Tortured Hearts

Marchesi Empire, Book 2

De: Cora Kenborn

Narrado por: Alan Carson, Kai Kennicott

From USA Today best-selling author, Cora Kenborn, comes the Marchesi Empire, a forbidden, enemies-to-lovers, dark mafia romance trilogy.

Never fan a flame

All monsters dwell in the dark, but the most dangerous ones walk in the sun.
That's why I protected Becca from the real me.
Because when you go looking for revenge...
Sometimes, it finds you, instead.

Providence is my peace, and Becca is my anchor.
When both vanish, my "working man" persona implodes...
Leaving a cold-blooded killer with nothing to lose.

This time, there will be no lies.
No masks. No pretending.
I'm the Devil in a designer suit...
And she's my butterfly in a jar.

New city. Old threats. High stakes.
Forty-eight hours to stop history from repeating itself.
Becca thinks she's nothing more than a Marchesi pawn...
A tortured heart trapped in a house of kings.

If she only knew...
She's the wildcard destined to bring them all down.

*Tortured Hearts is book 2 in the Marchesi Empire trilogy and is not a standalone.
**The Marchesi Empire contains dark subject matter. Please refer to the note at the front of each book for details.

©2025 Cora Kenborn (P)2025 Pink Flamingo Productions

kept me captivated

Enthralled in this series. I really do not know what I can say because I feel like anything would be too much of a spoiler. There is sooo much going on and so many twists, turns, secrets and connections revealed, and just all to together craziness going on. It definitely kept me captivated. Johnny would burn the world down to protect Becca, and as the hits keep coming and the danger escalates, he has to go to battle. I am glad Book 2 didn't end with the kind of cliffhanger Book 1 did, but all the same I cannot wait to get to listen to Book 3 and see what's next!

Tortured Hearts

Tortured Hearts is the second book in the Marchesi Empire series. This book is the continuation of Gianni and Becca's story, and is told from both of their points of view.

There is so much that happens in this book. I'm not even sure where to start with the review, without giving away a ton of spoilers. There were a lot of twists and turns I didn't see coming. Can Becca and Gianna work together to get through everything that is thrown at them? Will they get their happy ending?

I enjoyed this read, and getting to know these characters more, and am excited to continue on in the series!

Not as good as #1 but still worth a credit

Not as good as book one but still definitely worth getting. This plot seemed more necessary to continue the story than anything else. Still entertaining with decent action and suspense. The sexual tension and sex scenes definitely not as awesome as the first book( not to say they were bad, just not quite as panty incinerating🩲🔥). I have high expectations for book three though! Overall I’m glad I spent the credit and absolutely recommend you do as well.

Deliciously dark...

One can never go wrong with a Cora Kenborn read, so even though this would have me coming into the series on book 2, of course I jumped at the chance to listen! If you’re a dark reader, it likely has all the things you crave:

Forbidden relations → love.
Mafia, crime families / syndicate.
Dirty c0ps and feds.
Corruption.
Betrayal.
SA /& mention of non-con.
C4ptivity.
F0rced (ish) marriage.
Attempted arranged marriage.
So many scandals.
Lies, deceit.
T0rture / interrogation.
Set in New England & NJ.
Strong FMC.
“Touch her and d!3” MMC.

This was a fast, darkish listen—before I knew it, it was over and I was craving more.
Great! 4 stars.


🎧 Audio:
This was a flawless audio production—wow! Perfect voice acting, smooth overall sound quality. Absolutely perfect. 5 stars. 🦩

Yes! Completely invested!

Cora Kenborn has written another engaging book in this series. I listened to this on a trip and was glad to not have to pause it very much. I'm still on edge wondering how everything will work out! Not what I was expecting. I can't wait for the next one!

Alan Carlson and Kai Kennicott are excellent narrators. They have continued to bring the story to life with emotional performances that pull me deep into the story. I absolutely love their voices. Perfection.

#PinkFlamingoProductions
#TheFlockonTour

Couldn't Stop Listening!

If you like dark-romance or mafia books, then you should give this series a listen. Kai Kennicott and Alan Carlson did a great job, start with book 1 Torched Spades if you haven't listened to it. I assume if you're reading this then you haven't! Becca and Jhonny have been through so much in their lives, but danger is always lurking! This book ends in less of cliff-hanger than the last, but I still need to know what happens next!

Dark romance

Tortured Hearts is book 2 in the Marchesi Empire series. It’s a dark romance. Johnny and Becca’s story continues in this action packed story. Their all consuming chemistry was palpable. The twists, the drama and steamy moments had me finishing this book in a day.

Kai Kennicott and Alan Carson did another great job with narrating. Their portrayal was spot on.

Book 2 - Marchesi Empire

This is book 2 in Kenborn's Marchesi Empire series. While I have read book 1 (Torched Spades) it's been a while, and I was able to quickly pick up on Gianni and Becca's journey in this read / listen. The dual narration by Carson and Kennicott was incredibly well done and brought these characters and story to life. I love the dark twisted character of Gianni and his lack of fear and hesitation unless it comes to Becca...she is his weakness. The quote “Tomorrow doesn’t come without putting an end to today.” is amazing and I love how it comes full circle. Plenty of action, twists, danger and betrayal to be found and I love the bit of humor Gianni brings with his banter. Becca's world sharpens as a reality I think she's always known but has hidden from becomes unavoidable. The steamy chemistry is also well balanced in this mafia dark romance read / listen. I am completely absorbed in these characters, and I can't wait to see what's in store next for this empire!

This book was given to me for free at my request and I voluntarily provided this review.

Excellent

Wow! Just Wow! This is one twisty story! I am shocked and equally thrilled with how the story went and turned out. I could see the changes happening to each character. I would highly recommend reading the first book in this grouping. This is dark and twisted and exactly what I expect for Cora Kenborn. I did listen to this delight on audio. Alan Carson and Kai Kennicott pick up all these characters again in this one. They both do exceptionally well with some of those tougher emotions and drama that fills these pages.