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lurker_stalker's review
3.0
Ali Vali used to be one of my go-to authors but I've been pretty disappointed with the last few I read. I got burned out on Cain, never connected to Remi, loved Sept but the romance part of [b:Calling the Dead|2773722|Calling the Dead|Ali Vali|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364146191l/2773722._SY75_.jpg|2799465] didn't do it for me. And my last venture at a stand-alone romance, [b:The Romance Vote|21413873|The Romance Vote|Ali Vali|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403360931l/21413873._SY75_.jpg|40714637] left me unsatisfied with the rushed ending. But I can't seem to stay away from Vali's work and thought Double-Crossed sounded interesting.
I got into it pretty quickly and there was definitely the feel of early Cain Casey with the tough woman who seems to melt only for a beautiful damsel in distress - and if there's a small child involved, all the better. I was happy and rolling along with the murdery goodness but not too far in, began feeling overwhelmed with so many characters. I didn't realize this was going to be a series set in the same universe as Casey and the Jatibons. Honestly, I probably would have taken a pass had I known. One of the reasons I tend to stay away from long series/large ensemble universes is because it takes the attention off of the characters I'm trying to focus on and connect with and tries to give me snippets and updates on other couples that aren't supposed to be front and center in the current book. I know this isn't a problem for many other folks but it is for me and I felt my interest waning as the cast of characters and family intrigues began to mount.
There were some aspects that I loved about Double-Crossed: Vali is great with creating the feel of the gangster life though the language she uses. There were quite a few lines of dialogue that made me stop just to admire them. She also knows how to crank up the sexual heat. And speaking of sex, I was surprised to find some m/m action in this book. I certainly don't mind it but I thought it was risky since I've seen plenty of upset from lesfic readers whenever a penis is introduced into a f/f romance. I'm not the biggest reader of f/f romance anymore but this was a first for me.
I think if you're a die-hard Ali Vali/Cane Casey fan and read every book, you'll be incredibly happy with this one and will be thrilled to find a new series to follow in the same universe. And if you're like me and have taken a break from the author's series books but are intrigued about this one, it's well worth your time. I definitely liked Reed and Brinley. (I can't not comment on Ms. Vali's always interesting character name choices. Never a boring name for a main character.)
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this one.
I got into it pretty quickly and there was definitely the feel of early Cain Casey with the tough woman who seems to melt only for a beautiful damsel in distress - and if there's a small child involved, all the better. I was happy and rolling along with the murdery goodness but not too far in, began feeling overwhelmed with so many characters. I didn't realize this was going to be a series set in the same universe as Casey and the Jatibons. Honestly, I probably would have taken a pass had I known. One of the reasons I tend to stay away from long series/large ensemble universes is because it takes the attention off of the characters I'm trying to focus on and connect with and tries to give me snippets and updates on other couples that aren't supposed to be front and center in the current book. I know this isn't a problem for many other folks but it is for me and I felt my interest waning as the cast of characters and family intrigues began to mount.
There were some aspects that I loved about Double-Crossed: Vali is great with creating the feel of the gangster life though the language she uses. There were quite a few lines of dialogue that made me stop just to admire them. She also knows how to crank up the sexual heat. And speaking of sex, I was surprised to find some m/m action in this book. I certainly don't mind it but I thought it was risky since I've seen plenty of upset from lesfic readers whenever a penis is introduced into a f/f romance. I'm not the biggest reader of f/f romance anymore but this was a first for me.
I think if you're a die-hard Ali Vali/Cane Casey fan and read every book, you'll be incredibly happy with this one and will be thrilled to find a new series to follow in the same universe. And if you're like me and have taken a break from the author's series books but are intrigued about this one, it's well worth your time. I definitely liked Reed and Brinley. (I can't not comment on Ms. Vali's always interesting character name choices. Never a boring name for a main character.)
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this one.
agentkp's review
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Gods this book was so hard to get through, I almost gave up so many times but kept hoping it would surprise me. I got to it hoping for some assassin falling in love with her mark story but what I got was basically A Lot of mob families and characters and there's an assassin thag is actually a thief and the woman she fails to kill too, on the side. I still don't understand what was the reason for so many povs with so many different characters and a lot of them weren't even all that relevant to the story. If only the assassin and her mark scenes were amazing it wouldn't have been bad but they ended up being so shallow and the way they fell in love was just so??? They barely talked, barely interacted and the way they kept trying to justify the killing was very meh.
hhushaw's review against another edition
3.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was a great read by Vali, I loved Reed and it was amazing being able to walk into her life. I would recommend reading the Cain Casey series before this one as there are a lot of characters in the previous book. The only issue I had, which I have in a lot of Vali's books is that there was a lot of pages of dialogue with the mob characters. I found myself skipping through these pages to get back to Reed's story. If there was more of Reed I would have rated this book much higher.
