Dark Soul (Vol 1)

When I first started seeing blurbs for this book, I have to say it didn't appeal to me. It's hard for mafia stories not to come off as caricature. But I like the author - especially for his use of times and themes not usually found in m/m stories - so when the publisher offered the book for 50% off, it was impossible to resist. In a way, it's a good thing I didn't pay full price for the book, because frankly, at $3.99 it's overpriced. Dark Soul is just too damn short. That, more than anything, is why I didn't give it five stars.

The writing is great, painting a picture of the two protagonists that makes it clear there's a powerful 'fatal' attraction between the two, even if one of them tries to deny it. There just isn't enough of it, even though there are (at least) three more books in the series.

A particularly glaring 'missed opportunity', for me, is a gap of a couple of months in the middle of the story. In the first half of the book, we're introduced to the two main characters, Stefano, a west coast boss, and Silvio, an enforcer (read: killer) for the semi-retired Falchi, in a sequence that ends in a rather hot BDSM-ish scene between the two. Then the story jumps forward a few months to Stefano showing up at Falchi's estate in Italy. We're eventually let in on the reasons for the visit, but it still seemed an unlikely turn of events given what we're told in the first half of the book.

I think the author could have used that gap to give us more insight into Stefano's business and the things that eventually compelled him to seek Falchi's help, as well as developing the character of Stefano a little more. One nagging thing about Stefano is that, for a guy who's supposedly never been with a man, he seems to think about it, a lot, and he has very specific ideas about what he wants to do with Silvio. It's one aspect of his character that didn't quite gel for me.

I'll probably read the rest of the books in the series, but I won't be rushing out to get them, since it seems they're all overpriced for their length. I'll wait until they're on sale or the publisher puts together a compendium at a more reasonable price.

Addendum: Since writing this review, I've learned from others that this book is meant to be read as two short stories. Well, don't I feel silly. But, that fact isn't clear from simply sitting down and reading the text. And, it doesn't really change my criticism of the book. I still think the author missed a big opportunity to develop the story more by making this two shorts rather than one well constructed story. It kind of makes me think the author is being lazy. One thing I've picked up on in my reading lately is that the "stuff in-between" the big scenes is just as important, if not more so, than the big scenes. That's where the characters and the background become three-dimensional. I'm really beginning to feel cheated when authors leave all that out and just go for the drama.