Ghost

The DiFiore Mafia Family #1

by Joel Abernathy

He's known by many names, but he expects me to call him Master.

As the future DiFiore don, I should know more than anyone that we're not the good guys, but when I catch an even more depraved man about to prey on an innocent woman, I lose sight of that just long enough to make the biggest mistake of my life.

The guy whose life I snuffed out happens to have been the district attorney's son.

I'm suspect number one, and I'm guilty as sin. It stands to reason the only one who can save me is the devil himself.

His code name is Echo, but they call him the Ghost, and he's the most notorious fixer in the business. The morally apathetic psychopath who's willing to cover up any crime, no matter how heinous, as long as you're willing to pay the price. Money is one thing, but one look in those gunmetal eyes and I'm pretty sure this guy wants more than that. He wants me, and I'm way too inclined to give it to him--body, mind, and soul.

I'm no stranger to the dark side, but he lives in places even the shadows are too afraid to touch. We're as wrong as two people can be for each other, but when he touches me, I feel it--the embers of the darkness he's awakened within me stirring. Calling.

What happens when the man who is contracted to fix everything is the man who's destined to break me?

Author's Note: This is an intense, high-heat, high-angst standalone MM Mafia Romance brimming with violence and mayhem. Lorenzo and Echo are corrupt men, and their love story is not for the faint of heart.

Genres: M M Romance, Dark, BDSM, Romance, Dark Romance, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers

182 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2022

About the author

Joel Abernathy, also writing as L.C. Davis, is a trans author of MM romance. He enjoys writing dark and emotional romance about men loving men in all genres.

Reviews

[nark · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars.

🔪 this was a romantic comedy, not a dark romance.
🔪 the sociopath wasn't sociopathic enough.
🔪 this is the fluffy version of mafia.
🔪 relationship development? never heard of her.
🔪 when, how and where did these two even fall in love?
🔪 this had potential, but it wasn't dark enough, long enough or developed enough. moving on.

[Mariam, · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was almost, ALMOST my fav book of the year

4.5 stars ✨✨✨🌟

→ okay, I wrote four fucking essays before starting this review so my mind is full of fucking AIR. Read at your own discretion 😄😄😄

Humans were such complicated, inconvenient creatures.

Honestly, I don't know how to write this review. I don't know how to express the way the amount of times I SCREAMED at this book and how it literally felt like a balm to my soul, my very own love fucking letter. This book gave me chills of the best kind and I literally ACHED reaching 30% of this book and having this exact expression: 😩😩😩 because I was that much closer to reaching the end.


I told my favorite sinner @Nark, how this book reminded me of the MF Mafia books I used to read and the fact that THE QUEEN understood ME literally made me feel like a million bucks. Mafia is one of my top three favorite tropes to read and yet my percentage (yes I fuckin keep track) of reading Mafia Books in MM Romance is so fucking low. It's hilarious.

The simple truth is, MM Mafia just don't hold a candle to MF mafia. There's just a way Mafia just feels so much more authentic and cruel and savage and just blood thrilling gorgeous in male/female romances. And I haven't had experienced that discretion in MM romance. I didn't feel quite the addicting rush of a Mafioso Dynamic in MM romance, the way I did in MF Mafia Romance.

But . This . BOOK.

HELL. FUCKING. YES.

Honestly, consider this review my fucking love letter to Rave (Joel is will be changing his pen name to Rave) because you fucking MADE MY DREAMS COME TRUE.

This book was fucking gritty, it didn't hesitant to be dark and explore some kinky fuckery, it showed the dynamic of a Mafioso Family that felt GENUINE. REAL. This book felt like inhaling a breath fresh air.


So if you can honest to God relate to me, stop what you're doing AND READ THIS NOW. (or wait until the release date cus I read the arc 😏😏😏😏)

I had to admit I wasn't expecting him to ask that. "Why do you want to know?"
"You know just about everything there is to know about me and my family," he said with a shrug. "All I know is your fake first name."
"That's enough to answer your question," I replied. "And it describes me more accurately than a meaningless string of letters printed on a birth certificate. I am, for all intents and purposes, an echo. A reflection of this world and all the monsters who dwell in it, here today and gone tomorrow. That's really all you need to know. That's all there is to know."

