Bound To His Oath

Mafia Mayhem - The Italian Connection #1

by Aja Foxx

"Do you honestly think I'd let you marry someone else? You've been mine since I took your first kiss. I was just giving you time to grow up."

~ Nico ~
I was five years old the day we met, twelve when I figured out that I was going to love him for the rest of my life. When I turned sixteen, he gave me my first kiss...and then my world ended. I never believed the things people had said about him. He was not the bad boy everyone seemed to think he was. I'd seen his heart and it was pure gold. I just wish I'd had a chance to keep it before they took him away from me.

~ Luca ~
I was ten years old the day we met. By the time I was twelve I knew that I was going to love him for the rest of my life. When he turned sixteen, I gave him his first kiss...and then my world was ripped apart. I wasn't the bad boy everyone seemed to think I was, but I refused to show anyone my heart except him, and they had taken him away from me.

Gay erotic romance. The material in this book contains explicit sexual content that is intended for mature audiences only. All characters involved are adults capable of consent, are over the age of eighteen, and are willing participants.

Genres: M M Romance, Abuse, Ebooks, Adult, Contemporary

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 2024

Reviews

[caffeinated.crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read books one and two last night. Spoiler alert: I loved them. My only issue was the editing, but the story and characters were amazing in both!


Bound to his Oath
The Italian connection # 1

I love Aja Foxx's mafia stories. They are always SO entertaining! This one was a real doozy, too.

Since they were children, Nico and Luca both knew they belonged together. When Nico's parents find them kissing, they rip the two boys apart and find a way to separate them.

10 years later, Nico's parents are planning to sell him in marriage. Guess who sweeps in to save him from unholy matrimony? You got it! Luca to the rescue.

What follows is a real adventure involving all five mafia dons from NYC, lots of travel back and from from Italy, a smitten mafia boss, and "this is my husband, he's here for his tracker."

[Aղցela W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was book 1 in the "Mafia Mayhem - The Italian Connection" series. Nicolas "Nico" Rossi has been in love with Luca Sabatino since he was 12 when he was 16 his parents sent Luca to prison for kissing him. Luca has waited 10 years to come back to get Nico and with some help from his friends he gets his Nico. I really liked both of these characters Nico was used and abused by his parents he was locked in his room without food. I loved that we got other characters from previous books in this one. Nico doesn't understand that what it means to be a mafia Don's husband. I was glad that they made Nico's parents pay for what they did to him. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was alright. It wasn’t my favorite from this author. I think I liked The Capo’s boy the most.

This one just seemed so theatrical and over the top. I’ll just make this brief and go over things I did and didn’t like.

I liked:

How much these guys still loved each other even after being apart for 10 years. I liked Luca a lot and how good he was to Nico. Nico was literally his everything. I also liked that they were both celibate during the whole 10 years. I love that they waited for each other.

I didn’t like:

Again how theatrical it seemed. Nico’s response to things seemed so dramatic. He also gave the vibe of a boy or a little but that was never mentioned or discussed. Also the author had a Cameo for literally EVERYONE who had a book connected to this series which was characters from two other series. So there were soo many cameos from so many couples and it just seemed like overkill. When everything was said and done they didn’t even need everyone there. Luca could have handled everything himself so I don’t know why everyone else was needed.

Something that bugged me a lot was their age gap. Now 5 years doesn’t sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things. But any chance they got these guys mentioned how they fell in love as kids. Nico says he fell in love with Luca when he was 10. Which made Luca 15 at the time. Luca countered with “oh yeah well I’ve been in love with you since I was 12” which would have made Nico SEVEN at the time. They fell in love and had their first kiss when Nico was 16 and Luca was 21!!!!!!! Like what? Why in the world would you make them that far in age when it’s not even needed. A two year age gap would have been better for this story. Trust me I don’t mind age gaps but when it involves minors it a bit different!!

This book wrapped up so quickly. Literally the last page they are talking about kids and it’s a two second convo and that’s it?!

Anyway I didn’t care for this book too much but I honestly really liked Luca so he made this book better for me. I still may read the next one though.

NO CHEATING
NO OM DRAMA
NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP
10 YEAR SEPARATION BEFORE BOOK STARTS (both celibate)
VIRGIN MC
ATTEMPTED ASSAULT
MURDER
HEA (married)

[Mandy (MP Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nico was five years old the day he met Luca, twelve when he figured out that he was going to love him for the rest of my life. When he turned sixteen, Luca gave him his first kiss and then his world ended. He never believed the things people had said about him. He was not the bad boy everyone seemed to think he was. Nico had seen his heart and it was pure gold even if they took him away. Luca was ten years old the day they met. By the time he was twelve he knew that he was going to love him for the rest of his life. When he turned sixteen, he gave him his first kiss and then his world was ripped apart. Luca wasn't the bad boy everyone seemed to think he was, but he'd refused to show anyone his heart except him, and they had taken him away.I

I loved this story of the two men who were connected and destined to love each other and the evil parents who tried to keep them apart. I was thrilled that they were able to be together and that Nico's evil parents got their comeuppance. Easy to read, feel and understand this was an emotional story with heartbreak and joy. This was an MM story with mature content.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A entertaining quick romance

Rating: 3.5🌈

I was looking for something quick and different from the fantasy/paranormal fiction I’d been reading, so I grabbed up Bound To His Oath (Mafia Mayhem - The Italian Connection, #1) by Aja Foxx.

