Review: SALVATORE GABRINI: A MAN AMONGST MEN!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2014
Mallory Monroe's latest novel SAL GABRINI 3: HARD LOVE is the continuation of Sal's story. This latest rendition, kept me interested from the very first page. Sal with his trade mark wise quips, continues to be laugh-out loud funny. Life gives us two kinds of people.  1) The ones who get to enjoy the perks of life. 2) The others whose backs those perks are built on. Sal Gabrini is such a man, a man whose back carries more than his fair share of pain, but through it all, Sal is a "stand- up guy," who loves the people he loves without apology.It broke my heart that Sal had to be the one to take out another miscreant of a person, masquerading as a human being. However, I realized there was no one else with the testicular fortitude to do the job; therefore, on that note, I agreed with Gemma's assessment- "the world is a much better place without them."This book felt like a cathartic release for Sal's character. Now, he can put all the doubts about his early childhood to rest. There are no more lingering thoughts that "maybe, somewhere in her mind, my mother loves me." He is free from his past, and can therefore, embrace his future with his Gemma. These words spoken by Sal to Gemma was an Aha moment "Lift me higher Gemma Jones, and let me be with you." How could I not cheer for Sal at that moment?!Were there editing issues? Absolutely! However, Sal's larger than life personality and Gemma's character are so compelling that they were able to ride above those issues and keep me engaged. I loved that Gemma's father instilled a fierce "love of self" into her as a young child- something that is so lacking in many of our youths today. Her character is well balanced- tough without being brawling, and strong without losing her femininity.A note to Ms. Monroe, I know that you have been writing many books and delivering them quite speedily; however, there were phrases that you used in other books; it became a bit jarring when reading these phrases because it made me disconnect from the present story for that moment and focus on the prior book where the phrases were used. You should consider using an editor who has read all your work, and who could catch these phrases as well as fix the grammatical issues.