Born into one of the
leading Mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi struggles to find her own
path in a world where no choices are given. Aria was only fifteen when
her parents betrothed her to Luca – The Vice – Vitiello, the oldest son
of the head of the New York Cosa Nostra to ensure peace between the two
families.
Now at eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca.
Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.
In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.
The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again.
Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s.
Now at eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca.
Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.
In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.
The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again.
Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s.
That. Was. Awesome! I don’t typically
read mafia books, but I was in the mood for something different when this
review opportunity came up and boy am I glad I was. Ms. Reilly weaves a
compelling tale of violence, murder, betrayal, and love in Bound by Honor that kept me enthralled until the very end and not
wanting that end to arrive as soon as it did. She really has the Born in Blood
Mafia Chronicles off to a killer start (yeah, I went there).
At the age of 15, Aria is informed by
her father that she will be wed to the son of the head of the Familia (the New
York mafia) in a move to unite the New York and Chicago mafias against their
common enemies. Growing up viewing the Familia as their enemies, Aria is
devastated that her father would agree to the marriage. The only good news
about the arrangement is that the marriage won’t occur until after she turns
18. Just in case Luca’s reputation isn’t terrifying enough, Aria’s first
meeting with her fiancé shows him to be an extremely intimidating and cold man.
But like any good Italian daughter, Aria goes through with the wedding and is
determined to make the most of it … until her wedding night, that is. While Bound by Honor is told from Aria’s point
of view, Luca’s actions go a long way in communicating how he feels toward Aria
and this begins on their wedding night. Unfortunately for Aria, her parents did
too good of a job sheltering her and her father did too good of a job
impressing upon her the importance of the organization over the individual that
it takes a long time for her to understand what Luca’s actions are saying – and
even then her conditioning refuses to let her believe it.
I absolutely loved Bound by Honor. Luca’s unintended
courtship of his wife was perfect. By giving her time to get to know him and
get comfortable with him, he ended up getting to know her and falling in love
with her, despite his intentions otherwise. Luca’s slow seduction of Aria and
her body made for some freaking hot sex scenes that had me walking away from my
Kindle more than once so I could cool down. But I think what made this a 5-star
read for me was that the author does an excellent job of interspersing Aria and
Luca’s romance within the gritty and often ugly world of the Mafia. Ms. Reilly
has made a new fan and I have added another book to my reread list. While I am
looking forward to the next book in the series, Bound by Duty, I really cannot wait until Bound by Hatred is released because I am dying to read Gianna and
Matteo’s story.
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