But if you like strong female heroines who take what they want and sexy dangerous men who can’t be trusted, look no further. If sizzling sexual tension and fast-paced action against a backdrop of Prohibition-era ambience sounds like your kind of cocktail—enter here. But beware…
Temptation is everywhere. And anything goes.
By day twenty-year-old Tiny O’Mara works for her father’s smalltime bootlegging operation, but by night she craves the roll-your-stockings-down lifestyle of a flapper—until her father is kidnapped by a mobster in Detroit's exploding organized crime scene, and it’s Tiny who has to come up with the ten-thousand-dollar ransom…in one week.
Suddenly she’s thrust into an intoxicating underworld of greed, lust, lies, and betrayal.
Enzo DiFiore is the son of the mobster holding her father hostage, but his screen idol looks and dangerous charm leave her breathless. When the forbidden spark between them refuses to burn out, she tries to use their powerful chemistry to buy more time. And irritatingly handsome childhood pal Joey Lupo has the street smarts Tiny needs to make a quick ten grand, but he’s got his own agenda where gang rivalries are concerned.
Deciding whom to trust isn’t easy in a world where everyone wants something—be it booze, money, power, or sex—and no one cares what it takes to get it.
Why hasn’t new adult in the 1920s come up before? Seriously, I don’t know how much more excited I could get about an author and book I don’t know. I am seriously in the wrong decade, because the 20s are my jam. And I love New Adult. So this book is pretty much a win any way you look at it. I think there’s something a little different here, with enough drama to keep you hooked, hot moments to keep you on your toes and of course the build of a great love story.
Actually, I was a little surprised by the lack of love happening in this book (which is why I say build of a love story). I kind of figured it would follow your typical romance trajectory, just set in a different time. Nope. This one is not typical and it’s not easy. In fact, it’s so complicated right now I have no clue how Tiny is going to get herself untangled from the two guys in her life. One is dangerous and, well, pretty much the bad guy (which is something I guess that changes depending on how you look at it, but in my book, he’s kind of bad news) and then there’s the guy she’s known forever and their relationship is changing. There’s a bit of a love triangle here, but it’s not quite because the way I see it, one is just a complication. A pretty intense complication, but still not enough to make it a full-on triangle (in my book).
Tiny is a part of the bootlegging business, which catches her in the middle of two different dangerous gangs and both are demanding her loyalty. The storyline was a little standard and at times slightly unbelievable. Still, even if some parts were easy to skim and I didn’t quite buy the timeline, it did succeed at creating a complicated web around Tiny. And I did find myself really caring about what happened to her, so I’m now dying to find out what she’s going to do, because I can’t see a way out for her. So I’m hooked.
Between the speakeasies, the gangsters, the booze, the clothes and the lingo, it’s just great to journey back to the 20s with a good heroine. I’m totally invested in her story and a little in love with Joey. He was quite swoon-worthy and I’m nervous for where he’s headed, too. This is one of those books that really does seem like it’s just the beginning and I have a feeling everything is going to get so much worse, and call me crazy, but that’s a train-wreck I have to witness. I’m really looking forward to Speak Low so I can go back to the 20s and hang out with these characters again.
