The Price of Honor

The Making of a Man

By: Aleatha Romig

Narrated by: Brian Pallino

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

From New York Times bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes the haunting story of love and honor. An epic tale of devotion and sacrifice spanning thirty years, bidding the characters, as well as readers to ponder the questions...

What price is too high? 

What prize too big? 

What sacrifices too many? 

On the day Oren Demetri approaches Carmine Costello, the don of one of the most powerful crime families in New York, to ask for his niece's hand in marriage, Oren gives his word, his life, and his loyalty. 

But is the cost his soul? 

Follow this journey set within the dangerous life of New York's dark and infamous Mafia world as fidelity is tested and the price of honor negotiated. 

Is true love enough when everything that is held dear is on the line? 

How much can be gained and how much lost when a man's honor is at stake? 

Have you been Aleatha'd?

Formally titled Respect, this is a stand-alone novel. 

©2018 Romig Works, LLC (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Great narration!

This spin-off of the INFIDELITY series acts as a sort of prequel to the series, as well. It’s important to note that this isn’t a romance story. Going into this book with that expectation will only lead to disappointment. This is very much about Oren Demetri’s life and how he makes a name for himself. This can be read as a standalone, though I have read the Infidelity series. It’s been a while since I’ve read them however, so I felt like I was being introduced to this world all over again.

Oren is a complex character, and I struggled to connect with him as a whole in several areas of the story. I didn’t always get where he was coming from, and his choices made me lose respect for him. I also kind of wish there was more of a love story here, but we can’t always get what we want. There were moments where this lengthy story seemed to drag on and it lost my attention. Yet, moments came swooping in that pulled me back into it.

This isn’t a story about hearts and flowers. It’s real, it’s tough, it’s complicated. There’s blood, and death, and betrayal. I love the way Romig weaves in different elements into a genre that has been exhausted. Just keep in mind that there’s no romance or HEA here, and I think your reading experience will be a bit better.

On the plus side, the narration of Brian Pallino was excellent throughout. He really made the listening experience much more enjoyable.

BORING!!!!!!!

I liked the entire infidelity series, but his story is sooo boring. it s just dragging on and on. I'm making myself finish it, but it's just background noise at this point

Incredible story, fantastic narration! Credit worthy!

This was such an emotional story and audiobook. I truly felt like boarded a roller coaster of emotions with incredible twists and turns and stomach-clenching dips that made the ride intense, gripping, and fantastic.

It was great. It was raw and emotional. I might have traded up a little. I really liked Angelina and Oren. She had an amazing ability to love. He was a very complicated man. I loved her and understood him. I heart also broke a little for him at the sacrifices he made.


Narration by Brian Pallino was superb. He did an excellent job of bringing out every characters’ emotions. I really enjoyed his voice and look forward to more from him. All in all I loved this book! It’s not high on steam, but the story is so fantastic it doesn’t need it. Story and narration for this audiobook are incredible and make it completely credit worthy! Now I feel like I need to go back and listen to the rest of the series.

5 La Cosa Nostra Stars!!

Holy Shazizzle Batman (I totally just made that up)! I've been Aleatha'd like never before!!! I have literally been wishing for Oren Demetri's story since the minute I read Betrayal and knew there was SO MUCH we didn't know about this very well connected family. And when I say family, I'm not talking about blood relations!

It's no secret that Oren Demetri is a man that shouldn't be messed with and his relationship with Angelina had so many layers. But it's SO MUCH MORE than I expected. My heart was beating with anxiety every time Oren had to do something that was questionable, then he would be with Angelina and I was so happy for them, until I wasn't.

Ms. Roming has written a story that answers all my questions, although I'm hoping we'll see these characters again in the future. The way this story was told and weaved through their history is so enthralling that I felt every emotion, be it anger, suspense, frustration and most importantly love. And this is the crux of the story....what will a man do to protect the woman that is the love of his life?

You'll need to read this riveting story for yourself and then you can say you've been "Aleatha'd"

Oren Demetri is simply amazing!

Would you consider the audio edition of Respect to be better than the print version?

