Nico
A Mafia Romance
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4.4 • 203 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A dangerous proposal
In Nico, the first book in the Ruin & Revenge series by New York Times bestselling author Sarah Castille, Las Vegas Mafia boss, Nico Toscani, is used to getting what he wants, whether it is having the City of Sin under his rule or a beautiful woman in his bed. But when he meets his match in the gorgeous, headstrong Mia Cordano, the daughter of a rival crime lord, all bets are off. . .
Sexy computer hacker, Mia, struggles to break free of her ruthless father’s Mafia ties…but she can’t resist the powerful and seductive Nico, who will stop at nothing to possess her. With their families locked in a brutal war for control of the city, Mia and Nico enter into a forbidden game. Will they surrender to the passion that burns between them—and risk tearing apart their families? Or will Nico be forced to betray the only woman who sets his blood on fire?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this super-sexy Romeo and Juliet for the 21st century, the first in the Ruin and Revenge romantic suspense series, Castille (Chaos Bound) combines raw passion and barely leashed violence. Mobster Nico Toscani helps rule Las Vegas with an iron fist as the bastard son of a deceased mob boss, he knows that showing weakness would undermine his power, already in question due to his uncle's questionable morals. Computer hacker Mia Cordano wants nothing more than to distance herself from the violence and ruthlessness of the mob but she can't, because she's the daughter of a rival crime family. When Mia meets Nico while doing a job, sparks fly. But given their feuding families, the resulting inferno could kill them both. Castille doesn't romanticize the Mafia; the mobsters' violence and questionable rationalizations of good and bad are clearly depicted, particularly with Mia's ruthless and amoral father and her deeply damaged brother. Still, she skillfully draws her hero and heroine and several in their close circles in intriguing and realistic shades of gray. This is a deftly plotted page-turner that will leave readers panting for the next installment.
Customer Reviews
Great read.
Love the story line, had me hook from the beginning. I will be definitely be rereading this book again.
There are a couple of missed placed word in the beginning. So the author should prof read.
Great start to a new series!
This is a great start to a new series! This is the first time I have read this author’s work and I will definitely continue with this series. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. It was gritty, raw, explicit, and at times jaw dropping. There were tender moments that touched my heart and moments that made my heart hurt for all involved.
Mia Cordano is everything you want in a heroine! She is strong, fierce, smart, independent and dresses as a punk rocker! She is a “white hat” computer hacker (helps with cybersecurity for businesses). She owns her own business, much to the distain of her father, the Don of the Cordano family. She wants no part of the mob life and does not comply with her father’s wishes and has the scars to prove it. He would beat her or her mother when he was displeased. She protected her younger sister Kat by taking punishment for her. According to her father, daughters are not important in the mafia life except to be used to broker deals between families, i.e. through marriage. They are groomed from birth to be good mafia wives and take care of the home and family, while he is out having affairs and doing the underworld business. Mia wanted no part of that life anymore.
Nico Toscani is as Italian macho as you can get. He is handsome, powerful and he was next in line to take over the family business when his father was murdered 10 years ago (by a Cordano family member), but his uncle had other ideas, that his bastard nephew (Nico) was not good enough to take the reins of the family business and took over himself and was grooming his crazy son to take his place. His uncle was tearing apart everything that his father had built and putting the family on a path to destruction. Nico had plans!
This story takes you on a wild ride of intrigue, obligation, mafia life and a tale of an impossible lust and love. A love that is so passionate and raw. The chemistry is unbelievable! The characters were bound together from a chance encounter 10 years prior and they still felt that connection. This story had me in its grips from beginning to end and I couldn’t put it down. Believe me, I know I am repeating myself, but it’s worth repeating. The secondary characters were well developed and were woven so well into the story. I didn’t want the story to end and I look forward to the next book in the series!
Wow. Wow! This book was fantastic!
Oh, Nico!
Wow. Wow! This book was fantastic! My husband is a Sopranos junkie; I could never get into it, but if they had guys like Nico on that show, I might become its biggest fan!
Mia was a heroine unlike any I have read. She is the antithesis of the typical "romance novel heroine" or "damsel in distress" with her grunge/Goth style and "go F yourself" attitude. I, personally, didn't find her obnoxious, just severely independent.
Enter Nico.
He also has his personality quirks; very Type A and alpha, yet hiding a side of him that no one knows about. I loved reading about the connection he and Mia have, both from their history together and at their reunion (which was nothing short of hot and hilarious).
Speaking of hot, HOLY SMOKES. I mean, the love scenes were nothing less than 5-alarm hotness, but also laced with sincere emotion, not just base need.
I had a few "OH MY GOSH!!!!" moments, especially with one of the minor characters in the book. Sarah is so good that I could feel the character's fear, and I was about to throw my Kindle at the injustice of what was about to happen to him. No spoilers :)
I am THRILLED that this is part of a series (a standalone, for sure), because I met some characters who I can't wait to read more about!
I LOVED this book!!!!
(I received a copy of this book in consideration of an honest review)