Huge thanks to Katee Robert for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: The Bastard’s Betrayal (Scandalous Scions #1)
Publisher: Trinks and Tales LLC
Published: 25 August 2021
Genre: Mafia Romance

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

She thought it was love.

Rose Romanov is a mafia princess, and everything that entails. Violently over-protective parents. A giant extended family, all ready to kill anyone who looks at her wrong. Learning to run a business that isn’t exactly on the right side of the law. So, naturally, when she meets a nice guy who isn’t in the life, she falls hard… Right up until the she discovers her new boyfriend isn’t a civilian at all.

But he betrayed her.

When Dante Verducci was sent on an undercover mission to evaluate the Romanov family for weakness, he never expected to have an instant connection with their unlikely heir. There’s something fierce and feral about Rose that calls to him. They’re alike, even if they’re both lying to each other during the months they date. Before he could figure out a new plan, Rose finds out who he really is, dumps him, and immediately enters an engagement with the heir of a rival family. Yeah, no, that’s not going to work for Dante.

Now he’ll do anything to reclaim her. Even go to war.

CW/TW: Murder, assault, kidnapping, explicit sex, dubious consent, Parental death (drug overdose, historical, off-page)

TL;DR: The Bastard’s Betrayal was a fun and steamy start to a new mafia series. Rose is a bad ass mafia queen and I loved her take charge, don’t-mess-with-this attitude, but I also loved how her softer side came out around Dante. Dante was a whipped hero and I loved how much he loved Rose! 😂 These two had sizzling hot chemistry and those steamy scenes were fire hot! I can’t wait for the next book in the Scandalous Scions series 😍

I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to read this book but finishing it immediately made me wish that the next one was out already because I want MORE of these sisters! I guess 2021 is the year I discover how much I actually enjoy mafia romances 😂 I know it’s a spin-off of one of Robert’s existing series, and although I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it as much without having the background of the families, I’m happy to say that I was still able to really enjoy this! We do learn little tidbits about the previous couples and how they get together through Rose’s perspective, which I appreciated, and it also made me really curious about the previous generation and I’m keen to check out their stories (eventually)!

Rose is such a queen and this cover with the badass energy she serves is just so it! *chefs kiss* She and Dante were both raised in violence and blood and they know there are certain things expected of her as the next in line to take over. She has a lot to live up to and puts a lot of pressure on herself to be perfect because so many doubt her for just being a woman in this “man’s world”, but she proves that she is 100% capable of doing what needs to be done, no matter how distasteful or difficult. She’s such a fierce mafia princess and I loved her attitude but I also loved her softer side—the side that yearned for a normal love and life that she had with Dante before the bastard betrayed her. Oh, Dante! He’s so head over feet for Rose (and who can blame him really) and he had me swooning with his pursuit of and devotion to her. Obviously, kidnapping isn’t the way to go IRL, but the situation worked out for them! Seriously, the way he needs to take care of her, and not because she can’t do it herself, but because he can’t help it, was so sweet! I adored how this tough mafia man was the one who was unafraid of his love for Rose. I was definitely all in with the two of them by the end! 😂

Let’s not forget their amazing chemistry! It’s not just their sexual chemistry, though that was fire hot, their cheeky banter, the way they devolve into Russian and Italian (respectively) when they were being mushy, and the way they found comfort being their unguarded selves around each other was really heartwarming! That said, Katee Robert writes some really great steamy scenes 🥵

That said, things escalate very quickly in the last 30% and at that point, I thought the story became a little rushed and the conflict avoided too easily? But it didn’t really take away from my enjoyment of the story overall. I kinda just wanted a bit more time with these two but I suppose the inter-family mafia tension will only escalate as the series progresses! I thought the next book would be about Lorelei and Romeo but with that ending, I have a feeling it’s going to be about Anya? I’m excited about it but I also really really want Lorelei and Romeo’s romance cos I know I’m going to love it so much already! 😂

Have you read The Bastard’s Betrayal or is it on your TBR?