"They talk about the line between love and hate being a fine one. They're irrefutably wrong. The line between lust and hate is hairline."
With RIGHTEOUS DECEIT Haley Jenner have played this hairline like a burning violin, crafting a mafia tale that elevates the persona of 'alpha male' to a whole new level and 'fragile heroine' into a model for every strong modern woman, whilst giving each a partner they lustfully deserve.
Alessia (Bianchi) Lincoln, consigliere of the Chicago mafia syndicate, has had to become a tough, ruthless mafia queen in order to survive alongside her brother, in a world where those around her would sooner see her fail.
As you would expect, the woman beneath the fierce facade is hard, some parts resilient and yet parts vulnerable and fragile that must remain hidden... sometimes even from herself.
But when she's in The Quest, an erotic online game of chase where she is the hunted, she can be those parts vulnerable and stalked, whilst manipulating her environment to still feel in control. Until Diego Greco enters the forest...
Diego, a capo, whose quiet well-controlled menace makes him an invaluable solider to the New York syndicate, finds his own escape within The Quest. He is all careful planning and control, maintaining distance in all things interpersonal. But his unrestrained obsession with one target in particular—his "tesoruccio"—is about to get a whole lot more personal...
When the two syndicates come together to build alliances against the Irish, these two secret combatants come face to face, sparking a cat-and-mouse game of secrets, tension, lust and intrigue, and resulting in an untimely and unwanted union that sets fire to their burgeoning tryst.
I LOVE how these authors have portrayed these characters... they both have so much strength and fragility and an equal appreciation for it in each other. Diego especially, through his frustration-laced lust and twisted chivalry, still has so much respect for Sia and her position that she is taken aback and at the same time emboldened by it. You can't help but join his cheer squad in the face of her occasional vitriol.
This story celebrates and champions the powerful, unapologetic woman and her supportive, strong and sexy man, and I'm loving every minute of it!