EP. 31: Twisted Pawn by LJ Shen

In this episode of 'Read Me Next', Carina and Pili dive into Twisted Pawn by LJ Shen, the second book in the Society of Villains series. They discuss the rollercoaster plot, character dynamics, and their mixed feelings about the book's pacing compared to its predecessor, Bad Bishop. The hosts explore themes of dark romance, enemies-to-lovers, and second chances, while sharing their thoughts on the book's controversial scenes and character development. They also speculate on future books in the series, expressing excitement for upcoming releases and plot twists. The episode is filled with humor, candid opinions, and a deep dive into the world of mafia romance.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to Read Me Next, the Book Club, but Make It a Podcast. We have lots of feelings and no qualifications. What are we reading this week, Peely? We're reading Twisted Palm by LJ Shen. I was so excited to continue after Bad Bishop. Same. I was so excited for Achilles and Tyranny. Yeah. Interesting. Interesting. It was a little bit of a roller coaster. It was such a roller coaster. I feel like a lot of things happen in this book. I do feel like a lot of things happened, but it plateaued a little at some point. I agree. And then all of a sudden things were happening again. I agree. Whereas Bad Bishop, it was like constant roller coaster. We're doing it, we're doing it the entire time. Love. Yeah. Would you rate it? Okay, so here's the thing. We read Game On last week because that was a very anticipated new release. This was also a very anticipated new release. Yep. So I did like it better than Game On. A hundred percent. But I did like it less than Bad Bishop. A hundred percent. So I would say I gave Game On like a three, three and a half. This one maybe like a three and a half, four, but four is pushing it, I think. Same. I was gonna give a three and a half. Yeah. Yeah. Three and a half-ish. Yeah, maybe I would give Game On three and this three and a half. Yeah. I think it was just gonna be really hard to go after Tiernan. Tiernin. Yeah. No, yeah, it was amazing. A lot of the book girlies love Achilles, which was very interesting. Because I I posted a TikTok about Tiernan being like top top dark dark mafia boyfriend. Yeah. And a lot of people were like, but Achilles' book? I was like, okay. I know. I kept seeing it out there. Like, I thought skip, skip, skip. Yeah, no, no. I didn't, I I try not to get any any spoilers. I got one spoiler, which we could talk about. So this one was on Kins Unlimited. Yeah. So, like we said, it's book two of the Society of Villains series by LJ Shen. Which I'm so excited for the entire series. I'm like literally reading this book, and it'll say things about Luca, and it'll say things about Enzo, and I'm like, where are we gonna go with all of this information? I'm so excited to read the rest. Did you see that she announced book three, Fallen Rook, is coming out September? Yep. Oh, so exciting. What was your spice omena for this book? I would say like four. Same. Yeah. It was okay. I will want to talk about spice at some point. Me too. There's a lot of things that we have to go over because you said that the book talk girlies liked Achilles. Yeah. But the girlies on Goodreads talked about something completely different. Ooh. Yeah, there was a lot of conflicting opinions on Goodreads. I love that. About one topic. Oh, maybe it's a topic we want to talk about. Yeah. We'll see. All right. Okay, so basically the book was about Achilles and Tierney. Yes. Right? So this was technically a second chance romance. It was a second chance romance. Yeah. It was Enemies to Lovers. It was Dark Romance. Yeah, yeah. Dark romance, Enemies to Lovers, second chance. Let me go into what it was about because I'm confused on the very beginning of the book. Okay. I digress. So Achilles and Tierney met when they were very young when she got back from Russia. Was it Russia or Siberia? Siberia. When she got back from Siberia. Yeah. From a work camp. So she was real depressed, real anxious, all the things. And Achilles kind of was able to like get her out of that. And they fell in love. So at one point something happened and they were not allowed to be together. So then they hated each other for like 11 years. Yeah. And then that's how the story goes. So essentially the book picks up after that time period, and Tyranny has to like go through an arranged marriage with one of the mafia dons or whatever from Italy. And so Achilles is the one that delivers her to him, but he can't go through with it. No, because he's literally obsessed with her. Yeah, literally. So he ends up killing everybody and takes her for himself. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. And there was a lot of back and forth between them. She tried to kill him. He tried to kill her. Alright, so can we get into it? Because I have some questions, I have some thoughts, and I just need to like talk about it. Love it. Okay, spoilers. In the beginning of the book, how did they meet? Can you tell me that? I'm like reading and I'm reading and every time they do oh in the book, they have the flashback, which is cool. I do like that. I do like a dual timeline. A dual timeline. Every time they were like, yeah, I would go into her room. I'm like, how the fuck did you end up in her room? I agree with you because we never got confirmation as to why he was there. I was in my head, I'm like, I wonder if Tyrone and Velo were having a meeting and he just snuck into her room one day. But I really don't think so. I think he literally just randomly like snuck into her room and that's how they met. But why? Like, what was the situation that got them in the same place? He snuck into her room. I understand that. Why did he do it? I have no idea. No, but like how how did Achilles know who Tierney was? I think I think they the families did know each other at that point.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Okay, that's why it was. Yeah. The Irish mafia and the Italian mafia knew each other, and then he somehow found out this girl from Siberia was here. Yeah. That's probably what intrigued him.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Yeah. All right. And I mean, at one point, even at like at towards the end, he says something about how he had a dream about it. But yeah, we never really got confirmation as to why he was in her room. Cool, cool. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

