Marrying the Mobster

American Gangsters 1 (Leave Me Breathless)

By: Victoria Vale

Narrated by: Elizabeth Russell, Jay Alder

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

Raw. Visceral. Powerful. Victoria Vale brings a forced marriage, enemies-to-lovers mafia romance to the Leave Me Breathless Black Rose Collection....

Elena

I never believed rumors of mobsters ruling the Miami underworld, until I came face to face with Diego Pérez - the ruthless head of a Colombian crime family.

He says my father will die if he cannot pay back a loan he defaulted on. Our family is bankrupt, and Diego will accept nothing as collateral...except for me.

My father has 30 days to pay up or I’m dead...unless I can convince Diego to spare me.

Diego

Elena Aguilar is a means to an end, and I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in her head if her father doesn’t keep his word.

But then, the head of the Russian Yezhov Family wants to impose a marriage on me as a condition for our alliance. I refuse to allow the man to control me in this way.

Turns out, the enthralling Elena can be of use to me. She may try to fight me, but in the end, I always get what I want.

Elena Aguilar is mine...whether she wants to be or not.

Trigger warning: This story includes depictions of violence and sexual assault; may be sensitive for some listeners.

©2021 Dragonfly Ink Publishing (P)2021 Pink Flamingo Productions

WHAT A GREAT START.. & I CAN’T WAIT FOR MORE

A new-to-me author and I’m so glad Victoria Vale has moved over from Regency to Contemporary Mafia romance because this book ticked all my boxes with its dark anti-hero and strong feisty heroine. There’s only a small piece left in this damaged Mafia villain’s dead heart that’s still warm and loving.. and it’s reserved for just one person.. his younger sister. With memories of a terrible childhood haunting him still, Diego has vowed never to marry or bring children into his dangerous lifestyle. Diego takes the sexy, feisty, beautiful daughter as security for thirty days giving her Father time to find and pay-back the millions he owes Diego. However, he doesn’t really believe Elena’s Father will come up with the money.. so he’s got every intention of pulling the trigger at the end of the thirty days - or maybe even sooner!! Because the strong-willed, stubborn, mouthy, determined woman is testing this ruthless crime Boss’ patience and limits. She’s also tempting his dominant side.. kick-starting his heart.. and awakening the real possibilities of a beautiful forever future.

Despite her zero chance of survival and the very real death threats.. despite being locked-up and held a doomed captive by a possessive jailer.. and despite not knowing where she is being held, Elena is determined to, not only survive, but to somehow escape too. However, she doesn’t yet realize that this hot, sexy, bossy, possessive, dominant Mafia King will completely change his way of thinking for her.. would burn the world looking for her.. and will make her his Queen. But watch-out, it’s a dangerous Mafia/Cartel world with enemies waiting in the wings ready to betray, strike and spill blood.

Worth a credit? Yes, a very very exciting, suspenseful and wildly addictive love story that had the dark and the light well-crafted chapters deliciously playing in my head like a five star movie. The dual POV narration took a wee bit of time getting used to - but was good once I settled in with it. The angsty attraction between hero and heroine was casual and confrontational.. and the romance was a delicious slow-building enemies-lovers as their fire led to a fake marriage which settled down to became a very real, very passionate and very loving one. The sex was withheld - then wanted, consensual and included spanking, a belt and maybe some lube😉🤭🤫. Diego’s much needed character growth was a subtle sweet slow-build as he made space in his heart and life for Elena. And the dramatic, suspenseful, chilling and thrilling climactic action-packed chapters that sadly derailed and delayed their happy ever after were caustic and dark.

Spicy enemies to lovers

This was a spicy enemies to lovers mafia romance.

This was sexy, steamy, action packed and down right gritty.

Loved this one

Great Mafia Romance!

This story is set in the Leave Me Breathless World. Diego and Elena's story is entertaining, fast-paced, suspenseful, and captivating. Diego is enigmatic, dark, and powerful. Elena is strong, stubborn, and feisty. They are perfect together. Their journey to love is filled with action, and twists and turns. Elizabeth Russell and Jay Alder did an amazing job with the narration. I enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it. #AudiobookObsession

This is one dark enemies to lovers story!

