Facet (RBMC: Ankeny IA 8) by Kristine Allen-review tour

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 ☠️ FACET (RBMC: Ankeny IA 8) by Kristine Allen ☠️

 

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 30, 2023

I’m Damien “Facet” Blackwood—tech guru for the Ankeny RBMC. Love is bullsh*t. My mother and her two thousand husbands were enough to convince me. Give me my computers any day of the week.
Until Willow. Victim of a black market adoption, she wanted our help to find her biological parents. From the second I laid eyes on her, I wanted her, but I couldn’t touch her. It would only lead to heartache.
Then one night I killed a man and my entire world turned upside down. I wasn’t who I thought I was—hell, I wasn’t what I thought I was—and it seemed the people who should’ve protected me only used me.
In a moment of weakness, Willow pushed me too far and I made her mine. Now despite being the biggest danger to her, I can’t let her go.
With secrets and enemies pouring out of the woodwork, I might need to embrace the very darkest part of myself. Because if I don’t, none of us may survive.‘

••••••••

REVIEW: FACET is the eighth instalment in Kristine Allen’s contemporary, adult RBMC: ANKENY IA dark, erotic, paranormal, MC romance series. This is computer guru twenty-eight year old, Damien ‘Facet’ Blackwood, and twenty-five year old waitress, Willow Geisman’s story line. FACET 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 storyline premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Facet and Willow) FACET follows the building relationship between Damien ‘Facet’ Blackwood and Willow Geisman. For months Willow and Facet have danced around one another but Facet kept his distance until someone else made a move on our story line heroine. From the outset Facet’s attraction grew stronger with every interaction, and when their relationship became personal, Facet was unable to stay away but something strange was happening, and Facet needed information, information that only his mother would be able to supply. Facet always knew his mother was a witch but our hero never knew the extent of her powers, and the powers that he was about to discover about himself and the father he never knew. Meanwhile, Willow has been searching for years for her biological parents but she knew nothing about the years before she was adopted by the Geisman family. Months and years without success, Willow would get help from an unlikely source, and quickly discover that like Facet, everything about her life is predicated upon a lie. What ensues is the building relationship between Facet and Willow, and the potential fall-out as Facet and Willow’s lives are about to implode.

Damien Blackwood grew up knowing his mother was different, and by husband number eight, Damien suspected nothing was right in the world his mother existed but meeting his biological father, a man he was lead to believe was dead, Damien ‘Facet’ Blackwood would realize he is much more than the man he thought he could be. His true nature hidden by magic, Facet would quickly discover that even his power would be too much to save the life of the woman he loved. Willow Geisman knew from an early age she was adopted but she knew nothing about the family into which she was born but as she grew, the threats and lies would kill the only mother she ever knew, forcing Willow to run, to save her own life.

The relationship between Damien and Willow is one of immediate attraction but Damien aka Facet refused to act on his attraction.Something about Willow drew Damien like a moth to a flame, a power that would manifest as a killer when Willow’s life was threatened. As their relationship grew, so too, did the threats against the people they loved. The $ex scenes are intimate and erotic.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and powerful secondary and supporting characters including several members of the RBMC, as well as witches, demons, Demi-demons, succubus and healers.

FACET is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, magic and murder, family, relationships, friendships and love. The fast paced premise is intriguing, captivating and engaging; the romance is fated and seductive; the characters are determined, dangerous and magical.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book seven SABRE

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

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Kristine Allen lives in beautiful Central Texas with her adoring husband. They have four brilliant, wacky and wonderful children. She is surrounded by twenty six acres, where her seven horses, six dogs and three cats run the place. Kristine realized her dream of becoming a contemporary romance author after years of reading books like they were going out of style and having her own stories running rampant through her head. She works as a nurse, but in stolen moments, taps out ideas and storylines until they culminate in characters and plots that pull her readers in and keep them entranced for hours.

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Genies and Gibberish by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Genies and Gibberish by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

Prolific Works

Description:
This club gets whooshed into a book. They become characters! To get out they must find the killer.

