Blood Always

The Five Families, Book 3

De: Jill Ramsower

Narrado por: Jo Raylan, Jason Clarke

#1 Bestseller in Organized Crime!

Maria

The first time I met my fiancé, I put him in a chokehold.

I wanted nothing to do with the man whose family tore my life to pieces.

Matteo De Luca was vicious claws sheathed in refinement and class.

He saw my untamed independence as a challenge.

I saw his alluring authority as a threat.

The worst part? I wanted to experience whatever it was Matteo had to offer, and I hated myself for it.

I wanted to launch myself at him.

To kiss him. To kill him.

To end the debilitating torture of the unknown.

The moment our paths collided, our lives were altered irrevocably.

Taking us from enemies allied by a strategic marriage to something dark and consuming.

Something that tasted like obsession.

What to know about Blood Always:

-Mafia arranged marriage

-Enemies to lovers

-Badass FMC

-Who hurt you?

-Jealous/possessive MMC

-Unexpected pregnancy

-Has an HEA

-Can be read as a standalone

-Dual POV

-Content warnings listed on my website

A Note from the Author: For those of you who are new to me, I write what I'd call "mafia lite." My heroes are hardened criminals with soft spots for their heroines. There may be violence and cruelty in my books, but never between the main characters. Enjoy!

©2020 Jill Ramsower (P)2020 Jill Ramsower

Enjoyable listen

Wasn’t sure when I first started the book if I would enjoy it. An arranged marriage in the mafia families but with these 2 characters I did. The narration was also very good. Hoping this is a series.

OhMgee!!!!!

I absolutely enjoyed listening to this audiobook. It’s so good from start to finish. I absolutely love Matteo and Maria’s character. They are both AhMazing in their own way. I had some emotional moments. I’m glad I had the opportunity to listen to this story. This is my first listen or read for this author. I need more of Matteo and Maria please.

Maria and Matteo

This was a great book! I love Jill Ramsower’s writing style. She has been added to my “favorite authors” list. Marie was one tough cookie. She could kill and not blink twice. Although she is very strong, she is also vulnerable because of something that happened in her past that not even her parents know about. Her father wanted her to marry Matteo to bring the families together. Unfortunately, Maria has hated Matteo’s family her entire life. She gave him a run for his money because she was trying really hard not to fall for him. I don’t see how that was possible. Matteo was different than what I expected. Together, they made a great couple once Maria calmed down and let herself get to know Matteo. All of the sisters were in this book and talking about weddings. Maria wore a red dress for her wedding to Matteo and he loved it. The villain from the previous two books was in this book. You do not mess with Matteo’s wife. Matteo brought Maria in on his punishment when they caught him. Wow and ouch! She is as tough, if not tougher, than the men. This book had a wonderful ending. It would be nice to have another book that includes the whole family. Jo Raylan and Jason Clark did an awesome job with the narration.

Loyalisa30

Jill Ramsower, who is a new author to me, sparked my interest for continuing this series after reading book one and the implied plot of this series. She provides a few twists and turns throughout Matteo and Maria’s love-hate relationship tying up the loose ends of this series with the sacrificial wedding to resolve the angst between the mafia families. Throughout the story I vacillated back and forth because certain topics were underdeveloped, such as the pregnancy, Sal’s reason for betraying her Father, why no one questioned Maria’s volatility during her childhood, and etc. Nevertheless I enjoyed the story which was enhanced by Jo Raylan’s and Jason Clarke’s narration! Jo Raylan nailed the performance of Maria with her raspy, sexy, yet tough as nails voice for each situation. Jason Clarke’s deep, masculine timber was the perfect complement to Jo Raylan’s performance making the characters believable.

Not for me

Narration is great. He treat her like crap. She finds love letters to him in his nightstand, then after marriage she finds pics of him and another woman, then she hears him on the phone telling someone he would sneak away to see them soon and he loves them. I was done. He’s a cheater and a dog to her. Definitely not for me.

Love this series

Narration is fabulous. Can’t wait to hear the rest of the series. The men, the strong but maybe slightly damaged women make these mafia stories exciting. Enjoy.

I'm obsessed with this mafia world!

