Recent Release Review: Devil (The DiFiore Mafia Family #2) by Joel Albernathy

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Guestreview by Jen

 

TITLE:  Devil

SERIES: The DiFiore Mafia Family #2

AUTHOR : Joel Abernathy
PUBLISHER:  Self Published
LENGTH:  336 Pages
RELEASE DATE:  May 18, 2022
BLURB:
VALENTINE


I’m locked in a gilded cage, and the devil holds the key.

Malcolm Whitlock, the city’s most corrupt official. The man they call Devil, because when you make a deal with him, you’re guaranteed to lose. Your wealth. Your life. Maybe even your soul.

And this respectable psychopath (his words, not mine) is the man I call brother-in-law. Because I’m just that particular brand of unlucky.

When a demon from Malcolm’s past gets my best friend murdered, revenge is the force that draws us together. Obsession is the force that pulls me under his absolute control.

See, once you’re in the devil’s clutches, there’s no turning back. And the most twisted part?

I’m losing sight of why I wanted to in the first place.

–

MALCOLM

He’s the one thing that’s ever been off limits to me. That’s why I’ll tear the underworld apart to make him mine.

Valentine is the wrong prey for a myriad of reasons, and at the very top of that list is the fact that he’s a DiFiore. He’s naïve, reckless, and far too pretty for his own good. He’s a doctor who can barely even stand the sight of blood. It’s a damn miracle he managed to stomach med school, let alone survive this long in a world as cruel and depraved as ours.

He’s also straight. Just in case there needed to be one more reason I have no business wanting him.

When the monster who killed the one man I’ve ever truly loved comes back from the dead and Valentine ends up in his crosshairs, it falls to me to keep this beautiful idiot alive. I can’t make any promises for his innocence, though. Not when he looks at me with those defiant honey-brown eyes, just daring me to make him mine.

My key witness. My prisoner. My boy.

Because as Valentine is about to learn, I’m the kind of man who always gets what he wants. I’m just not sure either of us is ready to pay the cost.

Review:   This is book 2 of this new series, this time involving the youngest DiFiore, Valentine.  He has always been in the shadows of the rest of the family, never really feeling like he was enough compared to his brothers.  His poor self image carries through to other aspects of his life, even though he is now a competent ER doctor.  Things take a turn for him when there is an incident in the hospital where it seems the bad guy was after him.
On the flip side, we have the corrupt police chief, Malcolm, who happens to be the brother of Silas (now married to Enzo).  Let’s just say that it turns out psycho seems to run in that family, and I’d venture to say Malcolm might be worse than Silas.  As it turns out, Silas and Malcolm are more involved than Val could imagine when their past is what seems to have come back to haunt them all.
Mal takes off with Val to keep him safe.  Things take a turn when it seems Val needed someone to keep him safe from Mal.  However, it seems that Val was hiding a side of himself that is finally able to come out with Mal, and they embark on a symbiotic “relationship” while they are away.
I enjoyed this story, although the self-hating gets a little tiresome from Val’s side of things, as does the recurring explanation for Mal’s issues.  But, they make these guys who they are, and over time and after some twists and turns, they realize what they are to each other.  
 
I’m not sure where or if this series is heading next, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for more from this author.
RATING:
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