There's a time and place for me go check my sanity levels one day, and UNTIL THAT DAY ARRIVES, I will continue to BOW at the feet of this Gorgeous Sociopath and just take his superiority in all fucking strides.

→ The way he protected Enzo 🤧
→ The way he touched Enzo's Cheek 😩
→ When he went to his knees 😳😳😳
→ When Enzo NEVER FAILED to Make Echo smile and laugh-no matter how small or devilish-the light that I fucking felt in his soul when Enzo was within proximity of Echo literally felt like his and my soul SANG 😭😭✋✋✋✋

It had been so long since I had touched another man this way—never mind one capable of igniting the spark of hate and lust within me as strongly as he did. His kiss was poison, but I was already addicted. It didn't matter if it burned me. I wanted more, and I intended to get it.

You and me both Enzo 🥲 You and me both! 😩

Another point I want to highlight is the writing of this book. I just wanted to a take a moment to fucking bathe, to relish and cherish the writing of this book.

It was the way the author literally and palpably made me FEEL how Echo's heart echoed of Enzo's. I... I don't know how to put it into words, and I don't quite think I can do that, but in my 3 hours of sleep deprived brain, I felt how Echo just felt it in his whole being how at Enzo's presence, he was home.

Deep and rough, soft and sensual. The man beneath me was a mosaic of contradictions, and I found myself longing to resolve every last one.

Read this. Screw this bullshit review. Read this and dm me, spam me, SCREAM AT ME because I. Need. Someone. To. Scream. Too!!!

💨💨💨💨

Last but not least, why didn't I rate this 5 stars?

I mean it's not hard to persuade him, I'm sure upon a reread I'll damn rate this 5 stars but until then, I'm gonna go cry at the corner how SHORT this book was. It's simply not fair how every fav book of mine are short. LIKE C'MON AUTHORS. Take your damn time with book, I DON'T MIND WAITING. It'll kill me inside but I DON'T MIND IT!

Dramatics aside, I just NEEDED MORE OF EVERYTHING 😩 this book was just 51k words and that's just TOO SHORT. I wanted-NO I NEEDED to explore more of Echo and Enzo. I needed more of their moments together. Heartfelt moments, break my heart moments, make me fucking swoon moments. Make my soul sing 10000x more with jealousy moments. I needed MORE because I'm greedy and spoiled rotten reader 😃 but man, I cherished everything I did get regardless.

So if Rave is reading this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue Enzo and Echo's story or Continue the Difiore Family Chronicles!!!!!!!!🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😩😩😩

“Y'know, I don't give a shit about you being gay. You're still my brother, no matter what, but did you really have to fall for the most infamous mastermind in the underworld?"
I couldn't help but laugh a little. "It wasn't something I planned. Just kind of happened."
Like a hurricane. Like a meteor that hits the earth with enough force to shatter everything around it, and a light so bright it blinds you to everything else

.
.
.
.
.
.
arc received through GRR: Gay Romance Reviews


reread 1: December 19, 2022
I honestly love this book because of Silas

[Nazanin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Enzo had been living a lie for most of his life and lately, he barely even recognized himself, considering he is the mafia son, the eldest one who made a mistake, and Echo aka Ghost is the fixer to his problem. He is also the one capable of igniting the spark of hate and lust within Enzo. Echo is not a man of superfluous action, everything he does, he does for a reason but meeting Enzo changes everything…

You can see in the blurb that says “an intense, high heat, high angst MM mafia romance brimming with violence and mayhem” but unfortunately it wasn’t like that. It’s low angst (almost angst-free), and the tension between the MCs wasn’t that much. The violence?! Nope, not that much either! Echo describes himself as a psychopath but honestly, I didn’t see him like one. All in all, it was an OK read, and hope you enjoy it more than me!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Honestly, I don’t know how to explain the reason why I almost dnf’d this one, but ended up absolutely surprised. In the beginning, I was totally sucked into the story, then by 30-50%, I was skimming and bored. I couldn’t really see the connection Enzo and Echo supposedly had. Enzo was the future “don” of the DiFiore family. Echo was a “fixer” who is called in to help out with a situation that Enzo got himself into. Their first sex scene just didn’t make sense to me, but I am not going to say much because I don’t want to give anything away.

I did end up skimming, but then when lies are revealed, I was completely sucked back in. I didn’t expect the turn of events that led to loyalties to be tested. I certainly didn’t see that ending either.

Although it was sort of dark, but not as bad as I thought. Maybe because I knew it dealt with the mafia and a fixer, so I kind of knew what was coming.

[juli✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Still set on keeping me around, are you?" He gave me a look.
"You're a psycho," he said matter-of-factly, his gaze softening a little. "But you're my psycho. And you're not going anywhere."

i might check back in on this series if Geo and Luca end up getting a book. otherwise, eh 🤷‍♀️

[Rina Pride · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 Stars
I love romance with mobsters! I'm always reading books with this theme. I was expecting something more violent in this story, mafia books must have bloody moments of freezing the bones, I think that was missing in this book. Not that I didn't like the story, the romance was good, but it lacked something heavier in history.

Echo and Enzo had good chemistry and this was a positive point of the book, their divergent personalities yielded a good interaction. Echo is a type of character who apparently a handsome and charming man , white hair and cool personality. Characters like Echo/Silas are always interesting and tasty to follow.

Enzo's brothers are characters whom I wish they had a book of their own with them, Valentine was the one who liked the brothers the most.

The surprising point of the book was the revelation about the death of Enzo's mother, it was undoubtedly the most tense moment in history.

I'm going to read the second book

[L Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf @ 72%

I really tried but I couldn’t get into this story. Everything happened too quickly and I never had a chance to connect to either of the main characters nor become invested in their relationship. One minute they were having sex and, time skip to a month later, they realize they are in love right when circumstances force them to separate. It just felt too forced and I wasn’t buying it.

The background story about who killed Enzo’s mother wasn’t bad but I wasn’t here for that so I abandoned the story before seeing what happened to that person. I feel bad rating this low because, had it been longer (it’s less than 200 pages), it could have been better. As is, it only gets 1.75 stars (rounded up).

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

His kiss was poison, but I was already addicted. It didn't matter if it burned me.

This book starts out with Enzo accidentally killing someone. Unfortunately, because of who the person is, this turns covering the crime up into something far more complicated than normal.

In order to properly cover up the crime, the head of the DiFiore family calls in the big guns. This is where Echo/Ghost comes in. Echo is basically a criminal mastermind. He also describes himself as a sociopath. He’s spent his entire life trying to be invisible and while doing that he helps wealthy individuals cover up their indiscretions.

I am, for all intents and purposes, an echo. A reflection of this world and all the monsters who dwell in it, here today and gone tomorrow. That's really all you need to know. That's all there is to know.

This is billed as a mafia book and while it does include some of those elements, it felt kind of mafia light to me as the story mostly just focused on covering up Enzo’s crime. That being said, this book dished out two big twists that I did not see coming and I was so here for it. I’ll leave it to you to read the book and figure those out.

I’m fairly obsessed with the blood play/knife play kink and was thrilled that it was included in this book. I would have loved to see even more of it!

"I wonder," he said in a tone of curiosity that immediately had me on edge. "If your blood tastes as sweet as the rest of you..."

"Beautiful," Echo said with a strange kind of reverence in his tone. I flinched as he dipped his finger into the well of blood pooling on the surface of my skin.

My only real complaint is that I would have liked to have seen a bit more in the way of the relationship developing between Echo and Enzo as it felt like we jumped over a chunk of it where perhaps they started to connect on a deeper level.

I appreciated seeing how Echo’s brother popped into the story and how that helps set things up for the next book in the series. Lastly, I really enjoy when an MC is prickly on the outside to everyone except for their love interest and we get that here.

Silas was a monster. But he was my monster, and God help the motherfucker who ever tried to take him away from me again.

***I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.***

[Lilly [Hiatus due to School] · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Silas was a monster. But he was my monster, and God help the motherfucker who ever tried to take him away from me again."

I had no expectations going into this series, but I trust Joel as I devoured their works under the pen name LC Davis. So I was curious to see what his take on a contemporary story would be like. I am not the biggest fan of Mafia romances, and to date, I have read three that I liked, but I enjoyed this one, and it's making me rethink my stance on them.

