Mafia enforcer Rocco De Lucchi is the best in the business. Cold, hard, and utterly ruthless, Rocco is the most dangerous of men. Feelings are a luxury he cannot afford–until a chance encounter brings him face to face with the only woman who found her way into his heart and touched his soul. Grace Mantini has spent her whole life running from the mob. The daughter of the boss’s right-hand man, … the boss’s right-hand man, she is both a prize and a target. When Rocco walks back into her life, she wants nothing to do with the man who betrayed her and broke her heart. But only Rocco can protect her from the dangerous forces that seek to destroy her family. Can they escape the hands of fate closing around them? Or will love be the kiss of death for them both?
“Castille [gives] readers the compelling romance they crave.”–RT Book Reviews
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I have enjoyed every book in this series. This was an invigorating, suspenseful, highly intense journey to go on. Rough, gruff Rocco (Franky) has a heart! He intrigued me from Nico’s story. I am so glad that he got his own story. I loved the hot and cold, fiery, and steamy chemistry between him and Grace. I loved everything about this story.
**4.5 Stars**
I knew Rocco would be amazing based on the two previous books in the Ruin and Revenge series. Frankie is Rocco’s mobster name. In the Nico and Luca books he was portrayed as a brutal soulless killer and in Rocco I got the whole background story and why he is the way he is. It was gritty and dark. It all goes back to his father. He made Rocco into Frankie the enforcer. The killer. Starting when he was a kid. To his father Rocco was a toy and not his son. He beat every emotion out of Rocco and taught him emotions was a weakness.
Luckily Rocco met Grace before he was fully immersed in the enforcer life. Before his light was snuffed out. Grace was just that. His savior and saving grace. His light in the darkness and he was her first everything. Sadly their secret love affair was cut short because of Rocco’s father. He showed Grace who Rocco or should I say who Frankie really was. They don’t see each other for six years.
When they meet again Rocco does and tries everything to push his emotions for Grace down. This time around Grace isn’t running. She’s stronger and braver now. She wants Rocco and knows who he truly is. Her growth and evolution is amazing. These two have so much heat and chemistry. The story of how they fell in love is also why I connected so strongly with them as a couple and cheered them on. The return of the other characters from the two other books are an added bonus. Rocco is why I enjoy mafia romance. A flawed and broken hero who seeks redemption and a kickass heroine. I couldn’t ask for more.
4.5 Strangers in the Night Stars
Audio. I think if the statutory rape had just been mentioned, I could have handled it ~ but at 35% and the author is still constantly glorifying/romanticizing a relationship between a 16yo and a 26yo, I just can’t. I probably could have handled even a 16yo & a 20yo (I tend to feel if the couple could have theoretically been in high school at the same times then it loses the creepy factor).
Also Grace was super inconsistent. She hates the mafia, hates Rocco/Frankie, wants out, etc and the next minute she’s making out with him, sleeping in the same bed as him, asserting her mafia princess standing. Back n forth, back n forth. It was exhausting.
This whole thing felt like old school bodice ripper romance in a mafia world. If it weren’t for the amazing narration by Aiden Snow ~ I probably would have ditched it earlier.
Such a shame because I really enjoyed Nico & Luca.
Omgoodness!!! Oh man, I Love this series!! Rocco and Grace have known each other since childhood. She and her brother, Tom are Martini’s, their father is the boss’s right hand man.
Rocco DeLucchi is a mafia enforcer. They can never be together because of her father. In spite of it they are in love!
After a horrible incident between Rocco’s father and Grace, she will do anything to flee the mafia life.
Years later Grace is in Las Vegas, with a college degree in psychology, but what she really wants is to sing. Eventually she and Rocco meet, and the love and attraction between them is still alive. I loved this storyline, this story had so many interesting characters, action and suspense. This story also included Nico and his wife and Luca and pregnant Gabrielle. I could not stop listening, and then the narrator-Aiden Snow!?! Love his voice. Their love was hot and steamy and of course, happily ever after.
At one time, Grace Mantini and Rocco De Lucchi were everything to each other. In fact, they still are, but they’ve been apart for years, ripped violently from each other the day Grace discovered who her family really was and who Rocco really was, what he really was.
