Mafiosa by Catherine Doyle

Masterpiece. That's tells you all you need to know about this book and this series. It was a masterpiece.

I was so excited when I got this book but I was sad to because I knew that once I read it then a great book series would be over. I kept on trying to read as slow as I possibly could just to make it last but that plan didn't really work out since I finished the day after I got it. I would do anything to be able to be able to read this series again with a fresh pair of eyes so if you haven't started this series yet then you are lucky!

Mafiosa is the last book in the blood for blood trilogy and as you can probably tell I loved it. The series starts in Chicago when five brothers move into the old deserted mansion near where Sophie Gracewell lives and that is when things start to get interesting.

I have actually reviewed the other two books in the series. Click here for Vendetta (the first book in the series) and here for Inferno (the second book in the series).

I feel like the cover is worth mentioning because it is just so beautiful.  I mean look at that cover and the other two books are just as pretty. I love displaying them on my bookshelves.

Since I finished this book a few days ago I have not stopped thinking about the life Sophie and Luca now have and I wish I could join them because it was just such a perfect end to a wonderfully addictive series. I have never ever cried before at a perfect ending of a book but I cried at this one. It is official Catherine Doyle is now my favourite author in the world and I can hardly wait to read what she has got in store for us next.

*Spoiler and Discussion Section

Now, please bare with me as we move into the spoiler and discussion section because I have written my notes out roughly on a piece of paper but I wrote them about five seconds after I finished the book so they are a bit all over the place. Stick with me whilst I sort them out into a format you will actually be able to understand!

...Ok, so I think I have all my points set out in an good enough order!

A general point first. This was the book that  I felt that I connected most with the Falcone boys (well, some of them anyway) and I think this  was simply because our main character Sophie was living right under their roof. I still don't like the most of them but I don't dislike them quite as much as I did. The thing with this book is that it is hard to know who you can like because the lines between good and evil are less defined, which is what makes this book so interesting.

Let's discuss Valentino. I have had a kind of love-hate relationship with Valentino. I have never been able to decide whether I hated him or liked him and to be honest I'm still not a hundred percent sure. However I do like the way things were left between him and Sophie. So much so that when he was killed I was sad. I liked the genuine happiness he had for Luca and Sophie. It is clear that he would have done anything and everything for his twin and clear throughout the novel that Luca would also return this. I thought that was a lovely element to include because it is good to see the love the brothers have for one another when they always act so tough all of the time. The part in the conversation where Valentino admits that he is afraid of losing Luca to Sophie makes him feel more human and it led me to respect him where I hadn't before. I mean when you look at Valentino has been a victim of indoctrination as have the other members of the family. They have been brought up being told that their 'way of life' is the right.

Felice. How on earth did not one of the Falcones realise that Felice was not loyal to them? I mean they mentioned after the Libero incident that they knew they had someone in their presence who was disloyal. I didn't expect them to know straight away but I can't understand why they didn't take more action. They could have questioned people or maybe they did and Sophie just doesn't know? I think that the evidence Sophie brought to Valentino was enough to take some form of action against Felice. That evidence indicated that Felice thought he was reason and motive to hate the Falcone boys in the sense that he believes his brother Angelo Falcone helped his wife leave which he resented. Then there is Felice's thirst for power and to be the boss of the Falcone family. Valentino and the other boys really underestimated what he would do to get it declaring him harmless.

At the end we read article about what happened on the yacht at Donata Marino mission number 2 and I found that I felt sad reading about Dom, CJ and Elena's death. In this book Elena opens up to Sophie and tells her how she wanted to end suffering, not inflict it which made come to like her, CJ I didn't know well enough to think anything about him and Dom, well I was never his biggest fan and I never will be yet still I was saddened by his death. The reason I think it upset me a little was because those deaths were just so unnecessary. They didn't need to happen. I think Sophie said at some point something along the lines of 'these families get themselves into a hell of a lot of trouble' and I agree with her, she's right.

Sophie was annoying me this entire novel. I understand she is grieving but she is using her desire for revenge as a coping method which is obviously not good. I love Sophie, she is a great character but I just wished that she would stop thanking the Falcones whenever one of them compliments her on her amazing weapon skills. It really isn't something she should want to be complimented on.

Now let's talk about our light in the darkness, Millie. No matter how hard things are for Sophie, Millie is always there for her sending a blast of positivity her way and that is what I love about Millie. The fact that she is always positive and will do anything for those that she loves. Millie by simply being herself is helping Sophie heal even though they both may not realise that. Even Luca acknowledges that Millie was a huge part of pulling Sophie out of the darkness that was consuming her. Do you remember the part in the novel where Sophie made the excuse of having a movie night with the Falcones? I have never laughed so hard as when Sophie told Millie what they were allegedly watching. Also Millie's boyfriends name: Crispin. It is such a funny name and Luca increased my laughter by asking 'What a Cris-pin was?'. I guess my point is that wherever Millie goes laughter follows. Every time. No exceptions. This is much a much needed element to a book and I applaud Catherine Doyle for writing Millie's character so perfectly. Millie really is the best friend we all want and need.

If you read my review of Vendetta and Inferno you may know that I hate Nic... just a little. Well, that has not changed. I was already gritting my teeth because he was irritating me so much and I think I was on chapter two. I honestly don't know how I stood him for that entire book, was it just me or did he get even more annoying? I don't even know if that is possible.  Again, he fought with Luca over a girl he had no chance with but he was to much of an idiot to see that. I really loved that scene though, Luca definitely shocked him. At the end of the book we see that Nic is made boss of the Falcone family and that worries me for the future but I didn't dwell on it because there were more important things to think about, leading me nicely on to my next point.

Luca and Sophie are free! Free! They are going to have happy brilliantly peaceful lives. I was so happy that Sophie got out because she was so eager to get the revenge which she thought would grant her relief but obviously would only make her feel worse about herself. And of course for the whole book she point blank refused to listen to Luca which made him then worry about her. Luca was just as bad when Valentino died as he went on the same dark path that Sophie had been on for the entirety of this book and this can only lead to disaster. Disaster that was sure to happen only they both got lucky at Donata Marino mission number one.

I'll admit I was worried about Luca for a while whilst Sophie was at Evelina's and Luca was supposedly back in Chicago going on Donata Marino mission number 2. Luckily though he had come to his senses and was racing as fast as he could to Sophie for the better life he wanted and deserved. I got the happy ending I always wanted for them. That was the one thing I wished for before reading Mafiosa and I got it!

Evelina! I should have known that there was a reason that there was so much focus on Evelina in that book! How did I not guess that she was the one who was going to look after Sophie? I don't know how I missed it but I remained convinced that she was dead for the whole entire book.

Thank you for reading this review! Please let me know what you think!