It was enjoyable, definitely a quick read, and tons of characters as well as various other elements as Foxx is setting up the universe for the series.

After reading the story, it seems we will be following the romances of several mafia bosses and their respective partners, ones we meet already “coupled up” here at the end.

But it’s Nico and Luca’s story that comes first. It’s a young love, established from childhood, that’s been crushed by one man’s ambitiously cruel parents. The background is revealed by the characters as events play out.

I’m not sure how logical or even plausible some of these events are given the publication date is August 24 , 2024. A big deal is made of gay marriage being legal in Canada (with the couple fleeing to the border) at a time it’s perfectly legal in the USA. Also, Luca,as a juvenile, was falsely imprisoned and his criminally connected family were not informed/involved or retaliated. That element is not explained enough here.

The couple and their relationship is very romantic. The beginning, the rescue, sweeping Nico literally off his feet into a plane and away to a new home. That they’re reunited after years apart but seemingly just fine felt too “Cinderfella” , but in line with the rest of the book.

Of course, there’s much more to it. A villainous family, a loving Italian mafia family and fabulous villa, a veritable chest of superficially crafted characters and plots lines lay within.

It’s enjoyable without having to be invested in the plot or characters. There’s just not enough depth or discernible growth written into the relationship or events to make the characters actions feel realistic. Entertaining? Certainly. And that’s how I took it.

Foxx also has an arc mystery plot and that’s interesting enough for me to continue reading the series.

Correction: this is a continuation of a previous series:

Mafia Mayhem :
The Capo's Boy
The Boss's Boy
The King's Boy
The Jefe's Boy

Mafia Mayhem - The Italian Connection:
Bound To His Oath #1

[Wendy M Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

I loved reading this book. I could 'my put it down. If you like romance with mafia action on the side, then this book is for you. This is a really excellent way of starting a new series!
As always, Ms. Foxx does not disappoint. Thank you for your fantastic books!

[Trista Finster · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet story of love finally realized

So sweet! I loved this couple, and literally cheered for their HEA. After everything they went through, they deserve it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

good times

It was lovely to meet more of the families and revisit with old friends!!
Imagine when they all have kids…they will be terrors of NY!!! 🤣

Will we get Kenji’s story?

[Rychelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I had no doubt Nico could get me to come just by sucking on my finger. I'd probably pass out from ecstasy if Nico sucked on my cock. I'd barely stood it the last time. ”’

"I'm going to love you so hard, cuore mio,"

Nico probably thought I meant I was going to fuck him, but what would happen between us meant so much more.
Pgs 125,126,127,128
All have the same soliloquy in writing with the book “That One Time"
But overall nice book good flow
Loved the characters but it was a little shallow

[Van Hardison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Story

I enjoyed Nico and Luca’s story but I think there must have been a preceding series as there were so many different families represented and their connections weren’t totally clear. Nevertheless, it was great to see Nico open up, get his HEA, and see his parents getting what they deserved. Looking forward to the next boo.

[Xiomara Alexa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Muchas inconsistencias la verdad. Ya se me han quitado las rabia de nombrarlas. Solo voy a decir algo: deiceseis y veintiuno cuando se dieron un beso. NO, POR DIOS. Luca dice que se enamoró de él a las 12 años, eso nos deja con un Nico de 7 años. NO NO Y NO. Que horrendo. Sinceramente, yo también hubiera acusado al chico a la policía. Por Dios.

[D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it, and the fact that both Nico and Luca weren't fooling around with someone else while they were apart made the story even better, except for one event when Nico was being groped and almost got sexually assaulted by his parents' bodyguard. 

[llv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars

I don't know why I like these mafia stories with insane over the top family drama. This one was pretty much the same but I really enjoyed it. Was it realistic. No but I think that is it's charm. Overall, I loved both MCs and enjoyed reading their journey to a HEA.

[Diana M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh

Just okay. A lot of editing issues but otherwise enjoyable enough that I kept reading despite the errors. I loved the cameos from the previous stories

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different story with almost the same theme.
I enjoyed it, but it's getting old.
I'll probably still going to read the next one in this series, just to fulfill my curiosity 😁

[LOLA]

Some parents are just dicks.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Loving this interconnected series!!!

[𖤓𝔐𝔦𝔰𝔞☽ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ DNF
Not because it was terrible or anything, I read up to 70%, I just lost interest really 😕 other than that it wasn’t so bad reading

[Bluewyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable