I really enjoyed this but felt the mobster element wasn't utilized as much as it should and was just an excuse for the writer to set this in the 1920's in a Chicago-esque city. Francesco is a very tender-hearted gangster who rarely shows his anger this entire book except for one scene where he's saving some sex trafficked Russians. Aiden is a boxer with a side hustle as a sex worker but drops both of those almost immediately into the book to join up with Francesco as a body guard. The boss/bodyguard trope is a bit tired but both characters are charming enough that you can let that slide. And while both have a sort of insta-love, here's also enough conflict in the story to keep it interesting. I haven't read many if any MM romances set in this type of post-WWI environment and was intrigued by the dynamics between a queer lifestyle, US Prohibition and law enforcement, and the Mafioso.

I would definitely read the sequel. Though it looks like this book didn't quite get any traction and the sequel is now over 2 months late for release, I'm hoping the writer didn't drop it. ( )