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Renata Vitali
- A Prequel to Damiano De Luca
- Narrated by: Zachary Webber, Desireé Ketchum
- Series: The Five Syndicates Series, Book 5
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Categories: Romance, Romantic Suspense
Non-member price: $20.83
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Publisher's Summary
From USA Today best-selling author Parker S. Huntington comes a steamy, slow-burn love story full of enemies-to-lovers banter, set in high school.
Damiano De Luca: a curse with no cure.
Before he ruled the De Luca family, before he became the man everyone feared, before he scoured an empire in search of me, he chose me to ruin.
I was innocent. An untainted princess. The heiress to the Vitali mafia throne.
And I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when I met the wrong boy.
My name is Renata Vitali...and this is not a love story.
Warning: This story ends in a cliffhanger. Renata Vitali is a ~35,000-word prequel novella in the Five Syndicates mafia romance series. It can be heard before Damiano De Luca but does not need to be.
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What listeners say about Renata Vitali
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amanda panda
- 13-10-2019
Good, but it’s all in the next book
Was disappointed, I purchased the series to find that this entire book was covered in the next book.
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- cdorsey76
- 10-12-2019
The PERFECT narrators for an AMAZING story!
One of my favorite things about reading romance is the feeling of falling in love. Feeling a connection with the characters and allllllll the emotions deep down in your soul. You laugh when something is funny (despite getting weird looks from everyone around you.), you cry when your heart gets broken (and yes, Im a crier).
Parker S. Huntington brings all the feels. I absolutely loved every single word. Renata is such a strong, beautiful heroine. She's got one heck of a backbone. I love her sass and how smart she is. And Damiano.. WHEW.
Zachary Webber has one of the BEST voices. He definitely possesses.. something.. unique and special that brings Damiano to life. PERFECTLY cast, Desiree Ketchum also is a great voice for Renata. Both narrators give outstanding performances on their characters.
I highly recommend this book..this series is a definite must have in your library.
3 people found this helpful
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- QueenZany
- 12-08-2019
Seriously one of the best duet narrations ever!!!
Well hell, I fell madly in love with this novella from the very start!!
Renata Vitali is a generously brilliant, poetic in fashion, work of literal art!
Soul crushingly good!!
Now let's talk about the narration!!! Not only was it dynamic duet narration! But holy heck Zachary Webber and Desireé Ketchum were made to make audiobooks together! Not going yo lie here, I've listened to this audiobook so many times!! I just fall a little harder every time!! Now I just need my new unicorn narrator Desireé Ketchum to narrate more audiobooks!!!
3 people found this helpful
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- Christy D
- 30-10-2019
Renata Vitali
Renata is one tough young lady and wise far beyond her years. To save his own backside her father ships her off to one of the other families and cuts her off from everything she has ever known. What her father fails to realize is that he has sent her into the lions den. The only thing she can expect from these people is respect for who she is. Damiano's father is as crazy as she has heard and he's only counting the days until he can take over. The narration is very nice and spot on. And the series is fantastic. I can't wait for the next book!
2 people found this helpful
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- Ezinwanyi
- 30-10-2019
A good prequel to Renata and Damien
While I enjoyed this audiobook, it was very apparent that I jumped on to a moving train. It was obvious that this story was the middle of an ongoing series and I wish I had more information.
I loved Renata’s grit, inner strength and street smarts. I love that she knew just how far to push and when to pull back. I also enjoyed Damien’s care for those his father callously hurt either directly or through his neglect of supervision. It was clear to me that Renata and Damien would make a formidable force when they finally admitted they cared for each other.
I will actually read this series in order. I can tell I’m missing a very intense series.
2 people found this helpful
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- kgagnon
- 28-10-2019
Edgy and Exhilarating prequel!
This prequel to Renata and Damiano's intriguing story! They are young but are well versed in the life of the mafia, and know how to play the game. Renata is staying with Damiano and his family and he feels protective of her right from the start. Even tho they are on different levels of the mafia hierarchy, they become undercover friends and unlikley allies. But politics and power are a dangerous game and this story is so captivating that I can't wait to find out where it goes next. Desireé Ketchum and Zachary Webber are amazing as they bring this intriguing story to life. They really build the tension of the story and the hint of attraction between Renata and Damiano adding to Huntington's edgy and exhilarating story.
2 people found this helpful
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- Kristin S
- 26-10-2019
Loved These Characters
Another great book from Parker S Huntington, she’s quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her stories and characters have so much depth while keeping a bit of humor sprinkled within it. Renata Vitali was no exception and it did not disappoint.
Renanta is exceptionally strong and hides her true self from most of the world. Damiano is Protective, dominant, ambitious, calculating, dangerous and everything a good book boyfriend should be. The characters constant banter is entertaining and the tension between them is written extremely well.
I also love the quotes that the author includes at the beginning of each chapter. There are several in her books that have really struck a chord within me, enough so that I’ve jotted them down. It’s just an extra touch that sets her work apart for me.
2 people found this helpful
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- C K
- 25-10-2019
5 stars
What a great book! This is book 2 of the series and i can’t wait for book 3!!
2 people found this helpful
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- Michell Casper
- 24-10-2019
Loved it!
WOW!!!!!
What a great way to be introduced to Renata and Damiano.
It will have you on the edge of your seat. And leave you begging for more.
I read the book first but Zachary Webber and Desiree Ketchum brought these characters to life with the audio.
2 people found this helpful
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- K. Ramjohn
- 24-10-2019
Excellent stoy
I've been following this series since book 1 and each book keeps getting better and better. Renata Vitali is the prequel novella to Damiano DeLuca the 6th book in The five Syndicates series. It was gripping and engrossing and will have you at the edge of your seat and hooked until the very end. It combined enemies-to-lovers, YA and mafia tropes into a fascinating tale that gave us the perfect introduction to Damiano and Renata relationship.
