POSSESSIVE CAPTOR / DEVIANT DESIRES (Valenti Crime Family 1 & 2) by Kelsie Calloway- reviews
POSSESSIVE CAPTOR
(The Valenti Crime Family 1)
by Kelsie Calloway
Genre: contemporary, adult, dark, erotic, Mafia romance
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 25, 2023
The police chief calls me a thug, but soon he’s going to be calling me his son-in-law.
Chief Jackson knows not to mess with the Valenti family.
When he tries to frame me for murder, I start plotting my revenge.
The only person that hates the police chief more than me is his daughter.
But she makes the perfect collateral.
I’m going to take everything from the Chief, even his family line.
When she’s pregnant with my baby, he’ll stop his useless investigations.
Family means everything to me.
And Calliope Jackson is my family from now on.
Possessive Captor is the first book in The Valenti Crime Family series, featuring a morally grey anti-hero and the younger, untouched heroine he keeps locked up in his mansion. Each book is a standalone and the series can be read in any order.
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REVIEW: POSSESSIVE CAPTOR is the first instalment in Kelsie Calloway’s contemporary adult THE VALENTI CRIME FAMILY dark, erotic, Mafia romance series. This is Raniero ‘Nero’ Valenti, and realtor Calliope Jackson’s story line.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Raniero and Calliope) POSSESSIVE CAPTOR follows in the wake of the abduction of Calliope Jackson. Calliope Jackson is the estranged and only daughter of police chief Grant Jackson, the man who has been terrorizing the Valenti family in the hopes of taking them down. Raniero Valenti is tired of the harassment, and plans to destroy Grant Jackson by abducting and claiming Calliope as his own. A prisoner in a gilded cage, Calliope finds herself quickly submitting to a man who could make or break our story line heroine but discovers cooperating with Raniero makes her own life a little easier. Desperate to make Calliope his wife, Raniero believes he must first break the woman with whom he will fall in love. What ensues is the tempestuous but building relationship between Raniero and Calliope, as our couple make plans for their future.
The relationship between Calliope and Raniero begins as prisoner and captor but a gilded cage is still a cage from which Calliope cannot escape. Having lived most of her adult life on the street, escaping the abuse and torture at home, Calliope exchanges one jailer for another for the security and safety net of the man with whom she will fall in love. Raniero is determined to destroy Chief Grant Jackson but never thought he would fall in love with our story line heroine. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense.
We are introduced to Raniero’s brothers: Mateo, Luca and Cesare: housekeeper Grace; bodyguard Sampson, and Calliope’s father Chief Grant Jackson.
POSSESSIVE CAPTOR is a quick read; a story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, obsession, love and acceptance. The fast paced premise is inviting but there is no resolution to the acrimonious relationship between the Chief, Raniero and Calliope-the Chief becomes more of an afterthought who is apparently unfazed by the entire situation; the characters are dynamic; the romance is provocative but there is something missing -no spark, no palpable attraction but more of a forced proximity necessity.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
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DEVIANT DESIRES
(Valenti Crime Family 2)
by Kelsie Calloway
Genre: contemporary, adult, dark, erotic, Mafia romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 21, 2023
He spent three years behind bars; now he’s going to make me pay for sending him there.
Five years ago, I stood before a judge and told him what I’d witnessed.
My fiancé, Mateo Valenti, killing someone in cold blood.
After they locked him up, I thought I’d never see Mateo again.
But I was wrong.
When Mateo gets out, he calls me in the middle of the night.
“Oh, Bambi, you think three years on the inside are hard?”
“Wait until I get my hands on you.”
I don’t know how he got my number, but he says he’s coming for me.
He says we’re going to be together forever, just like we promised.
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REVIEW: DEVIANT DESIRES is the second instalment in Kelsie Calloway’s contemporary, adult VALENTINI CRIME FAMILY dark, erotic, crime family romance series of novellas. This is thirty-nine year old, Mateo Valenti, and thirty year old events coordinator Bambi Schelling’s story line. DEVIANT DESIRES 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 (Mateo and Bambi) DEVIANT DESIRES follows the second chance relationship between is thirty-nine year old, Mateo Valenti, and thirty year old events coordinator Bambi Schelling. Five years earlier Bambi Schelling witnessed her fiancé Mateo Valenti strangle a man to death. Due to his connections, and the lack of a body, Mateo is released after three years, and it will be another two years before Bambi comes face to face with her past. A retirement party for the Dean of the college finds the Valenti family invited as honored guests, a party coordinated by our story line heroine. Mateo Valenti is desperate to reconnect with the woman he loves but Bambi struggles with what happened and how. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Bambi and Mateo,and the potential fall-out as Mateo reveals the truth about his family, and everything they entail.
The relationship between Mateo and Bambi is a second chance romance that started nine years earlier. Four years into their relationship, Bambi witnesses Mateo strangling another man, and our heroine is the primary witness for the prosecution. Mateo never forgot about his fiance’s betrayal, a betrayal he is threatening to take into account when he comes to reclaim the woman he still loves. The $ex scenes are aggressive and intense with some scenes of questions consent.
We are reintroduced to Mateo’s brothers: Luca, Cesare and Raniero. Luca’s story line is next. Luca’s story line is next.
DEVIANT DESIRES is another fast paced, quick read; a story of family and relationships, betrayal and vengeance, forgiveness and love. The character driven premise is spicy; the characters are animated and powerful; the romance is limited to $ex and desperation.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
