Little Bird by Kally Ash. Dark mafia romance. First of the Dirty Deeds series. It’s a smutty book about a protective big sister looking after her idiotic younger brother, and falling for the big shot, hard-as-steel Bane Rivera in the process.
The development and delivery of spiciness has just the right amount of build-up if you want to develop some attachment to the characters without the ridiculously long slow burn. There’s equal level emotional vulnerability and fifty shades popping up almost constantly throughout the book. The subtle nods to ‘Little Bird’, the nickname and its significance to the characters was a nice touch throughout.
The plot itself, whilst having some meaningful concepts- both MC’s being forced to seriously consider what’s important to them- moves way too quick to deem it any sort of realistic. This mafia trope has the MMC practically falling to his knees within days, and the FMC go from sacrificing her life for her brother, to not caring about him at all, also within days. Personally, I want to watch my characters genuinely development throughout the story- to actually empathise with them. Anyone heading into a mafia romance should expect that our innocent character will go through some serious reality checks, however Wren Montana (FMC), the head strong gal she is, seems to completely forget to feel any attachment to her life before Bane.
Overall, an easy read in terms of words on the page. With each chapter alternating between Bane’s and Wren’s perspective you get to hear both sides of the story. The lack of time between significant changes in the characters and the events that unfold almost work in your favour if you don’t want to delve too far emotionally into the themes. If you’re looking for something spicy, it’s worth it. Anything more, not so much. ( )