Skeletons of Society

Evelyne and Daniella discuss Skeletons of Society by Marie Maravilla. Topics include the patriarchy in mafia romances, "I didn't know I was into that" in spicy books, and our favorite refrain for the villain in this book, "freakin' Mario."

Transcript

Announcer:

This is Intoxicated Literature.

Evelyne:

Hi, I'm Evelyne Crowe.

Daniella:

And I'm Daniella Drake.

Evelyne:

And this is Intoxicated Literature. And tonight, we are reading Skeletons of Society.

Daniella:

By Marie Maravilla.

Evelyne:

Maravilla. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I love Marie Maravilla. She's one of my favorite authors.

Daniella:

This is not something I would normally pick up, but I really liked it. I gave it four stars.

Evelyne:

This is a five star read for me because it was so not like all the usual mafia cartel romances.

Daniella:

Absolutely. That is not a genre that I tend to enjoy.

Evelyne:

Also, because of the surprise.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

Because there was a surprise twist, which we'll get to.

Daniella:

There was. So first and foremost, spoilers.

Evelyne:

18+ content.

Daniella:

18+ content. Please do not listen if you haven't read the book and you are not old enough to listen to this content.

Evelyne:

And profanity.

Daniella:

And profanity. So much profanity.

Evelyne:

So if you are against any of those things, vacate the premises immediately. So what are we drinking tonight, Daniella?

Daniella:

Margaritas.

Evelyne:

Margaritas. The female main character of the novel is really into margaritas.

Daniella:

Very much so.

Evelyne:

With high class tequila.

Daniella:

Yeah, mine's not that high class.

Evelyne:

I will say that I am drinking a margarita with very good tequila. It was an $80 tequila. And unbeknownst to me, it's 80 proof.

Daniella:

Indeed. This was a shock for both of us.

Evelyne:

So my two drink limit has turned into something else. So surprise to everybody. Whoa. Yes.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

Anyway, so this is one of actually my favorite books of all time, just because it is so unusual, because I didn't think I liked Mafia romances.

Daniella:

That's fair. The ones that I've read... Well, all two of them have not been good.

Evelyne:

You gave it like, "I didn't like this one. I'll give another one a try."

Daniella:

Right, exactly. Because you never know. Sometimes you got to try it.

Evelyne:

You try it twice. I think that's a fair thing.

Daniella:

I think that's fair. I do.

Evelyne:

I think you should try everything twice.

Daniella:

Yeah. And so when you recommended one, I was like, "Hmm, okay." But I also trust you. You wouldn't say we should read this if it wasn't good.

Evelyne:

This is true.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

And I am going to say this, Marie Maravilla takes Mafia cartel romances and says, "Okay, okay. All right. They take this patriarchy thing and we're going to turn it around and we're going to use it against you." Because she does.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

And not only does she use it against the characters, which she does, and we'll get to that in a minute, but she uses it against the reader.

Daniella:

Absolutely. Yeah, I agree.

Evelyne:

And it's really fascinating, and we'll talk about all of that. It's so good.

Daniella:

It's so good.

Evelyne:

It's so good. Oh my God. Okay, so we have Ryan.

Daniella:

Which, right off the bat, great name for a female main character.

Evelyne:

And she actually bemoans her name.

Daniella:

But I think it's genius in a way. Especially writing a Mafia book where you're dealing with patriarchal societies and all of these things. That idea that all of these characters think that she's a man right off the bat and then having them go, "Oh, shit."

Evelyne:

I know. And the thing is, all of these characters that she's meeting, all of these men know of her through the channels as La Brujita. They know her.

Daniella:

And they still can't believe that this beautiful woman is La Brujita.

Evelyne:

I know.

Daniella:

They just cannot wrap their brains around it.

Evelyne:

I know.

Daniella:

Every time.

Evelyne:

I know. Every single time, they can't believe that this woman is the one that's going to kick their fucking ass.

Daniella:

Exactly.

Evelyne:

And she's just like, "Ha, ha, stab." It's the best. I love it so fucking much.