Whenever this group chooses a book, magic happens. The mystery comes to life, and they find themselves part of the story. To exit the book and get back home, they need to solve the mystery and reach The End.

This time, the club chooses a book set in a mansion atop the mountains of Arizona. They discover a strange antique oil lamp that contains a shocking surprise.

Could this enchanted lamp have something to do with their host’s fall from a door to nowhere? Or could he have been pushed out the door by one of the strange people who belong to the quirky group who live here?

This brave, crazy, motley group must work together to unravel the mystery in their latest inside-the-book journey.

 

 

Review:

Genies and Gibberish by Elizabeth Pantley is a novella that is set in between book 4 and 5, in her fun Magical Mystery Book Club series. Refresher: Paige and her Aunt Glo run a magical library, that consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with mysteries that they have to solve. This is a lighthearted and fun series, with wonderful characters and a magical cozy mystery. Whenever this group chooses a book, they read the first page of this cozy mystery, and the magic comes to life, as they are transported into the story. Once the mystery is solved, they are able to return home.

The book chosen by the club members has them sent to a mansion on a mountain in Arizona, where they meet the wealthy owner, who is not only extravagant, but is also not very well liked by staff, as well as his own book club members. The group arrives at the mansion and the owner happily allows them to join in on their meeting.    In a short time, the owner is found murdered, with so many people who are suspects, including the neighboring club members and the soon to be ex-wife.

The group discovers a mysterious oil lamp, which Moonbeam accidently rubs, which brings a genie or two. Since she is the one who rubs the lamp, the genies insist she make three wishes, which she refuses to do, causing problems for the genies.  Eventually, everyone convinces Moonbeam to make a wish, which will force suspects to reveal the truths, including the genies. 

I really enjoy this series, as it is so much fun to read.  All the characters in the Magical Mystery Book Club are very good, with Paige and Glo being the leaders, and Frank (the talking cat) always enjoyable, Mollie the ghost, a recent new member, and all the rest of the group a lot of fun.

Genies and Gibberish was another terrific and fun addition to this series, with all of the members in the middle of this mystery. There were many suspects, with different clues, as they continued to get more information to solve the crime. There were a number of surprises throughout, which was so much fun and a blast to read.  Genies and Gibberish was a wonderful lighthearted fun magical mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review

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DIRTY SECRETS (Valenti Crime Family ) by Kelsie Calloway -review

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DIRTY SECRETS (Valenti Crime Family ) by Kelsie Calloway -review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 27, 2023

She thinks it’s a marriage of convenience, but I’ve been planning it for a decade.

Wrong place, wrong time—or so Francesca thought.
She doesn’t know that I’m the one that poisoned her husband.
She doesn’t realize that I’m the one that hired the men to attack her.
She just thinks it’s a coincidence that I was there to save her.
Then half a dozen threatening notes show up at her front door.
Someone knows her deepest darkest secret and they’re going to go to the cops.
But if she puts aside her pride and marries me , I can protect her.
Francesca thinks it’s the only solution.
And that’s because I’m hedging all my bets to ensure I get the woman I want.

Dirty Secrets is the fifth book in The Valenti Crime Family series, featuring an obsessed anti-hero that will do whatever it takes to wind up with the woman he loves—even if it hurts a few people. Each book is a standalone and the series can be read in any order.

This is a dark mafia romance containing themes some readers may find unsettling. Caution is advised; unless you’re throwing it to the wind. 😉

••••••••

REVIEW: DIRTY SECRETS is the fifth novella in Kelsie Calloway’s contemporary, adult VALENTI CRIME FAMILY dark, erotic, Mafia romance series. This is thirty-two year olds Francesca ‘Kessa’ Scot and Cesare Valenti’s story line. DIRTY SECRETS 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 (Kessa and Cesare) DIRTY SECRETS follows the friends to lovers relationship between Francesca ‘Kessa’ Scot and Cesare Valenti. Cesare and Kessa have been best friends for close to eighteen years. Friends to boyfriend/girlfriend back to friends in the face of Cesare’s betrayal of the woman he loved . Kessa would eventually marry someone else, as Cesare watched from the sidelines, still pining after our story line heroine but Cesare would bide his time with a series of ‘incidents’ directed at Kessa and the man she would marry, eventually destroying the woman he loves. As Cesare continues to ‘arrange’ attacks against our story line heroine, Kessa makes plans for the future on her own.

