“As burns this saint, so burns my soul. I enter alive, and I will have to get out dead.”
Chase Winter let the love of his life slip through his fingers and into the hands of his best friend and mafia boss of the Abandanato family. Now that he's been given a second chance to right a wrong--he refuses to let his own selfishness stand in the way. The only problem? He's not fully in possession of his heart, so when Mil De Lange, the girl who's innocence he stole, and heir to the worst of the worst mafia families in the US, asks him for a favor. He actually says yes, not realizing that that one yes has the power to destroy them all.
Mil's been in love with Chase as long as she can remember, but as the years went by, the love turned to hate, and now that he's agreed to help her, she's wondering if she made a fatal error. Because Chase isn't a teenager anymore. He's a hot blooded male, bent on owning every part of her body and soul, and willing to kill anyone in his path who dares stand in the way.
It's time for secrets to finally be revealed...but make no mistake, it's going to take a lot of bloodshed for those truths to be discovered.
You've never read a New Adult Mafia story like this before...loyalties will be tested, lovers reunited, and friendships obliterated. Welcome to the Family. Blood in--No out.
Our Review:
I have to say that I was a bit skeptical about this one...as a third book in a series there is always a chance that it might not live up to our fairly high expectations. Well, my verdict is in and I flove this book.Me too! I think it may be my favorite one in the series, so far! We have all of the elements of Elite and Elect, aka: guns, fights, love, Nixon, Trace, Tex, Chase, Mil and Mo. These mafia bosses and company make for a pretty wild ride with their hilarious antics, and near death experiences...though that is usually threatening bodily harm to one another. I am a huge fan of Rachel's writing...have been forever, and I just am smiling big time right now having finished Entice. I am glad for one that it wasn't just Mil and Chase's story...we have several point of views for this one including a bit of Tex and a whole helluva lot of NIXON! (Is it obvious I was Team Nixon from the get go). This group is a crew unlike any other, and I personally don't think it would be as special if we didn't continue on with the group story as we go, even though each book is focused on a certain couple. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives...it made the reading go so quickly..and humorously. One thing that made this book stand out (and increased my love for it) was the humor. Some of the banter between the friends and the funny internal monologues were really great!...and of course, seeing Mil and Chase find a middle ground that was acceptable and honest was great too. I honestly read this as more a story of the families than just them, though..and I wasn't bothered by that at all.
Like I said there are lots of fights, and mafia family ties being broken and rejoined...it was a pretty cray ride there for a while, and it goes right up to the end! I for one cannot wait the next installment (focused on Tex, because he is all sorts of badass), and some insane things are revealed in the epilogue and prologue for the next book! Eeep! I can't wait! This series is not to be missed, and Rachel Van Dyken's brand of storytelling will make you laugh, gasp, cringe, swoon and even sometimes cry (okay, honestly, she has made me cry A LOT in the last year and a half). She is able to tease us in a way in the beginning only to change it up by the end. Just read her work. You'll see! Very nice addition to the series!
Courtney: 4 1/2 stars
Shelley: 4 Stars
About Rachel Van Dyken:
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelVanDyken
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An Excerpt:
“Ten bucks says the only
person not packing is Mils grandma by marriage.” Mo said once we’d all finished
eating our dinner, which has basically been a painful process of chewing,
swallowing,drinking unhealthy amounts of wine and trying to stare at my plate
to keep from looking at Trace, while my wife sat next to me. Hell had
officially risen to earth and I was smack dab in the middle of it trying my
damndest to remember how to swallow without choking — without dying a little
bit inside each time I saw him touch her face. And trying not to feel like an
ass when Mil caught me staring — again. I’d resolved about an hour ago to
actually be the man she needed me to be and I was already failing. Horribly.
The second time I looked,Mo kicked me under the table but accidentally hit Tex
instead causing everyone to look up, which was probably why Mo said what she
did.
We all turned heads to
look at the hundred year old woman. She was currently on her fourth glass of
wine and looked to be about two seconds away from falling into her chicken
cacciatore.
“Nope.” Nixon shook his
head. “It’s always the ones you don’t expect. My money’s on Grandma.”
“I’ll take that bet.” Tex
rose. “Seems like someone needs to fall on their own knife and all that. This
has to be the most depressing wedding I’ve ever gone to and that includes the
fake one Mo made for her kittens when she was four.”
“They lived happily ever
after.” Mo tilted her head into the air and narrowed her eyes.
Tex leaned down and
tapped Mo on the nose. “Yes if happily means they lived for five damn minutes
before marching directly into oncoming traffic.”
“I think the wedding just
hit its low point.” Mil muttered. “Save us, Tex. I beg you. Find the gun and
I’ll give you a prize.”
“Prize?” Tex’s eyes lit
up. “As in—”
“As in her new husband
won’t punch you in the face. You’re welcome. Yay, prizes.” I did a fake punch
into the air. “Now go create some excitement before Nixon starts picking people
off with his semi-automatic.”
Nixon rolled his eyes.
“Right, like I’d even bring—”
“It’s in the SUV.” Trace
answered sounding bored. “Saw it when I took out my dress.”
“Damn.” He looked away.
Just then a very drunk
looking cousin Vinnie got up and took the microphone from the band. “Look here!
I have a toast to the bride and groom!” The feedback from the microphone mixed
with his inability to stand up straight caused him to drop the stand and then
fall flat on his ass.
“For the love of God save
us all.” I pushed Tex towards Grandma.
We all sat at the table,
the very depressing bridal party table, and watched as Tex slowly made his way
towards the elderly woman.
“This won’t end well.”
Trace said under her breath. “The man has the subtleness of a bomb.”
“Exactly.” Mo grinned
from ear to ear.“I did say we needed entertainment, didn’t I?”
“Mo… ” Nixon warned.
“He cheated on me Nixon.
Let me have my fun.” She said smoothly.
“He what?” Nixon roared
jumping to his feet, curious stares pinned in our direction as Mo grabbed his
hand and pulled him back to his seat.
“I’ve got this. You
aren’t the only one who knows how to use their powers for evil, brother.
Revenge is a bitch, isn’t that what they say, Trace?”
She looked guiltily down
at her hands.Yeah, double meanings I could really get without. Hopefully Mo
wasn’t going to get Tex shot at our wedding, not that I’d be against it. This
was the first I heard of him cheating, granted, Mo hadn’t really been all that
for sharing recently. She was as secretive as ever. Something told me it was
for a reason,but I’d been too wrapped up in my own drama to even ask. How bad
did I suck as a half brother? Bad, real bad. On a scale of one to ten in the
suckiness department I’d be around an eleven.
Tex finally reached her
chair and sat down next to her, his smile was wide, I couldn’t tell what he was
saying but his hands were all over the place, and then he set one hand on
Grandma.
“Oh this isn’t going to
end well.” Mo chuckled. “She hates being touched.”
“It is Tex.” I pointed
out. “She could do a lot worse.”
“Doubtful.” Mo snorted
crossing her arms.
Holy shit what the hell?
Had I been living under a rock for the past few months? What went down? And how
didn’t I know about it.
I winced when Tex moved
his other hand next to Grandma’s leg. Probably wouldn’t be a good time to tell
him that she’d seen her fair share of murder. I almost closed my eyes when she
looked down at his hand.
“Aw shit.” Nixon shook
his head. “You had to challenge him, Mo.”
Mo’s face twisted into a
murderous smile as she pointed and exclaimed. “Game. Set. Match.”
Grandma had Tex by the
balls.
“Ouch!” This from Mil.
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