Shattered Veil

Astoria Royals Standalone, Book 2

By: Deborah Garland

Narrated by: Desiree Ketchum, JF Harding

It started with a little white lie and ended with me being owned by a black-hearted mafia boss. And now... my baby daddy. Of all people to tease to live out a fantasy. I fell into bed with a hacker for the Irish mob: Balor O'Rourke. Who also happens to be my new lethally gorgeous boss with nerdy dark glasses, penetrating green eyes, and a body made for sin. He doesn't do relationships and I'm getting over an abusive ex. With that understanding, we shatter the rules, unleashing his unbridled desires and my carnal urges. But the enemy Balor is chasing turns out to be my father, and I have to choose sides. When my baby news wakes up a passion for marriage and fatherhood Balor didn't know he could feel, a brutal possessiveness takes hold. I may not have a choice now. He says I'm his. Forever.

Shattered Veil is a standalone Mafia Romance with mature themes, a possessive hacker, and a DV survivor. The story includes explicit content. It is recommended for mature listeners only. No cheating. HEA guaranteed.

©2023 Deborah Garland (P)2025 Deborah Garland

Deliciously Dirty Irish Mafia

Shattered Veil had me cracking up at the beginning at Ella's thoughts and then BAM, we get a dirty talking Balor like right off the bat and that mouth... Their initial chemistry was crazy hot and I was all in on their story. A few hiccups along the way, but whey they see each other again, their chemistry continues to be explosive. The mouth on that man was sexy AF, but I also really loved Ella who was just as sassy and dirty mouthed. Outside of their crazy hot passion though, a beautiful story and a very sweet romance evolved.

This book definitely had a lot of the mafia vibes you would expect which brought a bit of danger and intrigue to the story and kept me entertained and engaged throughout trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I loved how protective Balor was of Ella and how he vowed to make sure her abusive ex was dealt with. There were several things I never saw coming, but that ended up making this story so much better than expected.

The voice narration with JF Harding and Desiree Ketchum was excellent. Both narrators did a stellar job and I loved the Irish accent that really brought to life the Irish Mafia angle of the story. Their voice inflections were perfect and really added to the listening experience.

It was OK

It started right out spicy, which was fun. But this girl was so all over the place in her convictions I got annoyed pretty quickly.
And the female narrator took gasping breaths that were so distracting I almost returned the book. I decided to just finish it. The characters depth, especially the FMC, was just not there. Very surface. Not awful, just... not great.

Holy geeze⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So many stars for this book!!!! The writing is amazing! The storyline is phenomenal! The narrators did a fantastic job. I can’t say enough - I need more! The characters are so multidimensional and you’re just right there in the story! It’s so real! Just wow!!! You need this book!!

It'sAlways the Quite Ones!!

JF Harding is absolute perfection as Balor! He nailed the hot AF cyber Alpha of the O'Rourke's!! Nothing hits better than a well done Irish brogue 🥵🥵

Desiree Ketchum narrates Ella flawlessly. She captures her strength and fierceness phenomenally.

The drama that D.Garland writes into her stories will keep you on the edge of your seat! These men will stop at nothing for their family and the women the love. I was hooked on Balor & Ella's story when I first read it, but hearing it next level!!

I had no idea that I NEEEDED Balor's story this badly!

D. Garland writes the best Alpha MCs and some of the strongest FMCs that I've ever read. i have been completely consumed with the world these series have created in Astoria. You can totally read this as a standalone, but trust me your gonna wanna get to know ALL of Astoria's Royals.

Now... For Shattered Veil...

Someone call 911 ... Balor & Ella are 🔥🔥🔥

With a pånty-drenching dirty mouth, Balor is topshelf Alpha Male material. Ella is the definition of strength, independence & sass.

These two have undeniable chemistry from the start. Right out the gate, phenomenal spice, that just keeps getting better throughout the story. Navigating their inevitable relationship through the suspensionful twists and turns of their story, Balor & Ella make it out the other side with their well deserved HEA.

It will never cease to amaze me, how well written D. Garland's books are. The balance of steamy dirty scenes and plots with drama, suspense & fantastically crafted characters that have real growth and development is unmatched! You're hooked in the first chapter, on the edge of your seat devouring each page while not so secretly clenching your thighs.

5/5 ⭐
5/5 🌶️
10/5 Thrills

I love this story

I love this story. It is full of twists. And not to mention! I love Ella and Balor together. But what I don’t love is how naïve Ella is. There were times in this book. I was literally wanting to yell at her. I still loved her. And I loved her relationship with Balor.