Luca: A Ruin & Revenge Novel (Ruin & Revenge, #2)

by Sarah Castille

After one night of passion, Las Vegas crime boss Luca Rizzoli finds himself wanting to protect police detective Gabrielle Fawkes as she seeks revenge on another member of the Las Vegas criminal underworld.

• ISBN10: 125010405X
• ISBN13: 9781250104052
• Publish Date: 27 June 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St. Martin's Press
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Luca by Sarah Castille was a boatload of deliciousness. I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book, having read and enjoyed the first book four years ago.

This book hooked me from the start, and putting it down was a difficult task. Every chance I got I made sure I was listening to this dark, edgy, and forbidden romance.

The story began with Gabrielle Fawkes, who had been shot while working on a case, which involved capturing the drug kingpin who murdered her husband. The outcome of her getting was her being pulled from the case. However, her determination and hunger for revenge wouldn’t let that stop her from going after the man responsible for her pain and grief. Falling in love was definitely not on her agenda. Then she meets the sexy and dangerous Luca Rizzoli who also was in the hospital after taking a bullet that was meant for his boss.

Luca had no idea she was a cop and she was not aware of his mob ties. The one thing they were aware of and could not deny was the sizzling attraction between them. On different sides of the law, they had nothing in common except for the drug lord they were both hunting.

Gabrielle was not like any woman Luca has been with. She is courageous, a fighter and takes crap from no one. I admired how she stood up to Luca and his fellow mob friends.

Luca is a man who knows what he wants and has no problem pursuing it, and he wants Gabrielle. A play boy at heart, but that was before Gabrielle entered his life. He believes women should be protected at all cost, so knowledge of Gabrielle placing herself in dangerous situations did not go down well with him. However, he would learn that she was not a woman to be coddled.

I loved them both, and I rooted for them throughout the story. I thought they balanced out each other and their chemistry, wow was scorching hot.
I found the secondary characters captivating. There was one in particular (Frankie) that piqued my curiosity.

I loved how the story flowed and it had me on the edge of my seat for most of it. My only issue is how the storyline regarding the drug lord played out. After such a great build up, the manner in which it was tied up was disappointing.

Narration
This was my second time listening to Aiden Snow, and like the first time it was a pleasure. He made the entire story come alive. I especially loved how he brought Luca’s character to life, Italian accent and all. (Be still my beating heart). I could listen to him for hours.

Overall, Luca proved to be a thrilling listen. A story about greed, power, jealousy and undying devotion.
This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

[thebookdisciple]

Star crossed lovers for sure! Luca is a mafioso and Gaby is a cop. Their differences are obvious-Gaby is a law abiding citizen, Luca prefers to bend the law to his will. Gaby is a woman who takes care of herself while Luca feels that women should be protected. One thing they have in common (besides scorching hot chemistry) is their desire to get rid of the drug cartels in Las Vegas. While their methods might be different, the goal is the same. So, do the ends justify the means for Luca and Gaby?

Gaby's husband was a cop like her and he was killed in the line of duty by a drug kingpin. Gaby is determined to seek revenge but is removed from the case. She meets Luca by chance while they are in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds and he is entranced by her. He uses his connections to track her down but when he finds out she is a cop it could be a deal breaker. There are few rules that are as strictly followed by the mafia as the 'thou shall not fraternize with cops'.

Gaby has always been an independent woman. She grew up without a mother and became a cop simply to try and make her father proud. Her marriage to David was important to her because he provided the stability she had missed in life. But, their life together was vanilla and after she meets Luca, she realizes that maybe she wants more from life. He is a bit 'old fashioned' when it comes to women (old fashioned as in cave man behavior) and frankly I found it a bit offensive. It wasn't really sexy. I am all for alpha men, but his behavior came off as casting women down to their 'proper place'. Not attractive.

Even with my irritation with Luca's abhorrent behavior, I was sucked into the story. Who is after Gaby? Will she kill the man responsible for her husband's death? Will Luca change his sexist beliefs and stop being a douche canoe (ok, the answer to that one is yes)? I really did want to know! So, even though I was not really rooting for Luca, I still cared what happened to Gaby! If you like star crossed/opposites attract type stories, this is an interesting pick for a weekend read! Nico, book 1, was better in my opinion though, so if you haven't check out that one, you should! Its also a pretty steamy read! Luca is quite the dirty dominate in the bedroom (and kitchen, and VIP room, and closet...)

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: star crossed lovers, mafia


• Triggers: none


• Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes with epilogue

The Eagle Elite series by Rachel Van Dyken, The Harrison Street Crew series by Katana Collins, Cole by Tijan, Hearts of Blue by LH Cosway...then you will probably like Luca!

 

Luca

See full review on The Book Disciple

[Eve1972]

I actually LOVE this cover. It's hot and a very good representation of the hero (LUCA). It has good composition and eye-catching title work.

After reading and LOVING book one in this series (NICO), I was super excited to get my hands on this one. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to the greatness of its predecessor. I found this one to be just SO slow and long winded. It felt like the book that never ends. Every chapter devoted to Paola could have been dropped without it affecting the storyline and would have helped speed up with the pace.

That aside I did enjoy the characters for the most part. Luca was SMOKIN' HOT and very alpha. I did not like the way he treated his son for the first half of the book. Nor did I find it believable that he wouldn't have at least had his own DNA test done to verify if Gina was telling the truth. Since sons are SO important to the Mafia. Gabrielle was ok. I didn't love her or hate her. Her and Luca made a good couple, and I enjoyed them together.



There isn't any OW drama other than a few mentions of Luca's past. There is some OM drama. There is action. Twists and turns. A lot of violence. Some super hot sex scenes. Some humor. Some feel good moments. Some cute kid action (Matteo in the car...OMG adorable!) An excellent array of secondary characters. A little NICO action. All wrapped up in a sweet epilogue.

So even though this one wasn't a complete hit with me, I am still onboard for the next book ROCCO.(I was kind of hoping it would be Frankie, but no matter Apparently Frankie IS Rocco...woohoo!). One thumb up from yours truly.