Dario by Eden Butler Blog Tour

Dario Carelli has one job—get the new bakery owner to fall in line.

Cuoricino, New York, their sleepy, small town, has rules. Rules his ironically kind-hearted mob boss brother set in place to keep everyone safe. But Ava Anderson has no intention of following a single one.

The woman is a hassle Dario doesn’t need. She ignores his ultimatums and mocks his intimidating guards, sending them back to him with a basket of baked goods and amped up on too much espresso. If Dario thought the charm he once had before landing in prison for a crime that wasn't his would work, he’d teach Miss Ava a lesson in pleasure she wouldn’t soon forget.

But behind her sarcastic tone and forced smiles, Dario recognizes the same flight-or-fight look in Ava’s eyes that had grown sharper in his own reflection during his time locked inside one of New York’s roughest prisons: the desperation of someone with nothing left to lose. When Ava takes off, only to return months later pretending she’s not looking over her shoulder every time she walks down the street, Dario realizes there’s something more dangerous in Cuoricino than the enemies his brother’s rules try to safeguard: a woman he’d die to possess and kill to protect.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of The Carelli Family Saga!
For book one, Smoke, click HERE.

 

 

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Paperback (US)

 

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Ava isn't a wilting flower who will follow along with the crowd simply because everyone else does. She's lived a life that many wouldn't wish on their worst enemy. Years ago, someone offered her a moment of kindness and she hasn't ever forgotten, despite her traumatized life. When she finds herself owning a bakery in a small town, she knows that she's going to seize every moment she can and hold off on following along ever again. But that's easier said than done. While the sleepy town of Cuoricino is Ava's solace, it might just become a prison again.

Dario is fresh out of prison. After doing his stint, his family wants him to just be able to jump back into the business. However, Dario knows that he's forever changed. Even if he knows that he didn't truly deserve what he went through, he's doing his best to figure out where to go from here. When he gets his assignment from his older brother, Dario doesn't believe it's going to be difficult. He's about to find out just how difficult the beautiful baker can be.

As Dario and Ava figure out their path, forces outside of them are vying for attention too. Just like in book one, I felt that there was a lot going on and it was somewhat repetitive from book one. This book does put more emphasis on the romance, which was a bonus, but there were a lot of family issues and drama that you knew from book one that was just reiterated again in this story.

I would have liked to see more from the antagonists. I thought that despite what should have been a major part of the story was again, more background. Only this time, I wanted less of the romance and more of the revenge/justice to be more prominent.

Overall, it was a quick read that fulfills the dominant man, strong woman and their dance to find out whether or not forever can truly be in their future.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series, and I really think that you would benefit from reading Smoke first, as the Carelli world is developed there, though some events are described again, but from a very different viewpoint.

Here we get Dario's opportunity at romance – something which the ex-con had really not thought would be coming his way anytime soon. However, the red-haired beauty who has opened a new bakery and refuses to pay the 'community fee' catches his attention. Due to the prologue, we have an idea as to who she is, although I did question her logic to staying where she did.

As we learn more about the Carelli family and their business, it is clear that there is a lot of danger all around. Ava is no stranger to the darker side of life. She has broken free and is intent on removing the threats to her and her beloved goddaughter. She is now an independent woman and plans on avoiding domineering men – so she and Dario are set to argue on that score, for sure! She also has a very guilty secret, which she doesn't know how to tell the Carellis, and Dario in particular.

I did enjoy the backwards and forwards between these two. I found the stretching of time a bit confusing at times, but I was prepared to allow it, as I wanted to see how they would solve their commitment/independence dilemma.

Next we will get Dante's story and we have a lot of knowledge of him and Kat – what will make them understand what they need, or is his future with someone else entirely… Eden Butler has left us guessing!

 

 

 

EDEN BUTLER is a writer of contemporary, fantasy and romantic suspense novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum.

When she's not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden patiently waits for her Hogwarts letter, reads, and spends too much time in her garden perfecting her green thumb while waiting for the next New Orleans Saints Superbowl win.

She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana. Please send help.

Connect with Eden

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Facebook Group: Saints & Sinners

 

 

 

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Dario (The Carelli Family Saga #2) by Eden Butler to read and review for this tour.