Giovanna by Victoria Arrow is an age-gap mafia romance set in Sydney, Australia.
Despite being overlooked as her father’s heir, Giovanna supports her playboy brother as the new mafia boss. She always puts her famiglia first but when she’s reunited with the woman her brother is being forced to marry, she feels that fate has handed her a raw deal. Caught between loyalty to her family and the need to make Francesca hers the struggle inside almost sends her to the breaking point.
Francesca has made a life for herself in Europe after being sent there when her parents were unable to deal with her trauma. Now, eight years later she’s been dragged back home and thrust into an arranged marriage with Sydney’s new mafia boss. Francesca doesn’t want to marry him and seeks support from the only woman she’s ever been infatuated with, her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Giovanna.
With tensions rising in and around The Famiglia, Francesca and Giovanna are caught between duty to family and their need to be together. Will they be able to make it work or lose their lives in the process?
Writing
Victoria Arrow has written an incredible first book in the Marino Famiglia series. It’s deep, dark, raw, and powerful. Our main characters Giovanna and Francesca’s present are interwoven with flashbacks to the past which helps readers more fully understand who they are. It’s not often you come across a book that is told from three characters’ first-person points of view and with this one, Arrow expertly crafts this tale through their experiences. Arrow’s descriptive details are pivotal to grasping the full picture of life in a mafia family. There were scenes that actually left me breathless and I found myself constantly hanging on every word. Immersed isn’t a strong enough word to describe how invested I was with Giovanna and Francesca’s heartwrenching story.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
The cover of this book is smoking hot!
Giovanna’s loyalty to the Marino Famiglia is her greatest strength and biggest weakness. Despite being unable to publicly succeed her father in becoming Don, she runs the show behind the scenes. Outwardly she supports the arranged marriage between her brother, Elio and Francesca Rossi while inside her fragile heart breaks. Although a ruthless and broody member of the Marino Famiglia with a lot of blood on her hands, she is also incredibly caring. These two distinct parts of her personality make her a truly compelling character.
Francesca is one of the most incredible characters I’ve come across in a long time. Throughout her life, she’s been made to feel insignificant and disposable, yet with the exception of one time (which is pretty epic), she carries herself with grace and dignity. The traumas she’s faced and survived have taken an emotional toll on her, yet she is loving and compassionate, and yet is no pushover. Her friendships with Massimo and Sammy are pivotal elements of her character as is her love and devotion to Giovanna.
Giovanna and Francesca’s chemistry jumps right off the page and the longing they feel for one another is heartbreaking. Their connection has been in place since Francesca was born and Giovanna spent years taking care of and protecting a young, Francesca. When Francesca walks back into her life after eight years, the connection is still but the dynamics have significantly changed. These two characters yearn for one another and the slowest of slow burns kept stringing me along. When they finally get together, their dominant and submissive personalities create a delicious power play with a ton of steam!
Heads Up
Sexual assault is discussed and alluded to but is not described and plays a role in one of the story’s subplots. There is also a lot of graphic violence and profanity.
There is one scene where there is sex between a woman and a man.
The Conclusion
Victoria Arrow’s debut, Giovanna is a non-stop action-packed book that I lost sleep over because I needed to know how it was going to turn out. It’s a perfect combination of violence, passion, love, and loyalty with powerful main and supporting characters. The Marino Famiglia’s world is captivating with Giovanna and Francesca’s story right in the center. This book has firmly planted itself on my all-time favorites list due to the quality of the writing, dynamic characters, and gripping story. I look forward to the next book in this series!
Excerpt from Giovanna by Victoria Arrow
After sneaking upstairs for a shower and to change into a suit, I am now reluctantly slipping into the celebration late. I wonder if Massimo’s little sidekick is as pissed off as Elio about their pending union. She was such a funny little kid, I can’t imagine what she is like as a grown woman.
“Gio!” Massimo waves me over.
Matty stands next to him talking to a woman who has her back to me. She wears a dress so tight it could be shrink-wrapped and has the most incredible ass I have ever seen. Her long hair falls in messy waves that nearly reach her perfect peachy bum and her limbs are slim and delicate. I find myself eager to see the face that belongs to the goddess-like body.
“I’ve missed you, mio caro,” I focus my attention on my baby brother, giving him a big hug. “Never leave me like that again!”
Massimo laughs and lifts me off my feet in a bear hug. “I missed you too.”
When he puts me back down and I’ve straightened out my shirt and blazer, I look up to find the shrink-wrapped woman’s eyes on me. They’re big and brown and staring wide at me in shock. Her plump angelic mouth has dropped open into an O shape and she is frozen.
Distracted momentarily by how impossibly soft her pillowy lips look coated in deep red lipstick, I’m about to ask her if she’s okay when she suddenly whispers, “Giovanna.”
“Yes?”
My confusion must be apparent because Massimo clears his throat and says, “It’s Francesca, G.”
Now my mouth has fallen open. “You grew up!” I exclaim and she laughs.
It is the most fucking beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. This can’t be the gawky, scrawny kid I knew. She always had those expressive eyes, but she had a mouthful of braces and hadn’t grown into her limbs the last time I saw her. Her hair was always a plain brown too, but now it flows perfectly from dark roots to blonde ends and the blonde around her face is stunning in contrast with her olive skin and dark features.
“Yeah, I guess I did. You mostly look the same though.” The sweetness is still there. I see it in her eyes and in the kindness in her voice. She hasn’t lost it, despite everything.
“A few more wrinkles and a bit softer around the edges, but mostly the same.”
She runs her eyes over me as if scanning for the softness I speak of and I swear I see heat in her gaze.
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Series: Marino Famiglia
Giovanna
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-0473677459
Publisher: Indie Author
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