I Heard You Paint Houses
8.0
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Book
Now filmed as 'The Irishman' starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci 'I heard you paint...
The Brilliant Death
7.8
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Book
For Teodora DiSangro, a mafia don’s daughter, family is fate. All her life, Teodora has hidden...
Fantasy young adult fantasies
The Godfather: Corleone's Empire
8.0
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Tabletop Game
Designer Eric Lang, known for his "dudes on a map" games, describes The Godfather: Corleone's Empire...
Boardgames EriclangGames GodfatherGames Miniaturesgames 2017Games
Russ Troutt (291 KP) rated The Many Saints of Newark (2021) in Movies
Oct 4, 2021 (Updated Oct 4, 2021)
It felt like someone stumbled upon a shitty script that partly involved a mafia family and they were like, let's slap Soprano's characters names on these characters and call it a origin story for The Soprano's. The movie is all over the place with a bunch of pointless scenes edited together with characters that aren't developed that ultimately lead nowhere of importance because, as mentioned above, there's no real story here. So sad to see such a great cast wasted on this movie. And sadly, it's so bad it probably ruins the chance of a follow-up movie that could be what this movie should've been. Big pinky finger down for me for The Many Saints of Newark.
Leviathan's Song (The Boundlands #1) by Elsie Winters
10.0
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With the magical mafia knocking down the front door, the last thing Elara needs is to follow the...
Paranormal Romance Portal Fantasy Slow Burn Series
I Saw The Devil's Face: My Life With Joseph Michael Kalady
Book
"You better hope to God the cops don't come," my babysitter, Joe Kalady, threatened me that day on...
true crime memoir
Merissa (13749 KP) rated Christmas Mafia Prince (The Naughty List) in Books
Nov 21, 2025
This is a dark/cute Christmas romance, and yes, the whole book is as paradoxical as that sounds! Killian bumps into Damen when he is trying to give his ex the slip. Damen is looking for a fake husband so he can join in his family's Christmas 'Hunt'. A match made in heaven?
Honestly? This book is bonkers! You have Damen the Assassin, who is completely gone for his boy. Killian the Innocent (sort of!), who really doesn't know what he's agreed to, plus a whole host of crazy (and slightly psychotic) characters who help move this story along. It's Christmassy, it's cosy, it's hot as hell, oh, and just a tad murderous!
I can't wait for more in the series, as there are definitely characters I want to see more of - Corvus being one of them! The epilogue for Damen and Killian was absolutely perfect as they are still smitten with each other. I really hope they show up in future books.
Absolutely brilliant and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 21, 2025
Bratva's Intern (Bratva's Undoing #1)
10.0
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They call me a businessman. And that suits me fine. Let them believe I built my empire with...
Contemporary MM Mafia Romance
Becs (244 KP) rated Restorations in Books
May 22, 2019
I'm generally not a fan of Historical Fictions but my attention was gripped by this intriguing novel. Charles Strickler's writing style is very informative and it doesn't have that "boring history" tone to it. It was rather light and flowed like water. You can also tell that Charles Strickler did a ton of research prior to writing Restorations and it honestly shows.
Restorations follows Miles' journey in recovering a 1928 Stutz Black Hawk Boat Tail Roadster he bought from an auction. There is a mysterious aura around the Black Hawk and Miles is set on getting answers. This journey he takes includes a pretty woman, a few near death experiences, the mafia, and surprisingly loads of action. You're not going to want to miss this!!
"Stop living in your father's shadow."
Characters:
Miles West - the main character who buys the Black Hawk. Nothing overall special that needs to be pointed out about him.
Bramley Ann Fairchild - the auctioneer who sold Miles the car. She ends up helping him figure out the mystery behind the Black Hawk.
Ms. Gardner - basically the mother figure for Miles and she is dead set on trying to get Miles and Bramley together.
Mr. Howe - the lawyer of Carlo Bello. He seems to be absolutely terrified of Bello.
Carlo Bello - a mob leader who will do anything to get what he wants. He's trying to get the Black Hawk from Miles.
Maximilian "Lefty" Webber - the original owner of the Black Hawk that Miles purchased, deceased.
Wil - the repair man.
Reasons why I rated it 4 stars:
1. The plot:
The plot flowed pretty smoothly, minus a few bumps and turns. I did notice a few spots where the plot jumped and there wasn't story/ character development. But overall, it wasn't the worst thing I've read.
2. My enjoyment:
I really enjoyed reading Restorations and would most defiantly reread. I actually sent the review copy I received to a good friend as she is a fan of the mafia and this style of books. (Fingers crossed she enjoys it as well)
3. Character and story development:
There were a few parts where the reader could have used a bit more character and story development/ background, as it lacked. But it really was a great debut novel, especially for it being in Historical Fiction!
4. Grammar and spelling:
Charles Strickler is a great writer and I did not notice any major grammatical or spelling errors. I did find a few that are usually overlooked but they didn't take away from the overall story.
5. The overall story:
I rather enjoyed reading Restorations and would reread. I just wish the parts that seemed to be lacking where able to be added too.
"Accidents happen all the time."
