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DEBASE by Rachel Van Dyken-Review & Excerpt Tour

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DEBASE (Elite Bratva Brotherhood #1 / Eagle Elite #11) by Rachel Van Dyken-Review & Excerpt Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 30, 2019

From #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken, comes the final book in the Eagle Elite Series and the first new book in the Elite Bratva Brotherhood…

With blood on my hands, I held her.
With death in my soul, I took from her.
With the devil in my heart, I coveted her.

There’re many definitions of Hell.
My list was exhaustive, my definitions tragic.
Tonight I was adding something new to the very top.
Girl number six thirty-two.

She arrived on my birthday, the same day, every year, I play Russian Roullete and pull the trigger.
She was my omen.
My end game.
She made it personal.
And for the first time in my life, I gave in.
A virgin mob boss with no soul.

My name is Andrei Petrov.
They call me the devil.
All I want is for the pain to end.
All she wants is for me to share it.

I am the last remaining heir to a dynasty that should burn in Hell.
And my last wish remains for it to die with me.

••••••••••

REVIEW:  DEBASE is the first instalment in Rachel Van Dyken’s contemporary, adult ELITE BRATVA BROTHERHOOD dark and violent, mafia romance series-a spin off from the authors Eagle Elite series. This is Russian Mafia head of the Petrov family, twenty-two year old, Andrei Petrov, and twenty-one year old, Alice De Lange, whose family has been ex-communicated from the Cosa Nostra. DEBASE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous series is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the original series for back story. Several characters and couples cross over for cohesion.

WARNING: DEBASE contains scenes of graphic violence, torture, killing and abuse, as well as exploitation, corruption and sexual slavery which may not be suitable for all readers.

Told from three first person points of view (Andrei, Alice, Phoenix) DEBASE follows in the aftermath of Alice (aka #632) De Lange’s forced imprisonment when she is sold to the Petrov Dynasty in a back room deal made between the two warring families of the Cosa Nostra. Current head of the Petrov family, Andrei Petrov struggles with his place, his direction, and the memories from the past, a past that has shaped a violent, uncaring and tormented man. Unaware of all of his predecessor’s back room deals, Andrei will have to face the reality of the Petrov family heritage, a heritage he battles with every waking moment. Discovering one of the new ‘slaves’ is none other than a member of the ex-communicated De Lange family Andrei makes it his mission to break the woman with whom he will fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship between Andrei and Alice, and the fall-out as sins of the family, and of the past, force the painful and heart breaking reality that reparation for a debt must be paid in blood.

Alice De Lange is an innocent pawn in a war that will see many lives lost, and the possibility of the loss of her own. Falling for her captor means issues of trust continue to grow when sins of the past are brought to the forefront of family negotiations. A kill order for all De Lange family members places our heroine in the direct line of fire. Andrei Petrov is both dangerous and dark; without emotion, and without the ability to feel love or be loved. Execution and torture are his only mode of expression, something taught to Andrei at an early age.

The relationship between Alice and Andrei begins as master and slave; warden and prisoner; enemies up close and personal. In order to save Alice, Andrei must claim the woman as his own, a claim that threatens the stability of the Petrov Dynasty. The $ex scenes are limited, passionate and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters including many from the author’s original Eagle Elite series focusing on ruthless members of several Mafia families. As the Russians and Italians work together against a common enemy, many more secrets are revealed that could destroy them all. The author adds a guide to the families, their members both living and gone.

DEBASE is a story of family, blood, cruelty and love; of lies and lessons; of betrayal and revenge. The premise is dark, gritty and raw; the characters are dark, dangerous, and deceptive; the romance is tragic and heart breaking. DEBASE is a dramatic, intense and emotional story of hate, vengeance and hope.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

I slid my tongue into her mouth. I tasted, I took, I was greedy with each kiss. With blood on my hands, I held her.
With death in my soul, I drank from her.
With the devil in my heart, I coveted her.
I wanted closer.
More.
My gloves felt too hot for my hands.
My hands too big to contain the weeping leather as I pulled away from Alice and stared into her big blue eyes.
“You don’t want this,” I whispered.
She bit down on her swollen lip and reached for me, I stood still as her warm hands touched both of my cheeks. “Lie.”
I let out a hiss of air at her touch. “Walk. Away.”
“Kiss me again.”
“I can’t do that.” I needed to stop doing that.
“Can’t or won’t?”
I told myself one more kiss, one more touch. I told myself it would be okay, that I was still in control.
That I was above this.
That no woman had ever owned me.
No woman had ever taken everything.
My chest heaved as I stared at her mouth, unable to move, completely rooted to the floor.
Alice moved her hands to my jeans and slowly unbuttoned them. I didn’t stop her, I needed to fucking stop her, but it was like I’d drank this paralyzing poison from her lips and couldn’t function, could only watch her as my soul floated above my body, mocking my inaction, telling me that this would be the end of me.
The very end.
Letting her in.
Keeping her there.
I would give her everything.
And then I would lose control.
Lose my mind.
Lose my heart.
I would lose.
So would she.
“Alice…” My voice cracked. “I wish…” Her hands stilled on my jeans like she was ready to pull them down. “I can’t. I wish I could. I can’t.”
How could she possibly understand?
How could I explain the gut-wrenching fear of looking in the mirror and knowing that one choice kept me sane. One choice.
And that was sex.
He’d made that choice.
I wouldn’t.
I couldn’t.
I couldn’t trust myself, couldn’t trust it wouldn’t happen to me too, and hurt someone like her.
Someone so very… perfect.
Without blinking, Alice gripped my jeans, indecision etched on every pretty part of her face.
She was beautiful.
So damn beautiful.
I gripped her wrists with my hands and pulled them away from the very real temptation of getting completely naked and sinking into her, feeling her clench around me, her tight heat.
Shit.
I pulled her into my arms, and she rested her head on my shoulder. Just because I couldn’t let her touch me, couldn’t cross that line, didn’t mean I couldn’t make her happy, I would kill to watch her face in the throes of multiple orgasms.
I quickly gripped her by the hips and put her up on the cold granite countertop.
“Andrei what are you doing?” She looked down at me uncertainty in her blue eyes.
I moved my hands to her ass and pulled down the black leggings she’d been wearing, all the way down to her ankles, right along with a pair of lacy underwear that were bright pink, and perfect.
“Andrei?”
“Yes?”
“Seriously, what are you doing?”
I gripped her knees with my hands and then spread them wide. “What’s it look like I’m doing?” I smirked. “I’m feasting.”
Her eyes widened.
Never underestimate a virgin with an extremely vivid imagination and heightened sexual appetite.
I wasn’t a fucking monk.
I would like to think I knew more than most men, because I’d seen it all, watched it, inadvertently studied it.
If someone gave me a diagram of a woman, I could point out over twenty-two ways to get her off — with my tongue, a feather, my fingers, take your pick.
“You don’t have to—” She let out a gasp, gripping the edge of the granite, turning her hands white.
I chuckled darkly against her right thigh and bit. “I’m sorry, what was that? I don’t have to?”
“I’ve never, nobody has ever… done. This.”
“Tell me,” I asked gently before I dipped my tongue inside her and flicked.
Her entire body jerked.
“Tell me he never touched you like this, tell me nobody has ever touched you like this.”
“Never,” she rasped. “You.” That word was like a gunshot going off in my soul. “Only you, Andrei.”
“Me.” I flicked my tongue again, and gripped her by the ass, pulling her almost completely off the counter while I sat beneath her and sucked her off in the most primitive aggressive way I knew how.
With every ounce of energy I had in my physical body.
With my soul.
I used every weapon in my arsenal.

