I have a confession to make. I SHIP REMO AND KIARA SO MUCH *cries on the floor* And I'm being perfectly serious. There is something special, pure and perfect about Remo x Kiara. This book nearly ended me with the number of Remo x Kiara scenes. NEVER BEFORE has the author blessed us with so much Remo x Kiara. In all the previous books I've been nursing all the small crumbs of the pairing we manage to get. But in this book there were so many glorious moments to choose from. Literally I felt like I was being held at my heartstrings throughout this entire book. I'm so happy but also so damned frustrated that they are not a couple. I was initially in denial but the truth is I've been shipping Remo x Kiara ever since the two of them danced during Kiara's wedding in book 2 Twisted Emotions. Kiara instinctively turned to Remo Falcone for help (and literally digs her fingernails into his skin). Remo helps her immediately without even asking even though he did not need to. <- Ever since this - I became a die hard Remo x Kiara shipper. And the later scene where Kiara needs Remo and enters his domain and he pops up behind her and whispers in her ear absolutely did not help my shipping heart. Plus Remo is always encouraging Kiara to become stronger and stand up to him. He gives her so much advice, always reassures her that she is safe with him and encourages it when she voices her own opinions and fights back. She eventually does by the end of the book and even shoves Remo which made Remo happy & proud. AT THIS POINT CAN THEY GET ANY MORE WHOLESOME, PURE AND MEANT TO BE? Kiara is really the only one besides Nino that understands Remo's emotions. She is always taking care of him and making sure he is ok. Seriously it's f*cking adorable. And they are always sharing food! Kiara always finishes the half-eaten cookies and muffins that Remo had bitten into. And they always do this silent communication thing. Like Kiara just needs to look at Remo and he knows what she is thinking. And she knows that Remo will understand what she meant just through the look. My heart is gone. They have such a healthy relationship with so much emotional complexity, mutual support and growth. Remo helps Kiara become stronger and braver. Kiara helps Remo deal with his softer emotions and get a better grasp on his humanity. I just - do I need to say more about why this is the best ship of the century?? Remo also clearly has a soft spot for Kiara. When Kiara gets angry because of Serafina's kidnapping and wants to see her, Remo doesn't retaliate. He initially forbids her from going to see Serafina but then when Kiara stands in front of him and asks with her literal big brown eyes he just melts and agrees. ^And all these are just the moments from Twisted Emotions and Twisted Pride. I haven't even started on the moments between Kiara x Remo in Twisted Bonds yet and boy do we have plenty here! There are too many amazing moments and I'll list them here.
Awesome Remo x Kiara moments in Twisted Bonds:
1. Comforting each other when they are down & sharing their fears
Kiara comforts Remo on the terrace when he is brooding, alone. Kiara also confesses her desire to have kids and her worries about whether her kids would be accepted. A couple that actually talks about their deep fears and anxieties - how much more healthy can their dynamics get?
2. Fabiano noticing that Remo has a soft spot for Kiara
When Remo says he doesn't like sweet things and finishes only half a cookie, Kiara as usual eats the rest of the cookie for Remo. Fabiano sees Remo looking at Kiara and he laughs and says to Remo "I thought you didn't like sweet things" (referring to Kiara, not the cookie). Fabiano clearly SEES that Remo has a soft spot for Kiara and he teases Remo about it. I'm just going to say that it's a sign when even your friends are noticing it.
3. Remo comforting Kiara when she finds out she is not pregnant
Remo holds her ankle, sits on the floor with her and even suggests to be her sperm donor if Nino is the one who cannot conceive. I'M ARGH SO DEAD I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP.
HOW ARE THEY NOT TOGETHER? HOW? KILL ME NOW !!!!!
THEY NEED TO BE TOGETHER. It's a f*cking tragedy that they will never be together. I REPEAT THEY NEED TO BE TOGETHER.
4. Remo sharing Kiara's whiskey/rum
Remo drinking Kiara's half-finished whiskey/rum from her cup when he was comforting her. It's a parallel from when Kiara always finishes eating Remo's half eaten cookies. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
5. Kiara telling Remo she cares about him
Kiara visiting Remo after he was tortured and showing him how worried and relieved he is back. Remo (who hates mushy situations) tries to deflect this and suggests she was only worried for Nino's sake. Kiara immediately disagrees - she tells Remo she cares for him for much more than that. She cares for who Remo is as a person and would have been devastated if he died.