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, caveat, lector: you might need to suspend your disbelief quite strongly to enjoy this one because is about a very unlikely killer with a heart of gold :P
If you can do this, you are up for a sweet, slow-burn romance, with a lot of action and very entertaining. I wasn't really involved with the two main characters, though. I'm not sure why, but they never truly got my full attention. But that is me, of course.
All in all, this got me hooked for more than 11 hours and I really enjoyed all of them :P And I really loved Paige McKinney's narration :)
If you can do this, you are up for a sweet, slow-burn romance, with a lot of action and very entertaining. I wasn't really involved with the two main characters, though. I'm not sure why, but they never truly got my full attention. But that is me, of course.
All in all, this got me hooked for more than 11 hours and I really enjoyed all of them :P And I really loved Paige McKinney's narration :)
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, caveat, lector: you might need to suspend your disbelief quite strongly to enjoy this one because is about a very unlikely killer with a heart of gold :P
If you can do this, you are up for a sweet, slow-burn romance, with a lot of action and very entertaining. I wasn't really involved with the two main characters, though. I'm not sure why, but they never truly got my full attention. But that is me, of course.
All in all, this got me hooked for more than 11 hours and I really enjoyed all of them :P And I really loved Paige McKinney's narration :)
If you can do this, you are up for a sweet, slow-burn romance, with a lot of action and very entertaining. I wasn't really involved with the two main characters, though. I'm not sure why, but they never truly got my full attention. But that is me, of course.
All in all, this got me hooked for more than 11 hours and I really enjoyed all of them :P And I really loved Paige McKinney's narration :)
judeinthestars's review
4.0
Reed Gable is a thief and a hit woman but when her next contract would entail the death of a child, she just can’t do it. The next few days spent with the little boy and his mother lead her to rethink her life, a life she has chosen for no other reason than it allows her to survive. There’s a lot more happening (a war between Mob families, for instance, which is not surprising since the story is set in the Cain Casey universe) but you’ll need to read the book to find out. I can’t summarize without spoiling.
A few pages in, I was convinced it was time to admit that Ali Vali’s books are not for me. I’ve read a few and, apart from [b:Carly's Sound|22602|Carly's Sound|Ali Vali|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364145707l/22602._SX50_.jpg|23620], I haven’t been able to relate to her universe. Her writing is good, she’s great at creating complex characters, it just doesn’t work for me.
Usually.
I realized mid-way that Reed was growing on me. There are still some things I didn’t entirely enjoy but I got rather invested in Reed’s story and how she would deal with Brinley and her child. I really liked Brinley’s relationship with her mother, Reed’s path to redemption (in a twisted but believable way), Brinley’s strength despite the tears… And who wouldn’t cry when faced with the situation she found herself in?
So I guess I’m not ready to give up on Vali’s books after all. I’m already looking forward to the next one in this new series.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
A few pages in, I was convinced it was time to admit that Ali Vali’s books are not for me. I’ve read a few and, apart from [b:Carly's Sound|22602|Carly's Sound|Ali Vali|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364145707l/22602._SX50_.jpg|23620], I haven’t been able to relate to her universe. Her writing is good, she’s great at creating complex characters, it just doesn’t work for me.
Usually.
I realized mid-way that Reed was growing on me. There are still some things I didn’t entirely enjoy but I got rather invested in Reed’s story and how she would deal with Brinley and her child. I really liked Brinley’s relationship with her mother, Reed’s path to redemption (in a twisted but believable way), Brinley’s strength despite the tears… And who wouldn’t cry when faced with the situation she found herself in?
So I guess I’m not ready to give up on Vali’s books after all. I’m already looking forward to the next one in this new series.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
rogue_lurker's review
4.0
Welcome back, Ms. Vali. I've missed you.
