Luciano: Belles & Mobsters

Started off good, but honestly it went a tad downhill, this is an OK mafia book but thats it, just OK. There were too many things I picked up on that bugged me. I will say the beginning was great, had me hooked and set what I hoped would be a president for the rest of it but sadly it did not. My first niggling thought which deepened as the book went on, was that if this so called ruthless King was aware of who killed his mum and sister, why were they not dealt with and killed when everyone knew it and they had 'cause' as they say they need to go ahead with these things, it just wouldn't happen, especially with the Romano family supposedly being ostracised from a lot of mafia families etc it just didn't compute. Also it was so disappointing to see this supposedly headstrong woman who had a hatred for her husband survive 3 years without him, blaming him for the position she was in come so far, only to apparantly not have the ability to resist him, I understand this is what we want as a reader, the tension, the inevitable dropping of walls etc but this wasn't that. No, apparantly it was out of her control and she hated herself for it, as a woman I know it's not that difficult so please spare me the angst of her not being able to control her libido within the first two days when she did it for 3 years. I think that's enough but I would be remiss to not mention the fact that even as this story slowly moves along, there's not much happening other than their repetitive thoughts of each other as well as mentions and scenes with about 30 other characters that just gets annoying. I understand these people are part of a connected series, the thing with that though, is you need to keep it somewhat simple to each book otherwise we'll end up reading over and over again about parts of other people's past, for instance this is Luciano and graces story, but the amount of times it gets mentioned that vasislis wife almost got kidnapped and the amount of times the brothers looks were described just wasn't necessary and I found myself skim reading a portion because it got more annoying as the book went on, again I understand we're supposed to get somewhat of a picture of these people but there was just too many scenes of it. Again I wanna point out that with the knowledge of the other characters and their stories, it makes me wonder why the bad people in this book weren't already dealt with if say, someone like Alexei really does have a penchant for offing people. Finally I'd like to point out the ridiculousness of Luciano, there were never any in depth moments between him and his wife other then their past and what happens near the end, yet he is so sure she betrayed him and still keeps talking like he's in love with her and she should be his no matter what. I know as the book goes on its made out they looked for her for 3 years but come on, early in the book when there's mention she might be alive, even then he's hardly sure how he feels, it's not like he regretted his choice straight away, infagt he seems like regret is a distant vague pang so it makes me wanna roll my eyes when authors try to fit into the book at the end that this was some long awaited reunion

Luciano Vitale married Grace Romano in a bid for revenge against her uncle not realising she was as much a victim of her family’s cruelty as he was. When he thinks she has betrayed him he does an unforgivable thing leading to Grace’s disappearance. Three years later he finds her again but she’s not the child bride he abandoned in a such brutal fashion. Circumstances have forced Grace to do whatever it took to survive while keeping out of her uncle’s clutches. With Luciano dragging her back to the US she realises that there’s no lengths she won’t go to if she’s to protect the ones she loves.Eva Winners is a new to me author but what a book to start with. Luciano is a fantastic mafia romance including forced marriage, enemies to lovers, age gap romance, feuding families and an enemy who’s evil machinations involving first born daughters would have put Machiavelli to shame.The story is told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of the hero and heroine which I really enjoyed. The plot itself is fast paced, full of drama, secrets and suspense as Grace fights against centuries of warped mafia traditions where daughters are bartered like cattle. Luciano is the ultimate antihero. He’s cruel and unforgiving, protective and possessive but somehow the author has managed to humanise him especially in his interactions with his father and his friends. It’s obvious from his behaviour over the three years without Grace that he did love her even if he hadn’t said it, making her perceived betrayal all the worse. Grace was the perfect match for him. She might have been a pushover when they first married but life experiences had given her a spine of steel making her the perfect mafia belle for him.In my eyes this was everything a mafia love story should be and I can’t wait to read the next book in the Belles and Mobsters series.

This book had glimmers of brilliance spread across but was let down majorly by the incessant repetitiveness of emotions, explanations and reasons for events . Plus the influx of characters at the beginning made me feel disoriented and completely confused .Both Luciano and Grace were good characters and I liked that the heroine was shown to be courageous and decisive . Luciano fitted in with his alpha mafia vibes and the plot was well developed .I just wish that it was edited better as I literally was skimming paragraphs at times .

First book from this author and I absolutely loved it. So gripping from start to finish x x z z

What a great book so much loss and heartbreak so greedy nasty people could just take what ever they wanted setting up a innocent woman so her husband believes she betrayed him so many twist and turns loved it

Luciano stole my heart he definitely made some mistakes but think it just showed so well hie much he loved Grace. Miscommunication definitely caused a lot of issues with the couple so it was written so well that I could see it and engross my self with the couple. This may be related to Mafia and organised crime but it isn't of the dark variety so could be enjoyed by many send definitely be on my recommend list.Can't wait for the next Mobsters book or more from this author either.

This was an incredible read with a gripping storyline and amazing characters. This was filled with lust, betrayal, secrets, revenge, violence, action, drama, suspense, passion and family. I loved the start to this group's series belles and monster as I gives you a glimpse into each character to come.

When Luciano doubts Grace’s loyalty, it leads to her return to the Romano family where her fate is sealed … with no option but to run, she escapes with her best friend and a secret only they know.3 years later, they are found, but by who? Will they end up Belles to Mobsters or can they survive once more? A must read!!Roll on the next book in the series.