Back from spending her teen years in Italy, Gabrielle Medini wants answer to the hard questions. She quickly learns that the Mafia still has a hand in controlling society and her father is the Don of the largest mob organization in the area. When a hit order is taken out on her father and one of his members will be doing the killing, Gabi’s mother demands Gabi’s disappearance. For good. This time … This time she refuses to go alone.
The Mafia doesn’t seem so glamorous any more. Not sure what Mik’s role in her father’s crime family is but sure he is involved, Gabrielle has reason to believe that her secret love’s safety is in jeopardy too.
Mikolas Russo is one hit away from becoming part of the Medini crime family. But is this what he really wants? Killing people for money is what he has been trained to do even though he’d give anything to trade the nightmares for sweet dreams of the forbidden Gabrielle. Thinking he has the chance to reveal his feelings to her, he arrives at her house to find her brandishing a loaded gun, ready to take control.
Will the truth fulfill her desires, or will Mikolas be the one to shatter everything?
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**Read as Part of the Shades Of Desire: 10 Sweet & Spicy Romances box set.**
~ 2 Dangerous Stars ~
Dangerous Flames is book one in the Mafia Hearts series by Wendy Ely. I am not a big contemporary reader; because they just don’t take me away from real life as easily as paranormal, fantasy, or sci-fi reads.
Dangerous Flames did not work for me, but does have several 4-5 star reviews, so people did enjoy it, just not me. I on the other hand should have DNF it, but something kept me reading. I’m guessing it was; because I wanted to see how it would end. Which I did and it was nothing spectacular. I’ve read one other book that featured a Mafia type lifestyle and it worked for me, but this one only had some Mafia aspects, not enough to make it really feel Mafia enough.
The characters where not believable enough. We have Gabrielle who is the daughter of the Mafia Don, but she is out of loop and under the impression that she wants to get into the Mafia business. She has no idea what that lifestyle initials. Then we have Mikolas who was trained to be the hitman for the Medini Family, but I could not believe his role as the hitman. These two grew up together until Gabrielle was sent away for her protection, so they have some type of previous relationship, but it never felt believable enough for them to both love each other. Gabrielle wants into the family business and comes up with a ridicules idea that involves her old friend and crush Mikolas. These two acted to much like teenagers, dancing around the issues, and no communication that it got to be frustrating just reading about them. Gabrielle has no backbone and Mikolas was not alpha enough. Both characters where a disappointment and ended up irritating me.
As for the sex. They have sex, but without a condom. Yep, not my thing. Sometimes it works, but not for me this time. Also the author dosen’t really write an involved sex scene. It is implied that they did the deed, by them getting to the penetration and then we are moving onto the next scene.
I got confused as to why Gabrielle’s mom told her to leave town and start a new life someplace far away from the family. When her mom does this she tells her about a safe, but doesn’t tell her where it is located at the cabin. If her mom really wanted her to go, why not tell her everything she needs to know to locate said safe and get away with the money she needs to move on? Also Gabrielle wanted into the lifestyle and now she doesn’t. Complete one eighty. Last the information we are given from Mikolas, in what little talks he has with Gabrielle about the Mafia lifestyle, is just little tide bits here and there. It’s only enough to keep you hooked. Which added to my frustration. I wanted more in-depth information.
Dangerous Flames was not the book for me. If the blurb intrigues you, I urge you to give it a shot. Just because it did not work for me does not mean it won’t for you.
*Disclaimer: Review copy provided of Shades Of Desire: 10 Sweet & Spicy Romances with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.