Daniella:

I know. It's so good.

Evelyne:

It's just I love... Oh God, I adore it. I adore it so much.

Daniella:

Honestly, one of my favorite scenes is when Gunner first meets her and she's wearing that white suit, which can we talk about the fact that that is one of the sexiest things that women can wear?

Evelyne:

A suit jacket with no shirt.

Daniella:

With no shirt. No bra.

Evelyne:

No bra. Just boobs.

Daniella:

Just boobs. That is the sexiest thing any woman can wear.

Evelyne:

Chef's kiss.

Daniella:

And I understand why he's like, "Who is this beautiful creature?"

Evelyne:

She just walks in. And I will say, he was expecting a waitress to come in or a server to come in with a set of drinks because there was an order made.

Daniella:

Well, Sergio set that up.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

He was like, "We're going to order you drinks."

Evelyne:

Okay, so Sergio is the head of the cartel.

Daniella:

He's adopted her as a second child and doesn't know how to raise a girl. So she's kind of a second son in a way.

Evelyne:

I know. I love it so much.

Daniella:

Which I love.

Evelyne:

I know. It's just amazing. I love it so much. So he's there. Okay, so let's talk about the players before we talk about anything.

Daniella:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Evelyne:

So we have the players. We have Los Muertos, which is the Mexican cartel in the area. Well, the Mexican cartel, they are there.

Daniella:

And we're in Tucson.

Evelyne:

Arizona.

Daniella:

Arizona.

Evelyne:

And then we have the Skeletons of Society.

Daniella:

Which is the motorcycle club.

Evelyne:

Motorcycle club.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

And then we have The Reapers. Boo, hiss.

Daniella:

Boo, hiss.

Evelyne:

Bad guys. Do not like. They sell women. Ew.

Daniella:

Yes. Not a fan.

Evelyne:

Traffickers, do not like them.

Daniella:

Do not like the traffickers, no.

Evelyne:

So we have Sergio, who is the head of the Mexican cartel, and we love him.

Daniella:

Oh yeah.

Evelyne:

He treats Ryan beautifully.

Daniella:

He gets a kick out of using Ryan.

Evelyne:

Oh God.

Daniella:

He thinks it's hilarious.

Evelyne:

Well, he raised her to kick ass.

Daniella:

100%.

Evelyne:

He taught her to fight. He taught her how to interrogate. He taught her how to be a strong person.

Daniella:

How to run a cartel, essentially.

Evelyne:

He taught her everything. He took her in, raised her to be his child. That was it. There was no if, ands, or buts about it.

Daniella:

Well, and when your other child is fucking Mario.

Evelyne:

Fucking Mario.

Daniella:

The worst human being.

Evelyne:

Fucking Mario.

Daniella:

He is the worst.

Evelyne:

Okay, we'll get to Mario. We're talking about Sergio. I have a lot to say about Mario.

Daniella:

That's fair. I do as well.

Evelyne:

So we have Sergio. So he's the head, he is the father figure of the novel. And so he's very proud of Ryan, and he likes that Ryan is named Ryan. He likes that Ryan is a secret weapon.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

And he holds her in his back pocket. I really do think he does not tell a lot of people about Ryan on purpose.

Daniella:

Oh yeah, she's his secret weapon. He uses that to his advantage all the time.

Evelyne:

Absolutely.

Daniella:

Yeah, for sure.

Evelyne:

Abso-fucking-lutely.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

So he is teaming up with the Skeletons of Society to run guns illegally. That is their purpose.

Daniella:

And to keep The Reapers out of their territory. Both the Skeletons of Society and Los Muertos are like, "We do not like The Reapers." And so they're a natural ally.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

Because they're both trying to keep them-

Evelyne:

But at the same time, they're like, "Eh..."

Daniella:

You're both trying to keep your territory, it gets complicated.

Evelyne:

It's complicated. "I don't know. We're going to meet, we're going to talk to each other. We're going to feel this out."

Daniella:

Exactly.