6. Kiara fussing over the injured Remo
Kiara fussed and was worried about Remo when he was healing from the injuries. She knows Remo's favourite sandwich is Pastrami and makes it for him. Then also manages to convince Remo to lie down and he agrees to do so because he has a literal soft spot for Kiara.
7. Remo thinks Kiara would be a good mother
Remo at one point tells Nino that he knows that Kiara will be a good mother. This seems insignificant but it's actually massively significant because Remo has issues with women and doesn't trust any of them to be good mothers (except maybe Serafina). The fact that he thinks Kiara would be a good mom is extremely high praise coming from Remo.
8. Kiara telling Remo that she will protect him from the world
Kiara hugs Remo and tells him she doesn't care if the world hates him and she'll always protect him from the world. Remo then replying that he only cares about what people like her think and he couldn't care less about the world.
9. Remo making out to the sounds of Kiara having sex
Kiara finds out that Remo and Serafina made out after hearing Kiara having sex. Kiara was all embarrassed about it - and this is kinky sh*t.
10. Remo is the first person to know about Kiara's pregnancy
Ok technically Savio finds out first - but I'm not counting this because Savio was the bodyguard taking Kiara to the hospital, so naturally he would know. But the first person Kiara approaches to confide this news with is Remo. Remo literally finds out about Kiara's pregnancy before Nino does.
11. The way they look at each other
Kiara and Remo are always looking at each other. I repeat they are always watching each other and communicating via looks!
There's something undeniably special about the bond between Kiara and Remo. I don't know how to explain it. They just understand each other so well, and they are always pushing each other to become better people. It's seriously the healthiest thing I've ever read - they actually are so good together and both benefit from this relationship.
I also seriously swear that Kiara understands Remo better than Serafina ever could. If none of the above has made this obvious, I absolutely *do not* ship Remo with Serafina. Remo and Serafina are just so goddamn toxic together - they basically had a fling, had kids and now are together since they are responsible parents. They ended up together because of lust and the kids. Remo x Serafina doesn't even HOLD A CANDLE to the beautiful understanding, trust, respect, support that Remo and Kiara have together.
ARGH I'M SO ANGRY THAT REMO & KIARA WILL NEVER HAPPEN WHEN THEY ARE CLEARLY PERFECT TOGETHER.
Yes, I know that Remo and Kiara are the most loyal people in the world and a relationship between them will never happen because Nino.
And ok I will also l admit that Nino and Kiara are great together as well - very healthy. And for sure I absolutely *do not* want Kiara to come between the brothers in a love triangle nonsense.
However, there's a part of me that wished that they...shared Kiara? Sounds messed up but if you think about it - Nino and Remo are like a unit. They are like two halves of the same coin and two sides of the same moon. One cannot exist without the other and all that stuff. And they are so close that honestly it doesn't push the limits of my imagination that they may be ok about it. Seriously I actually want to see a three-way between Nino x Kiara x Remo. Kiara should be with BOTH Nino and Remo at the same time because she is great with both of them.
And also I know what people are going to say: didn't Kiara tell Remo she loved him like a brother in this book? Doesn't that make your ship invalid? No, no and no I say!
Think about it - Kiara was hugging Remo and telling him she loved him. If she was doing that, of course she HAD to say "as a brother". If she didn't say "as a brother" then that would be a betrayal of Nino. And obviously Remo and Kiara would rather die than betray Nino. But just because Remo and Kiara are dead loyal doesn't mean there isn't any deeply buried and unaddressed chemistry and sexual tension between the two. BECAUSE THERE IS.
And also if you compare Kiara x Remo with Kiara x Savio/Adamo/Fabiano you can clearly see the difference. Savio, Adamo and Fabiano are the ones who are like brothers to Kiara. With Remo it is so much more than that. Remo x Kiara have a connection between two humans and two souls. It's truly special.
The 4 stars I gave this book is purely for the amount of Remo x Kiara scenes we get here. Everything else was probably 2 or 3 stars.
The beginning was mostly recaps - and I didn't really enjoy the Nino x Kiara scenes here too much because it's mostly stuff we've already seen before. And all the scenes with Serafina were a meh for me. But I loved seeing Kiara's dynamics with the Falcones. Plus all the Adamo developments were great and solid as well.
I also loved seeing how the final chapter with their mother turned out. It was heartbreaking, horrifying and sweet in the end.
All in all - I will go down with the Kiara x Remo ship.
I've been hunting for Kiara x Remo fanfiction but sadly it doesn't seem to exist :'( If anyone finds any Kiara x Remo fics, please send me the links.
And please Cora...can you let Kiara and Remo end up together?
