VENGEANCE IN BLOOD (Sons of the Mafia 1) by Vi Carter & ER Whyte-review tour

SINS OF THE MAFIA
(Sons of the Mafia .5)
by Vi Carter & ER Whyte
Genre: adult, contemporary, dark, erotic, Mafia Romance

–> FREE prequel: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 21, 2023

Four mafia families who rule the underworld. A power struggle that leads to war. And a forbidden love that might set it all ablaze.
Damon
Valachi.
That was the name on my mother’s dying lips.
That one word would spark a war.
A war that I planned on winning.
I would go to the Valachi famiglia, and integrate myself into their world. I would learn their weaknesses and their secrets, and I would find out who was responsible for my mother’s execution.
Then I met Lorenzo Valachi’s daughter, Lulu.
She’s a queen in the making: strong, beautiful, and full of compassion. She’s also an innocent… and the only thing standing in my way.
Lulu lights a fire in me that threatens to burn hotter than my desire for revenge. I can’t have her, though–not if I want to avenge my mother.
So, I change my plans, just a little. I’ll have my vengeance, and Lulu, too.
Lulu
I’m trapped in a golden cage and men hold the key to my freedom.
My father controls his world with an iron fist. When he makes Damon, a made man, his right hand, a light is lit in my darkened world.
He makes me feel things I never thought would be possible.
The closer we get, though, the more I crave. Until one day, he cuts me off and leaves me in the cold.
Only this time I refuse to be silenced. This time I refuse to return to that dark cage.
Damon hasn’t just brought light into my world, but hope… and hope can be a very dangerous thing.

••••••••••

REVIEW: SINS OF THE MAFIA is the prequel novella in the contemporary, adult SONS OF THE MAFIA romance series co-authored by Vi Carter and ER Whyte.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Damon and Lulu) SINS OF THE MAFIA focuses on Damon’s need for revenge. Six years earlier Damon Papparado’s beloved mother was gunned down in a Mafia style hit, a drive by shooting, his mother would blame on the Valachi Crime Family. One year later, Damon finds himself the right-hand man to Don Lorenzo Valachi, a position that places our hero in the direct line to the top but all is not well within the Valachi family including a drunken matriarch, a spoiled sixteen year old princess, a son whose aspirations conflict with his father’s control , and their twenty-one year old daughter who quite possible could control them all. Another five years will pass, Don Lorenzo Valachi will die of presumed natural causes, and a now thirty-one year old Damon Papparado sees a chance to take revenge on the family that destroyed his life.

SINS OF THE MAFIA is an introductory novella that reveals a little bit of the history behind the need for revenge and a potential war between the Valachi-Papparado families. The premise is interesting but no conflict resolution, and no real anger or palpable tension; there is no romance only a stolen kiss or two; the characters are desperate and determined- the Valachi family thinks of themselves as above the rest but their dysfunctional family and attitudes is questionable at best. SINS OF THE MAFIA ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

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Reviewed by Sandy

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VENGEANCE IN BLOOD
Sons of the Mafia 1
by Vi Carter & ER Whyte
Genre: adult, contemporary, dark, erotic, Mafia Romance

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

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 20, 2023

I married my enemy’s daughter.
If I can’t make him pay for his sins… she will.

Valachi, the name of a rival mafia family, was the last word on my mother’s dying lips.
After years of careful deceit and planning, my moment of revenge has finally arrived.
The head of the Valachi family has died, leaving his innocent daughter vulnerable.
She is forced to take my hand in an arranged marriage.
By the time she learns my true identity, it will be too late.
As her new husband, I will have complete control over her.
I am the enemy in her bed.
Her naive happily ever after will become a nightmare as I use her to seize power, and enact my final revenge.