Rocco is a mafia enforcer. The best in the business. He was taught and trained from a young age to be this way by the man who adopted him and supposedly loved him. Now that his love is back in his life, he won’t allow her to leave. Grace spent a blissful childhood thinking her father was someone other than a mafia underboss. When she found out, she ran, and she’s been running ever since. But now that she’s back within the reaches of the family, the family business, and she’s back in Rocco’s life, will she run again? Will they allow her to run?
I haven’t read any of the other books in this series, but it was easy to pick up what was going on in Rocco. And I found myself absolutely riveted by it. Rocco and Grace are amazing characters, both deeply layered (especially Rocco) with an eternally strong connection. There’s no doubt that Rocco and Grace’s chemistry is electric, framed by years of missing each other, and loving each other. Now that they’re years older, they’ve changed into much different people. Thank God those people are still deeply in love, even more so. Rocco’s a fierce, protective alpha, willing to kill to protect the woman he loves. And Grace is just as strong and fierce as Rocco is. Without a doubt, they belong together – a mafia princess and an enforcer. I will most definitely be reading the other stories in this series now!
***4.5 ‘Sinatra’ Stars***
It’s funny, I had just finished Luca when I saw that Rocco was the next book up in the series and I had a total “Huh?” moment because I couldn’t for the life of me remember meeting a Rocco in either Nico or Luca’s books…and then the lightbulb went off, I did a little search in Luca to see if my brain had indeed figured it out (which it did), gave myself a little mental slap and then got all kinds of excited because Rocco aka Frankie was one of my favs in Luca and the one I wanted to know more about and I wasn’t disappointed. This book gave me all the smexy, alpha AF moments mixed with a good dose of suspense, humor and heart that kept me turning the pages until the very end.
Rocco, Frankie (I LOVE how he got his nickname), Rocco…I don’t care what you call him, the man was all kinds of alpha AF smexy, even if he was scary AF (though that actually made him more smexy IMHO) but beneath the cold exterior lives a man whose heart is warmer than most believe and when pieces of that heart start to appear he becomes even more lethal. Grace is sassy, strong and determined. There is a dash of naivete that still lives in her, despite what she’s lived through, and she desperately wants to live in a world where things are black and white, but she comes to realize that living in the grey isn’t as horrible as she once believed.
We have a mix of taboo and second chance romance in a mafia world and it simply makes things that much more explosive when it came to Rocco and Grace’s journey. They have a connection between them that is soul deep and they are equally matched in more ways than one. The physical attraction between them is smexy as all get out, and takes the lead when it comes to their ‘reunion’, but slowly the heart and mind come around and they end up being a fun couple to be around and a definite force to be reckoned with.
While Luca still is my favorite, thus far, of the series, I thoroughly enjoyed Rocco. The writing was engaging, the pacing was good and I enjoyed the multiple POV’s. The plot twists and turns were a mish mash of “Really?” and “Oh…I didn’t see that one coming” but all made sense in only a way it could in a Mafia world. The conflict between Tony and Nico is still unresolved, but I like how things are moving within Nico’s sect of the family. And as for the crazy cast of characters that populate this world, I loved catching up with Nico, Mia, Luca, Gabrielle and the rest of crew loyal to Nico, which comes as no surprise, but the weird thing is this time around I don’t have a clear favorite amongst them, but I do have a guess as to who the next book could be about…but we’ll see if I’m right or not when it’s announced, and even if I’m not, make no mistake that I’ll still be looking to get my hands on it ASAP!
~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~
I love the gritty, raw, passionate world Sarah Castille has created with the Ruin & Revenge series. Rocco was a gripping story that’s not for the faint of heart. It had me hanging on for dear life!
I love all her books can’t wait for the next one
http://www.behindcloseddoorsbookreview.com/rocco-review/
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book
I had NO idea this was book three in a series, (was totally a perfect standalone read)
BUT I will be reading Nico and Luca!