I loved this one! It is a bit darker than what I am used to but otherwise an excellent story. It shocked and surprised me more than once. Sometimes I didn’t know what Diego was going to do about Elena. I enjoyed watching these two come together and learn to grow/change along the way. What a big difference in both of them from the beginning to the end.

I did listen to this little gem on audio. The narrators did a good job and were a joy to listen to.

Entertaining

This book is very entertaining. I love their chemistry and love how she can be the person to show him love. Elizabeth Russell and Jay Alder did an amazing job at narrating

❤❤❤

This was an amazing, captivating book. Elena was captured by Diego and this story just pulled at my heartstrings. So many twists and turns and emotional scenes that will have your heartbeat speeding up with every word. The raw emotions between Elena and Diego had me totally enthralled and never wanting this story to end. A 5 star read that I highly recommend.

Addictive Love/Hate Relationship

The authors story telling and character building were phenomenal! Nothing was rushed but it wasnt slow, it left you wanting more! Elizabeth Russell and Jay Alder bring this book to life!

Mafia King and A Woman To Equal Him

I am a Victoria Vale fan and looked forward to this books moving from the historical dark erotic books I’ve read before. She did not disappoint.
Diego has grown up in the Mafia and is ruthless, strong and does what he needs to keep himself and his family on top.
Elena’s father has failed to pay back a $5 million loan from Diego and so is to be shot by Diego. Elena is strong and determined, despite angry at her father she throws herself between Diego and Elena.
Diegoand Elena are people who make calculated decisions, but that falls by the wayside when they meet.
Loved the action and suspense...but be prepared for the anti-hero who does meet his match in Elena
Had laugh when Elena’s book of choice was a historical book by Victoria Vale..so clever!
The narrators did an excellent job, however the male narrator took a little bit for me to connect him with his character.
A great mafia romance..looking forward to more.
#Audiobook Obsession Reviewer #Pinkflamingo Productions

Marrying the Mobster

okay I really but really enjoyed this book so much. she was one chick not to be played with at first but at the end mad I'm so glad they made things work and they kinda changed there ways for each other. so good you guys are going to love it. I would love to hear more about them.

Diego was a nice sexy mobster

This is a wonderful start to what will hopefully be a great mafia romance series. Diego was a nice mobster as mobsters go. He takes Elena as collateral when her father cannot repay him the millions of dollars he borrowed. Of course, her father has no intention of paying because he can't and plans to leave the country. Her father was horrible. Diego gives him 30 days. During that time, Elena will live in Diego's house. He treated her pretty good even after her attempts to escape. He forces her to marry him to avoid marrying someone else. The narration by Elizabeth Russell and Jay Alder was great.

Brilliantly Written & Riveting!

This was my first Victoria Vale book, and I loved every moment of it. Marrying the Mobster is a dark and riveting mafia romance set in the underworld of Miami. The plot is brilliantly developed and as the story unfolds, so does the tension and suspense, fully capturing my attention. Vale's attentiveness to details is incredible, captivating her audience with phenomenal imagery, description, and character development, transporting us straight into the scenes. Her main characters are multi-dimensional, complex, and captivating. Diego and Elena's story is hot, emotional, sensual, intense, violent, packed with betrayals and unpredictable twists. Aside from the electrifying chemistry, passion, and intensity, Diego and Elena's relationship is one of growth, compromise, and ultimately trust. The series is utterly addictive; before finishing, I started counting down the days for the next book.

Outstanding performances by both Elizabeth Russell and Jay Alder. They embodied the characters, flawlessly portraying emotions, sensuality, and connection. They literally brought the story to life and made it even more engaging. Overall, Marrying the Mobster was a gratifying dark listen, one I'll very highly recommend to the fans of the genre.

🎧#audiobookObsession, #TheFlock, #PinkFlamingo🎧

Deliciously dark.

