Book Review: Corrupt Me (Philly Corruption #1)

Let me start this review off by saying that Jill is one of my blogging besties. I am incredibly proud of her for pursuing her dream and releasing her debut novel. That’s such an amazing accomplishment! With that being said, I promise that the following review for Corrupt Me (Philly Corruption #1) by Jillian Quinn, is completely my own true opinion. I’m also not a big romance reader but thanks to this lady, I’m expanding my horizons a bit. Also, big thank you to Jill for sending me a copy of her new book – love you, girlie!

Izzie Rinaldi has everything going for her. All she has to do is make it through her senior year of college, and then she’ll be off to law school, one step closer to assuming her position at the head of her family’s empire. After a chance encounter with the campus bad boy, Izzie can’t get him out of her head.

Luca Marchese, the smooth-talking son of the most notorious man in Philadelphia, is used to getting what he wants. He hasn’t forgotten the girl he knew as a child, and now that he has Izzie’s attention, Luca will stop at nothing to have her.

Luca’s defiance of the law turns Izzie on more than she cares to admit. She wants Luca to corrupt her in every way possible, despite his reputation as the king of one-night stands. Their attraction is undeniable, but their desire for one another isn’t enough for Izzie to overlook visits from federal agents and the potential ruin of her family.

Linked to Luca and a criminal underworld, Izzie discovers she’s more like him than she thought. But a future with Luca could mean swapping her diamond bracelets for a pair of handcuffs.

*Corrupt Me is a standalone novel that is the first book in the Philly Corruption series.

The Good

• The Characters – I loved Luca and Izzie! They both had very distinct personalities and were really likeable. Izzie was very take-charge, no-nonsense, girl. You could definitely tell how working for her family’s business empire had shaped her into such an independent person. I actually thought she was easy to relate to, at least for myself. And Luca…. YUM, YUM, YUM. He was the perfect bad boy book boyfriend. He was just dangerous enough to bring that little bit of excitement but still wanting to turn over a new leaf and become a better person. I really enjoyed their little game of cat and mouse that they had going. The scenes between Luca and Izzie while he was still trying to win her over, were probably my favorite parts of the whole novel. She didn’t take any of his shit and their witty banter seriously made the story. So much fun!
• The Godfather: Part 4 – So I’ve always found the mafia to be really interesting. I’ve watched documentaries about it, I love Goodfellas, all that jazz – however, I had never read any books with that aspect in them. So I thought this was a unique spin to your typical romance novel. It brought an extra level of drama and tension to the story that I really appreciated. I would have liked to learn a bit more about it, but Jill has assured me that the next 2 books in the series (which are over Luca’s older twin brothers) dive into the Marchese Mafia side of things much more in depth. And I cannot wait for that.
• PIZZA!!! – I’m not super crazy about pizza, I find it to just be alright. However, I would give my left foot to have some of Luca’s mom’s pizza from her restaurant. It sounded so damn delicious that my mouth was actually watering during the entire scene. Seriously.

The Bad

• Romance Development – I think my only problem was that I wish there was another 100 pages in this book. I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more of a gradual romance between Luca and Izzie. I think that it was helped that there was already a history between the two of them, but I felt that Izzie might have given in a little too easily. I am all for instant attraction (I mean, who isn’t?!), but I felt that with her having such a strong and independent personality, it happened a little too fast. I feel like she could’ve strung Luca along for at least most of the school year before finally agreeing to a date in the spring. But with the book being less than 250 pages long, it makes sense for everything to be a bit condensed so it wasn’t really too much of an issue that affected my overall enjoyment of the book.

Overall, I think this was a great debut book. Jill created memorable characters that will have you laughing out loud and steamy love scenes that require a nice cold shower afterwards. If you’re looking for a fun romp with a hint of danger, then Corrupt Me is just the book you need.

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars

Have you read Corrupt Me yet? What did you think of it? Do you like to read romance novels?