In BRUTAL PRINCE by Sophie Lark, readers find themselves in Chicago, dealing with the Italian and Irish mob's leading families. There has been much rivalry and some incidents but the final straw is when the Gallo siblings crash a birthday party and accidentally sets fire to one of the rooms. To stop a war, that wouldn't do any good, the elders of the family get together and come up with the perfect solution. Callum Griffin, the heir to the Irish mafia, and Aida Gallo, the wild child of the Gallo family, will marry.

And thus begins the re-education of both of these headstrong people. Callum Griffin is an ambitious, cold, and sometimes brutal man. He has plans for the future and taming the wildcat member of the Gallo family isn't exactly what he planned but he knows his duty. Aida has been raised with her brothers and has fought for her place in the family... as much as a woman can in a mob family. So whatever Callum dishes out she can take and even manage to get him back: poisoning (maybe accidental, maybe not), nearly shooting him (his fault; she was aiming at his bodyguard who did some damage to her brother), getting him in a fight that could mess up his political plans (again not her plan, but it does show her he's not so cold after all) and also getting kidnapped (the last thing she wants to do).

Action-packed with dynamics from completely different family lifestyles, Aida manages to shake things up for all of them. BRUTAL PRINCE is well-written, has an easy flow with rich characters, and gives an intriguing look at the life of mafia families. If you are like me, you may not like Callum in the beginning, but he does grow on you. As does Aida, because you just can't wait to see what she is going to do next, or how unexpectedly sweet she can be with Callum.

Sophie Lark is a new author to me and I wasn't sure what to expect. With a title like BRUTAL PRINCE, I expected something darker going in. But I thoroughly enjoyed BRUTAL PRINCE and found it to be an amazing read. Can't wait to see what happens next.