Author: Nouha Julienne
Genres: Dark Romance
Published: September 6, 2024
Pages: 430
Format read: Epub
Triggers: Death of parent, Death, Alcoholism, Stalking, Cheating, InstaLove, Sexual Content, Kink
Quick Thoughts: Oh woah, right into the smut scene it seems! Dion is such a cutie. Wooh, they had sex where?!
This book was an ARC and given to me for free.
All reviews are entirely honest and my own opinion.
Rating:
Characters:
Plot:
Spice:
Aria
I’ve always believed in soulmates.
In love at first sight or a whirlwind courtship.
My father destroyed that dream with an arranged marriage to a complete stranger.
To regain some control, I decide to have one last night of fun on my own terms.
Little did I know, that moment of freedom would alter the course of my life.
Because that’s when I meet him. Dion Loukas.
He steals my breath away. Makes me feel like I matter.
Dion will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
And what he wants is…me.
Dion
Feelings are for the weak.
I’ve lived my life devoid of emotions, never getting close to people.
Until I meet her. Aria Kastellanos.
Daughter of our nemesis. And engaged to be married.
She’s untouchable, but I welcome a challenge.
Everything is different with Aria. She makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.
So, I vow to never let her go. No matter what.
The Sotíras was a Mafia Dark Romance with an arranged marriage. And luck would have it that both of those are some of my favourite tropes! When I got the option to read this book as an ARC I jumped at the chance. And I haven’t regretted that decision for a moment. The two main characters first share a one night stand with each other, but eventually Aria (the female main character) gets engaged due to an arranged marriage, and that’s where the cheating trope comes in play. I really liked the development from point A to point B.
You’re dying for me to water you, baby.
At first I was a bit skeptical of the insta love, because even though I really like this trope, it just went a little bit too fast for my brain. But after a chapter or two, it didn’t bother me at all anymore. Where most books start a little slow, the Sotíras started with an absolute bang.
The chemistry between the two main characters, Aria and Dion, is obvious right from the beginning. They seemed to challenge each other at all the right moments, but also were incredibly sweet when the situation asked for it. They were very well balanced as a couple. The way that Aria is so sweet but fierce at the same time, really gave me black cat vibes. And at the same time, Dion gave me golden retriever. He was protective but loyal & sweet. They complimented each other really well. Besides that, I just have a weak spot for Black Cat x Golden Retriever kind of pairings. And this pairing was very well executed in this book.
Talking about Dion… Woah! What a male main character! From the very first moment I was in love with him. He’s protective, he’s sweet, he’s obsessed, he’s all the bad things I love in a good dark romance. All the yes to this male main character! Very well done!
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how the spicy smut scenes were written. They were written with exactly the right amount of details, which made this book a solid 5 🌶️ for me! The only downside was that at the start they were a little bit too quickly after one another, but after a few chapters Nouha Julienne managed to balance it out amazingly.
Even though the Sotíras is part of a series, it is definitely a book that could be read as a stand alone. I didn’t read the first two books before diving into this one, and there was rarely a moment I felt like I was missing something. I do recommend reading the first two books before starting this one, because it will add just a little bit of extra flavour to the overall story. I didn’t, but this book left me hungry for more. So I am pretty happy that there are two more books for me to devour and I can’t wait to get started!
What I also really want to point out about the Sotíras is the fact how much mental health is woven into the story. Nouha really handled this well, and I truly have to applaud them for it. The message it conveys, that it’s okay to reach out for help, is such a strong one and I absolutely loved it. This added so much to the book and made it so much more enjoyable.
Besides that there was one little thing that really bothered me, and this was the timeline. There were just so many time jumps that my brain had a little bit of issue with following. I personally would have prefered the time jumps to be a little smaller and a little bit less, to balance it out a little more. But besides that, the story was well-enough paced that I read it in just a few days.
The spicy details made me go wooh-wooh
The Sotíras was a book I did really enjoy. The spicy scenes are perfectly balanced, with exactly the right amount of steamy details. Even though the book started with several smutty scenes that quickly came one after another, it balanced itself out after a few chapters. The plot of the book shines through the moment that Aria gets engaged and from that point onwards you end up in a whirlwind of suspense and angst mixed up between the steamy sexy scenes.
Good bits
Bad bits
- Black Cat x Golden Retriever
- Lots of steamy details in the spicy smut scenes
- Great mental health representation
- Dion is just such a cutie
- Readable as a stand-alone
- A lot of bigger time jumps
- The spicy scenes are a bit too often at the start
- If you haven’t read the former 2 books, it lacks a little bit of flavour. But luckily this doesn’t bother too much after the first few chapters.