Jan
I received this book for free from Valentine PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Toxic Love by Jagger Cole Series: Venomous Gods #1
on January 11, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Pages: 454
Format: ARC
Source: Valentine PR
Buy on Amazon*
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I tried to outsmart the King of Sin. Now, I’m his.
Brutal, cold, and illegally gorgeous, Dante Sartorre isn’t just mafia royalty. He’s also the tyrant owner of the infamously deviant and members-only Club Venom.
He’s also my new husband.
In my defense, I wasn’t supposed to be the bride. But I sealed my fate when I saved my friend: by signing the Venom Devil’s marriage contract myself.
Now, he owns me. All of me…
But Dante thinks I’ll play the part of the obedient little bride he needs in order to keep his club. And he swears he’ll rip out every dark secret and bring me to my knees if I don’t.
Little does he know, this marriage has an expiration date.
And so do I.
You see, it’s not just the simmering heat between us that’s toxic. It’s not just the way I can’t decide if I want to geld him or lose myself in him.
It’s my blood and the secret sickness inside of me that’s poisonous, too.
So if you choose to know our story, you must know three things:
This is not a fairytale.
Dante is the Anti-Prince Charming.
And my name is Tempest Black, and I die at the end.
I’m not really a fan of Mafia Romance or a lot of violence in a romance story. But when I first read the book description of ‘Toxic Love’, I found myself being really curious. So I decided to sign up, and when I received an ARC a few weeks later I started reading right away.
In ‘Toxic Love’ we read the story of Tempest and Dante. Dante is the owner of a very fancy members-only club, and although he might not be an actual member of the mafia, he is close to people who are. He is fierce, cold and definitely not someone Tempest wants to be close too. Unfortunately, to save her friend, Tempest ends up marrying Dante. Dante seems to think Tempest will do what he tells her to do, especially since she now is his wife. But Tempest is not one to obey easily. And she has a secret up here sleave that will work for her in the end. What kind of secret? Well, Tempest won’t be alive for long.
When I started reading ‘Toxic Love’ I was a bit apprehensive to be honest. Would this book be for me? Or would it be much to cruel? Luckily, from the moment I started reading I found myself hooked. Yes, there are some mafia people involved in this book and there are a lot of ‘grey’ areas about things people do. But it wasn’t too violent whatsoever. Some parts where a bit to crude for my taste. But overall I just loved it!
Tempest and Dante are very different people. And they both have their secrets. I loved how this book gave us both Tempest and Dante’s point of view. It makes you get to know both, and it makes the chemistry between them even more intense. Especially since they really didn’t like each other at first! I loved how fierce Tempest was and how she really stood up for herself and her friends.
When I read about the whole club thing, I was afraid this book would be a sex club thing without a lot of debt honestly. And I really don’t like reading about those clubs. It’s just not for me! But although there is a club, the characters don’t really participate in it, so it didn’t bother me at all. And I focused more on the amazing chemistry between the two main characters.
I loved how we get a major twist in this book as well and I never got bored while reading. I honestly loved this book so much more than I expected. And I really loved Tempest and Dante.
‘Toxic Love’ was a wonderful read I’d definitely recommend. I can’t wait to read the next books in this series about Tempest’s brothers.
Available at (*affiliate):
About Jagger Cole
A reader first and foremost, Jagger Cole cut his romance writing teeth penning various fan-fiction stories years ago. After deciding to hang up his writing boots, Jagger worked in advertising pretending to be Don Draper. It worked enough to convince a woman way out of his league to marry him, though, which is a total win.
Now, Dad to two little princesses and King to a Queen, Jagger is thrilled to be back at the keyboard.
When not writing or reading romance books, he can be found woodworking, enjoying good whiskey, and grilling outside—rain or shine.
I received an ARC from Valentine PR & Literary Management.
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Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
