Who is Mr. Chicago Mafia? That will be Dominic Gonzalez. Whereas King and Nero run Minneapolis, Dom runs Chicago. He isn't part of the Alliance in the beginning of the book, but he was quick to change that. Through Valentine Gandy.
Valentine is the half-sister of King and Aspen. She isn't involved with what King or Aspen do but does have a bodyguard who takes her anywhere she wants. Let me say, my heart hurt for her throughout this book. And let me tell you about it!
She's at the airport, making her way to her terminal, when she is bumped into. Before she could hit the ground, guess who comes to the rescue? Mr. Gonzalez! He catches her before she falls. Immediately, Val recognizes how attractive he is. A hot man who suggests buying her a new bag because the straps of hers broke the moment he bumped into her. He is a bit pushy, and Valentine goes along with it. Though, she does try (not too hard, to be honest), to be against it.
Want to know something else? Turns out their headed into the same place as well! Minneapolis! But for him, it's a layover. Through this whole interaction, Val believes this is just a moment of happiness and to go through it with because ultimately, they will never see each other again. This honestly, kind of changed how I view certain situation. Focus on the now and cherish it without worrying too much about the future. This might not work for everything, but it definitely drops a bit of weight on the shoulders.
When boarding was announced, she thought that would be the last she sees of Dom. That isn't the case because he is sitting next to her. In first class. Turns out, she got an upgrade because the airline had "overbooked" passengers. This scene was actually pretty cute, I'm not going to lie. When Dom had put his number in the phone, that's when she started to believe this wasn't going to be the only time they speak. And she was right!
For a couple of months, they're chatting, and she's really feeling him. She believes he's really feeling her too.
But would it be a true mafia romance without a marriage thrown in there? Unlike Savannah, where she was forced into it, or Payton, who told Nero she wanted to get married, Dom and Val got drunk married in Vegas.
Obviously, Val freaked out but decides to 'lean in'(a phrase Dom said a lot in the beginning). And she's happy!
That is... until they show up to King's place... and Dom revealed his hand. The whole reason why he started his pursue of Valentine. And I hated him for it. For breaking Val's heart. She thought someone chose her. In a world where she felt lonely, she thought someone chose her. But instead, Dom was using her to get to what he wanted.
Overall, this entire scene made me want to shake and throttle Dom and give Val a hug. He claims that he never lied to her about who he was, that the person she was chatting with is the same, but how can she believe that?
Dom has this thing where he never apologizes. Because, supposedly, he means everything he does. So, he doesn't apologize, even when it's clear about how heartbroken she is. It made me dislike him even more. He never claimed to be a good person, so I guess I'm not too surprised by his action. Even when he explains why he did what he did, I'm still upset over what he did.
Val recognizes that she deserves better. She does understand why Dom did what he did but she doesn't forgive him. Not for the majority of the book.
Eventually, things ease between them. They open up about their past, their fears, and Dom falls for Val harder. By this point, I'm still annoyed with him, but he is treating Val extremely well. But he didn't realize just how lonely she was before him until the birthday party.
He threw her a birthday party and his whole family was there. This is where he introduces his family to his wife. Though, personally, I would've preferred a heads-up. And it was the first birthday party she has ever had. This highlights how differently they grew up again. Even though Dom is a mafia kingpin, his family is very close-knit. His mother is his stone. Val never had someone like that before. Dom vows to be that person for her and I believe him.
The more he finds out about Val, the more he wants to burn the world down for what she went through. I think Val needs someone like that by her side. Even if that means going to bat for her against her own siblings.
(He punches King. I understand why. This is where I started to like Dom.)
Would it be a mafia romance without a threat to their lives? Absolutely not! And in this case, they were caught in an ambush. This time, though, Val ends up taking out a few of the man while Dom is down. This is also where a bit of foreshadowing occurs. Right when she thought all was over, someone comes to rescue them! I won't tell you who, but they do appear again in the book.
Overall, I rate this a 4/5. I had a lot of feelings when I came to this book. My heart broke for Val and I didn't like Dom in the beginning. But by the end, I was extremely happy about how Val got what she deserved. And Dom did eventually apologize (not for keeping her, but still, he apologized!). I feel like with each book, S.J. Tilly is getting better and better.
Genre: Dark Romance/Mafia Romance
FMC: Valentine
MMC: Dominic
Rating: 4/5
TLDR: This is a dark/mafia romance that mostly takes place in Chicago. Val is King and Aspen's half sibling, and Dom trick Val into marrying him in order to join the Alliance. Throughout this book, Val is battling against her feelings of insignificance and Dom is finding himself regretting what he has done. Even when she understands why Dom did what he did, Val doesn't make it easy for him to gain her trust once again. In the end, Dom eliminated the threat against him, and gains Val's trust. Val had managed to gain closure over something that happened in her past and found her happiness.
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