Bloodied Hands: A Dark Mafia Romance (Bellandi Crime Syndicate Book 1) Kindle Edition

This book was an amazing start to this series! I never thought I would get into the dark romance/mafia genre, but I'm quickly falling in love with the genre. The author did a fantastic job with the series. It was difficult to put down when everyday life required me to be a responsible adult who needed to get other stuff done. I'm pumped for the next book.

It started off a little boring. But the more I read I couldn't put it down. Although I can never take an adult seriously who says 'poop' and "double poop scoops" but then uses the f bomb and stuff. Matteo was so toxic and awful, but I couldn't look away. Can't wait for the next book.

I came across this book when it was free on Amazon. The writer Adelaide Forrest was a new writer to me but the blurb of the book sounded interesting and I was in the mood for an alpha, mafia guy so I decided to give this story a try and I’m so happy that I did! Because once I started it, I couldn’t stop reading it! I enjoyed it very much and I already bought the second book in this series too to read.Ivory and Matteo Bellandi had a relationship when they were in high school. He was the boy who Ivory lost her virginity to but he’s also the boy who broke her heart one week after that. The one that she loved with all her heart and she never forgot. Now twelve years later, destiny brought them together again. Matteo has kept his distance all those years from Ivory but when she stands before him, he knows that the time has come to claim the one woman that he ever loved. Matteo knows that it will not be easy. Because for one thing, Ivory doesn’t want anything to do with him (but Matteo is not a man that takes ‘no’ for an answer). But Ivory’s stubbornness isn’t the only problem that Matteo has. Because of his dangerous life (Matteo is the head of the Chicago syndicate) an enemy is also stalking her. Can Matteo protect Ivory against danger and also convince her to open her heart for him again?‘Bloodied hands’ is a great start of this mafia series and I also think that it’s the ‘perfect’ story for readers who are new to this genre and want to try a dark, mafia book with an extreme possessive, jealous antihero guy. Because this story is not too dark or too violent. And yes, the main male character Matteo is very possessive and protective, to be honest he just does what he wants, thinking that he knows what’s best for Ivory and him and where it would frustrate me in other stories, here you can really feel the love he feels for Ivory and the fact that Ivory doesn’t follow him in everything also makes this story a great story. Ivory is an interesting main female character too, she was heartbroken when Matteo left her but with the help of her two best friends, she created a life of her own. She loves making food and sharing it with other people through her food blog. She’s funny, friendly, likeable, she also isn’t afraid to stand up to Matteo as he goes too far. The story is told from both POV’s. The writing is fluent. There is some action in the story but nothing too dark. The sex scenes are steaming.The secondary characters are wonderful too. You have Matteo’s men and his cousin Lino. They are hard men, feared by others but they are all friendly to Ivory and also very protective of her. You also have Ivory’s best friends Duke and Sadie. They are special characters too.‘Bloodied hands’ is a great story and I will definitely read more books of this series and writer.

Matteo will one day be head of the family. Ivory was his high school girlfriend and was meant to be. To protect her from his family he crushed her heart and walked away. Years has passed an unknown to Ivory faith brought chef back to Matteo. Matteo was not going to let her go again and will do anything to keep her. Enjoy the start heading to the next book.

Honestly I felt like I was reading a high school relationship where they where enemies to lovers and don’t get me wrong I love stories like that but this just reminded me of high schoolers and mostly the main character Ivory gave me that vibe. Why she gave me that vibe because to be she didn’t really act like an adult. Some parts she did but other parts where something a teenager will do but anyways other then that it as good but not great and would I recommend it maybe but honestly I have way other favorites that deal with Syndicated and Mafia.

As others have said, don't let the one and two star reviews throw you off. This is not just a dark romance it's a mafia romance, so like many within that line, there are control issues associated with *keeping her safe from the worse guys*, a little bit of DubCon between otherwise consenting adults who ultimately do love each other, there is some waffling on the part of the h part because of past hurts between them, in part because doesn't have the 30,000 ft view, and in part because of valid trust and communication issues associated with most mafia stories. Anyone who is surprised by the events and overbearing and domineering behavior of the Mafia boss are not fully versed in the trope, as there was nothing in this book I found unexpected.There is a clear line between the H bad guys and the really worse bad guys, and this really is about H and h finding their way back from the past and towards a future. The main plot runs steady thru the story to a strong conclusion. H and h have undeniable chemistry and magnetism, and the domineering darkness is sexy, though it is a quick read, so some of the story feels rushed but it doesn't interfere with the story, just makes you feel hungry for more of it. This is my first book from this author, and I absolutely don't regret it.

