I expected this novel to be a good one and I wasn't disappointed. Liam and Melody had rocky starts in the personality department and while Melody didn't redeem herself, I got to understand and acclimate to her character as the story progressed.
I think everyone in this story with the exception of Olivia and Coraline are ruthless. They can act with the best of them but this family loves blood, chaos and drama. They thrive on it! While Liam eventually broke his mold to accommodate Melody, she stayed true to her character until the end. There is no clear cut reception to this story because their are different stages to their madness. In the beginning, I was a little skeptic, because Melody is not easy to like, as she was the only character that came out guns blazing and stayed that way. Even when she disconnects from the world, she's remains cocky, self-righteous and nonchalant about everything and everyone with the exception of Liam and Evelyn.
Liam's character is like an oxymoron. He shocks me with his decisions and he baffles me even more when he clicks the switch that turns him into a sociopath. I just can't see him as one. He at times seem almost preppy but then in an instant he's killing six year old girls so they don't grow up into "La femme Nikita" and retaliate against his family. I expected a struggle for dominance but really, one of them gave up before the struggle even began.
If not for Liam's need to love, I could see this story having zero romantic tones. The romance actually takes a back seat to all the criminal affairs. Still, you can't discount that they make a really good team and somewhere along the line, I found myself riding their power wave. They actually make you feel like they are untouchable.
Half way through this novel, we started to get other characters POVs but I am on the fence as to their significance. Yes, it's a different view and thoughts from the family but importance was lacking. I didn't mind getting in their heads but their issues had no bearing on the current story line.
There is sex, love, family, power, drugs and murder. Everything you were promised on the cover. What stood out most though was the title. You can't sleep on these two because they are forever scheming and manipulating everyone, including each other. Every time I think they are redeemed and becoming less power hungry, I realize that they are just planning their next scheme.
The sex isn't as explosive or passionate as I thought it would be but it's not very detailed either so you are quick to get back to the wave of crimes they have planned. In retrospect, not even the criminal acts were given much light either, unless Liam are Melody were suiting up. We weren't always apart of the plan and found ourselves watching the mayhem with the rest of the family.
I found that their banters with their family and men were what made this story interesting and gave us those funny moments.
There is a noticeable amount of grammatical errors and normally when a book captures me enough, I can probably dismiss it but this story is from a publishing house with a professional editor, so I don't think they should be so glaringly obvious.
I had expected more Italian and Irish culture but it was more All-American. I've never read about the Irish or their mobs before so I would have loved to seen more Irish culture and dialect.
Novels with language barriers normally leave me running to Google translate, so I was glad for the key at the end and the ease in navigating between the translation page and the rest of the story.
'Ruthless People' isn't one of those stories that come with a lot for you to gush about. It is precise, to the point and grabs your attention from beginning to end. If you blink, you might miss something and everything and everybody are chess pieces.
They are murders, thieves and liars with no intention of ever slowing down. They love what they do and NOTHING will change that. It's gruesome and leaves you questioning their sanity and the subject of ethics and moral, because they have none.
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22237407-ruthless-people
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