You’ve met the Morelli family, now delve into the love story of Mateo’s callous brother, Dante Morelli…Loving Dante was my original sin. They warned me of the slippery slope, the moral corruption, the outright debasement of the Morelli family. They warned me not to get involved. Not to love him.I didn’t listen. I thought I would be his saving grace. I was a fool.Once upon a time, Dante Morelli …
I was a fool.
Once upon a time, Dante Morelli was the source of my happiness, the powerful embrace which would always keep me safe and loved.
Now, Dante Morelli is the source of every moment of pain, every moment of grief, every heart-breaking moment of my young life.
Once, his love was my lifeblood.
Now, his love is my prison.
Once, I thought it might kill me to leave him.
Now, I know he will never let me go.
Warnings: This is a dark romance with a bad guy hero. This is also a comprehensive series, so you’ll have a MUCH better time with Dante’s story if you have read all previous Morelli family series books first. The author does NOT recommend trying to read this as a standalone if you haven’t read the Morelli family series.
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This is without a doubt my absolute favorite Mob family. I loved the chance of getting inside Dante’s head and finding out about the relationship he had with Colette. All of the questions I have had about him throughout the series were answered
“I dared to run away from the devil and start a life without him and now he’s going to burn me for that unforgivable sin.”
I CAN NOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS SERIES! I CAN NOT GET ENOUGH OF THESE CHARACTERS! I CAN NOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS AUTHORS WORDS! The thing with Sam’s writing is, she aims to obliterate your sense of morality (when it comes to the stories you read). That black and white world that you live in? She will push you into that gray area that resides in between. She pushes you past your limits without you even realizing it (which I LOVE that she can do this! Because a true testament to her abilities to get, me as a reader, “out of my own head”). She creates such a compelling book world that it is IMPOSSIBLE not to be consumed by it and love on the characters that would be scorned and loathed in other books because they would be deemed “evil”. But us as readers, LOVE them with her books. Sam ALWAYS brings a uniqueness that can only be reached by her words.
Sam never aims to blow rainbows and glitter up your arse with her stories. She brings raw, animalistic passion between her characters. A tangible want and need within her characters that jumps off the page. It’s the rawest kind of love. The kind of love that you would literally kill for. And as a reader, you will crave for Sam’s lead male characters to tear down the world and everyone in their path to get to their one and only woman. And you will want for her lead woman to get caught. Captured by her man, just as much as you the reader, have been captured by their passion for their woman.”A man like Dante can’t lose, because he refuses to. Whatever he has to do to win, he’ll do it. If there’s a line drawn to show how far is too far, Dante will step over it like a meaningless crack in the pavement. He won’t bat an eye at doing things far worse than I could ever even imagine.” She did all these things I mentioned above with this story! Dante and Colette each other’s end game and their love is inevitable.
One thing I absolutely love and applaud Sam for is, she stays true to her characters, no matter how despicable or evil they can be. She aims to bring us readers characters that will have us gasping with the audacity of the things that they say and do.”Dante goes after what he wants, especially when he’s running on jealously. I know his need to dominate takes over, but I also know it doesn’t mean he loves me any less. It’s pure animal instinct for him, and it’s one of the things I loved about Dante in its more civilized forms. One can’t pick a brutish, dominant man and then be shocked when he behaves like one.”There were several times while reading this book where I was thinking, “How the f&*k is Sam gonna pull this off?? Dante’s just SO INTENSE! He has no moral compass! He’s SO dark!” But then Sam would have me inevitably falling for the bad guy right along with the heroine. That’s talent right there!
Sam truly has me captive with her words and this book world. I am “drinking the koolaid” like my life depends on it. If you are interested in reading about the bad guys winning the girl, then THIS is the series for you!
NOTE: This story run parallel to the first 7 books in the series, but in NO WAY is it a retelling. Dante and Colette’s story is very much their own. It’s the timeline that runs parallel but Dante and Colette were both minimally in the first 7 books. I am ASTOUNDED by how well Sam executed this. She literally had to weave Dante and Colette’s story within the characters from the first 7 books and still stay true to THAT story/characters. It’s like she created a world within a world and she did so masterfully! If you haven’t read the first books in this series, STOP NOW! You MUST read them in order to get the full experience with this book. You will be left feeling confused at times because you will not have the knowledge from the first books and if that happens, you will not enjoy this book. Believe me, Dante and Colette deserve your full cooperation *wink*…you will want to read ALL the books before OLD FLAME.
