NICO
by Sarah Castille
Publication Date: December 6, 2016
Contact: Justine Sha T: 646-307-5564
Justine.Sha@stmartins.com
Publication Date: December 6, 2016
Contact: Justine Sha T: 646-307-5564
Justine.Sha@stmartins.com
“A deftly plotted page-turner that will leave readers panting for the next installment” –Publisher’s Weekly
New York Times bestselling author Sarah Castille is back with NICO (St. Martin’s Paperbacks, $7.99, December 6, 2016), the first book in her Ruin & Revenge series. With reminiscences of Romeo and Juliet, Castille presents a modern twist and a powerful bad boy spin on the classic tale. RT Book Reviews raves about Castille’s BEYOND THE CUT saying, “Castille continues to raise the stakes… giving readers the compelling romance they crave,” and that continues brilliantly in this new series.
In NICO, Las Vegas Mafia boss Nico Toscani is used to getting what he wants, whether it’s having the City of Sin under his rule or a beautiful woman in his bed. But when he meets his match in the gorgeous, headstrong Mia Cordano, daughter of a rival crime lord, all bets are off…
Sexy computer hacker Mia struggles to break free of her ruthless father’s Mafia ties…but she can’t resist the powerful and seductive Nico, who will stop at nothing to possess her. With their families locked in a brutal war for control of the city, Mia and Nico enter into a forbidden game. Will they surrender to the passion that burns between them—and risk tearing apart their families? Or will Nico be forced to betray the only woman who sets his blood on fire?
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Excerpt
“Is this everything?” Tony thumbed
through the envelope. “This is half of what you brought us last month.” He
shared a glance with Charlie Nails and smirked. “I thought you fancied yourself
an old- style mobster. In the old days, the casinos were a license to print money.
This is hardly enough to pay our staff.”
Nico steeled himself to show an
outer calm as he raged inside. “That’s just the casino money.” He reached into
the pocket of his double- breasted suit jacket, and pulled out a second
envelope. “This is from the other businesses and the pay up from my crew.”
Santo’s eyes narrowed when Nico
tossed the second envelope on the table. Although not a clever man, like Nico’s
father had been, Santo had a sixth sense for when he was being ripped off. “Is
that everything?”
No, of course it wasn’t everything.
Despite the risk, Nico had several businesses on the side, including a nice
little condo racket in which the main condo developers in the city exclusively
hired interior designers controlled by Nico’s associates, giving Nico a share
of every condo development. His connection with the steelworkers’ union had
also given him a line into the rapidly developing construction of new casinos
from a wave of foreign billionaires looking for a place to park their money.
Unlike his uncle, who had taken the
family into the drug trade against Cosa
Nostra rules, Nico was all about real estate. The online scams and Internet
fraud that many of his associates claimed were the new wave of business were of
no interest to him, nor were any rackets where he had to enforce his will
through vio lence. Although he would mete out punishment if it was due,
attracting the attention of the police and FBI was not the way he wanted to do
business. Nico liked to talk to the people he did business with, he liked to
make connections, and his casino was the perfect place to wine and dine
potential partners before comping them a few evenings in the high- stakes room,
and taking even more of their money.
“That’s it.” Nico moved to leave
and Santo held up a hand.
“Since you’re here and you are
family, I want you to be the first to know. Tony’s getting married.”
Tony Crackers married? What kind of
woman would agree to marry a man with a reputation for brutal violence?
“Congratulations, cugino.” He shook his Tony’s hand.
“Who’s the lucky woman?”
“Mia Cordano.” Tony gave him a sly
smile. “I heard you were with her the other night. I didn’t know you were so
close to the Toscanis.”
Nico understood the implied threat,
but he didn’t address it because he was still trying to process the
information. Political marriages were very common in the upper level of the
Mafi a, but usually the women involved in the arranged marriages were of a
type— docile, submissive, fully indoctrinated in the Cosa Nostra culture, and willing to help the family through an
alliance that would benefit both sides. He couldn’t see an assertive,
intelligent, sophisticated businesswoman like Mia Cordano marrying a violent,
uneducated criminal like Tony Crackers unless she was forced to do it— and
although some women were pressured by the families into marriages, how did one
force a woman who so expertly wielded a knife?
“Vito hired her to do cyber-
security work for the casino.”
Santo sucked on his cigar, blew a
ring of smoke. “You should keep better track of what your employees are doing,
especially when we are involved in a faida
with her family of your making.”
“You don’t support the faida?” Nico scowled. “What man of honor
would not want to avenge his brother after he was shot in the back by a coward
who didn’t even have permission from the New York bosses for the hit?”
