This review contains spoilers for Keep by Kaye Blue. Trigger warnings include mentions of abuse, violence, and murder.
We are thrown right into the plot with Vasile and Fawn seeing each other for the first time in a less than desired situation. David, Fawn's not-so-nice boyfriend -- if you could even call him that -- is basically pawning her off to Valise to use as he pleases. And then basically three pages later Vasile has all but kidnapped Fawn and taken her for himself, away from David and the nightmares she has been enduring under his roof.
Honestly, Vasile and Fawn's relationship moved so fast that I blinked and they were getting it on before my very eyes, There was minimal build up to this, especially since they had only interacted with each other maybe three times before they were in each other's personal space. I do have to say that the smut is pretty decent and well done, and you can tell that both characters are holding back emotionally, for their own reasons.
Natasha and Fawn's friendship is sweet and something that Fawn definitely needed after dealing with David for however long she was subject to his terror. David is always popping up in the most inconvenient places, basically torturing Fawn with his presence. Esther's attitude and snark was something greatly appreciated -- she was a character that was needed to balance out the short sentences and cold glares that Valise and the other clan members adorned throughout the book.
David is an absolute psychopath and will not leave Fawn alone. When he killed Oleg and nearly killed Fawn when Vasile was out of the house, I was shocked. First, because even without going into heavy detail, you could understand the pain and horror that Fawn had gone through, and second, because I was confused on how David, on his own, was able to get into their house that should have been guarded.
I am not the world's biggest fan of the pregnancy trope, but it felt as though it was barely there because of the multiple time jumps and only mild mention of Maria after she was born. Especially with her being in the NICU for basically the rest of the book, Maria was used for as a reminder of what Fawn had been through rather than what Fawn and Vasile created together.
In regards to the "politics" that Vasile has to deal with, I was left confused for some of it -- I could not tell what they were talking about in some scenarios, whether that be a plot choice to have characters speak vaguely about their work, or if it was an oversight to just keep the plot moving instead of expanding on it.
If you are looking for a quick mafia romance with a dash of dark themes, Keep will keep you entertained in between reads.
You can add Keep and the rest of the Romanian Mob Chronicles series on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to say on publications and releases.
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