Ghost is the story of Enzo, the eldest son of the DiFiore Mafia family. He is gay but stays in the closet as his family, particularly his father, has a "don't ask, don't tell policy". He suspects that his son is gay, but the homophobia is strong in him, so Enzo tries to be the good heir. However, when the son of the District Attorney gets killed, things get messy for him.

We have Ghost/Echo (Silas), who handles clean-ups for anyone who is willing to pay the right amount. He is a high-functioning sociopath and soon finds himself assisting Enzo in covering up a high-profile murder.

While there was a bit of back and forth and hostility between them, it was a bit of insta love. Honestly, I didn't mind it too much. I enjoy the whole cold, unfeeling sociopath falling in love. I loved the sex scenes between them. Not going to lie, I liked the collaring thing and Pet/Master dynamic was hot. I did not expect it, but I enjoyed it.

One of the negatives was that it was too short and felt rushed. The relationship and events could have benefited from being expanded in depth. I think another 100 pages would have made the story even better.

Overall it was a good read and a great start to the series. I am excited for the next book as we have Valentine, Enzo's youngest brother and Malcolm, Silas's brother!

[Julia (bookish.jka) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The undeniable truth I had been forced to come to terms with - because the only thing worse than acting recklessly was being the kind of fool who lied to himself - was that I had wanted to kiss him."

I was sold on Ghost by Joel Abernathy as soon as I read the blurb - dark, intense, MM, mafia romance, high angst, not for the faint of heart - and whilst I really enjoyed Enzo and Echo's story, honestly (and this is just my opinion, because we all have different tastes and ideas of what makes something a dark read), for me it wasn't dark or high angst or 'not for the faint of heart' at all. But still an enjoyable read 😊.

So the basic premise is that Enzo is the eldest of three brothers and heir apparent of the DiFiore mafia family. He is gay but still closeted, given his bigoted father's 'expectations' for the family. Enzo kills someone, essentially in self defence, whilst protecting an innocent woman, and the dead guy turns out to be the DA's scumbag son. So the family call in a 'fixer' (Echo) to sort out the problem.

Echo is a sociopath, cold, heartless and totally focussed on his job. He's gay and is drawn to Enzo as soon as they meet, despite his better judgement. Enzo recipriocates all of those feelings. Oh and the steamy times were hot 🔥🔥🔥.

This definitely had an enemies to lovers vibe which is one of my favourite tropes, but given the characters - sociopath killer and mafia mob boss - it was all a bit 'insta-love' for my personal liking. I prefer the push and pull of the MCs hating the fact that they are attracted to each other to go on for a while and given these characters, I would have expected that to be the case.

There were several good underlying story arcs going on too, which probably could have been developed more, but overall it was a good read with a HEA and I inhaled it in about 2 hours.

Recommended 3.5-4 star read ✨✨✨✨

[Florence . · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

RTC but everything about this book just appealed to me, this book sounds like everything I have ever wanted in a book but sadly I just had a really hard time connecting with the story, which really is sad because I'm sure that this book could have been a favourite of mine, it surely had all of the traits to be.

I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest opinion.

[misz lei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based solely on the cover I expected this book to be darker, bloodier, a bit more fuck up😁

This is a lite mafia.

But I enjoyed it anyway.

I can see myself rereading this and changing my rate.

But for now...

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

[I received a digital arc for an honest review]

I was so excited about a new Joel Abernathy book, so it emotionally pains me to write this review. This was in no way a bad book, but I had expectations and they were not met. A Dark Mafia romance with trigger warnings that check my yes please boxes, but then didn't fully deliver on those aspects. It also could be the fact that this is like the 5th romance with a "psychopath" main lead, but I'll get more into that when I vent further in the review.

Enzo is the future don of his mob family who up till now didn't have blood on his hands until he decides to play knight in shining armor for a stranger and ends up killing the District Attorny's son. The only one capable of fixing this mistake is a man named Echo, aka the Ghost, who cleans up after rich people who find themselves in messes of their own making. Echo agrees to help the DiFiore family fix Enzo's mistake. This results in the two spending a lot of alone time together and getting under each others skin. But when secrets are revealed and feelings turn to hate, will Echo be able to help the man who now hates him before it's too late.