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Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

 

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The Accidental Mafia Queen Series 1-3 by Khardine Gray-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

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The Accidental Mafia Queen Series 1-3 by Khardine Gray-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

Mafia Boss/ Mafia Scars/ Mafia Love
The Accidental Mafia Queen 1-3
by Khardine Gray
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, mafia, romance

MAFIA BOSS
(The Accidental Mafia Queen #1)
by Khardine Gray
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, mafia, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 19 ,2019

Better to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path…

When you come from a crime family, you have a name to live up to. My enemies know I’m a bastard who shows no mercy—exactly the cold-hearted Don my father would want me to be. Except we’re not the one’s in charge. Yet…

The Boss wants me to take over his billion dollar business, and the only way that’s happening is if I can win the heart of his cop daughter. I planned to treat her just like all the other women who meant nothing to me, but everything about her is tempting. Her beauty, her body, her soul. Money and Power. That’s all this was supposed to be about…

Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan. Neither was finding out that her father has a hidden agenda, and I’m just a pawn in his game.

•••••••••••••

REVIEW: MAFIA BOSS is the first instalment in Khardine Gray’s contemporary, adult THE ACCIDENTAL MAFIA QUEEN mafia, erotic, romance trilogy focusing on twenty-eight year old, LAPD Detective Amelia ‘Taylor’ Rossi, and thirty-five year old, Rossi Family mobster Lucian ‘Smith’ Morientz.

Told from three first person perspectives (Raphael, Luc and Amelia) MAFIA BOSS follows the building relationship between Detective Amelia Rossi, and Luc Morientz. The head of the Chicago Crime Syndicate, Don Raphael Rossi is dying, and without a male heir, has appointed his best friend’s son, Lucian Morientz, as his successor. Before Lucian can take over the reigns of the Chicago mob, our hero must marry the Don’s daughter, a woman who does not want to be found, or have anything to do with her father’s life. Enter LAPD Detective Amelia Taylor ( aka Amelia Rossi), and the woman with whom Lucian will fall in love. What ensues is Lucian’s seduction of our story line heroine, and the fall-out as enemies from the past come looking for revenge.

MAFIA QUEEN is a story of secrets, lies, betrayal and revenge. Amelia has a life far away from her father’s control but little does she know she is about to be pulled back into the world of which she wanted no part. Lucian Morientz never imagined falling for Don Raphael’s daughter, a woman he is willing to protect from herself, from his enemies, and the compromised members of the LAPD. ‘Undercover’ with the police department as Detective Luc Smith, Lucian will discover that not everyone can be trusted or bought, and his tenure in LA may have been a set up all along.

The premise is engaging, and the characters are energetic. We are introduced to Raphael’s right hand man and Luc’s father Marcus Morientz, as well as Luc’s brother Claudius, and several members of the LAPD. The attraction between our couple is immediate and palpable; the romance is passionate but built upon a lie. MAFIA BOSS ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

All Excerpts are intended for mature readers 18+ due to content and strong language

