Just wow. It was so much more book than I was expecting. What an epic story that was carefully crafted. My only objection to the entire book was the underage sex. ( )

4.5 "Ruthless Villain or Lover" Stars for the Story and 5 Stars for the Narration!

Can a bad man, one without a soul when it comes to business, possibly have a heart when it comes to love? Lovers of mafia/cartel romances will not want to miss this intriguing and twisted tale of star crossed lovers. Moreover, if you love stories that take you through unexpected twists and turns and keep you guessing until the very end, then you will be sitting on the edge of your seat until you listen to every last word of El Diablo. As if the story wasn't enough, however, the narration by Lauren Sweet and Marcio Catalano is simply divine and makes this a must-listen to title!

Raised to be the head of a crime family, Alejandro Martinez was taught to be detached, ruthless, and brutal from a very tender age. He cared for someone once, but his father ingrained in his head from the very beginning, that those that are the closest to you can hurt you the most. That's not a risk that someone in his position can chance taking. However, the world has a cruel sense of humor and he finds himself the unexpected, undeserving protector again.

The beauty of this story is in the mystery, so I must be necessarily circumspect in my description of the heroine. Suffice it to say that she is equally enraptured and repulsed by Alejandro. A survivor, the heroine has endured a harsh childhood and terrible circumstances only to rise above it by successfully pursuing her dreams at all costs. Can she do the impossible and bring humanity to a man who was taught to be a brutal unfeeling beast since he was child? Or will she just succeed to being the latest victim in his long list of casualties?

Lauren Sweet and Marcio Catalano narrate El Diablo in the typical contemporary romance fashion with Mr. Catalano narrating the chapters from Alejandro's perspective and Ms. Catalano narrating the remainder. This style works well to distinguish the viewpoint being shared. Both narrators pay close attention to the mood of the scene and deliver a compelling narration that sounds much more like enacting a play than just reading a book. This approach works fabulously and really brings the story to life for the listener.

Moreover, I really enjoyed the voices that each narrator picked for the characters. Ms. Catalano in particular demonstrated incredible range in creating both believable female and male character voices. Moreover, even within characters of the same gender, Ms. Catalano manages to make each and every one of them different and distinguishable based on the personality traits of the characters that Ms. Robinson has penned.

Additionally, as this is an ACX produced title, I think it is worth noting that the production quality of the audiobook was superb and on par or better than those produced by the major audiobook producers. In that regard, I loved how there were special sound effects that were employed. For example, at one point a character is going up the stairs and you can hear an echo like quality just like you would expect in real life in this scenario.

All in all, El Diablo was an engaging, well produced and written audiobook. Additionally there was an interesting twist (pertaining to secondary characters) that will undoubtedly form the basis for a book 2. This definitely makes me happy as I can't wait to listen to more of M. Robinson's twisty, intriguing and heat-filled writing!

Source: Review copy provided for review purposes. ( )

We’ve been waiting for Martinez’ story since Crave Me, well we got it, boy did we get it! OUTSTANDING is not enough, AMAZING is too weak, OUTRAGEOUSLY INCREDIBLE, that may cover it!! M Robinson just keeps outdoing herself with every new release.

El Diablo, Alejandro Martinez, a man with no heart, evil, killer, the Devil himself; that is what the world sees when they look at him. He has been bread to be this way; he was hurt by the love of his life, and thinks his heart does not beat any longer.

This story has so many twists and turns, ups and downs, and YESs and NOs!! There were times when I didn’t know if I should scream, cry, laugh, love or hate, YES, this book has it all. The tears that we all love from Ms. Robinson are there along with every emotion known to man.

I have to say, the end was the BEST part…. It is the promise of a new series featuring a secret couple that you will have to read to find out! I cannot wait until November to read their story!

The Queen of Angst gets 100 Bright bloody stars from me, I wish! This book broke me down, and brought me back up again, I hope you all love it as much as I did! ( )