That sounds good doesn't and overall it was, so let's talk about what I liked. Abernathy's writing was on point as usual, with great descriptions of the characters emotions. The story was decent but not very dark for a mafia romance, since the DiFiore family is literally described in the book as "as close to wholesome as one could get in the underworld". Enzo is a solid character. Forced to be in the closet because of his family, caring for his brothers and always looking out for them, and a submissive in a world he has to portrayed as dominant. Echo started out as a great, interesting character and then lost me a bit. He claims to be a sociopath with no empathy which allows him to do his job, but it doesn't take him long to have feelings for Enzo. He may fight those feelings but he definitely has them and claim to fall in love. The intimate scenes were well done , especially the knife play scene, which was my favorite of their intimate interactions.

I have two main complaints about the book that disappointed me the most. First, I wish that the author hadn't gone with the sociopath label. Echo could have just been a cold heartless bastard ect ect , it was as if they were trying to capitalize on psychopaths in romance being big right now when they didn't need to because it just ended up being a let-down when Echo's obsession actually turns into love. Second, I was totally teased with pet play and it was not delivered. Echo calls him pet and has Enzo call him master in the bedroom but that was it, the mildest pet play I've read, don't label it pet play just because you throw in nicknames and the mention of Enzo wearing a collar.

Will I read the next book? Yes, because now I know what to expect I'll probably enjoy it more than this one.

[E Varady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't suspend my disbelief

Right off the bat, I struggled to buy into this story. I couldn't believe a mafia family would find murder so outrageous, or that the heir wouldn't have already killed people. The incompetent youngest brother wasn't believable, and his sudden competence at the end despite almost no formal education and no experience was laughable. Events lined up throughout the book, everything coincidentally in place. Someone gets shot and they can't get a formal doctor involved, but it's ok because one of the others happens to be O neg and can donate blood to the wounded, and one of the others is in year 2 of med school and somehow knows how to treat gunshot wounds despite having no experience. Yeah right.

The story lacked grit and the plot was weak. Everything was just...bland. No depth, no believability, no color or feeling. Heck, most of the romance occurs off page and we go from gratuitous sex to in love without actually seeing the evolution or emotional growth of the characters. And then the story drags itself to it's inexplicable all to convenient conclusion.

[Brey (lil Sebastian)]

No rating DNF at 23%. This book was just boring. How can the future Don of a crime family go 26 years without killing someone??? I agree with other reviewer‘s that this book just wasn’t very Mafia like… I think the only book I liked by this author is exhale. Other than that most have seemed a bit lackluster.

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!!!
Sooooo good!!! MM mafia is usually a click.
I am offering a petition for lenghtening for at least 100 pages.
Ps: it seems there would be more books from this series.

[Mx. T *Chaotic Reader* · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.
There was a lot happening in this book and not enough pages to develop everything. I wasn't sure who Enzo really was, Echo on the other hand was better developed. There was A LOT of potential and I would have liked to read more with a better pacing. It was interesting enough, I will give the next in the series a go soon.

[magic_of_darkness_and_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 ⭐
I wished I liked this book more.

The story was interesting but the beginning dragged and I was bored. The relationship felt kind of off, they were having sex, and one month later (we didn't get to see what happened during that month) they were suddenly in love.

What I enjoyed was the last 25% of this book. We had more action, feelings, and development and if the book was like that from the beginning I would have loved it!

Him, of all people. That, of all truths.

This hapless child was going to become the leader of one of the largest crime families in the city. In the region. So who the hell was going to take care of him?

"You have to look after yourself. No one else is going to." And yet, there was a voice screaming in the back of my mind, That's your job, coward.

And really, which was more twisted? A psycho, or the guy who gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted?

[Bob Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joel Abernathy has gifted us with another beautiful slow-burn romance... between a Mafia crime family heir and a seasoned sociopathic professional hit person/cleaner who makes all the evidence disappear. Grrrrr. Only a brilliant writer could make that pairing work and my goodness do they ever. The author, also writing as L.C. Davis, treats us with the most wonderful and passionate love stories that always feel very real.

