Once the most feared member of an Italian Mafia crime family, Gabriel Moretti returns to New York at the request of his mentor, Russian crime boss Vasily Tarasov. Vasily needs someone he can trust in Seattle to protect his estranged daughter, Eva Jacobs, while he avenges the murder of the young woman’s mother. Gabriel is unstoppable in a fight, whether he’s using fists, blades, or bullets; but innocent, onyx-haired Eva may just be the most dangerous—and beautiful—thing he’s come up against.
Intense sparks fly between the two, tempting Gabriel to mix business with pleasure while in the Emerald City. But once word gets around that Gabriel has shown up in New York, Stefano—his vengeful brother and the de facto head of the family—decides that Eva is the key to ending the feud between them…permanently.
In this pulse-pounding romantic thriller set against the backdrop of New York City’s storied underworld, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be told, and mob justice will be served.
I love my mafia romance books. There is something sexy about the men who hold their families close while living on the edge of danger. Trust, Loyalty and Respect are the principles that these men live by and there is hell to pay when someone goes against them. So, when I saw that A Love of Vengeance came out, I immediately jumped at the chance to read it.
Eva Jacobs just lost her mother in an “accident” leaving her without any family left in the world. She is trying to cope the best way she can and finishing up her studies at Columbia University in New York and securing a decent job is her main focus. In a few days, she will go back to Seattle to settle up some last minute details with her mother’s house but her life changes when a strange and dangerous man greets her in her friend’s apartment.
Gabriel Moretti would do anything for Vasily Tarasov, the Russian Mafia boss. So when Vasily springs the news on him that he has a daughter and she may be in danger, he honors his mentor’s wishes and steps in to protect her while Vasily is out of town. The young woman intrigues him from the first day he saw her but she is off limit. You don’t mess with the daughter of the Boss.
Eva’s enemies are lining up to get a chance to take her out. She has to dodge the men who killed her mother and Gabriel’s brother, Stefano, who is dead set on seeking out revenge against Gabriel. I hate and appreciate Stefano. He is the perfect villain, allowing his pain and anger from his childhood to fester into a lifelong vendetta.
Gabriel is strong and calculating. He has the muscle and the brain to become the boss of his own family but he doesn’t want it. He is Alpha to the core and at the end when the drama goes down, he handles things himself. You don’t play with Gabe!
There are some minor issues that I’m sure will improve as the author matures in her writing. Everyone in the book is gorgeous, rich, and smart. I hate that. I need a mix bag of characters. There is a lot of telling and not enough showing. There is too much inner dialogue at times when there should have been verbal communication.
Otherwise, I think this is a great start to the series. There are many characters introduced in the book and they each have stories to tell. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Reviewed by Samantha
Heat Level: Hot
