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Showing posts with label Guzzi Duet Legacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guzzi Duet Legacy. Show all posts

Monday, August 19, 2019

IndieSage PR Presents: Chris by Bethany-Kris; #CoverReveal, #ComingSoon, #TBR, #PreOrder



CHRIS
by Bethany-Kris
Guzzi Legacy, #3
Publication Date: September 2, 2019
Genres: Adult, STANDALONE, Romantic Suspense, Organized Crime. Erotic Romance
Cover Reveal Credits: Lee Ching @Under Cover Designs

SYNOPSIS:


A made man versus the cartel …
The job was simple—a contract from a powerful crime family to retrieve Valeria Lòpez. A woman believed to have been forcibly taken by one of the major cartels in Mexico. Easy enough, right?
Christopher Guzzi thought so, but the details made it difficult. He didn’t expect to trick his way into the path of the cartel leader only to develop feelings for the woman he was meant to recover. That leader’s wife. Every step he takes is risky, and one wrong move could leave them both dead. Too bad that’s not enough to keep him away from Valeria as he tries to find a way to free her.
Hope is a dangerous thing.
Love is even worse.
Here, everybody plays dirty.
No one can be trusted.
So, how do they get out alive?
*
Note: Chris is book 3 in The Guzzi Legacy. It is a standalone novel.

#PREORDER YOUR COPY NOW
RELEASING 9/2!


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EXCLUSIVE REVEAL EXCERPT:


“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Gian said, giving Chris a wave to enter the office first, “shall we get started?”
Dare picked up the remote on his desk and pointed it at the screen once Chris and his father entered the office. The picture changed when he pressed a button, showcasing Andino in a tux, a woman in a white wedding dress, and a little girl between them being held by a black-haired, beautiful woman with a wide smile.
And God, yeah, beautiful didn’t do the woman justice. Her joyful smile brightened her delicate features, and her black hair had a glossy sheen under the sunlight. Tall, and curvy, the lavender dress she had picked for the day hugged her body and showed off all kinds of leg.
With only a picture, Chris thought whoever had taken it had captured the woman’s beauty, her confidence, and her womanly appeal all at the same time.
Quite a feat.
“Valeria Lòpez,” Cree said when Dare stayed quiet. “Formerly Gomez, but she changed it after a forced marriage to Jorge Lòpez at fifteen when the cartel killed her mother down in Mexico, it became a means to blackmail her father. Or, those are the details we have.”
“That’s all we had,” Andino muttered.
“Right,” Dare said, nodding at Andino, “and so this is what we’re working on. Somehow, around sixteen from what we understand, Valeria was pregnant, and ran away from her husband, and the cartel. She found her way to the States, and we don’t know how. What we do know is her daughter was born in the States, and at some point, she met Haven Murphy.”
“Marcello, now,” Andino added under his breath.
That name rang a bell.
Chris looked to Andino. “Your new wife?”
Andino nodded. “The two happened to be roommates for quite a while before I came along, Valeria worked for Haven, and one night she came home … seemed like Val up and left and so did—”
Dare pressed a button, and the screen changed to a single picture of the little girl Valeria had been holding in the wedding picture. “Her daughter, Maria. Who is six. We cannot find anything for this little girl anywhere at the moment. No school records in Mexico, nothing for a doctor, and … yeah.”
Chris let out a heavy breath as he took in the black-haired, brown-eyed child. She looked all of maybe five on the screen if that. Cute, with a wide, toothy smile, and her arms high in the air as her yellow summer dress spun around her legs.
“Jorge Lòpez is her father,” Dare said, “but what’s important is … Valeria ran from the cartel, we’re aware she was forced into marriage, and at some point, they took her again. We have every reason to believe she is back with the cartel.”
“Might she want to be there?” Chris asked.
“Possibly,” the man returned, “but you must figure that out when you get inside, won’t you?”
Gian hummed under his breath beside his son. “And that’s why you want me here, isn’t it? Being the boss of the Guzzis, I’m not affiliated to the Marcellos on paper as a business partner, they wouldn’t expect me to go there for her, and I could use my status and territory as a transaction for them, correct?”
“They wouldn’t suspect something’s up, no.”
Chris looked to the two Marcello men as this was their job. They had come here with it, and they wanted to retrieve the woman. “Why is she important? A cartel wife … that’s playing with fire. I’m familiar with details about the Lòpez cartel. Jorge, he’s the oldest son, and has taken over more now that his father took a step back years ago. And you want to … what, take his wife and child from him?”
Andino arched a brow, replying, “I respect the hesitance, but the woman never asked for the life they gave her. From what my wife explained, and I understood, Val stayed on the run and had been for years, which meant she had to be running from something.”
“Or someone,” Chris finished.
“Jorge, likely,” Andino agreed. “Val and Haven … she needs to know if Val is where she wants to be, is safe, and happy. And if she is, fine, we leave it alone. But if she isn’t, and if she needs help, that’s what you’re here to do.”
Chris cleared his throat and nodded once. “All right.”


