His Power Rules the City — But She Rules His Heart.
Finn O’Reilly
Oversees his hotel and his syndicate with a commanding presence and leadership, knowing any weakness could be used against him.
And he has none.
Except Una Murphy. The woman he lost his heart to and still loves, even though she wants nothing to do with him.
Or so she claims.
When her life is in peril, he won’t stop until she is safe and back where she belongs—with him.
Can he rescue her?
Convince her to stay?
Will she be a part of his world, regardless of the danger, knowing she is safer with him than apart?
She is his world.
He simply needs to convince her.
| Title: | Finn |
| Author: | Melanie Moreland |
| Series: | The Irishmen (Book 1) |
| Pages: | 406 |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Mafia Romance Second Chance Romance |
| Point of View: | First Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Location: | Toronto, Canada (and briefly in Ireland) |
| HEA: | ✔ |
| Release Date: | 22 May, 2025 |
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Another absolute delight
For those people, like me, who normally hard pass on any book that claims to be part of a duet – fear not; this book stands completely alone. It’s the story of Finn and Una complete with their happily ever after. The second book in this duo is Niall – the story of Finn’s business partner, and Anna.
Finn O’Reilly has a lot going on in his life – and only some of those things relate to the syndicate (read: mafia crime organisation) that he runs. He’s a hard, cold man – feared by many and with good reason. His one weakness? Una. The girl he waited for, finally got, then lost when his job got between them. She’s it for him – he just needs to convince her to take another chance on him.
I liked the dichotomy of Finn; a hard, cold, syndicate boss whose one weakness is a woman that he is utterly gone for. And he’s a big ol’ teddy bear for her and it was so fun to watch him try so hard to bide his time and not just take what he wants. Yes, he’s a mafia boss, but I still liked him. His morals were still on the straight and narrow so I had no problem throwing myself behind him and rooting for him to win his woman. And I have to reassure folks from Ireland – Finn and Niall are Irish and we do head to Ireland briefly in the story – but the fiddle-dee-deeing is thankfully at a minimum.
While Una really holds all the power in their relationship, she really doesn’t have a clue about that fact. I really liked and understood Una and her feelings. Even understood her reasoning for putting the brakes on any kind of relationship with Finn. What I especially liked is that she obviously cared about Finn and honestly thought she was doing the best thing. But when she realised her actions might be a little bit selfish – she owned up to that fact. So honest and accountable – I was definitely going to root for her, too.
“Oh… that delicious, angsty tension of unrequited feelings (even though they’re obviously requited!)”
Because our pair have already had a short relationship, they obviously know each other well. That means we don’t need the usual build up as the couple get to know each other. And it means that there’s already the emotion and sexual tension sizzling between our pair. Oh, and that delicious, angsty tension of unrequited feelings (even though they’re obviously requited!). That sizzle turns to a fire when our pair finally get back to business. It’s a Melanie Moreland book so expect heat, high frequency and have a fan at the ready. Oooft.
I liked watching Finn and Una dance around each other and ultimately figure out what they want from their lives and each other. Their story is fairly simple (except, well, emotions) but it’s added to by the things happening in Finn’s life, Una’s life and the life of the syndicate. There are a few suspenseful moments but nothing that terrorised me, thankfully.
For Moreland aficionados, the hotel that Finn bases his organisation is the one that Roman from the Men of the Falls series, used to own. In fact, Roman (and to a lesser extent Aldo, Vi and Effie) makes an appearance in this book, too. But if you haven’t read their books, you won’t miss out.
I honestly don’t know how Melanie Moreland does it. First, how does she even entice me to read a book that is so foreign to my usual tastes? Mafia, “Irish” stories are so not my bag. Yet here I am. And I’m obsessed. Obsessed. Thankfully, it’s not too dark of a story – despite the mafia, murder etc – and none too scary. But that’s all details for the main attraction – the romance between Finn and Una – which I adored and was absolutely thrilled with. Another winner from Melanie Moreland and one of my favourites from this year. 5 stars.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review
New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.
While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.
Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She’s learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.
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The Irishmen:
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