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Heart of the Hustle
When a prodigal son returns to his family's criminal empire, he finds danger on the horizon—and a love worth fighting for—in this gritty urban romance.Heir to the infamous DeLuca drug cartel fortune, Angel DeLuca walked away from it all to pursue a normal life. Then a wrenching betrayal shattered his belief in anything but saving his family's hard-won legacy. Now he's come back to lead the DeLuca empire—no matter the cost. But his most dangerous rival is the one woman whose fierce determination he can't resist . . .Emilia East grew up in the game—virtually a daughter to Angel's mother. In fact, she's been the one enforcing the cartel rules and expanding the business, so she's not about to step aside for someone who threw everything away. But when two rival cartels put a target on her back, going on the run with Angel is her only chance to survive. And his unexpected strength—and concealed passion—sparks a love Emilia can't get enough of. Now they have one last shot to save their empire . . . and themselves.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 29, 2019
33 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
A'zayler
67 books194 followersDynamic writer, A’zayler, is the unprecedented connoisseur of romance. Master storyteller and award-winning author for Random House Publishing, A’zayler has been featured in Sheen and Sophisticates Black Hair Magazine. From her pen drips unforgettable content that allows women to awaken their most mystique desires.
A free spirited romantic, with a wild heart, A’zayler releases sentiments of herself in each mind-altering publication. A lover of her culture, A’zayler uses her platform to depict the power derived from black love. With a passion for inspiring her audience, she intertwines relatable scenarios with celestial accounts of fantasy.
A’zayler’s overall dynamic is powered by her heart and the unadulterated love that flows from it. Each of her novels are penned to render expectancy into the spirits of every soul that encounters her work. Five years and forty plus books later, A’zayler is an overflowing visionary with high hopes for the future.
A free spirited romantic, with a wild heart, A’zayler releases sentiments of herself in each mind-altering publication. A lover of her culture, A’zayler uses her platform to depict the power derived from black love. With a passion for inspiring her audience, she intertwines relatable scenarios with celestial accounts of fantasy.
A’zayler’s overall dynamic is powered by her heart and the unadulterated love that flows from it. Each of her novels are penned to render expectancy into the spirits of every soul that encounters her work. Five years and forty plus books later, A’zayler is an overflowing visionary with high hopes for the future.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 10, 2019
Heart of the Hustle by A’Zayler is an intense work of urban fiction. The story follows two families operating drug cartels. The DeLucas and the Easts believe in family loyalty above all else. The main characters Snow and Angel (maybe the author was being sarcastic with these names), represent the best and worst of the two families.
Angel DeLuca isn’t your stereotypical leading man. He’s the second son of the powerful DeLuca cartel, but he shuns the drug trade that has provided an opulent lifestyle for his entire family. Vinny and Empress DeLuca openly express that Angel is the heir to their cartel, because his brother is an irresponsible hothead. When the time comes, Angel reluctantly steps into his kingpin destiny.
Emelia, Snow, East definitely isn’t your average female lead. She’s the only child of Mack and Zulema East. Snow is the head of her family’s drug dynasty and has been groomed for the position since her adolescence. Snow is Emelia’s hardcore alter ego. It’s Snow that relishes being a queenpin, while Emelia just wants to live a normal life.
Angel and Snow must join forces to protect their families and their joint empires. The partnership is strained because of the secret affection each holds for the other. A stunning betrayal sends the duo into a tailspin. They move quickly to prevent the downfall of their legacies. Their actions will soon reveal the real heart of the hustle.
Heart of the Hustle is another in a long list of gripping street sagas from author, A’Zayler. The characters are exceptional. The chapter headers are informative and give the reader a glimpse of what’s to come. You can almost taste the urban atmosphere. The language is graphic but realistic for the setting. The plot twists and street dialogue make this a must-read.
At it’s core Heart of the Hustle is a novel about love, betrayal and survival. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories featuring strong characters in challenging situations. The profanity and explicit sex scenes may be offensive to some readers.
My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.
Angel DeLuca isn’t your stereotypical leading man. He’s the second son of the powerful DeLuca cartel, but he shuns the drug trade that has provided an opulent lifestyle for his entire family. Vinny and Empress DeLuca openly express that Angel is the heir to their cartel, because his brother is an irresponsible hothead. When the time comes, Angel reluctantly steps into his kingpin destiny.