ABOUT BETHANY-KRIS:


Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and two dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something … when she can find the time.

To keep up-to-date with new releases from Bethany-Kris, sign up to her New Release Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bf9lzD


ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:



Thursday, August 8, 2019

IndieSage PR Presents: Alessio by Bethany-Kris; #ReleaseBlitz, #NowAvailable, #OutNow, #TBR, #Live, #Review, #Giveaway


ALESSIO
by Bethany-Kris
Guzzi Legacy Duet, #2
Publication Date: August 5, 2019
Genres: Adult, Romantic Suspense, Organized Crime, 
Erotic Romance, MMF
Rating:  4 Stars

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received this book for review from IndieSage PR and the author.  I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255:  "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".


SYNOPSIS:


The son of a prominent Cosa Nostra Don, Corrado Guzzi’s life should have been all mapped out. He would be what every other Guzzi man was, too—made, mafia. It’s their way. But when given another choice, the chance to be something more, he takes it. Even if it comes with strings.
It’s there that he might find where he belongs, and Alessio Sorrento. The man who could change his whole life.
This love thing? It should have been easy, but they made it hard. Nothing about a relationship like theirs is simple. Dictated by rules, weighed down with things left unsaid, and already hanging by a frayed thread.
This is what love looks like before, and after.
Before she came along.
And after she was there.
It takes one woman to change everything.
Ginevra Calabrese wasn’t ready for this—for them.
So, what happens now?

*

NOTE:  Corrado (book one) and Alessio (book two) are a duet within The Guzzi Legacy series, and should be read in order. All other titles in the series are standalone. This is NOT a love triangle.

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My Thoughts:

Alessio Sorrento’s heart is hurting. He seems angry either with himself, the situation, or with somebody else. You need to read Corrado’s story first to get your first introduction and to understand a little bit of whom he is. He’s complicated. He doesn’t seem to do well with change.

Ginevra isn’t sure of what she’s feeling. She discovers something interesting about Alessio – was a surprise to me. She’s the character that helps us get a better understanding about these two men even though she seems to be a little unsure about herself. If you want a food analogy, think of these three as a sandwich. The men are the bread and Ginevra is the filling.

Corrado Guzzi is wondering how things are going to progress. He seemed to spend a lot of time trying to please Alessio and get him to see that things were changing. Change is a good thing and I think Corrado wants to bend it a little to fit their lives.

The author continues the process that still has me thinking how complex these men are – at least in my opinion. This time they seem to be living in a bubble called their life and we get to see how that bubble expands. She created a story that I wanted to read in one sitting but know that I couldn’t accomplish that. I hated the interruptions because I never could find the perfect stopping point. Corrado wants everyone to be happy. At the end I got the happy part but I just didn’t feel that their story was over. I know the series is a duet but I just didn’t feel as if there was finality at the end. Does this mean we’ll see them again?



Excerpt:

Opening to her last page, she always remembered the page number and didn’t need to dog-ear to find her place, she became lost in words again. Time slipped by when she had a book in her hands, and nothing else to do. 
She flipped to a new page—the start of a new poem—when a familiar voice came from behind her, almost making her drop the book. 
Goddammit
“What are you doing in here? Are you supposed to be alone where you might … oh, I don’t know, run?” 
Alessio. 
He had a darker quality to his voice than Corrado’s. She noticed that about him first. Both spoke with deep tenors that made her pay attention, but something was different about Alessio’s. 
Like he was always holding back. 
Never giving everything
Refusing to let the man behind her see he had scared her, Ginevra continued reading the poem as she replied, “Why would I run?” 
“I’m not sure if you want to be here.” 
Ginevra almost laughed. “I didn’t at first; I wanted to be with my sisters, but I also don’t get a choice, so here I am.” 
“That doesn’t mean you want to be here, though.” 
“Right now, I do.” 
He made a noise behind her—gruff, and curious. She didn’t understand what to make of that, or why he came here again, although it was his home along with Corrado, so she focused on things that made sense. 
Like the book of poems in her hand. 
“Did you trick him again to come here alone?” 
Alessio chuckled. “And if I did?” 
“He won’t like that.” 
“He doesn’t seem to give a shit about what I like lately, either. Fair is fair, yeah?” 
Ah
Yeah. 
Ginevra wouldn’t argue that point.




