Bound By Duty

Title: Bound By Duty
Series: Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #2
Author: Cora Reily
Published: February 9th, 2015
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Standalone: Yes (I would recommend reading the first book)


Dante – The Boss – Cavallaro’s wife died four years ago. On the verge of becoming the youngest head in the history of the Chicago mafia, Dante needs a new wife and Valentina was chosen for the role. Valentina lost her husband, too, but her first marriage had always been for show. When she was eighteen, she agreed to marry Antonio in order to hide the truth: that he was gay and in love with an outsider. Even after his death, she kept his secret, not only to preserve the honor of a dead man, but also to protect herself. But now that she’s about to marry Dante, her castle of lies threatens to crash. Dante is only thirty-six but already feared and respected in the Outfit, and he’s notorious for always getting what he wants. Valentina is terrified of the wedding night that might reveal her secret, but her worries prove unfounded when Dante shows her the cold shoulder. Soon her fear is replaced by confusion and indignation. Valentina is tired of being ignored. She’s determined to get Dante’s attention and desire, even if she can’t get his heart that still belongs to his dead wife.

When I read the first book "Bound by Honour" I immediately jump to read the second book of the series because I really enjoyed it. Surprisingly, this book disappointed me.

Valentina is a widower who's father is looking for a man to settle her daughter as she is very young.
Dante is a widower, who is known as cold fish in the outfit  It was a surprise to everyone that Dante chooses Valentina for marriage instead of choosing a young virgin. I thought I would like this book when I read the abstract. How wrong I was!

This is one of my least favorite books in this series. I didn't like Valentina neither Dante. I was surprised to see how Valentina never showed any kind of sadness towards Carla. I know they've never met but yet it is just something I didn't like. I also didn't like how Dante avoided Valentina and when she was pregnant that guy just asked if it was his or not? I found it's completely disrespectful towards Valentina. I also felt the author was unable to express Dante's emotions.

The only thing I liked about this book is how strong Valentina is, unlike other women in mafia she works, voices out her opinion and fights for herself. Other than that, I didn't enjoy it as much I thought I would.