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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
slow-paced
I expected it to be more intense - more action and less romance. I don’t like the main character, Sophie. I don’t think she has any redeeming qualities. Nic was your average boy-next-door-in-love. Luca and Valentino were the only ones who had sense and intensity. I would read the next books for them.
Though technically this book isn't officially released until January 2015 - which, by the way, is mere days away! - I can solely say that this is the best book I've read this year in 2014. With weeks of anticipation built up, I was extremely lucky to have won a beautiful finished copy days before the publication date, so thank you Cat for the giveaway!
My first initial thoughts from the cover and synopsis of this book blankly pointed out that this is a very Romeo & Juliet themed story, what with the family fued implications and forbidden love. Don't be swayed by this detail, you'd be surprised! It's like a Shakespearean tale with a modern twist involving the mafia.
I was left breathless by the end of the story, a shamble of broken feelings and suffering from emotional turmoil. It is difficult for me to put into words of how this book made me feel, and I'm sure people don't wish to read an essay about my cluster of emotions!
It was such a thrilling experience throughout the entirety of this book. There is never a single dull moment as we are constantly kept drawn in by the main protagonist's - Sophie - witty and endearing personality. Here is a female protagonist written right. I absolutely adored Sophie as I find her someone I can easily compare myself to, or people I know and speak to for that matter. She kept this book alive and had me glued to the story, eager to continue.
The characters in this book are sensational. They are written to absolute perfection with their diverse personality traits - especially the five Sicilian brothers who will sweep you off your feet! Prepare to be swooned!
What was incredible was they were so well developed and fleshed out, each adding to the story and making it more exciting and mysterious!
There were moments I laughed. Moments I gasped. Moments I felt like I was about to tip over the edge of my seat (or bed in my case). This is the type of romantic contemporary I yearn and thirst for because it is everything a romantic and thrilling contemporary should be. I have never felt such exhilaration in turning the pages in a book as I felt during Vendetta. I am now anxiously awaiting for the next book in this series because this was a phenomenal read and one I shan't be forgetting for a very long time!
I will be recommending this to everyone because this is one book you don't want to miss!
(Note: Just to clarify, I am on Team Luca!)
My first initial thoughts from the cover and synopsis of this book blankly pointed out that this is a very Romeo & Juliet themed story, what with the family fued implications and forbidden love. Don't be swayed by this detail, you'd be surprised! It's like a Shakespearean tale with a modern twist involving the mafia.
I was left breathless by the end of the story, a shamble of broken feelings and suffering from emotional turmoil. It is difficult for me to put into words of how this book made me feel, and I'm sure people don't wish to read an essay about my cluster of emotions!
It was such a thrilling experience throughout the entirety of this book. There is never a single dull moment as we are constantly kept drawn in by the main protagonist's - Sophie - witty and endearing personality. Here is a female protagonist written right. I absolutely adored Sophie as I find her someone I can easily compare myself to, or people I know and speak to for that matter. She kept this book alive and had me glued to the story, eager to continue.
The characters in this book are sensational. They are written to absolute perfection with their diverse personality traits - especially the five Sicilian brothers who will sweep you off your feet! Prepare to be swooned!
What was incredible was they were so well developed and fleshed out, each adding to the story and making it more exciting and mysterious!
There were moments I laughed. Moments I gasped. Moments I felt like I was about to tip over the edge of my seat (or bed in my case). This is the type of romantic contemporary I yearn and thirst for because it is everything a romantic and thrilling contemporary should be. I have never felt such exhilaration in turning the pages in a book as I felt during Vendetta. I am now anxiously awaiting for the next book in this series because this was a phenomenal read and one I shan't be forgetting for a very long time!
I will be recommending this to everyone because this is one book you don't want to miss!
(Note: Just to clarify, I am on Team Luca!)
Finally! A contemporary book that has it all - mystery, snark and swoon! It's suspenseful, edgy, fast-paced and brilliant! A unique twist to the classic Romeo and Juliet story...
