Author: Paul K. B. Mercer
Book Format: ePub (Nook)
Obtained: From Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
My Rating: 2 stars
Pages: 338 on my Nook (662 according to Goodreads)
Published: November 19th 2012 by Itoh Press
Synopsis:
A young Italian woman will go to any lengths to achieve her goals, even
if that means committing cold-blooded murder from the unknown and powerless to
the highest levels of government. Is there anyone who will dare stop her reign
of terror and bloodshed? How many will be found dead before they discover who
she is? Will the power she has amassed grant her freedom?
Review:
I chose this book from a list
offered by the publisher for review. Based solely on the synopsis, I felt that
this book was going to be exciting and full of action and adventure. In the
end, I was right, but then again, I was wrong.
The main character, Angelina,
left home at 19. She was tired of living as a peasant, working on an olive farm
and living in a small fishing village in Italy. She felt that there was a
better life for her out there somewhere, so she told her father goodbye and
left, without saying a word to her mother. Soon thereafter, she was in the
wrong place at the right time and ended up joining a Mafia family. After
proving her worth, and proving that she would do “anything” to get ahead, she
was soon one of the top members of the “family” and the Mafia Boss’s lover.
When disaster strikes the
“family,” when the top henchman suddenly remembers what happened to him and his
real family years ago, all of the “family” is murdered, except for Angelina.
After escaping the tragedy, she goes and has her face surgically altered, and
successfully changes her identity and becomes Victoria. In order to test her
new look she revisits her home village and shows up at her father door. She
learns that her mother died years ago, and that she has a little brother.
After confirming that her new
identity is good, she sets off for the United States, which is where her new
identity is from. Upon arriving in America, she seeks out one of the Senators
that is running for President (he was also a target of the Mafia earlier in the
book) and weasels her way onto his campaign staff. During this time she has a
fling with the sitting President, who happens to be a bachelor, and finds out
that he will run for a second term if there was no other choice. Upon hearing
this information, she kills the Senator and kind of forces the President’s hand
in running for the second term. Where, soon after, he takes her as his wife.
Being the First Lady is not
enough for her. However, she finds that her further goals and want of power
will be hard to come by for her secret is trying to reveal itself. And, soon
she realizes that all the power has her about to crack up.
I gave this book 2 stars, but I
honestly believe that it could have been 4 stars, easily. I liked the plot, the
action was good, and the author was able to keep my interest for the most part.
However, what made me give it a lower rating is because of a few mistakes I
felt the author made in writing this book.
One: He dedicated an entire
chapter to building up a character whose only purpose was to be killed off the
next time he was mentioned.
Two: He did another deep
character buildup for a character that was only in the book to eventually
support one of the candidates running for president.
Three: Although I know this is a
work of fiction, some events should be researched more and be portrayed a
little more accurately. The author was claiming that America’s Presidential
inauguration happened right after the vote in November when it isn’t held until
January of the following year.
Four: The pacing of the book was
off, I felt. There were some chapters that were too long, uncomfortably long.
And there were some that I felt were rushed. I actually felt that the final
8-10 chapters were a little rushed.
With that being said, I feel
that, with a little more editing and condensing, this book could have been an
extremely good bit of fiction. When the pacing was good, it was a page turner
that I did not want to put down.
Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
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