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Excerpt:


“Introducing yourself, Alessio?” the man asked.

Alessio.

Corrado decided right then that he hated that name. And the man it belonged to, as well. The problem was, when Alessio turned his gaze back on Corrado, the humming was back. He couldn’t look away from the ocean of blue that stared back at him, or the way that as much as this guy rubbed him wrong … he wanted to know why.

Or anything about him at all.

“You’re not causing trouble, are you, Corrado?” his father asked out in the hallway.

“Define trouble.” Alessio chuckled. “Is he allowed to play with knives where someone can’t keep an eye on him at the same time?”

The man next to Alessio smacked him in the back of the head, making him glower back at him.

“Fuck off, Dare,” Alessio muttered.

“Play nice, Les.”

He looked back to Corrado again.

“But why, though? This is way more fun.”

Fuck him.

And the fact Corrado found he liked it.

Yeah, fuck that, too.

The other man, Dare, shook his head. “All right, Les, since you’re feeling chatty today, you can take Corrado around and show him the rest of the complex while I talk business with Gian.”

Alessio scowled. “I didn’t volunteer to be some mafia principe’s babysitter for the day.”

Dare smirked. “I’m sorry. Did I preface that with, if you feel up to it and it pleases your spoiled fucking ass to do it? No, so do it.”

“Fine.”

“Did you introduce yourself properly?”

“No,” Alessio said. “Because I didn’t think there was a point.”

Dare sighed and waved between the two boys. “Alessio, you already know Corrado Guzzi … or you know what I told you about today. Corrado, meet the pain in my ass, also known as Alessio Sorrento.”

“Thanks for that.”

“But not a lie,” Dare replied. “And now my good deed for the day is done. Gian, do you think these two will be fine alone?”

Corrado’s father smiled a bit, amusement playing in his gaze as he nodded. “I think they’ll be fine while we chat.”

“Good, let’s begin.”

Alessio passed Corrado another look as Gian and Dare drifted away from the doorway, disappearing altogether. “Are you going to stand there all day, or what?”

Corrado didn’t move. “I’m not doing anything with you.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to work. Dare said what he said.”

“Fuck him, and you.”

“Oh, he swears, too.”

Corrado’s jaw flexed with his annoyance. “What is your problem?”

Alessio looked him over again, his gaze slow and deliberate. All over again, Corrado felt that same flare of frustration and interest all rolled into one. It warred inside his mind, clashing together and making him want to punch this guy in the mouth just because.

“Do you like what you see, or …?”

“Why, because I stare?” Alessio asked.

“Because your stare lingers.”

ABOUT BETHANY-KRIS:


Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and two dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something … when she can find the time.

To keep up-to-date with new releases from Bethany-Kris, sign up to her New Release Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bf9lzD


ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:


Monday, July 15, 2019

IndieSage PR Presents: Alessio by Bethany-Kris; #CoverReveal, #ComingSoon, #TBR, #Giveaway


ALESSIO
by Bethany-Kris 
Guzzi Legacy Duet, #2 
Publication Date: August 5, 2019 
Cover Reveal Credits: Lee Ching @Under Cover Designs
Genres: Adult, Romantic Suspense, Organized Crime, 
Erotic Romance, MMF


SYNOPSIS:


The son of a prominent Cosa Nostra Don, Corrado Guzzi’s life should have been all mapped out. He would be what every other Guzzi man was, too—made, mafia. It’s their way. But when given another choice, the chance to be something more, he takes it. Even if it comes with strings.
It’s there that he might find where he belongs, and Alessio Sorrento. The man who could change his whole life.
This love thing? It should have been easy, but they made it hard. Nothing about a relationship like theirs is simple. Dictated by rules, weighed down with things left unsaid, and already hanging by a frayed thread.
This is what love looks like before, and after.
Before she came along.
And after she was there.
It takes one woman to change everything.
Ginevra Calabrese wasn’t ready for this—for them.
So, what happens now?
*
NOTE: Corrado (book one) and Alessio (book two) are a duet within The Guzzi Legacy series, and should be read in order. All other titles in the series are standalone. This is NOT a love triangle.


