4 stars

This story is very intense but at the same time it is tame. The quick turn around of "love" between Trace, Nixon, and Chase is very juvenile. The wishy washy back and forth in short periods aggravates me and almost made me stop reading which would be a shame as I own this entire series.

Hoping the suspense keeps me reading because I'm struggling here. That being said, the actual world-building is great and one of the reasons that I support this author. That, and she is an Idaho girl too. ( )

I liked book one of this series. But this book is leaps and bounds better. It contains many twists and turns. Trace and Nixon are so in love. Then there's Chase. We have a love triangle on steroids because there are also mob hits and exposed secrets that may bring them all down flying all around.

"Tell me there's a happy ending."
"Trace, I—"
"Lie, Tracey ordered. "Lie if you have to. I just need to hear you say it."
"Trace." I twirled a piece of her hair around my fingers. "For us? There will always be a happy ending. Always."

My emotions were all over the place. This book was so much deeper than I thought it would be. It involves romantic love, friendship love, familial love. Even though they are flawed characters, I admire the brotherhood between Nixon, Chase, Tex and Phoenix.

After all—in every redemption story a sacrifice needs to be made.

Nixon always puts his mob family first and is trying everything in his power to set everything straight within all the 5 families while also doing what is best for Trace. His love is very true, always doing what's best for someone else instead of following what he wants and needs like most people would. I love him so much for it.

I really liked this book and recommend it. I could not wait to move on to the next.

Also, I need to throw in (HP)

I threw on my Eagle Elite uniform, black slacks with a white button-up shirt, red seater vest, and jacket—and made a beeline for the kitchen. The smell of sausage and eggs assaulted me.
"Hey Harry Potter, glad you could make it," Tex called from the table.
"You've been saving that one for four years, haven't you." I shook my head. "Lame, and this looks nothing like Harry Potter."

( )

I have got to say that Nixon really changed my whole outlook on him.. I ended up loving him. He was willing to give up the love of his life, to make sure that she was safe. At one point ( and those of you who have read it) I wanted to yell at Tracey and ask, you are already forgetting him??? But she did show that she wasn't. I was a little upset with the guys, I mean, this was her feelings and emotions that they were dealing with, stop with the ping pong. But it is finally resolved, and I am content with outcome. ( )

I liked book one of this series. But this book is leaps and bounds better. It contains many twists and turns. Trace and Nixon are so in love. Then there's Chase. We have a love triangle on steroids because there are also mob hits and exposed secrets that may bring them all down flying all around.

"Tell me there's a happy ending."
"Trace, I—"
"Lie, Tracey ordered. "Lie if you have to. I just need to hear you say it."
"Trace." I twirled a piece of her hair around my fingers. "For us? There will always be a happy ending. Always."

My emotions were all over the place. This book was so much deeper than I thought it would be. It involves romantic love, friendship love, familial love. Even though they are flawed characters, I admire the brotherhood between Nixon, Chase, Tex and Phoenix.

After all—in every redemption story a sacrifice needs to be made.

Nixon always puts his mob family first and is trying everything in his power to set everything straight within all the 5 families while also doing what is best for Trace. His love is very true, always doing what's best for someone else instead of following what he wants and needs like most people would. I love him so much for it.

I really liked this book and recommend it. I could not wait to move on to the next.

Also, I need to throw in (HP)

I threw on my Eagle Elite uniform, black slacks with a white button-up shirt, red seater vest, and jacket—and made a beeline for the kitchen. The smell of sausage and eggs assaulted me.
"Hey Harry Potter, glad you could make it," Tex called from the table.
"You've been saving that one for four years, haven't you." I shook my head. "Lame, and this looks nothing like Harry Potter."

( )

5 "Star-Crossed Lovers" stars for the story and 4 stars for the narration!

This mafia new adult series, which will also appeal to YA romance lovers, keeps getting better and better! So many secrets, so many intersecting past connections and the need to fulfill the most basest of human nature needs--to find true love and acceptance--among the chaos of this dangerous, power hungry, mafia world. Amid all this danger, who will succeed in finding their HEA?

When you're the head of your mafia family, anyone you love becomes a primary target. Nixon Abandonato has learned this the hard way: by finally capitulating to his feelings for Tracey Rooks, the granddaughter of the boss of his family's biggest mafia rival. Tracey too has made her decision, and it's Nixon who she wants to be with.

We don't always get what we want however, and mafia members, in particular, are raised to do their duty even when they would rather not to. In this case, it means Nixon and Tracey are required to conceal their true feelings for one another. Perhaps, even worse, Tracey is forced into the more than welcoming arms of Chase, Nixon's cousin and the closest thing he has to a true brother. Chase too has feelings for Tracey, and he finally has his chance to make her his. Who will Tracey ultimately decide her heart belongs to, and irrespective of her heart's desires, will she have the luxury of determining who she wants to spend the rest of her life with?

Moreover, the Eagle Elite series is about more than just romance. Mixed in with this emotional love triangle is a tale of betrayal and family secrets that lead to an action-packed, suspense-filled journey. In fact, in Elect we learn a lot about a whole cast of other characters, who will no doubt form the basis for plenty of exciting Eagle Elite tales to come!

This was my first experience with Douglas Berger, who provides the narration for Elect. Mr. Berger does a good job of accurately conveying the fast-paced action, and plentiful emotions in Elect. Additionally, his voice is well suited for the Young Adult/New Adult sound of many of the characters who play important roles in Elect.

Mr. Berger excels in the characterization of the male roles. Perhaps my favorite part of his performance is Nixon. You accurately get the sense of Nixon's position of authority and privileged upbringing from his depiction. Additionally the angst of Nixon's conflict between wanting to protect Tracey, even if it means that she is safer without him, and wanting to keep her for himself, drips convincingly from his voice.

Perhaps my only observation with respect to the narration is that I wish there had been a greater differentiation among the characters, particularly the females. Although it did take me a while to warm up to the differences in Mr. Berger's inflection between the parts that he narrated for Nixon, Chase and the whole host of other male characters, I did eventually get accustomed to it and did not need to generally rely on dialogue tags. I did, however, have a little more trouble differentiating the parts played by the women in this book. All that said, this effect generally didn't affect the performance too much as there were very few parts in which more than one female character was involved in the same dialogue.

All in all, I think Elect is an engaging, entertaining mafia romance that will appeal to lovers of young adult and new adult romantic suspense titles. Moreover, the audiobook sports a slightly above narration, making this a decent choice to select in audiobook format.

I can't wait to listen to more of this fascinating epic, mafia saga in Book 3, Entice!

Source: ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )