Hello everyone! Welcome to another book review blog post. Thank you for being here; it’s great to have you as always. Today, I’m back with the third book in a series that I read a long time ago but have recently started reviewing. If you haven’t read any of the previous reviews yet, you can click here to read them in order. “The Darkest Temptation” by Danielle Lori is the third book in the “Made” series. So far, this is my least favourite book in the series. While the first two books were good mafia romance novels with decent characters, I can’t say the same for this one. Specifically, both of the main characters were incredibly annoying at times.
Yes, I’m a sucker for dark mafia romance novels, but even I have my limits when it comes to dark themes in books. This doesn’t mean that the book was overly dark and that bothered me; it’s quite the opposite. The author attempted to make it very dark but failed in my eyes, leaving me unable to connect with any of the characters. Personally, I’m not the type to read a book and then give it a low rating or criticize it harshly if I end up disliking it. However, this book barely deserves 2.5 stars in my opinion, and I genuinely felt disappointed as I read it.
The book follows two characters: Mila, whose father is connected to the Russian mafia, and Ronan, the head of the Russian mafia. Mila has grown up very protected; she lost her mother at a young age and has no idea about her father’s job. She is incredibly naive, and when she tries to understand why her father is absent most of the time, her journey takes her to Moscow. One thing I did enjoy about the book was the descriptions of the city. Having been to Moscow myself and fallen in love with it, I appreciated reading a book set in the city, even though it didn’t contribute much to the plot itself.
Ronan, our male lead, is as I mentioned, the head of the Russian mafia. In the first third of the book, it’s difficult to understand what kind of person he is, but eventually, the author reveals his true character and the reason he has Mila around. Yes, it was actually Mila who ended up by his side. However, we quickly realize that he has ulterior motives for keeping this naive girl close to him.
As I read the book, I was excited, anticipating their eventual falling in love. However, once the author revealed Ronan’s motives, the story took a downward turn. He became one of the cruellest and most frustrating characters in the entire series. I understand he has a fan base on Goodreads, but I couldn’t share the same sentiment because his actions toward someone unaware of his past were genuinely cruel. His justification that it was the right thing to do didn’t sit well with me. I’m not sure which part of his behaviour bothered me the most: perhaps the fact that his desire for petty revenge against those who wronged him led him to hurt Mila, or how he behaved recklessly for the rest of the book.
By the end of the book, I had completely lost interest in both characters due to Mila’s naivety and Ronan’s conflicting actions. While I expected some drama in this dark romance, the extent to which these characters took it was a turn-off for me. However, it wasn’t the worst book I’ve read. I ended up giving it 2.5 stars: one star for the steamy scenes, one for the setting in Moscow, and half a point for the satisfactory ending. I’ll likely continue reading the series, but after Christian and Nico’s stories, this book was rather mediocre, to be honest.
Have you read this series? Let me know your thoughts before my next blog post. Take care of yourselves and stay safe!
Luster of Books 