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Bloody Union, Book 1 of the Made series, was about Dante Bianchi, the New York branch of the Italian Mafia's capo bastone (Underboss), and 19-year-old Makenna "Kenna" Gallagher, the only daughter of the Ceannair ar Chach (Irish Mafia capo), the New York branch of the Irish Mafia.
At the age of 14, Makenna's father met with their rivals and arranged a marriage between her and Dante because "it was the only way to guarantee peace" between the Irish and Italian factions. They would marry when she came of age.
Fast forward five years and Chapter 1 began 3 days before the wedding was scheduled to take place. Dante had neither seen nor heard anything about his bride-to-be in all that time, mainly because her father made certain she was never in the news. Dante and his brothers were at an Irish bar owned by the Gallaghers when two young women entered the establishment: a brunette and a blonde. Dante determined he would be bedding the blonde before the night was over. However, before they could make contact, the two girls had been approached by men from the Bratva. One hit the brunette, while another gut-punched the blonde. They were immediately taken care of by a group of bikers who entered shortly afterward. Several nights later, Dante was at the Gallagher's home waiting to be reintroduced to Makenna...and upon seeing her, realized she was the blonde from the bar.
When Dante requested to see Makenna alone, both her family and his left the room. Dante demanded to see the bruises from the night at the bar, and when she showed him, he also noted an old scar around her throat. He waited until he was alone again with her father to ask about it. Unfortunately, the only thing her dad knew was that she had been attacked at the age of 12 when some unknown person had slit her throat when most of the family wasn't home. (The answers to that mystery would come out later in the story.)
This story, full of angst, drama, spicy scenes, and secrets, was by far one of the better mafia/romance books I've read so far. The only problem was how unrealistic it was for the FMC to be such a badass as this girl was portrayed to be. Don't get me wrong...I loved the fact that she was a strong heroine. But as a young mafia princess, the way the author wrote her didn't fit how society views these women. It was a bit of a stretch to see this character fulfilling the role she was given.
There were many grammatical errors within this book, but not enough to detract from the flow of the story. This was everything you'd expect to find in a mafia story...and more. Both of the main characters were well-written and mature...even the 19-year-old FMC. However, because it felt a bit too unrealistic, it only earned a 3.5-star rating, rounded up to 4. I prefer my stories to be more connected with reality if they're not written in a paranormal-style genre. Still, I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.
Fantastic!