At All Cost

by Paulina Baker

Adriana I didn’t have a normal childhood. Unless you think having a personal bodyguard, being home-schooled, and not being allowed out is normal for a thirteen-year-old girl. Then I met him, a boy with freedom who made me smile every chance he got. Feeling the pull, I broke the rules set for me and lived to face the consequences. So when I grew up alone after being betrayed by the boy I fell in love with, I realized that I needed to become a very different woman if I wanted to survive in this cruel world. Lorenzo Entering the lifestyle of a criminal isn’t something I had anticipated. As a boy, I was trained to listen to every command and kill on the spot. But when I met her, a sliver of lightness entered my darkness. Unfortunately, life can be cruel. It said that I did not deserve any happiness after the tragic night that took me away from her. It’s been ten years and now I’m back, but the girl I once knew has been replaced with a woman I don’t recognize. How do I stay loyal to my father when old feelings are starting to resurface?

Genres: Dark Romance, Second Chance, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Dark

351 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2023

About the author

Paulina was born and raised in Poland, before moving to the UK at the age of 13. As a young teenager, she loved writing her own fanfic stories about her favorite TV series, and yes... she always added more romance to them.
She now lives in Worcestershire, with her husband, two children, and three dogs.
Paulina loves reading good romance and scary horror novels, binge-watching Netflix, and playing board games with her family.
You can find her on TikTok and Instagram: paulinabaker_author or Facebook: Paulina Baker - Author

Reviews

[Rhi]

I hate to say this but I don’t think this authors writing is for me to be honest. I got about halfway before I had to put it down. I wasn’t feeling any chemistry between the characters and thought their interactions were kinda stale. I felt the whole reason behind them being enemies could have been kept going for longer to help build the suspense between them. Instead the lies which had kept them apart for ten years and what initially led to them to becoming enemies was revealed too early, practically as soon as Enzo was back in the U.S.

This book had so much potential to be a gripping story but unfortunately the execution was slightly off. I will say this though the editing was a lot better in this book!!

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

•ARC REVIEW•

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: At All Cost
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Paulina Baker
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5
Spice :🌶️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Available on 01/30/23

Tropes:
- Enemies to lovers
- Second chance
- Revenge
- Kill her and you're dead
- She's the cartel boss

Wow wow wow !!! I’m obsessed. This book made me feel every emotion possible. I haven’t cried at a book this much in a long time, but in a good way. This is a dark romance , and I posted the trigger warnings at the bottom of the review.

Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down. I was instantly drawn to Adriana. She’s such a badass, confident, and can handle herself. Loved seeing her at every age and the character development was done so well. I can see why she fell in love with Enzo. Anyone that reads this will fall in love with him too. The chemistry and spice between these two was unmatched.

Thank you Paulina for being so lovely and sending me a ARC. I am always blown away with how well written your novels are. I always will have nothing but great things to say. Thank you for writing amazing books when you can feel what the characters are feeling. It’s very rare to find that, but Paulina does that and excels beyond expectations. She is also very good at spice!! I can’t wait to read all her future novels! Go check out At All Cost and her debut Novel Love Me Not. I previously did a review for it and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. 🖤🥺

Trigger warnings:
- Detailed violence
- Mention of child abuse (not detailed)
- Rape (fade to black/not by MC)
- Death

Preorder now on Amazon! Available on January 30th, 2023

[hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so wanted to love this after all I read … problem is mafia romance just doesn’t do it for me … good story good villain but not for me

[Sienasummerrreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book. I enjoyed the idea of the plot and majority of the characters. In this book I found there was a lot going on with the different characters intertwining in the plot. Don’t get me wrong there are plot twists but personally I didn’t feel affected by them. This is a dark book with some tough subjects played out and mentioned.

I struggled with the FMC Adriana as she is quite head strong and aggressive in this book. There is one line she repeats quite a few times in her head or says it out loud about the male MC which was repetitive. This is advertised as Enemies to Lovers which I can see but didn’t think it fit correctly. I struggled with the enemies element. When they first saw each other after a long time Enzo the MMC was smirking at Adriana she was aggressive and he was winding her up or smirking at her. I felt it was more a flirtatious response from the MMC. The plot was good but each character had a part to play and I have a few questions I don’t have answers to for example:
- After the terrible dark incident in the office with Adriana what happened how did Molly know when to go back? Why did the person let her go? What were Adriana next steps?

Overall I did enjoy reading this book and the spice was great if it intrigues you I recommend giving it a go and make your own opinions. These are just my thoughts but might be the perfect book for you. I previously read Paulina’s debut novel last year called Love Me Not and really loved that book. I look forward to reading more of Paulina’s work in the future.

If you love:

🔹 Dark Romance
🔹 Mafia
🔹 Death & Loss
🔹 Head Strong FMC
🔹 Hitman
🔹 Reunited 10 Years Later
🔹 Enjoyable Spice

Genre/Type: Dark Romance 18+
APK: Kindle ARC
Pages: 351
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
POV: Multiple
Tropes: Friends-Enemies-Lovers
Check Triggers ⚠️

Sienasummerrreads - TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Amazon Reviews 💫

[Heather Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for providing me an E-ARC in exchange of my honest review!

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, Second Chance, Mafia, Slow-Burn, "You Touch Her, I'll Kill You" vibes, Revenge

TW: Mention of Child Abuse, Rape (not by MC), Death, Dementia, Guns, Torture

This book was so much fun to read! I enjoyed seeing the backstory of Adriana's younger years, and then watching her grow and development to when she is older! Adriana is an independent badass, she doesn't need anyone to help her. I can see why see fell for Enzo, and anyone who reads this book will understand why.