I haven't had a lot of luck with Vali's recent books and have struggled to finish them for a number of reasons. It bothered me to no end as I really enjoy the Cain series and some of her earlier contemporary romances. With Double-Crossed, I'm back in the Vali fold and found myself devouring the book over less than 24 hours (the dog was not happy to have her morning dog park visit delayed to an afternoon visit because I wanted to finish the book). Is the book perfect - no. Did I enjoy the heck out of reading it - hell yeah.
In Double-Crossed, Vali is back to what I think she does best - bad girls. This is more of a suspense/crime novel than a romance; although, there is a romance that is kind of inevitable but doesn't have the sweeping intensity of the Cain/Emma pairing. As the title suggests, this is a book full of conspiracy and double crossings. So much so that at times, I found it a bit exhausting to keep up with all the shenanigans - who was plotting what with who and planning to screw over which family for what reason. There were a ton of mobsters and their families in this one and I think if the plot and characters were tightened a bit more, this would have hit a five star rating for me - as it was, things got a bit convoluted as I tried to keep too many characters who kept popping up and their motivations and end games straight.
Reed Gable, a thief and contract killer, is hired to dispose of a philandering husband in as humiliating a way as possible by his angry wife (and mob daughter). From this point on, a number of seemingly unrelated events involving money laundering, corrupt casino managers and several mob families conspire to put Reed onto another contract to dispose of an auditor who may have dug a little too deep into the books. Faced with the task of having to kill a young mother, Brinley Myers, and her one-year old son, what's a hardened contract killer to do?
Vali seems to have a particular talent in making bad girls into heroes - Reed is a great example. Unlike Cain, who inherits the top spot of a crime family (and manages to expand it through some pretty ruthless tactics), Reed has a pretty shitty past and is more of a self-made woman that gets the job done just as ruthlessly. She's good at what she does and doesn't regret the choices that she's made - and despite what she does at the start of the novel with the cheating husband and his girlfriend, she does have a limit which is lucky for Brinley. Brinley, is a pretty resourceful person in her own right - she's made some bad decisions but has moved on, making the best of things. There's just the right amount of backstory for both Reed and Brinley - Vali doesn't go for over the top angst as she gives a bit of rationale for Reed's actions and decisions and even Brinley's character doesn't dwell obsessively over the past. I liked them both. The romance is almost secondary to everything else that is going on - it could easily be put down to Stockholm Syndrome as Reed has Brinley stashed away in a hideout while she tries to sort out the mess, but I think there's enough there to make the relationship believable (or maybe there's just so much other shit going on that you are desperate to latch onto anything that doesn't have corruption and greed at the heart of it).
Remi and Mano Jatibon make an appearance - which makes sense as one of their assets is the Gemini casino in Vegas. They seemed to be the only rational mobsters in the city. It was nice to see them out from under the shadow of Cain and working on their own business dealings and I'm kind of hoping that we more of them and Reed and Brinley.
At one point I had a sinking feeling (and a little bit of anticipation) that this was going to be an ongoing series - I was horrified that I'd come up the end with a massive cliffhanger, but also really happy to anticipate more of Reed and Brinley and the goings on in Las Vegas. Happily, the book buttons up most of the loose ends and can stand on its own - no cliffhanger that will have me waiting a year or more to find out what comes next. Even more happily, I can easily see Vali writing another book with either these characters or at least set in Vegas. It will make a nice counterpoint to the New Orleans based series, give Remi and Mano a chance to stretch their influence and give readers a new setting and great new cast of characters.
This is a good crime and suspense story with a little bit of romance to offset things. There's a pretty gritty undertone and there's no shortage of violence, corruption and greed (and stupidity when it comes to greed). By the end of the book, there's a pretty high body count and one of the protagonists is a contract killer with a fair bit of blood on her hands. Despite that (or maybe because of that) it was a fun read and a very welcome addition to Ms. Vali's bad girl oeuvre.
Recommended especially if you liked the Cain series
I haven't had a lot of luck with Vali's recent books and have struggled to finish them for a number of reasons. It bothered me to no end as I really enjoy the Cain series and some of her earlier contemporary romances. With Double-Crossed, I'm back in the Vali fold and found myself devouring the book over less than 24 hours (the dog was not happy to have her morning dog park visit delayed to an afternoon visit because I wanted to finish the book). Is the book perfect - no. Did I enjoy the heck out of reading it - hell yeah.
