Il Padrone (Vendetta Book 1) by Leigh Kenzie ➱ Release Tour with Giveaway

Book Title: Il Padrone (Vendetta Book 1)

Author: Leigh Kenzie

Cover Artist: Temptation Creations

Release Date: August 18, 2020

Genre/s: Dark MM

Trope/s: Dark MM Mafia, Stockholm Syndrome, Age gap

Themes: Mafia, Dub-con, Captive/Captor, Forced Submission

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: Approx. 44 500 words/ 190 pages

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Now that I own him, there’s no escape

Blurb

Allesandro
I’m Il Padrone, the Master of this Family, and Emilio will learn his place. I’ll bathe in his tears and watch as he humiliates himself. It’s all for my pleasure. I own it all and he’s just another addition to my collection.

Emilio
Il Padrone calls me his toy. His property. He says I can earn the right to be higher in his organization if only I submit. If only I change who I am. I may be younger, but he hasn’t seen the likes of me before.

Just how twisted can a tale of vengeance become?

Trigger Warnings: This is a dark MM Mafia with graphic violence and extreme sexual situations.

Book 1 of the Vendetta Series ends on a cliffhanger. Book 2 releases September 2020!

Excerpt (Allesandro POV):

I watch my servants scurry around to complete my orders as I get ready for my guest. I laugh mentally because he's definitely not going to feel like a guest. I'd care if I had a heart, but as most accuse me of, I don't. I'm greedy, and I know it.

The bedroom is two doors down from mine. It's a basic bedroom, freshly painted white. There's a bed in the middle and a closet with built-in hangers. A small bathroom is joined to the room, but there's no door. The toilet, sink, and cramped shower is barely enough to stave off claustrophobia. I'm sure he'll complain about the door—or the lack thereof—but really, I'm being nice considering the size. Most of the comforts my previous boy enjoyed have been removed. It takes time to earn those luxuries. I like to leave some rewards in the room like blankets, pillows, and even a limited amount of clothing. It's not out of kindness, really. It serves my purpose to give him things I can take away when he rebels as he learns his new role in life—and he will rebel.

I'm pleased with how everything is coming together. The room between us has already been fixed to my specifications—it's a place for me to play with my new acquisition. It's the one room that I wouldn't let the servants touch. It didn't need much anyway, but the cell is ready for any significant disobedience. I can't stop my evil grin because no matter how well I explain someone's new life to them, they always end up there. Thankfully, I have cameras in all three of the rooms, so I'll get to enjoy the show as he breaks, and as I mold him into my perfect boy.

As the servants leave, Luca walks in holding a file.

"I have all the information you requested," he notifies me with a disapproving look, barely able to meet my eyes.

"Give me the highlights."

"Name is Emilio, but he goes by Lio typically. Mother is deceased, father unknown. Interestingly, Cliff isn't his full brother, although I'm not sure if they're aware of that. It came from the blood work when the mother was in the hospital, and of course, I accessed Emilio's medical file. We already have Cliff's. Different fathers," he states tiredly. I'm sure he didn't sleep much as he worked to find out everything there possibly was to know about Emilio for me.

He pauses for a moment. I'm not sure why he's scowling now, but it could be due to my gleeful expression. Knowledge is power, and that's a good find I can use against Emilio. I try out Lio mentally, but I'm not sure how I feel about the nickname. It's not like he'll retain his name anyway, so I dismiss it.

"What else have you found?" I question, gesturing for him to finish.

"He's...different. Much different than your normal choices. He's a junior in college. Very young. He's only nineteen. Extremely intelligent. Everyone in the mathematics department I was able to speak to had glowing recommendations. He'll be the type to be missed. Aside from his high IQ, which testing shows is among the top percentile, he's rather oblivious about life. He's never dated, and nobody can figure out if he's gay, straight, or other. He's had both sexes flirt with him, but he didn’t respond. The professors can't decide if he's legitimately clueless about being flirted with or simply uninterested in sex," Luca stops briefly and shifts uncomfortably. "He's so young, with his whole life ahead of him and his disappearance won’t go unnoticed. After the last boy…”

Luca abruptly halts when he sees the fury on my face. He knows this is not his decision to make. I’m in charge, and it seems like my friend needs a reminder who is Il Padrone here.

“Everything you said increases my interest. I’ll enjoy making him my best boy ever. At least you’d better hope for that outcome. Because once he’s here, you’re going to be the one to cover his disappearance. Oh, and instead of giving him a life to go back to, I want you to completely ruin him. There will be nothing but ashes left when you’re done, correct? Because I know you’re worried about what I want and don’t really care about my new toy, right?” I end the last question with a deadly quiet voice that reinforces my position. I see his face go grey, and I’m satisfied I’ve made my point.

It’s too bad I had to do that, but it’s necessary. At least this means Lio is going nowhere, and when I’m bored, I’ll simply find a solution to take care of the problem. With a quick wave, I dismiss Luca and decide to recheck all three rooms. After all, I need it all perfect for the new property I’ve acquired. This time, I can’t stop the laugh from escaping. Really, I don’t even try. This is going to be perfect.

A rare treat when I'm torn over whether to loathe or love one of the main characters even after I close the pages

Alessandro ...

