Bound By Duty: 2 (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles)

Bound By Duty (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles Book 2) This is book 2 in the series. Dante and Valentina's story. I read some of the other reviews of book 2 saying this story was not as good as the book 1. I would like to disagree with those points a views. Dante and Valentia are older than the first couple and both have been married before. So its not the first flush of love. This couple are mature and lot more in charge of their feelings and emotions. Again Valentina and Dante are born into the Mafia world so they know how cruel it can be. I loved this book just as much as the first. I enjoyed how calmly and coolly Valentia went after what she wanted which was her husband's heart. The story is again written from Valentia's point of view. I enjoying this Mafia series unlike a lot of others because the women are born into the Mafia world and so know exactly what to expect but when they want to protect those they love they get their hands dirty too!!! I LOVE THAT ELEMENT OF THE SERIES!!!! I applaud the author for being brave enough to write these females who are able to love and live in the same world as the men they love. I would highly recommend this series. I am loving it!

4/5 I love this book!! Dante & Valentina are not my favourite couple in this series by any means however, I do really love their story. Valentina is a very strong willed woman, she knows what she wants and fights for it and I adored her for it. She challenges Dante in more ways than he ever expected and that’s definitely something that he learnt to love & respect about her. I couldn’t help but fall straight in love with Dante. I’m a sucker for a cold-hearted, emotionless man and that’s exactly what he was. Watching him fall for Valentina was everything!! I loved the plot a lot too, it kept me engaged and entertained!!

Excellent story line from this author. I loved all of the characters and the story line. It is very well written and entertaining

Bound by Duty is the second book in Cora Reilly's Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, an adult mafia romance series. Each book follows a different couple in the universe. This one follows Dante, the Capo of the Chicago Outfit, and Valentine, both of whom are widowers. I remember the first time I read this book, back in 2016, and I remember not liking it as much as I liked the first novel simply because I prefered Aria to Valentina as a character. While I still felt the same this time this book is still a great romance. Just because I don't personally like Valentina as much doesn't detract from the fact that she is still a fully realised character. I also forgot a lot of this plot, in comparison to Bound by Honour/Luca Vitiellol where I know every plot beat by heart, so it was nice to be mildly surprised. In 2020 I am making an effort to actually finish this series since I adore it so much, and I'm hoping it will keep getting better.

Thanks again Cora, for your imagination and style of writing also the little something something for certain scenes never hurt anyone.😉😉

I felt so so bad for Valentina. She just wanted to be wanted and loved. Dante wasnt my favourite character, I get his wife died and he wasn’t prepared to love again but he barely tried with val. was really sad to watch her constantly give and get so little in return. He was cruel to her for no reason even if he didn’t really mean to be. I knew Antonio wasn’t dead and would be back when they described what happened to the body. As frank was never caught I don’t suspect he will forgive val for being loyal to Dante. I’m so so glad bibi got a happy ending away from that fat old man who abused her. I wish he was involved with Raffael and not innocent. Can’t wait to read the next book I hope Im not disappointed

Book Title: Bound by Duty Author: Cora Reilly Book Series: Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #2 Genre: Romance, Suspense, Drama Tropes: Mafia, Arranged Marriage, Age Gap Plot: On the verge of becoming the Don of the Chicago Outfit, Dante needs a wife. He lost his first wife years ago and needs a new one to stop appearing weak. Valentina is a widow and they are brought together in an arranged marriage. Valentina has secrets, secrets Dante can't know. Dante is still grieving his first wife after all those years. Can Valentina draw him out? Will she grow sick of his abruptness with her? Thoughts: listening to this in Audio after reading years ago I loved it. Dante is one of my favorite Dons of the series. The slow burn between the couple had me addicted to the book. The push and pull between the pair made my head spin. In a totally good way. I loved Valentinas spirit, she was adamant to break Dante down...

If I had reviewed this book the first time of reading I would have awarded it 3 stars but after a long gap I have read it a second time and enjoyed it more. I always liked Valentina, a widow entering into a second arranged marriage and hoping for affection and children. I thought Dante, the other party to the marriage and a widower, unsympathetic but this time around I had more understanding for him and as a result enjoyed the book more. Some of the secondary characters were interesting enough to deserve a book of their own. The descriptions of sex were quite graphic.

I love this series and the stories never disappoint, they keep being thrilling and surprising, Cora is genius. I experienced a lot of tension in this book and it had a really crazy twist near the end which made the reading extra interesting. This is the story of Dante, the Capo of the Chicago Outfit, and Valentina. They are both widowers when they marry. They have an awkward and rocky start and it killed me to see how Dante seemed not to care but we have a resilient Valentina here who continues to work through all the obstacles. I loved Valentina's determination to keep trying and win over Dante and her loyalty was admirable. I felt for her the entire book, she really struggled and that was quite angsty but she wanted to make a better life for herself and was madly determined and I liked that a lot. The intimate scenes between them were insanely HOT and I looooooved how their relationship grew and we can finally see the deep bond they end up forming.