In Double-Crossed, Vali is back to what I think she does best - bad girls. This is more of a suspense/crime novel than a romance; although, there is a romance that is kind of inevitable but doesn't have the sweeping intensity of the Cain/Emma pairing. As the title suggests, this is a book full of conspiracy and double crossings. So much so that at times, I found it a bit exhausting to keep up with all the shenanigans - who was plotting what with who and planning to screw over which family for what reason. There were a ton of mobsters and their families in this one and I think if the plot and characters were tightened a bit more, this would have hit a five star rating for me - as it was, things got a bit convoluted as I tried to keep too many characters who kept popping up and their motivations and end games straight.
Reed Gable, a thief and contract killer, is hired to dispose of a philandering husband in as humiliating a way as possible by his angry wife (and mob daughter). From this point on, a number of seemingly unrelated events involving money laundering, corrupt casino managers and several mob families conspire to put Reed onto another contract to dispose of an auditor who may have dug a little too deep into the books. Faced with the task of having to kill a young mother, Brinley Myers, and her one-year old son, what's a hardened contract killer to do?
Vali seems to have a particular talent in making bad girls into heroes - Reed is a great example. Unlike Cain, who inherits the top spot of a crime family (and manages to expand it through some pretty ruthless tactics), Reed has a pretty shitty past and is more of a self-made woman that gets the job done just as ruthlessly. She's good at what she does and doesn't regret the choices that she's made - and despite what she does at the start of the novel with the cheating husband and his girlfriend, she does have a limit which is lucky for Brinley. Brinley, is a pretty resourceful person in her own right - she's made some bad decisions but has moved on, making the best of things. There's just the right amount of backstory for both Reed and Brinley - Vali doesn't go for over the top angst as she gives a bit of rationale for Reed's actions and decisions and even Brinley's character doesn't dwell obsessively over the past. I liked them both. The romance is almost secondary to everything else that is going on - it could easily be put down to Stockholm Syndrome as Reed has Brinley stashed away in a hideout while she tries to sort out the mess, but I think there's enough there to make the relationship believable (or maybe there's just so much other shit going on that you are desperate to latch onto anything that doesn't have corruption and greed at the heart of it).
Remi and Mano Jatibon make an appearance - which makes sense as one of their assets is the Gemini casino in Vegas. They seemed to be the only rational mobsters in the city. It was nice to see them out from under the shadow of Cain and working on their own business dealings and I'm kind of hoping that we more of them and Reed and Brinley.
At one point I had a sinking feeling (and a little bit of anticipation) that this was going to be an ongoing series - I was horrified that I'd come up the end with a massive cliffhanger, but also really happy to anticipate more of Reed and Brinley and the goings on in Las Vegas. Happily, the book buttons up most of the loose ends and can stand on its own - no cliffhanger that will have me waiting a year or more to find out what comes next. Even more happily, I can easily see Vali writing another book with either these characters or at least set in Vegas. It will make a nice counterpoint to the New Orleans based series, give Remi and Mano a chance to stretch their influence and give readers a new setting and great new cast of characters.
This is a good crime and suspense story with a little bit of romance to offset things. There's a pretty gritty undertone and there's no shortage of violence, corruption and greed (and stupidity when it comes to greed). By the end of the book, there's a pretty high body count and one of the protagonists is a contract killer with a fair bit of blood on her hands. Despite that (or maybe because of that) it was a fun read and a very welcome addition to Ms. Vali's bad girl oeuvre.
Recommended especially if you liked the Cain series
cdownes's review against another edition
3.0
Gambling, drugs and a hit woman sounds like a pretty big novel, and Ali Vali does well in delivering an interesting story.
Reed is the best hit woman in Vegas, but is this latest contract too much? Brinley is a brand new accountant thrown into the dirty books of a casino and finds herself in a tonne of trouble. Double crossing is just a part of a regular day.
What I liked was the attraction between Reed and Brinley. It seemed genuine but a bit light in developing the relationship.
As a con, it was a bit challenging to follow all of the characters in the novel.
Reed is the best hit woman in Vegas, but is this latest contract too much? Brinley is a brand new accountant thrown into the dirty books of a casino and finds herself in a tonne of trouble. Double crossing is just a part of a regular day.
What I liked was the attraction between Reed and Brinley. It seemed genuine but a bit light in developing the relationship.
As a con, it was a bit challenging to follow all of the characters in the novel.
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