The Venetian and the Rum Runner

By: L.A. Witt

Narrated by: Michael Ferraiuolo

Length: 15 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

New York City, 1924

Once their paths cross, their worlds will never be the same. 

Danny Moore and his crew only meant to rob the hotel suites of rich guests. He wasn’t supposed to find himself in gangster Ricky il Sacchi’s room. And il Sacchi wasn’t supposed to wind up dead. Now, Danny has the attention of another notorious gangster.

Carmine Battaglia is intrigued by the Irish thieves who would have made off with a huge score if not for il Sacchi’s death. They’re cunning, careful, and exactly what he needs for his rum-running operation. But Danny’s already lost two brothers to the violence between New York’s Irish and Sicilian gangs, and he’s not about to sell his soul to Carmine.

With a gangster’s blood on his hands, Danny needs protection, whether he likes it or not. And that’s to say nothing of the generous pay, which promises to pull him and his crew - not to mention their families - out of destitution.

Working together brings Danny and Carmine to a détente and then to something so intense, neither can ignore it. Something nearly enough to make them both forget the brutal tensions between their countrymen.

But the death of Ricky il Sacchi hasn’t been forgotten. And someone is determined to make Danny bleed for it.  

The Venetian and the Rum Runner is a 144,000-word gay historical romantic suspense novel set during Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties.

Content warning: graphic violence, PTSD.

©2020 L.A. Witt (P)2020 L.A. Witt

Must listen

I loved this book. It was 15 hours 16 minutes of all the feels. It made me cry at points and on the edge of my seat others. It’s a slow burn with mild heat. Has a satisfying ending. Totally worth the credit. Michael Ferraiuolo’s accents are top notch!

loved it

There is not one thing to say about this book. It's all wonderful. The characters, the story, narration is just supreme and it even has music. Man what an experience. Thank you... it's all I'm saying.

10 Stars

Michael Ferraiuolo y’all. Just when I think he can’t get any more magnificent he does just that. Man this book is written so well LA Witt should receive an award and Michael deserves a Grammy, Golden Globe, and Oscar.

Great author and narrator pairing!!

I listened to the audio version of this ebook. Michael Ferraiuolo is an amazing narrator. L.A. Witt is an amazing writer. I can't help but want more of this world. Danny and Carmine are star crossed lovers of a sort. Their story is compelling, but I was also drawn into some of the secondary characters stories. Especially James a priest who moonlights as a drag performer at nights. I can't help but feel there is a story there and I would love to read it.

Great narration but the content was not the best

I didn't enjoy this book as others from L.A. Witt, I like the historical information but there was too much introspection in my opinion, very slow development between the two main leads, I felt like not much happened on a book of this length and too much clearing of throats, which I felt most of the time was completely unnecessary.

Excellent

I really enjoyed this book, I thought I wasn’t but I did, I always enjoyed l a Witt books

amazing totally amazing

what surprises me is that it had such low ratings and this was a phenomenal phenomenal book. and of course Michael, the narrator made it come to life. I will keep this and listen to it again. but I will say this is a must read. It took me two days to listen to this book ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This is a really good book

The only reason I didn’t give the story 5 stores is that I wish that there had been more time with the two main characters together. But i understand that that wouldn’t have worked as well in the story line. So that’s entirely a me thing and not a reflection of the authors work, which is wonderful.

Instant favorite

I absolutely loved the story building in this book. It completely transported me to the days of prohibition. 15 hours with the fabulous Michael Ferraiuolo, went by too fast. I hope there is more to come with these great characters.

enjoyed it - solid 4 stars

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes

📖 Story comment: easy pace, likeable characters, nice flow.
I enjoyed The Venetian and the Rum Runner, the descriptions, speech and addition of music between chapters all work to transport me back to the 1920's, I felt very immersed in the story and the time period.

🎧 Narrator comment: Michael Ferraiuolo has done an amazing performance on this title. He suits the characters, has good pace, inflections and intonations and brings life to every scene... so many characters, accents and voices and I never had trouble with which character was speaking. - amazing ! 👍 👍

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in multiple formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
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No seas caught fire in the writing of this book

Set in a similar gangster genre to When The Seas Catch fire by the same author, but in prohibition times. Apart from the musical interludes and the Art Deco cover, there was no atmosphere of the times, no incidental descriptions of clothing, or decor, of the cars, or the buildings. It was refreshing to have no swearing. This was a time when men wore spats, double breasted suits, used tommy guns, but not in this book.

Witt can write good characters, and good action filled plots, but none of that found it's way here. The story was as stilted as the relationship between the bland MCs. I only lasted the distance as I was busy doing something else whilst listening.

The real reason for prohibition was to create a monopoly for the fuel companies. Many motors previously ran on alcohol made in home stills or on hemp fuel. Hemp was also demonized and banned at this time. Henry Ford designed his first cars to run on hemp fuel. DISAPPOINTING

Started off well then fizzled out for me

I tend to blow hot and cold with this author. I loved "If The Seas Catch Fire" and was hoping for more of the same, but this didn't work as well for me.

The story felt flat, as did the attraction between the main characters, I just wasn't drawn to their story and tended to skip a fair amount as it felt repetitive.

Michael did an admirable job of the characters and wasn't too heavy on the accents, I loved his performance.

Excellent book

Loved the book as it has loads of action, great MCs and support characters. The narrator is great as aways.