Emelia, Snow, East definitely isn’t your average female lead. She’s the only child of Mack and Zulema East. Snow is the head of her family’s drug dynasty and has been groomed for the position since her adolescence. Snow is Emelia’s hardcore alter ego. It’s Snow that relishes being a queenpin, while Emelia just wants to live a normal life.
Angel and Snow must join forces to protect their families and their joint empires. The partnership is strained because of the secret affection each holds for the other. A stunning betrayal sends the duo into a tailspin. They move quickly to prevent the downfall of their legacies. Their actions will soon reveal the real heart of the hustle.
Heart of the Hustle is another in a long list of gripping street sagas from author, A’Zayler. The characters are exceptional. The chapter headers are informative and give the reader a glimpse of what’s to come. You can almost taste the urban atmosphere. The language is graphic but realistic for the setting. The plot twists and street dialogue make this a must-read.
At it’s core Heart of the Hustle is a novel about love, betrayal and survival. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories featuring strong characters in challenging situations. The profanity and explicit sex scenes may be offensive to some readers.
My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.
September 16, 2022
Heart of the Hustle
What a good read.The story had it all in the plot love,betrayal,and forgiveness.I liked all the characters Vinny was my favorite.Good job by the author
What a good read.The story had it all in the plot love,betrayal,and forgiveness.I liked all the characters Vinny was my favorite.Good job by the author
January 15, 2020
So I did finish this even though I rated it low. I was going to give up several times, but I listened to the audio version and at the time I didn’t have another book to listen to during the day so I kept forging ahead. I’m familiar with the narrator and honestly I don’t think this was a story for her. I’m not sure how narrators are chosen, but I do believe now authors have some control over it. I like the narrator just not for this story.
I could get past the narration because I always like to look at the character development, plot, language usage etc.. yeah I’m a bit of a book snob.
So the MCs were Angel and Amelia (Snow). They were high school sweethearts and they inherited positions in the drug cartel their parents , who were all best friends, built. Angel didn’t want the life and went to medical school and Snow loved the life and stayed and completed “training”. She ended up becoming a very respected and feared drug queenpjn in her own right. She and Angel become reacquainted at a party and the story takes off from there.
I kept saying to myself I know a man created this Snow character, but to my chagrin, the author is a female. Snow was so unrealistic and just over the top it was annoying. The back and forth between she and Angel was enough to make me vomit honestly. There was nothing sexy about it. The sex scenes, and y’all know I love a well written one, we’re so awful. Let me ease up a bit. There would be bright spots in the story and I would think okay I see the chemistry and then it would die very fast. It was almost immature. I think that’s what I’m looking for. They were both immature characters. Not sure how well the author researched the topic before writing because it was so basic.
It picks up at chapter 20. So get ready for a lot of eye rolling for 19 chapters and then after that it’s still a like ‘well what happened with or why did she say that type of party’.
There were a lot of unresolved things and questions in my mind.. like they were just left hanging and some things made no sense.
I could get past the narration because I always like to look at the character development, plot, language usage etc.. yeah I’m a bit of a book snob.
So the MCs were Angel and Amelia (Snow). They were high school sweethearts and they inherited positions in the drug cartel their parents , who were all best friends, built. Angel didn’t want the life and went to medical school and Snow loved the life and stayed and completed “training”. She ended up becoming a very respected and feared drug queenpjn in her own right. She and Angel become reacquainted at a party and the story takes off from there.
I kept saying to myself I know a man created this Snow character, but to my chagrin, the author is a female. Snow was so unrealistic and just over the top it was annoying. The back and forth between she and Angel was enough to make me vomit honestly. There was nothing sexy about it. The sex scenes, and y’all know I love a well written one, we’re so awful. Let me ease up a bit. There would be bright spots in the story and I would think okay I see the chemistry and then it would die very fast. It was almost immature. I think that’s what I’m looking for. They were both immature characters. Not sure how well the author researched the topic before writing because it was so basic.
It picks up at chapter 20. So get ready for a lot of eye rolling for 19 chapters and then after that it’s still a like ‘well what happened with or why did she say that type of party’.
There were a lot of unresolved things and questions in my mind.. like they were just left hanging and some things made no sense.
