This is a spoiler-free review!
TikTok has once again led me astray from my never-ending TBR pile, and I have to say that I am not mad about it. Nicolette is working in a high-end brothel to save up money for herself and her sister, Savannah, after the death of their parents, when one night leaves Nicolette attacked and the object of affection to Fabien, the owner. With an history of obsession and definite ties to the mafia, Nicolette finds herself thrust into Fabien's life and conflicts as he cannot let her out of his sight.
With a dual POV, we get to see Nicolette and Fabien's inner thoughts and struggles, especially with Fabien and how he views Nicolette and tries to help his family. I really liked the fact that this was not an insta-love for the girl first, but rather with Fabien basically being obsessed with her before she even knew that he existed. Yes, it is unconventional, but it is a dark romance, so this is just another walk in the park as far as I am concerned. I do think this book was on a lighter side of dark romance -- nothing too out of the box happens, but definitely skirts on the edge of heading towards being dark.
The girls in the high-end brothel very much resemble a tight-knit friend group that is seen in the Phoenix series by Stacey Kennedy. We get brief scenes with characters like Gwen and Cosette, but they add a support system for Nicolette since her sister is away at school and she has no one else in Corsica while she works. As far as Fabien's family goes, I liked his brothers, but his other family members kept pushing my buttons and made me irrated -- definitely the author's intention, but interesting to see the comparison of Nicolette and Fabien's outside relationships.
Together they are going to attempt one of the greatest heists ever seen in order to keep Fabien's family in tact, and in order to do so, Nicolette has to do everything Fabien says without a second thought. He wants her more than anything he has ever laid eyes on, and if making her obey him will keep her safe and pull off the heist, it will be killing two birds with one stone. The sex scenes were well done but a tad short, and I will admit that I was giggling and kicking my feet any time Nicolette and Fabien were together.
I do wish that the plot moved a little faster, but I still had a fun time getting to know the characters and I enjoyed all of the background information that the author gave us. Same goes for when Nicolette and Fabien actually entered into their more dominant/submissive relationship -- I kept waiting for it to begin as I was going through the story, and it really shows up for the last third of the book. It was still entertaining and great to read, but I would have loved to see more of it closer to the beginning of the book.
If you are looking for a gateway mafia romance that has a splash of dark themes, Own Me is a great spot to start. This is a very quick read and keeps the reader interested to see where Nicolette and Fabien end up after their weekend is through -- will they part ways, or will Fabien finally have Nicolette all to himself?
You can add Own Me 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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