Reviewed by Louisa
TITLE: La Famiglia 
SERIES: Men of Gilead
AUTHOR: Deanna Wadsworth
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 324 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 23rd 2018
BLURB:
Forrester Giordano comes from a huge, nosy Italian family, and with their homophobic jokes and slurs, he’s decided to stay in the closet. He finds respite in his bookstore in the quaint village of Gilead—where he has a huge crush on one of his customers, Kyle Benson.
Kyle is determined to live his dreams, and though life isn’t easy being deaf, one by one he’s making them come true. He’s scored a great job practicing law, bought a cute bungalow where he can finally have a big flower garden, and he has a dog he loves, Jasper. Now he just needs one thing to complete his happiness: a family of his own to make up for the one he never had.
Forrester and Kyle’s relationship starts off hot and heavy, and neither man can deny the depth of their connection. When Forrester’s little brother gets mixed up with their heroin-dealing cousin and his mother falls ill, Forrester has a decision to make—maybe the hardest of his life. For the first time, he’s found a man worth coming out for.
Unfortunately nothing ever goes according to plan with la famiglia.
REVIEW:
The Men of Gilead are back and Deanna Wadsworth has given us another great book. It’s no secret that I loved the first book in this series and La Famiglia was just as good, if not better. Starting out with Forrester hosting Scott, from book one, at his book store was a nice way to tie the two books together. Forrester is from a huge Italian family and he only has one foot out of the closet. Kyle is his favourite customer. While Kyle is deaf he doesn’t let that stop him from doing what he wants. With no family left Kyle struggles to understand why Forrester won’t tell his family who he really is.
Despite being book two, you can read this as a stand alone novel. But I did really love the way book one’s characters are seen in little bits and pieces. Forrester’s family are wonderful. Not perfect by any means. They have flaws, they are loud, often rude to each other and at the end it takes some of them time to come to terms with Forrester. But they are so real. Yes, there are some stereotypes, but honestly I know families just like that. The insecurity of some of his brothers is very endearing. Forrester also has a good social group who create fun and interest. This is the complete opposite of Kyle, who has a beautiful dog and some work friends. He longs for a family.
The quiet of the bookstore against the noise of Forrester’s loud family is wonderful. And the way that Kyle longs for a big loving family and yet relishes his inner quiet is beautiful. The way the two men learn about each other, trust each other, support each other and love each other is beautiful.
I honestly can’t think of anything I didn’t like about this book. It flows well, is well written and even has my last review quoted in the back. I imagine that just like The Rhubarb Patch made it onto my 2017 favourites list, that La Famiglia will make it onto my 2018 list.
RATING: 
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