The relationship between Kessa and Cesare is a best friends to ultimately lovers but a relationship predicated upon manipulation, secrets and lies. For eighteen years, Cesare would deceive the woman he loved including poisoning the man she would eventually marry. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive.

The secondary and supporting characters include Cesare’s extended family including Raniero ‘Nero’ Valenti, and Calliope Jackson, as well as Mateo Valenti and Bambi; Luca Valenti and Sloane.

DIRTY SECRETS is a story of secrets and lies, manipulation and betrayal, obsession and love. The fast paced premise is heart breaking and emotional; the characters are deceitful and broken; the romance is predicated upon lies and deceit.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Possessive Captor
Deviant Desires
Filthy Sinner
Savage Prince

Copy supplied by Booksprout

Reviewed by Sandy

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Three Shades by JD Grubb-a review

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Three Shades by JD Grubb-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play /Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 2, 2023

We venture forth, adding color to this mysterious, ever-changing world.

A Sky Rider, a sage, and a spirit-forced together, they must find a way to navigate barriers of language, race, and time. Each needs the other to succeed, yet each has a distinct reason for doing so.

•••••••

REVIEW: I’ll be perfectly honest, I didn’t have a clue as to what I was going to be reading. The blurb wasn’t helpful, and the cover wasn’t exactly eye catching. But after reading the first page, I realised I wouldn’t be putting this book down until the last page.

Ashe/Raez/Thian all have their own stories and they do converge and mingle, it gets clearer the further you get into the book. You’d think it would be repetitive reading three points of view of the same thing….. But funnily enough it wasn’t, each point of view added another layer to the story.

Ashe is our fearless sky rider, and my favourite character. She speakers her mind and isn’t afraid to leap into the unknown. After being asked by her lover to stay and be his emissary (which she wasn’t keen on doing) Ashe is ready for an adventure, to see more of the world, and she definitely gets that…..

It’s a beautifully written book, I don’t want to give too much away, I’d advise you to go in blind (don’t read the reviews) I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
And at 336 pages long, it feels like a short read, probably because I read it in a day ? but it packs plenty of action and adventure, a little romance, and a couple of moments that will make you think ?

How the three meet and move on with their lives after connecting, had me smiling…. It was like ships that pass in the night, but the passing left a profound mark on all three of the characters….

The ending does leave you wondering if there would be a second book. ?

I really liked it and would be happy to read more, or this one again and again ?

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Julie B 

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PROTECTOR DADDY (Crescent Cove 14) by Taryn Quinn-review

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PROTECTOR DADDY (Crescent Cove 14) by Taryn Quinn-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 25, 2023

It’s been a very long time since I’ve been with a woman.

By choice. Even as my brother and my fellow cops have paired off and started families, I’ve focused on policing Crescent Cove.

It’s a good small town filled with great businesses, wonderful families, and babies. Many, many babies.

But I’m not about that life.

Until we hire a new dispatcher after Bonnie retires.

She’s younger than I am. Beautiful. The sunshine to the worst of my grumpiness.

Hooking up with her is off-limits. I shouldn’t do it. And yet how am I supposed to resist the first woman who’s made me want to…well…not be so much of a d!ck?