Evelyne:

So Ryan runs a strip club and she was given this strip club with... And Mario gave her the strip club.

Daniella:

Fucking Mario.

Evelyne:

Fucking Mario. We're going to say that a lot.

Daniella:

A lot. He's the worst.

Evelyne:

He's the worst. And even she said that he gave her the strip club with probably the intention that she would fail.

Daniella:

100%, he expected her to fail and come crying to him and be like, "You need to bail me out."

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

And he couldn't wait for that chance.

Evelyne:

Could not wait to save her.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

Well, guess what? She did not fail.

Daniella:

Absolutely not. She turned it around so fast.

Evelyne:

She was taking in women who had been trafficked and said, "Look, you have a chance." They took control of themselves-

Daniella:

Giving them a safe space to make money, and reestablish themselves, and take control of their bodies.

Evelyne:

Absolutely. And they're making money, they're selling guns, they're selling-

Daniella:

And they're safe.

Evelyne:

And they're safe. Absolutely. It's a high class establishment actually.

Daniella:

Yes, absolutely.

Evelyne:

It's a great... I would go there.

Daniella:

Well, and she makes smart decisions about money laundering and things like that. She's making smart business decisions that Mario was incapable of because he's a fucking moron.

Evelyne:

Fucking Mario. Hate that guy.

Daniella:

He's the worst.

Evelyne:

Just, ah God, I hate him so much. So we have the Skeletons of Society, the motorcycle club, there's the president. We don't know a lot about much. He's the pres, he runs the motorcycle club.

Daniella:

Yeah, okay.

Evelyne:

He's just this shadowy figure in the background. We see him like three times. And we have Gunner.

Daniella:

Ugh, Gunner.

Evelyne:

He is the sergeant at Arms.

Daniella:

Yeah, he is.

Evelyne:

Okay. Yeah, he is. I bet his arms look great.

Daniella:

I would think so.

Evelyne:

Covered in tattoos.

Daniella:

Buff is all I'll get out.

Evelyne:

Yeah. We like Gunner.

Daniella:

We like Gunner.

Evelyne:

He's the love interest.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

And he and Ryan have an instant-

Daniella:

Instant.

Evelyne:

Instant lust thing.

Daniella:

Instant lust for sure.

Evelyne:

He sees Ryan and immediate immediately was like, "I need to fuck this woman against the wall. I don't care who's watching." It was instantaneous.

Daniella:

Yes. And she responds to him in a way that she's like, "Did not expect this reaction."

Evelyne:

She was actually pissed off. She's like, "This is a distraction."

Daniella:

What the fuck. Yeah.

Evelyne:

I can't have this right now.

Daniella:

I'm trying to work. What's wrong with this guy being all hot and coming in here.

Evelyne:

I cannot deal with this. What the fuck is happening?

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

But what's really funny is they walk into the strip club and they're like, "This is not what I was expecting. It is a strip club, but it's run really well. It's clean. The bouncers seem to know what they're doing. Everything is great." Because both sides are like, "Do you know what you're doing?" "Do you know what you're doing?" "Do we need to reestablish the rules for running guns? Do we know the rules?"

Daniella:

Exactly, yeah. But also, Mario doesn't have the best reputation, and this is supposed to be his club, so they think they're going to meet with Mario.

Evelyne:

Oh, they 100%. Sergio did this on purpose.

Daniella:

Oh yeah. He wanted their expectations to be super low and to have them coming in and thinking something completely different so that he could be like, "No, no. Ryan's in charge."

Evelyne:

Absolutely. So Gunner comes in with Dex, who is hilarious.

Daniella:

Oh, he's so funny. Every time he opened his mouth, I laughed.

Evelyne:

Oh my God.

Daniella:

So funny.

Evelyne:

They sit down and they've made orders with Nikki, who we'll get to later.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

So they think that some woman's going to be bringing in drinks. Ryan comes strolling in her sexy suit.

Daniella:

Yep.

Evelyne:

With no drinks. And Gunner opens his big fat mouth and is like, "Look, lady, if you're going to come in here looking like that, at least bring some drinks." And Ryan is like, The fuck you said? What?"

