A tale of 2 rival families. The Griffins and the Gallos both hold high ranks in Chicago. The two families form an alliance through an arranged marriage between Aida and Callum. The two are enemies who do what they can to bring the other down, from causing allergic reactions to accidentally setting a home on fire. But as the two learn to fight a common enemy, The Butcher, not only do Aida and Callum discover they are more alike than they thought, but they learn they can actually help each other and their families too. Each of them learns what love really is and fights to protect and save each other. The Brutal Prince is a nice spin on the enemy to lovers tale.

I usually do not read darker/mafia romance books but this was a great place to start. When I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down and finished it within one day. The book was enemies-to-lovers with arranged marriage which is just perfection! I will start the next book in this series immediately!

I’ve never really read any mafia romance booms before reading this book, and i was amazed by how wonderful of a book this is. Sophie Lark does a wonderful job of balancing romance with mafia. Ada and Cam and are two wonderful characters and they dynamic was EVERYTHING. Seeing the two of them fall im love with each other was the most wholesome thing ever!! I can not wait to dive into the rest of this series!

This completely took me by surprise in the BEST WAY!! This is my first book by Sophie and her character development with a solid plot in such a short amount of time was fantastic. I do not know how she squeezed in so many tropes, events, and ups and downs seamlessly but I genuinely read this in one sitting I couldn’t put it down. I’m super stingy with my 5⭐️’s and have been going through a severe reading slump and this pulled me out of it. HIGHLY SUGGEST!

5/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️
5/5 🎧

I was hooked into Brutal Prince from the start. Aida and Callum were such great characters, the hate, then the love and everything in between. Aida was hilarious from beginning to end, the fire and the strawberries had me rolling. Callum was hot as hades while he attempts to break Aida in every way he can. The shower scene was drool worthy as was pretty much all of the spice in this book.

The audio is fantastic, I loved Monica King as Aida and Liam DiCosimo as Callum. Both did an amazing job and I'm looking forward to more of their work.

During my reread I totally forgot how suspenseful the third act is, which is wild considering how exciting it was. I usually think of how funny these two are when I think about this story, but the truth is Brutal Prince has it all. I loved how these two came together in the end, doing everything a bit backwards as they fall in love way after their marriage.

I'm excited to keep going with the rest of the series, I can't wait for Stolen Heir again, which may just be my favorite of the series.

Mafia romance is always a good idea! This was stunning I loved the FMC she was spunky and clever so fun to read! MMC was sexy and dark and I’m here for it! The storyline was 4/5 and the spice was 4/5 for me! This is the start to a series and I can’t get enough to bring on book two!

So, I can finally say l've read a mafia romance. Someone told me that this one was like cozy mafia compared to some of them out there, and I agree with that. And let me tell ya'll, this book has illustrations. Pictures, y'all!! And there was the iconic, "don't touch my wife" moment that we all love.
Usually when I read a romantic suspense I feel skeptical because surely THAT many bad things can't happen in one town, or to one person. But when you're dealing with mafia romance I don't think like that, because what do I know? I guess anything can happen! I
enjoyed this book and will probably read the rest of the series. These are on #kindleunlimited, but I had the ARC.
Many thanks to @netgalley, the author, and the publisher

idk how i didnt read this sooner. i didnt realise romance was a genre i enjoyed so much. or maybe its just sophie lark converting me???

I'm truly fangirling (yes, it's an actual word) over Aida Gallo. She's a confident woman who takes no crap from anyone (well maybe her mob boss father, but that's all). I truly admired her self confidence but it does put her in some crazy predicaments. For example, the moment she meets Callum Griffin is because of a wild and reckless stunt that only crazy-at-heart Aida could pull. That one regrettable moment puts her in the most dreaded spot she's ever been placed, as Callum's future wife. Yikes.

The chemistry between these two is hot and cold, but it's understandable since Callum and Aida are virtual strangers to each other. This situation creates a delicious tension between these two that I loved to read.


4.5 stars

So I was definitely trying to stop myself from entering a book slump after reading a 8 book long fantasy series and all my brain could take at that point was a romance book. Enter Brutal Prince a popular book I’ve seen everywhere on social media and was definitely intrigued about. My expectations of this book weren’t high. It futures the forced proximity trope and marriage of convenience between two rival mafia families which was exactly something I needed after the series I had just finished reading.

However, I couldn’t really see why this book was so popular. Maybe it was the stark difference in writing styles between the last book I read and this one but I was definitely not impressed; it reminded me of fan-fiction. To be honest I could have gotten over that pretty quickly but the two main characters, Aida and Callum were just so dramatic. Their personalities were over-the-top and readers really got to see this first hand as we had POVs from both of them. I did find it cringe-worthy which is really saying something as I can’t remember the last time I cringed reading a book. Also the whole enemies-to-lovers trope occurred so abruptly that it just didn’t feel believable. All that being said, I didn’t actively dislike the book, I found it okay and it did its job as a palate cleanser between books. I just don’t believe that Brutal Prince deserves the hype that it has received and there are many other books with these tropes, which are better written. I don’t see myself reading the rest of the series but I’m happy I’ve read this so I can judge for myself that this hyped book is like.