I will say they were hilarious in this book.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Yeah, there were a lot of funny moments. There were a lot of funny moments. Just like looking through the chapters. They were going back and forth as they always do. I guess he was at her door knocking, and she goes, The answer is no. I said, keeping the terror out of my voice. I don't want to hear about your Jehovah's Witness journey. That shit was funny. Anyway, so go ahead. What are you gonna talk about? So after he got her out of the arranged marriage, they had a deal that they negotiated that he would basically have her for the weekend. And uh obviously afterwards she was not fucking having it. And so she was like, you know what? I'm gonna go. They negotiated that deal because after that weekend she would be free. Yeah. Yeah. So what she did afterwards was she was like, okay, I'm gonna go to the FBI and rat all of you out. I could not. She's like, now that I have my freedom, I could not believe that she throughout the entire book, she was stupid. I'm not gonna lie. She gave that she didn't really like him, the entire book. And it was very hot and cold for me. It was giving whiplash. I was like, I don't understand what's going on with these people. Yeah, no. And like another thing that I will say, I know we're jumping all around because I just I just have a lot of thoughts. Yeah. So at the end of the book, she was like, I was raised as a soldier. And I was like, girl, like throughout the entire book, I did not get soldier from you. Like, I did not get that you were raised to be an assassin or raised to be a killer, like that you want this blood. Like, I didn't get anything from Tierney. The entire book until like chapter 60. So I'm like confused why at the end she's all of a sudden, like, I am an assassin and I can kill the all these people that come into my house. No, you fucking didn't. You got stuck. She got fucking stuck. Well, I mean, she killed three out of four. Come on now. We knew that was gonna happen. Achilles have to go save her ass. But like, I feel like every chapter at the end of the book was like, it was a mistake. Next chapter. I made a mistake. Next chapter. I made another mistake. Yeah. She made so many mistakes. I was like kind of annoyed with her at the end because it was just like something over something over something every time. I feel like she was very combative the entire fucking book. Like everything was a problem, everything was a mistake, everything he said she would do the opposite. Like it was just like not like giving I can't follow instructions. Yeah, like do you want to be with him or not? Like at this point, like I get it. There is a toxic relationship, but girls were fucking toxic. No, they were both hella toxic. What I didn't like was I felt like when this whole deal went down that they negotiated, and he he basically like assaulted her for an entire weekend. That's really what it was giving. And then, like, at that point, where further into the book where she's telling him about the time in the camp and how like she was raped and everything like that, and he puts two and two together that he was the exact same as the people that abused her. I was like, Okay, yep. He's like, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about it. Whoa, are you fucking okay? So annoying. No, they were like not looking in the mirror the entire book. Yeah, like they didn't know who each other was. No, yeah, no, no, you know what I mean? Yeah, I don't know. It was interesting. No, and then the whole miscommunication about she can't have kids and that's why she didn't want to be with him. Ugh. Like she was gonna kill herself in the fire. Oh my god, no. When I got to that part where it was like that I gave him those scars, I was like, that was like, what do you mean, tyranny? No, I gave I figured because they also had said, like, oh, because she tried to kill him. And I was like, Yeah, but I was like, holy shit, you started a fire to kill yourself. Yeah, it was a little crazy. A little over the top, as as she was the entire thing. As she is, you know what I mean? Which is, I guess, whatever. But then I was like, then Luca came over and was like, break up with him. And she did. Oh, I didn't see that coming. I thought that was interesting. Mm-hmm. No, what I thought the big old twist. That twist was good. Tell him. That Tristan Hale is their brother. I love that.

unknown 8:25

What?

SPEAKER_01 8:25

When he was saying that, you know, this, this and that about Tristan Hale, and they were talking and whatever, and I was listening to it. Mm-hmm. And I was like, yeah, no, and he's like, well, he's getting really upset that I told him that Velo is like not doing okay. I was like, no. How was that? I was at work. I was like, I'm like, don't let Tristan Hale be the fucking brother. No, the bastard, the bastard child, the bastard brother that Velo loved. Yeah, his golden child. That was really good. I was driving and I was like, excuse me, hands on the wheels, like what do you mean? Volume up. Yeah, bro. Lock in, lock, locked. That was really good. Yeah, no, it was crazy. And that like I didn't see that coming at all. No, I really enjoyed that. Yeah. So that was really good. The entire time I was thinking, why did he miss? Why did he miss? Because she clocked it, he clocked it. I'm like, he's this like intense assassin, never misses. Why did he miss? And that was a perfect reason. I loved that. But also, thank God they mentioned that because I thought they were gonna glaze over the fact that the assassin that never misses missed. I was gonna be pissed. I was like, why is she alive? Like, why like we can't just throw this in a book that she didn't die? Yeah, no. So a little background is that she got shot. Ah, yes. Which we didn't say that. Yes. She got shot. She thought it was Achilles, but it was actually Tristan Hale. But Velo paid to kick have her killed. So that's what we were talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. By the way, by the way. We're going everywhere in this one. Honestly, there's a lot of things that happened. But no, that was like 50% through the book. And I'm like, ooh, what a great plot to us. If she dies, and I'm not gonna lie. I'm not even gonna lie. I was like, maybe he needs somebody else. I don't even know. No, bro. Like she was just so mean to him. Like the entire time she was rehabbing, she was such a bitch. So mean. No, and it was so funny. No, like the 180 in Achilles was like so bizarre. Emojis, emojis, emojis. I'm like, girl. No, it was so it was really bizarre. Yeah, and like he was a little funny though. He was like, oh my spicey girl was so short like that. It was funny. The text did make me laugh at some point because she was just like trying so hard and she was not having it. Nope, nope, nope. I don't know. The the book was it was funny because, like, like we said, when everything started happening was like 50% of the book. Yeah. Like, so what was that first half of the book about? Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like it got a little, it was a little slow, it was a little redundant. It was them fighting each other. Like him, like you said, him assaulting her on the weekend. Yeah, I didn't like that either. Like, it is what it is. No, okay, so let's talk about what what I wanted to talk about. The spice. The spice. So the entire time, these 11 years that Karina said, he's been like obs obsessing, stalking her. He kills all of her like partners, everything like that, right? So when they finally decide to be together at the end, she's like, Okay, well, prove to me that I'm free. Prove to me that you will let me be free. And he's like, okay, how do I do that? And she goes, let me have a one-night stand. And I'm like, okay, like this is getting weird in my opinion. But I'm like, okay. Like, I in my head, I'm like, I don't see how this proves a point. I didn't like that. No. So whatever. He ends up, he's like being tortured, basically. Like he wants to be- He feels like death. He feels like death. Like this girl, I felt so bad for him because that's like the epitome of like, you're not good enough for me. Yeah. Like that I have to go have a one-night stand with somebody else. I didn't understand that. Yep. And so he ends up basically telling Alex, like, hey, do me a favor and sleep with Tierney. Yeah, when he did that, when Alex first started talking to her, I was like, I thought we liked Laosha. But like he was a little bit of a dickhead talking to her. No, I liked Laosha. But then I was like, all right, is he like putting on a front? Is that what this was? Because at the end, he was like, no, he gives like cocky bastard. I love him. He gave real cocky. But I was like, do we like him? Do we not? No, at that point I didn't like Tierney.

