VENDETTA

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)