••••••

REVIEW: VENGEANCE IN BLOOD is the first full-length instalment in the contemporary, adult SONS OF THE MAFIA dark, erotic, Mafia romance series co-authored by Vi Carter and ER Whyte. This is the continuing story of twenty-nine year old, Damon Papparado, and twenty-five year old, Luciana ‘Lulu’ Valachi. Damon and Lulu’s story begins five years earlier, in the prequel novella SINS OF THE MAFIA .

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives Damon and Lulu, VENGEANCE IN BLOOD follows in the aftermath of the death of Don Lorenzo Valachi, leaving a hole in the struggle for power. To Luciani ‘Lulu’ Valachi’s horror, our heroine will discover that her late father has ‘sold’ her as payment for a debt to several different arms of the Italian Mafia, and if she refuses, her younger sister is to pay the ultimate price. Enter Don Lorenzo Valachi’s right hand man, Damon Papparado, who offers his hand in marriage to secure the safety of the Valachi sisters but all is not as it appears to be, and Damon’s offer of marriage comes with a caveat meant to destroy the Valachi family for sins of the past. What ensues is the acrimonious relationship, and marriage of convenience between Damon and Lulu, and the potential fall-out when the truth reveals a staggering secret, a battle for control, and the fight for power.

Don Lorenzo Valachi died without a male heir, his son having disappeared six years earlier. Expecting but not wanting to inherit her father’s seat on the Commission, and control of the Valachi crime family, Lulu will quickly discover that her father’s debts will be paid with her life and the life of her younger sister. As the different branches of the Italian Mafia take aim at our story line couple, the reality of the situation proves to be much more dangerous and dark.

The relationship between Damon and Lulu is tempestuous at best. Damon offers his hand in marriage, seducing our heroine into believing she is loved but Lulu will quickly discover the hopelessness of her situation, and the control Damon not holds over her future and her life. Lulu has married a man determined to exact vengeance for sins of the past, vengeance that may be misdirected, evil and deadly. Lulu has lost everyone she has ever loved excerpt her sister Vivi, but Vivi’s life has been threatened, and Lulu is paying the ultimate price. The $ex scenes are aggressive and provocative.

There is a large ensemble cast of powerful and dangerous secondary and supporting characters. We are introduced to Lulu’s sister Vivi; Damon’s sister Evie and their brother Marcus, as well as several members of the Italian mob.The requisite evil has many faces.

VENGEANCE IN BLOOD is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, madness and murder, acceptance and love. The premise is dark, dramatic, and intense; the characters are powerful , desperate and determined; the romance is predicated upon obsession, vengeance and need. VENGEANCE IN BLOOD ends on a happily ever after-for now.

Click The Reading Cafe for Sandy’s review of the prequel SINS OF THE MAFIA.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

VI CARTER: When Vi Carter isn’t writing contemporary & dark romance books, that feature the mafia, are filled with suspense, and take you on a fast paced ride, you can find her reading her favorite authors, baking, taking photos or watching Netflix.

Married with two children, Vi divides her time between motherhood and all the other hats she wears as an Author.

She has declared herself a coffee & chocolate addict! Do not judge

AUTHOR LINKS

Newsletter and FREE book / Website / Facebook/Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Goodreads

ER WHYTE: E.R. Whyte is a multi-genre author, writing contemporary and new adult romance under E.R. Whyte, reverse harem romance under Evie Rae, and sweet romance under Elle Rae Whyte. Although it would no doubt make life easier to simply choose a genre, she loves romance in all its forms too much to ever do that.
 
She’s a simple girl at heart, living in a teeny-tiny Virginia town and spending her time finding herself, catering to various fur babies, and indulging her reading, writing, and photography habits. She loves being alone, bananas foster, and Pepsi.
 
Whyte worked as a high school English teacher for around a decade before she decided she really wanted more time to devote to her family and other fun stuff. Now she thinks up new ways to make tacos on Tuesday, explores the Marvel universe with childish enthusiasm, and spends entirely too much time on the computer.
Life is good.

AUTHOR LINKS: Facebook/ TikTok