unknown 12:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

A thousand percent. Alex, I Alex, I was fine with. Oh, Achilles is like, okay, like, do me a favor and have a one-night stand with her. Which I feel like it's really hard because, yes, from his point of view, it's like, oh, it's someone she trusts. But at the same time, I'm like, someone you both know. It's someone like they have history. You know, like I think it'd be better to pick just a random ass person, but whatever. Tierney ends up like confronting Alex. It's just like, no, I'll only, I'll only have sex with you if Achilles joins us. And then this entire time the the scene starts, and it's Alex and Tierney having sex, and Achilles is just watching them, like suffering. This man is going through it, and I did not like that. I'm like, you are basically low-key cheating. Yeah, no. And having him watch. And having him watch, and she's like, This is the best sex of my life. Bro, she's like, I can't contain my orgasm. I'm like, girl, this is so fucked up. No, and it was so embarrassing because Achilles is like, I'll be here in case you can't make her come. Comes in like two minutes. In two seconds. No, it was so embarrassing. I I I thought about it because we just read game on and they had a threesome scene. And so that I was like, I thought was way more like well executed than this because they were both into it. Like Achilles was not into this. No. So it was very much you're cheating right in front of him, in my opinion. Which I don't know. She wasn't cheating because he he he was okay with it, but he wasn't okay with it. Yeah, exactly. It was like ultimatum. He only he exactly. He was only okay with it because he knew she wanted that. Yeah. And that's not okay. No, that's so bad. Yeah. I didn't like it. Yeah. It was literally secondhand embarrassment.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

We're gonna get into that a lot on the Goodreads. That was a big like. Do you think the discussion like it wasn't needed?

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Yeah. Okay. You don't you if you don't think it was needed at all in the book? No. Yeah, I don't really think so either. I'm like trying to think of like you could have asked for a date. Like a date for something else. Ask for something else. But like fucking somebody? Fucking somebody right in front of him? Because she she it's like crazy to me because she was fucking people. Yeah. They were just dying. Well, but she was fucking people. Yeah. Like it's not like she didn't have the chance to do that. I don't I don't see how that proves him giving her freedom. If she's free. I don't know. And then at some point too, like when they start, she's like, I have to close my eyes because like I can't even look at Achilles because he looks so distraught. I'm like, bitch, so you're guilty. Yeah, stop what you're doing. I I don't know. It just w it wasn't it wasn't it for me. Yeah. I would have left Reese and that they were both into it. If Achilles was into it and Alex was into it, she was into it, I'm into it. But it just seemed like a very unnecessary thing, in my opinion. Yeah. But maybe that's what makes it a little darker. No. No? No, I don't think it made it darker. I think it was supposed to be spicier, maybe, but it wasn't darker. Maybe. I don't know. I don't know. It was I I didn't really like that. I thought it was unnecessary. Yeah, because even after like Alex's like house tyranny, like exactly to your point, like do it with somebody that you don't fucking know. Literally. Just that that being the thing that like cures her at the end, I was like, what? Yeah. What? Yeah. Because at the end af right after that, Al um Achilles is like, she looks much better. Like now she has her freedom and she knows that like I'm being serious. I don't like that. Whatever. Anyways, other couple things that happen in this book. We find out like the future-ish couples. So I literally cannot, like, I was reading these and I was like, what's this? And then I read what's that? And I'm like, something's there. Suspicious. Suspicious. Suspicious. Hmm. Literally the entire time. So, like we said, she goes to the FBI. Fuck that guy, also. Fuck Tom Rothwell. But but she clocks immediately that he's gay. And Enzo kind of talks about his sexuality and that he did he say he was asexual, or am I making that up? He was like, What if I'm asexual? And then she was like, You love getting your dick sucked. So you're not. Yeah. Okay, okay. But so that is like a potential hinting of a next couple. I think that's what fallen rook is gonna be about. Because Achilles was like, we always knew that Enzo was the rook. Did you catch that? So good. I do like that she low-key like like talks about chess in it. Yeah, yeah. It's fun. Yeah. And also in the epilogue, which I mean we're jumping way ahead, but it doesn't matter. I feel like we're all over here. We're all over the place in this episode.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