An age gap, arranged marriage, mafia romance that had me beaming like no other. Its a seductive, gritty story that satisfies so completely. Matteo is no saint, he's done some bad things and doesn't apologize for it. Maria is not your average mafia princess, she's right there in it with the boys and loves every second of it. These two together clash and make an inferno of licking flames with just one touch.

Jason Clarke was the perfect Matteo, his gravely, sensual voice resonates right down to my bones. And Jo Raylan was outstanding bringing Maria to life, her voice is strong and edgy. A perfect collaboration.

A one click listen that you'll start and never want to stop!

#eargasm #moreplease #oneclickauthor
#mafiaromanceatitsbest #obsessed

Solid mob story

Solid, sexy, mob love story. I liked both characters, liked their backstory, enjoyed their journey, really liked the authors perspective and prose.

I do tend to stay away from mob stories (not because I don’t like them) because almost always they cross over the line from domineering/possessive but still hot alpha male to creepy and unsettling. This book goes right up to that line flirts with it in kinda a hot way and says nope we are gonna be sexy af without ruining a good story. I am super glad I’ve found this author because knowing that I will read more of her stories.

What I didn’t like is spoiler territory but it is spoilers about triggers and something I was caught off guard by so I thought I should include. When reading the blurb I did not get that this was going to be an accidental pregnancy book. I can handle those but this kinda came out of nowhere. Typically you know that is about to happen when the characters had unprotected sex or something. Nope this time use condoms and get pregnant on your wedding night. It just sucks to read for people with fertility issues. That being said the author also didn’t really go into the fairly good reasons she had for not wanting the baby when they were discussing it. Instead of it being about safety it was about whether or not she would be a good mother. But the real question I was expecting it to be dealt with was is it safe to have a baby in this environment. Even after finding out her trauma I still feel like that was missing.

All in all I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it. Will definitely listen to more by the author and Jason Clarke and Jo Raylan are perfection as usual. They brought the characters to life and I fell like this was one of the best Jason clarke performances I’ve listened to in awhile.

O.M.G.THE CHEMISTRY WAS OFF.. THE.. CHARTS

Maria and Matteo’s story is my favorite of the three books in this series because the sexual chemistry in this arranged Mafia marriage oozed from every single feisty meeting, every scorched encounter and every smouldering touch.. and I loved every delicious scene because they’d both met their match. But Maria’s walls weren’t just up.. they were waaay up reinforced blocks of ice making a formidable impenetrable fortresses around her emotions with guard dogs, search lights and dark ghosts of her past guarding every ice cold block - protecting what she’d buried deep. However, Matteo, the sexy possessive alpha Underboss, wanted the fiery, wickedly deadly and dangerously tempting woman who was his new wife. So he played a game to win her.. but he had to tread very carefully because one wrong step in the world they were both center in could be deadly. And, over time and many heated exchanges, their chemistry and Matteo’s unwavering support, guidance, loyalty and understanding, did the impossible.. it slowly cracked and melted Maria’s walls - releasing the poisonous truth. It also allowed a little girl to grieve for the innocence she lost, it rejuvenated her joy for life, it united a family once again, it restored possibilities and it cleared a path for love. It also revealed a monster who’d been hidden in plain sight.. a monster who was already being hunted by both families.. a monster who was going to deserve the bloody end he got.

It was meant to be a marriage not born from love but rather an alliance uniting two Mafia families.. but thankfully it didn’t stay that way. This author’s intense fireworks, flare-ups, secrets, shocks, revelations, character growth, thrills, chills, sexy times and joyful occasions were balanced, well-paced and well-written. And slowly she leads you through a rocky highly-charged start and a rumbling rocky middle to a romantic 5 star HEA ending. The characters were complex, the romance had all the feels, the push n pull relationship was absolutely delicious and the suspenseful story surrounding them was full of drama. The dual POV narration by Jason and Jo was of course perfect (.. love you Jason) and these two talented narrators injected the magic that brought the story, its copious feels and its characters complex personalities to life making it a joy to listen to.

Worth a credit? Yes, it ticked every single box.. and it’s left me craving more Ms Ramsower - so next please ;)

Mafia Love Story

Awesome mafia romance. Love, secrets, lust, arranged marriage are just the tip of the iceberg. The narration is excellent and the storyline is full of surprises. Well worth staying up way past your normal bedtime.