Sempre

Forever Series, Book 1

By: J. M. Darhower

Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer

Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco grew up under vastly different circumstances. Haven, a second-generation slave, was isolated in the middle of the desert, her days full of hard work and terrifying abuse. Carmine, born into a wealthy Mafia family, lived a life of privilege and excess.

Now a twist of fate has caused their worlds to collide. Entangled in a web of secrets and lies, they learn that while different on the surface, they have more in common than anyone would think.

In a world full of chaos, where money and power rule, Haven and Carmine yearn to break free, but a string of events that began before either of them were born threatens to destroy them instead. Murder and betrayal are a way of life, and nothing comes without a price - especially not freedom. But how much will they have to sacrifice? Can they escape their pasts? And, most of all, what does it mean to be free?

©2013 Jessica Mae Darhower (P)2013 Tantor

The Mafia Prince and the slave fall in love.

Haven Antonelli was born into slavery in the California desert. After a failed attempt at escape, she is sold to Dr. Vincent DeMarco. She has only known cruelty and struggles with her new role in the DeMarco household. Slave? Servant? Family member?

Carmine DeMarco is rich, good looking, arrogant and volatile. He's also the Principe of La Famiglia. As soon as he meets Haven, he is drawn to her. She makes him a better person and he gives her the strength to become a person. The Mafia Prince and the slave fall in love.

“But then she happened. The girl who had never been able to call her life her own taught a boy who had the world at his fingertips exactly what it meant to live."

But of course, there are complications. Secrets upon secrets. Neither of them are aware of the things that have been set in motion for years or exactly what connection Haven has to all of it. In the end, they learn the price of her freedom.

“Some things in life only happen once, the memories of them lasting forever. They're moments that alter you, turning you into a person you never thought you'd become, but someone you were always destined to be."

I listened to the audio of this and thought it was very well done. It's a long one though (19hrs and 6 mins). However, I was completely engrossed. Think NA romance meets The Godfather. Different. I really liked it!

I loved it, but it was a LOT.

Ugh, be still my beating heart. Even a week after finishing it, it's still stuck in my head. The love between the two characters may seemingly seem too strong too fast, but both characters have never experienced everything of the sort, so they go all in.

First let me just throw in that I found the narraration perfect throughout the book, I loved the reading style. I also really appreciated the author speaking up on human trafficking, as it is a very real, tangible problem that often gets put aside.

Now onto the book.

Carmine had a great character arc, his rough exterior only covering his softer (not soft, softER) insides as he tried to navigate bringing the love of his life into a world she's never known.

Haven broke my heart and rebuilt it all at the same time. The girl could not catch a break, it seemed, and it's making me struggle to pick up the sequel because I don't want to ache for her again. No one in this book could really catch a break, but Haven especially struggle.

And even though he's not mentioned as a main character, Vincent DeMarco made up a large part of the story for me and my memory. His love for his sons and his wife made me ache for him constantly as I tried to make sense of his actions.

When Haven's secret is finally revealed, I was truly terrified for her and for the DeMarco family. Everything in me wanted everything to just go on as normal, but as Vincent tried to explain throughout the novel--that just was not possible.

Overall, if you want to hear a tragic but beautiful love story, and get your heart stomped on over and over, this book is for you. I don't regret listening, but I don't think I could listen to it again.

Action, romance, violence, family, secrets, lies

Haven is a child born into captivity by a mother who is a victim of human trafficking and living as a slave to a mafia couple. At seventeen, Haven attempts escape with the encouragement of her mother, who suspects Haven’s parentage puts her in danger of her master’s wife. Haven does not get far before recapture, but a mafia associate buys the girl. Haven is moved in with the associate’s family, where she meets and falls in love with one of the teenage sons. The two learn of deep mafia secrets that threaten their life together.

Abuse, slavery, and other such topics are usually elements I avoid in my escapism listening, but Darhower handles them tactfully, without unnecessary gore. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of violence; there is, but the author focuses on plot and characterization. The plot keeps the story moving at a satisfactory pace, but isn’t particularly original. The characters are real and complex, demonstrating the author’s strength. She blends action, romance, violence, and family relationships in a way that makes sense and doesn’t feel forced.

The best aspect of this audiobook is its reader. I would not have enjoyed this as much if I had read it. The Italian, voices, pace –everything…, is expertly performed. One of the best I have heard.

Overall, I recommend giving this one a try – I am immediately picking up the next one in the series.

Love this series!

