Saturday, July 2, 2016

Bound by Temptation (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #4)

Bound by Temptation (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #4)
By Cora Reilly

SUMMARY
Liliana Scuderi has been in love with Romero from the moment she first saw him. After her sisters were married off for tactical reasons, she hopes she might be allowed to choose a husband for herself, but when her father promises her to a man more than twice her age that hope is crushed. No begging can make him change his mind. 

Romero has always ignored Lily’s flirting. Her age and status made her off-limits but even someone as dutiful as him has only so much control. Wanting her when she’s supposed to marry another man could mean war between New York and the Chicago Outfit, and Romero has always put the Cosa Nostra first. 

Lily suspects her sisters and Romero would risk everything for her, but is her happiness worth that much? Is love worth a war between the Cosa Nostra and the Outfit? 

REVIEW
Great read. Had to keep reading to see what would happen. Didn't predict at all! 

Lily the last sister left. All about her growing up and risking it all for love. It was interesting to see her progression.

Romero is sexy and hot. Only problem I had was he was older and he was kinda manipulated by an eighteen year old. I don't mind age differences, but for some reason this one bothered me a tad. 

Lots of sexy times. Great action. Great read. Enjoy!

Bound by Hatred (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #3)

Bound by Hatred (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #3)
By Cora Reilly

SUMMARY
When Gianna watched her sister Aria getting married to a man she barely knew, she promised herself she wouldn’t let the same thing happen to her.
Matteo – The Blade – Vitiello set his eyes on Gianna the moment he saw her on his brother Luca’s wedding, and Rocco Scuderi is more than willing to give his daughter to him, but Gianna has no intention of marrying for any other reason than love. A few months before the wedding, Gianna escapes her bodyguards and runs away. She has enough money to flee to Europe and begin a new life. But staying undetected when the mob is searching for her is a challenge that takes everything, especially as one of their best hunters and assassins is after her: Matteo Vitiello.
After six months on the run, Gianna finally settles into a tentative routine in Munich, but then Matteo and a couple of her father’s soldiers find her with another man.
Despite her pleads they kill her boyfriend, and Gianna is forced to marry Matteo. Her emotions alternating between guilt over having dragged an innocent into her world and hatred toward Matteo, Gianna is determined to make life hell for her husband. But Matteo is a master at mind games and their struggle for power soon turns into hate-fueled nights of passion.
**Book #3 in the "Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles". This book can be read as a standalone.**
 

REVIEW
Much better then Luca and Aria's story.

Gianna is one tough girl. She did get a tad annoying. I felt bad for her and the way everyone treated her. The double standard at its best. Her father what an ass. 

Matteo much better guy then Luca. He knew what he wanted, hunted, fought, and waited for it. I never got mad at him. I felt sorry because he was so patient with her and always stood by her.

Matteo was sexy as hell and there are lots of sexy times.

Good read!

Bound by Honor (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #1)

Bound by Honor (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #1)
By Cora Reilly

SUMMARY
Born into one of the leading Mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi struggles to find her own path in a world where no choices are given. Aria was only fifteen when her parents betrothed her to Luca – The Vice – Vitiello, the oldest son of the head of the New York Cosa Nostra to ensure peace between the two families.

Now at eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca.

Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.

In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.

The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again.

Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s.
 

REVIEW
Not bad interesting read. 

Luca is kinda a jerk face but tends to redeem himself then is a jerk then redeems.

Aria sometimes is a pain, her sister is a REAL pain! I liked that she stood up to Lica and put him in his place. One of the villains were really good but I think they could have dealt with it differently. I would have loved to see Aria kick butt! 
Hot sex. Luca is hot that way.

Good start I think I will read the series.

Gian (Trassato Crime Family Book 1)

Gian (Trassato Crime Family Book One)
By Lisa Cardiff

SUMMARY
I only ever had one dream—my name in bright lights for the world to see. And I had a plan to make it all happen.

Move to New York. Find an agent. Work hard. Then with a little luck mixed in with some natural talent, I’d be a Broadway star.

One devastating injury and a broken engagement later, I have nothing to show for my life except an empty bank account and a jaded heart. Desperate to salvage my dreams, I agree to interview for a job with my best friend’s brother, Gian Trassato.

Gian is charming. He’s magnetic. He’s connected to the Trassato Crime Family, and everything I should stay away from, but I don’t have a choice. I need the job.

Just when I thought I was about to get my life and career back on track, I make one thoughtless mistake. I go back to the club to pick up my purse and witness something Gian’s enemies would kill to keep secret.

Now I’m being sucked deeper and deeper into a terrifying world I don’t understand…

Friends and enemies are interchangeable. Honor and family are everything. And the scariest part of all…I might actually be getting lost in Gian.
 

REVIEW
What a kick ass story!

I can't believe how good it was. I had to keep reading and couldn't put it down!

Evie was an interesting woman. She had gone through so much and was with the biggest jerk. She kept getting herself into more trouble. Then she hooks up with Gian. She pulls it together at the end and I am so proud of her.

Gian is sexy as hell. It is a little far fetched when he does what he did to protect her, but it starts his and Evie's journey so it had to happen. He is honest with his feelings and I liked that.

The plot has some twists I guessed it but I didn't realize how twisted it was until it all was spelled out. The next book gets sets up with this one and I am so reading it. The author sure knows how to pull you in and she is an excellent story teller!
 

Dex (Kinky Shine, #1)

Dex (Kinky Shine, #1)
By Stephanie Witter

SUMMARY
She succeeded in making him feel like a man. A normal functioning man when he hadn’t felt that way in years. 

"Who're you f*cking?"

When my father, manager of the worldwide phenomenon Kinky Shine, asked me to come and help the band members appear more approachable I never thought my first meeting with Dex Bowers would start with such a question. 

Immediately, I wanted to strangle him, wipe the smirk off his face and force him to mutter more than three words. 

But there's something mysterious about him that was electrifying and the more he pushed me away and angered me, the more I wanted to know him and push through his hangups.

"Trust. That f*cking trust thing didn't come easily to me."

In the five years since my band became famous, not once had I been photographed with a woman. I knew it fed the supposed mystery surrounding me, but the real truth was far more humiliating than I was comfortable with. 

That was until Harley Floyd walked in and I was left with a mind numbing lust for her that scared me shitless. It should be easy to let go and trust her just enough to have fun, to be happy I could finally come up with new material for our next album. But nothing was easy and with a life made of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll I wasn't sure if anything could last. Not even my band.

"What twenty-five year old was f*cking lost when his cock was rock hard when close to a gorgeous woman?  One answer to that; a man who hadn’t had sex in a really long time."

REVIEW
Not sure how I feel about this one. 31/2-4, I guess. 

Great characters very interesting. I guess we never realize the pressure celebrities have on them to plot out every move just to keep their status. 

I liked Harley she seemed to have it all together and appeared not to take anyone's crap. But then she gets dazzled by the rock star and seems to change overnight to a girl that likes to be treated like crap because she wants to have sex with the rock star.

Dex well he is a jerk. He has issues, but tends to take it out on everyone else. He turns on Harley and says awful things and doesn't really apologize about it. He always thinks he is right. Then the stuff he says about her to the band...he gets mad at their comments but his aren't all that great.

There are sexy times, bit I just really didn't feel their attraction.

It was an ok read not great but not bad.

Received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.