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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The Dream Cast, Quotes, and Information from RICARDO

THE SANTINI BROTHERS SERIES


The Santini brothers belong to one of the most powerful mafia families on their island. This is Ricardo Santini's story, the oldest of the brothers who has lost his lover to the mafia war that is plaguing his land. Due to his grief, he unleashes his violent nature upon anyone who dares cross him, his need to punish his enemies all encompassing. But what he doesn't count on is Bianca D'Angelo walking back into his life, the only other woman he has ever loved.

Bianca had once loved Ricardo, but left him due to his violent nature. After an abusive marriage to another man, she vows off all relationships, just wanting to be left alone. But when she accidentally kills one of the most powerful men on the island, she is forced to stay with the Santini brothers for her own protection. Upon seeing Ricardo again, she attempts to deny her feelings for him, terrified of falling into another violent relationship.

But Ricardo isn't one to be denied a second time, Bianca not knowing what hit her.


The Dream Cast, Quotes, and Information
from 
RICARDO
(The Santini Brothers #1)



RICARDO SANTINI
He was six-foot-four inches of violence dressed in Armani.

The Leading Man:
Ricardo becomes the Don of his gunrunning family in this book. He's 37 years old and unmarried. Due to taking an experimental drug eight years ago for his Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), he damaged his nervous system, losing ninety percent of the feeling in his body. Because of it, he has trouble forming relationships since he can barely feel. However, Bianca changes that, the chemistry between them off the charts.


BIANCA D'ANGELO
“Tu sei un dono del cielo,” he said, telling her she was a gift from the heavens.
Ricardo speaking to Bianca.


The Leading Lady:
Bianca D'Angelo is a widower. During her marriage, she was abused by her husband. She's also had a disastrous affair, which left her scared of commitment. But when she sees Ricardo again, her first love, she finds it hard to resist him, the man a force to be reckoned with.


SALVATORE SANTINI
Rosa walked over and sat down on Salvatore’s lap, pulling his attention away from Ricardo. A large smile lit up Salvatore’s face, the love in his eyes clear. He worshiped the ground his wife walked on, the two inseparable. They’d met at the age of ten, gotten married at twenty, and were now living a happy-ever-after Ricardo knew he would never have.


Salvatore is the second oldest of the Santini siblings. There are eight brothers and two sisters He's 36 and is married to his childhood sweetheart, Rosa.
They have two young children. He is Ricardo’s right-hand man and is very loyal to him.


BRANDO SANTINI
His brother’s beauty was only on the outside, Brando’s soul an endless pit of hate.
Ricardo's thoughts on Brando.


Brando is the only golden-eyed Santini. The rest of his family have violet or blue eyes. He bears an uncanny resemblance to the D’Angelo family, in particular Jagger D’Angelo, a man famous for his beauty. Brando is a hitman and is in constant conflict with Ricardo, due to wanting to be the Don. He also has severe scarring on his back from being brutally whipped.


THE TWINS

DOMINIC
Dominic never cared about looks, saying it was the eyes that held true beauty. And Ricardo believed him after seeing his brother turn down a gorgeous model, choosing her ugly friend instead.

VINNIE (Vincenzo)
He punched the soldier in the face, then moved behind him, wrapping an arm around the man’s neck. Bianca heard the crack, shocked she’d just witnessed Vinnie kill someone before her eyes. 


The rocker twins are 29. They are singers and guitarists in a hard rock band, which has a cult following. They are single. Dominic is also a “finder”, someone who locates people who don’t want to be found. He’s also very good with electronics and is fond of tattoos and piercings. Vinnie is an explosives expert and only has tattoos, not sharing his twin’s piercing fetish.


CONCETTA SANTINI
The woman was fiercer than any man he knew, a tyrant in a dress.


Concetta is the matriarch of the Santini household. She had nine children in ten years, and will protect them any means she can, whether its unethical or not. She has a fiery temper and constantly clashes with her eldest son, who she doesn't want to be Don due to his medical condition. She's also very controlling of her other children, often bullying them into doing what she wants.


ALLESANDRO SANTINI
...a man-whore who did porn for kicks.



Although he isn't in RICARDO's book a lot, he is still worth a mention since he's a very popular character from My Masters' Nightmare (The serial that spawned The Santini Brothers' series). He will also get his own book in this series. At 27, he is the youngest of the Santini brothers. He was born prematurely and wasn’t expected to survive, but is now one of the strongest men on his island. He became famous after working as a porn star, his muscular body and sexual prowess gaining him a legion of fanatical female fans. He is also famous for his tattoos, which cover more than half of his body. His back ones were done to hide bad scars, which were inflicted upon him by kidnappers when he was fourteen. He also has multiple piercings, his Prince Albert and huge sexual appetite gaining him notoriety amongst the mafia community. He is currently working as a sex slave trainer for the D’Angelo family.
PEDRO LANDI
The convoy stopped next to Ricardo. The window of the middle vehicle wound down. The face of his enemy appeared: Pedro Landi, the man who had murdered his woman. The fat fuck pointed two fingers at Ricardo and cocked them, as though he was shooting a gun.

