CUSP OF DARKNESS (Cusp Series 1) by Olivia Preya

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 20, 2023

Valerius Cafarelli
In my world, we live and die for our family. We brand our skin with symbols of loyalty and rank that bind us together. It’s time to step from behind the scenes and claim my birthright, leader of the Cafarelli family. But the mafia is nothing if not set in tradition. Marriage is the only way to claim what’s rightfully mine.
When the angel I’ve protected from a distance suddenly needs me as much as I need her, I make an offer she can’t refuse.
She is a candle in the night.
She is a prayer to the gods.
She is the knife that brings me to my knees.
—
Adaliya Solarin
I took an oath to save lives, trying to redeem myself from a bloody night where I played judge, jury, and executioner. I worked hard to erase all traces of the night I claimed revenge, but my mind can’t forget the man who ensured I’d never be put away for my crime.
Now I need someone to help me save my father from himself. When I’m left desperate and defeated, the man who saved me once offers one last chance at survival. What can I do but make a deal with the devil?
He is the bump in the night.
He is my darkest temptations come to life.
He is my salvation.

••••••

REVIEW: CUSP OF DARKNESS is the first instalment in Olivia Preya’s contemporary adult CUSP erotic, Mafia romance series. This is Cafarelli Mafia family Don Valerius Cafarelli, and ER physician Dr. Adaliya Solarin’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Valerius and Adaliya) CUSP OF DARKNESS follows the marriage of convenience between Cafarelli Mafia family Don Valerius Cafarelli, and ER physician Dr. Adaliya Solarin. Six years earlier Adaliya Solarin killed the man who attempted to kill her first. In the aftermath Adaliya would come face to face with Mafia family member Valerius Cafarelli who would clean up the mess Adaliya had made, never forgetting about the woman who has stolen his heart. Fast forward to present day wherein Adaliya has been ‘sold’ by her father to pay off a debt, and Valerius Cafarelli must marry before assuming the mantel of Cafarelli Don. An accidental meeting would place Adaliya and Valerius in one another’s orbits, a meeting that would result in the start of a mutual marriage. Agreeing to one year, Adaliya would marry our story line hero, a marriage that would quickly grow into something more. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Valerius and Adaliya, and the potential fall out when both of their pasts take aim at our story line couple.

Valerius Cafarelli needs to marry in order to take his place at the head of the Cafarelli family. Having never forgotten about the woman he met six years earlier, Valerius struggles until a face to face encounter brings Adaliya back into his life. Adaliya Solarin is about to marry an abusive man but hoping to save her father, Adaliya agrees to her father’s demands. When her sister went missing years before, Adaliya has struggled without knowing the who, how or why but secrets revealed find our heroine agreeing to marriage with the man with whom she will fall in love.

The relationship between Valerius and Adaliya begins six years earlier when Valerius is forced to clean up a murder committed by our story line heroine. In repentance, Adaliya will devote her life to medicine but never expected to face the man she met years before. An offer of marriage saves Adaliya from an abusive situation but Adaliya never expected to fall in love. Valerius Cafarelli has never forgotten about our story line heroine, and needing a wife, Valerius makes Adaliya an offer she cannot refuse. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and passionate.

We are introduced to Valerius’ men Salvatore, Dimitri, Nero and Helix, and his cousin Vanessa, and his parents Floretta and Lucio Cafarelli; Valerius’ ex girlfriend Sofia; Adaliya’s ex fiance Noah, and her father Eugene Solarin. The requisite evil has many faces.

CUSP OF DARKNESS is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, family and friendships, relationships and love. The premise is dark, gritty and emotional; the romance is seductive and intense; the characters are charismatic, powerful and dynamic.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy