This is two books, so although it seems super long, it was a great read.

Book one follows Angel & Emma and book two follows Omar & Lyse. I absolutely love organized crime books, and Bella did a great job with these. It had ALL the drama, and I was totally here for it. The tropes in this book were some of my faves (forced proximity, enemies to lovers, morally grey MMC, touch her & die). If you like these, you'll love this read.

Vicious heir;
Very intense.
Finished the book in one sitting.
It was actually really intriguing tho the Forced mafia marriage trope is pretty common. It’s the story!
I kid you not i actually felt how the characters developed into their feelings and roles.
Angel was such a stuck up most of the time, with mostly being unreasonable but then you see that it is all because of his father and childhood so eventually when he meets Emma he starts loosening up. There were instances where i wanted her to slap him hard but then also at points i went, ‘okay that’s kinda hot’
Yes, it was an instant lust in the beginning but then he eventually did fall for her, it was just hard for him to fully comprehend his emotions.

Tho nothing out of the ordinary with the plot, it was still pretty fun to read.

Tbvh we never really got a good psychical description of the characters so it was hard for me to imagine faceless people lol
But the end left me struggling in a sense that i rushed to the second book.


Brutal Enforcer;
May i say that i expected more?
Because honestly nothing special happened. Omar kidnapped Lyse as a revenge to her father. He then bargained with her fiance to give her back in return of his freedom.
While they were stuck on the island, within 10 days with minimum contact, they fell in love
It was a bit rushed and slow paced at the same time
Plus the spice wasn’t spicing

Like most days they didn’t even have an interaction. The day they had sex was like the first day they openly talked and instantly realised they had feelings for eachother? It’s kinda too fast paced for me. Even tho the love was confessed at the end.

Plus i wasn’t a fan of Lyse. Ik she was held as a captive and was already living a life of seclusion, but she could have tried to escape? That would’ve showed her as a lil stronger even if she failed!

What i liked was how the writer had portrayed two brothers, who were it for eachother but because Angel was in charge, Omar had to obey by him. When Omar refused to leave Lyse, it created a drift between the brothers amongst other reasons. But, it was the rawness at the end, where Omar clearly says that it might never be the same between them again, but they’re strong enough to overcome this hurdle in their relationship. Like you don’t see that around much, mostly it’s a happy ending for all!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this copy of Captive by Bella Ash. This was a great mafia romance filled with lots of spice an drama. Both books were equally as good and spicy. Brutual Enforcer is a continuation of Vicious Heir. Both books flowed very well into each other. Overall, I really enjoyed both books and I can't wait to check out more books by Bella Ash.

I love the plot line for this book. Who doesn’t love a mafia romance?! Action packed, full of spice and romance!

How lucky of us to get the first 2 books in a series from NetGalley to devour and review? This is a good 3.75 for me, it’s not a “omg wow”mafia romance but it has some great parts. I would love to o continue with this series and follow lillas story. Each book could have been a little bit longer as if jumped to the final acts very quickly.

Fast paced action and romance with dark themes. Enjoyed the story and recommend for a thrilling read.

I really enjoyed this book! The pacing, the development of the characters. Perfect! Thanks for the ARC!

I liked this one a lot. It is a dark romance, mafia. Which is some of my faves. It was a good plot and I actually enjoyed all the characters. Check your trigger warnings. It is a dark mafia romance.
I very much enjoyed the MMC;'s as this is 2 books in 1.
Can't wait to see what else Bella Ash writes.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Book #1 Vicious Heir

Emma loses her mom to cancer and moves to get a ‘fresh start’ to her life. She is just doing her job and completing a delivery to pay her rent… so she thinks. On instinct, Emma pushes the man she was delivering to out of the way of gunfire and saves his life. This man’s name is Angel Castillo. Without knowing who she was saving, Emma is now owed a life debt from one of the biggest Cartel families in the area, the Castillos.

Angel goes and speaks to his father about his assassination attempt and his father finds out that he now owes a life debt to a woman named Emma. Angel’s father is very angry and ‘punishes’ by forcing Angel to marry Emma.

Personally, I thought this story was a little flat. If I had to rate it individually I would probably give it three stars. With that being said, I did enjoy the story and read the entire thing in one sitting. There were a lot of twists and turns and found some of them to be predictable, but I am okay with that. I think it was worth the read and will seek out future work from this author as a result.


