Mafia & Arranged marriage....
The Chicago Syndicate is back, this time with Adriano's cousin, Christiano Montesi. It can be read as a standalone, but I think it is better appreciated when reading the other books in the series.
The book falls under the arranged mariage troupe, nothing out of the ordinary in the mafia genre and we get two people to marry after one of them hears something she wasn't supposed to. Neither Christiano nor Teagan were happy to oblige, but the peer pressure on tue MMC' side and Teagan 'running wild with knowledge', unprotected and being Fallon's bff made for the setlement.
I liked a lot of things in the story, the genre and troupe are one of my favorites, how different our characters were in almost all the aspects, save for one, the fact that they were feeling somewhat lost at the time they got together. It started with animosity and an attempt to ignore, the push and pull, the growing attraction and the denial.
Christiano was a hard nut to crack, opting for maintaining distance in what I felt as a way to conceal a tiny bit of remorse for the goals set for Teagan at the order of the Syndicate.
Teagan was more relaxed and eager to establish a convivial connection, but this was mafia life with a mafia man she didn't know nor had the time to get acquainted with.
It would be a sinuous journey for this couple of strangers, married for life and to the life.
With a great dose of action and a mole to deal with, the police, the rivals and everything in between, the narrative flowed energetically and to the pace of events, but I found it a bit compromised due to our characters deneanors and behaviors and some things I thought didn't make total sense, because I might have not understood it.
I struggled with Chris' hot and cold attitude and it seemed he felt like silentely rebelling against something he had no control over and was askew toward Teagan. I understand the inner turmoil regarding wills and wants, but Teagan entered the marriage in the same circumstances, it was not her fault, she did nothing wrong. And why use her for the fall in case anything went down if she was married for life to Chris?
I had wished for more angst, conflict and redemption as a corollary too.
The rest of the crew felt welcome and providential, well placed in the time and space, as adjuvant for the great cause of saving a couple, a marriage and the Institution.
The epilogue was the calm after the storm, a glimpse into a very desired and deserverd future and the triumph of love!