TITLE: ⟫ Owed to the Billionaire
AUTHOR: ⟫ Medusa Stone
SERIES: ⟫ Belonging to the Billionaire
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5
BLURB: ⟫ MM/Dark Mafia/ Billionaire-Romance/ Hurt-Comfort/ Enemies to lovers
Michael-
The criminal underground wasn't something I had anything to do with. That’s until my brother's gambling got out of hand. Ryan owes a lot of money to the vicious Vincent Salvatore, and the man wants what's his. We can't pay, so Salvatore demands my brother works off his debt… and I'm the collateral.
I may be held in a luxurious prison, but it's still a cage. So why am I developing feelings for the man who holds our future in his hands?
Vincent-
I don’t give a damn about some gambler's brother. I want my money, and Ryan's debt is a noose tightening around his neck. My world doesn't tolerate failure. But then I see Michael—the innocent collateral. The moment our eyes lock, everything shifts.
I should be focused on getting my money back, but Michael's got this quiet strength that gets under my skin. Suddenly, it's not just about the debt. It's about keeping him close, protecting him. Anyone who dares to touch him will face my wrath.
I didn’t plan for this. But now, there's nothing I won’t do to keep him safe—even if it means breaking all my own rules.
All books in “Belonging To The Billionaire” series are standalones.
REVIEW: ⟫ This is a short novella – approx 12.5k words – and as such, the author makes sure to warn the reader that there isn’t a lot of room for backstory or build-up. Nevertheless, from the beginning, you do get a very good sense of the depth of the caring between Ryan and Michael, and just why Michael is prepared to do anything to keep his brother safe, and vice versa. It also quickly becomes clear that Vincent is confused by the emotions that Michael engenders in him – he is far more used to delivering pain, manipulating people into owing him fealty, and running the darker side of things than he is to gentle emotions. I liked how the men who collected Michael were made to pay for their actions – they didn’t have permission for the things that they did so were reprimanded – a sharp reminder that Vincent is in charge of all of it.
I don’t recall reading any Medusa Stone prior to this but would be interested in reading what could come from a story with the space to go into more detail – whether in building the relationships, the backstory, or even the resolution. This was a quick, interesting read and I will probably look for more stories by this author, and particularly in this series as the next title sounds interesting.
I received an ARC from the author but the views are my own.