Sophie has been having a hard time lately. In the last year and a half, she went from having it all to having to down-size because of her father's mistakes that landed him in jail. Sophie and her mom are now living on the other side of town doing the best that they can. And even though what had happened was not Sophie's fault, she's had to pay for the consequence of losing all her friends, being a social outcast and being stuck at a summertime job. Thank goodness for Millie! Sophie's rock, her best friend, the only one that has stuck by her side and has made life bearable. And what makes Sophie even worthier is that she doesn't dwell on any of her losses. She is snarky and often upbeat and really has a good sense of who she is and what she wants.
That is until a couple of boys move into town. Five of them, to be exact.
And one of them may have caught Sophie's eye. (Although, I have my eye on two of them!)
And yes, there is definitely a 'vendetta' going on. Someone is out to seek revenge on something... it is too difficult to go into more of the story without any spoilers. Just know that there is a lot of details to be learned! Lots of twisty moves, ups and downs. So many revelations! And yet, with each known fact comes with a million more questions on top of it. You won't know who to trust... All of the characters are deep and complex and have something to say. Choices need to be made. Life and death situations... A great, great page turner!
I am so overly pleased that this is a trilogy... a superb start to more things to come! And although it can be described as a fun book, it is a lot darker than I expected it and that made it so I couldn't put it down. Forbidden love, family loyalty and murder are all in play! It has been so long since I've read a book in one sitting! I cannot wait for the next book to be released!!!
*An eARC was emailed to me from the publisher for this tour and an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
Sophie has been having a hard time lately. In the last year and a half, she went from having it all to having to down-size because of her father's mistakes that landed him in jail. Sophie and her mom are now living on the other side of town doing the best that they can. And even though what had happened was not Sophie's fault, she's had to pay for the consequence of losing all her friends, being a social outcast and being stuck at a summertime job. Thank goodness for Millie! Sophie's rock, her best friend, the only one that has stuck by her side and has made life bearable. And what makes Sophie even worthier is that she doesn't dwell on any of her losses. She is snarky and often upbeat and really has a good sense of who she is and what she wants.
That is until a couple of boys move into town. Five of them, to be exact.
And one of them may have caught Sophie's eye. (Although, I have my eye on two of them!)
And yes, there is definitely a 'vendetta' going on. Someone is out to seek revenge on something... it is too difficult to go into more of the story without any spoilers. Just know that there is a lot of details to be learned! Lots of twisty moves, ups and downs. So many revelations! And yet, with each known fact comes with a million more questions on top of it. You won't know who to trust... All of the characters are deep and complex and have something to say. Choices need to be made. Life and death situations... A great, great page turner!
I am so overly pleased that this is a trilogy... a superb start to more things to come! And although it can be described as a fun book, it is a lot darker than I expected it and that made it so I couldn't put it down. Forbidden love, family loyalty and murder are all in play! It has been so long since I've read a book in one sitting! I cannot wait for the next book to be released!!!
*An eARC was emailed to me from the publisher for this tour and an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
Honestly, nothing makes me more happy than reading something refreshing and unexpected. And that's exactly how I feel about this book and more.
While Mafia theme isn't anything new, but there is just something about this book that I feel separates from other novels that shares the similar theme. I think it has a lot to do with the story setting and the pace of the book, which is fairly steady, careful constructive, and the slow building suspense that eventually leading to the revelation really have me enthrall. Also, since I am one of those people that don't always do well describing how I feel in words, therefore whenever I read a book that does so well doing that, I just find it very inspiring.
I feel each of the characters are distinct and clearly descriptive, though I am a little surprise being a YA genre some of the violence scenes are a little graphic. But the romance however, I think is pretty standard YA, where the heroine (Sophie) and hero (Nic) develop feelings for each other in a short period of the time, even though they don't know much about each other and didn't spend much time with each other, but they shares a very intense connection in the book. In this case, the romance feel a little like Romeo and Juliet, though it isn't quite the same. There is no triangle love yet, but the possibility is there.
Aside from the Mafia theme, what draws me in to read this book is the brothers. Each of the five brothers has very distinct characteristic, with one brother particularly that stand out for me is Luca. You know the old saying about first impression, by the end of the book, Luca's character really turn out to be a surprise. It seem there is a lot more that we don't know about Luca, other than that smug he seem to always wearing. Of course you'll want to read the book and find out yourself, since I would be risking spoiler if i say more.
