No Way Out by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amy McKinley’s No Way Out is one of the most character intense stories I have ever read. The story of the Chicago’s Italian-American Mafia families showed how they had their own political agendas. Lilianna Brambilla’s role as a Mafia “princess” made her an asset to her father. Benito Brambilla’s power was crumbling from the destruction of several warehouses he used to store drugs. The Council of the Mafia frowned upon drug dealings, but Benito did not care.

Max Caruso’s, along with his cousins, directions are to protect Lilianna and to reintroduce her to her Grandfather VIncenzo. After her mother had died, Benito refused to allow any contact with VIncenzo. Max infiltrates Benito’s home as Matteo “Matt” Trambino, with a reputation for being a hitman for the original families that never failed to get a job done. Benito assigns Matt to guard Lilianna. After a dinner with the Mexican cartel and Matt protecting Lilianna from the unwanted attention of an ambitious youngster, she begins to trust him. She also feels something different about Matt, but dismisses her underlying feelings, knowing her father would never allow her to date an employee. Little does she know, but Matt has grown a much larger attachment to her and intends to get her out of the prison life she lives. When Antonio Caruso strikes a deal with Benito, Lilianna goes into panic mode. She was to marry the oldest son of the Caruso family, Tony. Suspected of killing his previous fiancé, Tony is despised by Lilianna. She fakes her escape and finds herself losing her thoughts of control when Matt foils her plans.

This is a stellar 5-star thrilling romance. The alternating narrative between Max and Lilianna is seamless. I loved how McKinley was able to bring the characters alive with rational thoughts and how easy it was to connect with them. The outward appearance of Lilianna was a farce of someone that feared nobody, but underneath she ran on fear. The amount of weaponry she carried with her everywhere was overkill, which in her shoes, I probably would have done the same. Living in a house where your mother died, and being treated as property by your father, would break just about anyone. The ending of this book fits and doesn’t feel rushed like other romance novels tend to be.

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