My protector is a monster.
Evil men are searching for me.
Gideon Byrne is my salvation.
Cold. Cruel. And handsome beyond measure.
He should scare me.
His possessive desire should make me run.
But I stay.
I give in to him.
I give him… me.
I’m falling in love with a monster.
And I refuse to stop.
Gideon Byrne is many things.
Predator. Enemy.
Protector. Lover.
Only one question remains…
Is he my villain or my savior?
I love a good Mafia romance and from the title alone, I knew that I wanted Sinful Crown. The danger, the forbidden aspect along with the dilemma of keeping one safe and ruling your empire with an iron fist.
Gideon Byrne is a no nonsense business man and the last thing that he needs is a complication. Being a man of his word and keeping a promise, he makes it his mission to find a woman who might be in danger. But what awaits him is anything but calm and settling and in order to protect her, Gideon has to be the known ruthless man that everyone whispers about.
Sasha has been trying her best to keep her head above water and stay in her own quiet bubble. Going to work and practicing music on her cello is the only excitement in her life right now and she's more than okay with that. But one night turns into utter chaos when she comes face to face with the walking danger himself. Can Gideon keep his promise to protect Sasha or is he more of a threat?
I really enjoyed the first half of the story and I really liked the chemistry between the main characters. You felt it from the very beginning and when you add in the push and pull that they were giving off, it was entertaining in a way. Somewhere throughout the second half of the story,things changed and that spark and need to see how everything was going to play out quickly diminished. I needed more action and not things to be dragged out only for it to speed up towards the end.
Aside from that, this was a decent read and if you're a fan of this author’s work and mafia romance, then you should give this one a try.
Ava Harrison is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author.
When she’s not journaling her life, you can find her window shopping, cooking dinner for her family, or curled up on her couch reading a book.
When a Moth Loved a Bee by Pepper Winters is now live!
New York Times Bestseller, Pepper Winters, delivers a brand new High Fantasy Romance.
“It’s taking everything I have not to touch you. Not because I want to make you mine but because every part of me screams that you already are.”
A pack of wolves hunt a girl who takes her last breath by a river’s edge.
She is found and nursed back to health by the kind-hearted Nhil people.
She has no memory.
No past.
And is given a choice that could change her forgotten life forever.
A pack of wolves adopt a man who begs for death in the grasslands.
Blood revives him. Flesh strengthens him. All while the alpha watches him as if he knows who he is.
He has no memory.
No past.
And yet…he’s drawn toward the smoke of a faraway clan.
And in that smoke, he finds a girl with the same mark on her thigh, the same empty mind, and the same forgotten language on her lips.
He’s convinced they know each other.
She’s certain they are strangers.
But the more time they spend together, the more tangled the truth becomes.
Their forgetfulness was deliberate.
To keep them apart.
To keep them lost.
To keep them from claiming their true power.
Because in that power exists a terrible choice.
A choice that could destroy the world…
…or each other.
Being a big dark romance fan, it's surprising that I haven't read more of Pepper Winters' work, especially since I own several of her books. I've been meaning to dive into her backlist for quite some time, but with her newest release in another of my favorite subgenres, I thought this was a great time to try out her writing once again. The only other book I've read of Pepper's is The Boy & His Ribbon, and like that story, this one is a unique, fantastically written tale of forbidden love.
When a Moth Loved a Bee is a creative fantasy romance filled with mystery, magic, and an insane amount of sexual tension. Based on the marketing, I thought there was going to be a lot of spice in this book, but that is not the case. Don't get me wrong, it's in there, but you won't see actual sex until sometime in the last twenty percent or so. I'm including this information here so you can adjust your expectations if you have them, and hopefully, enjoy the book even more. There's a very good reason for the lack of penetration plotwise, so I was good with it in any case.
The hero and heroine have a lot of "almost" intimate moments that are interrupted again and again by man, woman, beast, and the very elements themselves. It's insanely frustrating for the characters as well as the reader, but that's the point. The author did an amazing job of making us FEEL the same emotions our couple does throughout the book in a multitude of ways. I've seen some reviewers speak about repetition, and again, I believe every bit of that is intentional. Our star-crossed lovers get told over and over that they can't be together. They're reminded of everyone's disapproval and the consequences of their coupling from everyone and everything everywhere they turn. The constant bombardment and hopelessness of it all is extremely overwhelming, heartbreaking, and torturous. I felt every drop of what they did right along with them.
I'm going to wrap up my review soon, because it's pretty hard for me to discuss the plot without giving too much away, but before I do, let's discuss the side characters for a moment. No matter their intentions, most of them enraged me to an extreme for a huge portion of the story. Regardless of their good qualities, their actions make them despicable in my eyes. I do not give them the grace and understanding the heroine does, especially the most abhorrent, loathsome piece of shit of the bunch, Aktor. In fact, the way his character is treated is the main reason I didn't give this book the full five stars. As I said earlier, I'm a huge dark romance fan. I love antiheroes and plenty of villains. In this story, Aktor deserves nothing short of death IMO, and I didn't appreciate the repeated attempts to humanize him and create sympathy for his character for multiple reasons I can't get into because of spoilers.
Despite my feelings about Aktor, I seriously enjoyed When a Moth Loved a Bee, and I can't wait for the next book in the Destini Chronicles. I'm 100 percent invested in these characters and their love. The mysterious aspects of the story have me hooked, and the emotional torment of it all is like catnip to me.
High fantasy romance fans, this one's for you!
When a Moth Loved a Bee is the first volume in the Epic Fantasy Romance Destini Chronicles.
A heavily romantic, spice-filled fantasy set in a world where life and death, shadows and stars watch over two forbidden lovers whose powers are best left forgotten.
Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo!
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/37Rua5B
Apple Books:
Nook:
Kobo:
Google Play:
Add to Goodreads:
Meet Pepper
Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller.
After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She's an multiple #1 Apple Books bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Romance Thriller.
Pepper currently has close to 40 books released in nine languages. She's hit best-seller lists almost 40 times, is a self-confessed hermit, yoga convert, has a house rabbit, six horses, and a long suffering husband.
To learn more about Pepper please visit: www.pepperwinters.com where she regularly posts videos of behind the scenes writing, horses, books, and more.
Connect with Pepper
Website: www.pepperwinters.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7151973.Pepper_Winters
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pepper-Winters/e/B00EWT0DJ8
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pepperwintersbooks
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1511645192400372
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pepperwinters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PepperWinters
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pepperwintersbooks
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pepper-winters
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pepperwinters/_saved/
Other: https://pepperwinters.com/category/peppers-blog/
Another year, another hot mess,
Chatterbabes!
Each year, we try to push ourselves and immerse full force into the reading world praying that when it's all over, we've walked away experiencing some of the best stories ever written.
This year, we struggled with our reading goals. We became emotionally drained with books that just didn't work for us, and we found it so hard to get that spark back into our reading.
Rockstar Hero,
Angsty, Emotional,
Most Memorable Couple
Favorite Contemporary
Magic, Mystery, & One
Best Fantasy of the Year
Action, Angst, Humor,
Betrayal, Intense Emotion,
Twists & Turns, Brilliant Writing,
& a Heart Pounding Cliffhanger
Unique Storyline, Badass Heroine, Dystopian Universe with Sci-Fi Elements, Violence, Action, Suspense,
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