The Don

Part One of the Oath Duet (The Valentini Family, Book 1)

By: Serena Akeroyd

Narrated by: Joe Arden, CJ Bloom

Blood stains my hands, my soul, my heart, yet I’ll shed more to keep her safe.

A chance meeting brings Jen MacNeill into my life - the woman born to reign at my side. She just doesn’t know it yet. How could my lady be anything other than a silken promise taunting me with every breath she takes?

A new don reigns over Manhattan. But though I won the war, peace isn’t easily brokered. Over a decade of avenging my father’s death, I made many enemies. To each and every one, Jen’s a target. But I’ll paint New York City red before I let them harm her. I just never imagined I’d be in the line of fire first.

A heart broken by grief can feel no guilt or shame with the brutality in which vengeance is delivered. This is the first part of the Oath duet in the Valentini Family series.

©2021 Serena Akeroyd (P)2021 Serena Akeroyd

All hail the Valentini empire

I loved this first book in the duet! Serena Akeroyd is a marvelous storyteller, and she weaves a story full of revenge, passion, lust, and mystery.

Joe Arden is the perfect Luciu. The heir to the Valentini empire, Luciu spent YEARS and his youth trying to gain power and avenge his family, but he certainly needs to think about his own life. I love the way her adores Jen, how he's possessive and jealous and protective. He's educated, sophisticated, charming, strategic, and ALL IN with Jen. If you read Serena Akeroyd’s Filthy Feckers series, you will meet Jen. CJ Bloom is the perfect narrator for our strong heroine. She’s been a mystery, on the periphery of the other stories, but here she gets to shine, and there is so much more to her than just a gold digger and shallow shell she presents to people. Rather, she is realistic, disarming, and totally self aware of her flaws, a true friend who puts her girls before her.

I love the beginning of Luciu’s and Jen’s story and the narrators did such a fantastic job. Any lover of mafia will enjoy this and I highly recommend!

Really good story

It’s a really good story that you won’t wanna put down. Very well written. It has different twists and turns.

Spectacular!

The Don by Serena Akeroyd and narrated by Joe Arden & CJ Bloom is the first book in The Valentini Family AND The Oath Duet. It begins HOT and stays that way through the entire book. Luciu Valentini is looking for his queen and finds her as she offers herself to him in his office. Jen is running from her past and runs into the arms and life of one of the most dangerous men in NYC. He sees her, not just her looks but her soul and decides that the little Irish girl is going to be his. As Luciu claims the seat as the leader of La Famiglia, he claims her heart as well.
Joe Arden and CJ Bloom bring all of the characters to life. You never have to worry about which character is talking because these narrators make each character as unique as they were written to be.
Would I listen to this book again? Absolutely YES
Would I recommend this book to others? Again YES
This is a mafia romance, and there is violence. If neither of these triggers you, then this is the perfect book to listen to. It's well written and well performed. Again, this is the first book of the series, but also the first of a duet. The Lady finishes the story of Jen and Luciu.

Delicious Sicilian

Joe Arden as Luciu was amazingly Hot. listening to him speak the Sicilian words were absolutely 100% panty melting. He and CJ Bloom brought The Don to life and really made it even better than just reading the words. I highly recommend getting the audiobook and listening to these two bring The Don to life. careful ladies, you might have to change a few times. 🥵🔥

Perfection!

Talk about bringing a book to life! Joe Arden & CJ Bloom nailed the narration on The Don! I thought the chemistry, the steam and the connection were intense reading it but listening just brought this book to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL! You will get pulled in and be left breathless!
Definitely worth the One-Click/Credit!!!

Great start to a dark mafia romance!

The Don by Serena Akeroyd was a dark, mafia steamy romance that captivated my attention from start to finish. Luc and Jen's love story is full crazy twists and unexpected turns that will leave you guessing and fanning yourself (bring on the spiciness!) throughout the entire story. The is book one in The Oath duet, so I was prepared for the cliffhanger ending.

Joe Arden and CJ Bloom narrate this audio, and oh my accents, they are fantastic! Joe Arden portrays Luc's alpha, dominant, and protective personality brilliantly! Plus, I love all the sexy terms of endearments Luc's whispers into Jen's ears, which Joe delivers flawlessly! CJ Bloom conveys all of Jen's determination, sass, and fierce personality with such passion that you can't help but adore her character! These two narrators are one clicks for me!

Overall, I enjoyed this audio and story. If you love a mafia romance with a hunky Sicilian mafia Don, a brave passionate heroine, hot steamy times, family connections, lies, betrayal, murder, and a cliffhanger that will immediately have you wanting to start listening to The Lady, then you will love Luc and Jen's story.

Boy oh boy!

Boy oh boy, have I been missing out. This book sucked me in quicker than any other book that I’ve read in the past month. Talk about toe curling deliciousness! Luciu Valentini and Jennifer (Fi) MacNeill start out hot and heavy and they don't let up one bit. I don't want to say too much about this book but I really enjoyed it and I cannot wait to read more! Shame on me for sleeping on this author for so long!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wow

Enjoying this series and how it works with other stories from this author and how they tie together. The story lines are amazing and characters are great

Narration

At first, I was not sure about the female narrator. Her voice sounded odd, but as it went along, she put fit perfectly into that spot. Sometimes the narrators really make the book for me and these two were perfect for this one. I hope they’re in the next one as well.

First Audiobook

So this was my first time listening to a audio book and honestly it didn’t disappoint. I’m in the process of reading the entire crossover series between Five Points and the Satan Sinners MC, so I’m already hooked on the author, but the narration brought the story to a new level. I’m going to read the rest of the series, but I look forward to listening to another story someday based on this performance.