recommend if you need some intrigue in your tbr.

Lesbians can be gangsters too, who knew... I enjoyed this light read, the characters are well written, complex individuals, the story is intriguing, following what happens to a crime family when the Don dies. The power vacuum causes dangerous rifts to form. Into this mix comes a queer woman, Ana, who was married off to a Russian gangster that she despises, who happens one night to bump into Neal, who suddenly finds herself in charge of the Mancuso family. This is very much about Neal and what led her to where she is at in her life and working out who she can trust. It's a fast paced story with an abrupt ending that is, I suspect, leaving space for a sequel.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very interesting read along with the main characters. A crime boss story with some strong female lead. What not to love. I recommend. 4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

Nice follow-up to Her Consigliere as this story picks up right after. I liked the focus on Neal Walsh, former Siobhan bodyguard and Ana Petrov, wife of Russian mobster, Mikhail Petrov. Ana and Neal meet at a gay bar, not initially knowing they are suppose to be adversaries. There is instant attraction. Royal, former FBI agent is in a relationship with Siobhan. The Don of the Mancuso family has died and there is a push and pull taking place as to who will take over or will there be a take over. Mikhail is definitely interested in taking control and eliminating anyone that gets in his way. In my opinion, the story is mainly about relationships, family and not mob action. Additional relationship are established which I think is a good thing and has me saying, "bring on the next book in the series".

This book is about the Mancuso mafia family. Although Made for Her is not part of a series, Ms. Taite wrote Her Consigliere in 2021 about the Mancuso family. I feel it is important to read that book first. In the previous book, readers are introduced to the family, several of the main characters, and the events that lead up to this new book.

The two main characters in Made for Her are Neal Walsh and Anastasia Petrov. Neal is the new boss of the Mancuso family. During her entire adult life, she has been acting as a protector for the family’s consigliere, Siobhan Collins. However, after the events which took place in Her Consigliere, Neal’s role changes and now she has to step up and bring together the family until Siobhan returns to taking charge.

Anastasia is the wife of Mikhail Petrov, who runs the Russian mafia in Dallas. Their loveless marriage was only arranged to help the two families grow their business enterprises. Unfortunately, in his quest for power over the years, Mikhail has made reckless decisions which are draining the family fortune. Anastasia wishes to stop Mikhail from ruining the family and she also wants to leave a potentially dangerous relationship.

There is instant physical attraction between Anastasia and Neal. Unfortunately, there is also hesitancy in acting on this attraction because they are from two different mafia families.

Most of the time, I find Ms. Taite’s books have very well-developed plots. This book, however, definitely needs information from Her Consigliere to lay the background. If I had not already read the prior book, I would not have been able to piece together the story elements.

Made for Her has a very fast pace with many details given to the reader. The character development was very good. Although I felt that the ending was a little rushed, I hope Ms. Taite will write a follow-up book so that readers will be able to learn about the future of the Mancuso and Petrov families. For readers who enjoy mafia books, take my advice, and read Her Consigliere first. I rate this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm afraid I am not completely on the same page as quite a number of reviews out here, but this was not a really good reflection of Carsen Taites work in all honesty. Usually I know I can pick up most of her books and have a great time reading it, but Made for Her fell flat for me.
It's a follow up to Her Consigliere, a book where I really liked her outing to the mob side of the law. This second installment follows directly on the events of the first one and we see Neal pick up the vacant leadership position after the sudden disappearance of Siobhan. She comes across the wife of an enemy boss leader and this leads to convoluted series of events without any of the real action you would expect in a book about the mob.
Nothing's wrong with the writing and technically the book is fine. Yet I could't get a connection to the characters at all and found myself bored and skimming the last part of the book.
If you don't expect real action and accept the mob-part as a background for the story to get a plotline in there then it's safe to pick up this book. For me it felt like a rushed writing interlude in between other works maybe.

***Thank you Netgalley en Bold Stroke Books for the chance to read and review this book***

This is a story about Neal who has been the bodyguard for Siobhan Mancuso, but Siobhan has disappeared with her lover, an ex FBI agent. Now Neal finds herself in charge of the Mancuso mob family. Neal doesn’t know who to trust or how to lead. She seeks out Muriel Casey (from Ali Vali’s Devil series) to give her advice.

Meanwhile she meets Ana Petrov (daughter of a powerful Russian mobster) in a gay bar and there is instant attraction. Ana tries to help Neal many times with her family’s problems but Neal doesn’t trust her.

When I choose this ARC I didn’t realize it was part two of a series and that left me feeling I was missing something throughout the book. However, I have read the Vali Devil series books and the references to that series were my favorite parts.

This was a ok book, very short and easy to read. I would definitely recommend reading Her Consigliere first

ARC received from Net Galley Doran honest and voluntary review.

