Burden

Made, Book 2

By: Melissa Ellen

Narrated by: Chloe Ryan, Connor Crais

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

One day, the life I lead will get me killed. It's my burden to carry.

One I easily accept. One I never thought twice about until the day I met her. 

While avenging his mother’s death, Declan Connolly trusts no one, not even the men sworn to be loyal to him as the leader of their Irish clan. The final warning Declan’s father gives him on his deathbed is one he holds close to his chest. But when Francesca Costa stumbles into his life, he must decide whether he will continue to heed his father’s warning or trust the Italian beauty that could destroy everything.

©2020 Honey Bee Publishing LLC (P)2021 Honey Bee Publishing LLC

Why did I even

After listening to this again I wonder why I even bought this. Fmc her excuse is she just her curiosity no she’s just been noisy as hell and playing dumb and she doesn’t care about private boundaries. Sticking her nose where is shouldn’t be.

Irish Mafia Romance!

Burden by Mellisa Ellen is a swoon-worthy romantic suspense with an Irish Mafia Anti-Hero.

Declan and Francesca's dark romance was a twisty suspenseful story with a hero obsessed with revenge after his mother was killed. Declan did not expect to fall for Francesca and it was great to see him soften a little for her and protect her from harm.

Connor Crais and Chloe Ryan were fantastic at portraying the characters, accents and emotion in the audiobook of Burden.

Great!

Francesca and Declan grabbed me from the first page. This is not only a mafia romance but a story of finding answers and forgiveness. The chemistry between them is explosive and I just couldn't put this down. Listening to the audio of this made it even better. Getting to hear the narrators bring these characters to life was amazing. Connor and Chloe do this justice and so much more.

Gitty mafia romance with heart

The Made series is a mafia romance series, and it is not for the faint of heart. This is a fast-paced novel with tons of drama and action, and it's will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Declan is driven, but like many mafia "heroes" he is driven by the need for vengeance. It's a hard, isolating and soul-sucking existence. Until he meets Francesca. She is unexpected and complicated, and the infiltrates his very soul with her need for answers of her own. Their connection, their bond, is strong.

The narration by Connor Crais and Chloe Ryan was excellent. Connor is a versatile voice actor that do gritty dark mafia and light rom com equally well. Chloe Ryan is new to me, and she's definitely a voice that I enjoyed listening to.

Good addition to the series

I enjoyed listening to Declan and Francesca's story. It's a great addition to the series as we previously met Declan in book one, Honor. There's action and suspense, and it's relatively mild for a mafia story.

There were times where the accent slipped just a little, but Connor Crais and Chloe Ryan did a great job with the narration.

Loved the Twists

Melissa Ellen is a new-to-me author and I was given the opportunity to listen to the audio version of Burden. Mafia-type tropes are not generally my thing, however I am always willing to try new authors. I'm glad I did. This story had some great twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I had to stop myself trying to speed up just so I can find out what's next. The chemistry between Declan and Francesca was jumping off the page.

The audiobook was narrated by Connor Crais and Chloe Ryan. Loved the accent from Connor and I really enjoyed Chloe's portrayal of Francesca.

Action packed!

This is the second book in the Made series and it had me captivated. It was action packed. The narration by Connor Crais and Chloe Ryan was phenomenal. Declan and Frankie balanced each other perfectly. He was her ying to her yang. They just worked together and I enjoyed how the performance had me upping the speed to get to the end.

Thrilling Irish Mafia Romance

Audiobook Review

Burden by Melissa Ellen is the second book in her Made series. This story is full of action, crime, and drama. It is a thrilling read and one I couldn’t stop until I finished.
Declan is seeking revenge after becoming the head of the Irish mob due to his father’s heinous murder. He trusts no one and will not allow himself to get distracted or allow anyone to get in his way. Until Francesca. She is the one thing he never saw coming and her need to seek answers about her own father lands herself deep into Declan’s world. These two were magnetic! Their intense connection and phenomenal chemistry was addicting. The way Francesca sees through Declan and is able to soften some of his hardness and Declan’s ability to ground Francesca made them the perfect unit and they became unstoppable together. One of my favourite things about a mafia romance is the strong theme of family, loyal and love and this story has this in spades and I highly recommend it.

Connor Crais' performance blew me away. His ability to tap into the raw emotion of Declan’s character was impressive. Chloe Ryan is a new to me narrator. Her voice aptly portrayed the emotion and complexities of Francesca’s character and these two brought this story to life phenomenally.

Light mafia romance

I love this world that Melissa Ellen has created. It lets me dip my toe in the mafia world, but isn't over violent.

Declan and Frankie's story gives us more into the crime family that Declan is part of and the one that Declan's sister (from book 1) was part of. Frankie never knew about her family's past and Declan will do whatever it takes to protect her from it.

This story was fast paced with a good love story and a good mafia story behind it. Melissa Ellen does a great job and building this world and including pieces that you didn't even know you were missing from the first book in the series. I can't wait to finish the series!

The narrators did a great job telling this story.

Burden

A great resumption from book 1 in the "Made" series.
Amazing narration, awsome story.

We already met Declan in the first book, but now it's his and Francesca's story (part of her past is entwined too with the first book).
I couldn't stop listening and I need to know what happens in book 3.

Irish mob meets Italian mafia...perfection!