She doesn’t know about my past. But now she and the baby she’s carrying are my future…

•••••••

REVIEW: PROTECTOR DADDY is the fourteenth instalment in Taryn Quinn’s contemporary, adult CRESCENT COVE erotic, romance series. This is thirty-six year old Crescent Cove police officer Christian Masterson, and twenty-four year old dispatcher Honey McNeill’s story line. PROTECTOR DADDY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary

Told from dual first person perspectives (Christian and Honey) PROTECTOR DADDY follows the age-gap relationship between thirty-six year old Crescent Cove police officer Christian Masterson, and twenty-four year old dispatcher Honey McNeill. Honey McNeill is struggling with a direction in life. Having applied for a dispatcher position at the Crescent Cove police station Honey comes face to face with officer Christian Masterson, the man who is about to star in all of her fantasies and dreams but Christian’s boss is Honey’s brother, and our couple find themselves in a secret relationship where the end result is another Crescent Cove baby but Christian has another secret that is about to be exposed, a secret that no one ever some coming.

The relationship between Christian and Honey has been building but Honey’s brothers work with our story line hero, and Christian is about to cross a line in which the entire town of Crescent Cove becomes involved in his and Honey’s personal life. The baby explosion is real, and Christian and Honey are about to jump head first into the mix. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and busy secondary and supporting characters. Both Honey and Christian’s extended families are deeply involved in everyone’s life, an involvement that is protective yet interfering and smothering, at the same time.

PROTECTOR DADDY looks at the ever expanding population of Crescent Cove. The expression ‘something in the water’ holds true for our story line couples, and each successive instalment jokingly questions what’s happening and why. The premise is entertaining and pleasing; the romance is heart warming and fated; the characters are sassy and dynamic

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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COLD SNAP(Cold Justice-Most Wanted 3) by Toni Anderson

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COLD SNAP (Cold Justice-Most Wanted 3) by Toni Anderson-review tour

 

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 27, 2023

Grady Steel returns to the insular community of Deception Cove, Maine, where he spent his troubled youth unfairly labeled the town’s bad boy. Now a member of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, Grady is on a risky undercover mission, hunting one of the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitives.

Recovering from a broken marriage, Brynn Webster comes home to the sleepy small town—where nothing ever happens—to help her parents run their seaside cafe during her mother’s illness. After diving into the frigid waters of the winter harbor to rescue a dead man, Brynn begins to realize that the ocean isn’t the only place swirling with dangerous undercurrents.

Grady befriends the pretty manager of the local cafe in an effort to unearth the town’s closely guarded secrets. Deceiving Brynn isn’t easy, though, especially when he starts to fall for her. Then, when decades-old crimes lead to modern-day murder, Grady’s mission becomes a race against time as he strives to catch a ruthless killer—before Brynn becomes the next victim.

••••••••••••••

REVIEW: COLD SNAP is the third instalment in Toni Anderson’s contemporary, adult COLD JUSTICE-MOST WANTED erotic, romantic suspense series- a spin off, set in the author’s Cold Justice series. This is FBI Operator Grady Steel, and graphic designer/café owner Brynn Webster’s story line. COLD SNAP can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

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

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Brynn and Grady COLD SNAP focuses on the hunt for an FBI fugitive who has been missing for twenty-seven years, a fugitive whose finger prints have been found in Grady’s home town of Deception Cove, Maine. Undercover as a disgrace FBI agent, Grady returns home only to discover his sister has rented out his home to the woman with whom he will fall in love. Enter graphic designer turned café owner Brynn Webster. Brynn Webster has taken a six month leave of absence to help her parents in the wake of her mother’s cancer diagnosis but Brynn never suspected the small town of Deception Cover, Maine would become the epicenter of murder, Russian spies and the former KGB, animal abuse, and bank robberies, all blamed on our story line hero. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Brynn and Grady, and the potential fall-out as Brynn discovers everything about her life, Deception Cove, and the man the she loves has been predicated upon a number of lies.

Grady Steel never wanted to return to Deception Cove having escaped a life of abuse and pain but when one of the FBI’s most wanted is suspected of living in his home town, Grady must go undercover to search for the truth. All does not go according to plan as Grady becomes the number one suspect in a bank robbery, a string of murders, and a fire meant to hide suspicions of abuse. Grady’s father’s reputation has tainted our hero, and the sheriff is determined to take him down. Meanwhile Brynn Webster is struggling with the impending death of her mother, and her attraction to a man that may be a serial killer but Brynn’s world is about to be upended when she discovers that everything about her life is a lie.

