Luca
Rizzoli was nearly destroyed by a brutal betrayal that cost him his family. Now
a ruthless crime boss in the city of sin, he lets nothing touch his frozen
heart--until a smoldering encounter with a beautiful stranger ignites his
passion. One night isn't enough for a man who takes
what he wants, but his mysterious temptress has slipped away.
For
two years police detective Gabrielle Fawkes has lived for revenge. But a night
of indulgence with a sexy stranger changes everything. Powerful, charming, and
deliciously dangerous Luca, has his own private reasons for offering to help
her pursue the drug lord who killed her husband. There's a lot Luca isn't
telling her and the more she finds out the less she wants to know.
When
Gabrielle becomes the target of the drug lord she has vowed to hunt down, she
must do the unimaginable: place her life in a mobster's hands. To save her,
Luca must break his Mafia ties--or risk losing Gabrielle forever.
Release Date: June 27, 2017
St. Martin’s Press
Ruin & Revenge #2
Romantic Suspense
Review copy provided by publisher
Nikki’s Review:
I struggled with this one at first. I love a flawed hero. I love
a hero who has qualities that are less than stellar. A hero who isn't perfect
is realistic. But when the hero is a mob boss? Well, that takes flawed to a
whole other level. I wanted to hate Luca. I mean, he's a criminal, part of a
large crime family. Think, concrete encased feet and left at the bottom
of a lake, criminal. I really wanted to hate him, but I couldn't. There was
something about him that I found captivating. So, I kept reading...
Gabrielle is out for a revenge. She's a tough as nails Las Vegas
cop who is hunting her husbands killer. Revenge is what gets her out of bed in
the morning. It makes life worth living...at least that's what motivates her to
keep going. Imagine her surprise when she's swept off of her feet by a sweet
talking Italian man who is seduction personified. There's something dangerous
about him. There's a dark side to Luca that thrills her.
Man, these two together was all kinds of crazy sexy hot! Neither
want to want each other, but there's an undeniable magnetic pull that can't be
ignored. Reading this book made me flush six ways to Sunday! Wickedly delicious
is an understatement!
As I said, I really struggled with liking Luca. He was the exact
opposite of the heroes that I usually fall for. He was solidly on the other
side of the law. You know what? Maybe he wasn't the exact opposite! He was
loyal to his family, loyal to his crew, ferociously protective of his woman,
and his sex appeal was off the charts! Huh...not so different, right?!
I kinda felt like I was reading a sexy version of Goodfellas! There was tons of action
with the mafia stuff, and tons of romance and sweaty bed yoga to satisfy
me.
I mean, I'm certainly no expert in the Italian Mafia, but I
think the author nailed the details in this book. The hierarchy of the family
and how things ran seemed spot on.
This book pushed me right out of my comfort zone! I sat on this
ARC for a while before I picked it up to read. I didn't think I could connect
with a love story that is in the middle of mob...I was wrong. I don't think I
could read this type of book all the time, but it was actually refreshing to
change things up a bit. I think one of things that made this book work, was the
whole "opposites attract" thing. The hero and heroine had so many
reasons to not be together, but love...and lust won!
Luca is the
second book in this series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand alone. I
didn't feel like I was missing anything. If you want to read a book where the
bad boy is really a bad boy...with heart, read this book!
Rating: 3.5 Stars (B+)
