★★★★★ 5
Give me a little bit’a that Nicolai Roman Attano ANY DAY. 🥵
⭐️ 5
🌶 3
🚂 Peaky Blinders Vibes
🚂 Enemies to Lovers
🚂 Sexy + Sassy Banter
🚂 Marriage for Business
🚂 Unique Magic System
🚂 Dual POV
I absolutely LOVED this book. The mafia/peaky blinders vibes — the lil’ steam punk feel mixed with magic and mayhem… add in the witty banter from Milla and Nico? ALEXIS, YOU DONE JUST ROCKED MY WORLD, FRIEND.
What I Enjoyed:
Nicolai. Roman. Attano.: Literally. This is all I’ve got to say to you, just read the book.
The Banter: When I tell you the banter between Milla and Nico is iconic — I mean it. Scroll down for some of my favorites, but my my my, my core was HEATING and I was wriggling in my seat on the airplane, my friends. OOOOOMPH.
Steampunk/ Peaky Blinders Vibes: I read this whole book with a feeling of mist on the ground, the flickering street lights, sound of a train horn, flapping of coat tails, and smell of cigarillo smoke. It was dark, broody, beautiful, and chilling. Add in a little wetness from morning dew and the scene has been set.
Plot Twists & Turns: The amount of times my eyes bugged out of my head with “OMG NO WAY”, “WHAAAT”, and “BOOIIIIIII–” should almost be illegal. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming, I loved it! Brilliant! I feel like House of Bane and Blood didn’t even allow me the opportunity to guess what would happen next, because I just had no idea where Alexis would take it.
Attano Family: I’m a sucker for a big family with many cousins, personalities, and a spicy Nonna. Throw in a kitchen scene or two and you’ve got me hooked. I loved the dynamic between the Attano family and how fast they came to bat for Milla. I throughly enjoyed getting to know the people behind Nicolai, and how they all support him and each other.
What I Didn’t Like:
The Minimal Insight on the Marchese Family: We aren’t really given much insight into the Marchese Family and Milla’s brothers. I understand this gives an ominous feel to the brothers — but I really wish we could have explored Giles and Milla’s relationship just a little bit more. I wish I understood more about the Twins than what was given. Although, I do understand the distance and the coldness, I personally just wanted a little more.
Over All Thoughts
The way I straight flew through this book — UGH. Adding Nico to my list of book boyfriends, and Alexis to my list of instant buy Authors. The way House of Bane and Blood is written is beautiful, it does not feel immature or overwhelming, there’s enough to keep you riveted and more and more unfolds with every chapter. Milla and Nico are a force to be reckoned with separately, but together? Indestructible! I cannot WAIT to see what happens in City of Mirth and Malice.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2024
