This review does not contain spoilers for When it Raynes. A list of trigger warnings is available at the beginning of this book, as well as being listed on Goodreads.
I saw this book on TikTok through a single quote someone posted, and since I am a sucker for a good mafia romance book, I knew that I needed to read it. We have our main characters, Emerson and Rayne, who find themselves drawn together when Rayne comes to volunteer at the community center Emerson and her father run.
I cannot even say that I am surprised that not even four chapters in, we get a lovely description of Emerson with a messy bun and barely any makeup on -- I can hear the "not like other girls" chant from a mile away. Rayne stares at her like she is the first woman he has ever come in contact with and constantly is thinking how she does not have a choice about being in life, which is expected going into the book, he just sounds like a stalker when he thinks.
Immediately though I am forgetting about the way he thinks because I love a good protective trope and Rayne does not disappoint in this category. However, the way that he talks to Emerson literally has me cackling, because this grown man is literally speaking like he watched Fifty Shades of Grey and turned up the notch to 200%.
Rayne is super possessive of Emerson right off the bat, and we see him start to defend her and tell her what to do all within the very early chapters of the book. Whether it is confronting her ex-boyfriend or making calls for the youth center, he is heavily involved with her life as soon as he enters it.
For a girl $70,000 in debt because of her ex-boyfriend, she certainly should be taking Rayne up on his offer of giving her money, even if it is a few hundred dollars to cover what she would typically earn for the night at the club. It is certainly much better than the alternative of being at the hands of Angelo Russo and his creepy little friends.
Rayne really reminds me of an amped up Christian Grey, because a lot of the things he tells Emerson and the things that he buys her are incredibly similar to the Fifty Shades of Grey series, across the three books. Buying her clothes, wanting to be with her at events, and have everyone know that she is with are the basics when it comes to both male leads.
The amount of assault scenes in this book definitely threw me off -- I did not expect so many to happen. Some are described in more detail and graphically than others, but I have to say they will sneak up on you and to read the trigger warnings if you know if you need to. Did not love how Rayne was suggesting to have sex with Emerson after she was almost sexually assaulted.
Emerson is understandably hesitant to go along with the majority of things that Rayne asks her to do and asks of her -- she goes through so much during this book and for some reason Rayne does not seem to grasp that she has been through numerous traumatic experiences in a matter of days.
Towards the end of the book we see a lot of action and a lot of events taking place very quickly -- to no one's surprise, Emerson is in danger again and Rayne is losing his mind over it (understandably). There are a lot of twists and surprises in the last few chapters, some expected and some definitely giving shock value.
Overall, this is a decent read and kept me pretty entertained with the characters and storyline. There were times where scenarios and dialogue felt somewhat repetitive and I still feel as if we do not know much on Emerson and Rayne, especially Rayne's family. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and dark mafia romance readers.
You can add When it Raynes and the rest of the series on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.
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