Finished ✔️ Made for Her by Carsen Taite

4 ⭐️’s
Kindle Unlimited: No
Interesting read
The characters were interested
The book didn’t engross me like I thought it would
For a first Carsen Taite book it wasn’t bad.
Kind of felt this book was missing something but not sure what
Characters seemed enjoyable
Yes, I’d recommend

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Really good story. I liked that this is continuation of series that showcases characters from previous books. This book focuses more on Neal and Ana. The story starts off with Neal trying to stay alive through a gunfight initiated by a rival mob family. Neal was the bodyguard for Siobhan a character from the previous book in this series. We get to know more about how Neal became a bodyguard and why. I found Neals character very entertaining and her internal dialogue was hilarious and heartbreaking at times. Ana is the wife of a crime boss in name only. She's tough and can be ruthless at times, but we learn that appearances can be deceiving especially when it comes to crime families. These two were really interesting to get to know and their relationship was equal parts sweet and steamy. There's quite a bit of violence and drama throughout this book and the author also references some current situations happening in the world today. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family and I look forward to what's next in the series from this author.

In this enjoyable follow-up to Her Consigliere, we catch up with Neal Walsh still serving the Mancuso crime family, now as newly-appointed “capo” to the head of the family. Made for Her has a little bit of everything – mystery, romance, intrigue and more than a hint of espionage.

Neal’s carefully-honed instincts for the business are complicated by her attraction to the wife of her employer’s sworn enemy. And when the attraction is shared by the wife of a powerful mob boss, everything and everyone is on the line.

In a nod to Ali Vali, the author weaves a seamless connection to the Casey family in New Orleans in what I hope is just the latest installment in Carsen Taite’s development of these characters. I look forward to more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing a free ARC. This review is provided voluntarily.

What happens when a crime boss dies and leaves his ‘family’ business to one of his daughters. Of course the older of the two, Dominique thought it should be her but her father had a different plan, making his younger daughter, Siobhan the boss. Dominique goes on her own way, taking many of the family resources with her.
Neal Walsh had her life planned, got a sports scholarship to play basketball and she felt certain she was on her way to the WNBA but when she made a deal with the wrong person. Throw the championship game and she’d be fine. Since she didn’t do what was asked of her they broke her legs making playing basketball impossible.
That’s the start of how this story began, add to that some interesting characters, twisted plots and fast paced read. Very good read. ARC via NetGalley/Bold Stroke Books

I love Carsen Taite and all her books. This is a fun novel. Mafia inspired and tough girls all over the place. Read it

This is the continuing story after Her Consigliere. The Don Mancuso had died and left an unlikely ally as his replacement. Now we’re going to pick up right from there and it’s going to be dumpy.

I am a big fan of Carsen Taite’s and enjoy all her books, this is no exception. I would however recommend that you read Her Consigliere first to fully understand and enjoy this story.

Thank you #NetGalley #BoldStrokesBooks for this ARC

I’m a big fan of the author and always get super excited when a new book comes out. Unfortunately I wasn’t very engaged by this one though. It was quite a while ago that I read the previous book in this series and didn’t remember much so there were a lot of characters and background information in this story that didn’t make sense, as the context wasn’t explained. There wasn’t much action happening for what is essentially a book about the mob, and the two characters hardly spent any time together for the attraction to grow believably. I couldn’t feel their chemistry at all. I love this author but unfortunately this book didn’t work for me.

I’m pleased to see that Carsen Taite decided to continue her gangster tale with her newest novel Made for Her. This book takes place not long after the story ends in Ms. Taite’s novel Her Consigliere.

I had fun reading both books, not only for the gangster trope, but because (with the permission of author Ali Vali) this tale is placed in the same universe as the Cain Casey “Devil” series, and we get to see glimpses of that world here. I love that series as well as Ms. Taite’s novel, Her Consigliere. Both of these authors are favorites of mine, so this book was a must read for me.

Neal Walsh spent most of her adult life as a bodyguard protecting the Mancuso crime family in Dallas. Now she has been given the title of capo (captain) in the family business, but Don Mancuso is dead and the family is splitting apart. Then she meets Anastasia (Ana) Petrov, the trophy wife of Mikhail Petrov, the head of a rival mob family. Mikhail is trying to use the current upheaval in the Mancuso family to increase his wealth and power. Ana is looking for help to get away from Mikhail when she meets Neal, but business quickly changes to something else between the two.

This is a fast paced story of intrigue and crime. There is plenty of betrayal, lust, power, and love in the pages of this book with a romance that seems almost impossible. I was pleased to see the main characters in the first book come back to play a part in this one. Learning about Neal and especially her past helps the reader understand some of her actions in the tale. She became my favorite character in this story.

I suppose this novel could be read as a standalone, but the two books together really tell the whole story so far. There are quite a few questions left hanging at the end of this book, so I do hope there will be at least one more novel in this tale. The author did not list this as a series, but I honestly think it should be. I will be looking hopefully for more of this gangster story.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Exciting!

Neal, having devoted her life to protecting the Mancuso family finds herself dealing with difficulties of shifting alliances and falling in love with the wife of her boss’ enemy. Ana is finding things challenging as her marriage of convenience is compromised. Knowing she needs to find friends of her own, she becomes attracted to Neal who just might be the one to save her.

