Review: Bloody Union (Made Series Book 1) by Brooke Summers

Bloody Union by Brooke Summers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Arranged Marriage Can Be Fun

I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

The heads of the Irish and Italian Mafia in New York decide to end their war by marrying off the Irish Head’s daughter and the eldest son of the Italian Head. The daughter, Makenna, is 14 when the arrangement is made and the wedding is held when she is 19. It’s five years since Dante has seen his fiancée and when he last saw her she was a quiet and obedient girl. Now she’s a woman, strong and beautiful and he hasn’t a clue who she really is.

When their wedding turns into a blood bath, it’s Makenna who protects and saves his brother, taking charge without blinking. Stunned by the woman he’s married to, Dante is determined to find out who she really is.

There’s a reason I don’t normally read mafia books. It’s because women are usually treated like objects, and this starts out exactly the same way. The reason I wanted to actually read this one is the blurb implied that Makenna was a different kind of mafia princess, and she is definitely that. The other reason I don’t normally like this kind of book is that the mob persona doesn’t really do it for me, it’s the same reason I don’t like some of the 1%er MC books. I prefer my characters to put their loved ones first, not profit at all costs, those costs being outsiders and their lives. So whilst this book has Makenna being treated differently from most women, the whole thing about outsiders being disregarded is definitely there.

I had a couple of problems with this book, the first being Makenna’s age. She acts like and is treated like she’s 10 years older than she actually is. Even if she was male she wouldn’t have been given the responsibilities she was at that age.

The second thing I have an issue with is the whole insta-lust/love thing that happened as soon as they laid eyes on each other as adults. That whole WHAM “wow she is my soul mate I am transformed into the perfect man for this goddess I’ve been waiting all my life for” thing drives me nuts.

If you can disregard these two items it’s not a bad book. It’s entertaining and the characters are interesting. It’s pretty violent, but in a casual way that doesn’t come across as particularly dark because it’s not dwelled upon.

Despite myself, I sort of liked this book, but probably not enough to read the next in the series. I just can’t seem to get over that mafia hurdle.

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