Oh Sophie... how I frickin LOVE YOU. Sophie Lark has become a new favorite author recently and I just can't get over it. The characters and their dynamic, the world she created, the plot, the spice... All of it??? Perfection. Sophie has truly been such an incredible author to dive into because she has such a unique writing voice. I adore her unique twist to things and it sucks me right in to everything she does. I've said it before, but mafia is not typically a trope I intentionally reach out for when I'm choosing a book to read. However, when it's done in a way that captures my attention, I am ALL for it. And that's exactly what happened with this book. She without a doubt knows what she's doing. I can't get over how attached I got to this story, characters, and world. Callum and Aida were truly such unique characters and their dynamic was *chef's kiss.* This is definitely a series I am going to binge because I have already fallen in love with everything about this book, including Sophie's trademark dash of humor. The enemies to lovers is completely amazing and Sophie truly knows how to write these. Overall, another new fav series for the books (bad pun sorry) and I can't wait to continue reading this series! *Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest reivew.*

this was my first mafia romance and boy it was FUN. I ate this up. the spice was 🔥🔥🔥🔥 aspects of this relationship were definitely hella toxic and a lot of this was generally silly, but this was overall a really enjoyable romance and I will definitely be finishing the series.

Oh Sophie... how I frickin LOVE YOU. Sophie Lark has become a new favorite author recently and I just can't get over it. The characters and their dynamic, the world she created, the plot, the spice... All of it??? Perfection. Sophie has truly been such an incredible author to dive into because she has such a unique writing voice. I adore her unique twist to things and it sucks me right in to everything she does.

I've said it before, but mafia is not typically a trope I intentionally reach out for when I'm choosing a book to read. However, when it's done in a way that captures my attention, I am ALL for it. And that's exactly what happened with this book. She without a doubt knows what she's doing. I can't get over how attached I got to this story, characters, and world.

Callum and Aida were truly such unique characters and their dynamic was *chef's kiss.* This is definitely a series I am going to binge because I have already fallen in love with everything about this book, including Sophie's trademark dash of humor. The enemies to lovers is completely amazing and Sophie truly knows how to write these.

Overall, another new fav series for the books (bad pun sorry) and I can't wait to continue reading this series!

*Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest reivew.*

I absolutely loved this! A true enemies to lovers. I loved how strong and independent Aida was but was will to own up to her mistakes. I loved how Callum and Aida pushed each others buttons but eventually started to fall for each other. I also loved the mini art prints added to some of the chapters. It really added to the story! I am excited to read more in the series.

It’s a decently written mafia romance that I enjoyed thoroughly. Will definitely check out the others in the series.

Sophie Lark is an author that cannot write a bad book. I loved this book and will continue to read more

This book took me completely by surprise and I could not put it down!
The banter between Callum and Aida was to die for and Aida may be my favourite FMC ever. I loved how strong willed she was and how willing to protect everything she cared for she was, no matter the cost.
I know that the next book is about Nessa, but I cannot wait to see what the rest of the Gallo family get up to. Nero has my interest, but I'm sure that there is a great story for Sebastian.
I will recommend this book to anyone. Totally obsessed with mafia/arranged marriage/bullying from this point on!

⌚ Mafia romance
👟 Arranged marriage
⌚ Age Gap
👟 Enemies to lovers
⌚ Feuds
👟 Strong/sassy FMC
⌚ Kidnapping
👟 Spicyyyy

💕 Callum Griffin + Aida Gallo

👏👏👏 Round of applause for a REAL enemies to lovers. No frenemies here. This book had the perfect amount of spice to plot AND a perfect amount of mafia. I can't stand when a book is marketed as a mafia romance but we get none of the mafia story/plot.

Aida is a bad ass, take no shit, smart and strong fmc. Callum 🥵🥵. Protective AF.

Loved this and can't wait to continue the series. Thank you netgalley and Sophie Lark for this advance copy all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was really excited for this book because of all the great reviews I’ve seen… but it fell short for me. Firstly, as a reader, we never actually saw the development of the relationship. We saw the hatred and the attempted murder when then suddenly they save each other and now they’re in love?? There was hardly any wholesome moments between the couple so it’s a bit jarring when suddenly they love each other. Both characters made me mad and I feel that they were lacking depth. Also any time Cal mentioned that he kíłłed people, I was just confused. They live in Chicago, he’s rich and running for alderman and then suddenly he’s a “gangster” too? It felt more like a Wattpad book than I would have liked. All in all, I was a bit disappointed.

I don’t like mafia tropes
I find this trope offending and shallow my opinion
Said so tho was a nice captivating read with smut and nice banter
Enjoyed this
Thanks net galley for the Arsc
Ps this is an arranged marriage I could not resist