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EXCLUSIVE REVEAL EXCERPT:


“A happy birthday,” Dare said.
Alessio almost smiled, but pain was a fucking bitch. Twenty-three years old today, and he’d forgotten. Someone else had to remind him. Appropriate for it to be Dare. At the darkest points in his life, Dare always remembered his birthday for whatever reason.
“Is it, though?” he asked.
“What?”
“A happy day.”
Dare made a noise under his breath as Gian Guzzi came to sit next to Alessio in the wicker chair beside his. Corrado’s father said nothing, dressed in his night clothes with a black robe tightened at his middle, he stared over the back property, and rested his hand along his jaw as he waited for Alessio to finish his conversation. It was late for the man to still be awake.
“Les.”
“Ignore me,” he muttered. “Thinking out loud.”
But also not a lie.
This wasn’t a happy day.
And tomorrow didn’t look good, either.
Welcome to his life, lately.
“Why don’t you take a break, come back here for a bit, and reset—”
“That’s Alessio?”
Cree.
In the call's background, Dare confirmed what Cree asked. A shuffle of the phone sounded before more movement echoed through the speakers. Alessio heard the slam of a door before Cree came onto the phone.
“Where are you?” Cree demanded.
Alessio arched a brow over at Gian. The man didn’t even glance his way. “Away.”
“Doing what?”
“Thinking.”
Cree let out a harsh sound. “You don’t call people?”
“I’m a grown man, I can—”
“Tell the people who give a fuck that you’re safe, Les.”
His throat jumped as he swallowed back a biting retort that would have only saved his pride but hurt someone else. “I’m safe.”
A second passed. Cree sighed. “Good.” Then, after a brief pause, he added, “Corrado called two days ago looking for you. You should at least tell him where you are, Les. You don’t have to go back—I understand things are going on that hurt you, but he’s worried.”
Good for him.
Because he hadn’t given a shit about Alessio before.
As fast as the seed of doubt drifted through his mind, the pain following behind just as fast, Alessio tipped his head down, and shook it away. It wasn’t true, and a huge part of why this happened was because Corrado hadn’t wanted to hurt him.
Yet, here they stood.
The same result.
Alessio didn’t do well with pain, and especially not if someone he loved caused it. He had a handle on this shit—this thing between them. He assumed they were comfortable, but this had taught him he had been lying to himself.
Complacent.
It took nothing to be ruined.
Nothing but a woman.
“I’m not calling him,” Alessio said, “there’s nothing for me to say.”
Hadn’t he said enough when he showed up to the penthouse over a week ago? He believed so. His words had cut with each one said—landing like knives against the man he loved to the ends of the earth and back. Alessio didn’t need Corrado to tell him how much he hurt him with the things he said. He was aware.
But that was good, too.
Partly.
Why should Alessio be the only one to hurt?
He wouldn’t be alone.
He needed to get his shit figured out before he went back for a second round. He didn’t want to keep cutting into Corrado. As much as he hurt, it wasn’t fair he continued hurting Corrado, too.
Because he loved.
He gave a shit.
He would have never done this to Corrado.
Ever.


READ WHERE IT ALL STARTED...



BUY NOW (FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED):



ABOUT BETHANY-KRIS:


Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and two dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something … when she can find the time.

To keep up-to-date with new releases from Bethany-Kris, sign up to her New Release Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bf9lzD


ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:


Thursday, July 11, 2019

IndieSage PR Presents: Corrado by Bethany-Kris; #BlogTour, #NowAvailable, #OutNow, #TBR, #Review, #Giveaway


CORRADO
by Bethany-Kris
Guzzi Duet Legacy, #1
Publication Date: July 8, 2019
Genres: Adult, Romantic Suspense, Organized Crime,
 Erotic Romance
Rating:  4 Stars
#NewRelease #RomanticSuspense #OrganizedCrime #MafiaRomance #Standalone #Corrado #GuzziLegacy #MMF

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received this book for review from IndieSage PR and the author.  I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255:  "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".


SYNOPSIS:


The son of a prominent Cosa Nostra Don, Corrado Guzzi’s life should have been all mapped out. He would be what every other Guzzi man was, too—made, mafia. It’s their way. But when given another choice, the chance to be something more, he takes it. Even if it comes with strings.
It’s there that he might find where he belongs, and Alessio Sorrento. The man who could change his whole life.
This love thing? It should have been easy, but they made it hard. Nothing about a relationship like theirs is simple. Dictated by rules, weighed down with things left unsaid, and already hanging by a frayed thread.
This is what love looks like before, and after.
Before she came along.
And after she was there.
It takes one woman to change everything.
Ginevra Calabrese wasn’t ready for this—for them.
So, what happens now?
*
NOTE: Corrado (book one) and Alessio (book two) are a duet within The Guzzi Legacy series, and should be read in order. All other titles in the series are standalone. This is NOT a love triangle.