With Sophie, I kind of go back and forth with her character. Sophie is quite young, 16 going 17, she is portray as a normal girl with a good heart, and has normal, realistic problems. She is innocent, and can be very native at time, she also see the world in black and white, but her belief of morality will be challenge when she find out the truth about Nic, his family and her family. In general I really like Sophie the way she is, and I can't wait to see how she will grown from her experiences in Vendetta.
Sophie's friends probably bothers me the most in this book, I didn't particularly like them very much, I feel there are situations that can be avoid, but her friends would turn out to be incredibility irresponsible.
Overall, I don't think I read a Young Adult novel quite like this one before, with the complexity of the story, the dynamic of mafia family, and the realistic of story plot, I can say I really enjoyed reading Vendetta. After reading this book I am quite excited about the series, I love reading a book that easily kept me up all night, because I just couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read the next installment and see the changes in Sophie's life, and what will the bothers be up to next.
Happy Reading!! XO
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
(2.5 stars) Oh wow this book was recommended by this nice girl I know and its her fave so I had to try it but :) jeeeeeezzzz I rolled my eyes so many times and wtf was Sophie even thinking half of the time!!!!!??? Anyway I was ready for it to be 3 stars and then went to 2 but the Luca/Sophie shipper in me loved the last page so LETS HEAR IT FOR THE SHIPPING SLUT THAT IS ME :)))) Btw Millie's rant when Sophie got hit in the face with the basketball remains one of my fave things ever and shes my spirit animal :)
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read for the challenge of:
"Read a Young Adult fiction."
[2.5 Stars] I've been interested in Vendetta for a while now, but considering it was contemporary... I didn't get to it sooner. I actually started it the day I got it but then I just felt "ugh young adult contemporary, why do I even try anymore." which I always end up thinking.
This was somewhat enjoyable. I wasn't like 'wow this book should have ended 100 pages ago' while I'm on page 120 so that's a +
It had that thing where you're so frustrated because the main character is trying to figure out the boy's mystery and you already know the mystery, which slowly killed me. And of course the exaggerated drama in every single contemporary ever was there too.
It took too long to get to the point, yet so fast to get the characters infatuated with each other. Sophie was a little dumb, but seemed like teenager hormones sort of thing. She can actually think straight when she stops thinking about Nic. At first, Nic was just annoyingly "perfect", and then Nic was annoyingly in love Sophie literally before they even talked properly, and then. Nic turns into something else (kind of), which was cool. But then Sophie was annoying again.
Luca. LUCA IS EVERYTHING I LOVE LUCA. sorry.
I'm not sure where the story will go. I'm surprised it's a trilogy that actually covers the same character. What could possibly happen after this, that would be interesting?
Aha, but see, there we can see the author being smart and adding relationship intrigue at the end. Since there isn't more plot after the first book.
So in the end wasn't a great book, but wasn't a bad one either. I sit in between.
Luca.
I did like the concept of this YA mafia mystery and enjoyed the book overall. But there were a few things I despised.
Things I liked: the unique concept of five Italian brothers in a mafia, the interesting villains, plot twists and two-faced characters. Some characters unexpectedly turned out to be villains and that was fascinating. I also dearly loved Luca's character.
Things I didn't like: insta-love, the repeated description of the five *handsome* boys and the golden flecks in Nic's eyes. The overuse of the phrase "zeroed in" was really getting on my nerves as well. Sophie was annoying at times and I literally have no clue why the boys were so obsessed with her. It was also dragged at the start and the reason why Sophie's father was in jail was pretty predictable.
All that being said, I still liked the plot enough to continue this series and am really looking forward to Inferno!
Things I liked: the unique concept of five Italian brothers in a mafia, the interesting villains, plot twists and two-faced characters. Some characters unexpectedly turned out to be villains and that was fascinating. I also dearly loved Luca's character.
Things I didn't like: insta-love, the repeated description of the five *handsome* boys and the golden flecks in Nic's eyes. The overuse of the phrase "zeroed in" was really getting on my nerves as well. Sophie was annoying at times and I literally have no clue why the boys were so obsessed with her. It was also dragged at the start and the reason why Sophie's father was in jail was pretty predictable.
All that being said, I still liked the plot enough to continue this series and am really looking forward to Inferno!