It's fine.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

In the epilogue, Enzo calls him and he's really he's upset and whatever. And uh Achilles is like, what the fuck is going on? And he goes, Velo died. So now like the succession is like actually in play. Yep. Luca's gonna become the next Don or Oh my god. So what do you think about Luca? Luca in this book is like, damn, do we hate Luca? But I don't think so. I don't think I hate Luca. I think I really like Luca. I think I do too. I think we're not supposed to like Luca, but we're gonna like him. And he seems to be like not interested in this woman at all. But Tierney also clocks that he has a little fire in his eyes, a little sparkle about certain someone, but we don't know who the someone is. Yeah. I mean, I feel like it has to be Sophia. You think it is? I don't know. So where's the Jeremy playing into this? I have no idea. But think about it. How is Sophia supposed to break away from Luca to be with Jeremy? Like in the world of the mafia, how is that gonna be a thing? Well, why is Jeremy so invested then? Mm-hmm. And I mean, and Tierney and Lila, they were both like so adamant that Jeremy liked her. Yeah, everybody is. So I don't know. So then we also have Katya. Katya was around in this book. Katya is now uh betrothed to Enzo. To Enzo, and we know that's not gonna maybe no because Jeremy and Katya are siblings. No, I was gonna say, what if Katya and Luca? And that will release Jeremy to be with Sophia. I like this plot. That's good. Sophia confirmed that she didn't have sex with Jeremy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She didn't even know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She didn't even, yeah, she didn't even know that he likes her. Mm-hmm. That would be a good plot twist. Katya comes into the picture. Luca is obsessing over Princess Resputin. And then Jeremy and Sophia get to be together. That'd be cool. Because I mean, Jeremy has already pulled strings to get to where he is right now. So maybe he'll pull some more strings with Alex and Luca. I don't know. I don't know. If there's not something that benefits Luca, I don't see him divorcing Sophia. Right, right, right. That makes sense. Yeah. I mean, to be honest, I don't see them breaking up, period, because like that's just unheard of, I feel like, in the mafia. Yeah, them getting like divorced and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Yeah, that's just like not a thing. Even she was like in the book, was like, how do you do that? Like, you know, in our world it doesn't happen that way.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

I don't know, maybe it does. I don't know. I don't know. So then who else do we got? We got Alex, Leosha. Love. I was gonna look up the names of the next books. Oh. See if we can. So we got Fallen Rook and we got Corrupt Knight is number four.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Wicked Queen. Heartless King and Devil's Gambit.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

So we think his book is gonna be number six. Let's fuck. Well, no. What was it? What Fallen King? What is it? Heartless King. Heartless King is a big deal. That has to be Leosha. No, it has to be Leosha. I was thinking Luca. No, that's what I am initially thought just now too, but he she cannot wait six books deep to talk about Luca. But she can wait six books for Alex. Fallen Rook has to be Enzo. Enzo. What's the next one? Corrupt Knight. Corrupt Knight. We have Luca. Enzo. Tristan. Tristan. How many books are left? Four, but one is a wicked queen. That has to be. That's either Katya and it has to be Katya. It has to be Katya. Or Sophia. I don't know. How interesting. LJ, please just come out with all the books right now. Give us the plots. We don't care. Literally. I don't know. How fun. Devil's Gambit. What is your thought on that one? Who's the devil? I don't have no idea who corrupt knight is. Well, because I feel like an I don't know. This is a lot of chess terminology, but I don't know. If only I knew what a knight did in chess. Literally. I agree 100%. Either we get a book where Luca and Sophia hash it out and they become lovers, which I mean it's happened in your mafia books. It's happened. But I just don't understand why she would just throw Jeremy into the mix. Same. Unless Jeremy gets to be with Sophia and maybe Luca either he has a piece on the side or Katya comes into the picture and he ends up falling for her. And then in the middle of all this, we have the fight for the throne. The fight for the throne, yeah. So Achilles technically bails out of it to be with Tyranny. And he lives in Naples now, so cute. So cute. But yeah, now we've added Tristan Hale to the mix. I don't know. It's so crazy. But it also kind of seems like Sophia and Jeremy is I don't know. I mean, I don't know because like they literally are saying they're about to fuck. Tyranny was like they were standing too far apart to exhibit the familiarity of a full-blown affair. So they weren't fucking yet. Oh my goddamn. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what's gonna happen. But then also Jeremy told Achilles that he needs to be in New York for something else. Six months. No, for six months also. For six months, but for something else. Because he basically confronted me and was like, bro, you fucking my brother's wife. And he was like, No. But he was like flustered when he said no. I don't know. There's another there's another sister. Is that it? That has to be a girl. Slava? Who? There's another sister or sibling in the Bratva. There's Alex, Jeremy, and Katya. No, I think Slava's a man. I do think they've said it before. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