Paulina's writing is very easy to read, and it's addictive. This book got me out of my tiny reading slump that's been going on for a few days now.

This book was SPICY! There were a few scenes were I was like "DAMN where tf did that come from?!?". Like I was shocked, but I was like "OKAYYYYY I SEE YOU" LOL. Paulina, the spice in this book is 10/5 stars. IM STILL DROOLING.

I can't wait to read the next book! Especially because you are writing my FAVORITE TROPE OF ALL TIME!!!

[Milly Reece-Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paulina has done it again!
I loved the story and the character development. It's a classic enemy to lovers plot with a few twists and turns along the way. Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. It's a slow burn, but absolutely worth the wait! The spice has cranked up a notch since her last novel and chapter 18 had me gasping for air. This book is filled with passion, tension, mafia drama and hilarious sassiness from Adriana. There is a SA scene and a few shootings, so have that in mind before reading.

[Autumn Coker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whirlwind Read - Couldn’t Put It Down!

I loved that this book took place in a “Before” and an “After”. I think learning about Ada and Enzo’s relationship was crucial to the rest of the story. Although, I will admit that Enzo was not book boyfriend material as a teenager. My heart aches for all the loses and heartache Ada suffered throughout the story, but I loved the ending (even though it seemed a little rushed). I can’t wait to read more! I’m hoping for a spin-off about Javier and Molly!

[Lizzie Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was originally sent this book as an ARC but life got in my way and I couldn’t read in time but my gosh. This book was intense and amazing.

You follow the enemies to lovers, second chance mafia romance of Enzo and Adriana.
They were friends as kids and end up having a lot of stuff between them and a traumatic event causing a 10 years gap to go by. They come back together through bad situations and wanting to hurt each others families but they end up falling for each other all over again ! They have to fight through so much to realize they love each other

[Lucyana John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writer style in writing is awesome ✨
I'm not a native English speaker and it was easy to read for me.

Adriana & Lorenzo have been separated for 10 years but the Lorenzo came back for a purpose but when the truth came to the light and their feeling beat them everything changed...

Read if you like:
🔪Enemies to lovers
🔪Mafia romance
🔪Revenge
🔪Secrets

It's my first mafia read and damn guys...It's gonna be my personality 😂❤️

[BriAnna Monahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

Love a good dark mafia romance and this one didn't disappoint. A few typos and misspelled names throughout the book but nothing to get my brain in a tizzy. But overall great writing. Can definitely see the Kovu and Kiara inspiration for the story line and other was well done. Even some quotes here and there (I went and rewatched the movie for a refresher). I really liked this one.

[Ashlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty enjoyable book. Was it a favorite? Not really. But I liked the mafia vibes, the villains, the spice and the banter. I had issues with the grammatical errors and some parts being a little to unbelievable for me. I didn’t feel as invested in the characters as I usually am but overall, it was a pretty decent read

[Brenda A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't for me
The blurb sounded good but it didn't live up to the description.
It started out slow with a lot of useless dialogue explaining the situations. I made it to Page 39 where the MFC was having oral sex in the pool with another woman. That ruined it for me so I just quit . It might be fine for someone else but it was not my kind of romance.

[Bobbi England · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slowwwww burn but I loved it! There was plenty of spice. The plot twists were wonderful and it ripped my heart out but thankfully put it back together again! I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend! There are some triggers so make sure you check those before reading.

[Amy Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Paulina baker is one of my favourite authors. Both of her books although different are fabulous. Her writing style is just smooth and easy to read, and the stories impossible to put down.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me right away, and I finished it in 2 days. I loved both main characters and loved seeing both sides. It was a really good read. Can't recommend it enough!

[Janie Reamey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just not for me… normally I’m all for a second chance romance, mafia vibes, touch her & die etc…. But this book just didn’t give what I needed it to… poorly written in my opinion, I did find quite a few mistakes. The spice was alright imma give that 2.5 chili peppers.

[ToniAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it was all over the place for me. I love a second chance, mafia style book…but this didn’t cut it for me. I’m still mad because of that person dying. Like why did you do that?

[lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

dnfed at 84%

[Corina Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a really good book

[Tiffany Boye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enzo & Adriana story was written beautifully. The writing was amazing, and the story was so detailed, I felt very much apart of the story.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

love!

This book was good. I finished it more quickly than I expected. It hooked me until the end. Definitely worth reading!

[Jaden Stovern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every minute!

[A Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌶

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book. How it changes towards the end is why I gave the rating I did.

[Alexandria Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story line, with a blooming romance and heartache!

[Blondie_za]

DNF 50%

I picked this book from a quoted section on Facebook. I'm not a mafia fan but the quote seemed promising.

I'm not a fan of the writing style, it's one I find difficult to really get involved in.

And then Enzo stops referring to Adrianna by her name and calls her Garcia Kid, which is just weird, even if he calls her kid.

[Vicki P ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.

Everyone was raving about this book the steamy scenes in particular on a Facebook group, so I wanted to see what the fuss was all about... I was little disappointed.

I'm going to be honest it has been about 2 months since I read this book and I do not remember the characters names so this may make no sense.

The lead girl was annoying to put it mildly, Fiancé I am glad you died, enemies to lover man you were good but annoying too, cousin I liked you Shame you died , Best friend was good and should have had the happy ending.