Rocco De Lucchi, of the De Lucchi crew he is one of the most feared enforcers from this
crew, His father Cesare made sure he was trained that way. Rocco met Grace Mantini when
she was just a ten year old little girl who was suffering the brutal murder of her mother. Her
father is the underboss. Grace had no idea her father was not an insurance salesman until she
hit her teens. Rocco was hired to drive and protect Grace, but as she grew up although he is 10
years older then Grace they started to have feeling for each other. Well Cesare’s rules are
NO feelings, NO emotions, NO relationships and he “killed” what they had 6 years ago, Grace
ran with emotional and physical scars. When Grace sees her father and younger brother Tom for
the first time in years it is to attend yet another “mafia” funeral. She keeps feeling that someone is
watching her, When she sees Rocco all those feelings they had for each other comes slamming back.
But are they the same people they were back in New York. I LOVED how beautiful Grace changed
Rocco into a man who has feelings again. This book was one of those I could NOT put down until I finished
it (at 4:30 am in the morning)
If you like mafia romance, then this is the book for you. Even though this is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I have read all three and this is my favorite in the series so far. The secondary characters have a large role in this book, but you don’t need their history or previous story to understand this book. It just makes the story that much better if you do.
Grace Mantini fell in love with Rocco when she was ten years old and he was her and her brother Tommy’s driver and body guard. Grace lost her beloved mother when she was killed in a shooting. She had no idea her father was in the mafia, she thought her father was a businessman. She was devastated and left home and moved in with her aunt when she realized what her father was. She and Rocco had an affair and his underboss and adopted father was ruthless and found out that Rocco was in love with Grace. He was not supposed to have feelings. He was raised to be a killing machine with no feelings, no conscience and his adopted father threatened Grace and made Rocco kill a man in front of her. His father also disfigured Grace’s face by running a knife down the side of her face. Grace was traumatized and heartbroken. She left New York and moved to Las Vegas to get away from her family, Rocco and the love she left behind.
Fast forward and Grace has made amends with her father and brother when they came into town for a funeral of a Las Vegas underboss. Her father was trying to get Grace to marry into another crime family, but Grace was not wanting to be a part of the family business.
She feels him before she sees him. The man that she fell in love with so long ago and never really got over. Rocco was in the shadows and then she realized that Rocco was working for Nico Toscani. There was a turf dispute between two factions of the Toscani Crime family and Grace’s dad was there to help settle the dispute and choose the successor.
That is where I am going to leave it! There is a lot that goes on in this story. There is intrigue, deception, a forbidden love between an enforcer and a mafia princess. There is family drama and power struggles between New York crime boss and Las Vegas underbosses. There is someone that wants to take over and take out the people in power. The love and passion between Grace and Rocco is sizzling. Their chemistry was hot, and Rocco was so wonderful with her! This book was long, it didn’t drag, and I didn’t want it to end. It flowed well and held my attention from start to finish.
If you love a gritty, sexy mafia romance, give this one a try.
I didn’t want it to end!
Everything is right with the world again! It wasn’t perfect, but it so damn close! I floved Rocco and literally did not want it to end. I got to the last page and still tried to flip to the next. Rocco and Grace made that much of an impression.
So, here’s what I loved:
The characters – The main characters were superb together. They’re both fairly complex and so is there relationship. I particularly enjoyed Rocco. He made a great impression on me while reading Luca, so it was fantastic to read his love story. Grace is beautiful, flawed, and stronger than she realizes. Watching her character grow and evolve was pure joy.
Here’s what you really need to know. Rocco is a badass. He’s the enforcer that’s down to do whatever to handle business. You know what they say….bad-boys do it better! And Rocco is certainly a bad-boy. LOL
The storyline is entertaining, exciting, and pretty action packed. I enjoyed the taboo aspect of the story. It wasn’t always front center, but the age difference played a significant role in how these characters interact with one another.