What about the other brothers, Achilles said? Jeremy and Slavery in the United States.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Fuck. This girl. God damn. I was about to. I was calculating. We're on to something. No. We scratched that. Yeah, no, that's all we got. We got another man. Who's in the outfit? Sophia and Angelo. They're siblings. Angelo. I forgot about him. I do like theorizing, but I also like to be surprised. Surprised. Yeah. Oh my god, no. And we didn't even touch base on Tyrone. Ratted her out. Yeah. Ew. And then when we got through that whole end of the book, he was like, I never loved you. You and you and Tiernan were not my kids. Yeah, no. Him and Vinton hated Tiernan and Tierney. I said, damn. That's like they took away the mom. The mom. Yeah. I'm like, a little delusional, sir. Yeah, that's if anything it's your fault because you killed Igor's wife. Yeah. You started it. You literally started it, sir. Stupid ass. Stupid. No. And then so when they were getting like their spikes. Scenes or whatever, but she ended up kissing him and he said the safe word. I was like, Oh, yeah. I was like, Oh, I didn't expect that. No, he was like so emotional, so cute. I just feel like she was just so mean. Yeah, she was mean as fuck. No, oh my god, no. This is what I was gonna say earlier. When they were out to eat, and Katya was obviously all over Achilles still, and she's super jealous at this point. Luca shrugged, his woman, his rules. I'm not interfering in this. And what does she say? I'm not his woman. You remember that? No, like she literally hated Achilles the entire fucking book. Like, I'm like girl. No, no. And if you're jealous, you're just gonna announce that you're not his woman. Like, you're stupid as fuck. No, but also Luca choking her right there. I was like, oh my god. That's why I think he's the heartless king. I know, but that's so far away. If Luca's book is like six, that sucks. I mean, think about it. You know, but also Leosha's a heartless king. I feel like I feel like I haven't gotten enough information on Leosha to make sure that he's heartless. No, he gives is heartless. No, that's 100% true. Like, you know what I mean? I agree, I agree with that. Luca's heartless as fuck. The corrupt knight, I don't know who that is. First in Hail. How's he corrupt? We're gonna get either one of them before we get Luca's book? Yes. 100%. 100%. I think she's gonna make his way for Luca. Yeah, he's gonna be the king. Well, Heartless King. He has to be Heartless King. Oh no, I guess we'll find out. Okay. Okay, no, no, no. We have to go back into this episode of the future. Is Heartless King about Leosha or Luca? Or Luca? We'll see. No, I don't know. Wicked Queen has to be Katia, right? I don't know. Because if your theory is correct and all like all of them are in this quadruple love square, we're just gonna have to see. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. We're gonna wait. Something I really did like in this, and I wasn't expecting it, but I mean, low-key, was when she went right to the Agent Rothwell, which also I loved Enzo in this book. I thought he was hilarious. Oh, so fucking very, very funny.

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

And I can't wait to see their dynamic. Mm-hmm. But anyways, she went to Rothwell and basically ratted everybody out. And literally the next chapter, Luca goes to Achilles and he was like, was it worth it? Like to mess up the whole arranged marriage couple and everything and like basically start a fucking mafia war for her. And Achilles is like, absolutely. And so Luca goes, Glad you think so, because she sold you to the fence. So fucking dry. But I love that they immediately knew. Obviously, like you said, it was because Tyrone was a fucking also a rat. A rat. And rat. But ate a rat. And ate a rat. Oh yeah. So gross. Side note. When Achilles is like, I ate a man's heart. Okay, cannibal. No, and that was so mean. That was one part that was like, she's mean as fuck. When he she called him that. She was like, and you're a fucking cannibal. You remember that? Girl. Yeah, no, she's like, Do you hate him or what? Do you low key hate him? If you're gonna give Stockholm syndrome, like full throttle, like get into it, be it. But like, right, she was giving like maybe not. Yeah, hot and cold. It was a whiplash type of thing. The entire entire time. Oh my god, and no, at the end, she talks about how nobody actually loves her and Achilles been the only person who loves her. And I just don't feel like she gave Tiernan enough credit. She literally was like, Tiernan only cares for me because he pities me. I didn't like that at all. No. Like he's been with you the entire time. He's been with you the entire time. He was willing to kill for you. He he beat Velo up with Achilles. Yeah. Like you're acting like Achilles is the only one who was standing up for you this whole time. Mm-hmm. I agree. So I didn't like that at all either about Tierney. Like, that's your fucking twin who's been with you throughout this whole time. Like, just because he has a wife, he has a kid now, doesn't mean like he never loved you. Yeah. That shit pissed me off too. I have another Tiernan part. It was how much I love him. So Tiernan or Achilles. Your birthday. Like if I had to pick one, yeah. Tiernan. Okay, me too. Yeah, agreed. Um, but anyways, so Achilles goes, I don't know what had happened to her. I think it was like right after she sold him out to the vets. So I guess he goes to confront her and she's at Leela and Tiernan's house. And then so Leela answers the door and she goes, Achilles, what happened? And he goes, Move. You remember how you said I can always count on you in case I need a favor? He goes, No. She's like, Well, I remember and I beg you to. And he goes, Look, I appreciate your loyalty to that skank who's trying to put your whole family behind bars. But if you don't move your ass right now, please finish that sentence. Tiernan? Come with badass motherfucker. Like he was always there when we needed him. Love. No, he's like the little cameos in this book. I was like, And he gave so many cameos to your point, just trying to check up on Tierney, making sure she's okay, you know, when he she was on the run. He gave her the money. All these things. Oh, and she's like, I don't know, the way she like thought about herself is like, Tiernan's calling me because he probably knows I fucked up. And what? You did. Like, you know what I mean? No. And so then this whole thing, right? Like you just said, literally, Tiernan and Achilles are trying to go negotiate with Velo because she ratted everybody out to the feds. And she fucked up. Velo was gonna fucking kill her. And Tiernan's like, no. And so it goes, Tiernan turned to Velo. We're wasting time here. Here's what's gonna happen. Tiernan says, if you don't pardon my sister, I'll gather up every Irish and Brava soldier on this continent and conquer every single Kamora territory on the East Coast. Now that Alex and I are in business, I have the means and the manpower. Don't give me the motivation to. Yes. And then Tiernan and Velo stared down at each other. The silence in the room felt like a loaded gun. And then it goes, Velo hissed. You won't dare. And he goes, try me. Oh, I love Tiernan. And to your point, literally, he was there trying to help her. Achilles was fucking mouth zipped, not saying shit. No, it was all Tiernan. Fucking fuck Tierney. Anyways, she was really funny because Ugh Tierney. I've sure she was hilarious. She was though. What is she saying? So I really like this part where when Sophia and Jeremy were almost getting caught. Sophia's like, we were just going to send Ciro off with the nanny. Sophia smiled awkwardly. I do it alone, but Jeremy's helping me with the stroller and baby seat. And she goes, Those things look heavy. I nodded. Playing dumb. No stroller or baby seat was anywhere in sight. Literally. She's like, Yep, those are heavy. That's so funny. That made me laugh. She was like, she was like a girl's girl. Yeah. Which was cool. But then again, that was the same fucking part where Achilles told her something and she did the opposite thing. She was like, I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Next page. I did not go to the bathroom. Literally. And isn't that when Luca? That's when Luca choked her. I also like find it hard to believe that Achilles noticed and she was like, I handled it. And he didn't say anything. Like, keep to the script, Achilles. Like, you would have fucking said something. You would have said something, you would have killed Luca. Literally, you would not like he would not have listened to her say, I got it, or whatever. Yeah, I don't know. Took care of it. Crazy. A whole hand fucking print on her neck.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

