REVIEW: Always The Villain by Brea Alepou & Skyler Snow

Vitale Brothers: Always The Villain – Brea Alepou & Skyler Snow

Cesare Vitale

Man. Myth. Legend.

Or at least that’s how the world views me.

They’re not wrong; I would give anything to take back my throne. To have power again. Even if it means breaking all of my already weak familial ties.

Until I meet the one man that makes me pause.

Raphael is everything I have never wanted to admit I crave. Someone who sees the monster and still wants me just the same. But there’s more to Raphael than meets the eye. Can he be trusted?

In the midst of Vitale chaos I’m forced to ask myself something I’ve never doubted before. What’s more important?

Power? Or love?

Book 6 in the Vitale Brothers series. This will be the final book.

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Does Daddy Vitale really need a redemption story?

Vitale Brothers is a dark mafia romance series by writer duo Brea Alepou and Skylar Snow. The series follows the brothers as they navigate love and crime. The family is led by the eldest Benito (Say I Do) who has the unenviable job keeping his chaotic half-brothers, Gin (Paid In Full) and his twin Paolo (Never Say Never), Enzo (Take Me Apart), and Blake (End It All) in line.

Always The Villain is the final book starring the infamous Cesare Vitale, whom we all know is a deadbeat bastard out to oust Benito from power. All the brothers except Blake hate the old man, the youngest Vitale having fonder childhood memories of his father and so still wants a reconciliation.

Much younger at 26 to Cesare’s 54, Raphael is so dangerously obsessed with Cesare, he became a sex worker just to ensnare the man. When he has him in his clutches, he sinks his claws deep and doesn’t let go, the goal being to make Cesare dependent on him. As the story progresses, we learn why.

Apart from his obsession, there’s not much to Raphael. It is shown he likes revealing clothes and dresses similarly to Harlow. But where Harlow is fiery and feral, Raphael is hollow, his threats no bite at all. It’s not lost that father and son have similar love interests, a nod to apples not falling far from trees but if Benito and Harlow had nuclear-level heat, Cesare and Raphael are a wet rag.

Sure, the plot is mostly rough sex, humiliation kink, and dirty talk, but that’s all there is. I don’t feel a genuine spark. Their connection reads more like Raphael servicing a client, especially with Cesare calling him “whore” all the time.

Cesare has no appeal either. I’m not expecting him to suddenly turn into a new leaf just because he caught feels. Heck, his sons didn’t miraculously turn into saints either. It’s just that I don’t feel his feels. I’m not remotely convince he’s going monogamous just because he likes dick now. He is also given a sob story and a kitten but no, those are not enough to redeem the old man.

So this is a totally unecessary book. That Cesare’s sins are handwaved that easily is anti-climactic and lazy. However, him returning to the bossom of the family leads to full-on Vitale mayhem which I enjoy. The best parts of the book are the brothers and it’s worth the slog just to read their scenes.

Always The Villain is a story of power, lust, and obsession. A futile attempt to redeem a bastard and a meh romance that fails to ignite, overall, never mind this Vitale.

Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like

Soundtrack: Always The Villain
Album: Michael Grant & The Assassins
Artist: Always The Villain

Vitale Brothers is an all-time favorite series and I agree with some readers that it should have ended with the glorious Paolo reveal in Never Say Never. It’s best to read the books in order, starting with the intense Enzo possessiveness in Take Me Apart, the hilarious Gin shenanigans in Paid In Full, the fiery Benito bloodlust in Say I Do and the take-it-or-leave-it Blake brattiness in End It All.

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