Sempre

I absolutely loved this book! The characters were so well developed and truly interesting. Each chapter left me wanting to read more. I was saddened when a murder was injured and that’s because this story really showed the good and bad in the bad guys. Reading this book I experienced so many emotions, disgust, anger, sadness, tears, disappointment, love, happiness, laughter, hope – I was all over the place.This book will not leave you disappointed. It’s a true readers book – not a quick story but a detailed book with twists and turns. This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and I was so thrilled that I’ll look to see what else was written. I loved the book. I waited to read Sempre until Sempre:Redemption was out because I hate waiting and I’m so glad I did. I literally went from the first book to the second and finished over the weekend! That friggin good.The book is about Haven who is a 2nd generation slave meaning she is born into the slavery so she knows nothing of the outside world. She sleeps in the horse barn with her mother and endures a tragic life. There comes a point where her masters wife wants Haven gone and both Haven and her Mother hear this and the mother urges Haven to run. She tells her of a life outside of this place and that there is hope. Haven doesn’t want to leave her mother, she’s truly scared, one of being away from her mother and two of getting caught. But her mother tells her that if she runs she can bring help and that gives her hope. So she does it – she runs … and gets caught! The story continues on from there. She meets Dr. Vincent DeMarco who comes to treat her and also buys her. Dr. DeMarco (who is also mafia) takes Haven home. He doesn’t treat her badly. But when you read this story you will see he is conflicted in how he treats her. As the story progresses you’ll learn about the background of Dr. Demarco and his life. Haven doesn’t know how to survive in this masters world because he is so different. There are less rules, she has an actual room with a bed, she can eat whenever she wants etc. Its so new to her that you will truly experience her ambivalence. Eventually she meets Dr. DeMarco’s sons, Dominick and Carmine. Dominick is older and more level headed. Carmine is the one who is always in trouble and has a bit of a troubled relationship with his father. When you read the story you’ll understand the reason Carmine acts out. The banter between Carmine and Haven is at times funny. As they get to know each other Carmine realizes what her background is. They end up becoming very close. Even though their worlds are vastly different, each has what the other needs. They end up bring out the best in each other and fall deeply in love. When you read the story you will understand why Dr. Demarco is totally against this. His family is most important to him.It’s really hard to explain this story without giving anything away. I will say that the love between Haven and Carmine is pure and beautiful. There is a history to Haven that you will learn about and there is the fact that Carmine is wanted to be the next mafia member by his god-father, Sal. This will bring in much drama because it’s not something he wants nor does his father want for him. You’ll learn of the similarities between father and son. The love of a father for his son. The sacrifices a father makes for his family.This book truly has it all. There is a plot, drama, murder, emotions and above all love and family

For the first half of this book I was totally in love. I loved Haven's story; where she came from, how she survived, where she would go from there. I am very fascinated by the psychology of surviving trauma such as slavery. That might be a somewhat insensitive way of looking at it, but I am always impressed by people who can come out of it and continue living their lives, even though they will need help at first. And Haven is definitely one of those impressive people. And then there is Carmine. I loved him instantly. Somehow his foul mouth made him endearing to me. I usually hate foul language but Carmine was so over-the-top with it that I could tell it was a form of protection for him. A shield. It made it instantly clear to me how much he was suffering, although, at the time, I didnt know what he was suffering from. I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything was going to be ok.The first half of this book was one of the most beautiful and intense YA romances I have ever read. Although some of the content gives this a NA rating, most of Carmine and Haven's interactions felt very YA, and that is not a bad thing at all. They are only 17. They are so young but have already suffered so much and they understand each other so well because of that. Their age sometimes shows in the way they behave with each other but it just makes it all the more amazing that they can be so dedicated to each other.I loved seeing their romance develop and I could see and feel their connection. And I could see them saving each other daily. It was a great love story between such amazingly broken but strong people. I was totally in love with both of them and the book. And I would have remained so if it had ended somewhere not long after Valentine's Day. If Haven had not been a principessa and they had simply been free to love. If they had moved to California or New York together. If Carmine had gone to college on a football scholarship while Haven studied art. If this book had taken out most of the mob connections and had simply been a romance about two people with vague connections to it, I would be singing it's praises. It actually wouldn't be that hard to change. Carmine's mother could have been killed for any number of mob related reasons, and Haven's mother could have been just another slave. That's all that really had to be done. Then everything that happened in the second half of the book wouldn't have happened, and there could have been an HEA.I was really disappointed that this book started to drag in the second half. It was sooo long. I don't have a problem with long books if I am enjoying it, even if not a lot happens. But the second half of this book felt like things were just unnecessarily getting stretched out. And to think that there is a sequel. I will not be reading Sempre: Redemption, which really saddens me. But I already feel like this story has lived past its prime, and reading a sequel would be like kicking a dead horse. I don't see how this story could be continued, besides reading about how much life sucks in the LCN, and possibly giving them the HEA they deserved to find in this one. And what really pisses me off is that it was all for nothing. If Carmine had waited for his father to get out of prison instead of going to Sal for help, he still would have found Haven at the same time. What a roundabout way of getting there. Haven and Carmine's story could have been a quarter of the length. I have as much interest in reading the sequel to this as I do in reading the sequel to Noughts & Crosses. Now that is a painful book. I'm not a masochist.So I am not really sure who to recommend this book to. Fans of the intense young love, or fans of the suspense and violence of the second half of the book? I suppose you can decide for yourself and I hope I was able to help.

