Awakening

A Dark Mafia Romance, Book 2

By: Stasia Black, Lee Savino

Narrated by: Jack Calihan

I wasn't capable of love. Not until I met Cora.

My angel.

I’ve claimed every inch of her body, and I only want more.

I’m a man who craves control, but her power over me is absolute.

She holds my heart in her hands.

She can never find out.

The demons in this city want to destroy her.

It’s my job to protect her innocence. Lock her safe in my high tower.

But I’m the danger that she’s trying to escape.

The ruthless man in her bed.

A demon worse than all the others.

One who cannot save her from himself.

©2019 Stasia Black and Lee Savino (P)2019 Stasia Black and Lee Savino

It just gets better!

This is book #2, one more to go.
There is a cliffhanger ending, but well worth it.
Now that Cora knows what her husband truly is can she stay cold and handle it?
What happens when someone comes to her asking for help?
Can Marcus ever love her?
I can't wait for the last book in this series.

Out of order much

I won this in a giveaway and because I absolutely love Lee Savino and Stasia Black's books, I had to hurry up and listen. Let me also say I now have to wait until I get my next audible credit to get the first book so I get the whole picture. No matter. This was still worth listening to. Prequel and a relisten before my June audible credit.

Rollercoaster ride of emotions!

I asked to receive this free review Audible book and wrote this unbiased review. The authors have written a story that will captivate you and take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Make sure that you remember to breathe! In this second book of the trilogy there is so much going on and Cora will make many mistakes. I really wanted to shake her at times. Marcus will make a confession to Cora that will rock her world. You will experience emotions of joy, major grief, regret, love, pain, and horror, just to name a few. Cora will witness an act that will bring her world crashing down. Jack Calihan is truly a voice artist. He portrays the emotions of these characters, and you can visualise all that is happening to them. He gives the characters distinctive voices so the narration is easy to follow. It is a pleasure to listen to him. I highly recommend this Audible book if you like dark mafia stories.

Just keeps getting better and better

This series has me fully intrigued and invested in hearing more. The cliffhanger is not as prominent as book 1, there’s so much happening in this book and we get to meet new characters too! It has me wondering if Cora and Marcus ever get a HEA if that’s possible in the underworld.

Jack does a fantastic job again with Awakening, loved how he drew me into the characters and the feeling he puts into his performances really made me feel like I was watching a movie.

Really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next book in the Trilogy.

I received this audiobook at my request and I’m leaving this review as my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed it and would recommend it for anyone who loves mafia stories with angst, and be aware that there’s death, violence and sex all of which is graphic.

Incredible Chemistry! Marcus & Cora's Angsty Story

Marcus And Cora's Journey Weaves A Dark Love Story Into A Suspenseful Read Set In New Olympus About Mobsters, Turf Wars, And Revenge. Newlywed Marcus Is Distant And Emotionless, While Cora Tries To Find Purpose While Resigning Herself To A Loveless Marriage.


This is book two in the Dark Romance Trilogy, or the Tales of Olympus series. It is followed by Queen of the Underworld. The series is plot-driven; book one ends in cliffhanger.

From book one, Innocence:

Cora Vestian, nineteen, finally escaped the from home. She was raised off the grid by a rigid and overcontrolling mother who lectured about needing to protect Cora from the dangers of the world. She had kept Cora's existence a secret to protect her, yet her own mother beat her and locked her away for days at a time.

Cora is the epitome of innocence when she makes her way from her remote farm to New Olympus without money or ID. She soon secures a nanny job. Bad luck seems to follow her, and when she finally makes friends and goes out, she ends up drugged and kidnapped. But she crosses paths with a handsome knight in shining armor, and her life soon becomes like a fairy tale.

Marcus Ubeli, thirty-two, is taken aback by Cora's beauty when she enters his office, dirty and tattered. Her innocence reminds him of someone - and a debt is owed. He doesn't do emotions and he isn't going to start now, yet he can't let Cora go. He is the perfect gentlemen with her, courteous and thoughtful. To everyone else, though, he is the cold Lord of the Underworld of New Olympus, a master manipulator and brutal crime lord in command of his own army, the Shades.

In this book:

Four months have passed since Cora awoke in a hospital bed and overheard her husband’s words. His treatment of her after their wedding ceremony had nearly destroyed her. Her innocence is certainly long gone. But she finally thought they had a break though, and that the Marcus she fell in love with still resided somewhere inside the cold-hearted crime lord’s body. The unguarded words he had spoken in her hospital room to his second in command, Sharo, shattered that illusion.

Minus the bodyguards, Cora has a certain level of freedom now, so long as she behaves and performs her duties in the public eye. As for the bedroom, Marcus is often too busy to pay her much attention. Bereft of her dreams of true love and resigned to a loveless marriage, Cora is determined to make friends. She continues to volunteer with Maeve. Armand, her husband’s business partner, continues to hire her on occasion for modeling jobs and their friendship continues to grow. Cora makes a new friend of Olivia, who turns out to be a tech genius. Anna, a stripper, makes her way into Cora’s rather untraditional list of friends as well. Marcus might neglect her, but Cora is determined to keep herself busy and occupied in his absence.

Marcus is determined to keep order in New Olympus, even if that means neglecting his new bride until things settle down once again. She is a distraction, much to his chagrin. New Olympus depends upon him – it is a city with needs. Marcus learned that shutting everything down doesn’t work – it only invites unprincipled enemies in to fill the void. So he tries to satisfy the population by providing controlled indulgences while keeping his enemies at bay. He has been hard at work negotiating to bring in a new designer drug, but in the meantime the newest musical sensation, The Orphan, has been brought to town. Marcus has him for a two week engagement, headlining at his club, Elysium. The fans are ecstatic. Unfortunately, Marcus learns that The Orphan’s manager is an old acquaintance.

Years ago Marcus had rid New Olympus of the Titans, who now rule over nearby Metropolis. But AJ Wagner, a businessman affiliated with the Titans, has somehow wormed his way back in. Marcus has no choice but to allow AJ’s presence in the city for the duration of The Orphan’s contract. But with the big deal about to go down and an impending election, timing couldn’t be worse. Marcus’s philanthropy and businesses provide a nice cover for his nefarious activities, but the fragile nature of the dirty politics that his operations rely upon leaves an element of uncertainty.

Marcus and Cora's journey weaves a dark love story into a suspenseful read about mobsters, turf wars, and revenge. Marcus and Cora can't be more opposite. Marcus is distant and emotionless, while Cora tries to find purpose while resigning herself to a loveless marriage. She is seeing and learning about the outside world for the first time ever. She is a quick learner, however. The childhood abuse she suffered served as a training ground for her new reality. Her naivete contrasts starkly with Marcus's manipulation skills. She shows great strength in deciding to make a life for herself in Marcus’s absence. She tries to find purpose, but her naivete unfortunately gets her into more trouble, despite her well-meaning intentions.

While in book one the two dance around their feelings for one another under deeply emotional circumstances, here they fall into a pattern of denial and avoidance as they pursue their separate interests. Marcus never discusses his business with Cora, and when she develops her own interests, his inattention leaves her to her own devices. The plot thickens for both. This book ends with a cliffhanger. It is a good transition point leading into book three of the series.

Wow! Marcus and Cora's dark and angsty story will leave you reaching for book three – the final book in the series. The couple's chemistry is incredible, and BDSM elements play a role. Their story is well-written. The plot is somewhat complex. It unfolds slowly, revealing surprises along the way. It takes place in the vivid world of New Olympus, which appears in other books by the authors as well. The characters are nicely defined. The story is written in third person. The POV alternates between Cora and Marcus. I rate this book 4.5 stars.


As for the Audio: it is well-performed. I enjoyed the male voice! It is consistent with the book, with the exception of word or two on a rare occasion.

I received a copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Careless herione

In this book, we saw a different side to Cora. She was much more adventurous and took careless risks like sneaking out of the house and lying or evading her security detail. She was out and about trying to make friends unbeknownst to Marcus because he was so busy dealing with his businesses. There was a lot of suspense in this book. Cora even went to Marcus's enemy AJ's strip club and ran into all kinds of problems there. She tends to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. The end of the book was really suspenseful and so good. I cannot wait for the next book to come to Audible. I highly recommend this dark mafia series.

Jack Calihan, as always did an outstanding job with the narration. I was given this free copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Oh Gods..... it was great.

Loved the story... pretty typical... had me annoyed and frustrated as usual...in a good way. my only issue is the narrator always pronounced God as "gods".... sounded like a kid with a lisp....but since his voice is sexy.... you can live with it haha.

I LOVED IT!

I loved it! I thought this one was better than the first book, Innocence. The narration was great and kept me entertained. The author did a great job with the character builds and plot. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This is an awesome series!

Don't miss this series. This is the best dark mafia story I've ever listened to. Jack Calihan brings it to life beautifully. Morganna Williams

This Book is okay But they made Cora out to..

They make Cora out to be a really dumb and very naive girl. It's really kinda of frustratingly aggravating.
I mean really!?!?
I get that she grew up knowing nothing of the wrold but she went through enough in the first book and even the beginning of this book to learn not to do ridiculously stupid crap to get herself in so much crap.
I mean com on. But I am ready for book 3. i hate cliffhangers!!!