4.4 stars

This author has an uncanny ability to create a scene that seems like it is really happening even though the likelihood of that happening is not commonplace in the real world. Or if it is, then real Mafia is depicted differently in the real world and it is not something that I have read about. This ability and her master wordsmith skills are part of what makes me fall in love with her stories.

There is a lot at play here. Things are being set in motion and there seemed to be a lot of players and motivations. I still am not sure who, technically who is friend and foe. It also is hard to understand Willow, especially, since she doesn't speak. It added a different dimension to the story. There are chapters from her point of view but I found that I missed the dialogue between the characters. The anticipation between Donatello and Willow was fire and I hope that in the next book, they finally act on it because I am jonesing for them to have a little steamy time. I am trying to be patient though because I can see that this is a story that definitely needed to be told and built upon to make the story have the oomph factor that is needed in a book like this.

I am very much looking forward to the next book to see where this goes next, and also tosee how Willow intends to play her requests. ( )