Review: Fall before her Throne by R.E. May

SPOILER WARNING: This is book 4 in the series, so consider yourself warned! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Thank you to R.E. May for providing this free advanced reader. The opinions expressed are my own.

Official Blurb:

Darkness is closing in, but our enemies should know…that’s where Shadows thrive.
The Camorra have arrived in New York, and they’ve given me a choice: submit or die. I’m not one to roll over, but now that Max Volpe brought our biggest foe to our doorstep, we have no option but to run–and bring him with us.
To survive, it’ll take every scheme we have, but Max’s traitorous past is dividing my men. And if I’m honest, I’m sick of his secrets, too. His knowledge could be the answer to defeating the Camorra, but every time I look at him, my insides burn with hatred…and maybe something more.
My Shadows and I face our toughest fight yet. Our love and our lives hang in the balance, and at the end of this fight, we will either rule New York City or die beneath the ashes.
The one thing I’m sure of is this: I will do whatever it takes to claim my crown.
Long live their queen.

Rachel did it again!

What an amazing sequel and a GREAT series finale (she is thick). It brought everything I wanted to the table: action, romance, spice, bisexual panic and a thrilling plot. Plus, we finally got real enemies-to-lovers (only took 3.5 damn books, but who’s counting?).

Plot-wise, the Shadows are fighting the Camorra to the death while trying to dodge an FBI RICO case. I was genuinely stressed about how this would go down and anticipated the biggest, bloodiest war imaginable. It ended up being a bit more dialed-back than I expected, which I actually loved. It didn’t feel overwhelmed by action. It was oddly… cozy? For me, at least.

ALSO: NEW BOYFRIENDS! We absolutely love boyfriends who are boyfriends. Leona, I see you and feel you. 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Ryuji and Cas are elite together. Ryuji was already a top favorite, and seeing Cas get his shit together made me so proud.

Then we have Max. Oh, Max. It was crystal clear (to me, at least) that he was protecting Leona all along. Does he still feel guilty? Obviously. He almost killed her a few times, but we move ooooon. At first, I was skeptical about Max becoming another one of Leona’s men, but I ended up loving it. The redemption arc did its thing, and he finally stopped whining! Jailtime was good for him (haha – I WAS SO STRESSED ABOUT IT).

Rachel actually knows how to write a reverse harem where every single guy is an independently great and fully fleshed-out character. I loved reading their different POVs because they genuinely feel like unique people. Not just interchangeable romance novel men you could swap out with anyone. That’s a huge part of why I love and appreciate this series so much.

It easily ranks as one of my favorite mafia romances ever.

Now, my biggest ick in romance is the pregnancy trope. It’s just not for me at all. Definitely not something I want. But Rachel handled it so well! We just get an epilogue showing Leona 15 years later, heavily pregnant. Since we already know she wanted kids, it felt completely natural for her character rather than forced. Also Wynn being the best stepdad to every kid ever? I giggled, suprisingly.

Thank you for not killing anyone, Rachel.

I am still struggling with my chronic illness, which makes it hard to read as fast as I used to. This book brought a little light to my days, and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read it early.

THIS WAS, OF COURSE, A 5/5.

xx, Jana