Literally.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Sorry. And this part is when she bit Velo's finger off. Oh my god. I'm like, girl, can you not follow instructions? You're insane. She was insane. Like she really had a death wish. Achilles loved that. Yeah. Achilles was like, so it so it goes, move. Luca pointed his gun at my brother. Oh, because it's her POV, and Tiernan was also there trying to save her after she fucked up yet again. As Tiernan does. As Tiernan does. So Luca says, Move. That's twice she blew her chance at redemption. Get out of my fucking way or I'm taking you with her. And he goes, Tiernan goes, go ahead. Make your godson an orphan. Which I was like, damn. What a line. Love Tiernan. Anyways, and Luca goes, she's a traitor. Tiernan. She's my sister. And then Achilles finally fucking stands up and he goes, let her go. And Luca's like, what are you talking about? She's sending you to prison. And then he goes, let her go. It says slowly Achilles turned to his brother, fixing the barrel of the gun on his head. He clicked the safety off. And then Luca goes, You won't. And then Achilles goes, in a heart we can't. I like that part. Yeah. That was fun. Yeah. Love. I just think it's so funny, like the dynamic between the brothers. Like their brothers' families first or whatever, but like, but no. When it comes to the throne, mm-mm. Don't fucking play. They don't fucking play. Which I thought was interesting. Why you're gonna keep Tristan Hale alive? I'm like, if he's the bastard, if he's the one that as Enzo said, he's a Ferrante. Yeah, I know, but Does a Ferrante really matter right now? Nah, he's trying to get the fucking throne. Literally. I also really like that he tattooed her her lips on his neck. She goes, You're the only good thing about my life. And so he goes, his next stop from her doorstep was a tattoo parlor down the street. He inked her kiss to his neck, a reminder that he belonged to her and always would. And that was at 16. It was his first tattoo. It was really cute. Like we were talking about the fucking text between them. At Loki, they were making me laugh at some point. Because there was Achilles, hey beautiful. I have a meeting with my brothers in 10 minutes. Then I'll come home. Will you be there? IDK. Want me to grab you a bite? Maybe dessert? Smiley face. IDC. I'll pick up some takeout on my way. Italian good? Whatever. I'm like, are you okay? No, she was annoying as fuck. So I guess for some reason, Jeremy shows up to his meeting that he has with his brothers, and Achilles goes, This is a Kimura meeting. I informed him. Ugly Bastards Anonymous is down the street. That is so funny. That's such a funny line. And so Jeremy, and Jeremy seems like dry as fuck. He's like bigger. Everyone's saying, like, if I were scared of somebody, it would be Jeremy. So I'm like, love. No, and Jeremy being a hacker, love. Okay, Jeremy. Very fun. What a fun plot twist. What a fun career. Love. Josh. No. So and so I guess Jeremy says, and yet here you stand, the chairman of the club. That's funny too. And so it goes, Jeremy pushed past me. His shoulders nearly dislocating mine. His dealt twitch with the size of my head. I threw the door shut with a frown. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone who wasn't my sweet angel fiance. It was right after that tag. So I was like, the delusion? That's my annotation. So fucking real. The delusion is so funny. So then they keep talking about it. And that's when Jeremy says, I want six months in New York and I want to be Sophia's bodyguard when you guys go and try to kill the copal on all of them, right? So Achilles goes, I want weapons too. Jeremy goes, that could be arranged. And then he goes, I snorted shake in my head. One man's trash is another man's trash. And then it goes, Jeremy shot up from his seat, bawling my shirt into his fist, his nose flat against mine. And there it was again, the adorable fucking blush. Don't finish that sentence if you want to see your so-called fiance in her wedding dress. And then it goes, I laugh, pushing him off. And then he goes, I'll see what I can do. Oh my god. Fucking.