I can't stand him, really really loathe his arrogant better than you attitude

At the same time, I respect his devotion to his boys (yeah that was a total WTH revelation).

I have to concede a point to him as that is an absolutely brilliant ploy.

Cliff, you are like a roach just scurrying around, thirsty as he ll .

I hope you meet the boot!

Emilio, I want to cry for you. Everything you had stolen from you.

The future you never knew was even plausible - destroyed by a loathsome disgusting thing

(this is another revelation that was a real holychit moment for me)

Believe in you don't let them make you less

Take back what is rightfully yours

Luca, I worry about you.

I was captive from the beginning with this read

All kinds of mind games and twisted desires

Il Padrone is a heartless cold void of a human,

not even sure he has warm blood running through his veins.

He rules with a heavy hand and no compassion.

He enjoys possessing things and people, tormenting his toys 'till their tears quench his thirst.

He likes them malleable - not broken mind you but definitely cracked.

(Can you tell I'm not his biggest fan? )

I wish we had a little more time with confrontation and acceptance.

I know I'm being greedy but I would have enjoyed some more time, more ...

This first in series sets a pretty solid foundation for the reader.

Who the cast is

Why they are the way they are -

I admit this area is touched on enough to pique our curiosity and get us questioning methods/motives

Some of the conflicts are introduced. Again enough to give us groundwork but not enough to satisfy

This ends with an eye-popping betrayal and all kinds of WTH revelations

About the Author

Leigh is a dark M/M romance author from Texas with two needy terrors of terriers and a chaotic family. She considers coffee a major food group and her family fears broken coffeemakers. She writes in her spare time, forced to the keyboard by characters entirely too vocal in her opinion and often falls victim to plot monkeys. In between creating mayhem with her characters and friends, her hope is to transport readers to fictional places and provide darkness with a twist.

Interview Questions

Q: If you could spend some real-life time with one of the characters in the book, who would you choose and why?

This one is difficult. While I would enjoy Emilio because he’s a math geek like I am, I would go with Allesandro. He’s such a complex character and completely unapologetic about his darkness. It would be terrifying to spend time with him but certainly interesting!

Q: Let’s take off your author cap and put on your reader cap for a moment: what do you look for in a book, what sort of protagonists do you love, and do you have a favorite genre?

I read almost everything. It doesn’t matter if it’s M/F or M/M or any specific trope. I do prefer M/M books with kink in them or anything mafia. I love protagonists who are strong. I like to see them rise above whatever they have to deal with and not have a defeatist attitude.

Q: What books and authors would you say influenced you to become a writer yourself?

I have had an amazing experience and journey with the indie author community. There are so many authors that I would be here forever listing them. I will say the author who really pulled me into the community and I believe she deserves so much credit for helping me is Michelle Brown. She truly is an example of what makes this community amazing and I hope to give back like she does. I’m a huge mafia lover. Her La Asesina Bonita Series is what caused me to reach out and stalk her. There are so many authors though that have supported me in this endeavor that I will never be able to thank them all enough.

Q: What are your least and most favorite things about being an author?

My least favorite part is promoting. I’m an incredibly shy person and that is hard on me. The favorite part is when I can make a reader feel. That is what I want when I write a book. It doesn’t matter if it’s happy, sad, or angry. If I can cause people to have an emotional reaction I know I’ve helped them step out of their lives for at least a small amount of time. There is nothing better than that feeling.

Q: What’s the best piece of writing/author advice you’ve ever received that you’d pass on to someone just getting started in the business?

Write for yourself. I will always be grateful to Nero Seal for that piece of advice.

Q: What’s the one book you’ve read in your lifetime that you wish you’d written? Why did this particular book leave such a lasting impact on you?

I wouldn’t have wanted to write it but Fractured Darkness by Ally Vance left a lasting impression. It deals with domestic violence and includes a male survivor and female survivor. I’m not a fan of using the word victim so I often use survivor. It is the best fictional book I’ve read that deals with domestic violence and it tore me to pieces.

Q: If I were to interview **Your MCs’ Names**, what would they say about you?

Emilio would probably say I’m cruel (I’m really not) and question how I can think of these things. Allesandro would probably just wave his hand like we’re bothering him. He isn’t much for being questioned—at all.

Q: If you could be any animal in the world, what would you choose? Why?

A cat. I’d like to sleep that much, have no responsibilities, and be able to do what I want. Just no tuna please!

Q: If you were to sit down and write your autobiography today, what would the title be?

Surviving and Thriving in Chaos. I don’t even have a regular sleep schedule because of everything I need to do. An elderly family member lives with us and I’m her primary caretaker. At nights I’m usually up with her. During the day I have a regular job that keeps me extremely busy. Then I have my spouse and our two dogs. There isn’t enough time in the day it seems like!

Q: Star Trek, Star Wars, both or neither? Explain.

Both! I’m a huge fan. I credit my father for that. Whenever one came out my father and I had a tradition we would go together to see it. It was very hard after he passed to go see the new ones. I actually rarely watch movies but those ones I will always cherish.

Social Media Links

Facebook | Facebook Group | Facebook Page

Newsletter Sign-Up | BookBub | Goodreads