You will love these well-developed complex characters, and will be consumed with the story-line. It will evoke a range of emotions from you and will leave you wanting more after its ended. Yes this was a novella but it felt like so much more. This author was able to infuse so much into these chapters that you felt like it was a full length novel.
Renata Vitali was captivating page-turner worthy of a 5 star status. I loved it and would highly recommend it to all YA and Mafia lovers.
I listened to the audible version of this novel which was narrated by Zachary Webber and Desireé Ketchum These two were exceptional with their portrayal of these characters and they brought the story to life. Their voices were clear and understandable and flowed smoothly throughout the novel. I absolutely loved listening to them narrate this story.
2 people found this helpful
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- Geegina
- 17-10-2019
Gaaah!!!!
Im hooked, bring on the next book!
First love, I’m a sucker for, but when you throw forbidden/ Mafia in the mix, I’m all over it.
This was just that, a mix of sweet and dangerous.
Renata is one of my favorite characters ever. She is smart and strong , someone you don’t mess with. At her young age, she commands and knows how to keep the Vitali name on top. When her father, sends her away to De Luca territory, she doesn’t let that take her down, she keeps her head high, and is ready to fight anything that comes her way. But she never expected Damiano De Luca, son to the De Luca boss.
Damiano is smart, strong, a force to be reckoned with. He wants to bring respect back to his family at any cost.
When this two meet, sparks fly. They are enemies, they can never happen, but seeing the pull and fight between this two was everything.
Lies and distrust take this story to another level.
A very interesting story is developing and this two narrators nailed the characters banter and made the story even better.
I cannot wait for the next book!
2 people found this helpful
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- joyly55
- 15-06-2020
Love despite the harshness of mafia life
Renata and Damian from different mafia families grow to care for one another despite Damian's cruel father. But can they learn to trust each other despite the odds stacked against them. I really enjoyed this story because it drew me in from the start and its pace never diminished. The narrators did an amazing job of bringing all the characters to life. Looking forward to the next instalment of the series. Well done
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- Vanessa Leighton
- 10-04-2020
Amazing
This may not be a happy ending type of book but it does give you a serious case of the feels. The storyline grips you from the very start and holds you captive until the end. That ending oh dear do I need the next book
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- Mylifethroughfiction
- 04-11-2019
5 stars!
Loved this! I could listen to the narrators all day. Brilliant story, well told.
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- Readers Together
- 11-08-2019
A definite must listen
Let's start with the fact this is a prequel, I knew that going in as it's noted in the description, it's also not a happy ending type of story ...hence the word prequel. But, what it is is a wonderfully written enemies to lovers, secret friends novella. An intro to Damiano De Luca and Renata Vitali's story that will leave you wanting more. And lucky for us, we don't have to wait long at all. Did I mention I adore second chance stories? I cannot wait for theirs. It's going to be ALL the things. I can already tell.
Renata Vitali is the Mafia Princess you can't help but love. She's calm under fire. Has an air of innocence and indifference yet stands her ground. I loved her fierceness especially considering her age. And the fact that she makes decisions based on her heart even though she'd have everyone believe she doesn't have one. Damiano De Luca on the other hand, swoon, what's not to like? He endures so much for others which says the most about the sort of man he is...and if he's like that at 18, what is he going to be like years from now? GAH! I cannot wait to find out. Don't get me wrong, he has some A-hole tendencies but that just makes him all the more endearing...maybe I'm weird. 🤷🏻♀️ I loved that most of their meetings were in a library...isn't that where all good romances start? Parker is the queen of building sexual tension and she didn't fail us with this novella either. It was palpable and screaming from the pages, and once they finally stopped fighting their attraction it was pure perfection. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for this couple next.
I loved that this novella gave us all a common enemy. Damiano's dad (I refuse to give his name as he isn't worthy of one...do you get the feeling I really hate him?) is the worse of the worse and I'm so glad things played out the way they did for him. That's a testament to Parker's skill that she can make you both love and hate characters based on the attributes she gives them and world builds so wonderfully that you become invested in the story and the characters lives. This story also has a mystery weaved through it and I'm looking forward to the possibility of that being expanded upon in the next book.
I might have mentioned a time or two that I love duet narration, and this one was done to perfection. Desiree Ketchum and Zachary Webber are pure gold in this book, and I cannot wait to hear them in the next - Damiano De Luca. When I read the book and Renata described Damiano as having a voice like Zachary Webber I thought it was fun and a nod to audiobook fans but hearing it? I couldn’t help the chuckle that arose. I love when narrators are mentioned in books, but it’s always hilarious to me when it’s a narrator working on said book. What makes it even more fantastic is the fact that Zachary Webber carried the character so well, that he truly was Damiano. He’s always been a favourite when it comes to the more emotional scenes and there are a couple in this book (although maybe emotional isn’t the right word) that he just nails, the delivery is so spot on that you can’t help but be affected by it. Desiree Ketchum was pure perfection as Renata Vitali. Her performance of the character was brilliant. You felt that fierceness that the character had bleed through the speakers. I’m sure it’s not easy to balance the innocence of the character’s age with how she handled herself but somehow Desiree managed it and to a degree that it was convincing, you believed she would act in these ways. It was a wonderful listening experience. Both Zachary and Desiree did a great job with the Italian accent and it didn’t sound over the top. Their voices really complemented each other, I look forward to more work from them together. The casting was on point big time with this book. There were no production issues of note.
*Impatiently waiting for Damiano De Luca*
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