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By: Angie Derek
Re-Releasing
on April 12, 2016
Thoroughweb Press
Thoroughweb Press
In Mafia Secret by Angie Derek, Lessa Noelle thought her life was bad enough with a stalker threatening her. But it seems it can get worse when a mysterious stranger comes with news that she's the daughter of a mafia kingpin. A mafia kingpin that has been murdered, and wished for her to meet the rest of her family, if something ever happened to him. Unfortunately, she's naïve when it comes to the business her family is associated with, and with only Marco to guide her, it might just prove to much for her to handle. Especially when she learns the truth, of just how dangerous her new family's world is.
I haven't read a lot of books that encompass a family involved in the dangerous world of organized crime, but the ones I have read I've really enjoyed and this story was no different. Indeed, it was captivating and fast-paced due to the danger Lessa faced right from the beginning with her stalker, but became even more so once she meets the hero.
The dialogue entertained me from start to finish, and so did the characters -- both the main and secondary ones. Lessa's mother is very protect of her, and I could understand why. The world her father was apart of was dangerous, which was proven with what happens to Lessa. However, in saying that, the heroine is strong and brave. She handles things to the best of her ability, probably because her new family keep her in the dark for so long. Yet, when she learns the truth, it's hard not to feel sorry for her. Her emotions and reactions were understandable for the situation. Who wouldn't run? Then again, running didn't make her any safer either. She couldn't win either way. She couldn't live with her family, and she couldn't live without them.
While Marco, he's smart, confident and very protective of Lessa. He does his best not to expose her to how dangerous his life as part of the mafia is. Yet, by doing that could prove just as damaging, if she learns the truth on her own. He's also very protective when it comes to her meeting the family and in the moments when she's getting to know them. Indeed, he's good for her in those moments, wanting her to feel comfortable and hopefully convince her to stay, if not for what's starting to blossom between them, than at least to get to know her new family better.
Lessa and Marco have really strong chemistry, which is there from the moment they meet. The hero has always been about doing what is right when it comes to his job. He's worked very hard to become her father's second-in-command, but I liked that Lessa split his focus at times. Not enough that he wasn't able to focus on solving his boss's murder, but enough that when Lessa was in trouble, he would rescue her no matter what. Eventually their intense chemistry spills over onto the pages in hot, fan-your-face sex scenes that did justice to their attraction.
Overall, I really liked this story where the majority of the secondary characters I liked, but there were some I didn't. Also, I didn't find myself all that surprised by the person responsible for killing Lessa's father. Ms. Derek wrapped this story up nicely with Lessa saving herself and then Lessa's mom being all protective of her when it came to Marco. I smiled at the words Lessa's mom said to the hero. I would recommend Mafia Secret, if you enjoy the mysterious strangers trope, or heroines that are thrown into the dangerous world of organized crime.
OVERALL RATING:
BLURB:
Lessa Noelle grew up never knowing she was the illegitimate daughter of a mafia king pin. After his murder, she finds herself a surprise heiress immersed in the dangerous world of organized crime with only the guidance of Marco Santos, her father’s second in command, to help her.
An uneasy attraction blossoms
between the two as Marco searches for her father’s killer. He tries to keep the
realities of his life from touching her and an already dangerous situation
turns volatile when a killer turns his attention to Lessa.
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Her mother should be
working the swing shift at the hospital, so she auto-dialed her mom’s cell
number. It rang twice.
“Hi
honey,” Erin Noelle said.
“Hey
Mom.” Lessa glanced away from Santos, who was now listening closely to her side
of the conversation. “Are you busy?”
“I
can talk for a moment. What’s up?”
The
background noise of the hospital faded out as her mother probably ducked into a
room to hear her better.
“I
need to ask you something.” She struggled for courage to ask the question which
could change everything.
“What
now?” Erin laughed.
Lessa
took a deep breath. “Who is Jiovanni Tazio, and why is he sending me a letter
saying he’s my father?”
Erin
made a startled sound and the line went quiet.
“Mom?”
Dread filled her. Her mom was supposed to say she didn’t know who the heck
Jiovanni Tazio was.
“How
did you find out?” Erin demanded.
“It’s
true?” The line went silent again. Lessa spun to focus on the photo from the
long-ago trip to Disney. Of the three of them smiling—her mother, Lessa, and
the man she’d thought was her father. Who maybe wasn’t.
“Of
course it’s not true. Peter’s your father. You look just like him.”
But
she didn’t. She closed her eyes. She and Peter had similar coloring. Blonde
hair, blue eyes, fair skin. But her features were like her mother’s.
“Just
send the letter back to this man. He obviously got the wrong person.”
Her
mom’s voice was too cool, and Lessa didn’t believe a word. “You mean hand it
back to the courier?”
Erin
gasped a second time. “Get away from him. Jiovanni’s men are dangerous.”
“Who
says it’s a man? And who says it isn’t Jiovanni himself?” The depth of her
mother’s lies started to work through her. She pressed her hand against her
burning stomach.
“You
have to get away from him right now.”
She
shook her head even though her mother couldn’t see her. “You lied to me. All
these years, and you pretended Peter was my father.”
“Sweetie,
listen to me, they’re dangerous people. I had to lie to keep you safe. You need
to stay as far away from Jiovanni as possible.”
She
almost choked on her outrage. “That shouldn’t be a problem since, apparently,
he’s dead.” And with him dead, she’d never have the chance to find out who her
father really was.
“Jiovanni’s
dead?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Angie Derek writes paranormal and
romantic suspense. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband,
two daughters, two horses, two cats, and a dog.
Thank you for having reviewing Mafia Secret and hosting it on your blog. - Angie Derek
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