Chicago War: The Complete Series (The Chicago War)

Great Series if you like Mafia stories.

This is the complete series of Chicago war and it is FANTASTIC. Bethany Kris is an excellent author, she draws you in to the lives of her hero's and i honestly struggle to say which one is my favorite story. Although each story reaches its own conclusion, there is a story line thread running through the series so to have them all together to be read in order is a must.Its about Mafia families, forbidden love, plotting and yes, murder... sometimes you wonder how the hero's are going to sort out their problems as Bethany Kris doesn't skimp on the intrigue. At times it is ruthless but the emotional ride is amazing. You really feel the desperation of being trapped into a life you don't want and the helplessness of some of the heroines as they are used as bargaining chips to bring heartless men to more power, good job some ruthless men have hearts and big guns and are willing to fight for their girls happiness.

This box set is the complete Chicago Wars story from Damien and Lilly through to Thommas and Aribella.Although each book concentrates on the love story of two characters, the underlying and intriguing story line about the Outfits internal battle for the coveted position of 'the boss' runs throughout the series. The loss of innocent lives is heartbreaking and the emotional battles these couples face are sometimes overwhelming. Each person faced their own problems and were pushed and pulled in different directions, being used as pawns or sacrifices. The epilogue at the end of the final book is quite brilliant, it shows the unity of the Outfit and gives you the closure you need for all the couples. After all was said and done, I couldn't chose a favourite couple, they were all loveable in their own ways and something about each person really spoke to me.The author done an amazing job creating a world where I could lose myself in all things Mafia. The dominance of the males throughout the book, the race to get allies throughout the family and the battle of minds; it was the biggest, most brutal game of chess and in my mind, the right man, the strongest and most loyal won.Overall this series was undoubtedly a 5 star read.Deathless and Divided - Book 1I loved both Damian and Lilly. Damian is the silent thoughtful alpha male that every woman wants to claim her; dedicated and fiercely protective, Damian eased his way into my top 5 book boyfriends. Lilly is beautiful, fierce and loyal. Forced back home by her oldest brother to fulfil her obligations as a mafia princess, Lilly is all about defiance. She is still bitter, rightly so about the death of her parents when she was a child, Lilly doesn’t make things easy for her brothers. Damian, indebted to Lilly’s oldest brother agrees to an arranged marriage with Lilly, much to Lilly’s disgust. This book has all the drama and nail biting suspense you’d expect from a mafia story, but is well balanced by the beautiful and intimate relationship that develops between Damian and Lilly.This book introduces us to the main players in the 4 Chicago families and leaves you with so many questions. There were unexpected twists a plenty and more than one wtf moment along the way.Reckless and Ruined - Book 2This book answered so many of the questions from Deathless and Divided but left me with so many more. I loved the ‘young love’ relationship between this couple and seeing the lengths they both went to, to prove their love to one another. Adriano is a Conti and Alessa is a Trentini, and if you’ve read the books in order, that is not a good situation to be in with the families warring as they are. Adriano, although only 20 is extremely dominant, confident and protective, which seems to be the way with the men in the Outfit. His love for Alessa is never in question, but will he ever get what he wants. Alessa is the younger sister of Joel Trentini and with him trying to strengthen his allies in his fight to be the boss, he doesn’t care that his actions are hurting those people he should love unconditionally.This book did not disappoint, there was plenty of drama and bloodshed, some deaths had me cheering and high-fiving the author for tacking out the trash, and others left me a little sad. I really felt for this couple and their struggles. Joel is definitely on my hit list. On so many occasions I wanted to climb into my kindle and slap him, and Dean, urgh I have nothing nice to say about him, so with all the good manners instilled within me, I won’t say anything at all.By the end of this book, I was left with a few questions, and if I’m being honest, I’m kind of hoping Dino didn’t really die and will come back from the dead.Scarless and Sacred - Book 3Well, what can I say, this book so far has been my favourite. I loved all things Theo and Eve. Kindred spirits is how I felt about them. Theo had a tough child hood and then lost his brother Dino, and to top it off is being used as a sacrifice in the Chicago war. Theo has always had his eye on Eve, but as a Conti principessa, she is off limits. Theo is your typical Capo, dominant, hot, protective, hot, demanding and did I say hot!! Eve plays the part of the Conti principessa well; she does what she’s told when she’s told and has the ‘I’m happy and privileged’ smile down to a T. The slow build up to this couple is beautiful to watch.Of all the books in this series so far this one has truly brought tears to my eyes, you can feel the love, pain and suffering as if it was your own. This book is not void of the bloodshed and violence and that only helps to make this one hell of a read. The suspense, intrigue and drama are present in bucket loads, and this author did not disappoint with the twists and turns, so many questions were answered yet there are still so many more to go.Breathless and Bloodstained - Book 4This is Thommas and Aribella's story, and I just loved finally learning more about his couple. They have been ever present throughout the first 3 books and you were always left needing answers. How did they start, why was their relationship so forbidden, and so many more questions. As the final book in the series, we certainly got all the answers we needed.Thommas was, like all the other males in 'the family' an alpha male, he knew what he wanted, and behind closed doors took it, but to the rest if the Outfit he was a 30 year old single man playing the field. Aribella was a force to be reckoned with, she was strong, resourceful and knew what she wanted sexually. Some of the scenes between this couple certainly brought a little colour to my cheeks 😊😊.Of all the couples, for me this duo had it the toughest, with Joel as a brother Aribella couldn't breath without upsetting him, and as contender for the position of 'the boss' Thommas had to untouchable, it made for some really interesting plot twists.Overall another brilliant story and individually another 5 star read.

What a saga. This series needs to be given 10 stars. The way Bethany weaves the characters in all the books keeps the reader wanting more.