Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Review: Eulogy by Rachel Van Dyken


All is lost.
All.
I don't recognize myself in the mirror anymore.
My thoughts are filled with hatred and dripping with rage.
I've lost my soul.
She took it to the depths of Hell with her and haunts me with images of what could have been.
Sixty lives are mine to take.
Sixty lives stand in the way of my vengeance.
Sixty lives plus one more.
Mine.
When the last drop of blood falls — mine will be spilled.
Only one person stands in the way.
She doesn't realize I'll kill her too.
I don't own a heart.
And even if I did — I wouldn't fall prey to its lies again.
I am Chase Abandonato.
Heir to a legacy of betrayal.
And I will kill them all.
Even if it means pointing the gun at myself.
A life for a life.
A soul for a soul.
Now I lay me down to sleep… I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Blood in. No out.



Review  
4 of 5 Stars


If you have been around the blog any length of time, it is no secret I absolutely adore the Eagle Elite series by Rachel Van Dyken.  Mafia, Humor, Love, Betrayal and everything in between; it is the perfect mix of everything I love.  While I was heartbroken at the end of Enrage for Chase, I also have to admit I have struggled with my connection to Mil in the last few books, and I felt as though he deserved better.  Needless to say I was pretty excited to get my hands on Eulogy just to see how Rachel was going to spin his story.

I love the big mafia family that is EE.  It goes without saying all the characters hold a special place in my heart and I am going to read every single book that comes out about them because my love for them and this series runs deep.  Simply put, I'm committed.  Eulogy's tone and mood are far darker than any of the other books in this series because Chase is basically out of control.  And while I understand the reasons behind it, I missed the fun and carefree character I fell in love with in the beginning.  I think what surprised me the most was just how unrecognizable Chase was to me and even to the other characters in the story.  Even at the end when he found his redemption he just wasn't the same.  Again, who would be after all that was Enrage, but for me it left me feeling so disconnected to his character.  

Nikolai sends one of his naive, young and beautiful attorneys to the family with an offer she can't refuse.  While I love Luciana and her character, I have to admit that some of this was fairly predictable, which I usually don't mind, but this time it felt to me Luciana fell to fast for Chase and it just didn't feel authentic.  That being said, Chase needed someone who knew nothing of him, who would learn to trust him and would ultimately put him first, be willing to sacrifice for him, since Mil never showed Chase any of those feelings.  True love is selfless, from both individuals and his relationship with Mil was always very one sided.      

As per usual, there are lots of twists and turns and one completely unexpected part of the book.  While Eulogy is probably my least favorite chapter of this series, I am still more than happy I invested the time into reading the book and I am very much looking forwards to the next installment.  My new fear after finishing Eulogy is the more books that are written in this series, the less likely they are to live up to the first 5-6 and I don't ever want to lose my love for them.  My hope for this series are for the stories to continue to go deeper while not loosing the love and familial bonds between the characters which makes this series addictive.  I hope they always keep me interested and that I always love and feel connected to all the characters as I did when we were first introduced to them.  

Monday, July 31, 2017

Review: Enrage by Rachel Van Dyken





Part of a world I loathe.
Part of a family who hates me more than I hate myself.
Living with a girl who reminds me of my darkness.
I'm. In. Hell.
Also known as the Cosa Nostra.
My life was over the minute I stepped off that plane.
Son to a murdered mob boss.
Heir to a throne of murder and lies.
My name is Dante Nicolasi.
And there will be blood.


Review
4.5 out of 5 stars


Blood in, no out.  It is a simple concept.  Family first, always.  But when it comes to the mafia, is anything really easy or black and white?  I don't think so.  Everyone knows that we love the Italian mafia men in Eagle Elite and I knew going into Enrage that it was going to be filled with emotion.  I had it on my kindle for 2 weeks before I had the guts to open it.  I was so scared to read it because I knew that something big would be going down in this book.  You could feel it from page one, so I worked up the nerve, made a big pan of lasagna in honor of my favorite fictional characters and dove the rest of the way into Enrage.

Dante Nicolasi is so angry.  While he didn't ask to be a part of the mafia he also wasn't really ever given the choice not to.  His twin sister Val is now married to Sergio Abandonato, so there's definitely no way to escape the world, thereofore it's imperative Dante find a way to embrace his role in a world he cannot control.  When you can't control your own destiny, you learn to fight and completely turn off your conscience.  Dante is a very intriguing character, I really was not sure how well I was going to connect to him, but I love where Rachel went with him.

El was abused and should be dead.  If it were up to the Russians she would be 6 feet under right now.  But for some reason, Frank Alfero saved her and saw how much she was abused by her former (dead!) husband.  But living with the Italian mob is not much better.  She constantly is waiting for someone to mistreat her.  She is terrified of everything.  Dante and El could not be more opposite of each other.  Good thing opposites attract!

Honestly, it is difficult to write a review for a book that you loved that is spoiler free.  Did this book make me cry? Hell yes. But, it also created a turning point for the characters.  I know this is the 8th book in the series, but I will never get tired of these characters.  I love each and every one of them and feel like I am part of their world when I read their stories.  I know that Rachel really wants to create a way for people to be able to start the series from the next book and you can certainly do that if you want, however, I personally think you will be missing out.  The mafia is complicated and their plots and stories weave a tangled web.  If you don't read all the books, I just don't see how you would be as emotionally connected to the characters and that is why I enjoy reading this particular series.  Honestly, if I don't have a connection with the characters then I almost always don't enjoy it.  

Enrage was an amazing read and you should most definitely one click it now.  But be prepared for twists, turns, new revelations and some anger.  Cause I am still pissed at a character and I finished the book hours ago.  Job well done, Rachel!

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