Forgiveness of sin…
My sins…
That was the part where I’d become stuck. The concept popped up several times as I’d read the Holy Bible.
Right from Genesis. Wow my parents, my mother in particular would have been proud.
The circumstances for which I’d read it however would have overshadowed the triumph. But still she would have been proud, both of them.
Even though I’d gotten nearly to the end and had now decided to park it. It wasn’t for me.
This… this me reading the bible was like a methaphor for my life. I was nearly at the end of it.
Nearly at the end and wondering what I could do to change things.
I still had the power, but with power came responsibility.
So, did I spend the rest of my days using what little time I had left to gain God’s forgiveness?
Is that what the Don of the Rossi family should do?
Forgiveness of sin… my sins.
Last night I think I’d hit a stumbling block when I realised that it was a little too late for me, and there was better use of my time.
Trying to get forgiveness was better reserved for those who had the standard normal family. Vanilla life.
I could imagine a man with a wife, two kids, a dog like the one from Peter Pan. They’d live in a neat little house that didn’t show indulgence. The garden would be immaculate because the wife would tend to it herself. The flowers and all that other shit. The husband would cut the lawn. They’d go to church on Sunday and be the goodly neighbours the Good Lord intended them to be.
Most of all they would be classed by all as good people.
I did not have that and sometimes it really was too late to change things.
The change had to start in the heart and mine had been filled with darkness years ago. Probably from birth.
I had a wife once. I think she loved me at some point before she died. And I had a kid. A daughter.
That child was the apple of my eye. She loved me at some point too, until the day when her eyes were opened to something else that was beyond my control. When truly loved someone you had to know when to let them go. To me though, you also had to know when it was time to bring them back to the fold.
Here lay the reason for my state of flux.
When a man was dying he had time to think about his life. Suddenly it was all he would think about. Did he change his ways so that he could go back to meet his maker with a clear conscience, so that his records would be white as snow? Like the bible put it. Or, would he do what he could to make sure his
family got taken care of?
That was the question on my mind last night as I closed my eyes and when I woke up this morning the answer came to me.
A knock sounded at the door.
I straightened up in my chair and rested back against the padded leather.
I couldn’t look as sick as felt in front of these people.
They’d known me forever but were like sharks and would turn on me at the first sign of weakness.
I was passing the torch but I still had to maintain the presence of power and control.
This was my choice, to take care of my family. To make sure the control and power passed in the way that I wanted it.
This was the only way that I knew she would be safe.
My daughter, my Amelia.
It was a nice thought to think I could change. But I had to sacrifice God’s grace for her.
It would be my last act as her father. A father that had to step outside of the relms of what was normal to do what he thought was best.
“Come in.” I called out, templing my fingers and holding my elbows at my side .
The door opened and Marcus came into my office with Lucian and Cladius, his two sons.
Marcus was my oldest friend, we went through life together and bore each other’s secrets. Too many secrets.
His sons were like my own. I’d known them from birth and they’d stepped in at a time when I needed to play father.
The brothers, however, could not have been more different if they tried. Both were leaders. That was a truth. They both had strong qualities. But there was only one that I had in mind for a number of reasons.
They sat in the three chairs before me.
Marcus smiled and nodded his head in reverence to me.
“This won’t take long.” I announced. “We don’t have time for any length of discussion.”
“As you wish Raphael,” Marcus replied.
Claudius straightened up with that smug attitude I’d grown used to for the last fifteen years. I liked the way he thought I was going to chose him, even though he’d given me no real reason to.
Lucian… Luc, as we called him, on the other hand sat in a similar fashion to me with his fingers templed and a contemplative look on his face.
He wanted this more than Claudius and so…
“Luc, I chose you.” I said that relly slow and purposefully.
While Marcus looked pleased, Claudius bolted up straight, anger filling his face and turning his pale skin red.
“Luc, how could you chose him?” Claudius challenged.
All I did was give him the look, and the man immeadiately knew his place. I watched the anger simmer as he tried to control himself in front of me. He knew that it didn’t matter who he was, but challenge me again and he’d end up with a limb missing, or dead.
I didn’t like those who had no respect, and I didn’t tolerate insolence either.
I focused my attention back to Luc who still had that contemplative look on his face.
“Luc, what say ye?” I asked.
“Thank you.” Came his simple reply. And that was the difference between Luc and Claudius. Luc could control himself for good or for bad.
I knew this choice would drive a wedge between them as brothers and they weren’t exactly close as it was.
They were like oil and water but did their best when Marcus was around.
Luc the oil and Claudius the water.
Oil stayed in control of itself and did not bend at the will of emotion. It only mixed itself out when the contions were right, and at the right moment. Water on the other hand flowed everywhere and tried to overpower everything in its wake. There was no control, just movemet.
I needed oil, not water. I needed Luc, not Claudius.
Because when it called for it he would only take care of himself. Jump ship and leave those who mattered to sink.
Luc on the other hand would be a true captain and go down with the ship if he needed to.
He knew how to handle a situation. He thought first before he acted. That was the person I needed here because this whole thing with me simply choosing who would take my place had become a lot bigger than me in the last twenty four hours.
I couldn’t even tell them that. Because I didn’t know the full extent of the situation at hand.
As leader of the most powerful family in Chicacgo I’d come to trust my instincts and feelings. That was how I still kept us going. That was how I kept us in power and out of the hands of those who would take it.
“Any questions before I continue?” I asked Luc.
In the corner of my eye I could see Claudius’ anger.
“No.” Luc shook his head.
I smiled. “Nothing whatsoever Lucian?”
Again he shook his head.
“I’m good. When do I start?”
At least that was one question.
“There are some terms I’d like you to meet, and you will only become leader once you’ve met them.” It was show time.
Marcus instantly looked thrown. He didn’t expect me to say that.
“What sort of terms?” Luc asked, his bright blue eyes staring into me with keen intrests.
“This has always been a family busoness. The Rossi’s go way back. I never had a son to carry on my name, and as you know my brother and his son died years ago. That left me in sole charge and I’m willing to pass the Rossi name, but not the tradition of keeping the business in the family.”
It was now that Luc looked unnerved. Marcus looked upset. I think he realised where I was going with this conversation.
“And how do you propose we do that?” Marcus asked.
It was a challenge but his tone was kept under control unlike when Claudius lost his temper.
“Amelia.”
“She wants nothing to do with us.” Marcus replied.
“She may have had a change of heart.” I nodded firmly knowing that my answer was bull shit.
Amelia wanted nothing to do with us indeed. Nothing to do with me.
But that didn’t change anything.
She needed to snap out of her hated, and disregard for our way of life.
“Amelia? What about her?” Luc asked.
Of course he would want to know that. I’d known Marcus for many years and his family but they were based in LA for a many years and came to Chicago a year after Amelia left. The need at the time called for it.
Luc was five years older than her and they’d never met.
They would have to get on though, or else I wasn’t passing anything.
I needed to make sure she would be safe. If what I thought was happening was indeed happening I needed to know that my girl was safe. I didn’t care by what means or that she hated me.
I needed to make sure that my last act in this world in my God given right as a father was making sure that my child was safe.
My girl was twenty eight years old now, not the little girl who used to run around in the garden with her mother, or see me as the best thing in the world. But, she was still my child.
Luc was the best man to take care of her and do what he saw fit with the business.
“Amelia, my daughter.”
“I thought she left years ago, never to return. What plans do you have Rapheal?” Luc said.
I really liked this guy and I wished this meeting was taking place under better circumstances.
I liked that he had the ability to adapt to my ever changing emotion and not piss me off like his brother always did.
“Luc, in order to be leader and take over our cherished family business, of which you have been a part of for the last fifteen years you will have to marry my daughter.”
That was the plan. My plan. My task.
Luc narrowed his eyes and pressed his thin lips togehther.
“I have to marry amelia in order to take over from you.”
I laughed and the winced at the same time as a bout of pain rushed through me making me double over. I opened my mouth to talk but started coughing.
Marcus moved over to the mini fridge and grabbed me a drink of water.
I sipped at it straight away and whipped my mouth with the back of my hand.
Something red dripped on the table.
Blood.
Shit.
That started yesterday. I thought I’d bit my tongue or the inside of my cheek but quickly realised that I hadn’t.
This was from the cancer and the weakness it was causing all over my body.
While Claudius watched me trying to find a piece of tissue, Luc got the box of tissues from the bookshelf and handed it to me.
He didn’t look like he relished in my demise. In fact he looked sad for me.
“I have to marry Amelia in order to take over from you?” It was a question this time.
“Yes, those are my terms. Do you accept?”
Luc held my gaze with those bright blue eyes and nodded. “I accept.”
Good.
It was time for action.

______________

MAFIA SCARS
(The Accidental Mafia Queen Book 2)
by Khardine Gray
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, mafia, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date: February 9, 2019

I was the devil. The worst kind of man for her.
I knew the truth would make her hate me. But, I still wanted her to be mine.
My goddess.
Damn, I’d never wanted a woman the way I wanted her.
One simple kiss could scorch my mind clean of everything I knew. That was what she did to me. She took me out of the real world, where I was a mobster and she was a cop.

I was the imposter who lied to her…

Her father gave me a task: marry his daughter and get everything.
Marry the daughter of the mafia king and get everything. The whole billion-dollar fortune.
Greed made me say yes, and love blinded me to the danger we were in.

The web of lies I got myself tangled in was the least of my worries because her life was in danger.
She had a target on her back.
Blood for blood, that’s the worst kind of mark you can get in my world.
It means death. Someone has to die…

I may be the devil and the worst kind of guy for this angel of a woman, but I’ll die trying to save her.
I will be her savior, and God help those who come for her.

•••••••••••

REVIEW: MAFIA SCARS is the second instalment in Khardine Gray’s contemporary, adult THE ACCIDENTAL MAFIA QUEEN mafia, erotic, romance trilogy focusing on twenty-eight year old, LAPD Detective Amelia ‘Taylor’ Rossi, and thirty-five year old, Rossi Family mobster Lucian ‘Smith’ Morientz. MAFIA SCARS should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately following the events of book one MAFIA BOSS.

