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Title: Joker's Wild Series: Vegas Underground Author: Renee Rose Designation: Book 5 of Series, Full-Length, Can Be Read As Standalone, No Cliffhanger #contemporaryromance #familysaga #badboyalphas #mafia My Rating: Five Smokin' Hot Stars***** Oh my, oh my, oh my! I cannot believe I'm saying this - but I LOVED Joker's Wild. Don't get me wrong; I've been a Rene Rose for years and love her work, but I've detested Junior Tacone, the eldest Tacone brother and male protagonist of Joker's Wild, since the first book of the Vegas Underground series. I mean like literally hated this character and almost didn't purchase this book. I know hate is a strong word but, in this case, it's not nearly strong enough. This man has been a total jerk in every book of the series, and I wanted to string him up by his cajones! lol... I thought it would be impossible to make Junior likable or relatable, and certainly not redeemable. But I'm a longtime fan and totally addicted to Rose's books, and I just could not resist the temptation. Soooo, against my better judgment, I one-clicked and dove in. Best decision ever! I don't mind admitting when I'm wrong (usually), but in this case, I was very wrong, because I LOVED Joker's Wild! And mafioso kingpin Junior Tacone is my new main man! *swoon* Santo Tacone Jr, aka Junior, is the eldest son and currently the stand-in patriarch/mob boss for the mafioso Tacone family while his father, Don Santo Tacone Sr, serves time in prison. If you thought the other men of the family were domineering, you ain't seen nothing yet! Junior Tacone is the most alpha of them all! This story reminded me a little of Beauty and the Beast. Naturally, Junior was the beast and his beauty was smart, sassy, snarky, capable, and very beautiful nurse Desiree Lopez. OMG, Desiree was a real hoot! Never one to be intimidated, Desiree stood her ground and refused to be cowed by Junior. She had his number from the get-go, but she was smart enough to know she had to tread carefully. Oh, she still sassed him, but she also knew how to play the game and when to keep her mouth shut. Desiree was one smart cookie, but my heart ached for her. Junior and Desiree's mutual attraction was evident in the first chapter and sizzled through the entire book. It was so much fun watching Junior and Desiree dancing around each other, trying to deny the inevitable. When Junior Tacone abducted Hispanic spitfire Desiree Lopez and had her brought to his home to save his brother's life, he got a whole lot more than he ever bargained for, because Desiree brought him to his knees - literally! Those two were like a powder keg with a very short fuse, just waiting to explode. And explode it did, with steamy passion and hot love scenes that even made my almost 70-year-old engine purr. lol... But that's not the only thing I adored about this story. It was filled to the brim with danger, drama, angst, suspense, secrets, sassy banter, humor, passion, romance, and a boatload of steam. Joker's Wild is not your traditional sweet love story. It's raw, emotional, heartbreaking, and filled with angst, but it's also heartwarming, as well. Sigh... Needless to say, I'm so glad I didn't listen to myself. So, did I like this book? No, I loved it! It's was sexy, engaging, well written, and well crafted with complex characters that, literally, exploded from the pages, demanded my undivided attention, captured my heart, and held me prisoner from the first chapter to the last. I snickered, snorted, giggled, sniffled, and sobbed through the entire book, but by the end, I was happy, satisfied and entertained. At almost 70 years young, I should know better than to judge a book by its cover, or in this case, character. I should be ashamed of myself. Nothing is impossible with a talented author like Rose at the helm. Would I recommend it? You bet, and I am but only for adult readers since it does contain some violence, explicit language, and steamy sex. And you know, it also includes spanking. That's just a given in a Renee Rose story. lol... Each book in the series can be read as a standalone, but they're soooo much better when you read them sequentially. Will I read this author again? Absolutely! I can hardly wait to read the next book of the series, Queen of Clubs, which will feature Alessia Tacone, the only female of the Tacone siblings. And finally, was I entertained? Completely! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read! And Renee Rose, I bow to the master. You made me eat my words!

I loved it! It's not just one thing, it's the whole story! I've read all the books except Queen of Clubs and I've enjoyed them all! What didn't I like? Unfortunately the setting wasn't believable for me. I grew up in Cicero and I just have to say that unless there was some major miracle working gentrification happening there it's nothing like what was described. Maybe not as bad as the south side of Chicago but pretty damn bad. But I could be wrong, my step-dad moved us out of there when I was 10 and I never looked back at that scary place. And your proof readers need to work a little bit harder, which is why I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Still, can't wait to read Queen of Clubs!!!

