Sofia: My wedding day. I should be elated. I’ll become Sofia Semenov, wife to Maxim Semenov, the Pakhan of the Semenov Bratva. But Maxim’s a complete stranger to me. He’s not a prince on a white horse. Maxim’s the ruthless devil in disguise. Hating him should be easy but when Maxim’s able to consume me with one lethal kiss, it's hard not to fall for the devil.
Maxim: A simple business transaction. That was all Sofia equated to. Her father promised me a different daughter but after a tragic shooting, I had to settle for Sofia instead. Sofia Bianchi is nothing what I expected. She’s beautiful and fierce, and it doesn’t take long for me to realize she’s fit to be my queen.
Excerpt:
One of Maxim’s men opened the heavy wooden doors. Sofia couldn’t see the crowd gathered there, given she was at the back of the line.
Someone handed her a bouquet of blood-red roses. The veil got in Sofia’s face once again, and she was tempted to take it off along with the ridiculous diamond tiara.
Only a little more, Sofia told herself. After this charade of a wedding was over, things would be easier, or so she hoped.
“Breathe,” Sofia whispered to herself.
The procession began. Since looking at the guests unnerved her, she decided on one focal point—the altar and the simple wooden cross looming above everything else in the church.
A wizened priest stood on the steps, and next to him stood Sofia’s future husband.
Maxim looked perfect in a tuxedo, just like he did in a suit and tie. His steel-colored gaze met hers, and Sofia’s breath hitched. Her heart hammered. Lorenzo soon took his place by Sofia’s side, but she hardly noticed his presence. He would drag Sofia to the altar if need be, Sofia knew, but she walked out of her accord.
Then it was only Maxim and Sofia standing in front of the priest.
Most of the time, Maxim’s expression was difficult to read, but standing this close, Sofia could see the vicious hunger in his eyes, and something else. A hint of cruelty.
Sofia’s pulse quickened. No man had ever looked at her the way he did. Most men Sofia passed on the street barely gave her another glance, but Maxim looked upon her like a feast.
Sofia shuddered. Her nipples tightened under her lace bra, and she felt moisture gather between her legs.
The veil got in her face again, and she desperately blew at the fabric. As the priest continued in his monotone voice, Maxim reached out and ripped the veil away, somehow keeping the tiara still poised on her head.
“Much better,” Maxim said, smiling.
Sofia shivered, and what little courage she’d managed to summon disappeared completely.
I did like Maxim and Sofia's story. It started out from a sad event, had some violence and then a 'forced' marriage. Maxim was rather sweet actually, which seems at odds with his violent ways with (some) others. Sofia is quite strong of character. Lovely ending. Hope we get a story with Lev meeting his match
Originally Sofia’s sister Aurora was meant to be married to Maxim but she is suddenly killed by a shipper. Aurora makes Sofia promise to stand by her family which mean marrying Maxim. Their marriage started with a shooting and ended with a happily ever after. I enjoyed the character development with Sofia as she continuously compared herself to Aurora. I felt stone cold Maxim didn’t really live up to that title as he was goo like with his wife. I really enjoyed this light short read.
" 'You can't marry a complete stranger just because Father wants an alliance,' " Demented Devil is the first book I've read by Winter Sloane and I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed reading about Maxim and Sofia's relationship grow and develop over time. From complete strangers in an arranged marriage to lovers, their relationship is falling headfirst deep in love and underestimating each other. I found at points that it skipped a lot of time in-between and we didn't get to see a lot more intimate moments between them. I loved that Maxim let Sophia be herself, something her father never let her be. Giving her her own studio/workspace? Him being surprised she stayed overnight in the hospital with him? AND she's a graphic designer? *chef's kiss* Overall, a great fast paced standalone mafia romance that you'll enjoy from start to finish. "Maxim, of all people, understood the power of appearances." " '…Besides, you unnerve me, Maxim. You unbalance my entire world. I find myself questioning who I really am when I'm with you,' " tropes // arranged marriage, mafia, artist MC tw // death, blood, gore, emeto,
Sofia is trying to disuade her sister from marrying into another familia like their father has arranged. Events happen and now Sofia is the one to marry. Sofia is to marry Maxim and when they actually meet she says what she's thinking without any regard to who he is. This story contains violence and action from the beginning of the story and is throughout the book. There's also some family turmoil on her side of the family. There's a kind of mystery through a lot of the book, who's the bad guy that wants to kill them? Is someone from either of their families supplying the bad guy with info? Sofia and Maxim do end up becoming intimate and it's pretty hot, he's kind of dominant and likes a little bondage, nothing hardcore. This is a fairly short read and doesn't get too in depth with the characters, but events happening helped to keep me reading to see what would happen. I enjoyed reading about some of the secondary characters, mostly Maxim's brother. I am anxious to see if there will be another book about Maxm's brother.
Maxim Is supposed to marry Sofias sister. When her sister is killed he Marries Sophia. It’s a very simple mafia romance but a great read.
Sofia Bianchi is the daughter of Lorenzo Bianchi, Don of the Bianchi Familia. After tragedy strikes her family Sofia is thrown into a life she's tried so hard to escape from. Now she's expected to marry Maxim Semenov, the Pakhan of the Semenov Bratva. Demented Devil is the excellent, fast paced, arranged marriage story of Maxim and Sofia who are thrown together after the death of Sofia's sister Aurora. Sofia has fought so hard to stay away from her father and the Familia and has now found herself right in the middle of all that she's run from for so long. In the end nothing turns out the way she hoped it would and that may have been for the best.
3.5stars. I liked the characters in this story, especially Maxim and Lev. The story is well written and progresses naturally. If you like the mafia, arranged marriage genre and want more light than dark, I highly recommend this book.
I am obsessed with the chemistry between Sofia and Maxim. She’s the carefree younger daughter and he’s a alpha looking for a wife to unite two families to form a strong front. Even though Sofia didn’t want to be married, she fell easily into the role as wife and had Maxim’s full support on what she could do, unlike when she was living with her father. I like that Maxim wasn’t so hard on Sofia and was easily surprised by her when it came to their interactions.
Maxim was arranged to marry Aurora but when tradgedy strikes he is given her sister Sofia instead. Sofia had always been head strong but she knew now she couldn't disobey her fathers orders. Maxim was drawn to Sofia, a monster of man in need of an heir, he though himself unable to love, until her. But someone's targeting her and he will do anything to keep her safe. We'll written steamy arranged mafia romance, with action desoclres violence and more.
This book is about Maxim and Sofia. Sofia's sister was supposed to marry Maxim. Sofia tried her best to talk her out of it because Maxim was known as a monster involved in the bravata. Sofia marries Maxim in her sister's place because it is her duty to her family. Neither of them plan on having real feelings for one another. Things don't go as planned in life. The book shows how 2 people can come together after a tragedy and have a life together even though it wasn't planned. Maxim is ruthless in business but sweet with Sofia. Even though Sofia's dad thought she was the lesser of the 2 sister's Maxim never saw her that way. Good short read.
Two mafias families come together through an arranged marriage. The two leads need to work through their differences while living in their violent world to find their happily ever after.
