Nico: A Mafia Romance

Ruin & Revenge Series, Book 1

By: Sarah Castille

Narrated by: Aiden Snow

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Las Vegas Mafia boss Nico Toscani is used to getting what he wants, whether it is having the City of Sin under his rule or a beautiful woman in his bed. But when he meets his match in the gorgeous, headstrong Mia Cordano, the daughter of a rival crime lord, all bets are off...

Sexy computer hacker Mia struggles to break free of her ruthless father's Mafia ties...but she can't resist the powerful and seductive Nico, who will stop at nothing to possess her. With their families locked in a brutal war for control of the city, Mia and Nico enter into a forbidden game. Will they surrender to the passion that burns between them and risk tearing apart their families? Or will Nico be forced to betray the only woman who sets his blood on fire?

©2016 Sarah Castille (P)2016 Tantor

AN EXCITING & STEAMY BLOCKBUSTER

An awesome action-packed story that has great characters, passion, sex, revenge, duty, loyalty, honor, deceit, warring Families, vengeance.. and love which are all blended together in this gripping book. It's a cross between the Sopranos and Romeo and Juliet - thankfully with a happier ending. Set amongst the glittering Casinos of Las Vegas are rival Bosses vying for power and, at the center of it all, is one powerful Boss who rules with an iron fist.. but who tries to stay more within the gray lines than the black ones.

Capo Nico Toscani is ruthless, dangerous and well respected - he has been consumed with revenge for his Father's cold blooded murder 10 years previously but a feisty sassy sexy hacker derails his thoughts of the feud and complicates his plans. Unfortunately her last name is Cordano - the same surname as his Father's murderer and they go from attracted enemies to forbidden lovers.. and Nico must choose between revenge and love but the choice isn't that simple.. because the Cordano family are out for his blood.

Mia's independently trying to make it on her own - away from her dysfunctional dangerous family and their Mafia connections but when a new job backfires and she comes face to face with handsome charismatic Nico Toscani her life will never be the same. Because the sexual tension between them is smouldering and it doesn't take long for lust to steer the couple into uncharted dangerous waters.. waters that's hiding deadly enemies, twists and tense undercurrents.

This has GOT to be one of the best Mafia stories I've listened to.. made especially pleasurable by Aiden Snow's sexy voice which switches from female to male characters with ease and clarity and when he spoke Italian.. phewee I melted. There's a handsome, sexy, dirty-talking, possessive, protective Alpha who locks horns, and hearts, with a strong-willed Mafia Princess.. and sex, drama, angst, tension, bloodshed, passion and love follows. Dual POV plus another character too.

Worth a credit? Sarah Castille has merged strong yet vulnerable characters with non-stop action, steam, suspense and a passionate love story where the H/H will fight WITH each other and fight FOR each other. Very creditworthy.. I want to listen to it all over again and can't wait for the next book in the series.

ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this book. The narration is superb and the story is compelling and hot. Mia was strong and I loved it while Nico was just a girls dream. Hot,strong ,protective ,rich and gifted in many areas. I wanted to get to the end to find out who gets what they deserve but I didn't want it to end. Just a great listen

Proper Mafia Wife is to be Seen not Heard

Warning: This book does have violence to women

I love mafia stories including this one. It's based on the family dynamics and rivalry between the Toscani's and Cordano's. The head of the Cordano family is ruthless not only in mafia business but to his own family. He beats his wife and girls; and his son cowards to him. It was disturbing that a husband/father can be so cruel to his own family.

Nico Toscani also has a reputation for being ruthless in business and well respected but he doesn't mistreat women.

Mia Cordano finished college and started her own computer hacking business in an attempt to get away from the mafia life. According to her dad he allowed her to do this because it would make her more marketable as a mafia wife.

Mia has a job that goes wrong and it causes her to run into Nico. There is an attraction between them but their relationship is a slow burn since their families are enemies.

This book has action, suspense, mystery, intrigue, romantic build up and good sex.

I have Sarah Castille's Against the Ropes series which I adore so I didn't hesitate to purchase Nico and Sarah did not disappoint.

Aiden Snow...Aiden, Aiden, Aiden...Oh how I melted when hearing your Italian. Aiden was captivating. He is one of my favorite performers.

Worth a Credit/$$ Absolutely. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Swoon-worthy Romance!!!

Not everyone likes a good mafia story, but if you do, NICO is definitely one for you!
Nico Toscani has seen the good and bad to life. He grew up with his mother being the mistress for his father and his mother's death brought him into the family that didn't truly accept him. His father loved him, so when he was killed, Nico was determined to be strong enough to get his revenge.
Mia Cordano was determined to stay away from her family's business. She had been the "black sheep" of the family and she liked it that way. She became a highly sought after hacker and she helped to keep people & their businesses SAFE. This wasn't the life a Mafia Princess was suppose to live. And her father was constantly angered by her choices.