The protagonists meet serendipitously...one of those "oops" kinda moments. One of them basically hates the other and the other one is like "where have you been all my life" (they don't really say that). From that point the pheromones are all over the place and it's just like that song, "True Love's Kiss" from the Disney movie "Enchanted" ...except with a whip and handcuffs and blood...lots of blood.

There is lots of snark, some sexy time, some edge-of-your-seat moments (a LOT of those) and a warm-and-fuzzy Happy Ever After. Don't start reading it at night because you will not put it down and will be up all night and have to call in sick to work.

[Rielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm…2.5 stars maybe?

This was weirdly fluffy. The mob family didn’t feel very mobby. And the sociopath was distinctly not lacking emotion and sociopathic tendencies.

[Santy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't work for me

I like this author 's work but this book just didn't do it for me.

First off, there was a lot of "telling" and not enough "showing" of aspects in this story. I didn't believe Enzo and Echo's physical connection, talk less of their emotional one.

To me these two men didn't like each other (regardless of what the author told us), virtually remained strangers till the very end with the "I love you's" making me scratch my head in confusion.

Also, there were a lot of loose ends that were just ignored or once again "told of" but would've been more beneficial to the story had it been shown (example the consequences of Donavan's actions)

So yeah, I started and stopped this book so many times because I wanted to give it the best possible chance but it just did not get better. Bummer.

[꧁•Zakiyya•꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something to be said about sociopaths finding the one person that can make them question everything they thought they knew about themselves.

And I am definitely a sucker for those. 

Echo and Enzo were hot together... 🔥
One is a mafia heir and the other has a mind so brilliant, that, for the right price, he can get any crime covered up.

The mysteries surrounding Echo and the DiFiore family kept me interested.

Will definitely continue with this series –Valentine and Malcolm is next – so, that should be interesting…💙💙

[Ed Davis]

DNF. I was really into this, but I just don’t care for Doms who I picture as petite. As soon as they started their first scene I was not interested anymore. Otherwise, I was enjoying the story. I love kinky stories, but this just isn’t my thing.

[Miriam still reading! HIATUS from GR · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars story.

This story took me by surprise I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I just wish there was more on page relationship development.

[Trinity · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶/5

TW - alcohol consumption (sc alcoholic mentioned), weed (mentioned), attempted rape (scs, implied), physical violence, murder (on page), knife violence, physical abuse (from a parent, past), insomnia (mentioned), sociopathy, death of a parent, bigotry (implied via familial customs), homophobic slurs (from family incl the f slur), car accident resulting in paralysis (scs, mentioned in passing), drugging of a sc, child abuse (physical, because of homophobia, mentioned), antisocial personality disorder, foster system (past, mentioned), gun violence

CW - D/s, restraints (handcuffs), impact play (flogger), light edging, knife play, blood play, collaring

Tropes - age gap (26M, 35M), "mafia", dark, forced proximity

Representation - MM

Have you ever read a mafia book where the mafiosos act like their world is ending because they accidentally murdered someone? No, well if you read this you would have

I found the mafia dynamic in this book so fucking weird to the point it felt like the author had never read a mafia romance before. The way these characters acted would have made LOADS more sense if they were just trust fund billionaires where the MMC was in line to be the CEO of their family conglomerate but instead we got a mafia family where the heir had never killed anyone at the age of 26???????????????? Idk, maybe I have read far too many dark romance books but this story was very pathetic and I only finished reading it to have a basis for writing this review

The MMC (Lorenzo) has accidentally killed someone that happens to be someone of importance and as the heir, idk how he didn't recognise this specific person, why their family doesn't have half the officials in the city in their pocket like it was all very pathetic. If you're thinking of reading this because you want a mafia book, don't.

They hire a fixer to fix the mess because they're a pathetic mafia family so can't deal with it themselves and the MMC calls the fixer MMC (Echo) psychotic for his line of work????????????? He is literally in the mafia L M A O. They think they're a wholesome mafia family - there is no such thing, lol

Echo is meant to be a sociopath and I saw a review before I started reading that said that the sociopath wasn't sociopathic enough and FACTS, he really was not.

The source of lust in this book stemmed from Echo going through everyone's browsing history and seeing what Lorenzo is into and offering to help him explore that. There was little, if any, relationship development and no chemistry between the MCs.

