Published October 12th, 2017
Print Length: 314 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Adult Fiction
Amazon / Goodreads
My Review
I feel like I have to warn you before this review starts that this book is Part 1 of a Duet, so it ends in kind-of-a- cliffhanger, but I would like to call it “a very interesting spot”. The review for the next, and final book, it’s going to be up on this blog by the end of this week.
That’s done… now, let’s get into the review.
Valentina is a waitress that’s living the life she can live, with the money she’s earning. Goes to university to be a veterinarian and keeps her brother Charlie safe. Her brother has had an accident and his brain is not all that well after it.
Gabriel is a mean son of a bitch, pardon my french, Enforcer of his mother that is the head of the Mafia. He does not see eye to eye with his mother and when it comes to Valentina, even worst.
To sum up the story: Charlie goes gambling with a neighbor behind Valentina’s back (neighbor’s a douchebag) and gets into a huge debt with Gabriel’s family. In order to not be killed off (both of them), Valentina agrees to be a maid in his home for nine years to pay off the debt. Magda, Gabriel’s mother doesn’t like it and wants Valentina and Charlie killed.
The writing in this book was great. I did not find any grammar mistakes but I was not actively looking for them either. *smiles* The amount of dialogue and narrative was up to my liking, not too much of each so it was a nice and balanced.
Don’t expect to see soft characters because you will have a hard time finding them. No matter what happens with Valentina and Gabriel, it’s tough to see/read when Magda gets her claws into some aspects of their lives.
Since I started talking about it, it’s only fair that I end the review saying that I’m happy with the way the author ended the book. It was not a cut in the narrative, it was actually a good spot to hook the reader, in the right way, to want to keep reading… and so pick the next book up.
I would recommend this book, more so if you like Mafia romances and also because the next book is already available to purchase.
Obs: In case you want the DUET in one nice package, here’s the link to
Complete Duet on Amazon.
About the Author
Charmaine Pauls was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. She obtained a masters degree in Communication at the University of Potchestroom, and followed a diverse career path in journalism, public relations, advertising, communications, photography, graphic design, and brand marketing. Her writing has always been an integral part of her professions.
After relocating to France with her French husband, she fulfilled her passion to write creatively full-time. Charmaine has published six novels since 2011, as well as several short stories and articles.
When she is not writing, she likes to travel, read, and rescue cats. Charmaine currently lives in Chile with her husband and children. Their household is a linguistic mélange of Afrikaans, English, French, and Spanish.