Heavy Crown by Sophie Lark

⭐⭐⭐.5/5

3.5/5 A mafia romance, with a morally light-gray MMC.

So whoever uploaded Heavy Crown to NetGalley forgot the crucial information that this is book #6 in the Brutal Birthright series. I thought it was a standalone. Good news, I've read book one 'Brutal Prince' (my review is here), so I'm going to let you know if 1) You need to read books 2-5 before reading this one, and 2) How much I enjoyed the read, even without knowing the full series.

Do you you need to read the full series to understand book #6?

TLDR: No

Explained: You at least need to have read book #1 'Brutal Prince', because it introduces you to all the characters and does the world building that will help you understand what is happening in book #6. As long as you've read the first book, Sophie does a great job 'reminding' you about what happened to the other siblings in the other stories (thank you so much for that reminder Sophie!)

How much I enjoyed the book

Book one was dark, which I loved. Our FMC ate strawberries before kissing her husband because she knew he was deathly allergic. Yes! I expected the same level of dark here, but our MMC and FMC are ultimately good people, a lighter shade of morally gray if you will. I wish there was a bit more spice. But I like the pacing of the book. I'd say this is more of a romantic thriller than a dark romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the advanced reader copy.

This book is best read in your childhood home, while your beloved plays the piano. If you smell smoke, you'd better run . . . fast.