Daniella:

Yeah. And Sergio's just grinning.

Evelyne:

And Sergio is standing there with this big crocodile grin on his face, like, "Oh, this man is going to walk out of here holding his own dick. This is going to be great."

Daniella:

And immediately, Ryan is like, "No, no. I'm in charge here. What the fuck is your problem?"

Evelyne:

I will give Ryan credit though, because she has grown up around so many men who have doubted her that she did not immediately castrate Gunner.

Daniella:

No, she didn't even blink. She was just like, "We're not doing that."

Evelyne:

Yeah. She just looked at him and went, "Okay, no."

Daniella:

Yeah, we're not doing that.

Evelyne:

And gunner's like, "Okay, what is happening? I'm so confused." And then when he realized, he got mad, not at Ryan. He got mad at Sergio.

Daniella:

Sergio.

Evelyne:

Which I will give him credit for.

Daniella:

That's fair. Yeah.

Evelyne:

Because so many men would've gotten mad at Ryan.

Daniella:

Absolutely. Always blame the woman.

Evelyne:

They would've immediately. Immediately.

Daniella:

Immediately. 100%.

Evelyne:

Just gone straight for the estrogen.

Daniella:

Yes, yes. And I will give Gunner credit because throughout the book, he does have these moments where his misogyny does come through. And when Ryan calls him on it, every time he goes, "You know what? You're absolutely right. That's on me. That was my bad. I'm going to be better." He constantly was taking responsibility for it and being accountable, which I loved because it made him grow and be better.

Evelyne:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Daniella:

Which makes him hot.

Evelyne:

Oh God, Gunner is so fucking hot.

Daniella:

So hot.

Evelyne:

So fucking hot. I don't know how Marie Maravilla did that from the fucking get go, but she did.

Daniella:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Evelyne:

It was amazing.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

So they set everything up. And what they didn't tell Ryan was that she has to do a cage fight.

Daniella:

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Evelyne:

Which was great because Gunner was so fucking worried.

Daniella:

So worried.

Evelyne:

Which was sweet.

Daniella:

It was. But also give her a little credit.

Evelyne:

I know.

Daniella:

She's running a car-

Evelyne:

Making money fighting for the cartel. That's how she was... She knew what she was doing. And Gunner never once even asked her if she knew how to fight.

Daniella:

No.

Evelyne:

Never once even like-

Daniella:

No. He just made assumptions left and right.

Evelyne:

100%. And Ryan was great though, because she just let him make those assumptions.

Daniella:

Oh, she thought it was hilarious.

Evelyne:

She was just like-

Daniella:

She couldn't wait.

Evelyne:

Okay, sweetie.

Daniella:

Yeah. She couldn't wait. She was like, "Yeah, all right." Pats you on the head."

Evelyne:

Okay, sweetie. Sure. And she just walked in letting him make those assumptions, and he was telling her how to do a punch, a basic punch. And I'm rereading this going, "Ooh."

Daniella:

Oh, buddy.

Evelyne:

Oh, Gunner sweetie.

Daniella:

I know.

Evelyne:

This is embarrassing.

Daniella:

Yeah. And then she wipes the floor with the guy who was twice her size.

Evelyne:

Seriously wipes the floor immediately, almost.

Daniella:

And at the end, I will say Gunnar was like, "Okay, my bad."

Evelyne:

Well, because then she's like, "It's not my fault you were a misogynist." And he went-

Daniella:

Fair point.

Evelyne:

Yeah.

Daniella:

Yeah, exactly. He never gets mad when she points it out. He's always just like, "You know what? Yeah."

Evelyne:

So that's how their relationship starts.

Daniella:

Starts.

Evelyne:

From the get go. And I got to say, that is one of the best meet cutes I have ever seen.

Daniella:

Oh, yeah. For sure.

Evelyne:

It just from the start, I'm going, "Wait, wait, what am I reading? What?" So you're already taking the standard Mafia cartel and you're turning it upside down.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

Because the standard Mafia cartel is you can be feminist, but only when I say you can.

