UK Publishing Date: 22 Dec 2015. 336 pages.
I didn’t really know what to expect from this book. The cover featuring Teague in his sharp suit made it feel like it was setting you up for a Mr Grey style CEO power struggle. You couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Marriage Contract is set in Boston. A city that seems to be controlled by three powerful Irish families: The Sheridans, The O’Malleys and The Hallorans. All fighting for the same bit of turf and running mafia style operations. Following the death of her older brother in a car accident Callista Sheridan is now the heir to her family dynasty and the subject of an arranged marriage. Callie has been paired up with Brendan Halloran. A powerful guy she has never met and who is refusing to meet up with her.
Determined to find out what he is really like Callie follows Brendan to his brothel where she disturbs him throttling a prostitute. In the ensuing struggle Brendan ends up dead and Callie is literally left with the smoking gun and the prospect of an all-out mob family war on her hands.
Despite the speed that everything happens there is a real sense of a connection between Callie and Teague and while some readers might complain about the fairly instant relationship that develops between them it is pretty well written and believable under the circumstances.
While this is an adult romance and as such includes some fairly graphic scenes, this book is so much more than that. You get a real sense of “Family”, of the lives that these people have led and of the ever present threat of violence that is always bubbling away in the background. The peripheral characters have enough bite of their own to give you an idea of where this O’Malley Brothers series could go in the future.
Supplied by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
You can find the book here: The Marriage Contract (O’Malleys)
Categories: 4 Stars Book Review
angelnet69
Prolific reader, enthusiastic theatre and movie-goer and ex-Olivier Awards judge who spent twenty years working in the music industry in London. Sharing my house with a gorgeous cockapoo called Harry who has taken over completely.
I love sharing my favourite books with friends - nearly always spoiler-free as I hate reading a synopsis of the whole book in other reviews.
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