Scan barcode
A review by kfriend
Fragile Longing by Cora Reilly
4.0
No one writes mafia like Cora Reilly- the longing, the tension, the instalove angst with lots of the forbidden and danger. I love her books, and this story I have been craving way back since Twisted Pride- I wanted to know what happened to the jilted fiance and the replacement bride, and now we get their story. It wasn’t at all what I thought it would be, but turns out it was just the story Sofia and Danilo needed.
Most of us know the backstory- this is the story of two people trying to move on with a looming ghost- the ghost of Serfina, who is alive and well but removed entirely from their lives, and that forever changes their paths. Sofia is to replace her sister as Danilo’s fiance-a man a decade older who is hung up on her sister, a man with wounded pride. Sofia is overjoyed- she’s always secretly loved him. To Danilo, Sofia is a child- he can’t visualize that relationship, and he also can’t bear to think about anything that reminds him of Serafina - so while he accepts his duty, he distances himself from his child bride. In their prolonged engagement as Sofia ages, she suffers- she longs for the attention of her fiance, but she knows she is just the replacement, the not-good-enough consolation prize, because everyone wants Serafina- even her family never notices her because of the hole Serfina has left. And she also discovers a great and painful truth- Danilo is not the prince charming she always imagined- he’s ruthless, cunning, a predator.
While this falls into the same tropes that we all know and love Cora for- mafia, arranged marriage, age gap- this book is decidedly different than some of her others. The plot is much slower, more leisurely- mafia danger really takes a backseat. And Cora gives us a very prolonged exposition- this book really reads like a duet. In fact, at first I thought it was a bit slow- I wasn’t sure where it was going. We spend A LOT of time with these two pre-marriage, at various phases of Sofia’s maturation. Almost half the book is there- and then things escalate REALLY quickly, and the slow and gradual emotional center crescendos into an explosion. And the more I thought about it (see late in the review) the more this pacing made sense- these characters are trying to remove the chains of their perceptions of Serafina, and we have to know them first. But man, my heart HURTS- Sofia’s story just ripped me up, this girl goes through so much emotional pain, but her heart stays so pure and loving.
I LOVED Sofia- she may be one of my all time favorite Cora heroines. She’s got the right amount of spunk and sass, but she’s not obstinate or difficult. You can really see the impact of growing up in a loving family - because she’s comfortable in her life, she’s joyful and fun and surprisingly bold. Sure, she’s naive, very much so since she’s so young when this story begins, but she has an emotional center that is mature and stable, a loving and patient heart. And she isn’t resentful, even though she should be. Danilo was a bit less interesting at first - a sexy classic Cora man. He’s the mafia underboss- cold, scary, pragmatic, but I also loved how vulnerable and open he was- in his internal monologue but also eventually with Sofia. This is one of the Cora couples that communicate really healthily (eventually), that evolve and grow together- in part because we get to spend so long with them. Danilo ended up surprising me in the end- I felt he’s actually the most progressive, the most “soft” and tender of the mafia men-and I adored him the more we knew him.
What I loved about this love story is that this is about two people trying to refind their identities. To be more than the sister, more than the jilted groom. To stop defining themselves based on a moment in time (and not just what happened with Serafina, there is a key moment between these two too). They are both lost- Danilo is his pride, Serfina in her insecurity. Both have fragile longing- for the love they THOUGHT they would have, for the lives they thought they’d live- and then they finally SEE each other, when no one else has truly seen them. They have to work through their OWN stuff before they can make it work- which is again why the time Cora invests in a longer exposition pays off so much. And when they do? These two are MAGICAL. A sweet, tender, and intimate chemistry but one with such emotional depth and a mutual respect.
Fans of Remo and Serafina should know that their presence is very much felt and experienced in this story- I won’t tell just how or what to expect, but I think fans will be happy with how Cora respects both Sofia’s story and her character, which includes being honest about how Serafina has impacted her, while also respecting Serafina’s journey, not changing how we feel about Serfina And that is a very delicate balance, one I have more and more support for Cora over- she ensures we still love these characters while being honest, and most importantly, she finds a way to make this about Sofa and Danilo, even though EVERYTHING for them goes back to Serafina and her story. The investment in the early stages of this relationship matters, Cora’s decision to really sink into the evolution in time, ensure that- it ensures that we know Sofia, we know Danilo, as individuals- we see them as the protagonists long before it becomes THEIR story. I guess we as readers needed time to address the ghost of Serafia too- and if not for this approach, her shadow might have been too looming. Really smart plotting- even if it FELT different, or even slow, it was what we needed to see Sofia.
Fans will also be happy to know we get SO much amazing action with side characters. I’m so madly in love with Anna- and we get some great hints as to her story. She is a PISTOL and I can not wait to have her unleash on the Outfit. And Samuel is a surprise treat- as well as Danilo’s sister, Emma. I am so excited to get more into both of their stories- they intrigued me even more than Anna.
