Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Distraction
SERIES: Mobsters & Billionaires
AUTHOR: Kelly Fox
NARRATOR: Declan Winters
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 44 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2023
BLURB:
From USA Today best-selling author Kelly Fox comes a uniquely unhinged mafia romance.
Look, no one’s ever accused me of being sane, y’know? So when I say that I am crazy over this RICO agent, know that I mean business.
Sure, I’m responsible for getting him fired from the job he’s wanted his whole life, but his grandfather just died and left him 13.1 billion dollars. Dude deserves a break is all I’m saying. And yeah, I’m a violent mobster with a savior complex, but that shouldn’t get in the way of our epic love story.
Besides, a little gunplay in the bedroom is good for the soul.
Distraction is a mafia romance that features a frustrated RICO agent-slash-reluctant billionaire, a delightfully deranged mob enforcer with questionable boundaries, and a simple takedown that ends up a little…explosive.
As with all of my morally gray do-gooder romances, there are no cliffhangers, and the HEA is guaranteed.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the fourth and final book in this series and contains major spoilers for all the previous books. It’s best that this series be read in order to understand the family dynamics of this group of men.
Hopper has been stalking Liam Hughes for over a year. At first it was reverse stalking. Hughes, a RICO agent was looking to take down the Stefano family, headed by Hopper’s brother Luca. But Luca and his band of billionaire friends and mobsters are trying to do good in the world. Luca has been divesting himself of most the more unsavory aspects of the family business he inherited. He’s settled with his billionaire boyfriend, protected by his childhood friend and now consigliere Anthony Edgerton and working with Anthony’s billionaire boyfriend, Mads as well as Rand Wolf and his former mob connected boyfriend Joe. Hopper is still making sure that things are going smoothly and taking out the bad guys who need to be taken out 🙂
But then Liam loses his grandfather and unbeknownst to him has been left the entire family fortune. Not at all what he was expecting. He’s this close to taking out the Byrne family, but there are lots of extenuating circumstances that should have him off the case. When Hopper lets it slip that he knows more than he should, well Liam goes silent. And then Hopper really puts his foot in it, costing Liam the LEO career he’s spent his whole adult life building. Let’s just say he is not happy.
Hopper does his best to try to still look after Liam and he has been doing that in various ways since he set his sights on him. Liam is furious though. He does something nearly unforgivable that sets Hopper off. He doesn’t know about Hopper’s past, but he knows enough to know that he has crossed a line. And he is sorry for what he’s done. He and Hopper have exp0losive chemistry – in the actual sense of the word. They can’t seem to stay away from each other and Hopper won’t rest until Liam is safe. What’s left of Liam’s family can’t be trusted and they are all concerned about being set up by the last remaining Byrne brother, particularly since the Byrne Brothers have been trying to set up Luca for some time.
Thankfully the guys have Ryder, Mads’s unparalleled hacker as well as some other secret weapons. Despite some setbacks that cause a lot of trouble particularly for Hopper, there is an end in sight. If they can pull this off, not only will the mob war be over, but Liam can stop looking over his shoulder and Hopper can maybe relax a little bit too.
Wow! I wasn’t really expecting this book to be so touching and poignant if I’m honest. Hopper is really something. His backstory is really heartbreaking. Liam learns all he needs to know about Hopper by how he wants to take care of him. They are definitely a match made in, well probably Hell? But they work. There are unplumbed depths to Hopper that are revealed throughout this book. I just wanted to hug him – a sort of bizarre reaction to a serial murderer/assassin/killer. There are a few crossover characters which will be fun for fans of Kelly Fox’s other series and mention of some characters in her other current series which is nice for those who have read them and won’t cause a problem for those who haven’t. There is a lot of grief and recovery here for both Hopper and Liam that Liam has to deal with. I was rooting for them every step of the way and chuckling at the OTT antics of Hopper. Liam clearly loves him even though it takes him a bit to admit that 😉
This narration! Declan Winters is a real star. He elevated a really fast paced and suspenseful story with a truly tender and nuanced performance. Hopper is a character that could easily become a caricature. But he definitely wasn’t in this narrator’s capable hands. This was really an emotional master class. The voices from the previous books are on point and completely consistent. I loved his accents and voice choices for all the characters – male and female. A real tour de force and I highly recommend this audio version of the book. I’m actually sad it’s over. But there is always a re-listen!
RATING: 
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