Book Review: Broken Vow

I’m almost done with the Brutal Birthright series by Sophie Lark having finished book 5 of 6, Broken Vow, last week. I started this series last year so I’ve definitely been taking my time with it!

If you’re unfamiliar with the series, each book is interconnected and follows two main families – the Gallos and the Griffins. In the first book, Brutal Prince, the two rival mafia families become allies when Callum Griffin and Aida Gallo have to get married after their rivalry threatens to bring down their families. Each book follows a different Gallo or Griffin and their love story.

Broken Vow follows Riona Griffin and Raylan Boone. Riona is Callum’s sister. She’s a lawyer who handles business for the Griffins and Gallos. She is really motivated, a workaholic, and in previous books comes off as a bit cold although it is clear she loves her family. When Riona is attacked one night and it becomes clear that someone has put out a hit on her, her family’s main priority is making sure she’s safe while they figure out who is behind the order. Dante Gallo enlists the help of his friend whom he met in the military, Raylan Boone, to serve as Riona’s bodyguard. Riona met Raylan once (in Bloody Heart) and did not appreciate his charming, ruggedly handsome self. Now she’s going to be with him 24/7 until she’s safe again including going with him back to his family’s ranch in Tennessee.

I loved this book and was hooked from start to finish. Riona and Raylan were such good characters and I loved the development of their relationship – from being annoyed with each other (mostly Riona being annoyed at Raylan’s existence in her life) to becoming friends and then more. They definitely became one of my favorite Brutal Birthright couples!

I only had one thing I wasn’t crazy about with the book, but it’s a spoiler so if you don’t want the ending spoiled for you, stop reading here!

Spoiler Alert
I loved the book, but wasn’t crazy about the ending even though it makes sense. In the end, Riona decides to move to Tennessee to be with Raylan who needs to help out with his family’s ranch as his mom is getting older and it’s too much work for his brother and sister to take on just the two of them. That makes sense and Riona can be a lawyer anywhere, but I love the idea of all the Griffins and Gallos being together in Chicago and continuing to run their empires. Anyway, that’s my one little gripe about the book!

Overall, I loved this spicy installment of the mafia romance series with its bodyguard romance trope.

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