BOOK REVIEW: BURNED DREAMS BY NEVA ALTAJ
BOOK REVIEW: PERFECTLY IMPERFECT SERIES BOOK #7 BURNED DREAMS BY NEVA ALTAJ
Title: Burned Dreams
Series: Perfectly Imperfect Series #7
Author: Neva Altaj - Website
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Format: 290 pages, Kindle Edition
Publish Date: July 27, 2023 by Neva Altaj
Language: English
Link to my review in GoodReads:
⚠️My review will always contain spoilers, so please proceed with caution ⚠️
Burned Dreams
📚1st Read 14/08/23
📚2nd Read 15/11/23
My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️
Trope:
👩❤️👨Age Gap 37yo H & 24yo h
💙Bodyguard
🚫Forbidden
☠️Revenge Plot
Blurb:
Alessandro
Eight long years, I have been waiting,
Patiently plotting my revenge.
Now, I've found him,
And I'm going to make him pay.
He hired me to guard his wife,
Ensure her safety.
And I'm going to kill the same woman I vowed to protect.
He'll suffer like I did,
And when I'm done with him, he'll be begging for mercy,
Mercy, I won't give.
Ravenna
He stares at me with hatred in his dark gaze,
His eyes as black as an abyss,
Following my every move.
Those eyes see everything;
I can't escape that silent stare,
Or hide the bruises that cover my body,
Every mark proof of burned dreams.
I also can't deny the craving I have for a man,
Who will never be mine.
*Burned Dreams is a full-length novel with several open-door steamy scenes, no cheating and a guaranteed HEA.
This is the seventh book in Perfectly Imperfect mafia series. Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order.
My Summary of the Story:
Alessandro always wanted to get away with his wife from his dangerous line of work with the government, when he was finally able to execute his plan, his wife was taken away from him by a hit-and-run accident. He spent many years searching for her killer and planning for an ultimate revenge. We’ve seen Az in the previous book, turns out he has been infiltrating the Cosa Nostra to gain access to his wife’s killer, Rocco Pisano, one of the Capo. And his effort finally paid off when he was assigned as a bodyguard to Rocco’s wife. Killing his beloved wife was an integral part of his elaborate revenge plan, but it all came crumbling after he met Ravi…..
My Thoughts:
Ravi is such a strong woman, we didn’t get to see how she fought Rocco before the book started, but we know she fought tooth and nail. And once she knows that she can’t fight him, she plans to outsmart him, and I admire her for her clever plan. She is so depraved of love, it’s so heartbreaking to see her pining for Alessandro, not knowing he was fighting for his feelings too. Their “pinky holding” is so sweet, I swoon every time I read those scenes. And their size difference is so endearing, especially with the artwork of them together, just what I imagined what they look like together.
Az is a very complex character, some of his thoughts made me raise my brow so many times, but at the end of the day, he is just a man who is consumed by grudge and desires for revenge. He loved his late wife, and I’m glad we never get to see Natalie at all apart from Az’s thoughts, so we don’t get attached to her. He wanted to hate Ravi but couldn’t help to be enamored by her even from their first meeting. I just had 1 issue with him, and that is why he still thinks of killing her even after he found out she was abused? I would like to think that he’s a reasonable enough guy to understand that she is an innocent bystander. I mean why teach her self-defense when you are still thinking of killing her? Fortunately, that thought didn’t last long, because it’s driving me bonkers.
Some people seem to have an issue with cheating in this book, no one hates cheating more than I do in a book, I hate it with a passion. But what happened here is not cheating, that motherf*cker Rocco Pisano is no husband, he’s a jailer, an abuser, and he doesn’t have an inch of love or affection for Ravi at all. And Ravi doesn’t have a choice, if she can leave him and choose to stay because of the money, then yes, but she has been planning her escape, by HERSELF. So, in my book, this is NOT cheating.
This second read hits differently for me, the last time I read this I didn’t care much about bodyguard romance, it was one of my least favorite tropes. And I think I was burned out for marathoning the series in a short period of time. This time, I came to really like the book, I even cried, which I didn’t on my first read. Their love story is so beautiful, it is such a slow-burn and full of angst by the time they finally give it a chance it’s so satisfying.
Quotes:
“From the moment I set my eyes on you, you invaded my fucking mind like a plague, Ravenna,”
“How is it possible to want to kill a person, and feel the urge to protect them at the same time?”
“Does it make it okay, then, to be attracted to another man if my husband is a bastard?”
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| Beautiful art by the talented Manuela Soriani |
⚠️Trigger Warning/Kink⚠️
- Vi*lence/G*re/T*rture/M*rder
- Domestic Violence
- Noncon/Marital R*pe
- Cheating
Perfectly Imperfect Series Rating
1. Broken Whispers- ⭐️♾️ (THE BEST!!!!)
2. Silent Lies - ⭐️5
3. Fractured Souls- ⭐️5
4. Hidden Truths - ⭐️5
5. Stolen Touches - ⭐️4.75
6. Ruined Secrets - ⭐️4.5
7. Burned Dreams - ⭐️4.5
8. Painted Scars - ⭐️4.25
Link to buy from Amazon:
Free on Kindle Unlimited
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