4 Mi Esposa Bunny Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5

This is two books so this might be LONG....
Book 1 follows Angel and Emma and Book 2 follows Omar (Angel's brother) and Lyse. The overall rating is the combination of the two.

This is my first Bella Ash book, and as I have not read many organized crime books, I was not sure what to expect. But I was looking for something drama-esque, and this definitely delivered.

The two books need to be read in order, as Omar's book follows directly from Angels and while the main couples shift focus, the overarching plot continues.

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟭:
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Angel is the oldest son in the Castillo Cartel and one day at a bar he is saved by a messenger woman when a shootout breaks out. Given the shootout was conducted by a rival cartel she not only gained a "life debt" with Angel but a target from the rival cartel, given everything she saw. As payment for her service, Angel's father orders him to marry Emma so she is protected.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
I totally thought this was originally a MAFIA novel... not Cartel... BUT I DIDN'T HATE THAT! It was a pretty easy read, and I read it pretty quickly, but that’s very much a sign of the type of book that it is. Quick and Easy.

Angel and Emma feel very superficial or generic, almost like you’re reading fanfiction. The story doesn't go very deep into anything and it seemed a pretty predictable and run-of-the-mill situation. He’s a bad boy, she’s innocent, and he’s dominating and trying to make his place in the family with his father who doesn’t want to give up power and shows "love" through punishment.

Their relationship was basically just sex. There was no development between the two of them because the only times they’re really together is when she’s feeding him or when they’re having sex. And it’s pretty much standard "vanilla sex". I expected someone who’s basically the head of a cartel, to be more sexually adventurous, and I think the most scandalous thing he did was go down on her.

The story was trippy and predictable, and pretty much what you’d expect, which I’m not going to hate on too much, BECAUSE THAT IS THE KIND OF STORY I WANTED TO PICK UP! I picked it for the organised crime-forced-marriage trope, and I got exactly that!

What I do wish is that this had more development in the love area and for Angel and Emma to not annoy me as much as they did. Emma specifically annoyed me because it was constantly said and "implied" that she has a backbone, but as the reader you never really see it... she never makes Angel work for her love. The climax of the book was solved way too quickly, and it never really resolved any of the conflicts that hinted at growth in their relationship. They jumped right back into bed together.

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𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟮:
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
After the events of Book 1, Omar (Angel's youngest brother) is ANGRY. He decides to take revenge on the rival family which caused everything and crashes an engagement party. He proceeds to go on a little killing spree and ends up taking the future bride hostage. Hoping her "groom" can help clean up the bloody mess, given his up-and-coming political career. But things start to turn messy when he realises the woman he kidnapped is Lyse Rojas, the only daughter of the rival family he hates. And the more time he spends with her, he starts falling for her and the idea of returning her to her future husband and family becomes more and more difficult.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
Lyse and Omar's story was much MORE enjoyable than Angel and Emma and that is why I gave this book the overall 4-star rating because they carried the story.

This gave me more in terms of tropes but that is what I LOVED. It offered more of that giddy feeling and I think it was because the tension between Omar and Lyse felt heavier. This had the characters needing to work their their history and rivalry, making this a a true enemies-to-lovers and how love can overcome animosity.

The issue with the relationship development was NON-EXISTANT in this... Omar and Lyse gradually got to the point where she initiated sex with him, and it felt much more believable how these two came together. There are similarities in the brother's stories, they both keep their women "Captive" and find love through some element of Stockholm syndrome... But it was still enjoyable.

Omar is a gooey, huge teddy bear cinnamon roll and while he may be deadly with a gun, he is still romantic and cute. He has that "vibe" where he is so big people think he must be dumb, but he is super observant, which makes you want to hug him.

I also LOVED that Lyse had a backbone. She was the total opposite of Emma. Lyse made Omar earn her love, but she stood up for him and was willing to fight for him, just as he was for her. Since she grew up in the "crime" world she knows what it is like to be in a Cartel Family and the expectations of that. She just seemed more at ease, and so she and Omar's relationship had more chemistry and a better foundation.

Also, my heart melts for any man who washes a girl’s hair, and the fact that Omar did this multiple times, being gooey, sappy, cute, and romantic in the simplest ways was just so sweet.
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𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ CaptorXCaptive Romance
▶ Alpha Male
▶ Organised Crime
▶ Morally Grey MMC
▶ Virgin FMC
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Burn the World for You

and 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ It Won't Fit
▷ Nicknames
▷ "Mine"
▷ Chin Lift

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 1 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨::
▶ Forced Marriage
▶ Biting
▶ Strangers to Lovers

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨::
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ Kidnapping

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Washes Her Hair

All in all, I had a good time with this. It had a good vibe, was super easy to read, and was distracting in the best way!

Thank you to Relay Publishing, Netgalley and Bella Ash for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own