I loved getting Sofia’s story- and Cora continues to reign as my go to mafia author. The epilogue here is especially fantastic, and I’m loving the sweeter, more vulnerable relationships we’ve gotten in the last few Cora books and the more insulted focus. I can’t wait for what is next- this book made me even more excited for the next generation stories!
Most of us know the backstory- this is the story of two people trying to move on with a looming ghost- the ghost of Serfina, who is alive and well but removed entirely from their lives, and that forever changes their paths. Sofia is to replace her sister as Danilo’s fiance-a man a decade older who is hung up on her sister, a man with wounded pride. Sofia is overjoyed- she’s always secretly loved him. To Danilo, Sofia is a child- he can’t visualize that relationship, and he also can’t bear to think about anything that reminds him of Serafina - so while he accepts his duty, he distances himself from his child bride. In their prolonged engagement as Sofia ages, she suffers- she longs for the attention of her fiance, but she knows she is just the replacement, the not-good-enough consolation prize, because everyone wants Serafina- even her family never notices her because of the hole Serfina has left. And she also discovers a great and painful truth- Danilo is not the prince charming she always imagined- he’s ruthless, cunning, a predator.
While this falls into the same tropes that we all know and love Cora for- mafia, arranged marriage, age gap- this book is decidedly different than some of her others. The plot is much slower, more leisurely- mafia danger really takes a backseat. And Cora gives us a very prolonged exposition- this book really reads like a duet. In fact, at first I thought it was a bit slow- I wasn’t sure where it was going. We spend A LOT of time with these two pre-marriage, at various phases of Sofia’s maturation. Almost half the book is there- and then things escalate REALLY quickly, and the slow and gradual emotional center crescendos into an explosion. And the more I thought about it (see late in the review) the more this pacing made sense- these characters are trying to remove the chains of their perceptions of Serafina, and we have to know them first. But man, my heart HURTS- Sofia’s story just ripped me up, this girl goes through so much emotional pain, but her heart stays so pure and loving.
I LOVED Sofia- she may be one of my all time favorite Cora heroines. She’s got the right amount of spunk and sass, but she’s not obstinate or difficult. You can really see the impact of growing up in a loving family - because she’s comfortable in her life, she’s joyful and fun and surprisingly bold. Sure, she’s naive, very much so since she’s so young when this story begins, but she has an emotional center that is mature and stable, a loving and patient heart. And she isn’t resentful, even though she should be. Danilo was a bit less interesting at first - a sexy classic Cora man. He’s the mafia underboss- cold, scary, pragmatic, but I also loved how vulnerable and open he was- in his internal monologue but also eventually with Sofia. This is one of the Cora couples that communicate really healthily (eventually), that evolve and grow together- in part because we get to spend so long with them. Danilo ended up surprising me in the end- I felt he’s actually the most progressive, the most “soft” and tender of the mafia men-and I adored him the more we knew him.
What I loved about this love story is that this is about two people trying to refind their identities. To be more than the sister, more than the jilted groom. To stop defining themselves based on a moment in time (and not just what happened with Serafina, there is a key moment between these two too). They are both lost- Danilo is his pride, Serfina in her insecurity. Both have fragile longing- for the love they THOUGHT they would have, for the lives they thought they’d live- and then they finally SEE each other, when no one else has truly seen them. They have to work through their OWN stuff before they can make it work- which is again why the time Cora invests in a longer exposition pays off so much. And when they do? These two are MAGICAL. A sweet, tender, and intimate chemistry but one with such emotional depth and a mutual respect.
Fans of Remo and Serafina should know that their presence is very much felt and experienced in this story- I won’t tell just how or what to expect, but I think fans will be happy with how Cora respects both Sofia’s story and her character, which includes being honest about how Serafina has impacted her, while also respecting Serafina’s journey, not changing how we feel about Serfina And that is a very delicate balance, one I have more and more support for Cora over- she ensures we still love these characters while being honest, and most importantly, she finds a way to make this about Sofa and Danilo, even though EVERYTHING for them goes back to Serafina and her story. The investment in the early stages of this relationship matters, Cora’s decision to really sink into the evolution in time, ensure that- it ensures that we know Sofia, we know Danilo, as individuals- we see them as the protagonists long before it becomes THEIR story. I guess we as readers needed time to address the ghost of Serafia too- and if not for this approach, her shadow might have been too looming. Really smart plotting- even if it FELT different, or even slow, it was what we needed to see Sofia.
Fans will also be happy to know we get SO much amazing action with side characters. I’m so madly in love with Anna- and we get some great hints as to her story. She is a PISTOL and I can not wait to have her unleash on the Outfit. And Samuel is a surprise treat- as well as Danilo’s sister, Emma. I am so excited to get more into both of their stories- they intrigued me even more than Anna.
I loved getting Sofia’s story- and Cora continues to reign as my go to mafia author. The epilogue here is especially fantastic, and I’m loving the sweeter, more vulnerable relationships we’ve gotten in the last few Cora books and the more insulted focus. I can’t wait for what is next- this book made me even more excited for the next generation stories!