Ciao Bella by Rachel Van Dyken Pages: 273
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Chicago, IL
Source: ARC
Also by this author: The Consequence of Loving Colton (Consequence, #1), The Consequence of Revenge, Capture, The Dark Ones, Untouchable Darkness, The Consequence of Seduction, Empire, The Matchmaker's Playbook, The Bachelor Auction, Enrage, The Playboy Bachelor, Eulogy, The Consequence of Rejection, Envy, Risky Play, Ruthless Princess, Surrender, Scandalous Prince, Mafia Casanova, Destructive King, Mafia King, Office Hate, Falling for the Villain, My Summer in Seoul, Broken Crown , Office Date, The Anti-Fan and the Idol, The Godparent Trap, Dissolution, Exposing the Groom, The Unperfects, Office Mate
Goodreads
How thin is the line between love and hate?
The Five Families thought the war was over.
They have no idea, I'm the very beginning.I kidnapped her to prove a point—at knife point, it seemed sharper that way.
See what I did there?I used the perfect virginal daughter from one of the most powerful Families in the Cosa Nostra to fix the broken pieces, knowing that in the process—I’d spread hers for the world to see.
I would embarrass her, shame her, use her, but I would never touch her… my one and only vow to her father in exchange for his allegiance.The flowers at our wedding would be extravagant—people would watch it like a celebration, she’d live it as her funeral.
Call me twisted, but I thrive off her hate, I wouldn’t know what to do if I had her heart—I’m not good with pretty things I’m capable of breaking.I’ll use every single person I can to restore order… to bring about the peace that my Family deserves.
But something sinister lurks in the darkness.
In the end, it may not be just my Family I save but theirs as well.They say the past comes back to haunt you—that history repeats itself.
Bet they never saw this coming.After all, when one Family falls—another will rise.
Ciao Bella.
The Rise of the De Langes
Ciao Bella is another story in the 2nd generation Eagle Elite series, so of course I needed it immediately. I have been hooked on this series since book 1, many years ago. This time, its the story of the youngest Abandonado daughter, Bella, and the last of the De Langes, Ivan.
Full disclosure: My reading red flag is that I read the endings of books first. I have trust issues (Divergent series, the Idea of You, Bright Side).
This book is best described as a ghost. There is the typical danger of being in the mafia, but there is also the specter of the De Lange’s shrouding everything. The treaty is coming to an end and decisions need to be made. You don’t really have to understand the whole back story to enjoy this one, but it does help. I think it is more important to know the original Eagle Elite stories to understand this one than the other 2nd gen stories. Ivan was the only surviving member of his family after the Abandonato’s killed everyone else. He is raised in the mafia still, but with the other families, not his own. Bella and Ivan hate each other. There are rules that the families hang up to remind them they can’t actually kill each other. But, you know what they say about the line between hate and love. It’s the mafia, so there is plenty of blood, death, dinners, and wine.
Overall, I couldn’t put Ciao Bella down. I was sucked in, and still didn’t see the villain coming. I loved Ivan and Bella’s love story because it is deep and honest.
- POV: dual 1st
- Tears: no
- Trope: enemies to lovers, dysfunctional families
- Triggers: View Spoiler »
- Series/Standalone: series
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
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authors like Ana Huang, JM Darhower, Tijan…then you will probably like Ciao Bella!
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