I Read Indie: Early 5 Star Review: THE MINALDI LEGACY by Courtney Cole

Title: THE MINALDI LEGACY

Author: Courtney Cole

Source: eARC from author for review

Est Release Date: Tomorrow 2/6/14

goodreads...

“I’m a monster, Eva. There’s no saving a monster. But I love that you want to try.”

Luca Minaldi is rich, powerful and mesmerizing. He’s also a reclusive enigma. He lives in Malta, a fairy-tale place filled with sunshine and sea, beauty and secrets. And Luca’s darkest of secrets is the best-kept of them all.

Eva Talbot moves to Malta to finish her doctoral dissertation in Psychiatry. When she meets Luca, there is a very real and instant attraction that she has never felt before. But even still, she senses the darkness that lives within him.

Eva is hired to care for Luca’s mother, a woman who suffers from dementia. It is Luca, however, that Eva will eventually risk everything to save… as the legacy that plagues him continues.

As the darkness swirls ever more tightly around her, Eva realizes that no matter how hard she tries, she might not be able to save Luca without losing herself.

Eva and Luca are thrust into a world where their love is tested and darkness reigns. Amid chaos and treachery, love and hate, Luca and Eva learn one important thing.

Love is dangerous.

But it also might be the one thing that can save them all.

********

The Minaldi Legacy consists of two parts: part one, Of Blood and Bone and part two, Of Darkness and Demons. This is a Dark Romantic Thriller and it contains adult themes and content.

My take...

I was a little apprehensive when I started THE MINALDI LEGACY. Just knowing it was a dark romantic read had me a little nervous. I usually do not do well with those type reads. But I got to admit that it wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Yeah, there were some scenes that made me feel a little awkward, but nothing too serious. I really enjoyed the story and the incredible suspense that radiated from between the pages.

The whole first half you are not entirely sure if this is going to be a paranormal read or not. It is crazy intense not knowing and trying to figure out what exactly is wrong with Luca. Which leads me to him. I adored him, I hurt for him, and I wanted to protect him...throughout the whole read. He was in desperate need of some help and Eva was just the right girl for the job. She had this desperate and urgent need to be around him and mend him. There was such an amazing connection between the two from the moment Luca charges into her cottage and defends her against a non-venomous spider. He is my kind of hero!

***

Her soul is so beautiful and I know that I will break it. Against every lingering shred of my will, I know that I will break it. I sigh raggedly in the dark room.

She’s beautiful and gentle and God would never give me someone like her and allow it to work. He wouldn’t.

Yet still I clutch her.

She is soft beneath my fingers and I know that I should let go. That I should get up from this bed and

never come back.

But I can’t.

The selfish part of me can’t do it.

***

The story is so very frightening and beautiful all in one. Yes, there is more fright than beauty, but it is the beauty that makes it all worth it. Luca has a lot of issues to work through and it will be quite the battle as he does. But everything worth having is worth fighting for, that is for sure.

In the end, I am truly happy I was asked by Cole to review this book. It was a great read and I love one that challenges me to seek the answer of the mystery. I love finding out in the end if I guessed right. And although, I was semi right in my guessing, I was happy that Cole outsmarted me and revealed something more. Great story...5 thrilling stars!

The Minaldi Legacy Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/97613-the-minaldi-legacy

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.