Review: Sins of the Orchid by Eva Winners

Fashion heiress.
Head of Cosa Nostra.
Unlikely best friend.

Born into one of the richest families on the East Coast, Amore’s world changes overnight. From a leading fashion house heiress to the daughter of a powerful mobster.

Amore Bennetti struggles early on to find her path in an unfamiliar world after witnessing the death of her mother. Feeling like an outsider among the underworld, she finds a best friend in the most unlikely place. A rival crime family.

Santino Russo, eldest son to the head of the New York Cosa Nostra, is one of the most eligible bachelors in New York thanks to his stunning good looks, wealth, and deadly charisma. Blood and death follow Santino Russo, but to Amore he will always be her first love and the first one that made her feel safe in a deadly world.

Until he broke her heart.

Now faced with a marriage she never wanted, while trying to hunt down and kill the man responsible for her mother’s death, she has to deal once more with Santino Russo. The ruthless mobster that doesn’t take no for an answer and always finds a way to get what he wants. Even if he has to kill more than a few men to get it.

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I loved everything about this book, from the moment Amore and Santino met on the first page. At times they seemed destined for one another and at others it seemed impossible they could be together. Their story is complex, with layers of angst, suspense and heat. I was hooked on every word. Amore’s whole world was destroyed when her mother was murdered and she was taken to NYC by the father she’d never met. Savio Bennetti was one of the most powerful bosses in the city and his daughter had no idea what that meant when she inadvertently wandered into Russo family territory to escape bullies from school. The Russo family embraced her immediately and proved themselves to be true friends for life.

She suffered at the hands of a cruel stepmother but her father and brothers wouldn’t stand for it so her sad life steadily improved, although she never stopped missing her mother. There’s a love triangle of sorts but not really, it’s tough to explain without being a spoiler so I’ll just say it added another dimension to the story and I really enjoyed how it played out.

I love the author’s writing style because it’s descriptive and detailed without slowing the pace of the story. The ending was perfect for Santi and Amore but this is such a good read, I wanted more. This is a standalone but I’m really hoping we get Adriano’s story sometime soon because he’s such a loveable cad. I received an ARC from Grey’s Promotions in exchange for an honest review.