This is the beginning of a new mafia series set in Rhode Island, centering on two rival families whose animosity goes back decades. Here we get Sophie and Nick: he the mafioso who inadvertently got her brother killed; she the innocent pawn he kidnaps to save her from her sibling's fate. Will the hardened criminal and law-abiding locksmith give in to their mutual attraction or will secrets and guilt come between them?
I sort of liked this book -- particularly the fact that it wasn't that "dark." It's true that Nick does hold her against her will and beat her because, I don't know, I guess that's easier than simply communicating honestly with her? But, he doesn't really harm her; he doesn't rape her; and he truly does want what's best for her. For me, this was a relief since I'm not a fan of "dark," but others might be disappointed.
I particularly appreciated three aspects. First, Sophie was brave, intelligent, and skilled. In fact, unusually for this genre, she was much more capable than Nick; to his credit, he respected that. Second, the narrative acknowledges what has always bothered me about these mafia-lite books: the ludicrous distinctions between "good" and "bad" criminals. Finally, the narrative acknowledges what has always bothered me about the Kidnapping Trope: that the kidnapper feels that his victim has no right to be upset and angry ("Yeah, well, I’m sorry. I don’t know what the proper etiquette is when being kidnapped").
Ultimately, though, I felt that the story was unfinished. I know it's the first in the series so I'm not bothered by the fact that certain lines of action aren't resolved; rather, I felt that little was resolved between Nick and Sophie. They had real, organic conflicts to overcome and yet all that had bothered them throughout the entire book is just swept under the rug at the end. I didn't feel that they worked anything out; rather, they simply decided to ignore their differences.
3 1/2 stars. The next book features Nick's brother. That looks darker, particularly for those of us who spend time around 18 year olds and know that legally they may be adults, but emotionally and often physically they are not. Note: You do have to suspend a lot of disbelief regarding Sophie's behavior just after she buried her brother, but compressed timelines are impossible to avoid in these generic books.