Luca

Love this fast pace read that will have you on a heartbeat ride of ups and downs with this alpha male and witty cop that will find out that they can make any thing happen and fall in love and work their issues together.

WOW Luca is HOT! This series is AWESOME! It's a gritty, suspenseful, gripping Mafia tale, to be sure, but it's so packed full of sexy times and love and kick-butt heroines and I just LOVE it! Gabrielle was AMAZING! I loved how she was strong and independent, but I love even more that I wasn't "beaten over the head" by how strong and independent she was. In other words, I felt she was realistic, and I liked her a lot! And Luca. WOW!!! Loyal to a fault, fluent in Italian, protective...he's my favorite hero in this series by far! (though Nico was a VERY close second!) I'm normally not into this kind of story/genre, but Sarah makes it impossible not to be completely engrossed by this series! I CAN'T WAIT for the next book!!!!!! (I received a copy of this book in consideration of an honest review)

Luca Rizzoli and Gabrielle Fawkes’ first encounter should have perhaps tipped them off about the very different lives that they lead. The fact that they’re both in the hospital for a gun shot wound is where their similarities end; in fact, their lives contrast in almost every aspect, especially when it comes to their career choices. A cop and a Mafia capo stand on opposite sides of the law - one side believing in justice through proper procedures and what the law dictates while the other side carries out their own style of justice and how they handle things has nothing to do with the right side of the law. Luca and Gabrielle are fantastically flawed and dynamic characters who both have their reasons for journeying down their respective paths and the complications that they bring to each other’s lives aren’t easy to deal with; in fact, they should be deal breakers when it comes to pursuing one another, but both have never felt as alive as they do when they’re together, so despite the shitstorm that could reign down on them from both sides, their desire for each other overpowers their fears and even their better judgment, causing them to walk a fine line between truth/lies, right/wrong, and family/lovers. The City of Sin is already a corrupt, drug infested environment, so constructing the mafia world in Castille’s Ruin & Revenge series in Las Vegas adds depth to the story line and allows readers to understand that in a place where anything goes, nothing is what it appears to be and everyone seems to have varying motives and agendas in order to conceal just how far they’re willing to go to secure the only outcome they’ll take. Sarah Castille does a great job creating and maintaining the gritty and dangerous world for her Made Man and the female detective who realizes that justice isn’t always black and white because sometimes the grey area is the only place anything can get accomplished in order for those affected to move on and heal. The only aspect of the story that I struggled with a bit was the use of a third perspective to tell different parts of the plot line. I’m not quite sure what this character’s view added to the events or what readers were supposed to understand through it. In some ways, I guess I get why Castille uses his point of view because he has eyes on different aspects in the story that readers can’t see strictly from Luca and Gabrielle, but the parts that were told through his perspective dragged a bit for me and didn’t smoothly blend with the main characters’ point of view. Overall, I really enjoyed Luka; it’s an intriguing sequence of events that Castille perfectly plays out throughout the story line, and as Luca and Gabrielle work individually and then together to bring down their common enemy, the showdown between them and the reveal of the villain works well with the context clues Castille gives readers at certain points in the story. The relationship that develops between Luca and Gabrielle is passionate and all-consuming and their connection is framed in a way that there’s no denying how much they care for one another and the risks they’re willing to take to be together even when their love affair is forbidden and could end up getting them both killed. I can’t wait to return to Castille’s Mafia Men and see what she has planned for Rocco and the rest of his crew. 4 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)

I absolutely loved this forbidden romance. Two people from opposite sides of the law have found each other and can't let go. Gabrielle is nothing like the women Luca is usually drawn to. She is smart, fiercely independent, and the sexiest woman he had ever seen. Gabrielle has never been with such a dominant man, he emanates power and confidence and his barely contained wildness and danger call to her. Luca is such a complex character. He is a ruthless crime boss, but also a loving family man, and softhearted protector. There is only one rule in the mob that can't be broken, and that is taking up with a cop. Gabrielle has her own reasons to be on the force but when black and white turn to grey, Luca & Gabrielle are willing to risk everything to be together. Will they be able to survive when both sides of the law are against them? Luca & Gabrielle are so great together. They challenged and supported one another and their chemistry is explosive. This romance was fun and sexy and the thrilling story surrounding them was a nail biter! I loved this second installment to this series and can't wait for more in the Ruin & Revenge series. This is a definite must read!

OMG!!! I don't even know what to write. I read it in one day. It is absolutely awesome. You have a sexy cop plus gorgeous mobster equals smoking hot sex! Fast paced, suspense, a little bloody, and so freaking hot. Gabrielle is a cop after the drug lord that killed her husband. She jumps the gun on a raid to catch him and gets shot. She ends up in the same hospital room as Luca Rizzoli, Mafia capo. Luca is a widower and was betrayed by his wife, so love is not in his future. He took the bullet meant for his best friend, The Don Toscani. Now he meets Gabrielle and thinks she's an angel. He invites her to his restaurant and she shows up with her two girlfriends. He is attracted to her and figures a one night stand couldn't hurt. But Luca becomes infatuated and doesn't want to let her go. Now she has a drug dealer after her and she's trying to get revenge for her husbands death but she becomes a different woman with Luca. She realizes there is more to life than revenge maybe even love again. Only a cop and mobster cannot be together. So after the drug lord is captured he'll have to give her up unless he can find a way to keep her. I hope I didn't give anything away but this is one story you do not want to miss. *VOLUNTARILY REVIEWED THIS FOR NETGALLEY *

Absolutely awesome read! A mafia romance with a Capo and a Detective getting together - yes please! Luca Rizzoli is all sorts of yummy sexiness and Gabrielle Fawkes is the kind of strong willed and determined woman it will take to bring him to his knees. Luca has been betrayed by a woman before and never plans on letting one get close again. Until Gabrielle. They both have their secrets and they accept that but when Gabrielle is threatened Luca knows he's all in regardless of what the cost may be. This book is very well done and I can't wait for Frankie's story. No one does Mafia romance like Sarah Castille! I highly recommend this one!

It's been awhile since I read the first book but it started to come back to me who Luca was in. He's quite the playboy charmer and I'll admit, I wasn't sure I was going to like him. He goes through woman like candy, but when Gabrielle snagged his attention I liked what I saw. Luca was still too much of the charmer at first but the more he was around Gabrielle the more possessive he became and there was no other woman. As independent as I am, I couldn't help but love his view on how to care for "his girl". Gabrielle is a tough as nails detective. I like a strong heroine but sometimes those strong ones won't allow a man to care for them. She had a few stubborn moments but the more into the story as they got to know each other better, the more fun I had with their banter. The first book seemed a bit darker and more grittier and this one felt more safe. I liked them both for what they were. I'm curious who will be the next couple and if the author changes it up once more. I'm hoping for Frankie's story. I'm a sucker for the cold hearted. ARC provided by NetGalley.

trong, passionate and deeply focused both Luca and Gabrielle had goals that seemed inflexible UNTIL they both ended up on the wrong end of a gun. LUCA was an engrossing mafia based romance with heart. I found the characters well developed and extremely likable. The romance was smoldering from the start and exploded into a blazing inferno.