Book #2 Brutal Enforcer

This book picks up where the first book left off. Omar is angry that the rival Cartel family made moves against his family and wants revenge. In his plan to seek revenge, he kills several members of the rival family and kidnaps the family ‘princess’ Lysen and in the process uses it as leverage. Omar and his sister are holding up the family while their brother Angel is indisposed, and they have to make the right decisions for the entire family.

Honestly, this book did it for me. I really enjoyed it because it was a true example of enemies to lovers trope. The chemistry between Omar and Lyse was great and I enjoyed that there were tidbits of Angel and Emma’s future included in it as well. If I had any criticism for this book it would be that there was a random POV added in the last 25% of the story that I thought was unnecessary. Some of the information included was pertinent to the story but it felt weird and out of place. I think there could have been a better way to get that information in there. If I had to rate this book individually I would rate it a solid four stars. It was very enjoyable and bingeable.


I want to thank NetGalley, Bella Ash, and Relay Publishing for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.


Tropes
-Forced Marriage
-Cartel Family
-Forced Proximity
-Virgin FMCs
-Morally Gray MMCs
-Touch Her and Die

Vicious heir (book1)

I usually don’t read madfia book but this Was a really good book couldn’t put it down.

Angel came off as a straight up ass in the beginning. He put Emma through enough. Once he finally gave in to his wants and his love he became a different Angel.

Emma grew stronger even through she didn’t agree with everything that was going on. She learned to hold her ground.

I can believe it ended on a cliffhanger omg. Glad I get to read the next book right away. Hope to find out what happens next.

Brutal Enforcer (book 2)

Very good read, I enjoyed the this book as much as the first one. It does have smut ❤️, violence, bullying.

It was a rough go between Omar and Lyse because who their families are but it was nice seeing this big brute become softer. Didn’t think they would get past family issues but they did and they are so in love and happy with each other. The ending did leave me wanting to find out what will happen next but I’m happy we find out what happens to angel in this book.

Captive by Bella Ash is an exciting romance that keeps you hooked with its mix of tension, passion, and suspense. The chemistry between the main characters is intense and will have you rooting for them from the start. The plot is fast-paced, with just the right amount of twists to keep things interesting. While a few scenes feel a little rushed, it doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the story. Fans of the captor-captive trope will find this book hard to put down. It’s a thrilling, steamy read that’s perfect for a weekend escape!

4 Mi Esposa Bunny Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5

This is two books so this might be LONG....
Book 1 follows Angel and Emma and Book 2 follows Omar (Angel's brother) and Lyse. The overall rating is the combination of the two.

This is my first Bella Ash book, and as I have not read many organized crime books, I was not sure what to expect. But I was looking for something drama-esque, and this definitely delivered.

The two books need to be read in order, as Omar's book follows directly from Angels and while the main couples shift focus, the overarching plot continues.

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟭:
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Angel is the oldest son in the Castillo Cartel and one day at a bar he is saved by a messenger woman when a shootout breaks out. Given the shootout was conducted by a rival cartel she not only gained a "life debt" with Angel but a target from the rival cartel, given everything she saw. As payment for her service, Angel's father orders him to marry Emma so she is protected.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
I totally thought this was originally a MAFIA novel... not Cartel... BUT I DIDN'T HATE THAT! It was a pretty easy read, and I read it pretty quickly, but that’s very much a sign of the type of book that it is. Quick and Easy.

Angel and Emma feel very superficial or generic, almost like you’re reading fanfiction. The story doesn't go very deep into anything and it seemed a pretty predictable and run-of-the-mill situation. He’s a bad boy, she’s innocent, and he’s dominating and trying to make his place in the family with his father who doesn’t want to give up power and shows "love" through punishment.

Their relationship was basically just sex. There was no development between the two of them because the only times they’re really together is when she’s feeding him or when they’re having sex. And it’s pretty much standard "vanilla sex". I expected someone who’s basically the head of a cartel, to be more sexually adventurous, and I think the most scandalous thing he did was go down on her.

The story was trippy and predictable, and pretty much what you’d expect, which I’m not going to hate on too much, BECAUSE THAT IS THE KIND OF STORY I WANTED TO PICK UP! I picked it for the organised crime-forced-marriage trope, and I got exactly that!

