Book Synopsis:
In this thrilling and sexy follow-up to Sempre, two young lovers struggle to keep their relationship intact after they become deeply enmeshed in the dangerous mafia-run crime ring they once tried to overthrow.
Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco have been through a lot. Haven was taken in by Carmine’s father, and with his family’s help, she escaped a gruesome fate. However, saving Haven from the dark intentions of a mafia family cost Carmine a steep price: he was forced to swear loyalty to them.
Now, still passionately in love, Carmine and Haven must face the fall-out of Carmine’s forced service, as Haven discovers terrifying secrets about the family that enslaved both her and her mother—and why she matters so much in this intricate web of lies.
Excerpt:
Carmine sat in his usual chair in the library, casually strumming his guitar. A sliver of light filtered in from the large window, illuminating his somber expression in the darkness. She called his name but he remained still, continuing to pluck at the strings almost as if he hadn’t heard her. She took a step toward him and was about to say his name again when he let out a long, deep sigh. “I had a dream.”
“Another nightmare?” she asked, walking over to him. He glanced up at her as his fingers stilled, the music stopping, but Haven barely noticed. She couldn’t focus on anything but the green eyes boring into her. Once so alive with passion, she saw nothing but deep sadness marring the bright color.
Carmine set the guitar aside and moved his legs to make room, motioning for her to join him. She climbed into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.
“Not a nightmare this time,” he said. “It was a good dream.”
“What was it about?”
“You,” he said quietly. “You made a painting—some abstract shit, I don’t know—but it was so good they hung it in a museum and raved about how talented you were. It was like you were the next fucking Picasso, tesoro.”
She laughed. “I don’t even know how to paint, Carmine.”
“You could learn,” he said. “Would you want to?”
“Maybe, but I don’t know how good I’d be.”
“Oh, you’d be good,” he said confidently. “You shouldn’t doubt yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
“Except for play the piano,” she said playfully. “Or the guitar.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, for the sake of everyone’s ears, we ought to leave music to me, but the rest is all you. You can probably do all of that, you know. Draw, paint, sculpt shit into weird shapes and tell people it’s something it doesn’t look anything like. That takes talent.”
She smiled. “And you think I have that kind of talent?”
“Of course,” he said. “There’s gonna be no stopping you once you get started.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, a swell of emotion surging through her at his words. “It means a lot that you believe in me.”
“I’d be an idiot not to,” he said, kissing the top of her head
Review
I struggled over this review, going back and forth about how to rate this book. It was hard for me, Sempre was EPIC absolutely one of my top 10 favorite books EVER! Haven and Carmine's love story is so beautiful, after everything they have been through they deserved their happiness. What gutted me with Sempre Redemption is the amount of time the characters spent apart and the choices that Carmine made.....really, I get why Carmine thought his actions were for the best, but this was not the Carmine we have come to grow and love. I don't want to give too much away, so I will leave it at that. The positive's were the writing was good and suprisingly, I absolutely loved Corrado in this book, and this shocked me! 3.5 stars
"What do you do when the thing you want the most suddenly feels like it's beyond your fingertips?"
Sepmpre Redemption picks right back up where Sempre left off. Carmine and Haven are together and happy, but there is a cloud hanging over their happiness...threatening it all. Carmine has committed to the family, and he knows it won't be long before Sal calls on him to fulfill his obligations. Secrets are revealed and it's not long before Carmine and Haven are ripped apart....with all these obstacles standing in their way, will Carmine and Haven find their way back to each other and find true happiness?
"I’ll never change my mind, Not when it comes to you.”
Even with my issues with Sempre Redemption, this is a series that I would still recommend. Like I mentioned above, Sempre is an all-time favorite of mine.....Carmine and Haven's love story is timeless....emotional, beautiful, passionate....unforgettable!
*Reviewed by Brandi
About the Author:
JM Darhower is the author of countless stories and poems, most of which only she has ever read. She lives in a tiny town in rural North Carolina, where she churns out more words than will ever see the light of day. She has a deep passion for politics and speaking out against human trafficking, and when she isn't writing (or fangirling about books) she's usually ranting about those things
Chronic crimper with a vulgar mouth, she admits to having a Twitter addiction. You can usually always find her there.
Author's Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmdarhower
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Darhower/187907981297867?skip_nax_wizard=true
Website: http://www.jmdarhower.com/
Purchase Links:
S&S.com: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Sempre-Redemption/J-M-Darhower/9781476734200
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Sempre-Redemption-ebook/dp/B00EMDPZVK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781476734200
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sempre-jm-darhower/1116527231?ean=9781476734200