SOME BACKGROUND: Approximately eleven years earlier Amelia Rossi ran from Chicago after discovering the truth about her father Don Raphael Rossi. Now a dedicated police detective with the LAPD Amelia will come face to face with her future in the guise of Luc Smith aka Lucian Morientz, the new heir to her father’s crime family, and the man sent to bring the prodigal daughter, back home.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Luc and Amelia) MAFIA SCARS continues to follow the building relationship and romance between twenty-eight year old, LAPD Detective Amelia ‘Taylor’ Rossi, and thirty-five year old, Rossi Family mobster Lucian ‘Smith’ Morientz. Having discovered Luc’s real identity, and his connection to her father, Amelia finds herself battling between head and heart knowing her own life is about to spiral out of control. With a rat in the department, Amelia’s life hangs in the balance but our heroine is determined to remain on the force regardless of the possibility that someone has placed a target on her back. Unaware of the true nature of the threats against her life. Amelia is oblivious to the men assigned to protect her from harm. What ensues is Amelia’s struggle to remain separate from the business back home, and Lucian’s need to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love.

MAFIA SCARS focuses on the threats to our story line heroine: some of the background history and events leading to the present day, as well as the family connections to everyone involved. The relationship between Luc and Amelia takes a bit of hit but neither one can imagine life without the other. The premise is engaging and captivating: the romance is hot and heavy; the characters are numerous and energetic as the past comes full circle in its’ need for revenge. MAFIA SCARS is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance; family, blood and forgiveness.

I became a cop because of what had happened to me, and what had happened to my mother.
I knew it must have killed my father to find that one out, but I didn’t care. The day I decided that was what I wanted to do was the day when it all felt right.
It felt right at the time. It felt like my way of doing something good in this world, for whatever part I could play. Even if deep down being a cop didn’t feel like the real me.
The only time when it didn’t feel like me was when I was with Luc. I didn’t know if the irony in that was down to the fact that Luc was a mobster and the universe was trying to give me some weird messed-up warning, or if maybe it was real.
The man brought out a side of me that I’d buried and didn’t want to acknowledge. He said things and knew how to reach me, but that could have been my father’s doing. He could have simply told him all he needed to know about me to charm me out of my dignity.
“It didn’t seem that way. It seemed like you lov—”
“No.” I cut her off before she could finish the word. “No.”
I didn’t want to even thing about that damn word. Love. No, not for me.
Love was an enemy emotion to someone like me who’d lived so much disappointment and had trust issues. Love opened me up for disaster, and weakness.
What I had to do now was move on, and as far as these people who were after me were concerned, I had to find some way to eliminate them before anyone else got hurt.
I’d have to look for them myself.
Gigi pressed her lips together in a thin line, then sighed.
“Okay.”
The doorbell rang, and I frowned knowing who it was. Gigi frowned too.
Sinclaire had been coming by every damn day since Luc left.
He was the one who’d found out about Luc and raised the alarms about him.
He knew I was pissed off about that. I wasn’t sure if his daily visits were attempts to gain my forgiveness, or if he was still trying to convince me that I should be with him.
“What are you going to do about him?” Gigi raised a sharp brow.
She didn’t like Sinclaire. Gigi thought he was an arrogant bastard who thought he owned the world.
“He’s just checking on me.”
“Right, I’m supposed to believe that. The man wants to get in your pants. It’s very obvious. And no doesn’t seem to be a strong enough word for him.” She twisted her jaw when the bell rang again and got up. “I’ll get it. Maybe I can fend him off with a curse. I’ll threaten to give him warts on his dick or something.”
I chuckled at that. Gigi was serious though. True to her Romani heritage, Gigi had followed her Wiccan traditions and believed in spells and curses.
Mostly, the whole thing annoyed the heck out of me, but sometimes it was entertaining. Sinclaire, however, didn’t deserve warts on his dick.
I knew he was just doing the right thing, something I couldn’t have done. I was mainly pissed at him for his motives in doing it.
He saw Luc as his competition and a threat.
Gigi went to answer the door but never came back into the breakfast room to finish off her food. Sinclaire came in instead with that hopeful look on his face.
“Hi, I came by to see if you needed anything before work,” he began.
Like every other day when I saw him, I felt hurt by what he had done. And my mind saw him as the person who made Luc go away.
“I don’t need anything. Thanks.” I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked away from him.
He came closer, pulled up Gigi’s chair, and sat down right in front of me. Our knees touched, and he reached out to take my hand.
I didn’t pull back.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed, holding my gaze.
“What are you sorry for?”
“About Luc.” It looked like it pained him to say that.
“What exactly are you sorry for in regard to Luc? The part where seconds after you found out that he wasn’t really Luc Smith, you went and told Roose? Or is it the part where you didn’t consider that I could be hurt by what happened? Hurt by the truth.” I pulled my hand away from his and moved to the kitchen window.
I looked outside to the back garden of my neighbors on the other street.
Sinclaire joined me and placed his hand on my waist, turning me to face him.
“All of it. I just want us to at the very least go back to how we used to be. Can we do that?”
I gazed up into his sea-green eyes. Seeing the wealth of his feelings for me, I didn’t know how I could agree to that. How we used to be was this.
We were friends, really good friends, but he wanted more.
More than I could give him even before I’d met Luc. And worse now that I had.
Months ago, when Luc first arrived, the day Luc arrived, Sinclaire had been shot. It nearly killed me when I thought I’d lost him. Another person I would have lost to gun violence.
To say that I felt nothing for him would be a lie, but what I felt was the depth of that friendship and the extent to which I cared for him.
When he looked at me like he was now, it made me wonder if I was completely crazy. We’d known each other forever, worked together on the same team for years, trusted each other. I knew him. Knew he wasn’t a bad person, knew he wasn’t a mobster and would always do the right thing, no matter what. So why didn’t I want him the way he wanted me?
His eyes dropped from mine to my lips, then to the exposed flesh of my chest, and to my breasts. That was when he looked back up quickly and planted a kiss on my forehead.
He released the light hold he had on me and backed away, turning to go.
“Yes,” I said just as he was about to go through the door.
He stopped, turned back to me and searched my eyes. “Yes?”
“Yes. I want to move forward.” I wanted to move forward and needed to. For my own sanity.
“Me too. I care about you a lot, and it kills me to have this tension between us. I miss …us. I miss the way we were before.”
That was one thing I completely agreed with. We had a different sort of friendship. Different to how I was with Max, my supposed ex-partner.
Max who was still in Florida with his family because my father arranged for him to be there so Luc could step in and get close to me. What a damn mess. All I knew was Max and his family were safe and would be staying where they were for the moment. Or perhaps a better way to put it was, they’d be there until they were told to come home.
It all made me crazy and the tension got worst every day.
Sinclaire was the guy that had kept me sane through all these years. Maybe because there was some element of us that had gone past friendship and that wasn’t something I shared with Max.
“I miss us too.” I confessed, bringing my hands together and knitting my fingers.
A gentle smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “So, that means I should have coffee ready when you get to the office?”
“Yeah.” I managed a smile, but that was all.
He tipped his head and left.
I released the breath I’d been holding and leaned down on the counter.
Images of Luc filled my mind, again. He was always there in my mind. Never far away.
Luc.
Luc, why can’t I get you out of my head and forget you?
He was so bad for me. A mobster, someone who worked for my father. Someone powerful enough to take over the family business from the mafia king.
He was someone I needed to forget.