The writing was so much better this time around. Not perfect, but really good. I definitely recommend it to lovers of Mafia romance, alpha-heroes, and 2nd chance roman
So awesome I don’t know how to even begin to explain it without giving anything away. Mobsters. A beautiful, scarred woman and a handsome Mafia enforcer. Sexy. Romantic. And a little funny.Grace is the daughter of a mob boss. Six years ago she found out her father was part of the mob and her lover was a killer. She ran to Vegas and sings jingles for commercials and is a therapist but doesn’t use her degree. Her father and brother come to visit and the guy her father wanted her to marry was killed and the man she lost her heart to, shows up at the cemetery. Rocco was adopted and raised to be a Mafia enforcer. He is deadly and nobody messes with him. He has loved Grace for years and now that he has found her again, no one will take her away. But first he has to find out who has put a contract out on Grace and her family. Then maybe he’ll finally get the life he wants. I have been waiting for this book forever. Was not disappointed. Ms. Castille writes the most fantastic stories. They make you feel like you’re right there with them. Secrets. A book that will have you up all night reading it. * Voluntarily read and reviewed this for netgalley *
I absolutely love this series! Sarah Castille does a great job in making us feel as if we are part of the famiglia in each of the books in this series. While they each can be read as a standalone I highly recommend reading the series in order, not only will you get to know each of these men that are tough wiseguys when it comes to work but pure pussycats when it comes to their women, but you’ll also enjoy it more because each book will add another layer to the next story.
This story is about Rocco, aka Frankie, and Grace. Grace’s father is the Boss’s right hand man in New York and at one time Rocco worked for him as a bodyguard for both of his children and that is how Rocco, at the time 20, meets Grace, at that time 10. Their story begins as a friendship a bonding of two over some great jazz music that Grace always listened to with her mother. I will admit that I was a bit apprehensive about how their relationship would evolve but it was a natural progression of feelings as Grace got older, fast forward to Grace’s teen years and a romance starts between the two. It wont be a surprise that it didn’t work out the first time Rocco and Grace were together because this is a second chance at love story but what did surprise me was the circumstances in which the two separated.
Rocco is an enforcer, part of the De Lucchi family, the lowest a person can be because he isn’t technically part of the family. My heart broke when we are told about his past and his father. Can he ever truly be good enough for Grace, the Mob Princess?
**I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book**
Yep. This series is still AMAZING.
Rocco was HOT. I mean, talk about “protector to the nth degree.” He was one guy you didn’t want to mess with, and yet, Grace stood up to him like no one had, and he was powerless to ever be mean to her. LOVED that.
I really felt for Grace; she had physical and mental scars that she had to deal with, but she sure didn’t take any guff from anyone, and for that, I admired her.
Sarah truly did an excellent job of describing emotions. I’m pretty sure I felt everything she intended, from the intense love between Grace and Rocco to his fear when she might have been hurt to her fierce need for him. Very. Well. Done.
I enjoyed the dynamic of the Mafia, especially the characters I had met in previous books (this is a standalone, but you’ll totally want to read the other books too!) Sarah takes a seemingly dark world and makes it into a “meh, these guys aren’t so bad” kind of feel.
I am SO excited to see what ends up happening with a certain villain and a certain victim, so I am on pins and needles waiting for the next book!
(I received a copy of this book in consideration of an honest review)
ROCCO is the third instalment in Sarah Castille’s contemporary adult RUIN AND REVENGE erotic, mafia romance series set in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is mafia enforcer Rocco De Lucchi, of the De Lucchi crew, and psychologist/jazz singer Grace Mantini’s story line. ROCCO can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Grace and Rocco) ROCCO follows the second chance romance between mafia enforcer Rocco De Lucchi, and Grace Mantini, the daughter of the New York underboss, and a woman whose has spent most of her adult life running from the mob. A recent funeral for a mutual acquaintance finds Grace pulled back into the lifestyle she wants desperately to forget, but a lifestyle that has cruelly imbedded itself upon the man that she loves. A crime-family divided will pit blood against blood, and family against friends forcing Rocco to choose between his heart and the mob. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Rocco and Grace as Grace and her family are targeted by an unknown source, and the potential fall out when Grace discovers the truth behind Rocco’s re-appearance in her life.
Six years earlier Grace’s life was all but destroyed by retribution and retaliation against the man that she loves. Unable to fulfill his duty to the man that destroyed his life Rocco watched as Grace became the victim of his father’s cruelty and pain. Running from New York Grace thought she found the solace and freedom from the lifestyle she had grown to hate but Vegas was now home to the man who stole her heart.
