Luca: A Ruin and Revenge Novel by Sarah Castille... Review by Dawn

The mafia men of New York Times bestselling author Sarah Castille’s Ruin & Revenge                              series are hard, hot, and ruthless. They show no weakness and take no prisoners.                                               But the right woman can soften their stone cold hearts and make  them come alive with dark desire. Luca Rizzoli was nearly destroyed by a brutal betrayal that cost him his family.  Now a ruthless crime boss in Las Vegas, he lets nothing touch his frozen heart... until a smoldering encounter with a beautiful stranger ignites his passion.  One night isn’t enough for a man who takes what he wants—and  Luca will do whatever he can to possess his mysterious temptress... Police detective Gabrielle Fawkes lives for revenge. She lost everything  at the hands of an unforgiving ruler of the Vegas underworld.  Now she wants to see him six feet under.  But when a near-fatal attack leads her into Luca’s arms, what was meant  to be one night of unbridled passion becomes something forbiddingly more.  Luca has his own agenda, but when strong, determined, kick-ass detective  Gaby sets her sights on her target,  Luca feels compelled to stand by her side and protect her at all costs.  However, pursuing danger comes at a high price—and both Gaby and Luca  must work together in order to eliminate the dark enterprise that threatens them,  in Luca by Sarah Castille. My Review I am going to be 100% honest. The first half (30-45%) of this book really did not sit well with me. I am an avid Mafia reader and was just very put off by what I call the "MOB checklist." Now, this may be my very own undoing, as a mafia book fan. I felt like the beginning of this story had all the boxes checked,... ~ Use of EVERY Mob term, every one. You are writing mafia, we know what they are no need for an explanation for every term. ~ Over detail of his fancy suit, got it, he dresses well. ~ Too many cliches' The fact that Gabby had survived the horrific death of her husband and child, her need for revenge is all consuming. She makes no excuses about her need for revenge. I loved that she was such a force. I loved that Luca loved that about her! She made for an awesome leading lady. I am not saying this story is bad, because it is far from bad. It is very exciting, once I got past the checklist. I loved the fact that Gabrielle and Luca were on opposite sides of the law, that was very intriguing. I absolutely was enamored with Luca. He had this coolness about him. He has this tenderness that made you just love this good man who did bad things. He was living with guilt on two fronts. His fathers betrayal and his wife's death. He took on the weight and was out to prove himself. I really enjoyed the writing when it came to Luca. He has my heart. The combination of Luca and Gabrielle was explosive. Those steamy scenes are some of the sexiest I've read in a very long time. The kitchen scene alone, if it was the ONLY sex scene in this entire book, it is worth it!!!!!!!! This would be a 5 * review if I could have gotten past the beginning. I will most definitely read more books in this series, bc I have to know what's up with Frankie!