Family Ties (Morelli Family, #4) Kindle Edition

3.75/4 starsWow! Where to start... I really loved the first half of this book. Being in Sal's head was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed Fran too. But then we got to that pesky Mia/Vince/Mateo triangle.Why does every girl in this book whose name begins with an M fall in love with Mateo? IDK. What I do know is that Fran has a split personality.********************************************************spoiler*****************************************************************************************************<spoiler> In book one she clearly preferred Vince over Mateo. And let's not forget that Fran is pushing Mia into the arms of her Mateo--her rapist. Let that sink in. Now she's trying to break up Vince and Mia so Mateo can have her. Mia and Fran are talking (hypothetically of course) about breaking up Mateo and "the maid". Mia thinks it would be wrong and that Mateo is unavailable. Fran's all for it. Not once does anyone consider that Mia already has a boyfriend. Whoopsie?********************************************************************end spoiler************************************************************************************Vince, you are chopped liver.Fran's matchmaking continues and this was hard for me to grasp. While she's planning her wedding, at the rehearsal dinner, and at the reception, were her thoughts consumed with her beloved Sal? Heck no. She was scheming to get Mateo and Mia together. That is Abby Normal.And Meg is either truly stupid, has not a single jealous bone in her body, or is playing 4D chess with everyone. I suspect the latter.Anyway, I must be brave because I am continuing on. Francesca, knock it off.

Of course, before I start I have to say thank you to Sam Mariano but also that I am sorry. Thank you of course for the ARC love. Not a lot of people get the chance at one and I was so happy to be one of them. Sorry because my review has taken forever, but here it is and I hope you like it babe!Well, folks here goes everything ...Okay, so first let me say this, I am a hopeless romantic and I want everyone to have their chance at a happy ending or their version of happiness, but I did NOT like Francesca!!! I'm happy to finally meet the Morelli sister, and I did have some pre-conceived notions about her, but I could've done without her.Part one of Family Ties, is our introduction to Francesca, which I was happy about. I don't know why I had it in my head that she was a middle aged woman, who finally escaped her bastard younger brother, but I did. And I'm happy I was wrong. I guess when I read or hear mob/gangster stories, I think old school, so maybe that's what happened there.I was excited that she finally got away from Mateo and found her "perfect one" because everybody deserves that, even those in the mob life. Instantly, I loved her because she had spunk and when she finally opened up, she had this bad ass, take no prisoners attitude. She has an ambitious way about her and I always appreciate that in people, especially in women. Boy did my opinion change as the story continued.As the story unfolds, Francesca becomes this messy ass meddler who seriously pissed me off. You learn how conniving and manipulative she can be in relation to the other books. You see how downright mean she could be, all in the name of sticking her nose in some else's relationship— and quite frankly, I couldn't stand her for it. Now, to her credit she was only trying to make her brother and friend happy, but seriously don't you have your own relationship to be a part of? And I mean, her brother is Mateo, so where else would she learn her evil behavior right?The best thing about Francesca was Salvatore. He was so flippin dreamy and so flippin charismatic, but I guess I'm attracted to that since I find Mateo sexy as all get out. Salvatore did pisse me off though, since he was Francesca's main enabler, but how can I stay upset with a man so ride or die for his woman? He literally through his own family to the wolves to get and keep his woman. You definitely can't hate on that.I feel kind of bad for coming down so hard on Francesca because, like me, she's caught up in the Mateo Morelli Matrix. Worse for her though, she was raised in that crap, so it's normal to her almost. Mateo's matrix is a place where you're not sure who in the hell you're supposed to be rooting for and who you're suppose to frickin hate. It's like you know you're in his warped world, but you are too scared to leave it or you just don't want to because it's comfortable. All I know is, his matrix is effing stressful and the people involved, with the exception of a few, are exhausting.Overall, the story was an amazing look into the intimate side of the Morelli household through the eyes of Francesca. You kind of get to go behind the scenes and get the raw and uncut side of the Morelli family. Not that you didn't get that in the other books, I just feel like because Francesca is the sister, she gives you these emotional glasses to look through. It's almost too much to handle once you're invested in these characters, which is why I'm so pissed off after reading Family Ties.You will definitely enjoy Francesca and Salvatore's story, but in order to follow the situations, you have to read the first 3 books. I recommend this series because it'll keep you on your toes and keep you guessing as to what's going to happen next. All of the books will have you praying for the best, but expecting the worse. For me, none of the books pissed me off quite like this one. Read them and see what I mean, you're going to have a love/hate relationship with these Morelli messes. So, get to one clicking b****es!!!Enjoy!-Eb <3

