Twisted Pride-Cora Reilly

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (a hundred stars if I could)

"Serafina was everything I’d hoped for and so much more. A queen in my game of chess, indeed. Noble and proud like a queen and arrogant and spoiled like one too. She made me want to break her. Break those white wings. An angel in appearance but one with clipped wings, happy to be grounded, happy to never roam the sky. Content to become the beautiful tamed bird in Danilo’s gilded cage."

This novel! I cannot put into words how much I loved this book, especially Remo and Fina, I loved them with my whole heart. Personally, this was my favourite book of the series thus far, but am reading Adamo’s story next. Remo’s impulsiveness, and Fina’s stubbornness clash when Remo steals Serafina from her wedding for retribution. Remo wants to break this pretty angel he claims to have set from her gilded cage, Remo being determined to make her realize he never kidnapped her but offered her a life of freedom and not just being caged into marriage to another member of the Outfit like she was raised for. What begins as a twisted game of revenge and who can break who first, it soon becomes something more. Fina living a sheltered outfit life, raised to become a wife and have a family, while Remo has seen the depths of violence and bathes in blood on a daily basis. But the push and pull of their sizzling and unwanted attraction, will it be enough to break Serafina? Or will it break both of them in the end leaving the Camorra to crumble?

“Not like this, Serafina,” he said. His voice was low and dark, mesmerizing, but it was his gaze that held me captive. “Not like a whore on a stained mattress.” He smiled, and it was worse than any glare or threat. He brought his mouth down until his lips touched mine lightly, just barely, and yet a current shot through me. “I haven’t started playing, and you aren’t a mere chess piece. You are the queen.” He took the knife and straightened, releasing me in the process. He stood slowly, drawing up to his full height and staring down at me. “And what are you in this game of chess?” I whispered harshly, still lying on the mattress. “I’m the king.”

One thing about this novel is Remo could've been darker, I feel like the other brothers were so dark and brooding and took awhile to change/crumble into the new version of themselves for their wives. I felt that Remo instantly was love sick, I was okay with it and to me, it made it seem like he was so mesmerized and in love with her that he could hurt anyone else in the world but her which made my heart melt a little inside. It depends on how you look at it, I thought it was pretty heart melting but I would've also enjoyed to see the true "monster" Remo.

Overall, this is a great series but I personally think this was the best novel out of the series. I did not start off with this novel, and read them all out of order (which can be done, but will make more sense and help the development of the characters within the family and plot line if you do. I will be sure to post a few other reviews from this series as well, so be sure to subscribe to my blog and Instagram to stay updated!