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Cruel Vows
Massimo takes one look at Paisley and decides “mine” β then trades a mafia deal to get her, drags her down the aisle at gunpoint, and calls it a marriage. This is full-send forced marriage, captive-bride, hate-sex-till-she-can’t-deny-it territory, with an OTT hero who’ll threaten his own brother over her name. Paisley gives you spitfire-who-says-no-and-means-yes energy for a solid 25 chapters, so this is a slow burn on the “admitting it” front even though the physical chemistry is instant. Fair warning though β several readers found the non-con framing genuinely uncomfortable rather than “grey area hot,” and the age gap reads rougher than advertised, so go in with eyes open. If you’re chasing that possessed-by-a-mob-boss, forced-to-marry-him high, Cruel Vows delivers it uncut.
Book Description Genre, Tropes & Kinks β οΈ DETAILED TRIGGERS β οΈ (contains spoilers) Book Meta Book Reviews
Triggers
addiction/substance abusealcohol/drug usebreath playcaptivity/imprisonmentchokingcnccoerciondegradationdegredationdub-conemotional/psychological/verbal abuseexhibitionismhuman/sex traffickingimpact playkidnapping/abductionnon-conorgasm denialphysical abuse/neglectphysical assaultpower dynamicspraiserapesexual assault/abusesexual harassmentstockholm syndrometoxic relationship
Content Warnings
This one goes there β Paisley is taken/kidnapped as part of a mafia deal, held in captivity, and coerced into marriage at gunpoint, so expect dub-con and non-con framing running through most of the book (multiple reviewers flagged the intimacy as reading like unaddressed rape rather than a "grey area," including forced deepthroating during a punishment scene). There's on-page choking, spanking/whipping as punishment, and heavy power-dynamic sex (cnc/degradation flavored), plus verbal, mental, and physical abuse from the hero before he softens. The setup carries human/sex trafficking undertones (her brother owes a debt to an MC and she's literally traded away), with side mentions of drug dealing and drug use. A secondary male character leers at and harasses her (he gets punched for it). It's toxic-relationship, stockholm-syndrome territory throughout β she fights him even after it's clear she's safer with him than without him.
Publication Date2022-05-28 Relationship Pairing(s)MF Darkness Score6/10












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