______________

MAFIA LOVE
(The Accidental Mafia Queen #3)
by Khardine Gray
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, mafia, romance

ADD to Goodreads

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 16, 2019

Luc
The hour of reckoning was upon us…
Amelia’s life was in danger.
Amelia, my goddess.
The time to watch the situation had long passed.
Now, it was time to change things up.
Time for me to change.
Love made me go soft and allow the image and handle I had on things to slip out of my grasp.
I needed to find myself. Now more than ever.
All the secrets were jumping straight out of the closet. Right into the open for all to see.
We weren’t playing games anymore.
It was time for war. It was time to become the devil I was.

Amelia
No more games, no more lies.
No more running from the past.
No more running from who I used to be.
I knew I would lose my soul when I fell for Luc.
I was a cop, and he was a mobster. Love lured me to the dark side.
We could pretend to be whoever we wanted to be, but truth was truth.
The games were over and right now I couldn’t see past the darkness that waited for me.

••••••••••••••

REVIEW: MAFIA LOVE is the third and final instalment in Khardine Gray’s contemporary, adult THE ACCODENTAL MAFIA QUEEN mafia, erotic romance trilogy focusing on twenty-eight year old, LAPD Detective Amelia ‘Taylor’ Rossi, and thirty-five year old, Rossi Family mobster Lucian Morientz. MAFIA LOVE should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book two MAFIA SCARS.

NOTE: MAFIA LOVE contains scenes of graphic and implied violence that may not be suitable for more sensitive readers.

Told from three first person points of view (Raphael, Luc, Amelia) MAFIA LOVE follows Luc and Amelia as they find themselves in Chicago in an attempt to take down the people bent on revenge. Years earlier Don Raphael Rossi destroyed the life of a man he once trusted; a friend he once loved, and now his daughter is paying for sins of the past. With both Luc and Amelia targeted by a sick and psychotic mind, one-time co-workers, family and dedicated friends make it their mission to protect the people they love. What ensues is an action-packed, free for all between the baddest of the bad, a free for all where not everyone will survive.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters. Khardine Gray has plans for a new spin-off series GANGSTERS AND DOLLS focusing on Lucian’s brother Claudius, and his men, The Four, as well as a story featuring Brad Sinclaire, Amelia’s former LAPD partner. I am hoping for a more detailed account of Gigi (Amelia’s BFF) and Maurice’s romance.

MAFIA LOVE is a story of family, hatred, vengeance and betrayal. The requisite evil is unhinged and insane; the violence and brutality is psychotic and deranged. Don Raphael Rossi will hand over leadership of the Rossi Crime Syndicate; Lucian’s right hand man will find love; and it becomes difficult to separate the good from the bad. The fast paced premise is intriguing and entertaining; the characters are numerous, aggressive and powerful; the romance is spicy and moving. If you love mafia-style romance then give THE ACCIDENTAL MAFIA QUEEN a try-the building story line becomes more intriguing and entertaining with each successive instalment..

Copies supplied for review

Reviews by Sandy

“I thought you were sleeping,” I moved to sit next to her on the bed. Amelia hugged her knees to her chest. The motion caused the delicate straps of her negligee to slip down her shoulders.
“I was,” she replied, voice faint and weary. “I just woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. There were voices in the house, strange people… just like before.”
“Before?” I didn’t know what she meant.
“The night my mother died. My father’s men came here. It was the first time I saw what we were… Not normal.” She looked troubled.
“Amelia—” She stopped me with a kiss. She moved so quickly to my lips that I didn’t even register what she was doing. I was about to launch into my strength pep talk from earlier, but the kiss robbed me of my thoughts.
She moved and shuffled so that she was in my lap, then those long golden legs wrapped around me as she straddled me.
I kissed her back with the same passion she fed me, indulging in her hot, wet mouth, indulging in the taste of her.
Indulging in her and all that made this woman mine.
“Luc, make love to me.” Her whisper was like a feather-soft caress on my lips. “I want it like how it was before, when we were just wild and free and indulged in each other.”
“Here?” I was very aware that this was her bedroom and Raphael was nearby. “You sure we won’t give your father a heart attack?” I didn’t know where the strength came from to chuckle, but I did.
She moved back and gave me a sassy look that oozed seduction. When she reached for the hem of that already sexyas- hell negligee and pulled the thing over her head to unveil her beautiful naked body, my heart stilled and my cock instantly hardened.
The vision of her sexiness was enhanced when she loosened the band holding her hair up in a ponytail and that gorgeous mass of hair tumbled down her shoulders and over her fully rounded breasts. My eyes zeroed in on her taut strawberry-pink nipples begging to be sucked.
“You can touch me if you want to Lucian. I swear my dad won’t come in here. His room’s several doors down.” She smiled as I continued to stare. “You’re looking at me like it’s the first time you’ve seen me naked.”
“It’s always like the first time, and yes, I will touch you.” I absolutely fucking would. “Lie down and open your legs. I want to make you feel good. Make you forget everything.”
She did as I asked, resting back against the stack of pillows and opening her legs.
She was a beautiful, sexy sight and all mine for the taking.
The pretty little pink thong she wore just enhanced the vision of her. Her wearing nothing but that, hair sprawled out around her and that golden skin stark against the pink lace.
I backed off my jacket and took hold of her tiny waist as I moved onto the bed. In that instant, I got sucked into the temptation of her, and I was the one who forgot everything. Damn, I forgot it all. Where we were, who we were, what we were.
I was just Luc, the man who wanted her to be mine, and I hoped like hell she just felt like Amelia. My goddess.

Khardine Gray is a contemporary romance author who lives in England with her husband, two kids, and three crazy ferrets.

She is well traveled, cultured, and a woman with a passion for dancing and ice skating.

When not writing you can catch her shopping, indulging on pizza and hot chocolate, or hanging out with her family and friends.

No need to spend money on an airline ticket. Simply pick up one of Khardine’s books to become immersed in the fascinating stories and characters she creates.

Website* Newsletter*Facebook*Facebook Group* Twitter*Amazon* Goodreads

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Mafia Bosses / The Struggle by Chloe Fischer-reviews

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MAFIA BOSSES Box Set / The Struggle: Series Prequel by Chloe Fischer- reviews

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 14, 2018

Three women are about to meet their matches in Matteo, Ariano, and Marco.

Being a mafia boss isn’t easy, especially when you’re being challenged at every turn by three headstrong…but gorgeous,maddening…but oh-so-fricking sexy, smart…but damn stubbornwomen.

This is a high heat, high danger trilogy where your worst enemy can become your best dream, and hate can become scorching hot passion.

There are all kinds of enemies, but the kind that end up bringing you ‘O’ after ‘O’ are the best kind…

•••••••••••••

REVIEWS: 

TAKING MY MAFIA PRINCESS is the first instalment in Chloe Fischer’s contemporary, adult MAFIA BOSSES erotic, romance series focusing on the men and women of the DiMarco mob. This is mobster Ariano Francisco, and mob princess Celina DiMarco. For backstory and cohesion I recommend reading the series prequel-MAFIA BOSSES: The Struggle.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Ariano and Celina) TAKING MY MAFIA PRINCESS follows the enemies to lovers relationship between Ariano Francisco and Celina DiMarco. Celina’s father, Don Giovanni DiMarco, is about to declare a new DiMarco capo, and his choices have been narrowed down to two. To prove he is worthy, Ariano is assigned as Celina’s bodyguard, a six month assignment that places our hero in the direct line of fire. What ensues is the building relationship between Ariano and Celina, and the potential fall-out as someone else targets Celina as his own.

