~Marcella Nielsen ~
iReflect 2017
Always: A Legacy Novel
by Bethany Kris
A wild boy.
A sly girl.
Cross Donati defines trouble. He does what he wants because he’s never known anything different. He’s unapologetic, and he owns it.
Catherine Marcello is every bit a good girl … on the outside. Her entire world is a legacy, and she lives it. She’s curious, and she’s exploring it.
She chases bad things.
He never learned to be good.
They’re late nights, stolen cars, first times, fist fights, leather jackets, beaches, bloody smiles, and life.
They’re vicious and precious, dangerous and harmless, innocence and sin. They are love.
Love is killing for someone.
Love is living for someone.
Sometimes, you can’t keep saving your heart when it means sacrificing it, too.
Sometimes, you have to learn to save yourself.
Sometimes, love has to fall, crash, and burn.
This is what love is like when you’re a principe and principessa della mafia.
This is what love is like when you’re Cross Donati and Catherine Marcello.
My Rating:
Status:
Read on 13th September 2017
Publisher:
Bethany-Kris
Publication Date:
2nd October 2017
Pages:
416
Genre:
Crime Romance
Format:
Kindle Edition (ARC)
Purchase Links:
Amazon
Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and three dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something ... when she can find the time.
More books from Bethany-Kris...
First impressions before start:
I have been anxiously anticipating this story for over a year now! I am frequently in contact with Bethany and have received so many ARC’s (Advanced Reader Copy) from her. I’ll try to keep my opinion on this book as unbiased as possible. Many of the books Bethany-Kris has written are interconnected, the stories and characters crossover occasionally and this book here is just a small glimpse into a much bigger world. A world of crime, love, betrayal and blood. Because I am very familiar with this world, I am going into this book with one year’s worth of expectations. Cross and Catherine are the children of two New York Don’s; Dante Marcello and Calisto Donati. If these two are anything like their parents I’m sure I’ll be in for an intense, action filled ride!
Thoughts:
Well...
*Cliff hanger warning*
Did I enjoy this? Yes!
Do I feel like crawling into a ball and crying in the corner? Yes!
This book put me through an emotional ringer. I never anticipated Cross and Catherine’s story to be such a heart-breaking one. As a couple they go through the struggles of being together in the high stake world they live in. They try and succeed for a while. When they were good they were great but when they were bad they were terrible. My poor heart couldn’t stand it half the time because I’m sitting there rooting for them, but life, family and unforeseeable events tore them apart repeatedly. Through it all, they would find one another again and even though I’ll have to wait for the next book to see how this all ends...I have faith they will only come through this stronger. Why not a five star rating? I didn’t appreciate Cross’ arrogant attitude. Respect isn’t expected in the Cosa Nostra, it’s demanded and his disrespect for those above him was completely juvenile wore on my patience.
Characters:
Cross Donati - Cross has always been honest to the point of being blunt and that gets him into more trouble than he cares to admit. He says what’s on his mind no matter who he speaks to, no matter the consequence. He lives life according to his rules and in the world he was born into, not following the Cosa Nostra way will only bring death. A line he toes without fear or regret. Cross has never truly cared for anything or anyone, until the new girl arrives. She becomes his greatest love…and his greatest heartbreak.
Catherine Marcello - Being the daughter of the most powerful man in New York, and arguably all of America, Catherine has an image to uphold. She battles with the need to not let her parents down and the want to be free of everything that holds her back. When she meets a boy, arrogant and completely unapologetic about it, she finds that freedom and revels in it. But that freedom comes with a cost. Family or love.
“She was cold
She burned.
She shook.
She raged.
She cried.
She hated.
He loved.”
Plot:
This was a coming of age book. A story that starts with one thirteen year old girl and fourteen year old boy trying to figure out who they were in the world they live in. Separately, they were trouble. Together, they were madness. A kind of madness only they understood and loved. Cross and Catherine don’t live a normal life. Being children of powerful and dangerous men means they’re feared. It also means they’re in constant danger. I never thought the most dangerous thing they would face would be one another. This book is in dual point of view and is written when Cross and Catherine are ages 13-14 to 19-20.
Last Note:
As Crime Romance books go, this one was more on the romance side. It focused more on the emotional bond between, not only the two protagonists, but their family as well. I’m quite confident that the next book will involve more of the crime aspect as both Cross and Catherine will be adults and fully emerged within the mafia life. You would think that having this story told throughout years of the couples lives would be tiring, reading their constant struggles, drama and break ups but I found it to be realistic, relatable and emotionally moving. I hope in the next book Cross finds himself some respect!
References:
Kris, B. (2017). Always: A Legacy Novel. Canada: Bethany-Kris.