INFLAMED TOUCH  and the De Luca Crime Family 3-5 by EC Land-review

INFLAMED TOUCH
De Luca Crime Family #5
by EC Land
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, dark, crime, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 7, 2023

Broken hearts heal with time, but it never forgets the pain.

Diego

I broke her heart years ago. But there’s a reason for it. One I try not to think about. I put the past behind me and I don’t look back. That is until I get a call from her asking for help.

Now I’m back and there’s unfinished business to settle. It becomes a game of push and pull, trust and betrayal.

Questions are asked and I refuse to answer. I’ll do what I came here for and hope to win her over or I might just have to sacrifice everything all over again . . . for her

••••••

REVIEW: INFLAMED TOUCH is the fifth instalment in EC Land’s contemporary, adult DE LUCA CRIME FAMILY dark, erotic, romance series. This is thirty-two year old, De Luca enforcer Diego Fernandez, and twenty-eight year old, grade school teacher Nadia Reed’s story line. INFLAMED TOUCH can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order, or at the very least book four, FIERY AFFECTION for back story and cohesion.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Diego and Nadia) INFLAMED TOUCH focuses on the rebuilding romance and relationship between Diego and Nadia, and the protection of Nadia and her sixteen year old nephew Jay. Years earlier, Diego Fernandez left the small town of Enders Ridge, including the woman he once loved. His family in shambles, and the town dying a slow death, forced Diego to start anew but he never expected a call for help from our story line heroine. Nadia Reed’s young nephew is in trouble, and the trouble has landed at Nadia’s front door. Enders Ridge is overrun with gangs, underworld crime and corrupt politicians, and Nadia believes she is capable of saving the town, one troubled teen at a time. What ensues is the second chance relationship between Diego and Nadia, and the potential fall-out as the problems in Enders Ridge are bigger than anyone could have imagined.

The world building focuses on the corruption that is destroying Enders Ridge. From mobsters, to Mafia, to the Lowlanders and the El Cabeza Gang, Enders Ridge has become a safe haven for illegal activities, and our heroine is hoping to save everyone involved.

The relationship between Diego and Nadia is one of second chances. A perceived betrayal pulled our couple apart, but Diego could no longer remain in the town that was destroying his life, and Nadia refused to leave her family behind. Their reconnection is angry and intense but Diego is making no promises for a future together. Nadia is naïve and blind to the problems destroying Enders Ridge, and with it comes the determination to make everything right. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic, and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, powerful and struggling secondary and supporting characters . We are introduced to Nadia’s problematic nephew Jay; her ex boyfriend Riff; the local Irish mob, several members of numerous gang bangers, as well as the return of Theo and Nicolo. The requisite evil has many faces.

INFLAMED TOUCH is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, forgiveness and love, struggle and acceptance. The premise is gritty, edgy and tragic; the romance is provocative and impassioned; the characters are desperate, animated and dynamic. INFLAMED TOUCH ends on a happily ever after-for now. The overarching conflict has yet to be resolved.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews

Frozen Kiss
Heated Caress

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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SIMMERING EMBRACE
(DeLuca Crime Family 3)
by EC Land
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, dark, crime, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 24, 2023

To get what I want, I’ll do whatever it takes.

Leo

Being head of the De Lucas is not all sunshine and rainbows. I must make decisions, some of them harder than others, and I don’t regret any of them. I learned a long time ago never to do that.

When the family name is threatened and what we claim is put at risk, I’ll take matters into my own hands. What I don’t expect is what comes next.

••••••

REVIEW: SIMMERING EMBRACE is the third instalment in EC Land’s contemporary, adult DELUCA CRIME FAMILY dark, erotic, Mafia romance series. This is head of the DeLuca Crime Family Leonardo DeLuca, and twenty-three year old, Mafia princess Scarlett Russo’s story line. SIMMERING EMBRACE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Leo and Scarlett) SIMMERING EMBRACE follows in the wake of threats against the DeLuca family. Leonardo DeLuca wants to take down the person in charge, but Scarlett Russo is an enigma; very little is known about the Mafia princess, and her whereabouts are currently unknown until a deep dive sends Leo to New York, to a small dive bar where he will come face to face with Scarlett Russo, a young woman who may or may not be connected to her criminal family. Scarlett has been targeted; a stalker threatening our heroine but Scarlett is unaware that the bigger danger may be the man she has let into her heart. A prisoner of Leonardo DeLuca, Scarlett must come to terms with the probability of her life forfeited for the family in exchange for power and control. What ensues is the acrimonious relationship between Leo and Scarlett, and the potential fall-out when Scarlett discovers she is a pawn, bait to be used for the greater gain.

