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Savage Secrets (Mafia Elite, book 4) by Amy McKinley – Review by Shea Gilkerson

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Savage Secrets (Mafia Elite, #4)Savage Secrets by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elena grew up as a princess to the Chicago Mafia, a member of the Five Families. She was adopted by Nicole Caruso, wife of the head of the Caruso family after her mother was murdered by the Bratva, and another attempt was made as she grew, leading to the death of another one of the Five Families kids. As an adopted kid, she always felt a little…less than the rest of them, despite her strong relationship with her mama and friendships with the other daughters. As the families grew older, she was promised to marry Enzo. After another attempt on her life Elena decided to run and remove the target from her family and friends, leaving behind everything she knew. In an effort to keep them protected, she didn’t even search for information about them online, changed her name, continued to change her appearance and keep her skills sharp.

After she was located by the Bratva, Elena was lucky enough to get a warning and grabbed her go bag to run – just to find her childhood crush, Marco La Rosa at her door. Elena and Marco grew up together, but as they got older he began to distance himself from her and then thought she was dead when she disappeared and covered her tracks. He received word she was alive and came to bring her home himself, and was in time to save her life.

On the way back to Chicago, Elena learned she had a new brother running the family, some of the members of the families had been murdered, and that her new brother Max Caruso is the new head of the family and arranged a marriage for her to Marco. While she spent much of her life with feelings for Marco, she has no clue of his feelings for her or that this is anything other than a marriage of covenience. What she finds out is that he has loved her for a long time, drew away due to her arranged marriage to another of the families, and thought he had lost her once. Marco refuses to let her out of his sight or into danger again without him by her side.

This book has lots of action, and I love how much the women are included in decisions and how tough and capable they are! Elena thought she not only didn’t fit in exactly, but that everyone would hate her for lying to them and running away, but after 5 years away she has found how much she missed everyone and how much they’ve missed her. Being back in Chicago, she is able to spend time with Nicole again, learn about why the Bratva is so determined to find her, learn about the relationships amongst the new heads of the families and find her relationship with Marco. Neither wants a marriage with no love involved and make an effort to be open and honest with one another. After so much time lost, Marco and Elena are a real force to be reckoned with and have lost time to make up for.

As with the rest of the Mafia Elite series, I love the relationship and world building in this book. The passion is obvious, the action is exciting, the mystery is intriguing, there is lots of twists and turns. While these books are all great standalone stories, they’re even better when you read them all.

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Collateral Damage (Mafia Elite Series Book 6) by Amy McKinley – Review by Shea Gilkerson

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Collateral Damage: A Second Chance Mafia Romance (Mafia Elite Book 6)Collateral Damage: A Second Chance Mafia Romance by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every one of these books that I have read has been my favorite. It all depends on which one I’m reading at the moment as to which one is my current favorite. The Five Families all have stunningly gorgeous and deadly members who would lay down their lives for one another. While all of this series is perfectly great as a standalone book, they’re even better if you read them together and better understand the relationships amongst them.

This book focuses on Trey, who up until now has played a pretty minimal but extremely important role as both a young genius ER doctor with residency as well as the doctor to the Five Families. He has been mysterious thanks to the lower profile he played in the previous 5 stories.

Trey has been working with almost no breaks, between his love of his job and his love of his family. Last time he tried to date, a hit on him gone wrong ended up getting his girlfriend killed. He was restless, grieving, and not willing to go through that again – until he met Hailey at a fundraiser. For a while, Hailey made him forget about Theresa and his pain. When a conversation reminded him of her, he fled and left Hailey daydreaming about him and feeling abandoned…again.

When Hailey is kidnapped, her stepfather Allen reaches out to Trey to help find her. As the story unfolds he tracks her down and they hatch a plan together, attempting to deny their attraction to one another. Each of his family members, mafia and otherwise, take notice of Trey and his reactions to Hailey, as well as hers to him. While Trey keeps Hailey under his protection, will they be able to resist each other? Will they be able to walk away once the plan has been completed? Trey proves to be a much more passionate character than we have seen in previous books, and has both a savior and a sinner in him. Hailey has a past that has left her unsure and mostly alone, and she hasn’t stopped dreaming about Trey since the dances they shared at the fundraising event. They prove to be very complimentary of one another and Hailey finds a sense of belonging within the family that she hasn’t had in a very long time.

There are so many layers to each of these characters, their relationships, their fears, their loyalties, their pasts – the world building and relationship building is excellent in all of them. There’s romance, there’s danger, there’s friendships and betrayals. I recommend starting at book 1, but each is as wonderful as the last.

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