Mafia Bride (The DiLustro Arrangement Book 1)

Wow, this was no where near what I expected it to be but it is turning into everything I ever needed in a mafia romance. I immensely enjoyed the amount of culture in this book, it’s not just about crime and flashy action, it’s about the life in it’s entirety. This is why I love CD Reiss. She creates worlds and characters you didn’t even know you needed but once you get a taste of them you’re hopelessly addicted. I need to know what happens like it’s my own story, my own feelings playing in real time with Santino and Violetta. My own heart breaking with every secret revealed.Santino is a delectable mixture of old and new, but always traditional. His ability to understand both worlds allows him to connect and break down Violetta’s walls. Always intense, brutal, hardly any mercy but never without an underlying compassion for his new wife when necessary. He’s not just a husband to her, he becomes a teacher. I melted for the pet names he bestowed her, nothing used before would do for these two.Violetta is a straight up spitfire! She goes through so much, so rapidly. Starting as a young woman and thrust into a life she was only partly prepared for. She may know how she’s supposed to act but that doesn’t mean she’s going to do it. Even at her lowest she never looses her ferocity. At times her behavior can be petulant but if you’ve unknowingly lived your life in a web of deceit and lies wouldn’t you be too?When bits of truth start aligning together, when things start becoming as clear to you as they are to Violetta, get ready for the drop. I don’t think I’ve ever said the f bomb out loud while reading as many times as I did in this last chapter. Then I paced my kitchen. This isn’t just a cliffhanger, this is a “thrown to the rocky shore below and hope you’re not so battered you won’t survive”. But I did, and I need more.

This by far is the my least favorite of C. D. Reiss novels. The book had a typical mafia story but was long and boring. I hope the next story moves along at a faster pace with much more romance and less mafia history. It was hard to keep up with all the players in the book so I skimmed through several paragraphs. Sadly, disappointed.

Hold onto your bra straps and belt buckles, dear readers, because CD Reiss has plans for you. She will introduce you to Santino DiLustro, a mobster so determined to wed Violetta Moretti that he takes what he wants, ignoring her pleas. And what he wants, quite clearly, is Violetta.As dangerous as Santi is--as dark and sinister as he assures you he is to his core--when Violetta is in his crosshairs, she finds herself battling desires that upend her, unsettling her and making her question what she believes to be true about herself. She tries to resist him, and she tries to fight for herself and what she wants and needs. As Santi slowly, forcefully, and without question or hesitancy shows her he knows far better what she wants and needs, Violetta continues to fight him, only to find that she also battles her heart.In many ways, this first book in a trilogy is a story of memory. Violetta came to the United States when she was five, her memories of her deceased parents and older sister shrouded in golden hues. She remembers the first time she saw Santino, and she wants to know what he remembers about her. She remembers her father's grocery store in Naples, Italy, and she remembers her sister Rosetta's beauty and charm. And she remembers herself as the second-best, the also-ran, the consolation prize. Memories, CD Reiss shows, do more than shape us. They infiltrate us, acting like a filter through which we view ourselves. How true are Violetta's memories?Since this is a CD Reiss book, you can be sure that Santi and Violetta's passion will melt the page. Reiss keeps you waiting, though. She takes the time her characters need to build their relationship and establish them, letting you get to know them and investing you in them. This is largely Violetta's book, although Santi does narrate a few chapters. He remains just enough of a mystery that you can still feel the mystery of him when this book ends.And boy, does it end with a cliffhanger. You might find yourself hurling an invective or six at CD Reiss, expressing your ire at having to wait until Part II to find out what happens next. Mostly, though, you will feel lit on fire by Santi and Violetta, and it is a fire you do not want doused.

OMG, talk about a boring book. It went on and on. The whole book could have been done in two pages. Nothing happened at all. In fact no sex until the end of the book. Won't be reading book 2 or 3 for that matter. In fact im getting a refund

Dark Italian mafia themed . Violetta born in Italy but raised in a Italian American neighborhood by her aunt and uncle . Violetta thinks she's going to vacation for the summer as she finishes nursing school. Santino is king in the Italian American neighborhood and Violetta is his target . Violetta seems to talk with and try to Rationalize her life in her head to the sun and moon because life hasn't turn out like she hoped and dreamed for. When Violetta starts to excerpt her life secrets are revealed like a hurricane and blows the house down and her happiness is possibly shattered. Where left here with a cliffhanger but hopefully I don't have to wait to long for book 2.

Wow loved this book it was a bit hard to understand it at first but now I’ve got it can’t wait to read the rest thank you

Can't believe it's the same author who wrote Coda, full of clichées and the same plot as most mafia books lately. DNF

Good book

Loved the book, so many secrets to be revealed. Can't wait for the next one to be released.Brilliant 👏

Whoa, what a story. Not your typical mafia marriage by a long shot. So well written, both the main characters leap off the pages full of life and yes deception. Deception on a massive scale. I did not see the ending coming. I’m so glad Violeta didn’t roll over and get all mooney over Santino, it just wouldn’t have felt real and I would not have finished this book. I hope she doesnt turn all mushy and brainless in the next book. I love super strong FMC. Heading off now to find the second book, I hope its out.