Daniella:

Yeah. I have to give you permission.

Evelyne:

You can be a fighter, but only if I can save you.

Daniella:

And only in certain circumstances. And it really has to be about the men.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

There's so much patriarchy.

Daniella:

And that's why I haven't been able to really get into that as a genre. It's not something that I enjoy reading. It's not fun for me.

Evelyne:

It's not fun for me usually either.

Daniella:

It just pisses me off.

Evelyne:

And I won't say the author or anything because I'm not here to bash authors because I am one.

Daniella:

Well, and so many people enjoy it and that's fine.

Evelyne:

And I'm not here to yuck your yum. This is just a personal thing for me.

Daniella:

Exactly.

Evelyne:

But I was reading a series recently, and during sex, all the women were crying and the men were like, "Oh, this is so great." But then the women were into it at the same time, but there's still tears coming out of their face and they weren't even being hurt.

Daniella:

I don't like that.

Evelyne:

And it was like, "Ew."

Daniella:

I didn't read that, and I don't like it.

Evelyne:

I don't like it either. If you're having sex, it should be good.

Daniella:

Happy. Unless you're crying happy tears.

Evelyne:

If you're having a blowjob, that makes sense because maybe you're gagging or something. And then tears are a natural consequence of that.

Daniella:

Or I guess it's just the best climax you've ever had.

Evelyne:

Unless it is the best fucking sex you've ever had, but just standard sex should not have tears.

Daniella:

Yeah, it should not make you cry. That's upsetting to me. I don't like it.

Evelyne:

Yeah.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

It's just like... Yeah.

Daniella:

But this is why I was a little resistant when you said, "We should read this book." And I was like, "Okay."

Evelyne:

But Ryan never once has to give up power, never once has to bow down to Gunner being a superior person to her.

Daniella:

No.

Evelyne:

Never once has to do any of that.

Daniella:

No, and I love it too, because even at the end where Gunner is "saving her", they're actually working together. She has already rescued herself and needs a little bit of support to get out. She's got 90% done and needs a little bit of support to get the last 10%. And they're working together and she's sending him signals, and he is picking up the signals, and he is changing his plan. They're working together. It is a true partnership, which I very much appreciated. That was just chef's kiss. It was so good.

Evelyne:

There was no damsel in distress.

Daniella:

Absolutely not ever, ever, ever.

Evelyne:

Not ever.

Daniella:

No.

Evelyne:

So let's talk about Mario. I know we don't want to.

Daniella:

He's the fucking worst. And the whole thing about Mario is even from the jump, he sees her and he's like, "Mine." He never sees her as a person ever.

Evelyne:

Well, because he sees her for the first time in an alley.

Daniella:

After she's killed someone.

Evelyne:

She's killed somebody in self-defense.

Daniella:

Yes. Oh, yeah. Totally justified.

Evelyne:

He's like, "Okay." But he doesn't see that as something as admirable. He sees that as something he can use.

Daniella:

Use to control her.

Evelyne:

And then he continues to use her through her adulthood and even calls her doll.

Daniella:

In Spanish. Well, sees her as a doll. He sees her as an object that he owns and controls. And it's funny to me because she, I think, recognizes it subconsciously, but hasn't really allowed herself to recognize it fully until she meets Gunner and it becomes an issue for her.

Evelyne:

And I think this is where Marie Maravilla really shines in this book, and it's the illustration of how an abusive relationship can develop.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

The insidiousness of it.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

Because when you're in one, you don't necessarily see it as abusive until you're not in one.

Daniella:

Well, and it's such a slow creep.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

It starts out so innocuously and you don't really see it as bad. And then it slowly, they push the line a little bit and you adjust to that, and they push the line a little bit, and you adjust to that. But by the time it gets to the final boundary where you're like, "Wow, this is really fucked up." It's so far past where you would've set a boundary originally.

Evelyne:

Exactly.

Daniella:

But it's so insidious and you don't see it in the moment because humans are designed to adapt. That's what we are built to do and survive.

