Ember (Eagle Elite #5)
Rachel Van Dyken
RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 19,2015
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I know only pain and survival.

That is until the Cappo's sister walked into my life.

And changed everything.

She's a light who makes my darkness darker, her smile makes my heart turn to ice, and I can't escape the fear her seductive looks instill--knowing it's only a matter of time before I fail--again, and take her for myself.

This is the story of my redemption.

But it's not pretty...I died, and now I'm alive, but not living, breathing but not surviving. I am Phoenix De Lange, son to a murdered mob boss, estranged brother, horrible friend, monster in the making, newest leader to one of the most powerful families in the Cosa Nostra.

And I will have my vengeance.

Or die trying.

I am Phoenix De Lange.

Death is all I know.

Until she offers me a piece of life--I can't resist taking.


Bee has a funny, sparkling personality and exuberance for life. Now that she has more freedom, she just wants friends, to belong, and Phoenix. But at Eagle Elite people are either scared of her connections or out to manipulate her. And Phoenix has his hands full protecting her from others, and himself from her charms.

Push, pull, hurt, rejection, need, resistance, fear, secrets, and guilt. Bee and Phoenix are one big complicated mess. But I loved them together. Phoenix was so deep into himself and wallowing in his guilt that he really was just existing and not living. And Bee was the type of personality that just kept pushing until she could find a crack in his armor to get in. And she was the only one that really saw him for his potential and not for who he was in the past.
As with any Eagle Elite book there is drama, bloodshed, danger, secrets, suspense, and betrayal. The plot line draws you in, keeps you guessing, and throws in all kinds of twists and surprises. It is told in Phoenix, Bee, and Sergio's points of view. It is hard to determine who can be trusted and who can't. No one of them is really all good or all bad, they are all a mixture of each teetering farther towards the bad side. But despite the violence, crime, and dirty deeds, they fiercely protect those they care about and love hard. I loved getting to spend time with all of the couples: Nixon and Trace, Chase and Mil, Tex and Mo, and the other family members Frank and Sergio. They add humor, tension, and drama to an already intense situation. I love that they are family and friends, yet not afraid to shoot or beat the crap out of each other if they deem it is needed.
This is a story of loss, pain, self hate, guilt, love, hope, second chances, and redemption. I never really liked Phoenix in the beginning, and his reappearance intrigued me in the last couple of books. But in this one, he wormed his way right into my heart like only truly broken characters seeking redemption can. I was not sure Rachel Van Dyken would be able to pull it off, but she did an amazing job with his story. I think Phoenix and Bee have become my new favorite Mafia couple.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ember picks up the story of the five mob families associated with Eagle Elite and moves it far further than I could have imagined. There were bits and pieces that reminded me just how intricately developed this whole series has been from the beginning. Favors owed, histories shared, webs woven and dropped to catch the individual players, and even the continuation of plans and deals put into place by characters who have since died.

Phoenix De Lange is haunted by the things he’s done in the name of his family. But he is in the perilous position of taking over the Nicolasi Family without sharing their blood. Everyone in his life knows exactly what he did to lose favor with Nixon and the other bosses, and what he did to his blood family. Everyone except Bee Campisi, newly arrived in the US to get to know her estranged brother, Tex.

Now, charged with protecting Bee, Phoenix is facing every one of his nightmares on a daily basis. But what he begins to realize is that his nightmares are actually fading as he allows the feisty, persistent girl he is shadowing to get closer to him.

Before I started the book, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get past Phoenix’s past. He was so easy to hate in Elite, and even though his actions later led to Trace and Nix forgiving him, he still left me feeling a little ill with the thought that he would be the “hero” here and I would have to figure out a way to like him. But it didn’t take being in his head for very long for me to forget my initial hesitation in finding a fondness for him. His was also not a quick transformation. He has been living in a numb, deadened state for so long that even he didn’t know how to act once he began feeling things again.

Bee was continually a bubbly persona, even as she battled self-confidence, and an insecurity born of her secluded and fearful childhood. Even as Phoenix had a personal journey to go through, Bee was forced to make a similar journey to figure out how to be a part of a family and community so unlike the one she was raised in. And her desire to fit in screamed loud and clear even as she felt like she didn’t have a home or belong anywhere.

While it hasn’t been more than a month or so since I binge read the rest of this series, I had forgotten how often these books make me grin, chuckle, and giggle outright. For being about a group of mafia bosses running organized crime families, there is a surprising amount of normal. Just with a little extra bloodshed added to the mix, and a penchant to shoot first, ask questions later.

As I reached the end of Ember, it reinforced the growing feeling that this book, and Phoenix, may be my favorite in the series. He had a long way to go to redeem himself, even after the steps he had taken in previous books, but his past was far from behind him. Watching him deal with those memories and the repercussions of his actions was incredibly human and endearing. And as the final chapters progressed, my anticipation for Elude only grew, even as my engagement with Ember continued.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.