Lorenzo is literally the next capo and can’t come out to his dad because of mafia customs and idk about anyone else but in a typical Mafia, he’d just kill his dad and change the rules lmao. That is genuinely what I was expecting to happen when I was piecing together the plot... imagine my disappointment

How everything was resolved was so convenient but basically, I've read this book so you don't have to - you're welcome, I'm a woman of the people

Random points:
The youngest sibling being too drunk to recognise the girl at the bar with a big ass is his cousin isn’t even a little bit funny lol

Lorenzo is always doing paperwork. He is quite literally the next Don (something I kept thinking about reading this like 🥴🥴), why tf is he doing paperwork?? What paperwork?? The extent of mafia in this was Lorenzo's paperwork and random mentions of shipments. Someone please tell this man to get a consigliere

Scale:
⭐️ - would've DNF'ed / continued out of spite
⭐️⭐️ - shit, but whatever
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - meh, could've been better
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - lit 👅
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - loved it, inject this shit into my veins 🤪

🫑 - no smut
🌶 - no point
🌶🌶 - mediocre at best
🌶🌶🌶 - standard smut, hot
🌶🌶🌶🌶 - 🥵 okay, some CW
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 - fuck me 🥵🥵 CWs / filthy with a side of filth - see Poison / Room Twenty-Two: Hide and Seek/ The Naughty List

[Trip · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5✨

A fast paced, spicy and action packed read. I really enjoyed Enzo & Echo, their chemistry is incredible and the steam is heated.

However the romance was sadly lacking, as it focused heavily more on plot involving murder and covering it up. Along with reveals and plot twists which were incredible, but due to it being a shorter read didn't leave time for much feels outside of lust.

Still there are so many beautiful quotes and thoughts on the second half especially, from both Enzo & Echo very much all the emotions. It just didn't feel backed up in the story, I feel like their relationship development happened off page/in the time jump of couple weeks so it just didn't hit as much as it could've with more time.

Overall an enjoyable read with plenty of action and interesting story, characters to fall in love with and darker vibes too. Still leading to a happy ending for these two 🔥


*Sociopath MC
*Virgin MC
*Blood/knife play
*Bondage
*Pet/Master

[Camm reads books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Que puta mierda acabo de leer dios mio. Pensé que iba a ser un buen libro cortito sobre un sociópata que se "enamora", pero fue una puta pérdida de tiempo...

Obviamente no continuaré la serie

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be following this mm series closely

I adored this book. So many twists and turns, so hot, so much fun to read….well as long as you are in the mood for something mm and dark and delicious. In a nice twist compared to a few series beginnings this book does NOT end in a cliffhanger although there is much more to this story that is hinted at. I have read most of this author’s work and I have never read any that were not high quality writing. If you like dark mm stories then I recommend this book to you. Enjoy!

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4 stars

Ghost is a standalone dark romance taking place in a mafia household. There are mentions of violence, betrayal, misogyny, homophobia, terrible parenting, and murder. This is also a romance, taking place between two adult men who have tastes that include BDSM, pain, knife and blood play, and a small bit of blackmail. However, none of it is gratuitous or done for shock value. Everything here is a tool used to advance the story. However, if you are sensitive to any of these, you may want to avoid this book.

This story is nicely balanced between plot and sex. Enzo’s life as a fixer is glanced at, showing just how much work it is, how manly people he has working for him, and how it isn’t just a matter of making a body vanish, anymore. There are witnesses to be bribed (or done away with), security footage to be altered or erased, friends and family to be encouraged to all tell the same story, and the media to be avoided or used as necessary. But the author doesn’t dwell on the specifics, leaving Echo’s world as much a mystery as he is, with only hints to add depth to the world and the character.

Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.

[Katrina Passick Lumsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joel Abernathy is a tough one for me. On the one hand, he knows how to bring the angst. On the other...where are the proofers? And if he has them, he's either paying them too much or too little. I find issues in every book, malapropisms being a huge one. The second book in the series reveals a seriously bad mistake in terms of plot. I'll mention it in that review.

I try to enjoy Abernathy's stories, but sometimes the mistakes just take me out of them.