Mafiosa by Catherine DoyleBlood fir Blood, book 3
Published January 5, 2017 by Chicken House
A blood war rages on the streets of Chicago.
Protected by an infamous mafia family, Sophie is living a dangerous lie, pretending to lead a normal life. But the deceit can’t last for ever. Her heart belongs to a killer and Sophie’s the prime target of a rival clan. She’s determined to seek revenge on her mother’s murderers, but can she pay the price – can she be a mafiosa?
The third and final instalment in the explosive YA Blood for Blood series which started with Vendetta and Inferno.
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My Review
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* * W A R N I N G * *
this review might contain spoilers from books 1 & 2!
I don't know was it was about this book, but I'm just kind of... confused? I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, and I didn't necessarily even like it. There's just this sort of indifference settled in me right now, since the initial shock of having finished this.
I thought this series came a long way. I didn't like the first book, Vendetta; I adored book 2, Inferno; and this one just fell in the middle. Which, considering how much I'd been looking forward to it, is a bit more than disappointing, to say the least.
I expected a different side of Sophie. A darker side, definitely, especially considering what happened to her mother in Inferno and by whom. I expected her to take action due to it, but it was all talk and no play. She disappointed me, which, in general, kind of caused me to be even more disappointed with the book.
Now. For Luca and Sophie. Look. I loved them, I did. I shipped them so much in book 2 and the wait after it was agony. Everything that happened in this book—it should have made my fangirl heart explode in happiness. Their relationship definitely went to new heights here but it just... it didn't feel right. It was too easy in the beginning. There was supposed to be the whole issue with Nic—something explosive—and that was a letdown, too. Luca and Sophie were cute, so cute, but... it's hard to explain just how it didn't work for me. I just couldn't love them as much as I wanted to, as much as I used to.
I'm glad that Millie stayed in the book! And as an important character as well! As Sophie's best friend—as any best friend, really—you'd expect her to be forgotten or sidelined or something equally bad, but luckily Doyle didn't make that the case. Millie was definitely one of the best parts of this series due to her wonderful character, voice, and overall awesomeness. No matter what kind of shit Sophie was in, Millie didn't back out or anything—she stayed by her side and helped her. She and Sophie have an amazing bond in the book and I really loved that. Ironically though, Millie was partially the reason Sophie didn't live up to the potential I wanted her to reach—y'know, the entire "I won't let you be like this" and whatever. But still. Millie was brilliant.
I wish there was more of Valentino and Elena in the book. I came to love Valentino so much in this novel, as well as Elena. Doyle showed a different side of the characters and I loved them to bits. For Elena, there was a more human, more motherly side to her, while Valentino wasn't just the head of a mafia family in this book—he was just a regular teenager for a bit, and both of those sides—they killed me.
The ending for the series was a bit underwhelming, I will not lie. I'm not even going to say what I expected because at this point, I have absolutely no idea, but whatever. It felt far-fetched and it was a lot better than I expected. Which, necessarily isn't a bad thing, considering, but still.
All in all, 3.5 stars and a whole lot of meh.
