Vendetta

February 9, 2015
Sophie Gracewell has been trying to hold herself and her family together ever since her father was sent to jail for murdering a man at their diner. When the mysterious Falcone family moves into the supposedly haunted mansion in her Chicago neighborhood, Sophie and her best friend Millie are thrilledânow there are five new beautiful boys to ogle. Sophie quickly falls for Nicoli Falcone, even as she learns his family is bad news. Even more upsetting, Nicâs brothers forbid him from seeing Sophie because sheâs a Gracewell. It isnât long before Sophie realizes that the rift between the Gracewells and Falcones is wrapped up in why her father is in jail. With its families at war and star-crossed lovers caught in the middle, Doyleâs YA debut reads like a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet by way of The Sopranos. However, the use of an attempted sexual assault as a plot device to build romantic tension between Nic and Sophie detracts from this violent romantic mystery. Ages 14âup. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge & White.

December 1, 2014
Revenge and romance abound between warring families. Persephone-who reinvents herself as Sophie-tries to maintain a low profile after her father is jailed for murder. However, when a family with five, young roguish Italian brothers moves into an abandoned mansion in her neighborhood, her world is turned upside down. She is immediately drawn to Nicoli, with his "dark, almond-shaped eyes flecked with gold" that strike her as somewhat familiar-though of course, she can't quite place how. As their relationship intensifies, the couple is warned that they must not be together. Puzzled, Sophie very, very slowly begins to sleuth out their link as she discovers the brothers' shadowy past and Mafioso connection, as well as the truth about her father and his shady brother. Readers will most certainly swoon over Sophie and Nic's ill-fated romance with its stolen kisses and gazes liberally slathered with angst-y longing. Unfortunately, though, it takes Sophie entirely too long to tease out her family's connection to Nic's; most readers will have figured it out early on and will resent having to plod through her dawdling and navel-gazing. Once she finally does manage to unearth the truth, the tense, page-turning conclusion should entice readers enough to at least seek out the next installment. While the romance sizzles, the mystery fizzles. (Romance/thriller. 14-18)

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December 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Since her father's murder trial, Sophie Gracewell has become a social pariah. Instead of attending parties and spending time with friends, she works at her father's diner with her only remaining friend, Millie. Currently managed by her mysterious uncle, the diner will pass to Sophie when she turns 18. Reluctantly resigned to her fate, Sophie's world suddenly gets shaken up by the mysterious arrival of a jar of honey left at the diner by gangster known as "The Sting." Also, an immediate attraction develops between Sophie and Nicoli Falcone, one of the five brothers in a new family that moved in to a long abandoned neighborhood mansion. However, their relationship is initially complicated by his overbearing brothers and then later prohibited once the link between the Falcones and Gracewells is discovered. The protagonist must reconcile her affection for Nic with the violent role he plays in his family's business, while also accepting the truth of her father's incarceration and the reasons for her uncle's sudden disappearance. The attraction between the teens is not as compelling as the action-filled mystery surrounding the Falcone family. Readers will be drawn in by the star-crossed romance and the compelling plot. For collections that can't keep enough teen romances on the shelf.-Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD

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