Burden is the second book in the Made series and is the thrilling complete standalone story of Irish mob boss Declan Connolly and Francesca Costa.
Francesca is a small-town girl who moved to New York for college or at least that’s what she told her Mum and Sister, in fact she had another goal in mind when she chose New York and that is to find out how her father died. Her mother is very evasive and now that college is over, with just an old picture of her father and three men she doesn’t recognise that she found in her Mum’s closet, she sets off on a one-woman crusade to get to the bottom of the mystery that has plagued her for most of her life. Francesca gains the attention of Irish mob boss Declan Connolly and things start to heat up pretty quickly.
Declan was forced to take the helm as the head of the Irish mob when his father was brutally murdered. This is a role he was groomed for from an early age and he is on a mission to avenge his mother’s death. He will leave no stone unturned to find out who killed her and make them pay. Declan isn’t a man who usually gets distracted, however when Francesca comes along with a picture that see’s their lives and worlds collide, they both set out to find answers about their families and how they are connected.
Connor Crais and new to me narrator Chloe Ryan bring the mob boss and the woman with links to the Italian mafia to life perfectly. Connor’s performance was amazing, his ability to showcase not only the Irish mob bosses savage side but also the raw emotion as revelations are revealed. Chloe’s portrayal of sweet, naïve Francesca was stunning. She flipped from inquisitive and strong, to scared, to a lust filled temptress effortlessly. I loved this pairing and look forward to more from them.
I loved this audiobook and have added it to my list of beautifully written and perfectly executed mafia romances. I can’t wait for more from this series and look forward to spending time in this amazing authors back catalogue.

Gripping enough that it kept me interested

Though I’m not sure I bought the romance, the story was gripping enough that it kept me interested to the end.

I still don’t know what to think of Declan. He’s introduced as the ultimate alpha male who doesn’t care about anyone and would do anything to get what he wants. Yet his reasons for protecting Francesca in the first place quickly become flimsy. On the other hand he’s prompt to withdraw his trust if someone in the organization messes up just once–if that someone has earned it, and it wasn’t easy to do. So yeah, I found doubtful how easily Francesca enters Declan’s world.

There’s attraction between Francesca and Declan, sure. A lot of lust. Maybe Francesca is attracted to danger. And maybe he’s intrigued by her fierce nature. But I don’t see how deeper feelings can come from that. Nevertheless, they fall for each other, though the love confessions are late in the story.

The suspense part is well done. We’re given bits of information here and there, and like the characters, we assume their meaning. And of course, we’re all wrong.

Prejudices and hasty conclusions are at the heart of the story. That’s why Francesca and Declan are enemies at the beginning, and why Declan hasn’t solved yet the mystery of his mother’s death.

The narration was impeccable. The male narrator expressed Declan’s coldness perfectly, while the female narrator did great with Francesca energy. A very good audiobook.

Interesting plot

Audiobook provided by Valentine PR
3.5 ⭐️ 1.5🌶
Haven’t read any mafia books in a while so it was nice to be get back into this sort of world through the Irish mafia.

Declan is out to avenge his parents after they both had died because they’d been betrayed by those they trusted. His mother had died when he was four and his father much later (in Declan’s 20s?) his fathers last words being trust no one. Now he’s on a rampage trying to piece together who had caused their deaths. Enter Francesca aka Frankie, she’s trying to understand who her father was as her mother won’t open up. This leads to both Declan and Francesca crossing paths and then unearthing a lot about their families pasts working together to find out who had played a role in Declan’s parents deaths. This was an interesting book and I wish I’d read the first book Honor beforehand but it can be read as a stand-alone still. Declan gave off the typical I don’t do relationship vibes but this could be considered insta-love since the two characters felt a connection straight away. Considering their pasts had less then to this moment I’d say it makes them soulmates, just wish their relationship was developed further as it felt rushed.

Overall the narration was nice I really liked the male VA however my only criticism is there were times where one VA was doing an accent for a certain character but the other didn’t which was confusing. For instance the male VA used a generic American accent for a Russian female character whilst the female VA had used a Russian accent

Good listen!

This is my first book by this author and it was an OK listen. I loved the narrators. Connor Crais is one of my favourites! It took me a bit to get into the story but once I did I enjoyed it enough! Declan and Frankie were perfect together!

3.5 stars!

Fantastic!

This series has it all. Exciting characters and unpredictable outcomes all keep me coming back for more. Book 2 gives us Declan's story. I was excited to see he is next in the series after meeting him in Honor. He is cold as ice, leader of his clan and is all business all the time. That is until Francesca enters his life. Frankie is looking for answers. Wanting to know more about her father, she begins her search, but has no idea what she is getting into. Lucky for her, Declan finds her first. These two are both searching for their pasts, and as Francesca melts our hero, hopefully they will find them before it's too late. Her life is in danger and the answers they are seeking may just be better left in the past. Melissa Ellen has the perfect mix of suspense and romance melded together, keeping my heart happy and my brain working! This is my kind of series and I am loving it!

Chloe Ryan and Connor Crais are bringing this installment to life. I love Ryan! She has great voices, and her full of spunk attitude as Frankie was perfect! Crais nails that South Boston accent, bringing us Declan's world. He is terrifying and heart melting all at the same time. This is a fabulous team cast for this story.