Review: Thin Lies by Bethany-Kris

4 STARS FOR SEXY ITALIAN MAFIA MEN!

I think we all need a Calisto Donati in our life <3

WARNING: The first two books in the Donati Bloodlines Trilogy end on a cliffhanger, and are not considered safe romance.

Synopsis: Calisto Donati

She was just a woman. That’s what Calisto wanted to tell himself; that’s what he wanted to believe. Emma was nothing more than a woman. There were other women for him to want. To obsess over.
It couldn’t be Emma Sorrento.
Not for Calisto.
She was taken.
She was claimed.
She was not his.
In a few days, Calisto would hand her off, and that would be that. He wondered why it wouldn’t be that easy to let her go. 
What good had saving her done?
He had simply taken her from one monster to give her to another.

Emma Sorrento

Emma slid on her mask. All someone would need to do was look close enough to see what was really beneath the sheer falseness of her smile.
At the other end of the table, Emma found her lies staring her right in the face.
He smirked.
And winked.
Calisto Donati was her worst mistake, her greatest shame, and the one thing she still wanted more than anything. Emma could still feel him all over her, long after his touch and kiss was gone. In thirty days, her entire world had changed—he had changed her.
Emma had a feeling that if she played another game with Calisto, she would surely lose.
She had already lost once.
Wasn’t it enough?

Wow! I don’t even know where to begin after finishing the first book in this series. I knew the ending of the book was coming up, but I was not expecting the cliff hanger that it gave. I feel like I was thrown for a loop and have nothing to help me recover since the next book is not out. I am dying for more Calisto and Emma. I absolutely love them as a couple. There is something young and innocent about their feelings for each other, but the book and story is anything but innocent. This is what makes them come across as the reader as so pure. You want them to have something pure and good for each other. Both of them need it so much. They need each other like oxygen. It really pulls on your heartstrings.

This book is so many great things in one. The characters are great. They are thought out and well developed. I had to remind myself a couple times that Emma is 20 years-old and her reactions to situations reflect that. Her decision making is that of a young adult. She is treated by her peers as a baby and nothing else besides spoiled, yet they expect her to act above her age and have the emotional maturity of one that is older. I really praise Kris for the way that Emma is developed as a character and understand the emotional state and turmoil that a woman at that age would be experience. Emma is completely written authentically.

Calisto is written at the same level. I enjoyed that it took a little bit of time into the story for the understanding of his character to come through. I enjoyed that journey and I think that it is needed for the story. As a reader, I need that time with the character to understand all of the different levels of his character and decision making. Calisto is a complex character, more complex then I believe Emma to be, and thus time is needed to explain him. I am very curious and excited to see where Kris takes him. She provided clues with possibilities about how things might playout for him. Yet, if this first book is any indicator as to how things happen in a Kris book, then I really have no idea. But I am definitely looking forward to more time spent with his sexy Italian ass. ;)

As I was reading the story, I kept waiting for that moment. For them to finally be together. “Together” <wink, wink, nudge, nudge>. Yet, when it did, you had the same sinking feeling as Calisto and Emma. What will happen now that the boundaries were crossed. I DON’T KNOW!!! THEY DON’T KNOW!!! AAHHH….BETHANY-KRIS!! This is not fair! We, as your readers, need to know what happens. Do they keep seeing each other secretly? Do they completely ignore each other and then start to hate each other for how things are? How will Emma handle being a Mafia Boss’ wife? Will she be put into dangerous and difficult situations? What will happen with Calisto and his duty in la famiglia? We demand answers! This is one of the cruelest cliff hangers that I have read.

Overall, I give this an astounding 4 STARS! It is a really well written romantic, suspenseful, mafia story. I LOVE IT! I will be dying to read the next one and have it in my hands as soon as it is available. Bethany Kris, I hope you are busy writing at this very moment and providing us with the answers that we need. J