A shadow meets the light … When someone needs to disappear, the Chicago mob calls on Joe Rossi. A man who can move without a sound, and kill without a word, they don’t call him the Shadow for nothing. This time, it’s a New York crime family in need of his skills, but it takes one glimpse of her to make him agree to the job. Liliana Marcello is every inch a principessa della mafia. Her life has … della mafia. Her life has taught her to be wary of strangers, yet her ballet career contradicts everything by putting her on display.
It’s a man with a dark smile and a constantly changing demeanor that makes her feel safe again, but it’s the unknown that holds her back.
It takes one look …
One dance …
One word …
One smile to captivate a man.
And one second to kill a woman because of it, too.
Not all monsters hide in the shadows.
How are you supposed to see them coming?
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Captivated was a book that threw me. This is a couple that you don’t really have much background from previous books, as characters. Which was nice. You get some surprise on how this book would go.
Joe is one cool character. Always seems calm understand pressure. The fact he has characteristics like his father makes more likeable. I like how in the beginning of the book showed how he wasn’t such a tough guy by showing fear about flying.
Liliana was a surprise also. From the another books you don’t know much about her, she is one of Lucian daughters. So going into this story you get know her.
The book was one that was hard to put down. I really found it captivating, pun intended
Riveting and heart stopping! Joe may have been captivated from the moment his eyes met Liliana, but their story captivated my heart. Throughout the chapters Joe and Liliana light up the pages with their roaring chemistry. This next generation of a hitman and ballerina in the mafia outfit just worked beautifully together. These two are anything but ordinary and their families are fiercely protective of them.
This author slays my emotions with her words. Captivated has everything I look for in a book. It captured my attention from the first page with Joe’s thoughts and then invited me into Liliana’s world through her dance. My heart is still beating fast from the adrenaline Captivated pulled from me. Captivated is not a quick read but you will fly through the pages to find out what is happening next. I love looking into the worlds of the families that we first fell in love with by witnessing their children’s destiny’s.
When made man/assassin/mobster Joe Rossi meets ballerina Liliana Marcello, Joe is struck mute by the beautiful mafia principessa. And when her family calls on him to protect her, Joe gladly takes on the job, along with his other job – to take out a few of the men the Marcello family have targeted.
I really wasn’t prepared for how beautiful Joe and Liliana’s relationship would end up being. I was thinking it would be the typical bloody, violent, super dominating but loveless Mafia-style romance. Thankfully Captivated ended up being so much more, so much better than that. The way these two young people fall in love with absolute surety is gorgeous and passionate. I am not normally a big Mafia romance fan, but I think Bethany-Kris just may have made me into one with this beautifully told, steamy tale.
This story Captivated Me Completely and Stole My Heart. Joe Rossi and Liliana Marcello knew from a glance that there was a “something” between them. A something that lit a spark, that ignited a flame, that started slow and cautiously, but eventually combusted.
The Marcello Family and The Rossi Family come from different states but live the same life. Two different Cosa Nostra families that don’t mix unless a favor is needed. And when a Marcello needs a specific favor, Joe Rossi is asked. Beginning with the trip from Chicago to NYC, the captivating writing of this author begins to weave a journey filled a purpose, a mystery, an infatuation, and a sassy and fiery relationship that grows into a love story. I literally couldn’t stop reading about Joe and Liliana.
Joe is the strong, dominant, silent type of man……like a Shadow. He has a special skill set within the Rossi family. He loves his family but his life within the family is written in stone. Liliana is a Marcello principessa. Her father is Lucien Marcello. She’s a dancer, a survivor and a bit sassy. They have a quick and dynamic banter that is high on sexual tension and snarky retorts. They find an ease with one another that is both surprising and calming in each other’s eyes. But their journey is filled with omissions that will test them because of the life they lead and who they are.
But this story, besides being about Joe and Liliana, is also infused with members of both families. They play key roles in the story as well as in this couple’s relationship. Joe and Liliana’s relationship occurs because of business between the two families. So while this is a love story, it is also very much a story within a story, of righting a wrong, and of finally handling an issue that has gone on far too long unhandled.
I loved the relationship between Joe and Liliana’s father, Lucien. Both men were men of few words and were very similar. Watching Joe walk the tightrope of protecting Liliana and also falling in love with her, while her father was ever present was another element of the story that shined for me. And while there wasn’t a lot of intersection between Joe and Johnathan, Liliana’s brother, there was a scene that melted my heart. And then I could start on Joe and his brother, Cory. So much of this story I absolutely loved, loved loved!!
I highly recommend this book to…..
#MafiaRomanceLovers
#EroticLovers
#RomanticSuspenseLovers
#OrganizedCrimeLovers
You probably know that I am a huge fan of Bethany-Kris. If you didn’t, well now you know. Bethany-Kris is one of my favourite authors. Her books are simply well written and magical. She spins explosive tales that leave my soul a prisoner all the time. Whether, it is a pulse hitting and action packed mafia thriller or a sweet and suspenseful mafia romance, Bethany-Kris always delivers world class. Just like Captivated. Man, Captivated was PHENOMENAL. Captivated was an INFERNO. Burning and scorching deep in my soul. Captivated was a THUNDERING STORM. Rapid and strong to my senses. I was astounded. I was hypnotized. Captivated echoed deep inside me. Bethany-Kris definitely outdid herself and truly delivered a fantastic and explosive mafia romance.
Captivated is a thrilling standalone. Have you ever had your soul conquered by a book? Have you ever felt chills on your skin from a scene a book? Have you ever had a book absolutely wreck and then put you back together stitch by stitch? Have you ever had a book completely wrap your heart in a strong vice and never let go. Well, Captivated did that to me. This book broke me. This book took me on a ride filled with mystery, suspense and emotion. This book plunged me into a fiery mafia romance. Captivated caused an avalanche. Captivated caused a tornado. To my body. To my heart. To my soul. Hard Pumping. Amazing. Heart Breaking. Chaotic. Beautiful. Stunning. Captivated was a honest and open mafia romance with a touching and exhilarating plot. Captivated exposes to a haunting and powerful story. Captivated brings out a hard hitting message that will absolutely break your heart. Yes, it a mafia romance. But Captivated was something more. Captivated was a story of strength. It was a story of find light within the darkness. Bethany-Kris truly took a risk and wrote an unforgettable special that speaks. Encased with blood, suspense, mayhem and the spirit of a mafioso, Captivated truly stole my soul.
When Italian Cosa Nostra meets Chicago Outfit, I got so excited. These two families are powerful and rule with an iron fist but still depicts the power of family. Loyalty. Love. Respect. Always the forefront. In Captivated, you truly meet the dangerous Joe Rossi and the graceful Liliana Marcello who absolutely melt my heart and bring heat, love and sexiness to set aflame to the pages. Joe Ross is a dominant, alpha, hot, sweet and loyal man. He is a hitman who will probably kill you with his look or his gun. Of all the alpha heroes Bethany-Kris, Joe is definitely one of my favourites. Liliana is a beaut. A ballerina with dedication and grace. Her life and story absolutely moved me. I even got emotional. She is strength. She is powerful. She is amazing. Bethany-Kris create stories and gives her characters obstacles and tribulations. Not everyone is perfect. And Bethany-Kris definitely shows us.
Go read a Bethany-Kris book. Go read Captivated. You will never be the same again. You will crave just like I do. Why? Because no one write mafia like the way Bethany-Kris does.