Vito DeLuca

Pulled in by the premise - but left unsatisfied -- 3 stars

Vito DeLuca by Shani Greene-Dowdell is now live!
Read more to see what it's about, my honest review, and purchase links.
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Blurb:

Vito tried to leave the entire Deluca organization behind until his rivals took what belonged to him. Now, his killer instincts are back with a vengeance, and the streets are bleeding. No one is safe. Any man standing in the way of Vito getting his woman back will feel the wrath of the entire DeLuca family.

So...
Who took her?
Come out, come out, wherever you are...
Surviving Vito DeLuca is the name of the game.
Are you really up for the challenge?
_____
The men of the DeLuca family are proof that the bigger the alpha, the harder they fall... in love.

BRAND NEW Interracial Mafia Romances from 18 AUTHORS.
Immerse yourself in this dangerously seductive collection of the DeLuca family.

The Savage Bloodline Boxset: https://books2read.com/SavageBloodlineBoxset

My Review:

The idea of a retired mobster who has a ton of blood on his hands and yet is trying to make his family proud by going legit was very interesting to me.  Having to reenter the dark underworld because his love is threatened, even better.  It brought to mind John Wick vibes - and that's one of my favourite franchises.  Unfortunately, this short read didn't really follow through on its promises. It had potential to be a great and exciting love story but fell short. 

Vito meets Nicole while the two are grocery shopping. She tells him she's taken but this doesn't deter him and he returns to the store each week in hopes of seeing her. The two develop a bond even though Nicole knows their flirtation is a risky one.  Nicole has been in an abusive relationship for the past two years and is only allowed out to do grocery shopping.  She has been isolated from her friends and family and she has no job, so no money of her own.  She has been told by her man that if she tries to leave him, he'll kill her and her family. When Vito finds out her situation, he offers to help her. But Nicole is too afraid to take him up on it. Until after a particularly bad beating, she goes to Vito for help.  But can she put aside her fears enough to trust Vito to help her and keep her safe? Or has she just traded one monster for another?

The premise of this novella is a good one - but I think we weren't given enough time to really get to know the characters and feel sympathetic for them.  Nicole is very much all over the place. One minute she says one thing, the next she does another.  I was hoping for her to be a bit more of a likeable character, someone we could root for, and someone who was deserving of Vito's love and protection.  Does that make me a bad person? I mean, she is an abuse victim so there is obviously a lot to unpack there.  Maybe if we had more time with Nicole we would have been there for her, and understood all her waffling.  I understood that she did not want to leave one cage just to enter another, but she also didn't seem very grateful to be helped by Vito - all she did was complain to him.  As for Vito, he was more likeable, and a bit more fleshed out as we saw his memories of his grandfather.  But as a couple, I didn't feel as though I got enough of their feelings for each other before the climax of the book. 

All in all, it was too quick of a read for the story that needed to be told. It had potential, but didn't quite make it for me.

​I received a free copy of this book from Grey's Promotions and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

You can Download this novella here:
Amazon: http://mybook.to/vitodeluca
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2YL2NFN
Nook: https://bit.ly/3mOfJmq
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3FtToTs

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3sZEDRR

About the Author:

​Shani Greene-Dowdell is a fun-loving, prolific, bestselling author who has penned over 30 masterpieces to date. Her talent for shaping fresh, innovative plots brings to life steamy multi-cultural romances and give brooding billionaires a run for their money.

Shani's zeal for her craft translates not just on the pages of every opus but also in her passion for jumpstarting the careers of countless fellow authors.

Her passion lies in weaving intricate and titillating worlds of romance, drama, and suspense, allowing her growing global fanbase to step into a starry-eyed realm where adventure, lust, curiosity, and madness collide in a bittersweet symphony.

For more information about Shani's new releases, cover reveals, and excerpts, as well as great book recommendations from other authors, visit www.shanigreenedowdell.com today.
 
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