The Don of the biggest military might on the island. He holds a vendetta against the Donatelli and Rosso families for their part in his youngest daughters’ deaths. He is also raging a war against the Santini, who are defending the Rossos due to intermarriage.


THE BLACK VIPERS


IVY
The Black Vipers were a sisterhood of assassins and spies, mercenaries who hired out their skills for an exorbitant rate. They were also renowned for their beauty, and the one before him certainly lived up to expectations. Although she was of average height for a woman, five-seven at the most, her features and physique were anything but average. The shape of her face was chiseled to perfection, her kohl-rimmed eyes smoldering, and those lips ... they spoke of hot nights and ecstasy under the sheets. His gaze lowered down her body. She exuded raw power in every line and curve of her toned physique. Sì, she made his mouth water, but he also knew a Viper had a nasty sting, and this one looked fatal.


Ivy gets a point of view in RICARDO. She's second in command of the Vipers and often influences/manipulates the leader (her older sister) into doing what she wants, and in this case it's the Santini brothers. The Vipers were created by the Black Russian, an evil figlio di puttana. They broke away from him, losing fourteen Vipers in the battle, leaving them with only twelve. They want vengeance on the Black Russian and because of that they need an alliance as well as to pull in new members to their sisterhood. In RICARDO, Ivy is already eyeing up two new recruits to join their ranks.
Ivy has very little morals, and will do almost anything to get what she wants.

MENNA
She loved her sister with all her heart, but it didn’t mean she liked her.
Menna thinking about Ivy.


Menna is Ivy's older sister and the leader of the Black Vipers. She's cautious, whereas Ivy is all about action. She has to control her sister or Ivy would run in guns blazing and get everyone killed. And although Menna is soft on Ivy, she's also hard when it's needed.
Menna and Ivy are of Egyptian descent. Menna is pregnant with the Black Russian's baby.


KENNEDY
His head whipped around as motorbikes shot past his car, two leather-clad women riding each one.
One of them slowed down beside his window. “Hope your Santini women are hot!” the blonde at the back yelled. The driver laughed, then rammed the throttle, sending exhaust smoke billowing in their wake.


Kennedy is one of two Americans in the Black Vipers. She's blonde and angelic looking, until she smiles or opens her mouth. She's extremely cocky and is the only lesbian viper. She's in constant conflict with Ivy, the two rarely agreeing on what's best for the Vipers. She has no interest in the Santini, and is angry that Ivy is steering the Vipers towards them. She thinks the men are dangerous and it'll be a huge mistake.
Kennedy is a sniper.

DAPHNE 
but everyone calls her D
Vinnie’s gaze landed on D. The woman blew him a kiss, getting a grin in return, but instead of flirting back, he sniggered at what Dominic was doing. His twin was waggling his tongue at the Viper. The woman flicked him the finger, not looking impressed.

D is Kennedy's best friend, and is the other American. She's also Kennedy's spotter (a sniper cell) on assignments. She's the one who gives the sniper instructions on how to hit a target.
She likes bad boy rockers and has her eyes set on Vinnie Santini, which Ivy uses to her advantage.


Put RICARDO on your to-read list.
Below is the link to its Goodreads page.


Click on the book links to purchase the series that spawned The Santini Brothers

MMN Episodes 1-5                 MMN Episodes 6-10

 WARNING: Unlike RICARDO, My Masters' Nightmare is about the D'Angelo family, who are human traffickers. It has graphic non consent and dub consent scenes. It is also a soap opera serial. If this isn't for you, you should wait for RICARDO (The Santini Brothers #1).

About the Author

NATIONALITY AND CULTURAL CONNECTIONS: I'm a true blue Aucklander, born and bred in New Zealand. I tend to write about cultures I have connections to, such as Croatian and Maori. However, in My Masters' Nightmare and RICARDO, I have started writing about Italians . My husband is part Italian and I also have a degree in Italian.
SPORTS: As a teen my favorite sports were karate, badminton, and running. I also did unarmed combat and played in a touch rugby team (my gym teacher made me do the last one!) Now, I stick to coaching soccer and running. I have completed two marathons, numerous half-marathons and one 30K run.
CAREER PATH: I started off as a Graphic Designer, then went to Auckland University, where I got a BA degree in Art History and Italian Studies and a post-graduate Honors degree in Art History. I worked in the Art History field, then became a full-time artist, doing commissions. I eventually lost all of my senses and gave it up to be a poor, starving writer, smh.
FAVORITE FOODS: I'm vegetarian. I love pasta based foods, tofu, chocolate mousse, and golden queen peaches.
BAD HABITS: I'm a major procrastinator that can't seem to earn money to save myself! I'm also obsessed with writing.
STATUS: Married to my high school sweetheart (which he hates me calling him). We have two kids.