SPEAKER_00 31:53

See, like when you say shit like that, I'm like, no, there's no way Sophia says this, Luca.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

No way. Shit. Jeremy fucking loves that bitch. I love it. Okay, so what were you gonna say? That's so good. I can't. Oh my god, I don't know. That makes me like it makes me itch. Yeah, it makes me excited. It makes me uncomfortable. No, no, no, no. I think, like you said, if there's anything that will benefit Luca, then he'll let Sophia go. 100%. And the only thing that will benefit him is that he falls in love with somebody else, possibly Katya. Because possibly Katya. Possibly Katya, if not maybe somebody else, but we haven't been introduced to. But it makes sense because why did Tyranny say that there's like a sparkle in his eye? And he always is so dry to Sophia. Yeah. Everybody thinks he doesn't have feelings. So now when they're seeing that sparkle in his eye, they're like, But it's not toward Sophia. I don't think it's toward Sophia. You know when Sophia, Sophia and Jeremy were caught with the whole Ciro thing? Yes. Yeah. That was before or after Luca had her his hand on her throat. They left before that? Yeah. Because then Tierney said, I'm gonna go to the bathroom to Achilles, and then that's when she wandered off and found Luca. Yeah, but when she wandered off, she also found she found uh fucking Rothwell and the other guy at Enzo. So this whole not paying attention to the rules was kind of benefited everybody because we were able to find out we found that all the information. She was just snooping around the mansion. So then it means Luca could not have been talking to Sophia, correct? Correct. Fuck. But you know who was there? Katya. Katya.

unknown 33:21

Damn it.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

Damn, I hope it's this and that we're calling it. I feel like that would be a good thing. That's gonna be an age gap. Sorry. Love. That's gonna be an age gap. And with Luca being such a fucking asshole, love it. Give me Luca's book right now. I don't know. Do not really wait for Heartless King. So sad. But like Katya is used to like the normal life. She was came from college and all that shit. I know. She wanted to f she was finishing her first year. Yeah, she's only 19. And he's what, 32 or something? Well, they s they said how old Tristan Hale was, which is like I think a year younger than Luca. Oh, you're right. Yeah. He I think Tristan Hale was 32. Yeah. So he's like 32, 33. Yeah. One of those things. I love that. Yeah. Okay, so what were you gonna tell me? Because it wasn't that. No, I was just gonna say throughout this book, I know you mentioned to me something about the audio of Achilles. Did you end up liking the audio or was it too doctor ophthalmologist? I don't know. I told Karina the other day that the voice actor for Achilles is literally sounds exactly like my ophthalmologist. Just so funny. I don't know. Like, yeah, I don't know. It wasn't bad. It wasn't bad, but it gave like Liam Neeson, you know? He was like an old man.

SPEAKER_00 34:30

He was like whispering the entire time.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Like he, I swear, like it was always like I don't know. Like, what what is that scene?

SPEAKER_00 34:37

It was like, I'm gonna find you and then I'm gonna kill you. You know that scene from Taken?

SPEAKER_01 34:41

Like that was what he was given the entire time. Literally, he was giving, I don't know. I guess he was giving ophthalmologists to me. Because whenever he would say sweetheart, I'm like, you literally sound like fucking ophthalmologists, a 60-year-old doctor. Like my literal 60-year-old ophthalmologist who was like, Okay, can you see better one? Or two sweetheart. Like it literally gave fucking ophthalmologists that is so funny. It wasn't giving like big, bad, scary, scary motherfucker to it. Yeah, no, it didn't. I agree. So I don't know. I think like going from freaking Tiernan's audio to like anything after that, like Tiernan's audio was so yeah, Corbin King really did that for that one. Bro. It was iconic. Iconic! No, and I loved that he was back for this one. Yeah. That was fun. Yeah. He fucking better be back for the entire series. Yes. Oh, imagine if we get like Teddy Hamilton for Luca.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Teddy Hamilton for Luca.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

I'm about it. How about it? I'm about it. Could be. So Enzo literally being so funny that we didn't mention any parts about Enzo, but when he finds out about um Tristan being the brother, and then he goes, So fucking funny. Yeah. And Achilles is saying, like, oh, we're gonna need all your information, your address is that, whatever. And then Enzo stepped in his direction. Welcome to the fan, motherfucker. He threw his arms around him in a big bear hug. I was like, what the fuck? He's so fucking funny. So funny. He's gonna I feel like he gives Golden Retriever. Oh, 100%. Also, Agent Rothball said he was a kid, so I'm intrigued to know how old Rothwell is. And Rothball seems like a very big, not come into play type of man. So I wonder what their dynamic will be. I don't know because it the way that Tyranny explained him was that he's worse than all the all the mobsters. Yeah. So I'm like, maybe he's the corrupt knight. Ooh. But then he wouldn't be what you don't think Enzo's next then? Enzo's fallen rook. Oh fuck, you're right. You're right. No, no, scratch that song. Scratch. That's not right. Scratching that on Enzo. Yeah, Enzo's fallen rook. So let's get into the Goodreads. Yes. Like I said, it was like hot and cold also in the Goodreads. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So this is a three-star review. And it says, A rare case where the mafia plot in the mafia romance book is what held it together for me. I genuinely love this mafia world LJ created. I'm so invested in it and obsessed with the found family. All these characters are so funny for no reason. Enzo's book is absolutely gonna eat. The Tiernan and Lila crumbs were everything in this. Tiernan Callahan is one of my favorite dark romance MMCs, and he's so pathetically in love with Leela. I died every time he opened his mouth. I don't know what that says about me, but I'm also a Luca girl. I need his book more than air. But then she kind of goes on saying how like she didn't like this book that much, and it's so funny because this is how I feel. Like this book wasn't it, but um the entire world is what I'm living for. You know what I mean? Like I'm so excited for it. So then they go, now listen, what happens at the 90% mark was diabolical. Do I think it was cheating? No, not at all. Do I think it was necessary? Also, no. Did I hate it? Also, no. So it gives like a lot of back and forth for for that part of the book.

