Review: Thin Lives by Bethany Kris

4 STARS FOR AN AMAZING TRILOGY FROM BETHANY KRIS!!

Some days, it felt like Emma had just imagined it all. 
Like maybe everything she had been with Calisto was just a dream. 
Emma knew it was crazy—it was impossible to forget what she had shared with Calisto Donati. All their love, the stolen moments, their foulness together, and the beauty underneath it all were real. 
They were real. 
But he didn't know. He didn’t know any of it. 
And little by little, with every day that passed her by, Emma found she was losing those pieces that reminded her they had existed once. 
Just like the rosary. 
All too soon, Emma knew … there would be nothing left.

Calisto Donati

Emma hadn’t given him a choice. 
Her, not him. 
Yeah, that’s what Calisto was going to keep telling himself. He refused to feed into the strange curiosity he had about Emma Donati. It had been building from the moment he’d first seen her face after he’d awakened. He wouldn’t admit that for longer than he cared to admit, he thought there was more behind her false smile, polite words, and the distance she put between her and him—that there might be more to them. 
He couldn’t. 
Except … he was feeding into it. 
Calisto just wasn’t sure what it was. 
But tonight he was going to find out. 
Whether she wanted to tell him or not.

***

The final Bloodlines novel.

(Generously received this book for my honest review by Indie Sage PR)

Thin Lives is the third and final book in the Donati Bloodlines Trilogy and is not a standalone novel. I HIGHLY SUGGEST that you read the first two novels in the series, Thin Lies and Thin Lines, before reading this novel. If you are interested in reading my reviews for Thin Lines and Thin Lies, then you can find them here. 

I cannot promise that you will not read any spoilers in those reviews or this one. I always try my best to not give away any major spoilers and forewarn you if the review does contain any spoilers, but still provide the best review that I can for the author and publishing company. Yada, Yada, Yada. Disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer. ON TO THE REVIEW!

If you have been keeping up with any of my reviews this year, then you know that I have been absolutely loving and raving about this series and BETHANY KRIS! Honestly, this has been one of my favorite trilogies/series of 2016. It is so different from the other trilogies that have come out this year and recently. Unlike other series that feature the first book, a filler second book, and the final book that wraps up the series, the Donati Bloodlines Trilogy has a first book that completely hooks you, a second book that makes you craving for more, and a final book that fulfills everything that you wanted in the series. This series does not have anything that I would change, complain, or criticize, which is really rare for a book series to achieve from me. So I will definitely applaud and hail Bethany Kris! She has definitely made it to my current list of favorite authors. She is up there with Alice Clayton and Penny Reid in terms of who I am really actively reading and loving at the moment. 

On the note of Bethany Kris, I have read all of the Filthy Marcellos series, minus Dante's story and I still think that the Donati Bloodlines Trilogy is better overall as a series. I believe that I find this storyline more appealing, captivating, gritty, and the characters in the story contain much more depth. You really believe Emma and Calisto, their feelings, and you connect with them. This is something that I felt was lacking a little bit in the Filthy Marcellos series. 

In terms of the Thin Lives novel, the novel continued where the second book left off with Calisto still not remembering Emma. I actually liked that Kris didn't immediately have Calisto remember Emma. The reader spent a good portion of the book with Calisto as he struggled to regain his memories. This was a journey that I wanted to take with Calisto as a reader. It wasn't rushed along for the sake of moving forward with the plot. At the same time, we were able to experience Emma's struggle with not being able to interact or reveal her history with Calisto. This was such a difficult predicament to read for the both of them, but I'm still glad that, as a reader, it was included in the book. 

As I stated in the previous novel, Alfonso is still a large factor and source of struggle for the couple. This was to be expected seeing as he is the big bad guy in the first two books. I do not want to reveal too much that happens with his character, because I do not want to give away any spoilers. But I will say that I am glad with the way that Kris ended his storyline in the book. It was a prefect conclusion for his character. I do not want to say too much more about the book, because I do not want to give anything away.

Do Emma and Calisto get their HEA? You will have to read the book to find out! ;)

Lastly, would I recommend this book to others? Definitely! I would definitely recommend the entire series. Especially to those that love Mafioso Romances. This would be right up your alley. It really is a great trilogy. Please do not take my lack of a review in terms of the book as a reflection of how amazing the series is. It is because I love the book so much that I am not writing/saying more of what occurs in the plot. 

Review: Thin Lines by Bethany Kris

4 STARS FOR UGLY CRYING LIKE KIM KARDASHIAN AND MAFIA DRAMA!

Calisto and Emma are back! <3

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

Calisto Donati

Calisto had never been a fan of pain, but he found it provided a certain relief. 
It was a high that couldn’t compete with anything else he experienced. That was why he fought bare-knuckled, why he drove fast, despite knowing he might crash, and why he still enjoyed looking at Emma Donati—no matter her current status. 
Pain felt good. 
He might have been a fool for doing so, but as long as he got what he wanted from it, he didn’t really care. 
When he fought, he was given release. When he drove, he was given freedom. When he looked at Emma, he was given memories. 
All of them brought a certain level of pain. All three might kill him someday. 
Calisto glanced at Emma, taking her in again when she didn’t know he was looking. 
He realized then that only one might actually be worth dying for. 


Emma Donati

Emma kept her gaze on the book in her lap, pretending like there wasn’t an argument going on across the room. She had become terribly good at acting like she didn’t hear. 
Calisto watched her out of the corner of his eye while he argued on with Affonso.
She was too focused on Calisto to care about their fight. 
His anger. The tightness of his jaw. Searing soul-black eyes. 
The two men were not the same. They might have shared blood, but their hearts were entirely different. One man never let her out of his sight when he was nearby. The other acted like she didn’t exist. 
This was what it was like, she realized, to be in love with someone she couldn’t have. 
Calisto Donati would never be hers.
This wasn’t a fairy tale that would end happily. 
They weren’t star-crossed. They were impossible. 

*Generously received a copy from Indie Sage PR in exchange for an honest review*

Bloggers Note: It is July! I apologize for being a little MIA recently. June was not one of my greatest months in terms of reading and reviewing. I have been very busy with everything going on in my life (working, summer plans, keeping up with things around the house, "attempting" to keep a workout regiment, and everything else that the world throws at me) that I haven't even had a chance to spend any time reading, let alone writing reviews. But I hope that will change sometime soon. Reading and writing reviews bring a lot of joy and happiness to me personally. It is one of the few things that I do for myself and not for anyone else and I actually notice a correlation between how much I read and my level of happiness. Well, enough about me......ON TO THE REVIEW!

If you have not read Thin Lies, then I suggest that you wait to read my review. Thin Lines is the sequel to Thin Lies and cannot be read as a stand-alone. 

Calisto and Emma are back!! After reading Thin Lies back in April, Bethany-Kris has finally graced us with her sequel to the book (If you have not had the chance to read my review for the first book, then you can find it here: *Review: Thin Lies by Bethany-Kris*). I was so excited to read this. My level of excitement and joy was soaring through the roof. And then I started to read it......

Now, if you read the first book, then you are fully aware of the cliff-hanger at the end of the book and how heart wrenching it was. Well, Thin Lines does not release your heart from the wrenching and gut-punching moments. If anything, I feel like Bethany-Kris beat us down into the ground and keeps throwing the punching to remind us to stay down and to never try to get up. The series does not have a warning about not being a safe romance for nothing. I feel like there is no hope in the world left for Calisto and Emma. 

While I was reading Thin Lines.  I blame you, Bethany-Kris!

So, as I have established, Calisto and Emma's story was super depressing through Thin Lines. For the most part. I don't want to go into too much detail as to what actually occurs in the book. This book is still super amazing, even though I have said nothing, but how depressing it was to read. But the depressing and heart wrenching parts are what make-up the book and make it special.

Every other book has a beginning, end, and a moment of struggle in between, but the Donati Bloodlines trilogy has a depressing beginning, a depressing middle, and I am really rooting for a happy ending somewhere in there. I will honestly be really angry, annoyed, and betrayed if there is a depressing ending. I will seriously be screaming at the book and questioning everything that I am doing in life, if there is not a HEA.

I will also note that this book was great in terms of character development. Calisto and Emma both grew as characters, together and separately. The twists and turns in the story were not predictable and legitimately surprised me. Notice the "s" at the end of both words. This book does not string you along and then throw in a twist at the end to catch you off guard and wanting more. No, Bethany-Kris keeps you on the tip of your toes through the whole book and do not expect her to hold back and protect her two heros. No, if anything she feeds her two love birds to the dogs and leaves us asking why. Why does this keep happening to them? And when will they ever get there happily ever after? After finishing the second book, I don't know if they will have a HEA. I really don't. The last book is really going to be a up hill battle, because I don't expect Bethant-Kris and Alfonso to make it easy for them.

But until then, I will think back on the fond moments of Calisto and Emma, because they do have a few of them. Moments of joy and hope. I imagine doves flying in the air when I think of the happy times without Alfonso popping up and destroying everything and everyone in his path. <3

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