Man of Honor by Bella Di Corte is the first book of eight books in the Fausti Family series. This book sets the pace for the rest of the series. It gives the reader insight into the beginnings of Brando Fausti’s relationship with Scarlett, the ballerina who captured his heart.
Scarlett lived a sheltered life with her focus on ballet, while Brando has known only pain and loss. They came from different worlds, but fate brought them together. This story chronicles their journey, one forged from tragedy. Readers witness the obstacles they faced, ones created by their own hands and outside forces. The tragic event which hit close to home for Scarlett led to her losing her passion for ballet, but her connection to Brando is the one thing that keeps her going.
Although described as an organized crime romance there were no mafia business occurring in this story. However, readers are given hints regarding Brando’s familial ties to the mafia. The story focuses on their earlier years with Scarlett a high school senior and Brando being of college age.
I had high hopes for this for this story, but it turned out to be an average read for me. I did enjoy the author’s writing style, which was poetic and compelling. My issue lay within my failing to connect with the characters. I knew by the words written a connection existed and they were slowly falling for each other. Unfortunately, it did not resonate with me. I do believe that being forced to wade through tons of detailed information led to my disconnect with the characters. I ended up skipping through pages of the book so has to avoid the mountain of details. Despite this the story did have some memorable moments, which has me eager to discover what next is in store for Brando and Scarlett.
Overall, I found Man of Honor to be solid start to the Fausti series that has me keen to explore more of this world Bella De Corte has created.
N.B Re-Released as Man of Honor by Bella Di Corte.