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Review

“Colpo di fulmine. The thunderbolt, as Italians call it. When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can’t be denied. It’s beautiful and messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there’s no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed.”

OMG WHAT AN INCREDIBLE BOOK!!!

I delayed reading this book for so long because I’m not really a fan of anything mafia-related, but I was convinced by some GR friends to pick it up, and I’m so glad that I did. I absolutely loved it!! And while the mob stuff is a very important part of the story, the main focus is an incredibly beautiful, ‘against the odds’ love story between two teenagers from very different lives.

Haven has been a slave from birth. Horribly abused, she suddenly finds herself the ‘property’ of the mysterious Dr Vincent DeMarco, and is taken to his house to live. There she meets his two sons – Dominic and Carmine. Dominic is a gorgeous character – funny, sweet and smart, but it is with Carmine that the sparks fly.

Haven is a wonderful heroine. Having been kept isolated in her life as a slave, she is completely innocent and incredibly naïve about the world around her. But as she is immersed in the DeMarco’s world and spends time with Carmine, she shows how incredibly strong she is, bravely facing up to all that she doesn’t know and eager to learn and move on with her life even though she has never really had a place in the world

Carmine is a the poster-boy wild child – alcohol, drugs, sex and violence, nursing a major chip on his shoulder and some serious attitude.

“He never went looking for it, but trouble seemed to find him every time he turned a corner. And Carmine turned a lot of motherfucking corners.”

When Haven comes into his life, she completely turns his world upside down, opening up a side of him that he didn’t even know was there.

“She was innocent and pure, unlike anyone he’d met before … It was difficult for him to admit he was just as inexperienced as her. He could fuck a girl senseless, but when it came to loving one, he had no clue what to do. Love? The word horrified him.”

But, as with all of the great romantic heroes that we love – he falls fast, and he falls hard.

“All he knew was she’d stolen his heart, and there was no way he could ask for it back. In such a short amount of time she’d taken him over, as much a part of him now as the air he breathed. Fucking thunderbolt.”

SQUEEEEEE!!! I love Carmine, he is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, he’s absolutely the bad boy, but he is so tender and gentle with Haven, and incredibly protective of her. He has a quick temper, and is quick to defend her physically, but the little moments where he slides his arms around her to make her feel safe just made me melt. Plus he uses a lot of beautiful Italian endearments which were absolutely gorgeous – every time he called her mia bella ragazza (my beautiful girl), I turned into a huge puddle of goo on the floor.

The chemistry between these two is off the charts from the very beginning. Despite Carmine being such a man-whore he has never had a real relationship, and with Haven being so innocent and naïve, they both fall blindly in love with no game playing and complete honesty between them. The relationship is realistic, moving at a great pace, with lots of funny and swoony moments, and a very intense and deeply emotional connection.

The two of them form a very special bond as they delve into their pasts to try to find a future together amidst some almost insurmountable obstacles. And even though, at times, their journey had me weeping into my kindle, they were both so incredibly committed to each other and to having a future together, that although it seemed effortless for them at times, you know that they fought hard for it and I wanted to cheer for them every time they reached another milestone of their relationship. It was a rollercoaster, but it was absolutely beautiful!

As I said before, the Mafia aspect of the storyline is a strong one, with Carmine’s father, Vincent, very involved in ‘la famiglia’. Vincent is a very complex and mysterious character and I wasn’t sure of him in the beginning of the book, but as his story came out, he became one of my favourites. His background is utterly tragic, and as the motivations behind his actions come to light, I found myself completely enamoured with him. And even though it was dysfunctional, I loved his relationship with Carmine – their banter having me laughing out loud or on the verge of tears a number of times.

There is a fabulous cast of characters, each of them adding so much to the story – some you will love and some you will hate, but you will feel it all very passionately. And as the lines between good and evil are blurred, you will ask yourself what is right and what is wrong – and if it is wrong, is it justifiable? Haven summed it up beautifully – “I think sometimes good men just find themselves doing bad things.”

Being an intensely character-driven story, there is not a lot of action until the big climax. And without giving away any spoilers, I just need to say that the ending was one of the most intense I have ever read. The action started at around 1.30am for me and it hit me like a punch to the stomach, I couldn’t even consider putting the book down until I was done. The action, the emotion, the twists… ABSOLUTELY SUPERB!!! I was screaming “FUUUUUCK”, then “NOOOOOOO”, only to be sobbing and then screaming “FUCK YEAH” and sobbing again a moment later. My heart was racing the entire time.

This is an incredibly written, beautiful story about love and sacrifice. I laughed, cried, swooned and squeed my way through the entire book and I know it will stay with me for a very long time.

5 glorious, emotional stars.