6 stars!
The Morelli Family Series is a must read series! Here we are in book 8 and the excitement is still there. Reading this book or any book for that matter, we must always remind ourselves, this is fiction we are reading. When sensitive subjects are talked about, it is how the author feels, how the author wants her story to be. If the darkness scares you or you can’t handle reading about dark subject matters, this book is not for you.
Yes, this is a standalone book as it focuses on Dante, you need to read the 7 previous books to totally enjoy this one. There are parts in the book that will be spoilers for you. There are parts in the book that will not make sense if you haven’t already met the family previously.
With that being said, Dante is 100% Morelli.
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“Nah, I prefer the single life. No attachments. Plus, it seems like the males in my family have a sleeper cell of insanity that unlocks when they fall in love, and I’m not trying to turn into a raging lunatic.”
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Boy doesn’t this perfectly describe the Morelli Men! Dante has fallen in love and the sleeper cell has been unlocked. He will do any and everything to ensure that his love will always belong to him.
Colette the cute florist was let go once by Dante. But deep down inside she knew that it truly wasn’t a lifelong break. Dante would always be there. Always protecting. Always watching. Knowing this, she still managed to move on and attempt a normal life.
Jump into this one and devour the words. I’m still waiting to get my invite over for a Sunday Dinner at the Morelli house. Great job telling us Dante’s story!!!
Freaking fantastic!
Oh how I’ve missed this dysfunctional family. I get so engrossed in their stories that I feel as though I am a part of them. But Dante….. y’all I never thought he would be so freaking sweet. Yes, sweet. I’m totally in love with him now, I want no need more. More of everything and everyone.
This is his and Collette’s story, it’s a must that you read the other books first, if not it will spoil some things for you. And really, it’s such a great series you will definitely want to read it all. These characters attach themselves to you and you can’t shake them, you won’t want to. They will frustrate you but mostly they will have you falling for each and every one of them. I can’t get enough!!!
Freaking fantastic!
Oh how I’ve missed this dysfunctional family. I get so engrossed in their stories that I feel as though I am a part of them. But Dante….. y’all I never thought he would be so freaking sweet. Yes, sweet. I’m totally in love with him now, I want no need more. More of everything and everyone.
This is his and Collette’s story, it’s a must that you read the other books first, if not it will spoil some things for you. And really, it’s such a great series you will definitely want to read it all. These characters attach themselves to you and you can’t shake them, you won’t want to. They will frustrate you but mostly they will have you falling for each and every one of them. I can’t get enough!!!
*Review by Michelle
“I hold her so tight none of her demons would dare escape, but I can’t outrun the knowledge that Colette never had demons-not until I gave them to her.”
Like Christmas, when I heard more Morellis were coming, I stopped EVERYTHING and prepared for the wild ride!! Dante and Colette were a spinning wheel of toeing the line between right and wrong, insanely dizzying hotness, and that Morelli “magic” that only fans of this series will know about. If you haven’t met the men of the Morelli family, you are sorely missing out!! The Author once again twists you up and you have no choice to be swept away and love every second of the orchestrated chaos that she has created in one of my most favorite Mafia Series EVER. Not your run of the mill couple, but that is the bane of this series, they never are!! Inhaled in a few days, my life stopped, I was sucked in, and never wanted it to end. I thank the Author for providing a copy to review!!
“When I was with Dante, he was my fairytale. After I left him, he became my nightmare.”
~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog
This series just keeps giving and giving! In book 8 of the Morelli Family series we get a look at Dante Morelli and Colette Fontaine. The first thing I feel that is important to know is that, you have to read this series to fully get the amazing writing of the characters Sam has created. “Old Flame” is cleverly written. All the characters in the Morelli world intertwine and give us readers a book that is amazing, shocking, frustrating, witty, and romantic. Sam has not disappointed in the journey of her characters in this series. Dante and Colette love is strong but fragile. It’s hard for Colette to love a mobster. Can she love Dante unconditional? Can she accept the morality of a infamous mobster? Sam does not hold back in this story! I highly recommend this book but to get to power and magic of Sam’s writing, read all her books in this series.