Arcadia Burns

January 15, 2013
A shape-shifting Mafia capo insists on romance amid dark family mysteries. The death of her sister and aunt in Arcadia Awakens (2012) have left Rosa Alcantara the head of a Sicilian Mafia clan. Her love affair with Alessandro, capo of the rival Carnevare family, makes both of them vulnerable to vicious members of their own families. It's bad enough that they lead different Cosa Nostra clans, but their magical abilities are at odds as well. The Alcantaras become giant snakes, while the Carnevares become panthers, leopards and lions. Rosa mostly ignores the family business while she investigates the brutal rape she endured a year and a half before. Her investigations reveal unsettling truths: Nothing in her pre-Mafia past, neither the rape nor the death of her father, is unrelated to Cosa Nostra. Her own family has engaged in heinous crimes against her and the rest of the Mafia. A climactic battle--partially described in a six-page cellphone conversation between Rosa and Alessandro--ties up a few loose ends and leaves the rest for the next volume. Mafiosa Rosa is rarely likable, but this tough survivor takes control of her own life, determined not to be controlled, assaulted, lied to or--quite literally--devoured. (Paranormal romance. 14-16)

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May 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-This sequel to Arcadia Awakens (HarperCollins, 2012) picks up shortly after that book ended. Rosa Alcantara, 18, has learned to deal with her ability to shape-shift into a snake. With the death of her sister and aunt, she finds herself the head of her Italian Mafia family, and she must constantly guard against those who are looking to overthrow her for money or other personal gain. She finds it difficult to maintain her relationship with handsome Alessandro Carnevare. His relatives are also shape-shifters, but they are panthers and longtime enemies of her family. As Rosa rises to power, she uncovers a secret that her father had kept-an old conspiracy known as the TABULA, which threatens to destroy the Alcantara and the Carnevare clans. Both teens scramble to protect their families even though it might mean that they can't be together. The combination of supernatural elements, the Mafia, and forbidden love makes the story line unique and complex. Sure to appeal to readers who prefer action and dark mysteries.-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI

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