I love Francesca and Sal. This book is like Romeo and Juliet but with a twist. The best thing about Sam Mariano's characters is that they are multidimensional. You see different sides to them. They stay true to character.Francesca is a sister, a friend, a daughter and a lover. She has been hurt in the past that lends a vulnerable side to her. She is also a Morelli so she is also cunning and smart.Salvatore is who I imagine Mateo could be if he had a mother growing up. He has a hit list and can be ruthless. He is also dreamy, sweet, sarcastic and funny. He cares about the people around him without being soft or weak. I think he has the best lines and his perception invaluable.Overall, I really enjoyed Family Ties. Sam Mariano's talent is in making the unforgivable forgivable and the unlivable likable. I can't get enough of the Morellis and am dreading when this series ends.

Another Amazing Book By Sam Mariano. I love Sal very much. Francesca is not my favorite person. But, that is okay because she makes the series interesting. Sal keeps her in check. Again, Mateo gets pulled in to this book as well. He is always on my mind in this series whether it be a good thought or bad thought. Sam definitely makes you love or hate these characters. There is really no in between. Kudos Sam!! Keep up with the good work!!!

I love Francesca her personality is awesome and I glad she found Sal their so in love! Francesca had a rough past and I'm sad her brothers didn't do more and I'm glad Mateo tried to make up for that and he didn't punish her or Sal for her betraying him or giving up info on someone he cared about but she got her happy ending!!

I enjoy a great mob book! Each character has their very own colorfully distinct personality and they are really well developed roles. You instantly fall into a love or hate relationship with the family...really a painful mixture of both! One can never know what to expect with the Morelli clan. I think its an awesome adventure for young adults and up.

I loved this book Francesca getting what she always wanted and Sal sounding so Gorgeous I could eat him up with a big spoon, it's difficult though to feel a certain way about a character and rooting for him one minute then hoping someone will shoot him the next and I could be talking about any of the two characters but you'll have to read this series because I ain't ratting, lol. And don't think for one second that Meg doesn't have a clue what is going on between Mateo and Mia, number one she has good old women's intuition, number two the saying of keep your enemies close springs to mind and number three Stevie Wonder could see what was going on, so yeah, unless they all are having threesomes together somebody should do something about this or take Vince out of the equation or Vince and Meg should get it on, either way, I'm sure blood will be spilt, going to drive myself into more insanity and get the next instalment of this crazy series and see where that leads me, but all in all a great read and a huge high five for Sam, again for making feel conflicting emotions for her characters and making me nuts at the same time, a few people have tried this but failed, so I congratulate you for this without you even knowing about it, lol. But no honestly it's a great series and I hope the rest is as good. X

It took to about the 60% mark before we uncovered any new story. Setting the scene and filling in the missing pieces. I liked Sal but I was never sure of Francesca in the previous books. I'm still not sure of her now. I love Mateo and I'm looking forward to seeing how things pan out for him. This book was ok.

Ended up rooting for Francesca and Sal almost from the moment they meet. There are so many complex twists to this book series that you just can't help but get really into the series and fall in love with the characters.Once into the series reading the other characters stories such as Sal and Francesca also gives you more insight into the Mia and Mateo/Vince love triangle.

Wow! I wasn't sure what to expect from Salvatore and Francesca but it was impossible not to root for them from the very beginning! Sal was unendingly dreamy (swoon!) and Francesca was at times a little unsure but also had a sort of quiet confidence when she really needed it and on the rare occasion she was downright feisty! This book takes us through everything from just before Vince meets Mia to where it left off in Adrian's book, switching from Francesca and Sal's POV.

Looking for your new favourite series?One click, you have just found it.I’m getting through these books so quickly and loving them all.This series will cause a definite book hangover!