This is a brilliant dark Mafia book. With good strong, even though they’re vulnerable characters I really enjoyed this one. A great performance from both narrators. Well written.
#pinkflamingoproductions
#flockreview
#audiobookobsessionreviewer

Great Mafia Story

I’m not usually keen on Mafia but I really enjoyed this . I loved Elena sass towards Diego even knowing he was a dangerous Mafia boss she didn’t hold back. Although I sussed out certain things that happened I never saw the ending with Elena being a total bada$$.
audiobookobsession pinkflamingoproductions

Delicious!

I received this audiobook at my request via promo code from The Flock and this is my honest voluntary review.

God's I love me some Mafia Romances.

Elena Aguilar meets Diego Perez while he's holding a gun to her fathers head. He's the head of a Columbian crime family and he's taken her as collateral for her fathers debts. He's given her old man exactly 30 days to cough up the money he owes, or she takes bullet on his behalf. Elena is nothing but a means to an end but when the Russians try to impose a marriage on their alliance, she may be of use to him after all. Death or Marriage to a shady Miami Mafia boss isn't much of a choice, but at least one of them keeps her breathing even if Diego's dark presence does take her breath away.

This was my first book by Victoria Vale and it won't be the last. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Excellent narration by Elizabeth Russell and some interesting accents by Jay Alder.

Ruthless

I love a good mafia/arranged marriage romance and this one fit the criteria quite nicely. It is dark and dangerous with a side of hot and sexy. Elena is a strong female heroine who isn't going to be told what to do without a fight. Diego is ruthless and always gets what he wants. The two together make for a captivating story. This is my favorite book so far in the Leave Me Breathless series. Elizabeth Russell and Jay Alder both did a wonderful job bringing this story to life.
🎧Pink Flamingo Productions, The Flock Reviewer

Captivting

This book had a great storyline. Enemies to lovers theme. The leading lady is sassy and strong willed and the leading man is unbending and rough around the edges.
Twists and turns galore. Just loved it ☺️

Really interesting story

This book was an engrossing listen. The story was made fresh by the author and really flowed. It is dark, but a fantastic listen. The characters were multidimensional and made the listener feel like she knew them. The story just captures you and holds on until the end.

🦩🦩 Flock Review 🦩🦩

I LOVE THIS WORLD

Ok, so far EVERY BOOK IN THIS WORLD IS FIREEEEE. AMAZING. INCREDIBLE. MUST LISTEN. DONT MISS OUT!!!!! THANK YOU PINK FLAMINGO!!!!!

Left me breathless!

The perfect name for this series, Vanessa Vale's venture into mafia romance has left me breathless. Diego is dark and dangerous. Not willing to give his heart away, he is not looking for a wife. When he goes to collect on a debt that is unable to be paid, he takes Elena as collateral. One month for payment or she dies. Elena willing to sacrifice a month hoping her father will come through is biding her time, but the attraction to her captor is growing. And now the terms are changing. Marriage or death. What would you choose, especially when your feelings are evolving? This love/hate relationship is addictive. Diego and Elena each stubborn, throwing insults and compliments at each other had me on the edge. Vale takes us on their journey with unexpected twists and turns, and had me so involved in the outcome, that I could not stop listening. The story is unpredictable, fast paced and exciting. I enjoyed this first installment of the Leave Me Breathless series.

Elizabeth Russell and Jay Alder brings this gem to life. Russell is perfect as the feisty Elena. She understands her and brings out all her emotions, keeping it realistic. Jay Alder gives us the Russian and Colombian accented mafia men! His talent is amazing. I love him as Diego, finding that vulnerable part and keeping it guarded all with the inflections of his voice. A good listen for a rainy day!

My Thoughts on Marrying the Mobster

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was from a new to me author but the blurb was good and I love a good mafia/cartel/mobster kind of story so I figured I’d give it a try. I’m so glad I did. I ended up really enjoying the story. Elena and Diego were highly entertaining characters. They were well developed and the female lead in particular had unexpected but good to see growth by the end of the book. The storyline had a good flow, twists and turns, betrayal, a perfect level of steam, and ultimately what I crave in my stories, romance. I would definitely try this author again.
The narration was pretty good as well. I personally liked the female narrator more than the male narrator this time around but I think that was just a personal preference. Overall I liked the performance though.
🎧The Flock🎧