I wouldn't say better, I'd say the audiobook improved the experience of reading Respect. Brian Pallino's performance was perfect. His voice, inflections, accents, emotions were the best for Oren's book and I'm so happy I decided to listen to it, it made me love it more.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oren of course. This book has a better part of his life, his big love, his ambition, his desire to always belong, his fears, his pride, his pain, his tears. His EVERYTHING. There were moments when I wasn't happy with him-I guess I share more than just the name with Angelina, his wife-I was frustrated with some of his decisions but I guess he didn't have another choice, considering. Despite I knew his "present" from the Infidelity Series, I was worried I wasn't going to being able to love him as much as I already did in that series, but I was wrong. His relationship with his wife wasn't perfect, but he really loved her, and she loved him and their choices and sacrifices, despite they did have consequences, they didn't stop me from loving Oren, and of course Angelina, too.

Which character – as performed by Brian Pallino – was your favorite?

Brian's performance was amazing. His voice was strong and commanding, perfect for Oren, but I really loved his accent and inflection for Angelina. He did a really great job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was surprised from time to time, worried about how much the mafia business was going to influence Oren's life and my perception of this story, but what really surprised me was Oren's conversation with Charli's father and the news after their encounter, even though I already knew about it.
I was also surprised about Oren's feelings when Lennox was born. It was beautiful and heart warming.
But the most extreme reaction in Respect, one that was waiting for thanks to my dear friend and blogger partner, Jennifer, was crying at some point in the story, and Oh Boy Did I Cried!!

Any additional comments?

Respect was a great addition to the Infidelity Series. Despite this book is completely STANDALONE, I recommend to read the Infidelity Series, in order to love / hate / love more intensely Oren Demetri and his story.

PS: I gotta make sure to re-listen the entire Infidelity Series because I NEED NOX AGAIN IN MY LIFE!!

Broken Hearted

This book left me broken with heart ache. Thank goodness his HEA comes in the Infidelity series.

Powerful lives

loved it. In the telling one is easily transformed into the Demetri and Costello family. Thank you Aleatha and Brian.

great series

loved this series and this book wrapped up loose ends. Hated that his exwife died she was a warm and kind hearted woman .

Great listen!

Loved it! I wish there could've been something to let us know things turned out for Orion and Lennox! An epilogue or something! Otherwise I really enjoyed this book! I've been Aleatha'ed for a while!

An epic love story

I am going to be honest, this one took some time for me to get in to. And I almost gave up on it. It's been so long since I've read anything other than a romance, and I think it just took my brain a while to adjust. But I kept going and then all of the sudden, I was engrossed by about chapter 3. I have not yet read the books about Oren's son, Nox, so this was a whole new world for me and I feel like Brian Pallini brought it all to life perfectly! I think that I'm glad that I haven't read the Infidelity series yet because I have the feeling that it would change my feelings of the people in this book, and not in a good way. I like that I was able to read this one unprejudiced and impartial. And now that I know about the Demetri and Costello families, I can't wait to dig in to the next generation.

What a great POV book

Absolutely loved this book. Was not sure about Orin from the infidelity series but this book changed my mind.

I cried for him and felt a deep sadness for him being misunderstood by his son.

Fantastic loved it 5* well deserved

A Bird's Eye View inside A Mafia Family!

Standing at what I believe is the precipice of my life, I, Oren Demetri, was too young to understand that it wasn't and too old to imagine that it couldn't be.
Respect is more than an ordinary novel, it’s an insider’s view into a young man marrying into a mafia family, and how he changes and loses his love and marriage in the process. At no time did Oren doubt his love for Angelina, even though he had been unfaithful through the years.
When Oren had to make changes to fit into Angelina mafia family, and his drive to make his company more profitable for his family. In the process loses what made feel like a good family man.
I'll admit, I didn't much care for Oren in the Infidelity series, he was always the pinnacle of hate for Lennox and was portrayed to be a neglectful and absent father through Lennox's eyes. Here we see how the relationship between Oren and Lennox broke down. My heart just bleed out for Oren and my feelings are in turmoil. I completely fell in love with Oren I could feel the strain and torture that troubled him every day.
There were so many other characters that we briefly became aware of in the Infidelity series, it was great to get to know these in greater detail too. Aleatha writes with feeling, with passion and with depth. She brings her characters to life and we truly see the story through their eyes.
I enjoyed the book so much that I decide listen to the Audiobook with Brian Pallino, and lost myself in Oren’s life again. Now I crying my eyes out as I’m writing this. Book or Audio I loved them both. This is a five star read that has plenty of heart.