Waiting for my Queen: A Dark Mafia Romance

4.5 Stars Waiting for my Queen was my first read by this author and I am impressed with her superb writing skills. The story is captivating and she will take you on an epic journey that is sure to keep you entertained from beginning to end. This book has checked off all of my boxes - mafia-themed romance, imperfect anti-hero, a strong heroine, and some scorching scenes interspersed with moments of action and suspense. I wasn’t sure about this book when I first dived into it as it is set in 1978, however, I found that the historical aspect didn’t affect my enjoyment of this fast-paced book at all. What you have is a marriage contract between two powerful, ruling families, but things go horribly awry thus setting the tone for this spellbinding mafia romance. Luca Rossini is definitely an anti-hero and I loathed him in the beginning. He is demanding, ruthless, and commits a rather heinous act that left me wondering if he would be redeemable. The author does a brilliant job with the character evolution of this beautifully flawed, exacting mafia bad boy. Emelia Bellini is a mafia princess. Promised to one and in love with another. She possesses an inner strength to her and I love how she doesn’t always put up with Luca’s nonsense. To say that these two have chemistry together is an understatement. There were quite a few kindle melting moments that left thankful that I reading those passages in public! How this love story unfolds is impressive. I went from abhorring the hero to loving him in the end. The character development was impeccable as was the author’s ability to illustrate how their relationship evolved over time. However, I did still grapple with something that occurred at the beginning of the book and just couldn’t completely reconcile myself with it - hence 4.5 stars instead of a solid 5 star rating. Overall, I found Waiting for my Queen to be a very enjoyable read with complex characters, an engaging storyline, and good plot execution. I am truly hoping that this author gives some of the secondary characters their own book because I am not ready to say goodbye to the Rossinis and Bellinis. I read an early complimentary version of this book.

This story hits you from the get-go! First I loved the time frame of when this story took place! I was having some flashbacks to my young girl days reading this. Second, the soundtrack for this story, I loved how the music played into the evolution of Emilia and Luca. Oh my me, Luca Rossini...this is a character you are going to hate to love. But with Ms. Cates phenomenal storytelling skills, you are going to realize that Luca is redeemable, he is a true mafia man and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And what he wants is the betrothal that was promised to him years ago. Emilia is grace under pressure. She is steel wrapped in silk. She is strong when she has to be and knows when to bend when she must. She has plans, revenge and vengeance is what spurs her on her quest for justice for her family. The chemistry between Emilia and Luca is on fire! The line is almost transparent between love and hate between them. If you are looking for an angsty, dark and steamy tale, look no further than this new story from Georgia Cates!

Waiting for my Queen by Georgia Cates is a standalone dark and twisty mafia romance about two people, promised to each other since they were babes and all the drama that ensues when one tries to break the agreement. The darkness that resides within Luca versus the light that Emelia brings to his life. It is quite possible that this book might trigger some people but i found it to be a little dark and that Luca needed to do much to redeem himself but overall I was very happy with this story. From the terrible wedding scene, to the calm stubborness of Emilia, to the gradual change that takes over luca. Loved it! Enjoy!