Title: Stripped
Series: Married to the Mafia #1
Author: A.G. Khaliq
Genre: Mafia Romance
Release Date: June 15, 2021
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Told in the first person. Alternating persons.
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When a mysterious man saved Raven after an incident at the strip club she worked at, the last thing she expected was to be plunged into the dangerous world of organized crime.Unfortunately, her new life with Lazarus was filled with nothing but lies and empty promises.
How could a man that vowed to love her, hurt and betray her so much? It didn’t matter how hard she tried, Lazarus always manipulated the outcome. Raven was a prisoner of her own life, until finally one day, her path led her to Damon in the most unexpected way.
However, as Raven and Damon got closer, things only got more complicated and dangerous.
Nothing was as it seemed, and Lazarus made sure to still control every outcome.
Will Damon be able to save Raven from the shackles of her life, or will Lazarus once more get his way?
My Thoughts:
There is a Content Warning that you will need to pay attention to.
Raven will show you right at the start why that warning must be heeded – even made me cringe. There are moments when she talks to the reader – as if we’re the keeper of secrets. Raven seems to be our main character and everyone else the supporting cast. Lazarus is one such character. He doesn’t seem to care about anything but himself and his business.
Then came a time where it was like a light switch was turned off. I found it interesting that after learning Raven’s history, that she seemed so trusting of others. But I thought positively about it and that it would be a motivator to help us to continue reading. Then I start to question if we’re going to start to see a repeat pattern between her and men – that does have a sound of realism to it as well. Will she learn her lesson? Will Murphy’s Law become part of her life?
Every time Raven and Lazarus were in the same space, the author had me shaking my head. I wanted to yell at Raven and ask “What are you thinking?” But then I think on it and it’s just one more aspect of realism. She seems to be a little immature at times even though we are not given any indication of her true age. Then I think that she just needs someone in her corner offering her a helping hand and not expecting anything in return.
Our author seems to let her readers hear some of the thoughts of the men in Raven’s life. Didn’t feel as if it added that much to the story except for where Lazarus and Damion were concerned. There were a few times where I wanted to let out a loud sigh and say “unbelievable”. Then I started to think about whether some of the scenes were a little too over the top and maybe things went a little too far – a little too real.
She gave us a lot of physical altercations but then seemingly rushed things to get us toward an ending. There seemed to be a big leap from all the bad and what would qualify as a happy ending. I think Damon was supposed to be our bridge but the support beams weren’t sturdy enough for me. But I guess the good thing is that she left me wondering about Raven’s sister, Sophia, and if things will get better in book two.
A. G. Khaliq is 22 years old, residing in the United Kingdom. In between being a student, she loves to write. Her craft began when she started writing for a game called Episode Interactive, where she garnered almost 3 million reads. She soon wanted to expand her craft, and began writing published books, starting with a dark, organized crime thriller called Mafia Kingpin. She is most active on Instagram, @agkbooks.
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