This is actually the book that got me into reading mafia romances!! J. M Darhower at her best!! A delight for the fans of this genre!!

...und bis heute immer noch eine meiner absoluten Favoriten.Als Twilight-Fanfiktion unter dem Namen "Emanzipations Proklamation" entdeckt, nutze JM Darhower das Gerüst der Vampirbücher, für ihre eigene, unglaubliche Geschichte.- Keine Sorge - keine Spoiler 😉 -In diesem Buch findet man keine der Gefahren der Originalvorlage; doch dafür viele, noch immer sehr reale Gefahren und Situationen für uns hier, in dieser - unserer - Welt.Menschenhandel, moderne Sklaverei, organisiertes Verbrechen/ Korruption, Mord, se*uelle Gewalt - Themen die heute so präsent sind wie eh und je und dann doch wieder und wieder durch andere "wichtigere“ Themen in den Medien verschüttet werden.Dieses Buch ist nicht nur eine einfache Romanze – sondern fühlte sich "time and time again" an, wie ein Wachrütteln.Je mehr man las, desto weniger wollte man aufhören; zur gleichen Zeit, begann man auch die Welt in der wir heute leben zu hinterfragen – was ich als etwas Positives empfinde.„Ist die Welt wirklich SO kalt und grausam?“„Gibt es dort Leute, vielleicht sogar welche denen ich tagtäglich über den Weg laufe die so etwas, oder Ähnliches durch gemacht haben?“„Wie kann ich – als einzelner kleiner Mensch, in dieser Welt – einen positiven Effekt auf das Leben andere haben? Wie kann ich, einen kleinen Ausgleich schaffen?“- sind nur ein paar Dinge, die mir durch den Kopf gingen und mich aber auch bis heute noch begleiten und leiten.…Im Gegensatz zu dem „Schwarz“, gab es aber genauso viel „Weiß“ in dem Buch/ der Buchreihe.Liebe und Hoffnung finden – nachdem man unbeschreiblichen Tragödien durchstanden hat.Vertrauen schöpfen - selbst wenn die Welt einen gebrochen hat, einem immer und immer wieder zeigt, dass es doch einfacher wäre, aufzugeben, mitzumachen, abzustumpfen – innerlich zu sterben.Mut finden – für sich selbst einzustehen, für sich selbst zu kämpfen, selbst wenn man gegen seine eigene Familie oder eine viel größere „Macht“ kämpfen müsste.Die menschlichsten Bedürfnisse: Freiheit - Freundschaft – Familie - Verbundenheit anstreben, Fehler begehen und deren Konsequenzen tragen, „erwachsen“ werden, an Reife gewinnen, Niederlagen überstehen und daraus lernen.Dieses Buch – ein Spiegel der tiefsten Abgründe der Menschheit und zeitgleich; ein kleiner Lichtblick, was das Leben, trotz dessen sein kann.Es ist viel Zeit vergangen seit dem ich die Geschichte von Carmine und Haven, aber auch Vincent und Maura, Corrado, Celia, Sal – vor über 12 Jahren gelesen habe.Ich habe ehrlich gelacht und bitterlich getrauert, ich habe hinterfragt, gefunden, verloren und gesucht – ich habe überlebt, überstanden und Frieden schließen können....Ich weiß, dies ist nicht unbedingt eine Rezession, von der Sie dachten, sie hier zu finden – mehr emotional, als rational, nur Schreibstil/ -art oder Wortwahl zu beschreiben - doch ist dies, genau das, was diese Geschichte ausmacht - Emotionen.Abschließend kann ich sagen, dass JM Darhower - und ich weiß nicht wie sie es immer und immer wieder schafft mit ihren Büchern - etwas das eigentlich unbeschreiblich ist, in perfekte Worte zu fassen.Dank ihr, habe ich selbst vor vielen Jahren, wieder mit dem Schreiben begonnen und genieße es noch heute.Jemals so viel Tiefe zu erreichen wie sie - werde ich wohl nie - aber darum geht es ja eigentlich nicht, nicht wahr?...Falls Sie noch immer hier sind?Vielen Dank für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit,viel Freude mit dem Buch & alles Gute.