First time read 3 stars Second time read 4 stars This is my second time reading Bound by Duty and I’m really happy I did. I have a new appreciation for Valentina and Dante. Valentina has always been one of my favorite heroines from Cora because of how strong she is. When she set her mind into something she does everything to make it happened. The fact that she didn’t back down for Dante even when he is her husband and Copa made her so strong in my eyes. She is a female that knows when to stop and when to push it. When I read Bound by Duty for the first time I didn’t really like Dante and I felt like Valentina deserved more. (Which in moment she still does). But after reading Bound by the Past Dante made so much more sense. I feel like their story is so different from the other once’s because of Valentina. She knows when to take control and when to let go. Now that I re-read Bound by Duty I can’t get enough from Dante and Valentina. So thank God they have a second book.

Loved the characters speed threw this book just like the first on in this series. Recommend this book to readers that love a romance with a slash of gangster to the story. I will enjoy this whole series this author writes well.

Spanish & English Opinion - 4.5 🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭 ESP :: Segunda vez que leo el libro y me encanta porque lo percibo con puntos diferentes cada vez que lo releo. Una vez más, creo que lo mejor que se puede hacer es leer el libro sin spoilers. Pero van de nuevo los puntos esenciales (en caso de que la curiosidad sea máxima): 1) Hombre alfa con heroína súper lista y fuerte. Ella me encanta porque tiene ideas muy actuales y es inteligente. 2) Hay angustia en el romance y hay diferencia de edad. Relación super hot ❤️ 3) Conocer el mundo de la mafia de Chicago. El Outfit y tener personajes secundarios favoritos. ¿El mío? Bibiana. Me urge su historia. ENG :: This is the second time I read this book and no matter how many times I read something from Cora, I appreciate it under a different perspective. It almost feels like reading a new book every time. Again, I would like to state that jumping into the reading without spoilers is the way to go, but, in case someone needs some info, here are the main things to know: 1) Alpha male and strong independent heroine. I love Val because she’s a contemporary woman. Her beliefs and way of thinking is really cool and Dante also has this line. I really like that. 2) Angsty romance with age gap and unrequited love at the beginning. Hot scenes and lots of chemistry! 3) Gwtting to know the Outfit, Chicago’s mafia world and amazing secondary characters. My fave? Bibiana. I really want her book to happen! ❤️

Cold. Unreadable. Deadly. This are the words to describe the new Boss Dante. He never shows emotion and is always in control. But with his wife passing away to cancer four years ago, his father made him look for a new wife to bring him heirs. Dante chose for duty. For reasonable reasons. He also chose another widow thinking it would be easy to keep them at arms length. He never expected Valentina's stubbornness. " I rolled onto my back. I was still angry, still embarrassed and disappointment, but I was also still aroused. I closed my eyes and slipped my hand down my body and between my legs. I began stroking myself, imagining it were Dante’s fingers teasing me again, remembering the brief flicker of desire in his eyes that I’d probably imagined. My breathing came faster as I caressed my sensitive nub. I was getting closer. A moan slipped out of my lips, and there was a sharp intake of breath. My eyes flew open and I stared at Dante; he stood in the doorway, hand on the door handle and eyes on me. For once they didn’t look cold." Valentine has lived her life biding by everyone else's demands for her life. Her first marriage was a shame. Married not for love, but to help hide secrets. When he was murdered she felt a sort of relief. But was too short-lived. With her being such a young widow with no children, it was demanded she remarry. She wished for love. She wished for heat. She wished for amazing sex. She never expected to marry a "cold fish." " His words alone made arousal pool between my legs and I bucked my hips in silent invitation. A smirk curled his lips before he lowered his head and kissed my breasts, first the left then the right before he kissed his way down to my stomach. I stiffened when his lips brushed my scar, not because it hurt, but Dante didn’t retreat. My flinching seemed to make him even more determined to pay special attention to this part of my body. His eyes flitted up to me as he pressed another kiss against the scar. His eyes were unrelenting until my muscles finally loosened under his lips. After another quick kiss, he moved lower, pushed my legs farther apart and then dipped his tongue between my folds. I cried out, already so close to the edge that I could feel my leg muscles tense in anticipation." A fight was ensued as soon as the words of "I Do" left their lips. One fight to bring out the passion she so desperately needed. The other fight, to not show any sign of weakness. For love is the worst weakness.