For ages I avoided this book solely because I do not like gore in erotica. I'm fine with a little violence, particularly of the ironic sort, but often M/M authors go too far, pushing the content to just shy of horrific in order to make the love story that much more intense. So I was conflicted about this book. On one hand I love mafia stories, I love thrillers and crime fiction ... on the other nearly everything I read about it emphasized its darkness and twistedness which to me meant only one thing. 
 I'm happy to report my fears were completely unfounded. This is a surprisingly sentimental book. The mildness of its content is shocking when compared to a plain list of plot points: pedophilia, rape, incest, mass murder, torture, ridiculously bad parenting. All present and accounted for. But still I think one would have to have a very weak constitution to be turned off or freaked out by this book. 
 That being said, there are some seriously problems with this collection. 
 Let's start with the obvious: not all serials work when reassembled as a larger work. This one doesn't. In the first half there are several points where perspective, location, and time (usually all three) shift dramatically without warning, leaving you disoriented by what you're reading. With months between each part, I imagine this wasn't such a big problem when reading it as a serial. You were unlikely to remember exactly where the last part left off anyway. But when the last part is just a page away, it is jarring. 
 Also, in my opinion, the wrong things were emphasized all the way through this story, and in truth if this is the story that had to be told it probably would have been better served as a short story. There's simply not enough fuel in the things Voinov focuses on to keep interest all the way through. Murder as a form of flirtation (indeed even courtship) is interesting, but it has also been done by the likes of Thomas Harris, Oliver Stone, and Quentin Tarantino. The other important conflicts are basically strawmen. Did anyone actually care what happened to Stefano's marriage or believe for a second that he wouldn't somehow escape the homophobic macho mafia culture? 
 At the same time there are a number of things that are interesting that are thrown away or underutilized. Silvio's relationship with Battista, for example, is fascinating, referenced throughout the book but never really explored in any great detail. There is almost NO information given as to how Stefano became a mob boss despite the fact that the plot practically revolves around that transition. Indeed, on the whole Stefano is cheated as a character to make room for sex scenes and worshipping Silvio's badassness. 
 Well, don't get me wrong ... Silvio is a badass. And I was totally into it. But the turning point of this book is ultimately pinned on Stefano's motivations. Who is he? What does he want? How the hell is he capable of running a criminal syndicate? Why is he running his father's empire? And we're given nothing to go on here. 
 I actually liked the ending as a concept, but it was hard to feel satisfied by Stefano's conclusion because he never felt like anything more than a prism through which to gawk at Silvio's amazingness. 
 [Disclosure: This review was written by an author, see my review policy for more information]