Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Xavier
SERIES: Vigilance Book 4
AUTHOR: Silvia Violet
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 271 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2020
BLURB:
I thought I was straight.
I thought protecting my identity mattered more than anything besides family.
Then Emilio came to me for protection.
It’s my fault he’s in danger, and no one is going to touch him.
No one besides me.
REVIEW:
Silvia Violet’s Xavier is the fourth and culminating book in her Vigilance series, a spinoff of the Marchesi Family series (Lucien, Angelo and Devil). Giorgio (Book 1), Niall (Book 2), Leo (Book 3), and Xavier proceed sequentially (with some slight overlap at the beginning and ends of the books), so I’d advise reading them in order. You could read Xavier as a standalone. The author provides enough background and context that you can follow along just fine. Expect unavoidable spoilers for the earlier stories, though, if you jump into Xavier first.
I’ve now reviewed this whole series (you can see my thoughts on Giorgio here, Niall here, and Leo here). Notably, the author is extremely consistent across the books with her voice, tone and pacing. She’s created a unique “style” that I’ve not really experienced in other books. There’s a directness to the writing which I expect was by design. It mirrors the directness of the Vigilance protagonists and their goals.
The books are heavy on sex and action, but light on emotional depth and character development. They are fast-moving, action romances. You hit the ground running at the outset of each book. Slow burn is not a feature in any of these stories. The chemistry between the main characters is palpable, the attraction intense and immediate, and the leap from lust to love happens fast. All of this is to say that the books provide a specific kind of outlet for a reader. They are the perfect indulgence when you want a book that will grab your attention, pull you into the plot and engage you with the featured couple, all without having to think too hard.
Xavier’s titular character is none other than the mysterious “X”, the head of Vigilance and all-around scary dude. X is leading a double life, as we’ve known from Book 1. However, here we see that the schism between his public, wealthy philanthropist, Boston upper echelon persona and his vigilante role as owner of Vigilance and de facto commander of his team is wearing thin. X’s best friends, who have all found their HEAs, now surround him. Everywhere he looks, he sees the love and fulfillment that eludes him. Even X’s son Lane has found love with Giorgio. X wonders – actually, no, he doesn’t wonder, he knows – where he went wrong. His commitment to working outside the law to bring the bad guys to justice has forced him to sacrifice not just love, but himself.
Enter the much younger, 25-year-old, computer whiz/hacker Emilio, who X has hired to assist in taking down the trafficking ring. 44-year-old X has always identified as straight, but is instantly, magnetically, and inexplicably drawn to Emilio. X experiences some equivocation about his sexuality. He vacillates about whether a relationship with Emilio could realistically work given the large age difference and the constant danger that surrounds him. But the story doesn’t prolong X’s ruminations and hesitations, instead resolving them like all the other aspects of these books, quickly and summarily.
Xavier, to some degree, felt a bit like a redo of Leo. The two books present the same basic romantic premise: an age gap, opposites attract romance with a younger man who seems weak but actually has mettle that belies their outward appearance. Obviously, there are differences too, but the general tenor of the books felt the same. Their juxtaposition in the series order amplifies this impression.
Also, like in Leo, and the previous books in this series, Xavier continues the focus on control. X is the most controlling of the Vigilance men, but he recognizes he wants control over strength, not weakness. He’s fascinated by Emilio because he’s just as strong as X, but in very different ways – many of which are ways in which X is deficient.
Because of the similarities, Xavier suffers from the same shortcomings as Leo. The sex scenes are smoking hot, but they feel superficial. The story tells us there’s emotional investment but as the reader, I didn’t experience it. I felt like I was looking at X and Emilio – actually the whole story – through a pane of glass. I could see what was happening, but they felt removed, out of reach. All I could understand was what the story showed or told me.
As a reader who enjoys digging into subtext and themes, Xavier left me wanting. While the bad guys Vigilance is pursuing have hidden agendas, the story definitely does not. What you see is what you get. If X or Emilio thinks it or feels it, the book states it on the page. It certainly makes for easy reading. But character development is sacrificed for the enjoyable simplicity of the story.
What Xavier does deliver in spades is great action, twists and turns, some suspense, and sexy steamy aspects of an improbable relationship. This is a mafia romance with morally ambiguous characters, but it’s not too dark or angsty. In fact, there’s an irreverence to it that was surprising. Threaded throughout are subtle notes of sarcasm and humor. The author injects snarky throw-away comments here and there, many of which made me laugh out loud. The latent humor effectively balanced out what should have been some super-heavy, serious stuff.
Overall, Xavier is an enjoyable read, assuming your expectations are appropriately set. The whole Vigilance series unapologetically knows what it is and makes no pretenses. If you go into Xavier thinking you’re getting some deep, complex, emotionally nuanced romance, you’ll be disappointed. But for what Xavier presents itself to be, it succeeds. And, hey, I still liked it a lot even though I couldn’t sink my teeth into it.
A new New Orleans based mafia family is introduced at the end of the book, and will serve as the backbone for a new spin-off series. I’m interested to see what that will look like and whether it will continue the same approach from Vigilance, or branch off into something new.
RATING: 
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