There is always danger and excitement mixing together in stories where the mob is concerned, and Carsen Taite delivers those stories brilliantly. I loved how this took a deep dive into the dangers of emotion influencing decisions that involve dangerous and volatile people. Both Neal and Ana are taking risks in exploring their attraction and becoming allies and although conflicted from time to time, when heart takes hold it can have drastic effects on being able think logically.

Everything was an intense and a high risk moment. There were dangers lurking everywhere that put me on edge. It was great to have a few surprises and appearances by characters from The Consigliere, building the full picture of what was happening to the Mancuso Empire. Interwoven events not only had Neal and Ana crossing one another’s paths enough for them to develop their relationship, but meant they were right in situations with those who would destroy them if they discovered the truth.

It was gritty, dangerous, with an edgy romance laced throughout. I loved every second of it and eagerly hope there will be more from the Neal and Ana, and even the other characters from this universe in future stories because they are fierce, strong, and loyal, really standing up for representation of strong women who are determined to survive.

3.5 Stars - A mob-lite romance
I am sure I have picked another ARC that dropped me into a pre-existing universe again. In the other one I knew it was only one book and I was able to catch up pretty quick. I think I have done myself a disservice with this one. There are store lines and characters that are obviously important that I do not have any background on that I believe is hindering my enjoyment of this story.

This is a mob story without any mob stuff happening … like at all. The Don has died, the younger daughter seems to be a traitor and stolen the family’s money, the consigliere has fled the scene and we are left with the bodyguard, Neal, to run the show. And I mean I guess she holds it together but nothing really mob related happens. Then the consigliere is back but she basically does nothing mobby either. Somehow this mob family seems to only do stuff with illegal alcohol sales? I am obvi missing something.

Then we have the Russian mob side. They are say more “evil” mob types in to some bad shit, but we don’t really see it until towards the end. We are supposed to hate them so it makes sense.
The other MC Ana, is the wife of the Russian mobster. We are told that she married him for business reasons to link her powerful Russian family with the mobster’s American connections. It seems like their married in name only but there is are a few places in the book that it seems unclear if they ever consummated their marriage. But the do some to have an agreement that they can step out as long as it’s discrete.

Neal and Ana meet at a gay club unaware of who each other is. Sparks fly but almost immediately their connection or lack of one is made clear – hey they are enemies ya know! Ana, however, wants out of her marriage. Her husband is a pig and she is gay as hell and tired of living trapped in this lie. She wants to help Neal save her family and bring down her husband. This connection really only service to bring the MCs together. Ana doesn’t really give them intelligence or info to bring down her husband. She gives them money but they don’t even use it.

There is no action, no real mob stuff. The romance was ok. I bet if I had read all the other books, I would be way more into this one, but not understanding the whole history, I guess I was a bit lost through the whole thing.

The Mancuso crime family is floundering after the death of their Don a few weeks ago. On his deathbed, the Don announced that his firstborn daughter Siobhan will now be the head of the family. The problem is that just after his death Siobhan ran away with her new girlfriend, an FBI agent who was sent to take the family down. On the grounds of Neal Walsh being Siobhan’s bodyguard, Neal is forced into the leadership role.

Ana married Mikhail Petrov as a family obligation. It is a marriage of convenience and nothing more. Mikhail is working to destroy what is left of the Mancuso family. Neal wants to get closer to Ana but doesn’t know if she can trust her.

Tait put her pedal to the metal to give us a high octane story from the opening pages. The plot ties in with her previous novel, Her Consigliere, which I suggest you read first. There are a number of subplots which keep the action hopping and the reader guessing.

Although the falling in love happens really quickly, it can be excused as it fits the story’s pacing. Neal’s indecision though is a constant irritation from start to almost the end for me. It consumed far too much of the narrative. Yet, overall I consider this an enjoyable read and a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

I received a free advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Neal is the bodyguard of Siobhan after the death of Don Carlo’s Siobhan father she flees leaving Neal to be head of the family. As Neal trying to keep Russian Mikhail Petrov from trying to annihilate what remains of Don Carlo's empire. Anastasia who is the wife of Mikhail is tire of her husband especially when she can’t be herself and only married to keep the peace but now she wants out so she can live her life they way she wants. Neal and Anastasia have every reason not to trust each other but they realize they need each other in order for their plans to work didn’t count on falling for each other in the process. I enjoy this read nice twist and turns like the backstory of Neal and how she came to work for Siobhan.

This is an amazing story filled with suspense and intrigue. Love it. I figured it out by the end of Chapter 1 that there’s a whole other story that precedes this one. I decided to put this one down to download the other book first. I did not see that there was a reference to previous shared plot lines on the cover or within the text of the book. The author does state in the Acknowledgement section that there is a character borrowed from another BSB author. Awesome, I want to buy that book, too, but no titles were given at all. Are you kidding me? I figured it out, but seriously, if you want to tantalize me into buying more books, please make it more obvious. BSB is infuriating with this at times and really does a disservice to the author and sales of their books.

Dear BSB,

***Please reference previous titles, names of characters, etc in a more obvious way***

Thank you