Shameless (Undeniable #2) by Lola Malone

 

Austin has his sights set on Connor, and the universe has conspired to make it even more likely that our Shameless hero has his shot with his most recent obsession thanks to a serial killer targeting their crime organizations. See what Sarah C has to say about Lola Malone's Shameless.

From the Blurb:

I wanted to have him. I never thought I’d want to keep him.

Connor

My family’s livelihood in New York City is under attack and a vicious murderer is on the loose. I believe a nefarious sex cult is at the heart of these attacks and my mission to solve the puzzle and save our people brings me face to face with my past. Austin Carrington was my college obsession but he left me wrecked and humiliated. He’s now next in line to become the head of my family’s top rival organization. Can we put our past and our loyalties aside and work together for a common goal? I’ll do anything to keep my family safe. Even put my heart on the line.


Austin

Cooperating with our enemy to catch a madman in Manhattan is not how I expected to step into my new role as leader of The Void. But once I set eyes on him again, I’m willing to follow him anywhere. Shy, socially awkward Connor. He and I have history. I promised him I’d hunt him down, and I mean to keep that promise. Because whether he likes it or not, Connor Donnelly is mine.


Shameless is a 65,000 word M/M enemies-to-lovers, mafia romance. It is part two of The Undeniable, but can be read as a stand-alone.

Sarah C's Review:

Lola Malone is a new to me author and the blurb to this book sounded right up my alley.

And my initial instinct that I'd enjoy the book was correct. However, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I'd hoped. While the book is well written, there were a few issues in it that made it harder for me to enjoy. So let's dive into the good and the bad of this Shameless book.

First, the characters. They fall under good and bad. I love a good morally grey character. I love prickly hard to know characters. And our MCs? They fall under these categories. They are members of opposing crime families, forced to work together when there's an outside threat to both of their organizations. Unbeknownst to the rest of their organizations, they know one another from university.

Based on those descriptions, these characters should have had me salivating. Unfortuntely, they fell a little flat. Their motivations seemed muddled at times and they never seemed to actually like one another, let alone love one another. There was chemistry - like melt the page levels of chemistry. I could see the lust between them, but I couldn't see much beyond that. The actual love confession came at a point in the novel that gave me emotional whiplash.

But these characters were very well written and had a solid and steady voice that didn't waver. I felt like I could get to know them as people, but as a couple? I can honestly say I did not feel it. And in a romance book, that's enough of a reason to knock off a star.

This book also suffered from whiplash timing and skipping over a few scenes that felt like they should've been there in order to further the plot or to explain things that happened. It felt like getting edged - except time ran out before you got the pay off. That's not to say that there isn't pay off. I don't think I would've minded this as much if these didn't occur both in terms of the relationship and in terms of the actual over arching plot.

There were also parts of the plot that I really enjoyed. I loved the concept of the villain and how that played out. I loved some of the darker aspects - both in the lust filled relationship between Connor and Austin and in the interactions with the families and the villain's organization. Malone had some great world building in these groups and I loved the interactions between Austin and his group or Connor and his group. The friendships and the side characters? Top notch.

All in all, this book was a solid read. It had some flaws, but as this was Lola Malone's second book and first MM, that's to be expected. I know I'll read this author in the future.

Content Warning: This book contains on page dub-con, violence, murder, some implied non-con, and a bit of blackmail.  

Rating: 4 Stars

Shameless is available for purchase on Amazon and as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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