A son determined to avenge his family. A daughter desperate for peace. Two fathers intent on destruction...
Enrico Lucchesi never wanted anything to do with the Mafia. But when his brothers were murdered, he accepted that he would someday be the next don. However, he doesn't accept that he must marry the daughter of the man who killed them. Enrico will never trust an Andretti, never mind love one. The Andrettis are up to something with their so-called "truce"—and Enrico must avenge his siblings. But will his dark secret spell the end of his vengeance—and possibly the Lucchesis?
After Antonella Andretti's father tries to destroy the Lucchesis, she persuades him that an alliance—achieved by her marriage to Enrico, the "golden boy" she's loved from afar—would be in everyone's best interests. As her wedding day approaches, people close to her father start dying, and her fiancé's behavior is suspect. When she learns Enrico's true feelings about her—and what her father's actual plans are—will Antonella damn their families to eternal war, or will she broker a peace that might destroy her heart?
Enrico Lucchesi never wanted anything to do with the Mafia. But when his brothers were murdered, he accepted that he would someday be the next don. However, he doesn't accept that he must marry the daughter of the man who killed them. Enrico will never trust an Andretti, never mind love one. The Andrettis are up to something with their so-called "truce"—and Enrico must avenge his siblings. But will his dark secret spell the end of his vengeance—and possibly the Lucchesis?
After Antonella Andretti's father tries to destroy the Lucchesis, she persuades him that an alliance—achieved by her marriage to Enrico, the "golden boy" she's loved from afar—would be in everyone's best interests. As her wedding day approaches, people close to her father start dying, and her fiancé's behavior is suspect. When she learns Enrico's true feelings about her—and what her father's actual plans are—will Antonella damn their families to eternal war, or will she broker a peace that might destroy her heart?
Malavita was an intensely compelling read. I
was glued to my Kindle for the first half of the book, and when I had to take a
break for a couple of hours to do some paperwork, I could not get back to my
Kindle fast enough. I connected to Toni’s character almost immediately and
because of her upbringing – both as an Italian and as a principessa – I often
forgot that she was only 16. The life into which she was born required that either
she grow up with a maturity and understanding of the world that most her age
don’t have or she grow up completely sheltered and naïve. What we learned of
Antonella (Toni) over the course of the book is that despite his old school
ways, her father, Carlo, seemed to have struck a nice balance between the two
that gave her far more insight into that world than a female normally gets
while maintaining her innocence. And ultimately, it is this combination of
maturity and innocence that wins Enrico over.
In his own right, Enrico was put in an
unenviable situation that left me feeling badly for him on many accounts. And
while his lashing out at Toni was understandable, I was relieved when he
finally saw the error of his ways – even if his initial reason for doing so was
out of revenge rather than understanding. Because of this, he unintentionally
gave Toni the opening she needed to unknowingly work her way into his heart. While
Enrico’s path to revenge was a bit grisly, it was appropriate to the situation
and storyline. This was one of those situations where I felt that the violence
added to the book and Enrico’s character development rather than being added
just to shock the reader.
I felt the author did an excellent job
of striking a balance between the romance between Toni and Enrico and the
machinations of the men in power – Carlo, Rinaldo, and Enrico. There was only
one actual sex scene and it was glanced over, similar to fade-to-black sex scenes
on television. As Toni is only 16 and a virgin, there were a few scenes showing
her and Enrico making out and this served as an extended bit of foreplay that
provided just a bit of heat while preserving her chasteness. Ms. Delamar
demonstrated that an author does not have to include graphic sex scenes (which
we know I’m all for) in order to ramp up the heat in a novel. Even knowing that
Toni is considered a woman in her culture, I was quite pleased with the manner
in which the author dealt with the sex (or lack thereof) scenes because it
helped to maintain Toni’s overall innocence. This allowed for more of a focus
on the romance that develops once Enrico takes the time to look past Toni's
last name and give them an honest chance. Malavita
was an exciting introduction to the Blood and Honor series and I hope to be
able to read the next book in the series soon as I need to know what life (and
Carlo) has in store for Enrico and Toni.
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