Grudge by Gianni Holmes (Ruthless Daddies)

 Title: ⟫ Grudge: An MM Mafia Romance (Ruthless Daddies)

Author: ⟫ Gianni Holmes
Blurb: ⟫ Can their love grow stronger than a twelve year old grudge?

Mitch spent the last twelve years dreaming about his plans when he gets out of the slammer. The last thing he expects is to be abducted the same day he’s released from prison. And sure as hell not by the boy who’s responsible for his criminal record. But Cesare is no longer the snivelling, pathetic, abused boy Mitch protected that day. He’s the Boss of the Lacovelli family. And one glimpse of the onesie beneath the boy’s expensive suit is enough to make Mitch’s knees go weak.

Cesare never forgot the man who saved his life at the expense of his own freedom. When he abducts Mitch to get close to him, he doesn't count on the sight of Mitch to affect him so much. It doesn’t take long for his teenage crush to turn into full blown love. As Cesare and Mitch grow closer, how can Cesare be sure of Mitch’s feelings when he forces Mitch to stay by his side out of a sense of duty?

Grudge is a part of the Ruthless Daddies multi-author mafia collab and a complete standalone. Expect to find an age gap romance with an ex-convict Daddy, a trigger happy Mob Boss boy, and a sweet HEA. Want more deliciously morally gray Daddies and boys? Grab the whole series!

Review: ⟫ I think I should say that I haven’t read any of the other Ruthless Daddies stories in the collaboration, but I accept that this story can be read as a complete standalone.

There are so many aspects of this story that I thought were good. Cesare was such an intriguing mix: sadist, little, submissive – it was a lot! I liked how his little side was expressed – that he knew exactly what he needed and was able to express it clearly. I also really liked the harsh, dominant side of him that ran his family with a willingness to choose violence when necessary.

Mitch was harder for me to read and get into. Sometimes it almost felt like he was locked in to his relationship with Cesare by duty – there felt like there was very little development of their relationship, and I didn’t feel the connection as strongly from his side.

There was so much going on in the story – possibly too much – with the Russians, the family being unhappy with Cesare being openly gay and the changes he was making, the situation with his uncle, his friend Faro. I think I ended up feeling a little fatigued by it all. There were also times when there was a disconnect – things sort of jumped around. For example, how Mitch and Cesare found the time to be at the Loft when things were allegedly exploding within the family and a hit being taken out on Cesare.

The sex scenes were hot and varied, with all of the different areas of Cesare’s desires being explored. But there was a lingering sense of dissatisfaction – most likely caused by the disconnect I felt – and overall the story didn’t work for me. It was well written and I would imagine a lot of people will find it interesting and hot. It just wasn’t the story for me.

I received an ARC from GRR.