Title: Sempre: Redemption
Author: J.M. Darhower
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Mystery
Purchase links: Simon & Schuster ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ iStore
In this thrilling and sexy follow-up to Sempre, two young lovers struggle to keep their relationship intact after they become deeply enmeshed in the dangerous mafia-run crime ring they once tried to overthrow.
Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco have been through a lot. Haven was taken in by Carmine’s father, and with his family’s help, she escaped a gruesome fate. However, saving Haven from the dark intentions of a mafia family cost Carmine a steep price: he was forced to swear loyalty to them.
Now, still passionately in love, Carmine and Haven must face the fall-out of Carmine’s forced service, as Haven discovers terrifying secrets about the family that enslaved both her and her mother—and why she matters so much in this intricate web of lies.
~MY REVIEW~
Okay guys so after the long wait we finally get our sequel to SEMPRE! And what a sequel it was!! Let me tell you that after I got this on my Kindle there was no holding me back. No "I’ll leave it for later" or "I’ll read this next week". Nope. I quickly began Sempre: Redemption and was sad when I had to put it down! This book was filled with EVERYTHING Sempre had! It was beautiful, it was sad, it made me angry, but most of all…it gave us the most beautiful ENDING.
“You’re not asking me to choose you. It’s always been you. Your father once told me that we always have a choice, but I think he was wrong. I think sometimes things choose us. It’s like breathing. It’s natural. It’s a part of us. It just happens. We can hold our breath and try not to breathe anymore, and it’ll work for a few minutes, but we’ll eventually pass out and nature takes over. We can’t just not breathe, just like I can’t just not love you.”
Sempre: Redemption starts off weeks after the devastating closing scenes of Sempre. Corrado has defeated death and Carmine belongs to La Familia now. Haven is once again condemned to life where she AND Carmine aren't free. But Carmine has other plans. After an excruciating decision is made both lovers find themselves apart. Carmine now belongs to Sal and La Familia while Haven is finally given the chance to find herself. During their time apart both make new friends and both learn to deal with their separation. One in a good way and the other in a destructive way.
Along the way both will have to deal with the circumstances thrust upon them. They will have to make choices, which will either benefit them or kill them. And during their struggle Vincent, Dominic, Celia offer some compassion to these two lost souls. But the man of the hour in this book was definitely Corrado. I can’t say enough how much I’ve come to have mad respect and love for him. If it weren’t for him, Haven and Carmine wouldn’t have made it in the fucked up world they were thrown into.
I won’t say anymore. I can’t go into details about this book without giving away something so I’m keeping this short. Haven and Carmine’s story didn’t end in Sempre. Their struggle with Carmine’s choice is our next stop on their journey. A journey that will rip your heart out and have you wondering if these two will ever get their HEA. I won't lie, this book is not all love and romance. J.M. takes these characters in a direction that will have some upset. I was upset with a little of it but over all thought that the direction the author took gave Haven what she needed. A chance to have what she never had.
Don’t waste anymore time, Pick this up and jump back into Haven and Carmine’s world!
Don’t waste anymore time, Pick this up and jump back into Haven and Carmine’s world!
HAPPY READING!
~EXCERPT~
Carmine sat in his usual chair in the library, casually strumming his guitar. A sliver of light filtered in from the large window, illuminating his somber expression in the darkness. She called his name but he remained still, continuing to pluck at the strings almost as if he hadn’t heard her. She took a step toward him and was about to say his name again when he let out a long, deep sigh.“I had a dream.”
“Another nightmare?” she asked, walking over to him. He glanced up at her as his fingers stilled, the music stopping, but Haven barely noticed. She couldn’t focus on anything but the green eyes boring into her. Once so alive with passion, she saw nothing but deep sadness marring the bright color.
Carmine set the guitar aside and moved his legs to make room, motioning for her to join him. She climbed into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.
“Not a nightmare this time,” he said. “It was a good dream.”
“What was it about?”
“You,” he said quietly. “You made a painting—some abstract shit, I don’t know—but it was so good they hung it in a museum and raved about how talented you were. It was like you were the next fucking Picasso, tesoro.”
She laughed. “I don’t even know how to paint, Carmine.”
“You could learn,” he said. “Would you want to?”
“Maybe, but I don’t know how good I’d be.”
“Oh, you’d be good,” he said confidently. “You shouldn’t doubt yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
“Except for play the piano,” she said playfully. “Or the guitar.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, for the sake of everyone’s ears, we ought to leave music to me, but the rest is all you. You can probably do all of that, you know. Draw, paint, sculpt shit into weird shapes and tell people it’s something it doesn’t look anything like. That takes talent.”
She smiled. “And you think I have that kind of talent?”
“Of course,” he said. “There’s gonna be no stopping you once you get started.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, a swell of emotion surging through her at his words. “It means a lot that you believe in me.”
“I’d be an idiot not to,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
~About the Author~Carmine sat in his usual chair in the library, casually strumming his guitar. A sliver of light filtered in from the large window, illuminating his somber expression in the darkness. She called his name but he remained still, continuing to pluck at the strings almost as if he hadn’t heard her. She took a step toward him and was about to say his name again when he let out a long, deep sigh.“I had a dream.”
“Another nightmare?” she asked, walking over to him. He glanced up at her as his fingers stilled, the music stopping, but Haven barely noticed. She couldn’t focus on anything but the green eyes boring into her. Once so alive with passion, she saw nothing but deep sadness marring the bright color.
Carmine set the guitar aside and moved his legs to make room, motioning for her to join him. She climbed into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.
“Not a nightmare this time,” he said. “It was a good dream.”
“What was it about?”
“You,” he said quietly. “You made a painting—some abstract shit, I don’t know—but it was so good they hung it in a museum and raved about how talented you were. It was like you were the next fucking Picasso, tesoro.”
She laughed. “I don’t even know how to paint, Carmine.”
“You could learn,” he said. “Would you want to?”
“Maybe, but I don’t know how good I’d be.”
“Oh, you’d be good,” he said confidently. “You shouldn’t doubt yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
“Except for play the piano,” she said playfully. “Or the guitar.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, for the sake of everyone’s ears, we ought to leave music to me, but the rest is all you. You can probably do all of that, you know. Draw, paint, sculpt shit into weird shapes and tell people it’s something it doesn’t look anything like. That takes talent.”
She smiled. “And you think I have that kind of talent?”
“Of course,” he said. “There’s gonna be no stopping you once you get started.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, a swell of emotion surging through her at his words. “It means a lot that you believe in me.”
“I’d be an idiot not to,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
JM Darhower is the author of countless stories and poems, most of which only she has ever read. She lives in a tiny town in rural North Carolina, where she churns out more words than will ever see the light of day. She has a deep passion for politics and speaking out against human trafficking, and when she isn't writing (or fangirling about books) she's usually ranting about those things.
Chronic crimper with a vulgar mouth, she admits to having a Twitter addiction. You can usually always find her there.
Connect with JM: TWITTER ~ FACEBOOK ~ WEBSITE