Mia was hired to do a job for Nico (without Nico's knowledge.) She doesn't realize who she is working for. Their families have unpleasant history. So when Nico & Mia are thrown together, it sets off a series of events that puts both families in jeopardy.

This story keeps you intrigued. It has the bad mafia, dirty cops (and clean ones), hackers, enforcers, drugs, and lots of food! There is danger, kidnapping, semi-stalking, and the pushy friend!

Nico wants to make things better but no one wants to follow his vision, so it puts the things that he cares about most in jeapordy. Not everyone can face the challenges that Nico & Mia had to face and those challenges may be strong enough to pull them apart (especially if her father has anything to do with it!)

Definitely a must read/listen... The audio version of this book is fantastic.

Liked but a few issues

*****SPOILER ALERT *****


I had a hard time sticking with this story. My issue was with Mia, reluctant mafia princess. Instead of designer clothes and perfect manners who did what she was told, she totally embraced her punk rock persona with attitude. What I didn't like was how she begged Nico to spare her father's life when he was shot. A father who verbally, physically and mentally abused her and her family. How much he hurt her after he recovered was hard to listen to. I almost gave up halfway. Nico was awesome if you love tough, sexy men who live by their own code of conduct.

3 stars instead of 5 because it was too long. I had to fast forward through some chapters.

Aiden Snow was perfect for the narrator. His smooth voice drew me in.

Amazing Reader, Fantastic Story

If I gave half-stars, this would be one. This was very close to being a 5 star read, but it did include a few of my least favorite romance novel cliches. It also included one of my current favorite romance novel tropes (couples who are forced into a relationship in some way and end up falling in love) almost canceled out what I didn’t like about the book.

Nico was my first mafia romance and it did not disappoint.

I’ve been kind of “over” the whole alpha male thing lately and while Nico was definitely an alpha male, he was still very respectful of Mia… and his reason for being an alpha male makes a lot more sense because he’s, well, a Mafia boss. I mean, you don’t have a better excuse than that. He wasn’t an alpha just because he was rich or a CEO, he’s a freakin’ Mafia boss. It’s life or death if he shows weakness.

The author did a great job balancing both characters really well: a strong, feminist female and a badass alpha male.

I loved that the fact that Nico had a conscience and a heart despite his lifestyle didn’t take away from his ultimate character. He didn’t suddenly become a whiny, lovesick boy drooling all over the woman he falls in love with, which was nice. He was stubborn and strong, but he was also in love and extremely respectful toward Mia. I appreciated that.

As for that one subtracted star…

The steamy scenes included so many of my least favorite words and phrases, but mostly, what almost ruined the whole thing for me was the opening scene. Nico and Mia wasn’t quite instalove, but it was definitely insta-attraction, which normally isn’t too bad, but I guess I’m just over romance novels that harp on how hot and perfect and sexy the characters are.

I will say I am amazed by how many ways authors figure out how to describe how attractive a human being can be. (insert subtle eye roll).

The book easily redeemed itself and those are just personal preferences and definitely have more to do where my mindset is lately, not necessarily with the quality of the book.


Audiobook Performance:

FIVE MILLION STARS. Aiden Snow’s deep, rumbling voice and incredible voice acting skills were beyond perfect for this book. Yummmmmm.

A must, MUST read!!

Would you listen to Nico: A Mafia Romance again? Why?

YEEEEES! A thousand times yes. This is one of those books you would become engrossed with while reading. There was so much action and suspense from the get go. The passion and sexuality in the book was amazing. it was not over done and had you wanting more for them. I couldn't put the book down! The narrator was nothing short of amazing and a perfect fit of course. I'm curious to see how the others in this series will be

Aiden Snow....swoon.....what a voice......

Any additional comments?

Sarah Castille is an auto download for me, I love her style! never disappoints!!! Can't wait for the next book!!!

couldn't finish it

I tried 3 separate times to listen to this story but I couldn't finish it. I really tried but the story line just got on my nerves. Mia character was no constant she hated her dad and got away from him but she goes home for dinner with him once a month. he beats her and is giving her to a sicko but no he's been shot don't kill him please even though he would have given your innocent sister in your place and he ripped your dress to show the sickos your breast to show your a women but no let not finish off the guy who just slapped you around same as your mother who was left on his office floor. Yup couldn't do it I was done.

Hot Damn!

I totally fell in love with these characters. The writing was superb - could have used a little more 'show' and a little less 'tell' at the, um, climax of some the love scenes. But those were still hot, the story intriguing, the characters believable. Aiden Snow is a master with contrasting male and female voices, leaving no doubt in the listeners' minds which character is speaking. I enjoyed every moment of this book and can't wait to start the next in this series - which will happen in T minus sixty seconds. Thank you Ms Castille.