One of my all time favorites!!!!! I love this book and this story, they are just amazing ant the author es an incredible person!

La descripción no detallaba en inglés

Trilhando os caminhos dos enredos controversos e politicamente incorretos, encontrei Sempre e rapidamente fui sugada para um mundo de escravidão, crimes, luta pela liberdade e pelo amor. Confesso que sou um pouco resistente em sair da minha usual zona de conforto e por esse motivo, normalmente escolho temas menos áridos e violentos, mas não existe nada melhor do que ser surpreendida por uma grande leitura quando menos esperamos.Essa é a história da jovem Haven, escravizada, oprimida e torturada. Uma serva do século vinte e um. Ela não conhece as suas origens e nem as razões pelas quais a sua liberdade lhe foi retirada tão prematuramente. Seu cativeiro até os dezessete anos foi numa fazenda isolada em condições sub-humanas, ao lado de sua mãe, cuja liberdade também foi tolhida. A esperança no futuro somente aparece quando ela conhece Carmine DeMarco.Sem nenhuma razão aparente, Haven foi salva de seu cárcere pelo Dr. Vincent DeMarco. Esse enigmático homem seria o seu salvador ou o seu novo proprietário? Forçada a viver com a família DeMarco, Haven se apaixona por Carmine, filho de Vincent.Aparentemente Carmine é conhecido apenas pelo que expõe externamente: um jovem egoísta, mimado e irresponsável. No entanto, suas verdadeiras qualidades são reveladas quando ele se apaixona por Haven. Esse amor forte e verdadeiro encontra obstáculos no estilo de vida dupla da família DeMarco, pois Vincent é integrante da máfia italiana, um assassino, um criminoso, e Carmine, seu filho, está destinado a trilhar o mesmo caminho.Durante todo o livro nos deparamos com uma realidade equidistante dos nossos olhos e tão possível que chega a ser inquietante. Os grupos criminosos possuem os mais diversos tentáculos no mundo e a escravidão humana é algo comum entre eles. As pessoas são moedas de troca, suas vidas facilmente subjugadas e aquele que não segue as regras está sentenciado à morte, a ser mais um cadáver entre tantos que jamais serão encontrados no fundo de um lago.A narrativa é conduzida de uma forma dinâmica e ao mesmo tempo introspectiva, pois aos poucos conhecemos o íntimo dos principais personagens da trama, seus medos, seus anseios e suas necessidades. Os jovens protagonistas Haven e Carmine são cativantes, pois eles formam os dois lados de um mundo em contraposição. Haven evolui durante a trama, pois ao ser apresentada a uma realidade desconhecida, a busca por novas realizações se torna uma necessidade. Carmine, por sua vez, é mais complexo, volátil ao extremo, intenso, possessivo e seu amor por Haven será posto à prova.No entanto, Vincent DeMarco foi o personagem que mais me atraiu. A dualidade deste homem é conflituosa e reflexiva. Um homem que fez coisas indizíveis, mas ama a sua família de um modo incondicional. Ele não escolheu propriamente o seu caminho, pois este é o seu legado, e suas atitudes em relação à Haven tem uma razão de ser, um segredo que resultou na morte de sua amada esposa, mãe de Carmine.Enfim, um livro incrível, que mostra o mundo do crime e da violência, onde o perigo força constantemente os envolvidos a tomar caminhos indesejados. Ansiosa pela continuação, Sempre: Redemption.