The Next 365 Days

3.75stars-Laura finds her HEA

3.75 stars--THE NEXT 365 DAYS is the third and final instalment in Blanka Lipinska’s contemporary, adult 365 DAYS dark, erotic, romance series focusing on Laura Biel-Torricelli, the wife of Sicilian Mafia Don Massimo Torricelli. THE NEXT 365 DAYS should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the cliff hanger and events of book two THIS DAY.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise including rape and sexual violence, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

SOME BACKGROUND: Several months earlier Laura Biel was kidnapped and held as a virtual prisoner in a gilded cage, learning she was to become Sicilian Don Massimo Torricelli’s captive for the next 365 days, 365 days wherein she will either fall in love or walk away at the end of the year. With several threats looming over her head, her family, and those of her friends, Laura reluctantly agrees to Massimo’s terms, terms that find our heroine falling for a man who will control every aspect of her life.

Told from first person perspective (Laura) THE NEXT 365 DAYS follows in the wake of profound loss for our story line couple. Unable to cope, Don Massimo Torricelli becomes a man his wife no longer recognizes, a man whose violence and power are growing every day. Weeks to months will pass wherein Laura has no concept of her husband’s whereabouts, time in which she reconsiders her life going forward. Getting reacquainted with a man from her past, Laura must come to terms with the failure of her marriage, and the man with whom she had fallen in love. What ensues is the break down of Laura’s marriage to her controlling captor, and the rebuilding of her life with someone else.

We are reintroduced to Massimo’s brothers Domenico; Laura’s best friend Olga, as well as Spanish Mafia executioner Marcelo ‘Nacho’ Matos, and his sister Amelia Matos. The requisite evil is a familiar face.

The world building continues to focus on the nature of the Stockholm Syndrome style relationship with an abusive man-Laura’s life, the path she has chosen, and the path that is no longer under her control. Laura’s marriage has imploded; the man she thought she had loved is showing the true nature of the beast; and Massimo is pushed to the limits when his wife falls in love with someone else. Like the previous two instalments there is plenty of jumping back and forth between paragraphs such that I had to often re-read what I had just read. I also have to question the ‘medical’ procedure, the after-care, and lack of real-world medicines and treatment-the lack of believability is concerning.

THE NEXT 365 DAYS is another story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, obsession and determination; acceptance and loss; family, friendships, relationships and love. Massimo Torricelli is a man out of control-he wields his power as a form dominance and discipline, a dominance manifested by rage and abuse. Laura Biel-Torricelli is a woman pushing the envelope of security and freedom but a woman who must forge a new path towards freedom, a freedom gained at a cost. Laura’s immaturity is prevalent; her indecisiveness is often frustrating.

THE NEXT 365 DAYS is not a story of romance or love between Massimo and Laura, but a story of obsession, control, recovery and acceptance. Laura will find true love with someone else, pushing Massimo to try and break the bird he was desperate to cage. The premise’s primary focuses in on Laura’s fight for her freedom, and her building relationship with another man-saying that, the blurb is misleading to the point that some of the issues alluded to did not exist ; the characters actions are questionable on so many levels including Laura’s back and forth, up and down persona, often exacerbated by her best friend’s marriage into the Torricelli family, as well as the uncivilized and unconscionable actions of the Sicilian Don.