Izzie Rinaldi has everything going for her. All she has to do is make it through her senior year of college, and then she’ll be off to law school, one step closer to assuming her position at the head of her family’s empire. After a chance encounter with the campus bad boy, Izzie can’t get him out of her head.
Luca Marchese, the smooth-talking son of the most notorious man in Philadelphia, is used to getting what he wants. He hasn’t forgotten the girl he knew as a child, and now that he has Izzie’s attention, Luca will stop at nothing to have her.
Luca’s defiance of the law turns Izzie on more than she cares to admit. She wants Luca to corrupt her in every way possible, despite his reputation as the king of one-night stands. Their attraction is undeniable, but their desire for one another isn’t enough for Izzie to overlook visits from federal agents and the potential ruin of her family.
Linked to Luca and a criminal underworld, Izzie discovers she’s more like him than she thought. But a future with Luca could mean swapping her diamond bracelets for a pair of handcuffs.
*Corrupt Me is a standalone novel that is the first book in the Philly Corruption series.
Let’s get the formalities out of the way first:
My thanks to Jillian, Netgalley and Penn Publishing for allowing me to read&review the ARC of Corrupt Me.
The expected publication date for Corrupt Me is 17th of January 2017– mark it in your calendars New Adult and Romance fans and Break out the red panties! ( McGregor, don’t sue me, please!)
Also, there is a blog tour happening from the 9th – 25th of January. Yep! And one of those stops is here in this very blog… I promise, it will be interesting, fun and maybe even educational? 😉 So, watch this space! Finally, for news of upciming books and to find out more visit the author website HERE.
Finally-finally, I would like to say that even though I am acquainted with Jillian for some while now through book blogging this connection has in no way tampered with my thoughts about the book.
Now… dun-dun-duuuunnn!
When I do occasionally read and review a romance novel I can be a bit moany. The spineless women always in the clutches of arrogant, rich assholes… come on, who enjoys the constant ‘damsel in distress with wet panties’ all the time? I don’t. I had high hopes for Jillian’s characters and I knew she could deliver!
Isabella Rinaldi is one powerhouse of a woman with a level head and firecracker personality. Her Grandfather is a billionaire businessman and Izzie is to take over the empire. As for other close family- she hasn’t been so lucky with a loving Mother or Father. Izzie is smart thought, she knows how things work- either with relationships, friendships or business. She has balls of steel when it comes to dealing with the feds and when given a chance of having a family her loyalty knows no bounds.
Luca Marchese… heh! Youngest son of a mafia boss, Luca wants to live a life on the right side of law. He’s a man though so obviously he has his weaknesses as well! Confident, looker and hooker- why have the command over crowds of men and women when you can’t let the bad boy out to play every once in a while? Yes, he might be a player, but when one woman with Italian insults manages to steal his heart, we see the soft gooey insides of this guy.
I can easily see how Luca will win over readers hearts… but in this case I am willing to switch sides for Izze, though! Y’all can keep the guy! 😀
Izzie’s and Luca’s relationship was interesting to follow. Their families know each other from way back but all ties were cut and really, it’s better things stay disconnected… but…. when they run into each other again, crack-pop-sparkle. Izzie won’t fall at Luca’s feet straight away though. I truly enjoyed her self control and rejections no matter how much she wanted him to corrupt her. Hormones galore! The exchanges in between them made for some great scenes… grab your popcorn and see how it plays out.
Overall: some hot and heavy scenes, family and Italian cooking, Italian cursing and mafia involvement. Where there’s mafia, there’s feds with their photograhic evidence! Mix in money, gambling and easy women and Luca won’t be able to keep his pants up! I recommend this book to all NA/Romance fans, you’ll be sure to get your kicks from this book with strong female character, hearthrob male and some unlawful activity!
I am beyond thrilled to finally read a romance novel with a kickass female character and that alone deserves a high rating! What I especially liked about her was the fact she didn’t turn into a blubbering, sobbing mess when she found Luca with his ding-dong inside some campus pu**y. He wasn’t cheating, and she just commanded the whole situation! Sure, the scene was awkward as hell but it was also mega funny! Even though there was sex scenes, they weren’t repetitive and only occurred when the time was right. I also liked how well the family dynamics were portrayed and -jeeezus- Jillian, you made me crave for pepperoni pizza with how well the pizzeria scene was written!
My rating: Hold on to your horses now… I’m rating a romance book 4.5 stars! This is my first ‘and a half’ rating ever… Why no 5? I didn’t really care much for the epilogue, I understand how for the usual NA/romance fan it is a ‘must’-> tie it all together and inform readers where everyone has ended up years down the line but for me it matted the fierceness of the overall experience. *my hands up* while it makes the normal woman’s heart melt, it was cheesy for my inner Ice Queen 🙂
So… there you have it… Hell might just be frozen over this very moment, but I actually truly enjoyed this NA book… I… I think I might have been corrupted! 😉
Yay! I couldn’t wait to read your review for Corrupt Me! Balls of steel, haha, we’re definitely talking about Izzie! *runs* I’M KEEPING LUCA 😍 I was there fiiiiirst, haha! I love how despite coming from such a family, he wants to live on the other side. And he is too cute for words. I’m not a regular reader of romance, so Luca is my first book boyfriend. Well, first official one, Morelli was my very first… I loved the balance between Izzie and Luca’s story and the bigger thing with the mafia and their family businesses. Weirdly, I loved the epilogue. I think I just wanted Luca to… I can’t finish this sentence without spoilers, shoot!
