Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: The Thief and the Gangster

SERIES: Firsts and Forever Stories #7

AUTHOR: Alexa Land

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: October 29, 2022

BLURB:

Adriano

It started as the hottest hook-up of my life. Jack was gorgeous, and the spark between us was intense. But the night ended with me chasing him through the streets of San Francisco half-naked, after he stole my late father’s watch. Awesome.

Days later, I finally tracked him down, just as I got the news that all hell was breaking loose back home in Las Vegas. Now I have to bring Jack along while I deal with the mobster who’s targeting my family—as if a road trip with that little thief is even sort of a good idea. But what choice do I have? If I let him out of my sight, he and my most prized possession will disappear forever.

I can’t deny it, I’m still drawn to Jack—but how can I trust him?

Jack

I like to think of myself as a modern-day Robin Hood. I rob from the rich and give to—well, to me. I’m poor, so that counts. Not that I’d planned to rip off Adriano Dombruso when he picked me up in a bar, but that vintage Rolex was just too tempting to pass up.

It sucked when he managed to track me down. Then, before we could retrieve his watch, an urgent call from home set him in motion. Now I suddenly find myself in Vegas. The bad guys are closing in, and the smart choice would be to escape and save myself—after all, self-preservation is what I’m best at. Somehow though, I hate the thought of leaving Adriano to deal with this on his own.

Am I actually falling for that big, burly gangster?

REVIEW:   

The Thief and the Gangster is another fab book by Alexa Land. There’s love, humor, adventure, friendship and found family – of course there is, this is Alexa – and some delicious sexy times. This is an entertaining romp through San Francisco and Las Vegas with a road trip (yay!) including handcuffs (but not in the good way!) The best thing about the book, though, is the dynamic between the leading men, present from page one. Flirty, spicy, and can you say “snark-fest”?

According to Adriano (Reno) Dombruso (yes, that Dombruso), his bar hookup Jack O’Donnell, has the face of an angel and a body for sin. He’s no angel, though; he’s the thief to Adriano’s gangster. For Jack it’s wham, bam, thank you man, and don’t mind me, I’m just going to pocket this Rolex as a lovely parting gift.

When they meet, Jack tells Adriano he’s in “acquisitions”; he doesn’t volunteer that he acquires illegally. He lives on the fringes of society, frequently leaving one city and moving to another to elude the police. He’s spent years deluding himself that he’s okay on his own when really, he’s lonely, scared, and struggling. He feels like all the poor decisions he’s made and crimes he’s committed are ingrained in who he is.

Reno is an intimidating Italian Stallion. When Jack next faces him, Reno is none too happy with him but when he’s called back home to Vegas, he has to drag Jack with him. They both eventually catch feelings but Jack’s insecurity rises again; he doubts his worth and doesn’t think he’s good enough for Reno. Reno, though, feels very protective of Jack and takes gentle care of him. Reno assumes a tough guy persona that hides an endearing, sweet side deep down.

Alexa creatively wrote The Pink Victorian into the storyline. When Jack ends up there, he feels unworthy of all the kindness and friendship you just know they’re going to bestow on him. He loves pretending he’s part of their found family, though. JoJo is a dear. He even feels homesick for them later.

Some of my favorite parts of this book are the guest appearances by lots of beloved Firsts and Forever characters and the Pink Victorian crew. These aren’t brief cameos, they’re full fledged side characters. You can look forward to Dante and Charlie, Vincent and Trevor, Mike and Yoshi, Gianni and Tan, even Josh and Darwin. Am I missing anyone? Oh yes, the cornerstone of the Dombruso family…Nana with her lovely husband, Ollie, and a big ol’ gun in her purse, because of course there is.

Both [Dante] and Vincent were dressed to the nines. You had to admire men who decided the right outfit for a heavily-armed rescue operation was a perfectly tailored suit.

Aaand, that describes the suave Dombruso brothers perfectly and serves as a great example of Alexa’s dry wit. Another is the reappearance of Charlie’s Hello Kitty lock picking kit. And one more is Dante’s continual sighs. I can imagine he must roll his eyes in exasperation a lot. As always with Alexa’s books, this one has lots of humor.

This isn’t an insta-love story by any means but once they get going, the relationship moves at mach speed. There’s one particular scene I loved where Jack and Reno are dancing in an empty bar. So romantic. The action and the gangster plots in Vegas are exciting in a Dombruso kind of way. I felt like this side of the story was more dominant than the relationship development. There is a very satisfying conclusion to the Vegas crime storyline and the love story wraps up perfectly (insert chef’s kiss) in the epilogue, which is two months down the lane.

This is a must-read for fans of the Firsts and Forever Stories series, and a great opportunity to revisit the original Firsts and Forever series. Alexa expertly melds the two. If you’re curious about who’s up next in the series, it’s Adriano’s affable kid brother, Romy Russo. His love interest…hmm, should be interesting! I hope you enjoy The Thief and the Gangster as much as I did.

RATING:

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