BENNETT MAFIA by Tijan-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 4, 2019

There were always whispers about my roommate at Hillcrest Academy.

The wealthiest of the wealthy sent their kids to our boarding school, and Brooke Bennett had been at the top, though I never quite knew why. She was fun and outgoing, but she kept quiet about her family. The only things she showed me were photographs of her brothers.

I became fascinated with her second-oldest brother. Kai Bennett.

He was the most of them all. Smoldering. Hypnotic. Alluring.
Kai had eyes that pulled me in and a face that haunted my dreams.

Then I met him.

He came to our school with their father, and that’s when I learned what kind of family Brooke came from. They were mafia, and Brooke’s oldest brother was dead. Her father said accident, but Brooke said murder.

Three months later, her father died, and Kai became the head of the Bennett Family. Brooke left Hillcrest for good, and that was the last time I saw her.

Fourteen years later, I’m staring at her face on the television. Brooke is missing.

Two days later, Kai Bennett kidnaps me.

••••••••

REVIEW:  BENNETT MAFIA by Tijan is a contemporary, adult, stand alone, Mafia romance story line focusing on the head of the Bennett family Kai Bennett, and Riley Bello.

NOTE: BENNETT MAFIA contains graphic scenes of violence and murder, that may not be suitable for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person point of view (Riley Bello) BENNETT MAFIA follows twenty six year old Riley Bello as she navigates the world that has become her life. Fourteen years earlier she would befriend her boarding school roommate and Mafia princess Brooke Bennett only to lose the only friend she would ever love when Brooke’s world imploded leaving Riley to fend for herself. Fast forward to present day wherein Riley works undercover for an organization that helps women and children escape the violence that has become their lives. When Brooke Bennett goes missing, Riley will come face to face with her future-Mafia boss and head of the Bennett Family- Kai Bennett, and the man with whom she would fall in love. What ensues is the acrimonious and contemptuous relationship between Kai and Riley, and the fall-out as Kai pushes Riley out of his life.

BENNETT MAFIA is a story about the rich and powerful; the dark and dangerous; the damaged and controlled. Riley knows what it is like to lose the people you love but struggles in the face of her attraction to a man she knows could destroy her in the blink of an eye. Kai Bennett is the hardened head of the Bennett family and refuses to acknowledge his feelings for the woman who was once his sister’s best friend. Desperate to uncover Brooke’s whereabouts Kai kidnaps our story line heroine in an attempt to protect the sister he loves from a future of which she is not prepared.

The relationship between Kai and Riley is fraught with animosity, malevolence, prejudice and hostility. Riley has become a virtual prisoner of a man she believes is a cold, blooded killer, a man with whom she will pledge her love only to discover that she was part of a larger plan. Kai Bennett has lusted after his sister’s best friend for as long as he can remember but pulling Riley into the Bennett lifestyle means placing the woman he loves in the direct line of fire. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Kai’s siblings: Brooke, Jonah and Tanner, as well as numerous guards and security, and several members of other crime families associated with the Bennett Mafia ; Riley’s fellow 411 Chapter members and friends Blade and Carol, as well as Riley’s father Bruce Bello. I am hoping the author has plans for future stories with Brooke, Johan and Tanner.

BENNETT MAFIA is first and foremost a story about family; about power; about betrayal and control. The premise is raw and gritty; the characters are animated and energetic; the romance is impassioned, complex and heart breaking.

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Reviewed by Sandy