Ghost

Publisher's Summary

Talia

I have always been a bird. Caged by one prison or another when the only thing I ever wanted was to fly away. Sold. Beaten. Starved. Drugged. Nothing scares me anymore. Until him. He makes the numbness go away. He is hazardous to me. It has nothing to do with his mafia lifestyle, and everything to do with what he offers. A gilded prison. A retreat from everything that I once knew. The reality I have no desire to return to. He thinks he's caged me, but soon I'm going to fly.

Alexei

I live by a code. The Vory code. In this mafiya world, there are traditions. Expectations. She does not care for these things. She does not care about anything. She thinks she has me fooled with her haunted eyes. What she can't know is that I see her better than most. She wants to fly. But I'm going to clip her wings. And make her my wife.

©2016 A. Zavarelli (P)2016 A. Zavarelli

Tracy Marks narration never ceases to amaze!!

The fantastic story telling ability of A. Zavarelli and unending talent of Tracy Marks narration make this series a must have. Another out of this world book filled with intense emotional highs and lows. I got so mad at one point I had to pull over in my car!!-that's how much this story grabbed me and never let go until the last word. Talia is one messed up character who goes through so much, and Alexei is one brooding male with a vulnerability that makes him so endearing. Loved!! Go get it- seriously- right now.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Deep, Dark, Raw and Emotional

This book (and series) is definitely not for the faint of heart. This story is deep, dark and emotional. It doesn't shy away from mafia issues like human trafficking, drugs, betrayal, and murder. It is extremely descriptive and detailed with characters that are beyond flawed but not beyond redemption. It's a gripping story for those who love raw, suspenseful love stories.

Tracy Marks narrates these books wonderfully. Her accents and clear voice make listening a pleasure.

Note: This book includes descriptive sex scenes, violence, and strong language. This is definitely an Adults Only listen.

I would like to thank the author, narrator, or publisher for providing me this audiobook at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review.

17 of 23 people found this review helpful

Awesome!

The narrator did a wonderful job with the characters in this books! Alexei & Talia's characters are amazing in this story. The book is well written and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Heart wrenching and beautiful

I adore this whole series. Two broken people makoing each other whole again. I loved it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Absolutely stunning narration!!!

Audible: Narrator – Tracy Marks

Wow! This narrator absolutely rocks my world with her amazing rendition of A. Zavarelli’s characters. She gives such depth and layer upon layer of characterization as she expresses their emotions along with the accents. Yes, I have to slow down the speed a tad in order to fully understand what is being said but OMG I don’t care!!! This woman could read the phone book to me and I’d be enthralled with every single line.


We learned about Talia in Crow, the first Boston Underworld book. She is Mack’s friend and has been missing for some time. We learn that she was forced into a situation she could not escape and is brutally abused. During the process, she slowly loses her soul and is struggling until the time comes when she can finally end it all.

Alexei promised Mack that he would do what he could to find her friend. When he finds her, he does not inform Mack but keeps her for himself. The look in her eyes is a reminder of another time and place and another nightmare. He promises Talia that he will always protect her and will always be there for her although she will never have his love. But that is why he picked her to begin with.

This is one dark and extreme book. Talia suffers untold torment both physically and emotionally and is afraid to hope for more even when Alexei claims her as his own. The return of her soul is a long slow process with so much hurt and turmoil that my heart seized each time she stumbled to hold on for a little longer.

I consider Talia one of the strongest heroines I have ever read because of what she survived. Alexei had his own ghost to contend with which made it difficult to foresee how their relationship would ever reach a traditional HEA. While he was definitely possessive and protective and all alpha male, he found it hard to trust due to a lifetime of lessons and makes a decision and action that could ruin them forever.

This is definitely my favorite story of the series, if not my favorite hero. (It’s hard to beat Ronan from Reaper.) However, Alexei’s background made me love him and his brokenness almost as much as Ronan. If you haven’t started this series there is no time to lose!

While I own an ebook of Ghost, I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not sure how to rate this one

Would you be willing to try another book from A. Zavarelli? Why or why not?

Yes, but I'm not sure I can articulate why that is. The books in this series have gotten progressively darker, but something keeps me listening.

What about Tracy Marks’s performance did you like?

Her telling of the story was part of what saved it for me. I love listening to her accents.

Any additional comments?

I looked back at my review of the first book where I had mentioned a rape scene. Usually I shy away from violence, sexual or otherwise in any way, shape or form. That said, someone I follow recommended these books so I gave them a try.

What happens to Talia has to be every woman's nightmare. She survives a crappy childhood only to be betrayed in one of the worst ways. Then she's saved only to be betrayed again by someone she's come to love. Not a fan of the back and forth in a story, but something about this book worked. Maybe because there was some justice for the bad guys.

The ending was a little abrupt, but maybe that's where the author was led by the story. On to the next book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Dark & twisted

I loved Crow & Reaper in the Boston Underworld series, so I knew I was going to really enjoy Ghost as well. I surely was not disappointed. Talia's story is so dark & screwed up. The author is amazing at pulling you into the story & sharing every detail with you. A must read for sure! After you've read the other two as well of course. I really need to read more from this author. The narration is on point, just as it was in the other books in the series. Tracy Mark always knocks it out of the park.  If you are an audio listener I definitely recommend this series on audio as well. (:

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Dark Emotional Story

What an emotional roller coaster. I still haven't gotten off the rush of the book yet. I wanted to give it 5 stars, but after all the couple went through the end seemed to just be rushed. It was total turmoil and then BAM it was done. It kinda rubbed me the wrong way.

