REVIEW: Envy (Eagle Elite #9.5, 1001 Dark Nights #83) By, Rachel Van Dyken

Every family has rules, the mafia just has more....

Do not speak to the bosses unless spoken to.
Do not make eye contact unless you want to die.
And above all else, do not fall in love.
Renee Cassani's future is set.
Her betrothal is set.
Her life, after nannying for the five families for the summer, is set
Somebody should have told Vic Colezan that.
He's a man who doesn't take no for an answer.
And he only wants one thing.
Her.
Somebody should have told Renee that her bodyguard needed as much discipline as the kids she was nannying.
Good thing Vic has a firm hand.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.** 

*Review*

“The mafia was a very real beast. And it took no prisoners. It would rather kill them.”

If you have been around my blog, you know I have a special place in my heart for Rachel Van Dyken. She was one of the first authors I reviewed and kept reviewing and there is a reason for it. Rachel is an absolute genius. Rachel has a gift and it’s one that I keep coming back to. When the reading slumps starts, when I get overwhelmed with my TBR, when I’m bored, when I want something to read that I have no doubt will be good, that’s when I pick up a Van Dyken book. I have yet to be disappointed. While I love all of her book the Eagle Elite world is on its own level. I have yet to read anything like it and with every book I fall further into the belief that no other series will ever touch it.

“A war began in that room. Between two hearts. Between a broken soul. And a lost one.”

Vic Colezan took an oath. He took an oath to put the families safety before his own. Vic has been able to easily keep that oath. It helps with his focus, it helps with the darkness within him, and it keeps the people he cares about safe. Until that very oath brings him the one thing he can’t have. Vic, oh my dear Vic, he was something special. Rachel created a character that I feel in love with from the very start. He’s loyal, brooding, violent, and just a little scary. She cements that all for us but then she will give us moments that show us his humor, his softer side, and how fiercely he loves. It’s hard to have a series this long and create characters that do no bleed into each other, but Rachel does it. She has managed to create another male lead that is all his own. He has his own flaws, his own fears, and his own personality. The only thing they all have in common is their loyalty to the Mafia and the love they have for their women.

“Oh right, that I had found my one. The one. That I found someone who saw me, who got me, who made me feel alive, who made me feel both scared and secure. I’d found him. And when you find something that incredible…You risk it all. Without thought of the consequences.”

Renee is the nanny. She was taught to keep her head down and watch the Mob Boss’s children until she could escape this life and move on. Renee never saw what was coming for her and she definitely didn’t see Vic coming either. Renee was an iffy character for me in the beginning, but she grew on me. She seemed a little naïve, but I guess a few of the girls in this series start out that way. I know its normal to be repulsed and afraid of Made men but because I’m not normal hearing her disapproval, dislike, and fear of Vic and the other members bothered me. But like I said Renee grew on me, she won’t go up on my favorite female leads list, but I didn’t hate her.  I had to keep reminding myself that while she grew up in this life she never wanted it. Once she gave in and really started to get to know Vic and see passed his darkness I accepted her into the Eagle Elite world. Then the end chapter really solidified it for me.

“It was a family forged by blood, by loss, by so much love it almost seemed normal to bicker and pull weapons to prove your point. Family and God. They ruled with iron fists-they loved even harder than they killed.”

I have to admit I fell away from the Eagle Elite series for a while. This was my first new EE book and I can’t believe I ever put them down. Rachel Van Dyken creates books that first rip your soul out and then stitch it back together again. I really didn’t think I would find another EE book that would hurt my soul so good like Tex’s book, but I think I may have found it. Rachel creates such unique characters. We are now 9.5 books in and each character is different. Each one comes with their own story. How does one person come up with so many different characters and create such an interact story. Let me repeat that we are 9.5 books in and the EE world is still going. The story is still unfolding, the characters are still growing, and the family only gets bigger. I haven’t been bored yet and I keep getting surprised. Rachel Van Dyken grabs you by the face and doesn’t let go until you are begging for me.

Be ready. If you start this series, it’s Blood In. No Out.