“Don’t disrespect your uncle,”
Charlie Nails warned. “He has his reasons for doing what he does and they are
not your concern.”
Nico shot him a scathing look.
Aside from some minor gambling and loan sharking, Charlie Nails, a lawyer, ran
a legitimate law firm and helped the family out with legal issues as well as
liaising with important “bought” figures such as politicians or judges. He had
been a trusted and close friend of Nico’s father, but Nico had no tolerance for
a man who would sell his loyalty to the highest bidder.
Santo raised a hand to silence
Charlie Nails. “He should know that his actions have led to this marriage. Don
Cordano has eyes on his daughter. When he found out she had been seen with you,
Nico, he called me with concerns about her safety. He accused us of
disregarding the rules regarding the sanctity of women and children in the faida.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.
She was there for business. Her safety was never in question.”
Santo waved a dismissive hand.
“Both sides have lost many soldiers in this senseless war. Don Cordano fears
for the life of his son, Dante, as I fear for the life of my Tony. We shared
our concerns and discussed a truce. As a show of good faith, he offered one of
his daughters in marriage to the Toscani family. It was not an opportunity I
was prepared to pass up. The Cordanos have a solid foothold in the drug trade.
Marriage will bring us together. Don Cordano thinks to gain strength through
the union, but Dante is weak, not worthy to lead. Once Dante and the don are
out of the way, Tony will have a claim to lead by marriage and he will take
over as boss. Together, he and I will push aside the other Cosa Nostra families and take control of the city.”
Nico pulled his pen from his pocket
and spun it around his thumb as he struggled to hide his anger. His father had
intended to pass the pen down to Nico when he became a made man, just as his
father had done for him.
But he hadn’t lived to see the day.
Nico had only started carrying the pen after he was made, and he intended to
pass it on to his son.
“My father has not yet been
avenged,” he spat out. “And what of all the soldiers and capos who will lose
their lives? You dragged this family into the drug trade against Cosa Nostra rules. Everything my father
tried to do for the family, you have undone. But this . . . betrayal of the
other Cosa Nostra families, a full- out war for control of the city . . . How
many will be left standing at the end?”
Charlie Nails, quiet until that
moment, ran a hand through his silvery hair. “I have to agree, Santo. Not just
because of Nico’s father, Maximo, but because our involvement with the drug
trade has already brought us to the attention of the FBI. When Maximo was boss,
we were able to fly under the radar. If we expand our drug operation, and the
bodies start to pile up, they are going to come down hard on us. Even if our
men don’t get whacked in the civil war you propose, they’ll wind up in jail.”
“Cazzo!” Even more volatile than usual, Tony reached for the weapon
holstered at his side, and Santo held up a hand.
“Stand down. Charlie Nails is old
and slow, and Nico is maybe upset that you have stolen his woman. But he
understands that this is a sacrifice that must be made for la famiglia.”
Nico’s stomach tightened at the
thought of his crazy cousin married to Mia, the girl he’d once held, trembling
in his arms, who had become a beautiful woman who stirred a longing in him he
had long thought dead. Did her father, Don Cordano, understand the risk? The
danger she was in? “Did she agree to this?”
Copyright © 2016 by
Sarah Castille and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Paperbacks.
What I thought about NICO
In this new series, Sarah Castille takes on the Las Vegas Mafia with the story of mob-boss wannabe Nico Toscani and Mia Cordano, daughter of a rival family. I'm going to try to keep this review spoiler free.
Nico's got lots of reasons to want revenge on the Cordano's. He wants to bring honor back to his family, especially after a tragic childhood incident. But when he meets Mia as an adult, he's smitten. There's really no other way to say it. This was my favorite part of the story. Sarah Castille does an awesome job of really showing how he gradually falls (and falls hard) for Mia. There's destiny here, and their love story was really the best part of this book for me.
The quest for power between the rival families is what brings Nico and Mia together and it might just break them apart too. There's a whole bunch of wiseguys involved, each with a colorful nickname or two. I thought the mob story was well done, but it was Mia and Nico together that made the pages really sizzle. I think there's one scene that I've gone back to a couple of times now, it's just that sexually delicious!
I thought this was a great start to the series. The world-building in this book slowed the pace at times, and I felt that the conclusion was a bit rushed, but I finished this book really loving Nico and Mia and wanting more of this world. That's a very good place to be in when starting a new series.
ARC provided for review.
About the Author
Social Links:
Twitter: @Sarah_Castille
Author Website: http://sarahcastille.com/
