Severu De Luca is standing in the church before a priest waiting for his bride to walk to him. The Don of the family wants a wife that will not distract him from his duty to the famiglia. Little does he know that he is about to recite some URGENT VOWS before his family, God, and the woman he really wanted to wed.
Catalina Jilani's life has been one horror after another, but this is the final straw. Her sister who was to be the bride of the Don ran away and to save face her father beats her, puts her in the bridal gown, and threatens to do worse if she doesn't go through with the charade.
Having had enough and ready to escape, Catalina certainly didn't plan to stay in the life she was born to. With her sister being a runaway bride, she reluctantly but with dignity allows her father to escort her to the groom. She is smart enough to know that Severu will know there is something amiss. Once at his side, she removes the veil and whispers that she needs to talk to him. She has no idea what the imprint of a hand on her face does to the Don and what will come next in her life.
URGENT VOWS is Lucy Monroe's first mafia book and wow did she get it right. This is dark enough to fit the genre as there is a lot of steamy romance and some violence that befits the character. After a few hits and misses on both Severu and Catalina's part, this couple get to know and understand one another. His family is accepting of the switch in brides. They thought Catalina's sister was too immature to be the wife of a Don. They gather around her to help her settle in and include her in their famiglia talks – something her father did not allow.
There are things that happened in her life that the family didn't know, and the fact that her father was the consigliere to Severu and his father complicated things. You will have to read URGENT VOWS to get all the details and see how well this couple begins to blend, make mistakes, and learn to love one another.
I would give a fair warning to readers - when you pick up URGENT VOWS do so when you have time to read it. Though I guess in this case sleep is so overrated. In fact, when I finished, I wanted to turn around and read it again! Great job Ms. Lucy Monroe – and please bring us more.
Catalina I’m done with life under my father’s brutal thumb. I’m running from the mafia right after my sister marries the don. It doesn’t matter that one touch from him sparks all sorts of things it shouldn’t. That’s only one more reason to leave. But when my sister disappears the morning of her wedding, I’m left in her wedding dress, standing in front of the priest. With him. The man I thought I could never have. The man who could break me.
Severu For the stability of la famiglia, I need to marry. I don’t want a wife that will disrupt my life, but I crave this woman. Once her sister runs, nothing will stop me from having her. She’ll marry me to protect her sister, but who is going to protect her from me?
This is a standalone spicy mafia romance with a guaranteed HEA. No cliffhangers. No cheating.
CW: explicit intimacy, graphic violence, foul language and domestic violence (past reference and on the page - not between the main characters)