Celina DiMarco is considered a spoiled princess, a woman considered dangerous and untouchable but Ariano’s attraction to Celina is immediate and wrong. Knowing what can happen if someone crosses the boss, Ariano struggles to keep his distance from the woman who pushes all of his buttons but a woman who continues to flaunt her assets in order to pull Ariano into her web. The $ex scenes are erotic and intense.

TAKING MY MAFIA PRINCESS is story of betrayal and revenge: a captivating and intriguing story line TAKING MY MAFIA PRINCESS is an energetic look at a mob princess and the man that she loves.

••••••••••••••

BREAKING THE LAW is the second instalment in Chloe Fischer’s contemporary, adult MAFIA BOSSES erotic, romance series focusing on the men and women of the DiMarco mob. This is undercover detective Andrea Benito (aka Sofia Morano) , and DiMarco mafia kingpin Marco Sardelli’s storyline. BREAKING THE LAW can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but for backstory and cohesion I recommend reading the series prequel-MAFIA BOSSES: The Struggle.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Marco and Andrea) BREAKING THE LAW follows Detective Andrea Benito as she goes undercover to ferret out information regarding her missing and presumed dead cousin and agent Valentina Benito. Months earlier agent Valentina Benito disappeared without a trace while undercover with the DiMarco mob, and the Miami-Dade police department is hoping to retrieve what they lost. Enter Detective Andrea Benito, who must go undercover in the hopes of uncovering the truth, a truth that will place a target on our heroine’s back, in more ways than one. What ensues is the building relationship between mafia kingpin Marco Sardelli, and Andrea Benito, and the potential fall-out as Andrea becomes fodder for secrets, lies, betrayal and revenge.

Marco Sardelli doesn’t do relationships since the last debacle with Mara Cordoza, a woman he suspected of having an affair but a woman with more secrets than the Italian mob. Meeting and ‘rescuing’ Sofia Morano gave Marco a second chance for a happily ever after a chance that will be destroyed when the truth is revealed.

The relationship between Marco and Andrea (aka Sofia) begins as a ruse. Andrea is undercover in an attempt to uncover the truth about Valentina’s disappearance, a truth that will place everyone in danger including our story line couple The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense but I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word-although only used once-more for shock value than anything else.

We are reintroduced to the Don, Giovanni DiMarco, Ariano Francisco, Mara Cordoza, as well as bartender Tracey; and Agent Terry Draggan.

BREAKING THE LAW is a story of secrets, lies, betrayal and vengeance. The premise is fast paced and engaging; the romance is sexy and steamy; the characters are colorful, charismatic and hot.

•••••••••••••••••

TAKEN BY THE MAFIA BOSS is the third instalment in Chloe Fischer’s contemporary, adult MAFIA BOSSES erotic, romance, mafia series focusing on the men and women of the DiMarco mob. This is mob boss Matteo Bruno , and Cara Vinucci’s story line. TAKEN BY THE MAFIA BOSS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series prequel-THE STRUGGLE:Mafia Bosses for back story and cohesion.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Matteo and Cara) TAKEN BY THE MAFIA BOSS follows the enemies to lovers relationship between mob boss Matteo Bruno , and Cara Vinucci. Years earlier, a then eight year old Matteo was the ongoing victim of bullying and assault by our story line heroine, bullying that made the man Matteo would one day become. Fast forward to present day wherein Matteo would come face to face with his past, including Cara’s brother who is determined to destroy everything about Matteo and the DiMarco mob. What ensues is the building but tempestuous relationship between Matteo and Cara, and the potential fall-out as Matteo’s plans for retribution are stifled by thoughts of a future with our story line heroine.

The relationship between Matteo and Cara is one of enemies to lovers; a romance and seduction with ulterior motives including vengeance on behalf of our story line hero. Having made Matteo’s life a living h*ll, Cara has no idea what plans Matteo has in store. The $ex scenes are aggressive and intense.

We are introduced to Cara’s brother Salvatore Venucci, along with the reappearance of Ariano and Celine.

TAKEN BY THE MAFIA BOSS is a quick read; a novella length story wherein Matteo seeks to avenge his eight-year old self but in doing so finds his own happily ever after. The premise is entertaining; the romance is provocative; the characters are spirited and sassy.

Own a copy

Reviewed by Sandy

___________

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THE STRUGGLE: The Mafia Bosses Series Prequel
by Chloe Fischer
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance, mafia
Release Date: September 23, 2018

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 23, 2018

“The mafia always gets revenge”.
What turned these men hard…and dangerous?
For Marco, Matteo, and Adriano, life was seldom easy. But their struggle is what made them determined to get what they want.
And fight…or kill…to keep it.

••••••••

REVIEW: THE STRUGGLE: The Mafia Bosses is the prequel novella to Chloe Fischer’s contemporary, adult THE MAFIA BOSSES erotic romance series.

THE STRUGGLE looks back several years in the life and introduces the characters in Chloe Fischer’s The Mafia Bosses series. From childhood drama, taunting and family dysfunction THE STRUGGLE reveals the events and struggles that would make the men (and woman) who work and run the DeMarco crime family. Erotic, intense and dark THE STRUGGLE is a quick introduction that leaves the reader wanting more.

Copy supplied through Bookfunnel

Reviewed by Sandy

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Rocco (Ruin and Revenge #3) by Sarah Castille- a review

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ROCCO (Ruin and Revenge #3) by Sarah Castille-a review

Rocco

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About the book: January 2, 2018

Mafia enforcer, Rocco De Lucchi is the best in the business.

Cold, hard and utterly ruthless, Rocco is the most dangerous of men. Feelings are a luxury he cannot afford—until a chance encounter brings him face to face with the only woman who found her way into his heart and touched his soul.

Grace Mantini has spent her whole life running from the mob. Daughter of the boss’s right hand man, she is both a prize and a target. When Rocco walks back into her life, she wants nothing to do with the man who betrayed her and broke her heart. But only Rocco can protect her from the dangerous forces that seek to destroy her family. Can they escape the hands of fate closing around them? Or will love be the kiss of death for them both?

••••••••••

REVIEW: ROCCO is the third instalment in Sarah Castille’s contemporary adult RUIN AND REVENGE erotic, mafia romance series set in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is mafia enforcer Rocco De Lucchi, of the De Lucchi crew, and psychologist/jazz singer Grace Mantini’s story line. ROCCO can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Grace and Rocco) ROCCO follows the second chance romance between mafia enforcer Rocco De Lucchi, and Grace Mantini, the daughter of the New York underboss, and a woman whose has spent most of her adult life running from the mob. A recent funeral for a mutual acquaintance finds Grace pulled back into the lifestyle she wants desperately to forget, but a lifestyle that has cruelly imbedded itself upon the man that she loves. A crime-family divided will pit blood against blood, and family against friends forcing Rocco to choose between his heart and the mob. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Rocco and Grace as Grace and her family are targeted by an unknown source, and the potential fall out when Grace discovers the truth behind Rocco’s re-appearance in her life.