The relationship between Brynn and Grady is one of mutual attraction but their time in Deception Cove comes with a deadline. Grady is working undercover, and Brynn has been pulled into an undercover operation that may or may not get both of them killed. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and questionable secondary and supporting characters most play a significant role in the story line progress: FBI Agents Payne Novak, Ryan Sullivan, Megan Donnelly, Aaronn Nash, Cowboy, Will Griffin, Kelly Ropero, Noel Dobson and Seth Hopper We are introduced to Brynn’s parents Paul and Gwen Webster, Sheriff Darrell York, security guard Saul Jones, veterinarian KalpaVilamitjana, and widower and temporary bank manager/owner Edith Bodurek. The requisite evil has many faces.

COLD SNAP is a story of secrets and lies, murder and deception, power and control, betrayal and vengeance, forgiveness, acceptance and love. The premise is intriguing, captivating and twisted; the characters are animated and energetic; the romance is seductive and provocative.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Cold Silence
Cold Deceit

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

 

Toni Anderson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, RITA® finalist, science nerd, professional tourist, dog lover, gardener, mom. Originally from a small town in England, Toni studied Marine Biology at University of Liverpool (B.Sc.) and University of St. Andrews (Ph.D.) with the intention she’d never be far from the ocean. Well, that plan backfired and she ended up in the Canadian prairies with her biology professor husband, two kids, a rescue dog, and a laid-back leopard gecko.

Toni started writing while pregnant with her first child and never stopped. Her greatest achievements are mastering the Tokyo subway, climbing Ben Lomond, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, and surviving fourteen Winnipeg winters (fingers crossed). She loves to travel for research purposes and was lucky enough to visit the Strategic Information and Operations Center inside FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 2016, and she also got to shove another car off the road during pursuit training at the Writer’s Police Academy in Wisconsin. Watch out world!

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Fortune (Steel Brothers 26) by Helen Hardt-review tour

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Fortune (Steel Brothers 26) by Helen Hardt-review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 27, 2023

Falling in love…and discovering the past…

As Ava Steel prepares to help her parents, Ryan and Ruby Steel, celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, the tarot cards she draws and cryptic messages from an unknown source mar her concentration. Her life is changing…and she’s convinced her parents have kept her in the dark about something important.

Brendan Murphy sees the woman he’s fallen in love with struggling, and though he wants to help, he doesn’t know how. After all, he’s received the same messages, which may mean he and his family have some connection to the Steels. Brendan’s father thinks it somehow relates to his uncle’s untimely death at a Steel wedding half a century earlier, but Brendan isn’t so sure.

When Ava finally unburies some of her family’s secrets, she questions who she is and where she belongs, while Brendan discovers how he and the Steels may be linked. The two confess their love, but they’re still troubled, as these ghosts from the past may spell danger for everyone around them.

••••

REVIEW:She’s back at it again with the Steel Brothers series. This is by far one of the longest running books series that I have not only read, but truly waited for with baited breath for.

Fortune takes us back to Ava and Brendan and how their relationship has progressed. For new readers, beware that this is a continuation of a very long series, and this book along with a few others starts to move on to the younger generations of the family. As always Helen Hardt delivers a suspenseful drama filled with secrets, lies, love and more questions than what they started with.

So much happens in this book, past events coming to light, new discoveries and Ava, who feels like she is stuck right in the middle without a clue of who she really is. When both Ava and Brendan start to receive creepy, unknown messages from a sender neither of them know, the families start to act differently, more secretive than ever. As the plot thickens, and more and more is revealed, Ava starts to feel that her connection and relationship with Brendan is the only thing keeping her grounded.

Helen Hardt and her crazy, beautiful mind leaves us again with a brutal cliffhanger, leaving us all screaming and throwing our Kindles across the room. Brendan and Ava’s story is full of spicy bits, loving family moments and mind gripping, nail biting secrets that readers just can’t wait to solve.