What I do wish is that this had more development in the love area and for Angel and Emma to not annoy me as much as they did. Emma specifically annoyed me because it was constantly said and "implied" that she has a backbone, but as the reader you never really see it... she never makes Angel work for her love. The climax of the book was solved way too quickly, and it never really resolved any of the conflicts that hinted at growth in their relationship. They jumped right back into bed together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟮:
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
After the events of Book 1, Omar (Angel's youngest brother) is ANGRY. He decides to take revenge on the rival family which caused everything and crashes an engagement party. He proceeds to go on a little killing spree and ends up taking the future bride hostage. Hoping her "groom" can help clean up the bloody mess, given his up-and-coming political career. But things start to turn messy when he realises the woman he kidnapped is Lyse Rojas, the only daughter of the rival family he hates. And the more time he spends with her, he starts falling for her and the idea of returning her to her future husband and family becomes more and more difficult.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
Lyse and Omar's story was much MORE enjoyable than Angel and Emma and that is why I gave this book the overall 4-star rating because they carried the story.

This gave me more in terms of tropes but that is what I LOVED. It offered more of that giddy feeling and I think it was because the tension between Omar and Lyse felt heavier. This had the characters needing to work their their history and rivalry, making this a a true enemies-to-lovers and how love can overcome animosity.

The issue with the relationship development was NON-EXISTANT in this... Omar and Lyse gradually got to the point where she initiated sex with him, and it felt much more believable how these two came together. There are similarities in the brother's stories, they both keep their women "Captive" and find love through some element of Stockholm syndrome... But it was still enjoyable.

Omar is a gooey, huge teddy bear cinnamon roll and while he may be deadly with a gun, he is still romantic and cute. He has that "vibe" where he is so big people think he must be dumb, but he is super observant, which makes you want to hug him.

I also LOVED that Lyse had a backbone. She was the total opposite of Emma. Lyse made Omar earn her love, but she stood up for him and was willing to fight for him, just as he was for her. Since she grew up in the "crime" world she knows what it is like to be in a Cartel Family and the expectations of that. She just seemed more at ease, and so she and Omar's relationship had more chemistry and a better foundation.

Also, my heart melts for any man who washes a girl’s hair, and the fact that Omar did this multiple times, being gooey, sappy, cute, and romantic in the simplest ways was just so sweet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ CaptorXCaptive Romance
▶ Alpha Male
▶ Organised Crime
▶ Morally Grey MMC
▶ Virgin FMC
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Burn the World for You

and 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ It Won't Fit
▷ Nicknames
▷ "Mine"
▷ Chin Lift

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 1 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨::
▶ Forced Marriage
▶ Biting
▶ Strangers to Lovers

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨::
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ Kidnapping

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Washes Her Hair

All in all, I had a good time with this. It had a good vibe, was super easy to read, and was distracting in the best way!

Thank you to Relay Publishing, Netgalley and Bella Ash for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own

Two great stories rolled into one book.

Definitely a awesome story that got me from the start.

This was a dark romance to my liking.

I enjoyed both of these well enough! I feel like once you’ve read a handful of mafia romances, you’ve read them all though. The spice was definitely spicing in these! I did enjoy the second book, Brutal Enforcer, more. I thought the MCs had better chemistry.

Vicious Heir
🖤 Dark Mafia Romance
🖤 Enemies To Lovers
🖤 Kidnapping
🖤 Forced Marriage
🖤 Spice
🖤 Dual POV

Brutal Enforcer
🖤 Dark Mafia Romance
🖤 Enforcer x Mafia Princess
🖤 Forced Proximity
🖤 Rival Families
🖤 Spice
🖤 Dual POV

Thank you NetGalley and Relay Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I feel like the baseline for this book was there, I just never got grabbed by the relationship between the main characters. Even though it wasn’t for me, I’m sure that it has its own audience that it will appeal to.

What to expect according to the book description?

- Dual POV

- Mafia Romance

- A Life Debt (not a big part of the plot I think)

- Forced Marriage

- Rival Families

- Kidnapping

- Enemies to Lovers

- Innocent Fiery FMC x Brutal MMC

- Captive v Captor

- Spicy

- Ends with a cliffhanger

- Starts from a cliffhanger ( it came in a 2 book combo)

Angel, a mafia prince, navigating the pressures of becoming the future mafia boss, his fathers demands and a life with Emma, an innocent girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, who has no ties to anything to do with mafia, struggling (with spice and satisfaction on her end😉) to come to terms with her emotional change and life with Angel.

I liked the story and flow of the events, 2 major characters’ growing connection as well as the depth and background stories for characters. You also get to know secondary and other side characters that either become the MC on the next one or affect the story; where we still be learning more details about their background stories.