Six years earlier Grace’s life was all but destroyed by retribution and retaliation against the man that she loves. Unable to fulfill his duty to the man that destroyed his life Rocco watched as Grace became the victim of his father’s cruelty and pain. Running from New York Grace thought she found the solace and freedom from the lifestyle she had grown to hate but Vegas was now home to the man who stole her heart.

All of her life Grace has been sheltered from her father’s lifestyle, a lifestyle that has caused so much pain including the death of her mother, and the physical and emotional scars our heroine hides from the world including the man that she loves. Rocco De Lucchi’s life has been harder than most as the adopted son of one of the most feared and reviled mafia families. Broken and battered, Rocco needs the physical pain to control the beast that formed by years of misery and abuse. An anti-hero at best, Rocco is a man feared for his cold, calculating ability to kill but a man whose softer side has only been seen by the woman he loves. A true apha with issues of control, Rocco is not the usual romantic hero. An order from his father forces Rocco to disobey- a decision that could affect the New York and Las Vegas crime families and their power to control.

The relationship between Grace and Rocco is one of second chances; a rekindling romance originally destroyed by power and greed, and a man who isn’t afraid to take what doesn’t belong. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense but I dislike the use of a certain four letter word that I find unacceptable in a romance storyline. There is a limited S/M scene involving our story line (anti) hero that may be troubling for more sensitive readers.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including several members of various mafia families. We are reintroduced to Nico and Mia (Nico #1), Luca and Gabrielle (Luca #2); Grace’s father Nunzio Mantini, and her brother Tom ; self-appointed crime boss Tony Toscani; Rocco’s most trusted soldier and former MMA fighter Mike; Rocco’s father Cesare De Lucchi, the head of a group of professional enforcers; and Tiffany, a woman with secrets of her own.

The world building continues to focus on the violent and murderous world of the Las Vegas Italian mob. No one is safe; everyone is suspect; retribution and murder are the price for disobedience and defiance. The violence is graphic although the author does limit the virtual visibility of the blood, guts and gore.

ROCCO is an emotional story line of one woman’s struggle to move on from the past, and one man’s battle between honor and heart. The premise is gritty and raw; the characters are colorful, charismatic and tragic; the romance is passionate, seductive and rebellious.

Reading Order and Previous reviews
Nico
Luca
Rocco

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

About the Author

Sarah CastilleSarah Castille is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Redemption Series, Ruin & Revenge Series, Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club series, Legal Heat series and the Club Excelsior series. A recovering lawyer with a fondness for dirty-talking alpha males, she now is a full-time writer, who lives on Vancouver Island. Sarah’s books have been listed as Publisher’s Weekly’s Top Ten Picks and Best Summer Reads, and Amazon’s Best Romance Books of the Year, and have won numerous reader’s choice awards including the Holt Medallion.

Connect with Sarah:

BOOKBUB | FACEBOOK | AMAZON AUTHOR | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS | PINTEREST | YOUTUBE | NEWSLETTER | WEBSITE

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Nico (Ruin and Revenge #1) by Sarah Castille-Review, Book Tour & Giveaway

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NICO (Ruin and Revenge #1) by Sarah Castille-Review,Book Tour & Giveaway

 

Nico Banner

Nico Blog Banner

NICO
Ruin and Revenge #1
by Sarah Castille
Release Date: December 6, 2016
Genre: adult, contemporary, mafia romance

Nico

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 6, 2016

A dangerous proposal

Las Vegas Mafia boss, Nico Toscani, is used to getting what he wants, whether it is having the City of Sin under his rule or a beautiful woman in his bed. But when he meets his match in the gorgeous, headstrong Mia Cordano, the daughter of a rival crime lord, all bets are off. . .

Sexy computer hacker, Mia, struggles to break free of her ruthless father’s Mafia ties…but she can’t resist the powerful and seductive Nico, who will stop at nothing to possess her. With their families locked in a brutal war for control of the city, Mia and Nico enter into a forbidden game. Will they surrender to the passion that burns between them—and risk tearing apart their families? Or will Nico be forced to betray the only woman who sets his blood on fire?

•••••••••••

REVIEW: NICO is the first installment in Sarah Castille’s contemporary, adult RUIN AND REVENGE erotic, mafia romance series. This is Las Vegas Mafia boss Nico Toscani, and computer hacker Mia Cordano’s story line.

Told from several third person points of view including Nico and Mia NICO focuses on the rivalry between two warring Mafia families-the Toscanis and the Cordanos. Years earlier Nico Toscani’s father was gunned down by a member of the Cordano crime family and in the ensuing years Nico has slowly planned his blood debt but when a sexy computer hacker hired by Nico’s security firm hacks into Nico’s heart our (anti) hero is taken by surprise to discover she is the daughter of his Las Vegas enemy. Enter Mia Cordano, the woman who will steal Nico’s heart.

Mia is a head strong, high spirited and courageous woman whose fashion sense borders on the gothic and punk; the daughter of the Cordano Don, Mia is a woman who refuses to accept her position within the Mafia family. Following years of abuse at the hands of her father and his men, Mia has ventured out on her own only to be pulled back in when her father has promised her, as payment, to the Toscani family. Nico is a man determined to destroy the man who took his father’s life but his attraction to Mia places Nico in a precarious position when the two families find themselves in a literal war. Nico’s place within the family is questioned and he has yet to assume the mantel of Don due in part to his mother’s status; he has a softer heart than most men in his position.

The relationship between Mia and Nico begins acrimoniously. Mia was hired to hack into Nico’s computers, and Nico believes our heroine is responsible for a bloody vendetta between the families. Mia and her sister are nothing more than a bargaining tool for the Cordano family, and it is Nico’s life that is threatened when Mia refuses to abide by the family rules. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense.

We are introduced to several member of the Cordano and Toscani families-both by blood and by Mafia association. Not everyone will survive.

NICO is a dark, gritty and somewhat brutal look at life in the Mafia. Women are considered fodder; collateral damage in a war between two powerful families; nothing more than a byproduct of negotiation and exchange. Some readers may find the treatment of women vulgar and abusive but such is the life in Sarah Castille’s Mafia families.