Welcome to the Corrupted Club!
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You make some valid points there about Luca! That was definitely a good touch that he wasn’t just a mafioso by default! But he was a mammy’s boy and his mammy was awesome! 😀
And I think I got what you wanted to say re Luca/epilogue 🙂 I look forward to your blog tour stop to read your review 🙂
I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of corrupted bookworms around the blogosphere! 😀
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I love your review, Liz! 🙂 Thank you so much for such a glowing review. You’re making me blush. 🙂 I’m really glad that you connected with Izzie so much. I also look for female characters with a backbone. I very rarely find them, so it’s always nice when I do. You had me laughing so hard while reading this. I seriously enjoyed the red panties comment. Lol
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You’re welcome and well done on your debut! 🙂 Strong women for the win! 😉 Good luck with your future writing!
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Thanks, Liz! 🙂 A good review from you means a lot. I’m really glad you liked Izzie. There was a time when I thought she was too bitchy and wondered if people would connect and then I thought nope, she’s perfect. 👍 Thanks! 🙂
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Mmmmmmm pizza!🍕🍕🍕
Great review Liz, made me smile!😂
Red panties, damsels in distress with wet panties, balls of steel and ding dong!😂👍😀😂
Lol, hell has frozen over!
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This comment has me dying at the moment.. need to stop and breathe so I can leave my own!
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Ohmygosh, me too! I made the mistake of reading this in a public place and I just started laughing so hard I fell out of my chair. So many silly phrases out of context…
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😀
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😀 Glad you were entertained! Will you be reading the book? You should! Step out of that comfort zone a little and help a friend out with a review 😉
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Ha, comfort zone, I’m to old to change my reading ways young Liz, there’s a reason Jill calls me Old Man Drew, yes, because she’s a meany but cos I like what I like and alas romance books are a Neddy no no.😂
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😀 was worth a try anyway and also just to tease you a bit! 😉
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Everyone teases me, I’m used to it, I’m a victimised bullied blogger.😢😂
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awwwee.!!! Poor Drew… actually, scratch that… You actually enjoy the female attention, I know it! 😀
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Ha, no comment!😂
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This review is top notch indeed! I am so happy to see that Corrupt Me is a big hit ❤ I had no doubt it would be though 😉 I have to agree that well timed sex and pizza sounds like a win. A woman after my own heart. I love that Izzie resonated with you so much! Girl 🙂
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🙂 Thank you…
Who would have know romance could be so fun when an author gets the characters just right?! 🙂
Will you be reading Corrupt Me as well?
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I do not plan to for review. I feel horrible saying that, but I absolutely do not like romance, and feel it would be unfair to review the book knowing I am picking up a genre I truly dislike (if that makes sense). I have never connected with the genre. I am so happy to see Jill rocking it though! I will probably pick up a copy later to read without the review, so that I can support her and check out her writing!
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That makes perfect sense and I any author can respect your choice there 🙂 To be honest, I was afraid myself that I wasn’t going to like it, but thankfully it wasn’t the usual sappy kind of blah type romance.. the mafia and strong female lead really helped 🙂
If you do decide to give it a go sometime in the future I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised as well! 🙂
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I hope so and have no doubt that I may. I read the excerpt originally. Jill’s writing is solid 🙂
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Ahh yay- so cool that you were corrupted by this!! I’m really looking forward to reading this when it’s released (I don’t do ARCs) and I’m so excited to see more and more positive reviews for this!!
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Awesome! 🙂 I think you’ll truly enjoy this book… I hope so anyway… with a strong female lead you can’t go wrong! 🙂 Enjoy 🙂
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Ahh I’m sure I will!! Thanks!!! 🙂
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Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed this novel. I thought a lot about taking Jill up on doing a review, but I was so anxious I wouldn’t like it just because I have never met a romance novel I enjoyed. That said, I just found my first love of a romance novel, so perhaps I was wrong about my own preferences?! I might need to read this after all… 🙂 Besides, your review is killer. I giggled the whole way through. In a good way. 😀
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Thank you 🙂
You should defo give this romance a go.. I usually despise toance because the female character is always a damsel in distress and it annoys the crap out of me how dumbed down women are displayed as…
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RIGHT? Or how they are willing to give up everything dear to them or change everything about themselves to get this relationship to stick. I want to read about strong women who are romanced by men who are willing to make sacrifices for the woman they love. Equality! EQUALITY!
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See, I would have been devastated to read Jill’s book and not like it, cause I don’t think I could give her a bad rating! And I’m not a romance reader so it prob would’ve affected my POV on the novel. So I support everyone reading it but can’t bring myself to do so to prevent my possible dislike of the book. I’m glad though that ppl are digging her book and I hope it goes far! I’m rooting for my Jillian!! 😊😊😊
Excellent review, Boss!
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Thank you! 🙂
Yeah, I was afraid of the same thing- not liking it… but balls to the wall, I was gonna take the risk! 🙂
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Hahahha hilarious review! Definitely didn’t expect this! Definitely not something I’d be reading, but I’m glad to hear that it didn’t disappoint where other romance novel would. 😀
– Lashaan
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Thank you 🙂 Glad it was an entertaining review 🙂 Romance wouldn’t be something I would often read, but ‘knowing’ Jillian, I had no doubt she could pull off a miracle 😀
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