This book was in a 2-book combo so the cliffhanger wasn’t bad and I wanted to jump right into the next one to see where the story goes. Life debt plot opened the door for the rest but it wasn’t the major issue.

-0-

Omar, a mafia enforcer, consumed with revenge deals with the aftermath of the events in Book 1, and his attraction to Lyse, a mafia princess, who had a sheltered upbringing and now has to decide where her loyalty lies.

I liked the background stories of various characters (some continue from the 1st book as much as new character intros into the story) and learning about the 2 mafia families relations. One of the favourite parts for me were the little winks at further secrets and possible love story among other characters.

Compared to the first book, I didn’t enjoy the character depiction of Omar since it almost felt like he was sometimes shown as only muscle and no brains that cannot function (or think) by himself. I understand that he’s this big, bad , sexy enforcer but I wanted to see a bit more smarts. Maybe that was the character flaw and he had to overcome the struggles from the choices he had made as a result of this but he could have been a bit more smarter and that would still result in various struggles for him to overcome. However, I loved how he showed a different side of himself to Lyse. Her growth throughout the story, emotional strength and connection with Omar; moreover, their struggles to explore their emotions due to their rival families and navigate everything resulting from the complicated relationships was written nicely and was fun to read.

There is no shortage of spice even in the face of painful accidents 😉. Omar and Lyse just cannot keep their hands off of each other. As the previous book the dual POV was great and I really enjoyed the flow of each pov. I am looking forward to a 3rd book since we are yet to read more about Lili’s love story.

If you like spicy or mafia novels this is a great combination of both. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Captive is a duet with books 1-2 in the Castillo Carter series. The first book is Vicious Heir, about Angel and Emma, and is told from both of their points of view.

Angel is part of the mafia, and when Emma saves him from being eliminated, his father forces him to marry her for a life debt. Neither character takes this well at first. However, the more time they spend together, the more they start to have real feelings for each other.

However, some factors keep trying to pull them apart. There are twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. Angel's father is the head of the family, and Angel disagrees with how he runs things.

Will Angel and Emma get their happy ending? Or will they go their own way?

------------------------
Brutal Enforcer is the second book in the duet. This book is about Omar and Lyse and is told from both of their points of view.

Omar is out for revenge with what happened to his brother in the end of his book. He figures the best way is to get back at the Rojas family for attacking his brother. He makes his attack on the family during Lyse's engagement party, and ends up taking her hostage.

Omar has Lyse locked up on his island and is trying to get her fiancee to agree to his terms before returning her. However, some feelings and secrets come out and they both start to have feelings for each other.

When Angel wakes up from his trouble, he does not take Omar and Lyse being together well. How will her family take it? Will they get their happy ending or will they be separated for good?

I enjoyed both of these stories, and all the twists and turns I didn't see coming kept me wanting more.

Angel Castillo is the son of a cartel Don in Florida and heir apparent. When a rival cartel takes out a hit on him at a restaurant and an innocent delivery girl named Emma is there as a witness, Angel’s father tells him the only way to keep everyone safe is to marry her. Emma is in over her head joining into the mafia life and her new husband definitely has a temper. She’ll try her best to stay alive and win his trust in this new duology book by joint author group Bella Ash. It can be read as a stand alone, or as it’s newly coming published duology under the name of Captive.

This book is spicy in all the right ways and is a great mafia story with a redemption trope.

Omar Castillo is the younger brother of cartel leader Angel and the enforcer for the family. The first book leaves us on a cliff hanger and going into the second book starts is back up with Angel in the hospital and Omar trying to clean up a huge mess. When he takes Lyse, the daughter of the rival cartel to their private island to hold as a hostage, he doesn’t expect how attractive he’d find her. Or that she’s completely different than her family.

This duology was so good and I loved reading about the Castillo family and how they both have forced proximity and redemption tropes. As always with most mafia stories, this one’s spicy in all the good ways and you’ll enjoy watching Omar and Lyse learn to be with each other and how their families handle the situation.

This book was just okay. The writing wasn't great but still enjoyable. This was another example of people not communicating and that causing tension. I don't particularly love that trope.

Actual Rating 3.25

Captive by Bella Ash is a dark romance that explores the dangerous world of the mafia. It features strong women entangled with powerful men, with themes of forbidden love, obsession, and the blurred lines between love and control. Expect a captivating and intense read with mature content.
This is a 2-in-1 story that you won’t be able to put down until you’ve read it all!