NICO is an abrasive, raw and imaginative story line about forbidden love, Mafia politics, power and control. The premise is emotional and heartbreaking; the characters are controversial, tragic and colorful; the romance is provocative and passionate. NICO is a seductive and dramatic story line from the pen of Sarah Castille.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

excerpt

 

“Is this everything?” Tony thumbed through the envelope. “This is half of what you brought us last month.” He shared a glance with Charlie Nails and smirked. “I thought you fancied yourself an old- style mobster. In the old days, the casinos were a license to print money. This is hardly enough to pay our staff.”
Nico steeled himself to show an outer calm as he raged inside. “That’s just the casino money.” He reached into the pocket of his double- breasted suit jacket, and pulled out a second envelope. “This is from the other businesses and the pay up from my crew.”
Santo’s eyes narrowed when Nico tossed the second envelope on the table. Although not a clever man, like Nico’s father had been, Santo had a sixth sense for when he was being ripped off. “Is that everything?”
No, of course it wasn’t everything. Despite the risk, Nico had several businesses on the side, including a nice little condo racket in which the main condo developers in the city exclusively hired interior designers controlled by Nico’s associates, giving Nico a share of every condo development. His connection with the steelworkers’ union had also given him a line into the rapidly developing construction of new casinos from a wave of foreign billionaires looking for a place to park their money.
Unlike his uncle, who had taken the family into the drug trade against Cosa Nostra rules, Nico was all about real estate. The online scams and Internet fraud that many of his associates claimed were the new wave of business were of no interest to him, nor were any rackets where he had to enforce his will through vio lence. Although he would mete out punishment if it was due, attracting the attention of the police and FBI was not the way he wanted to do business. Nico liked to talk to the people he did business with, he liked to make connections, and his casino was the perfect place to wine and dine potential partners before comping them a few evenings in the high- stakes room, and taking even more of their money.
“That’s it.” Nico moved to leave and Santo held up a hand.
“Since you’re here and you are family, I want you to be the first to know. Tony’s getting married.”
Tony Crackers married? What kind of woman would agree to marry a man with a reputation for brutal violence?
“Congratulations, cugino.” He shook his Tony’s hand. “Who’s the lucky woman?”
“Mia Cordano.” Tony gave him a sly smile. “I heard you were with her the other night. I didn’t know you were so close to the Toscanis.”
Nico understood the implied threat, but he didn’t address it because he was still trying to process the information. Political marriages were very common in the upper level of the Mafi a, but usually the women involved in the arranged marriages were of a type— docile, submissive, fully indoctrinated in the Cosa Nostra culture, and willing to help the family through an alliance that would benefit both sides. He couldn’t see an assertive, intelligent, sophisticated businesswoman like Mia Cordano marrying a violent, uneducated criminal like Tony Crackers unless she was forced to do it— and although some women were pressured by the families into marriages, how did one force a woman who so expertly wielded a knife?
“Vito hired her to do cyber- security work for the casino.”
Santo sucked on his cigar, blew a ring of smoke. “You should keep better track of what your employees are doing, especially when we are involved in a faida with her family of your making.”
“You don’t support the faida?” Nico scowled. “What man of honor would not want to avenge his brother after he was shot in the back by a coward who didn’t even have permission from the New York bosses for the hit?”
“Don’t disrespect your uncle,” Charlie Nails warned. “He has his reasons for doing what he does and they are not your concern.”
Nico shot him a scathing look. Aside from some minor gambling and loan sharking, Charlie Nails, a lawyer, ran a legitimate law firm and helped the family out with legal issues as well as liaising with important “bought” figures such as politicians or judges. He had been a trusted and close friend of Nico’s father, but Nico had no tolerance for a man who would sell his loyalty to the highest bidder.
Santo raised a hand to silence Charlie Nails. “He should know that his actions have led to this marriage. Don Cordano has eyes on his daughter. When he found out she had been seen with you, Nico, he called me with concerns about her safety. He accused us of disregarding the rules regarding the sanctity of women and children in the faida.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. She was there for business. Her safety was never in question.”
Santo waved a dismissive hand. “Both sides have lost many soldiers in this senseless war. Don Cordano fears for the life of his son, Dante, as I fear for the life of my Tony. We shared our concerns and discussed a truce. As a show of good faith, he offered one of his daughters in marriage to the Toscani family. It was not an opportunity I was prepared to pass up. The Cordanos have a solid foothold in the drug trade. Marriage will bring us together. Don Cordano thinks to gain strength through the union, but Dante is weak, not worthy to lead. Once Dante and the don are out of the way, Tony will have a claim to lead by marriage and he will take over as boss. Together, he and I will push aside the other Cosa Nostra families and take control of the city.”
Nico pulled his pen from his pocket and spun it around his thumb as he struggled to hide his anger. His father had intended to pass the pen down to Nico when he became a made man, just as his father had done for him.
But he hadn’t lived to see the day. Nico had only started carrying the pen after he was made, and he intended to pass it on to his son.
“My father has not yet been avenged,” he spat out. “And what of all the soldiers and capos who will lose their lives? You dragged this family into the drug trade against Cosa Nostra rules. Everything my father tried to do for the family, you have undone. But this . . . betrayal of the other Cosa Nostra families, a full- out war for control of the city . . . How many will be left standing at the end?”
Charlie Nails, quiet until that moment, ran a hand through his silvery hair. “I have to agree, Santo. Not just because of Nico’s father, Maximo, but because our involvement with the drug trade has already brought us to the attention of the FBI. When Maximo was boss, we were able to fly under the radar. If we expand our drug operation, and the bodies start to pile up, they are going to come down hard on us. Even if our men don’t get whacked in the civil war you propose, they’ll wind up in jail.”
“Cazzo!” Even more volatile than usual, Tony reached for the weapon holstered at his side, and Santo held up a hand.
“Stand down. Charlie Nails is old and slow, and Nico is maybe upset that you have stolen his woman. But he understands that this is a sacrifice that must be made for la famiglia.”
Nico’s stomach tightened at the thought of his crazy cousin married to Mia, the girl he’d once held, trembling in his arms, who had become a beautiful woman who stirred a longing in him he had long thought dead. Did her father, Don Cordano, understand the risk? The danger she was in? “Did she agree to this?”
Copyright © 2016 by Sarah Castille and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Paperbacks.


 

About the Author

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Sarah CastilleNew York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, graduated with a B.A Honors degree in History and an LL.B. (law degree) and practiced law on the West Coast for several years before succumbing to the lure of foreign travel. She obtained a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Edinburgh and then practiced at one of the world’s largest law firms in London, England during which time she traveled extensively, wrote moderately, and developed a taste for tea, European footwear and Greek cuisine.

She traded in her life of European glamor for the comforts of the frozen North and the excitement of home renovation, during which time she wrote extensively, never traveled, and developed a taste for beef jerky, Tim Horton’s coffee and Sorels.

After her first book, Legal Heat, won prizes in nine Romance Writers’ Association chapter contests, including the Grand Prize in the Valley of the Sun Hot Prospects Contest, Sarah decided to take a break from high heels and legal practice to write about red-hot alpha males and the women who tame them. Her second book, Against the Ropes, was named as one of Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Picks for Romance & Erotica for fall 2013, and her third book, Unraveled, hit the New York Times Bestseller’s list. Sarah’s current release, Barely Undercover, was named as the “Must Read Erotic Romance of the Year” in the Sneak Peek Reader’s Choice Awards (2013). She hasn’t dusted off her briefcase yet!

Sarah lives with her husband, munchkins and a family of owls in the shadow of Canada’s Rocky Mountains, where she is currently working on her next novel.

giveaway

Sarah Castille’s publisher is offering a paper copy of NICO (Ruin and Revenge #1) to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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