Evelyne:

Exactly.

Daniella:

And he's never hurt her. He's never physically abused her, but he has very much emotionally manipulated her and controlled her.

Evelyne:

Kept her.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

He kept her in Tucson in that strip club and was on the verge of getting her to go to Mexico to live with him. She would have, if she had not met Gunner. I am almost a 100% certain.

Daniella:

Oh no, I am sure she would've done it.

Evelyne:

She would have moved to fucking Mexico. And the only reason that Mario came to Tucson was because she said, no.

Daniella:

No. Yeah.

Evelyne:

And I came to the realization on the second read that Mario is very much a male main character from a traditional Mafia book. He even dresses the same.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

He wears the...

Daniella:

Well, I love it too, because she makes such a point of describing his slicked back hair and his fancy suits and his freaking mustache, the whole thing. And these are the things that are highlighted in traditional Mafia romances where it's supposed to be this sexy, and all of the things that she describes are a complete turnoff in her book. You can tell that she's thinking, "This guy is not the guy." He is not the one that you're supposed to find attractive. He's trouble.

Evelyne:

And he gives her the strip club. And you think that's a symbol of his belief in her.

Daniella:

Absolutely not.

Evelyne:

But it's not.

Daniella:

It's another symbol of his control.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

And that she is an interrogator for the cartel, but he doesn't really see her as someone who's capable.

Daniella:

No.

Evelyne:

He sees her as someone he is controlling.

Daniella:

Absolutely. Well, and when he comes back, he's got all of his men there. He just takes control of the club straight from her. Doesn't ask for permission, doesn't communicate with her. She comes back and she goes, "Who are all these guys?" And she calls them all Armando.

Evelyne:

Armando. Oh my God.

Daniella:

Which I thought was hilarious.

Evelyne:

They're so interchangeable and so stupid. She just calls them all Armando, it's so hilarious.

Daniella:

I love it.

Evelyne:

I loved it so much.

Daniella:

That made me laugh every time. It was so funny. Oh my God. But to have such a dismissive attitude toward her to just come into a place that he has given her and just put his men in charge and start making deals without her. And she's supposed to be running this club.

Evelyne:

Exactly.

Daniella:

It's so gross.

Evelyne:

So she already is losing some of her autonomy as soon as he shows up. And that is exactly what happens in a traditional Mafia novel.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

That is exactly what happens. The female main character is protected. And it's that patriarchy at work, the female main character who is traditionally white.

Daniella:

White.

Evelyne:

Has to be protected at all costs. And so she loses her autonomy at the cost of her power.

Daniella:

Exactly.

Evelyne:

And that never fucking happens in this book.

Daniella:

Never.

Evelyne:

And it's so fucking beautiful.

Daniella:

And I love it too, because even Ryan recognizes. I don't know if she would have seen it so clearly. I think she still would've recognized it, but I don't think she would've seen it as clearly if she hadn't had so many interactions with Gunner before Mario came back. But when Mario does come back and just starts taking over, she's like, "what the fuck is happening? I thought that we were working together."

Evelyne:

Well, let's not give Nikki...

Daniella:

No, I'll say Nikki had Mario's number from the beginning, from the jump. She was like, "This guy is manipulative and terrible."

Evelyne:

I want to give Nikki some credit.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

Because she definitely planted seeds of doubt in Ryan's head.

Daniella:

Absolutely, absolutely.

Evelyne:

And I want to say that I think that she definitely had Nikki's voice in her head.

Daniella:

She did. But I also want to point out-

Evelyne:

But Gunner-

Daniella:

The emotional weirdness when you're being...

Evelyne:

Because that's the other thing is she was meeting with Gunner, and she's right. If she were interrogating somebody the way she was with Gunner, and she was as violent as she was in front of Gunner, in front of Mario, Mario would've been uncomfortable.

Daniella:

It would've been a very different scenario.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

Whereas gunner's like, Fuck, this woman's hot."

Evelyne:

I want to fuck you against this wall right now. I don't care you're covered in, this is amazing.