December 2, 2018
Heart of the Hustle is an absolutely fantastic read. This is the second book I've read from this author and she has not disappointed me yet. I absolutely loved the storyline and the characters, especially Angel's mom Empress and Emelia's mom Zulema. They were a trip and made me laugh out loud more than a few times, throughout this whole story really. Genesis made her bed and she had to lie in it and I didn't feel one ounce of sorrow for her. I absolutely loved Snow and Angel together. I enjoyed their back and forth banter just as much as I did their romance. I loved that they both stood their own ground and Snow didn't let anyone run over her. I expected D'Angelo to do what he did but I never once suspected the person that help him set everything in motion. The ending was funny and sweet, and left me with a smile on my face. I devoured this book in one sitting and I can't wait to read my next book from this author. Urban books were never on my radar until I stumble upon this author books and I'm so glad I did. I will definitely be recommending this book to my book loving friends and family.
February 9, 2019
Disappointed
Me giving this book 2 stars was me being nice because I truly hate to do that this author considering that I like her as a writer however, this book was not my cup of tea. I really did not enjoy this book. You are a black author, you must be aware that referring to hair as “good” is really a no no. You spoke of Emelia’s butt size at least 5 times if not more. I was really irritated with that because when you describe women especially black women as if they are sex objects it’s as if she has nothing going on for herself besides her body. I wasn’t feeling this story line at all. I’m so disappointed because I actually paid money for this book. It took me over a week to read this book which is rare for me.
Me giving this book 2 stars was me being nice because I truly hate to do that this author considering that I like her as a writer however, this book was not my cup of tea. I really did not enjoy this book. You are a black author, you must be aware that referring to hair as “good” is really a no no. You spoke of Emelia’s butt size at least 5 times if not more. I was really irritated with that because when you describe women especially black women as if they are sex objects it’s as if she has nothing going on for herself besides her body. I wasn’t feeling this story line at all. I’m so disappointed because I actually paid money for this book. It took me over a week to read this book which is rare for me.
January 25, 2019
As I have read and enjoyed previous books by A'zayler Heart of the Hustle didn't interest me. I found the storyline to be predictable from the beginning of the book. The character development was ok, and there wasn't a wow factor with them. The climax of the story was mediocre and short lived. Angel's mother Empress probably had the most character in the story but really didn't offer much but being funny at times. Even though this story didn't do it for me I will continue to read and support this author's work.
Thank you to the author, publishing company, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Thank you to the author, publishing company, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.
May 7, 2019
This was the first book that I have read from this author. Even though I found the storyline predictable, I did look forward to finishing the book. I enjoyed the characters and found myself rooting for two main characters, Snow and Angel to get out of the drug dealing life. They had quite a few predictable steamy moments in which I began to want to skip over and get to the action. Not a bad read, however. I hope the next book I read has a little more meat to it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2019
This was my first book from this author and I am hooked. If you enjoy urban romance novels , this is a must read. I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more books from her collection.
February 25, 2019
Very good book I highly recommend it....
March 6, 2019
Really great read from this author. I loved the happy ending. Look forward to reading more from this author.
July 1, 2019
4.5 stars
July 9, 2019
It was amazing... I loved it!!
September 3, 2019
This book was awesome! I love it when everyone gets just what they deserve.
May 8, 2020
good book
July 31, 2023
Had it all - love, hatred, trust, disloyalty, passion, sex, laughs, tears. Was my first read by this author & will definitely be checking out her other books. I thoroughly enjoyed this!
February 12, 2024
I'm an A'zayler fan! This was another solid urban fiction novel. Interesting plot and characters.
December 2, 2024
The novel was passionate, sexy, and captivating. Angel and Snow Love and hate relationship was a perfect disguise for a timeless love. A story of love and loyalty!
January 25, 2019
As I have read and enjoyed previous books by A'zayler Heart of the Hustle didn't interest me. I found the storyline to be predictable from the beginning of the book. The character development was ok, and there wasn't a wow factor with them. The climax of the story was mediocre and short lived. Angel's mother Empress probably had the most character in the story but really didn't offer much but being funny at times. Even though this story didn't do it for me I will continue to read and support this author's work.
Thank you to the author, publishing company, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Thank you to the author, publishing company, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.
March 1, 2019
I received an ARC on this from NetGalley. I will say one thing, its not that often you find a book that catches the essence of life "on the other side of the law" per se. I enjoyed this book a lot. The love story was just a bonus of the action that was also there. The struggle is real for a lot of people and reconnecting with your first love is just icing on the cake.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews