Ten years ago the 6 most dangerous mafia families gathered at a peace summit where an agreement was reached. Each family would send a daughter in marriage to another family. Bloodlines would be merged and peace would exist. No one consulted the daughters but then, they never did. Mafia and cartel princesses were nothing more than possessions to be used by their fathers and brothers to secure deals for the family. Rose has known who she was to be married to since she was 17. She was to leave her home in Mexica and marry the Irish Mob Boss in Boston. These are her orders; this is her life. But can a rose bloom in enemy soil?
I loved the shared Mafia Wars world when I read them and couldn’t wait for the audiobooks. I was not disappointed! This is my favorite book by Ivy Fox. It’s heartfelt and heartbreaking. It illustrates the cost of hate and the price of love. It’s full of complex characters, not all of whom I liked. It was full of men who talked of honor and their word, men who took oaths but didn’t live up to them; men who judged innocents for others’ and their own actions. Cowards. But there were also men who surprised me and themselves, men with unexpected depth. And there were women who were never given any control over their own lives but still managed to define grace. The women displayed true strength and heart. They had mature innocence and provided hope. They are the balance to the darkness the men bring to the world.
Alexander Neal and Maeve York were fantastic as the narrators. Alexander did a solid job handling the male leads. He nailed Tiernan’s inner conflicts, Shay’s playfulness, and Colin’s depth. There were a few times I thought he merged the men but for the most part, he kept their voices distinct. Maeve conveyed Rose’s strength and vulnerability equally bringing her entire character to life. They both handled the secondary characters to perfection. I had high expectations for this book since I enjoyed it so much and these two made it exactly right.
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