The relationship between Leo and Scarlett is an enemies to lovers; a forced proximity; captive and captor, wherein our hero will fall for a woman who could break his heart. Scarlett Russo doesn’t trust anyone including every member of her extended family but Scarlett was about to face betrayal from the men her in life. The $ex scenes are erotic and intense.

The secondary and supporting characters include Theo ‘Frozen’ De Luca, and Blake Bandoni (Frozen Kiss), Christian Bandoni, and Mia De Luca (Heated Kiss), as well as assassin for hire Wilder, mob security Nicolo and Diego, as well as Scarlett’s brothers Jeremiah and Micah, and Eddie. The requisite evil has many faces.

SIMMERING EMBRACE is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, desperation and distance, acceptance and love. The premise is gritty and dramatic; the romance is provocative and intense; the characters are powerful, desperate and determined.

Copy supplied for review

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FIERY AFFECTION
(DeLuca Crime Family )
by EC Land
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, dark, crime, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 25, 2023

Things aren’t always what they seem.
Nicolo
Doing a favor asked of me, I didn’t know what I would uncover. And I didn’t think I’d want her . . . but I do. She doesn’t know who I am, and I can’t tell her without bringing war to my family.
Not after what I discovered.
My loyalty is to the De Luca Crime Family and always will be, but there’s something about her
that draws me in, and I can’t let it go. I must protect her from what’s to come.

•••••••

REVIEW: FIERY AFFECTION is the fourth instalment in EC Land’s contemporary, adult DE LUCA CRIME FAMILY dark, erotic, Mafia romance series. This is thirty-four year old, De Luca enforcer Nicolo Abruzzi, twenty-three year old bartender/photographer Avah Morgan’s story line. FIERY AFFECTION can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary..

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Avah and Nicolo) FIERY AFFECTION follows in the wake of a possible stalker. Avah Morgan have been receiving anonymous gifts and notes, and without her knowledge her friends have tasked Nicolo Abruzzi with her protection but all does not go according to plan as Avah refuses to listen to Nicolo Abruzzi, suspecting he is part of the local Mafia, something of which she wants nothing to do. Avah Morgan is a little bit TSTL, and struggling to accept her life is in danger, is constantly placing herself in the direct line of fire. As Nicolo and his ‘associates’ begin to search for the truth, connections to her father’s past, the Lowlanders and the El Cabeza Gang, begin to form a pattern. What ensues is the quick and highly sexual relationship between Nicolo and Avah, and the potential fall-out as, once again, Avah refuses to accept she is the target of some powerful men.

The relationship between Avah and Nicolo begins when Nicolo finds himself at the bar where Avah works. Avah is in trouble but refuses to accept the danger is darker than Nicolo warns but in an effort to prove she is independent and old enough to be on her own, Avah finds herself struggling to survive. Nicolo Abruzzi doesn’t do relationships but he is desperate to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love. Having to claim Avah as his own, Nicolo must not only face the wrath of her father, but the people taking aim at our story line heroine. The $ex scenes are provocative and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Theo and Blake (Frozen Kiss), Mia and Christian (Heated Caress) and Scarlett De Luca (Simmering Embrace), as well as Avah’s bosses Rhett, and Gregory. The requisite evil has many faces.

FIERY AFFECTION is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, obsession and madness, acceptance and love. The fast paced premise is gritty and intriguing; the romance is limited to $ex and protection; the characters are dangerous and dark.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Download the FREE prequel

❤️Frozen Valentine (De Luca Crime Family Prequel)❤️

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E.C. Land grew up in the country and has it deep in her bones. As she grew up, if she wasn’t out on the ball field or playing in the woods, she had her nose stuck in a book. Now she writes romantic suspense stories, specializing in MC (motorcycle club) romance. She plans to broaden her writing horizons in the near future and move into other forms of romantic suspense. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her husband, three kids, and fur babies.