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE!


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My Thoughts:

Corrado Guzzi seems to march to the beat of his own drum. It’s what makes him an interesting character. His father threw me though. I was thinking one ethnic group when I saw their last name but sometimes he spoke in a language I wasn’t expecting. The lesson here is never assume anything based on someone’s last name. Or did the author do that to throw me off?

Alessio Sorrento makes no excuses as to who he is and what he likes. The way he acts, at times you won’t know if he cares or if he doesn’t. It was interesting to watch his world crash into Corrado’s and how these two go about handling the change.

The author has created some of her most complex characters to date – at least in my opinion. They live in a complicated world where everything they think they know will be challenged – as well as their physical endurance. It’s not a story to be rushed otherwise you might miss something. It’s almost like a soap opera. The difference is that there’s no way you would be able to handle reading this book one hour at a time.

These two young men seem to have a lot of anger but none of that is directed at the other – frustration maybe but not anger. The author makes the building of their relationship seem so natural. She didn’t seem to rush anything that again had me thinking soap opera. It also seems honest – realistic. All their conversations seem real. All that makes it easy to get lost into what our author has created for our entertainment.

I found it interesting in how the author created the character’s point of view. As I saw each chapter, I thought we would get the first person pov. She didn’t do that but by the way she created each chapter, it felt as if it was told in first person. Even though this is a long story by breaking it up into parts the length doesn’t bother me. She’s good at not carrying any part on too long because that might have slowed the flow down. That’s also how she introduces another important character into the mix. Plus she’s sneaky by leaving me hanging on by my fingernails as I wait for Alessio to come out.




Excerpt:

Alessio knew that from the outside looking in, he and Corrado didn’t make sense to other people. They didn’t have a label. Far too many overlooked them, and assumed they weren’t a thing together. Not that they ever gave people a reason to know the truth, either. 
You know, beyond living together. 
For nearly five years … 
Still, people didn’t know. 
They could only assume. 
He partly blamed himself, and Corrado, too. Not that he ever said that to anyone, or his lover. A long time ago, they’d decided this was what they were going to be. Together, but only to each other. A thing, but it wasn’t open to public consumption. 
Alessio was willing to do that. 
It gave him what he wanted. 
Corrado
Somehow, they found a familiar rhythm like this. He didn’t push for something else, or for more, because what else was there to have when … in a lot of ways, he had it all. 
Or did he? 
People wouldn’t understand. 
They shared everything. 
A life. 
Work. 
A home. 
Women
Sex. 
There was nothing in their lives that wasn’t somehow touched by both of them. So much so, that those closest to Corrado and Alessio thought the two of them were often extensions of the other. Without one, the other wasn’t right
Nothing was right. 
“What are you thinking about, huh?” Corrado asked, his voice thick with sleep and bliss. Probably still humming from that orgasm, and if all went well, Alessio would be the next one. “You’re quiet over there.” 
“You like that, anyway.” 
“Sometimes.” 
Alessio grinned. 
Corrado smirked right back. 
Reaching over, he drifted his fingertips down the line of Corrado’s jaw still shadowed with a few days’ worth of scruff. “You do like it when I’m quiet. Admit it.” 
It was true. 
Corrado thrived on attention. 
Alessio just liked to watch.  
“And when you’re a shit,” Corrado added. 
He laughed. “Yeah, that, too.” 
“And don’t deflect. What were you thinking?” 
Alessio sighed, his gaze going back to the large, glimmering light fixture above the bed. Only Corrado would know something was going on in Alessio’s mind when he was quiet. No one else saw him in his silent moments and thought, something’s happening there. They were all too willing to let him stew, even if they didn’t know that’s what he was doing. 
Not Corrado, though. 
He often wondered, how, at eighteen—although now, just a month or so shy of his twenty-third birthday—had he found his person. He knew some people went their whole lives without ever finding that person that was meant to be only theirs. 
He found his early. 
Corrado was still there, too. 
God
And he loved him. 
Loved him fucking stupid
Loved him enough to still be here even when shit held Corrado back, and forced them into his strange place where they were something, but they weren’t at the same time. Where they shared women in bed, and had a whole life together behind closed doors, but out in the world … they weren’t anything. Where they dictated this thing between them with rules that had followed them from damn near the beginning, but neither of them said three little words to cement it. 
I love you
But that was too deep. 
Corrado didn’t do deep. 
So, Alessio lied.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and two dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something … when she can find the time.

To keep up-to-date with new releases from Bethany-Kris, sign up to her New Release Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bf9lzD


ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: