After Cassio's wife dies, leaving him with a 2 year old and an 8 month old he needs someone to take care of his children while he is the underboss of Philadelphia. When his Cappo, Luca, approaches him at her funeral suggesting he marry his younger cousin, Giulia, she may be just what he needs. Even if she is barely legal and proves her age at every turn. Especially with those horrendous sunflowers she insists on wearing. However, with angst in the community and a young son that won't even talk to him this bright spot may become more than a glorified nanny that he sleeps with.
I got this book from the Libby app. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular and I have to admit the age gap threw me quite a bit. A 30 year old with an 18 year old just seems wrong. 12 years is a lot of time, but I get that is something that happens in some circles. My own grandparents on my mother's side were 15 year apart, so I suppose I can't say much.
Other than the age difference the book wasn't bad. They both had to deal with the aspects of that. Cassio had to deal with his trust issues as a result of his first wife's betrayal. Giulia also had to deal with the ramifications of this mistrust as well as a young child that was baring the weight of something his dead mother had said.
That being said I have questions about how much experience this author has with small children. A lot of the things these children did were either too advanced or too far behind. Like the baby's first word being dada at over a year old. Nah. There was also the 2 year old who remembered his mom years later. My son was 18 months old the last time his biological father had anything to do with him. He doesn't remember anything about him or that the man he considers his dad, whom he met when he was almost 3, is anything but is real dad.
I haven't read a lot of mafia books so it was definitely unique. I am always looking for new books and genres to read so stumbling upon this was a nice change. Especially arranged marriages. But, I enjoy mail order brides books, so I suppose this is along the same lines.
This book is available on Amazon for $4.99 by clicking here. This is available on Kindle Unlimited.
I've had a couple of age-gap relationships but neither were the result of me being a predator. One came from mutual like and the other was because he friend fixed us up. Yes, they can work but perhaps they were more Mr/Miss Right Now than long term prospects. Get your points about young children. I can definitely remember being an "only" child when before my brother was born and I was 3, then. As a non-fiction writer who has limited experience on writing fiction, it is a very difficult thing to do and one needs an elementary knowledge of psychology at least. All-in-all, though it sounds a balanced review and makes me think I might just want to read it.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand that on the age gap. I didn't, by any means, intend to imply it was predator-like. It seems odd to me, but like I'd mentioned my own grandparents had quite an age gap so I know it does happen. Thank you for the insight on your own childhood and comment on the review. I'm glad it makes you want to possibly read the book! :)
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