This is a very graphic dark story. Bad things happen and some of it just seems unbearable at times and down right depressing, but you read on to see what would happen. I was up all night reading even when I knew I had to get up for work. I could not put it down, I had to see what was going to happen.

Talia.... sigh.... why does so much terrible things have to happen to one person. I felt so bad for her and at times I just wanted her put out of her misery wondering what she really had to live for. Alexei at times was so cruel to her I couldn't comprehend why he was so cruel. He could never really give her want she needed and that was love unconditional love. The author was so talented that when he told her he could never love her, I felt that emotion from her and I just wanted to throw up because of the disappointment and anguish expressed. I know Alexei's issues are the cause of it, but it just was down right cruel. At times you just wanted them to not be together, because they were both their own worst enemies. I hate that she always got betrayed no matter what happened. How sad that you don't trust because you always know it will end.

Alexei.... argh..... sometimes I just wanted to reach through my iPad and kill him. He was just as messed up, but i don't think as damaged as Talia. He was more messed up mentally while Talia was both messed up mentally and physically. He irritated me that he played with her in his own way too and at times was worse then the captors that raped and beat her. He would show how much he cared and lure her in then BAM crush her within a second later. Then he would say he knew he would crush her and he was no good for her. I can't believe what he does at the end to think that with everything Talia did and said he did what he did. It was almost unforgivable and in a way I am glad she did what she did to make him hurt. He deserved it and more.

Tracy Marks was good with the delivery of the story

12 of 18 people found this review helpful

Gripping… Heart-Wrenching… Compelling…

Another undeniably gripping addition to the Boston Underworld series. A. Zavarelli excels at writing stories with characters who are flawed, scarred, and have traumatic pasts that will pull on your heart strings. Her stories don’t just "tell" you about the characters emotions, but written in way you actually feel and experience all the emotions right with the characters.

Some spoilers:
Alexei is an alpha character all the way. He's sent to find Talia and ends up rescuing her from being a sex slave. While he's determine to bring her back, he doesn't coddle her and makes her his wife. Slowly they both start opening up and letting the other in, but when his deepest secrete is revealed to his brothers, he feels betrayed and suspects Talia is the one who betrayed him.

Tracy Mark's performance is phenomenal! She knows how to portray the characters, and pulls the listener in with her authentic accents and emotions. Mark's narrating skills really shine in this series.

I received this audio in exchange for an honest review and LOVE IT! ~ It's Worth Every Minute! If you like dark romances with a mafia theme, flawed characters, an alpha bad boy and steamy sex scenes, then this is a story you do not want to pass up. But be warned, there's language, violence and graphic sex scenes.

10 of 15 people found this review helpful

Dark, Raw and Riveting!

What a great story! This is my first A. Zavarelli and "Wow!" I did not know what I was missing. This was the third book in the series, but was well written and gave enough details, it could easily be listened as a stand alone. I did not feel lost.

Ghost is a dark story. Talia was sold as a sex slave, by her "boyfriend", and Alexei was sent in to find Talia. He rescues her, and keeps her safe by marrying her. During her captivity Talia suffered a lot, and had a tough road to recovery. Alexei slowly helps Talia recover, and they start to develop true feelings for each other. However, Alexei had another reason for marrying her, and did not want others to know. When his secrete is revealed, he suspects Talia is the person who betrayed him, and he treats her badly.

Tracy Marks narration was awesome. She did a great job on all the accents.

This story was good, and well worth a credit.

6 of 9 people found this review helpful

A wonderful dark read - perfect narration

I'm just loving this series (even though this is book 3, it's only my second book), I'm definitely going to be reading book 2. Each book can be read as a standalone. I love these possessive hot alpha mafia guys so much. Zavarelli has a way with words and her wonderfully gritty characters made this story all the more interesting, I never knew what was going to happen next. Told in dual POV we get to see inside the complex minds of both Alexei and Talia, two broken people who have been let down by those who should have been protecting them most. Alexei was so stubborn, I wanted to shake him to make him see sense, I did however love his take charge attitude, his ability to protect his secret and his vulnerability and his alpha dominant side. The chemistry between these two was off the charts. Fantastic supporting characters. I can't get enough of these guys. Dark romance is a favourite genre of mine, so this hit the spot perfectly. Tracy Marks nails it again playing both characters perfectly, she is fast becoming a favourite narrator of mine.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

amazing

brilliant story, well narrated and a great next edition in this series. Question is when and which characters will be next!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another recommendation for this series

This story contained more plot and less romance, I think it was needed for the general story that occurs throughout the series, however I missed some of the romantic suspense with this one. The plot was strong, there was intrigue and a who did it element. I loved the the tattoo at the end, it was a very sweet gesture. Another recommendation for this series.

Terrible Russian accent

Story stuck to Zavarelli's usual template, but it was still engaging.
The narrator was more Scottish than Russian which was disappointing as her Irish accent is fairly good. However I liked her timing, very easy to listen to.