SPEAKER_02 37:32

Hmm.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

This is a one-star, not safe. I don't know what that means. This was a solid four-star read until the very ending, chapter 62, to be exact, where the threesome occurred. Tierney had sex with Alex in front of Achilles, and after watching another man fuck his supposed soulmate, he ended up joining them. If I had read this spoiler, I wouldn't have invested that many hours into this shit since I don't like sharing. And it goes, utter shit, LJ Shen. I see you haven't grown at all. No, we still stand with LJ, but I don't think it was necessary. Yeah. Anyways, we didn't add anything. So this is a five-star. Okay, wow, she did it again. This series is officially becoming my Roman Empire. Love it. I'm loving it. So I can almost agree. Also, first thought after finishing this what on earth is LJ Shen's search history look like? Girl, be careful. Someone's gonna knock on your door one day. That's funny. But let's stay focused. My boy Sieran, still number one. Untouchable, irreplaceable. I don't care who comes next. That man is locked in the throne. There's little snippets of him and Leela, instant five stars. No plot needed. Just them existing, breathing, being superior. Agreed. Literally, agree. I think Luca might give him a run for his money. I think so too. If Luca is what we think he if Luca gives what he's given in these books, mm-hmm. I agree. And this review is funny because it goes in and says, and the plot twist, I've never seen them coming ever. Call me clueless. I don't care. One second I'm fine, the next second I'm staring into the void like a fish. Literally. Also at work and in the car. Literally. This is at one start. Disgusting. Achilles spends 11 years killing all of Tierney's lovers because he loves her so much that he can't stand seeing her with anyone else, and even though they can't be together, and then she goes and tells him she wants a one-night stand. He agrees and then offers her to Alex just to prove he doesn't control her sex life and can restrain his jealousy. What happened to she's my lover, my woman, my soulmate? If I can't have her, no one else can. And then it goes, cheater, trash. I'm telling you, the all the reviews, like some point revolved around that. Alright. This is a one-star, and it says, this was easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year. LJ Shan has long been one of my favorite authors. I love Bad Bishop. I was incredibly curious about Tierney's story based on the snippets we saw in her brother's book. Unfortunately, this has become my first one-star read of the year. The sharing scene absolutely killed the story for me. I enjoyed threesomes and hot scenes when they are built into the narrative and represent something both characters truly want and feel good about. While Tierney is riding Alex's cock harder and begging for more, Achilles is described as having bricked over his face. He retreats into the same headspace he used to take a life, mentally removing himself from the intimacy because it's too painful to witness. I found myself rooting for Achilles to leave her. He should have just let Alex borrow her whenever he wanted, since Tierney clearly wasn't going to deny him. The most drawing part was Tierney admitting it was the best sex of her life. How am I supposed to believe she will be happy in a relationship with Achilles? Ugh. Yep. That's so true. Yep. I feel like a total shit show. By the end, I was so checked out that I couldn't have cared less about their ending. Damn. Yep. Two star. Not every book needs a threesome. Mm-mm. And this one goes, see, and then this one goes to a five-star. Oh my fickety fuck fuck. Yes, yes, yes. Yep. The tattoo, the flashback, the safe word, chapter 67. I love them. There I say I love this even more than Bad Bishop. I was not ready for that. Oh my god. Achilles and stuff by Emoji. That's so funny. Oh my god. It was really funny. I don't know. I I just thought it was very unnecessary. Especially how like distraught he really looked. Yep. No, I I I hated that. And then this is another five-star. What a man, what a man, what a yearner. And if you think he didn't yearn or not enough, you are Delulu. And then this two-star says, never thought I'd say this, but this man deserved better than her. Damn. Yeah, low-key. It's giving like we all like Achilles more than T. That sucks. Right. Yeah. You know, it's like when you're like, you love a book, then you go read the reviews and you're like, y'all got some good points. Good fucking points. No, I think. But we've touched on all those points. No, I agree. Yeah. If I can say so ourselves. We're very great podcasters up here, but I mean, not to suit our own harm, but we we really did discuss the entire book. No, I agree. I do think it was better than Game On. I was more invested, but it might be like you said, the mafia aspect. I like that a lot in this book. But I do like the sneak peeks. Like that really like captures you. Yeah, because then like well, now we can't wait for the next one. But I did like the threesome more in Game On than this one. Yeah. This one was not it for me. It was just a little unnecessary and like, like we said, like Tierney, did you even actually like Achilles? Yeah. I don't know. It's fine though. Yeah. I'm like very excited for the next book. Oh, I'm so excited to see who's the next freaking books are about and what's gonna happen. I'm so excited. At least it's this year. Yeah, I know. That's what I'm saying. Like, okay, we're getting two books in a year. Maybe next year we'll get two more books. Hopefully. All right. And I'm sure in the next book we're gonna get who the fourth book is about. That'll be 100%. Amazing. We're gonna get like two birds in one stone. We're gonna get the book and then like the next book. Perfect, perfect. So excited. Looks like that's it for the week. Yep. Read responsibly. Torn.