ASSISTANT TO THE MAFIA (De Salvo Family 3) by Rose Wulf-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 20, 2024

Grace Mariner, personal assistant for the CEO of DS Industries, has her life pretty well figured out. On the outside. Yet deep in her heart she knows that no amount of overtime will fill the void of loneliness waiting for her in her luxury apartment.

The problem? She’s thirty-years-old, overweight, works too much, and, oh yeah, she has a horrendous crush on the company’s COO, Romeo De Salvo.

Romeo De Salvo is more than a businessman. He’s the Underboss of the De Salvo mafia, and above everything, he’s a father. Letting outsiders close is not on his to-do list … with one forbidden exception.

So when the earthbound angel he’s been barred from pursuing calls him in the middle of the night, begging for help, he doesn’t hesitate.

He may not have been allowed to bring Grace into their world of darkness, but if that world has come to her, he’ll sure as hell be the one to catch her.

•••••

REVIEW: ASSISTANT TO THE MAFIA is the third instalment in Rose Wulf’s contemporary, adult DE SALVO FAMILY erotic, Mafia romance series. This is thirty year old PA Grace Mariner, and COO Romeo De Salvo’s story line. ASSISTANT TO THE MAFIA 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 omniscient third person perspectives (Romeo and Grace) ASSISTANT TO THE MAFIA follows the building romance and relationship between our story line couple. Grace Mariner is the PA to CEO of DS Industries Dante De Salvo but a change in assignments finds Grace working with COO Romeo De Salvo, the man who has starred in her fantasies and dreams but all is not well; Grace will be targeted, and her fist and only call is to our story line hero. Enter Romeo De Salvo, the man with whom Grace will fall in love. The De Salvo’s have a target on their backs; the Ink Blot gang is taking aim, and not one but two more unknowns are determined to taken them down. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Romeo and Grace, and the potential fall-out as Grace finds herself facing down more than one deadly adversary.

The world building follows the De Salvo family, and the need for protection against more than one viable enemy. Dante struggles with Romeo’s need for our story line heroine, and in this, Romeo must prove he is worthy of his own happily ever after.

The relationship between Romeo and Grace begins as a professional working arrangement but quickly turns into something more. An insta-lust to love scenario in which Romeo is determined to claim Grace as his own, a woman who is about to a furious introduction to life in the mob. The $ex scenes are provocative and passionate but I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word, although only used once, more for shock value than anything else.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and powerful secondary and supporting characters including the return of Dante De Salvo and his wife Iris: Christiano and Felicity: Mikey, and their mother Eleonora; Romeo’s daughter Lucia and her bodyguard Enrico,as well as several other security specialists, and enemies. We are introduced to Grace’s sister Cait, and Romeo’s ex Amber. The requisite evil has many faces.

ASSISTANT TO THE MAFIA is a story of power and control, secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, greed and obsession, family and friendships, acceptance and love. The character driven premise is dramatic and intriguing; the romance is seductive ; the characters are determined and charismatic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy