Knight in the Shadows

Elm Street Mafia, Book 1

De: Ali Lyda, Alexa May

Narrado por: Mike Peterman

Serve the Family at all costs. That’s my purpose in life. No one asked me if I wanted it. Now there’s no way out.

And there’s definitely no place for Jake, a do-gooder military vet who sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong.

He thinks he saw darkness in the Army? He hasn’t looked at the depths inside me. He’d run screaming if he knew. But he’s made something in our crumbling neighborhood I thought couldn’t exist. Something I want to be a part of. Just like I want him. But I have to walk away. No one betrays the Family and lives.

Knight in the Shadows is a full length m/m mafia romance featuring a wounded army vet trying to make the best of his neighborhood and the mafia enforcer with a dark past who never expected to fall in love!

©2020 Special Fiction Books (P)2020 Special Fiction Books

Max & Jake

Jake and Max are from two different worlds that you would never think could co-exist. Max is part of the mafia family in the neighborhood where Jake lives and has his gym. Jake is trying to clean the streets of his neighborhood and somehow he and Max become allies! Max and Jake definitely have incredible chemistry and a very strong connection that is impossible to deny. It's very interesting watching these two band together and compromise on exactly how to clean up the neighborhood and make it a better place for everyone. I am really looking forward to Sam and Cole's book next. I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy of this audio book.

An angsty listen!

This is book 1 in the series and can be listened to as a standalone.
This was an overall angsty listen.
The character development was great and the plot was engaging.

The narration was fairly good.
I look forward to the rest of the series in this world.

My kind of Trope!

An Ex-Military and a Mob Enforcer! What a pairing and I am so in love with this trope. You can expect to read about ambiguous characters, characters who may have questionable morals, things we might be familiar with when it comes to the Mafia.

Jake wants a family. When he lost his leg during his tour and lost his Uncle Al two months after that, he was all alone, no more family. Rebuilding his Uncle's gym has given him new purpose and allowed him to form a new kind of family, community. And just like his Uncle and his Father, he thrives on it. When the local mob started pressuring them to sell their properties, he began to organize community meetings so everyone can air their grievances and they could help each other find solution. And then they started to received eviction notices. Most of these people have been living there since they were children themselves, and now they have their own families.

Max Russo is in town to find out what happened to a missing shipment of drugs. His Stepbrother Derek is pointing to one man who could have done it, Jake, who owns Elm Street Gym. But the more Max learn about Jake, the more he doesn't believe that he is the one who took the drugs. And he is becoming attached to Jake the more he spends time with him.

These two are meant for each other. Max has been wanting to get out from Ricky Russo's thumb, he wants to have his own family that thrives on helping and building each other up, a total opposite to what Ricky is imposing.

Mr. Mike Peterman was able to deliver the necessary voices for each of the characters, especially those of Max and Jake. We know how difficult it can be to voice over a few characters and to stay true to each and every inflection you have assigned to each. An avid reader could make everything he read alive through his imagination but listening to a book being narrated somehow makes it more vibrant, and it just becomes more!

I love this trope. I love the mystery, the opposites attract feeling. I love the way this tale was written and I cannot wait for the next book.

Great Listen

I enjoyed the book and dove right in for the narration. I wasn’t familiar with this narrator but it was great. I could get lost in the storyline and just enjoy it coming to life.

Mobsters and Heroes

Max Russo is a mobster close to inheriting the family leadership, but there's a problem. He doesn't want that position in this particular family. He wants to create a new family, run his way and not hiding who he loves. Even though he's in the mob he is a good man.

Jake Olm is a good man, some might say a hero. He was a military man who lost his leg and many friends in service. He wants to clean up his neighborhood just like his uncle who left him the local gym. Everyone depends on Jake to keep everything together.

Their attraction is immediate but their reasons to stay apart are strong. Jake was the mafia away from his neighborhood and Max was to protect Jake, but what they build together is stronger then they realize. Together and with the Elm community they will build a new family, just like Max has ways wanted but they have a hard road ahead of them with Ricky Russo, head of the Russo family in the way.

Narrator was good. Clear character voices.

Good Start

This is a good start to the series. I enjoyed the whole cast of characters. The romance sorta take a secondary spot in the story but it's there and I really like the MCs relationship. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger and I am curious to see where this goes. The narration was a little inconsistent and starts off on shaky ground it does get better, though there were some questionable character voice choices. Overall it was a good story.

A Mafia M/M romance? By Ali Lyda? I'm SO there!

Once again I am reviewing the kind of book I wouldn't ordinarily reach for by writer Ali Lyda hasn't let me down yet. In 'Knight in the Shadows', we encounter a gangster with a heart and soul. What I find so memorable about this book is the affection expressed by the characters. The authors did not turn the book into a 'slaughter fest' nor was the book so focused on sexual interaction as a 'selling' feature of the book. I was pleasantly surprised that phrases like 'he reached for his hand' and 'trying not to shed tears' were used. The author described two characters, a mobster and a medically discharged soldier, as men who had and would show genuine feelings with looks and touches that weren't strictly sexual. When the couple does come together for sexual intimacy, the encounter is so much more delightful because of it. Max and Jake had a well-established relationship based on mutual respect as well as mutual need. And I love that a gym and the found family surrounding it was the focal point in a beautifully quaint neighborhood that fought off a mob takeover in the past and proved they could again! This is one of the best books I've EVER read! It left me feeling so good. The narrator did a wonderful job, too! Great work!!!

Little but of Romance and a little bit of suspense

I had previously read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it so I was looking forward to listening to the audio adaptation bring it to life. And it did not disappoint. With the exception of an annoying voice for one of the minor characters most days I felt like I was actually in the Elm fighting by Max and Jake’s side. Max is a mafioso Sent to find a missing shipment of drugs in the Elm. Jake is an injured war veteran and the backbone of the elm, fighting to keep the bad guys out and the neighborhood together. Their Paths cross And while they are on opposite sides their attraction to each other can’t be stopped.

Could have been great

Reading this book would have been great but the audiobook is horrible-poor narration. Hope someone else is picked for the second book.

This was sooo good!!!

This was sooo good!! Jake is a former soldier. He is trying to keep his business afloat and look for a missing employee. Max is the mafia underboss. Max says he will help… but actually ends up helping him. The chemistry between these two was off the charts, smoking hot! Mike Peterman was a new to me narrator, he did a good job.