I loved this book. Kept me on my toes! Well written, I didn't feel there were any slow parts to the book. The only poor part about this book is the narrator. She did not do the voices of the characters that well. I struggled through the first few chapters but eventually just got used to it, there was no way I was going to stop listening.

One of the best narrations of a book

I listened to this book and the narrator was fantastic. This book read like a movie. It was descriptive, concise, and paced evenly. I was apprehensive about the book when I saw the page count as well as the audiobook hours, but it flowed so well that I didn’t even notice the length. It wasn’t just a story about two damaged kids falling in love, but about choices and responsibilities. It was about freedom and redemption too. This wasn’t just Carmine and Haven’s story, this was Vincent & Mara’s story as well as a cautionary tale about “The Life”.

This book was much more than a tale about child slavery. It was a story of people trying to grow and move out of the shadows of their parents.
Haven and her mother grew up as slaves in the house of Michael Antonelli until the day her mother convinced her to run away. Her mother Miranda overheard the lady of the house asking master Michael to get rid of Haven, so Miranda asked Haven to run for help. Her attempt to escape her slavers led her to Dr. Vincent DeMarco.
Dr. Vincent DeMarco was an angry man. He was a physician who had been forced into serving La Costra Nostra, the Chicago Italian Mafia. His wife was murdered and his youngest son Carmine was acting up from grief. He was now a Consigliere, but now the mafia wants son Carmine. Dr. DeMarco is trying everything he can to protect his son Carmine, but had to follow orders as they were all dispensable. The addition of Haven to their lives complicated everything.

From the moment Haven moved into the DeMarco’s household, Carmine was mesmerized by her. Haven, on the hand, did all she could to avoid everyone in the household. She was used to living in the stables or basement, and she did not trust that the DeMarco household would be different from her prior home. Hope was a dangerous thing for slaves like her.
As the story began to unfurl, it became clear that Dr. DeMarco’s taking of Haven was not a coincidence and there was more to Haven’s identity than even she knew. Haven was a pawn in a dangerous mob agenda, but then so was Carmine, the mafia Principe. Now the
Slowly, the DeMarco family thought Haven how to live, and a year later Haven and Carmine were in love. That’s when the past came to catch up with Haven, and the DeMarcos.

The author did a great job with laying the foundation, and keeping the story interesting. I really appreciate the fact that there weren’t these huge emotional swings. Yes, there was sad events, but there was happy events and even funny scenes. The author mixed things up by interjecting characters like Dominic and Nicholas, Dia and even Aunt Celia, so there was a continual break in the serious tone of the novel.

I had a love-hate relationship with Vincent DeMarco, but I came to understand him as the novel went on, and I also came to find compassion for his actions. Carmine’s father was forced into “the life” by love and by his father, but he really loved his wife and sons. I was blown away by how well adjusted Dominic was and it was nice to see him be understanding of Carmine’s plight. Carmine was an impulsive kid that you wanted to smack on the back of his head and give a high-five at the same time. Carmine’s smart mouth was source of many chuckles from me. The narrator did a great job in giving each character very distinct voices, and I loved that about the audiobook.

If you want a New Adult book that isn’t wrought with cliché drama and dialogue, then this book is for you. I want to read the sequel but it isn’t out on audible. I don’t think I can just read it after enjoying this ride on audio, so it is likely that I will wait until the audiobook is offered at audible. But I really enjoyed this book and look forward to sequel.

You won't be disappointed!!!

This book was a fun adventure into the dark side of Mafia and added in human slaves trade. After I type that it sounds crazy, but this a really good book of empowerment and risks people do for love and honor. I was so glad the next was available.

A Beautiful Love Story

The best love story I have heard. I don't usually listen to books again, but I definitely am with this one!! Sempre is a truly unforgettable romance I can listen to over and over again!

Fantastic!!

Fantastic!!! absolutely loved and adored this book it made me laugh it made me cry it made me wanting more! Can't believe it took me so long to read this book I went into it without knowing anything about it. Is definitely a must read in a page turner.

Holy cow!

Where does Sempre rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best!

What about Carla Mercer-Meyer’s performance did you like?

Everything! She was amazing!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I really wanted to but it was very long.

OUTSTANDING UNBELIEVABLE AWESOME

I was shocked at just how much I loved this story and I definitely suggest that it is listened to by all!!
There is also I found a countiunation of this story and recorded on another audiobook called Sempre redemption am immediately going to be buying it and downloading it.