Duo POV. Typical mafia guy who goes to other girls for pleasure when he only wants her but can’t have her. He’s also very possessive and once she’s back in his life, he refuses to let her go. He’s very much “she’s mine even if she doesn’t want to be” possessive and demanding. I didn’t really like Ivory very much as a mafia love interest as much as I’ve enjoyed some others but she wasn’t too bad. If you are looking for a demanding, possessive, borderline stalker ish MC then pick this up!CW **(slight spoiler)**: SA (in her past, drugged and touched before he was stopped), and******Matteo does swap out her BC without telling her.

There’s nothing bad I could say about this book but I do wish the fight scene with Adrian was longer it just felt kind of dry but overall it was a great book would definitely recommend if you love mafia second chance romance and touchy d!e vibes

What a load of garbage. This is not a dark mafia romance it's not even grey, more plain and boring.Matteo is a control freak who doesnt understand the word no and Ivory has no backbone because she think she loves him, she does stand up to him in the end for about 10 seconds.He basically decides she is his and that's it, moves her in and all her stuff without asking and she stamps her feet a bit but then goes to bed with him every night. He changes her birth control so gets her pregnant and that's when she stands up to him for all of10 seconds. I cannot stand weak women in books and I normally love alpha males but he was just a bully who wouldn't take no for an answer.I've no idea how people are giving this 5 stars I presume they are friends of the author. It's the first book I've read from this author and its definitely my last

Wow, it's felt like ages since I read a book that has blew me away like this one, it literally ticked all my boxes. Mattio is so controlling, possessive and manipulating of Ivory. He literally steam rollers into her life and takes over everything. As a huge lover of dark mafia romance I just couldnt help but love him! Ivory wasn't a push over either which was a refreshing change, I liked how she pushed his buttons and challenged him wherever she could.This was a great story, written well and full of suspense with explosive chemistry between the main characters....just brilliant!!The story had so many characters and I can't wait to read more from this author and these characters!

I’m slightly conflicted with this one I definitely liked some parts of it more than others but there things here that slightly irritated me as well mostly Ivory herself.The girl was so bloody indecisive and had practically no backbone either at least Matteo was consistent in his obsessive bulldozer stalker psycho persona.He knew what he wanted and wasn’t shy about expressing it. He didn’t like to compromise had never needed to before his Angel.But Ivory well she ran hot and cold throughout she didn’t seem to know what she wanted or even realise the danger she was in and it annoyed me that she placed others in harm's way as well choosing to bury her head in the sand about just what Matteo was capable of if he considered it a threat to there bond. Surely no one could be that naive.I wouldn’t have minded her making a stand but she never stuck to her guns always caving so what was the actual point.This was a Mafia romance Matteo and Ivory were a thing in school until he publicly and brutally broke her heart.At the time he thought he was protecting her letting her go was the hardest thing he’s ever done but now when their paths cross again Matteo is prepared to do whatever it takes to reclaim his girl.Matteo’s obsessive and controlling and refuses to take no for an answer forcing himself into every aspect of ivory’s life.His possession also causes outside danger for Ivory pulling her further into his dangerous world.I didn’t find this one especially dark despite the mafia element there’s obviously questionable stuff but the romance was more of an all-consuming passion with a stalkerish element.Overall this was an ok read and despite Matteo being a bit of a control freak I actually liked him a lot more than Ivory.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the storyline intriguing and very entertaining. The story was well written and the story moved at a good pace. I loved the characters, they were made for each other and had really great chemistry. However, the reason for the four stars for my review is that I think Ivory should not have given in to Matteo so easily in the beginning. It really irked me that she did. And I know he was hurting as well, but he went about it the wrong way, it was just plain hurtful and unnecessary. Ivory should not have forgiven him so quickly. This was only a small part in the story but for me it was worth taking a star. Overall a great and enjoyable read.

This was an okay read. I didn’t really get a feel for the characters, Ivory didn’t appeal to me and neither did Matteo. This story had the usual dominant alpha male, taking what he wants. Ivory trying hard to resist but giving in as soon as Matteo laid a finger on her. It was all just a bit too similar to a lot of books I have already read but without the spark. I do enjoy a good Mafia romance but this left me disappointed so I won’t be reading more in this series..