All of her life Grace has been sheltered from her father’s lifestyle, a lifestyle that has caused so much pain including the death of her mother, and the physical and emotional scars our heroine hides from the world including the man that she loves. Rocco De Lucchi’s life has been harder than most as the adopted son of one of the most feared and reviled mafia families. Broken and battered, Rocco needs the physical pain to control the beast that formed by years of misery and abuse. An anti-hero at best, Rocco is a man feared for his cold, calculating ability to kill but a man whose softer side has only been seen by the woman he loves. A true alpha with issues of control, Rocco is not the usual romantic hero. An order from his father forces Rocco to disobey- a decision that could affect the New York and Las Vegas crime families and their power to control.
The relationship between Grace and Rocco is one of second chances; a rekindling romance originally destroyed by power and greed, and a man who isn’t afraid to take what doesn’t belong. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense but I dislike the use of a certain four letter word that I find unacceptable in a romance storyline. There is a limited S/M scene involving our story line (anti) hero that may be troubling for more sensitive readers.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including several members of various mafia families. We are reintroduced to Nico and Mia (Nico #1), Luca and Gabrielle (Luca #2); Grace’s father Nunzio Mantini, and her brother Tom ; self-appointed crime boss Tony Toscani; Rocco’s most trusted soldier and former MMA fighter Mike; Rocco’s father Cesare De Lucchi, the head of a group of professional enforcers; and Tiffany, a woman with secrets of her own.
The world building continues to focus on the violent and murderous world of the Las Vegas Italian mob. No one is safe; everyone is suspect; retribution and murder are the price for disobedience and defiance. The violence is graphic although the author does limit the virtual visibility of the blood, guts and gore.
ROCCO is an emotional story line of one woman’s struggle to move on from the past, and one man’s battle between honor and heart. The premise is gritty and raw; the characters are colorful, charismatic and tragic; the romance is passionate, seductive and rebellious.
Grace Mantini left her family behind years ago to build a new life in Las Vegas. Everything was working out fine until she reconnected with the family. A funeral soon followed.
Rocco De Lucchi has come to Vegas on family business. He didn’t expect to find a reason to change his life.
Our lead characters have a tragic shared past, but they are both very different people now.
This is a Mafia story, so expect lots of violence and a strong macho hero. He is not a nice or good man. There is some serious soul searching going on. A sexy and action packed story that is part of a series that is best read in order, although you can read each book on it’s own.
Rocco by Sarah Castille
Ruin & Revenge #3
Grace is a mafia princess and ten years old when she meets Rocco.
Rocco is an enforcer who was adopted and ruthlessly trained to be the “best” at doing the worst.
The two have a past that was ripped asunder in New York but are given a second chance at love in Las Vegas
This is a dark story that is difficult to boil down into one succinct pithy review. So…
What I liked:
* Rocco: he was strong and ruthless and got the job done but he had not given up his humanity…not completely…though someone wanted him to. And…what an alpha male both at work and in the bedroom!
* Grace: that she worked to wrap her mind around her mafia roots, loved her family, tried avoid violence and yet learned to defend herself should she need to.
* Their love story – that it stood the test of time and brought them a HEA in the end
* That the book ended with hope – 1. That Rocco may find a place that will be more in keeping with his talents and heart, 2. That Rocco might find out who his family really is and 3. That Rocco and Grace will have a happy life together in the future…at least as happy as Mafia families can have.
* The supporting characters. I can see a spin-off for Ethan and his band. I can see Mike and Tom both finding a HEA with someone in the future.
What I did not like:
* Cesare: I know I was not supposed to like him but I really REALLY was happy when he got his due.
* Tony and some of the other creepy mafia types that so deserve to get planted six feet under.
* Teresa – though I could see why she was as she was…wonder if she will find happiness or rot in jail?
The book was action packed and a page turner that left me wanting more in whatever book may follow. I enjoyed the story and yet wondered just how Grace managed to evolve from a bit of a wimp to a kick-*ss much stronger person that could condone what she did.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4.5 Stars