 

Previous reviews
Ravenous
Insatiable
Fate
Legacy
Descent
Awakened
Cherished
Blaze
Smolder
Flare
Chance

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sarah

 

Haven’t started the series? CRAVING book one is FREE

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Apple Books: http://apple.co/1KZrHnc
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Follow: Goodreads/ Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest

#1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Helen Hardt’s passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award-winning author of romantic fiction, she’s a mother, an attorney, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.

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Palazzo by Danielle Steel – a Review

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Palazzo by Danielle Steel – a Review

 

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Description:
After her parents perish in a tragic accident, Cosima Saverio assumes leadership of her family’s haute couture Italian leather brand. While navigating the challenges of running a company at twenty-three, Cosima must also maintain the four-hundred-year-old family palazzo in Venice and care for her younger siblings: Allegra, who survived the tragedy that killed their parents with scars and a spinal injury, and Luca, who has a penchant for wild parties, pretty women, and poker tables.

Cosima navigates her personal and professional challenges with a wisdom beyond her years, but her success has come at a cost: Her needs are always secondary. She’s married to the business, and her free time is given to those who rely on her . . . until she meets Olivier Bayard, the founder of France’s most successful ready-to-wear handbag company. A brief conversation on her palazzo’s terrace turns into a tour of the Saverio workshop, and, fifteen years after her parents’ deaths, Cosima has found a confidant.

Now the business is financially stable and generating enough income for the Saverios to live comfortably. Then Luca loses a hefty sum at the casino, and his debt must be repaid with money or his life. Cosima, forced to bail him out, is given an impossible choice: List the palazzo, sell a third of the family business, or let Luca fend for himself. But is there another way to save everything she has fought for before it goes up in flames?

 

 

 

Review:

Palazzo by Danielle Steel is another one of her wonderful family-oriented novels.  This is the story of the Saverio family, who are considered one of the top two haute couture elite Italian leather brand in Europe; owning two very successful stores in Venice and Rome. We meet Cosima Saverio, who after the tragic death of her parents, becomes the head of the business at the age of 23; with her taking care of her 14-year-old sister, Allegra, who was severely injured in that accident, must use a wheelchair to get around; her brother, Luca who was 18, has no interest in the business. Though Cosima runs the business, all three have their own share financially. 

Now 15 years later, Cosima the business continue to thrive, especially due to her devotion and business savvy. Allegra, learns to manage her disability and using a computer to become a fabulous purse designer. She is close to Cosima, and faces all challenges, not letting her disability stop her; enjoying her life.

Luca, who has never worked, only cares about gambling, enjoying woman, being a playboy and enjoying his lavish life, spending his share of the money. When Luca incurs a very high gambling debt, he expects Cosima to bail him out.  Cosmia does not have the funds available, and decides to sell their Palazzo Saverio estate in Venice to pay off Luca’s debt; the estate is not being used, as the family works from Rome. She warns Luca that she will no longer support his terrible expenses, beyond his normal allowance.

Olivier Bayard, our hero, owns his own successful business, as France’s most successful ready-to-wear handbag company.  When Olivier attends an elite party run by an American couple, who are arranging to buy the Palazzo, he meets Cosima, and they become friends. He also faces issues with his grownup boys, one similar to Luc (Max), and the other is a good son (Basile), who will eventually fall in love with Allegra. Olivier begins to have feelings for Cosmia, but she is so buried in her business, and prefers to remain as friends. Though in time, Cosima enjoys his company, and his always supporting her, with suggestions. They made such a great couple.

Olivier expresses to Cosima that he loves the Saverio leather, and in a short time, he recognizes that Allegra’s bag designs are fabulous, and Allegra begins to design a new line in her name, for the Bayer bags. Luc and Max become dangerous friends, both filled with greed and gambling; leading to possible disaster along the way.

Palazzo is a terrific story of a family, with Cosima facing her loyalties and making hard choices; to keep the business safe; as well as recognizing her feelings for Olivier. Palazzo was a wonderful story of family, love, family issues, tragedy and success.  Danielle Steel once again gives us another fantastic read.  I also loved the wonderful background of seeing Venice, Rome and Paris.  Very enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

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