Rialto

Unbreakable Bonds Series, Book 8

By: Jocelynn Drake, Rinda Elliott

Narrated by: Kenneth Obi

Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

Someone has it out for Rialto.

Ian Banner is loving his hectic life. He’s newly married, ready to start a family, and opening a new restaurant. All his dreams are coming true.

The last thing he needs is a problem with his restaurant. 

But when one attack after another comes, he grows convinced he has another enemy. 

Ian tries to handle things by himself, but his friends are soon drawn in when the attacks become violent. That’s when Ian realizes the target isn’t Rialto. It’s him. 

Rialto is the final installment in the Unbreakable Bonds series and features sexy times, Daciana snuggles, overprotective family, fire, and of course, code names.

©2019 Drake and Elliott Publishing LLC (P)2020 Drake and Elliott Publishing LLC

A bittersweet listen.

Ian and Hollis are looking to expand their family but threats to Ian's restaurant and his person are making things a bit difficult. For once, Ian is determined not to be left out of the fight by his closest friends and he also comes to realize that he is not over his traumatic past. Suddenly, he is not sure he is ready for kids.

As for his friends, Lucas is moving into a new home with his husband Andre and child. Snow is planning a wedding with Jude and Noah and Rowe are pretty much the same. For the most part, everything is changing and it is bittersweet for the friends as they say goodbye to some of their past but what I do know is that these guys will stay friends forever. It is probably the final book featuring these friends as main characters because there was it felt sad for me even though it is a very happy ending.

Also bittersweet, is the narration. The too early passing of Kenneth Obi means this is probably the last or one of the last audios he made and that too made me sad. He was a great narrator and person. I will always have re-listening though and it was good to hear his voice again.

I waited for this!!! BUT

I was so excited for this final installment but ended up being disappointed! I love Ian & his story of triumph but too much time was spent repeating what we already knew from previous books. Glad the entire crew is settled & happy but Rialto fell short, seemed like a quick wrap up but not a new story.

The End

Before today I didn’t realise that Rialto would mark the end of this series, but there it was. Another ending. After finishing it I’m sad to say goodbye, but I’m also equally happy to leave them all on a high note. Leaving them healthy and happy, because when we first met them in Shiverthey were anything but.

I love that this book was about Ian, he’s the one that captured my heart just a little bit more than the rest of the guys, the one my heart broke for so many times. Here we see him happy – and busy. It’s been about four months since he married Hollis, the love of his life and they are starting the process of becoming foster parents. And he’s also in the process of opening a new restaurant after his success with his first one; Rialto. The restaurant he poured his heart and soul into. But someone is trying to destroy the restaurant and everything he built, and soon it’s not only raids or bad reviews, someone physically attacks him. Naturally this makes the whole family to get involved...

I loved how fiercely protective they all are of Ian, but I love even more how far he has come from that scared kid they rescued years ago. We see him finally taking a stand against them, setting limits and making them see that he’s not that kid anymore, and that he’s fully capable to solve his own problems. He doesn’t need them to rescue him anymore, and it was great to see everyone finally realising and accepting that.

Story-wise this was more on the quiet side – going by these guys’ standards. Let’s just say that had any of it happened to me in RL, I would not have been as calm as any of the guys. Calm probably wouldn’t be in my vocabulary. Anyway… you could say that the events here forces Ian to deal more with his past and the stuff he’s been avoiding and has kept buried. But now it’s forced to the surface and I think that it’s something I think both he and Hollis needed.

Listening to Rialto was again bittersweet, knowing that this series has come to an end, but mainly for knowing that there might not be any more narrations by Kenneth Obi to come. I’ve spent today listening to the last two books in this series, listening to Obi and it’s been wonderful. I love how he brought this book to life, how he brought Ian and Hollis to life, as well as the rest of the cast. He made you feel the love between Ian and Hollis, how strong their connection was, even during their fight. Or maybe especially then, both hurt by the exchange and Obi made you feel it, but also the sweetness when they made up over brownies. Obi’s has become a part of this series and these characters and it’s been great to experiencing it all with him.

Rialto was a sweet end to this series. It’s been an intense and often dangerous journey to get to where they all are now, but it’s all been worth it to see them so happy.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the authors in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Family

Always a great read love this author. Book was great. And always love the codenames.

Great series!

Sad to hear it end, but what a lovely ending it had! Glad I get to enjoy this whole series whenever I want! Thank you for sharing! 💚

this crazy family is back!

A peek into the life of Ian & Hollis. I wish there wasn't anymore violence, especially for Ian! But I loved seeing the children! Wonderful performance.

Sappy and full of action

This has to be one of the gooiest graphically written romances I’ve read this year. The completion of the series is incredibly steamy, and focuses on Ian, the gentle, strong, emotional, lovable, ‘heart’ of the series! He owns Rialto and is one of the best chefs in the area. Rialto is attacked. He is attacked. His friends are attacked. Through the series, his rescuers/family have sheltered him, kept him out of harms way, coddled him for his own good. In this last book, Ian gets a backbone and with the help of his husband, stands up to Snow, Rowe, and Lucas- and deals with his issues the way he wants to. It may not be the smartest, safest, or sanest way to deal with the troubles, but Ian saves the day. His relationship with Hollis is so stinking’ cute - and sizzling hot. No lie, it was a strange and uniquely pleasant combo juxtaposed to the backdrop of mystery and action.

Rialto

Omg this audio book was absolutely positively amazing. I would highly recommend this audio book.

Ian and Hollis

The final book in this amazing series where Ian is finally able to leave his past at rest. One final crazy rescue with all the code names, gunfires and craziness that comes with his family and this time he is allowed to join the mayhem instead of waiting on the side line. His marriage with Hollis is more than he ever dreamt of and the final chapter shows us how loving and extanted his family has become when having Thanksgiving a year later. This whole series has been an amazing journey and Kenneth Obi has made it soo much more. The man has a great capability of doing all the different voices and emotions.

Great series

The story and characters  are engaging and the narrator has very distinctive voices for each character, always a plus for me.

Such a great finale for the series!

Story: While it is a bit bitter sweet to know this is the end, I must say this story made the series come full circle. It really feels like the best finale as the guys come back to where it all started, although now the found family is much bigger and stronger. I loved the emotions behind this story and it was a pure pleasure to read both this book and the series in general. I will definitely be coming back to the guys!

Narration: As with the whole series, Kenneth Obi did a magnificent job with all the voices and characters! Great performance all around!