Bound by Deception is the second book in the Lords of the Commission series, following the Battaglia mafia family as they run New York City. The story picks up a few weeks before the end of Savage Temptation and follows the marriage of convenience & love story between Mafia Boss Matteo Battaglia and Mafia Princess Francesca Amato and is part one of a duet.
We first meet Matt and Fran in book one but not very much, just enough to make us want more and when we find out how they really met in this book, it really does make you think and reassess how they met in book one.
Matt is a mafia boss and was raised to take over the Battaglia family by his grandfather Don GianCarlo Battaglia as he doesn’t have a great relationship with his father Adrian and so Matt adopts his mothers maiden name and is the heir to the family name and titles. He must marry in order to take his grandfathers seat at the Lord of the Commission, however, the woman that Matt wants just so happens to be his brothers fiancée. Being a good big brother and out of the kindness of his own heart Matt persuades Don Amato to let him marry his niece Francesca to repay the debt their family owe in place of Liam and he agrees and so Matt gets his girl and her attitude.
Francesca Amato is a mafia princess who is a bad as hell girl who takes no prisoners. She knows the world she lives in is a male dominated world but she can handle herself and the men in it too. She is strong willed and opinionated and absolutely attracted to Matt when they first meet but when she finds out he has gone and changed up her arranged marriage and swapped his brother for him, she is infuriated as she got no say and she vows to make sure she gives him the marriage he deserves.
The chemistry between the characters is instant and their banter is top tier. They match each others energy and go toe to toe with each other. There is a few pieces of miscommunication, a questionable use of menthol sweets and hot and angsty scenes between them as their love and affection grow for one another throughout their journey.
The way they handle themselves and their issues is very mature most of the time but you can also see they revel in making each other jealous to admit they do have feelings there and it’s such a page turner. The story and the plot itself is really well written and you can feel what they characters are feeling and both have very relatable personalities and I found myself laughing along with them most of the time.
There is a mystery element of an enemy family sending notes to Fran and we don’t quite know why they are being sent or who they are being sent from specifically but a person from both their pasts is connected and the fallout from that is bound to be explored in the next book so I am really eager to read that. It was set up in a way to keep you wanting more.
When we get to the end of this book, there is the biggest cliffhanger I have ever experienced and I am still not okay. Stephanie really needs to explain that cliffhanger like yesterday because what in the world is actually happening? I am just happy on my little delusional train pretending it’s all going to be okay and when the next book hits, I guarantee I will be one of the first in line to purchase and read!
If you want a hot, spicy, funny and witty Mafia romance with a great MMC and FMC that leaves you wanting and needing more, then this is the book for you and I highly recommend it!
You can get your copy here on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/4b7r5cp - Bound by Deception by Stephanie Amaral (Kindle Edition)
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