While the story will read well as a stand-alone, it also is part of the Vegas Underground family. Junior Tacone is head of the family due to birth order. He is running the family business with his father, the Don, in federal prison. Unlike two of his youngest brothers, Nico and Stefano who left for Vegas, he is in charge in Chicago. What was to be a meeting goes south with the Russians in a bloodbath of violence, and Gio Tacone is shot too. Unable to waltz into a hospital, Junior has his brother Paolo go pick up Desiree Lopez and bring her to him. Desiree had been their mother’s home health care nurse. The plot will have the Tacones kidnapping Desiree when she comes off her ER shift at the hospital and bringing her to Junior’s house to give medical care to Gio. While she is upset, when she sees Gio she immediately goes into medical care mode, snapping off orders for supplies she needs and stabilizing him. Junior promises her that she will be taken care of, well paid, and allowed to leave when Gio is healing and no longer needs medical care. “You guys are like throwbacks to another time. Warriors who protect your people and keep the order. Your own law.” The chemistry between Junior and Desiree is off the charts, and while he normally would never tolerate someone mouthing off at him, he likes her spunkiness. There is plenty of tête-à-tête between them with heavy sexual undertones. It doesn’t take long for these two to be tangled up together—and she gives as good as she gets. I think they both need each other. Both have secrets that eventually come out, and rather than making them weak; it gives them each strength. Once Junior knows what is going on in her life, he starts the process to make results happen. Some things are just ingrained into you, and trust is not one of them for Junior, so it isn’t easily given to Desiree. He will be furious with her for bringing her mother into the situation—but then Gio starts to improve. “I’m Team Tacone. I’m on your side.” Notation: I’m not a fan of married people—even while separated, it is still an affair, and yes, Junior is legally married even if in name only. While the marriage had been over for years, it still falls in the cheating category. Desiree is divorced, but does learn about Junior and his wife, and what lead to the end of their being together. The story is a page-turner with a great cast of characters, plenty of interaction, with dominance and control by Junior and the submission of Desiree. The sex between them is an erotic dance of power exchange and includes punishments. What starts as imprisonment and forced submission quickly becomes consensual and passionate. Can the relationship between a harden mafia leader and a woman change each of them?

Desiree is doing everything she can to make the money she needs, college fees but most of all a PI to find her son that her ex took from her. She’s got a steady job and that’s helping, until she leaves work and find herself taken and ends up at Junior’s home to care for his brother that’s been shot. She knows Junior she cared for his mother, she knows what the family does. Even though she knows who he is she makes sure that he knows she’s not happy and has no issues standing up to him. Junior thinks it’s cute that Desiree thinks she can tell him what to do, and cute that she denies that she doesn’t enjoy his punishments. Desiree knows she’s falling for Junior and that can’t happen, she wants a nice uninteresting relationship next time, which Junior is anything but, but still she’s falling. Junior knows Desiree is everything he can’t have, when he finds out more about her he knows that once his brother is healed, she will run as far as she can, she will never want anyone like him with the secret she thinks he doesn’t know.

Love mafia romance stories and the entire series is 5 star! Many authors a script that never I throughout a series but With this series, each book just different enough to not get bored or "roll your eyes" because its the same thing just different names.

Junior Tacone is the oldest son of the family and took over after his father went to prison. He hires Desiree when his mother had surgery. His brother gets shot and he sends his men to get Desiree to take care of Gio. She stays there and takes care of him and the chemistry us off the charts. He tells her things he doesn't tell anyone and he finds out her ex husband kidnapped their son so he gets help to locate them.

I have read books 1 - 5 so far, my favorites are Nico and Santo so far. In this book Santo aka Junior, shows his emotions and why he has been so tough on everyone in previous books. Great writing and with a happy ending.

3 Stars

I must say this was a surprising read ,after reading what Junior was like in the previous books in this series, I have to say that I didn’t like the character very much , but now my opinion has been changed and although he’s still the ruthless boss man of the Tacone crime family he certainly showed us he had a softer side . As head of the family whilst his father is in prison , there are troublesome times waiting around the corner for the Tacones when it’s clear that the Russian mafia have tried to muscle into their territory . A meeting at a local cafe is arranged where a Junior is intending to put the Russians straight on a few things . As soon as they get there Junior realises it’s clearly a trap and all hell breaks out . During the hail of bullets Gio, who’s another Tarcone brother, gets shot and it’s up to Junior to save the day and get them away from danger . The head of the Russian Mafia is not in the meeting prompting them to ask the question just who put the order out to wipe out the Tacones ? . After killing all the Russians there , a hospital is out of the question for Gio so instead they take him to Junior’s place where Junior sends for Desiree the nurse who took care of his mother when she recently had a hip replacement . Desiree being an excellent nurse instantly takes charge of the situation ,and fires off a list of things that she’ll need . Obviously she knows Junior and what he is and she certainly has had an interaction with him when she nursed his mother . Although not very happy that she’s been practically kidnapped she realises there’s not much she can do but take care of Gio . As she takes care of her patient, the interactions between her and Junior heat up quite quickly and it’s not long before they’re getting hot and sweaty at every opportunity . Although Junior comes across as a hard mafia boss throughout this story his sensitive side comes to the surface , we also get a glimpse into his tragic back story . Desiree also has a troubled past when after getting a divorce and sole custody of their son , her no good ex husband took off taking their little boy with him , now Desiree spends most of her hard earned money on a PI who’s supposed to be trying to find them . With practically non stop hot sexy action between these two unlikely characters it would seem that are some surprising revelations and decisions to be made by both of them towards the end .

Love this author have a bunch of here books great read will be getting more.!!

Envoûtant. A lire et relire sans modération Une histoire d amour comme on les aime Passionante et qui vous dévore...

I am loving this series! Classic tale of the female taming the male but that female is all sass and that male is an Italian kingpin! I love the friction and angst. A few twist to keep you on your toes. I just had to stay up to read this book! Absolutely perfect ending for Junior and Desiree

I wasn't sure how I was feeling about this book with how Junior was in the other books. But by far my fav!