Ruthless Prince (Dark Syndicate #1) by Faith Summers-Review tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date 14, 2020
We were destined for disaster from the second we met …
Massimo D’Agostino is the heir to his father’s empire.
Don’t be fooled by his handsome face, or that piercing blue gaze.
He’s no prince charming.
He’s dangerous and feared, possessive and fierce.
Our first meeting began with a contract that forced me to marry him and sign my life away.
I was a debt repayment and a pawn in his game to exact revenge against my father.
The only way out is death.
I belong to him now.
Me, the Balesteri Mafia Princess.
Pure and untouched…
Owned by the devil who placed me in a gilded cage.
But something unexpected happened the moment our paths collided.
It made me want more of what he had to offer every time I lay beneath him.
Then the past came knocking at the door and dark secrets scattered at my feet.
Suddenly I don’t know truth from lies.
Or, who the monster in this story is.
I thought it was my husband.
Now I’m not so sure…
••••••••
REVIEW:RUTHLESS PRINCE is the first instalment in Faith Summers’ contemporary, adult DARK SYNDICATE dark, erotic, Mafia romance series. This is twenty-nine year old, heir to the D’Agostino empire Massimo D’Agostino and nineteen year old, Mafia princess Emelia Balesteri’s story line.
WARNING: RUTHLESS PRINCE contains mature content, graphic violence, and triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Massimo and Emelia) RUTHLESS PRINCE follows in the aftermath of the D’Agostino family losing everything. Twelve years earlier the D’Agostino family lost their empire, their seat on the Syndicate, and the family matriarch to an apparent suicide, all with the aid of syndicate member and competing Mafia head Riccardo Balesteri. Fast forward to present day wherein, a now twenty-nine year old Massimo D’Agostino, the new head of the D’Agostino empire, seeks retribution for sins of the past starting with Riccardo’s nineteen year old daughter Emelia Balesteri as payment for a debt owed. Hours before her trip to Italy to study art, nineteen year old Emelia Balesteri would become the prisoner and reluctant fiancée of Massimo D’Agostino, the man she now blames for destroying her life. As Massimo and the D’Agostino family continue to tear apart the Balesteri empire, Riccardo Balesteri sets a plan into motion to destroy them all, in an effort take back everything and more.
Massimo D’Agostino vowed vengeance the day Riccardo Balesteri held a gun to Massimo’s then twelve year old head at his beloved mother’s funeral. Having humiliated Massimo’s father, and sent the family away with nothing but the clothes on their back, Riccardo slowly found himself deep in debt, owing his life and his business to the D’Agostino family. Handing over his daughter Emelia as partial payment for a debt owed, Emelia would quickly learn that all was not well in her father’s life. Oblivious to her father’s sins and his connection to the D’Agostino family, Emelia would become fodder, the spoils of war meant to be part of a bigger plan.
The relationship between Emelia and Massimo begins as an enemies to lovers, arranged Mafia marriage wherein Emelia continues to be a princess in a gilded cage. From the outset Massimo meant to break his beautiful Mafia princess but would soon discover that Emelia was the balm to his shattered heart. The $ex scenes are aggressive, intense and passionate but I struggled with the use of a certain four-letter word.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Massimo’s brothers Dominic, Andreas and Tristan, as well as their father Giacomo D’Agostino; Riccardo Balesteri; Bratva assassin Vlad Kuznetsov; Emelia’s best friend Jacob, housekeeper Priscilla, Candace, and Massimo’s ex Gabriella. Not everyone will survive to see another day.
RUTHLESS PRINCE is a story of family, blood, honor and death; a story of betrayal and vengeance; retribution and retaliation; deception, secrets and lies, power and control. The premise is gritty and dark; the characters are edgy and tragic; the romance is dramatic and provocative. The world building set the stage for the upcoming war as Massimo sets out to reform the Syndicate in the face of a new enemy known as the Circle of Shadows.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
“The contract we signed earlier says different, Princess.” He smiles. “We will be married in one month’s time and that is all you need to know.”
“There must be some other way my father can pay you back. Let me go.”
“No. I’m the one the debt is owed. I choose how I want to be paid.”
“There must be some other way.”
“I’m sure there is, except I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do,” he answers.
My heart squeezes. This is the man I’m supposed to marry. While he looks like a fairytale prince, he’s not.
“It’s wrong. You must know that.”
“Stop it,” he orders. His smile fades. That cool, calm demeanor returns, and I realize then that this is his dangerous side. “Stop trying to prey on my good side. I don’t have one.”
“Don’t you have a heart?” I make one final attempt to reach whatever I see in him that might resemble something human.
“No.” He smirks, and my soul quivers.
This is crazy.
There’s only one thing I can do.
Escape…
Faith Summers is the Dark Contemporary Romance pen name of USA Today Bestselling Author, Khardine Gray.
Warning !! Expect wild romance stories of the scorching hot variety and deliciously dark romance with the kind of alpha male bad boys best reserved for your fantasies.
Dive in and enjoy her naughty page-turners.
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