Renata Vitali, sixteen, has been banished to the small Texas town of Devils Ridge by her tyrannical father. She'd had an unconventional upbringing. Her family, the Vitalis, have governed the five major Italian mafia syndicates for centuries. Her father is boss, and she the lone mafia princess. He needs to keep her in line, so he sent her to the second oldest city in Texas, host to lighthouses, a beautiful coastal edge, and a cumbersome mafia presence.
Being sent to De Luca syndicate territory is punishment. The De Lucas are crazy and they don't trust outsiders. Devils Ridge's Head Devil, Angelo De Luca, appears to follow in the tradition of mad leaders when he picks Renata up and takes her to his home - now her home indefinitely. The intimidation starts immediately and Renata intuitively understands the tightrope she must walk in order to keep him in line. Her last name should ensure her safety, but De Lucas are a special breed of mafia and there are no guarantees. Angelo explains in no uncertain terms that he doesn't want her there. He doesn't like her family thinking they run the five syndicates. And he doesn't like her spying on them.
Damiano De Luca, seventeen, is set to inherit the De Luca throne if his father doesn't kill him first - an action not without precedence in the De Luca family history. Damiano lost his mother at a young age, and Angelo, his father, has spiraled downhill ever since. But Damiano has a plan to dethrone his crazy father, and it just might work.
When he discovers a Vitali girl - the princess - has arrived and will be staying in his home, he is curious to see her. He just doesn't expect to find her snooping in his bedroom.
When their eyes connect, something happens between them. Damiano sees immediately that everything about her is a lie, that she is a distraction. Un-plucked eyebrows. Dyed hair. Frumpy attire. Sweat pants. Chipped polish. Bitten nails. Holes in her shoes. Yet she attracts him more than anyone ever had. But she is a Vitali, and that means that they will never even be friends.
Damiano and Renata are forced together by their families and yet can't be further apart. They understand they can never be friends, but they are both incredibly lonely. Renata spends her days holed up in her room, while Damiano works tirelessly on his plan to remove his father from power. Neither can afford to trust anyone. He a prince, and she the out of reach Vitali princess - they have a lot in common despite their families' great divide. The temptation is there, but neither can afford to give into it.
Damiano and Renata's story is heartbreaking. They are clearly meant to be together despite their last names. But they must battle issues of trust before they can put their families aside. And even when they begin to trust one another, they cannot trust anyone else around them. Their slow burn love story ends without their HEA.
There are some areas of the book that might cause the reader confusion. Renata and Damiano are teens, still in high school. It isn't immediately clear what Damiano's age is, and it is a little surprising to discover he is so young. Further, despite the mafia angle, some of the exchanges between Angelo and both Damiano and Renata feel off as well. Although Angelo has the excuse of being crazy, it is sometimes surprising what he lets them get way with saying to him without punishment. The beatings aren't terribly credible when Damiano is so capable of keeping Angelo in line verbally when needed. The need for it to be written like that is understandable, but it doesn't quite do the job. Finally, the timeline sometimes feels unrealistic. Renata hides in her room for months before high school is mentioned, so it is a little surprising to learn she will go to school. Additionally, the pace of the couple's relationship is questionable. With little supervision (another oversight by Angelo), and only a wall separating their bedrooms, when Damiano and Renata decide to trust one another, they apparently hold back despite the fact that they both seem to have prior experience. No conversation explains this, and the act itself never warrants much discussion when it finally occurrs, so it feels off. Furthermore, in the epilogue, Renata's work experience and education normally would amount to six years later, so absent an explanation, five years feels wrong. Finally, it is difficult to accept that Damiano cannot find Renata when she is living near the first place he would likey look. Surveillance of her mother's home would give him the answers he so desperately seeks.
This is the prequel to "Damiano De Luca." Renata's story is engaging. The plot and the characters are complex. Both Renata and Damiano have tyrannical parents who control them by extreme methods. Both hide behind a mask. And both have to find a path forward into adulthood if they want to survive. I rate this story 4 stars.
I received a free advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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![Renata Vitali: A Prequel to Damiano De Luca by [Parker S. Huntington]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41JE7m716bL._SY346_.jpg)
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A Vitali Mafia Princess. A De Luca Mafia Prince. Renata And Damiano Cannot Be Friends, But Both Lonely Souls Wish For So Much More When Forced To Live Together!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 8, 2019Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 10, 2022
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 31, 2019
