Nico: A Mafia Romance

Review from 12/4/2016 Rated 4.5 stars 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!

"I'm not afraid of girls with guns, bella. They either don't know how to shoot or they don't have what it takes to pull the trigger. "Then you've never met a woman like me." "No, but I'm looking forward to our acquaintance." Nico Toscani is all about control. Casino owner, made man, member of the Cosa Nostra, he's a man of many faces, and is used to calling the shots. Having decided long ago that the life of a mafia princess was not for her, Mia Cordano happily left behind a world where she was not in control to make her own way, and she's not about to answer to anyone now, not even an ultra-sexy mob boss. As a fan of the mobster read, I can happily say that author Sarah Castille has nailed it with NICO, the first book in her new Ruin & Revenge series. It's everything dark, sexy, and dangerous, full of characters with as much to lose as to gain, and a storyline that just doesn't quit, and I could not put it down. As the bastard son of a former capo in the Las Vegas arm of the Sicilian mob, Nico Toscani has had to work harder than others to prove himself. But he's finally at a place where he is a man of means, a man to be obeyed. When Mia Cordano walks in to his casino, though, able to take care of herself, and not at all interested in doing as she's told, life as he's known it changes. Cosa Nostra came before blood family, and blood family came before the man. With his succession hanging in the balance and an agreement with the Sicilian Scozzaris to be honored, Nico had no place chasing after a beautiful, sexy hacker in crazy boots and punk clothes with dubious taste in music, who made him so damn hard when she refused to do his bidding, he couldn't think straight. These two drive each other crazy from the first minute that they reenter each others' worlds, and it's all sizzle and heat and all kinds of sexy. Even knowing that there is no way that their respective families, sworn enemies, will allow them to be together, Nico and Mia cannot stay away from each other. The magnetic pull between them keeps them coming together again and again, even as chaos erupts around them, and the players in each family stake their claims on the territory of Las Vegas. I'm no stranger to Sarah and her hot as heck men, but Nico is a delicious departure, and I enjoyed him very much. Mia, too, is a breath of fresh air, every single punk rock hacker chick bit of her, and watching her hold her own and rock Nico's world is fantastic. There is action aplenty, dark, bloody, and fast-paced, along with so much passion, angst, and betrayal in this book. My take? NICO is 4.5 gritty, sexy, breathtaking stars, and I can't wait to see what Sarah does in her next book, LUCA. Ruin & Revenge is a series to take note of, because these books are going to grab you, draw you in, and not let go, and you'll love every minute of it.

Wow, this is an exciting beginning to the Ruin & Revenge series! It is so exhilarating, emotional and sexy! It also included some perfectly place levity, which I so needed at times! This tale was so expertly crafted, moving sinuously between scenes that kept me in suspense, on the edge of my seat, and completely captivated from start to finish. I have been known to peek ahead when I need to know everything will be okay. I was so tempted, but I held myself back, and loved trying to figure out what will happen next. Las Vegas Mafia boss, Nico Toscani is confident, charming, sexy and deliciously dominant. He has met his match with smart, strong, determined, and sexy computer hacker, Mia Cordano. He loves her sass and how she holds her own and will not give in easily to him. When he finds out she is a Mafia Princess to a rival family that he met years ago, he tries to stay away. But as their paths cross repeatedly, their attraction cannot be denied. I absolutely loved Mia! She was not going to continue being a victim in the male dominated mafia life. She would fight for her freedom while still being loyal to her family. Her father wanted her to dress in pink frills and she rebelled with her punk-rock style and becoming a computer hacker. She started her own business helping companies with their security issues which is how she meets Nico. Nico has been biding his time before he can avenge his fathers death. He has built an empire that has earned him a reputation that Mia respects. The more time she spends with him and gets to know him, the safer she feels. They realize they can truly be themselves with each other and not feel vulnerable. But Mia never wants to be part of the mob again so she fights their attraction. Nico has his own secrets that will tear them apart or get them both killed. I love Nico and Mia and I love them together. They challenge each other, their witty banter is their foreplay leading to a passion that is fiery and explosive. There are also many secondary characters that added to the intrigue and suspense. I especially loved Mia's funny and loyal best friend, Jules. She was so great, I would love to learn more about her. I was fully absorbed in this thrilling, and extremely sexy story and I can't wait to read Luca's story next!