Review: Very good addition to the series. :D
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 9, 2014
4 starsThis was a very good story. I have to admit that I really liked both Benny and Frankie when their story was introduced in At Peace so I've been looking forward to seeing their story. I liked the way things turned out for Frankie and Benny.Frankie is a good woman with a big heart. She grew up in a family that wasn't big on love and support and Frankie was probably more of a mother to her siblings than her mother ever was. Frankie had one serious boyfriend, Vinnie, but he always was looking for the big score in life which led him down paths that got him killed. Frankie hasn't really moved on since and has mis-placed guilt about Vinnie that leads her to believe she doesn't deserve to move on and have a good life.Benny is a good guy although he's a bit of a man-whore. He runs the family pizzeria and coaches little league while waiting for the right woman to settle down with. Benny's brother, Vinnie, was killed years before when he got involved with some distant relations with mob ties. Benny and his family blame Vinnie's girlfriend, Frankie, for his downfall because it's easier than facing the truth about Vinnie's faults.Frankie used to be very close to Benny and his family when she was with Vinnie. Unfortunately, when Vinnie died, they all used her as a scape goat for Vinnie, convincing themselves that she pushed him to do the stupid things he did. 7 years after Vinnie's death, Frankie finds out about a threat to Joe (cousin to Benny and hero in At Peace) and his family and even though she knows Benny's family hates her, she goes to warn them. She also ends up getting involved and gets shot while trying to help Joe's woman, Vi. After she's shot helping their family, Benny and his parents decide to they've been wrong to blame Frankie and want to heal the breach. Also, Benny realizes that he wants more with Frankie, has actually been wanting it for a long time but never let himself go there. Once Frankie came so close to death, Benny decided he wasn't going to let her out of his life again. He starts his campaign to keep Frankie in his life by forcing his help on her when she's recovering from her gun shot wound. Frankie isn't too happy about Benny taking it on himself to kidnap her to his house in order to care for her but isn't given a lot of choice so she bides her time, waiting to try to get out ASAP. The problem is that Benny is persistent and while he doesn't push her too much while she's wounded, he's determined to claim her as his.Frankie is rather big-hearted so she doesn't hold too much of a grudge against Benny and his family. Regardless of this, Benny doesn't have an easy time getting Frankie on board with them starting a relationship. She's rather freaked about his being Vinnie's brother and thinks she's going to hell for even looking lustfully at Benny. There's also some deep seated issues that Frankie has to deal with that seems to be rooted in her messed up family and childhood. Frankie wants Benny badly but doesn't think she could be good enough for him and tries to kill things before they even really started in a mis-placed bid to protect her self (and Benny). She almost succeeds too but fortunately she comes to her senses and Benny is willing to help her work through her foibles. It takes some time and no little amount of effort, but Frankie and Benny get past their issues and get to a point of them being in love and both on the same page in regards to their future together. Frankie's new job does present an unexpected problem though as some issues show up that put Frankie in danger. Frankie and Benny end up working with Luke from Nightingale Investigations (a tie in to the Rock Chick series) in an unforeseen twist and the bad guys get taken care of. The story ends with Frankie and Benny getting a very sweet HEA.I enjoyed this story very much. Frankie and Benny made a good couple and I liked seeing them get together. Also, I liked all the characters in general and the complex ties between them. I really liked that Benny and Sal came to terms with each other for Frankie's sake (despite past problems). The cameos from Joe, Vi, Luke and a few other characters from other series was a nice bonus. This was a good addition to the series and I'll be looking forward to the next book. I'd recommend this book. Thumbs up. :)