Daniella:

And Mario would've been uncomfortable.

Evelyne:

He would've been like, "This is too much power for you."

Daniella:

Exactly.

Evelyne:

You can't do this anymore.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

So let's talk about gunner's mustache. I want to say, I know this is a non-sequitur, but you don't see a lot of love interests that just have mustaches anymore.

Daniella:

I think that's fair because I do not just a mustache. I think the only person that can get away with it is Tom Selleck, and that's because he's fucking Tom Selleck.

Evelyne:

I can't say this is a 100% true, but I want to say that Tom Selleck was the inspiration for Gunner's mustache.

Daniella:

You know what? I'll take it. I'll believe that as fact. That makes it okay. To be honest, when I read it, even though I know he only has a mustache, I was putting in a full beard because I am a beard girly.

Evelyne:

You just don't see just the mustache-

Daniella:

You really don't.

Evelyne:

Anymore.

Daniella:

And to be honest, a lot of the times, just a mustache means villain.

Evelyne:

It's true.

Daniella:

That's what they use to signify a villain.

Evelyne:

It's true. It's all beard or clean-shaven.

Daniella:

Yep. It's interesting that she chose to give Gunner just a mustache.

Evelyne:

Just the mustache.

Daniella:

And he rocks it.

Evelyne:

He does.

Daniella:

Ryan's into it.

Evelyne:

Ryan is just in the gutter.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

I think Gunner could do whatever and she'd just be like-

Daniella:

He could do no wrong really? She's like, "Yeah, all right."

Evelyne:

I'll tell you, Gunner was... I was in the gutter.

Daniella:

The way he talks to her.

Evelyne:

Oh my God.

Daniella:

Some of his texts to her, I was just like, "Dude."

Evelyne:

She's trying to do business. And he's just like, "You know what, girl."

Daniella:

I need you to get over here.

Evelyne:

Dude, he gave her a ride back on his motorcycle wearing stretch pants, and he's like, "You left a wet spot on my back."

Daniella:

Yeah, on my back.

Evelyne:

And I'm like, "The fuck, you're not supposed to tell me that." Shhh. I'm blushing now.

Daniella:

I know.

Evelyne:

Why?

Daniella:

I know.

Evelyne:

And Ryan's just like, "What? I'm trying... This is serious. I'm doing serious business."

Daniella:

Stop distracting me.

Evelyne:

But he's like, "No, I don't mind."

Daniella:

I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm just pointing it out.

Evelyne:

You want to get together later?

Daniella:

It's true. I love it too, because he does just derail her train of thought constantly. She'll send him a completely innocent, like, "Hey, we need to talk about the gun running. We need to talk about the plan, whatever." And he's like, "I've been thinking about you thinking about you naked." And she's just like, "What?"

Evelyne:

No, gun running.

Daniella:

She's like, "Wait, wait, wait. Stop it."

Evelyne:

Serious, illegal business happening.

Daniella:

We need to discuss this. People could die.

Evelyne:

It's like, "Yeah, okay."

Daniella:

But also.

Evelyne:

But also sex.

Daniella:

Exactly. Exactly. Okay, wait. I do want to talk about... because there is a quote that she uses two or three times that I find hilarious. And she says, "Huh, didn't know I was into that." And there were a couple of times... Listen, you read spicy books enough, and you read something and you're like, "Wow. Didn't know I was into that, but that's actually really hot." Right?

Evelyne:

Uh-huh.

Daniella:

I was not into the spitting thing, I was not into it.

Evelyne:

Okay. All right. No, I am not into the spitting thing. However, spitting tequila into my mouth, I probably might be into it.

Daniella:

Yeah. This is the thing. So he spits just his own spit the first time.

Evelyne:

Not into that.

Daniella:

And she goes, "Didn't know I was into that." And I was like, "Nope, not into that."

Evelyne:

Not into that.

Daniella:

But then he does it with tequila. And I was like, "Well, I don't know. I feel like I have to try that to know if I'm into that."

Evelyne:

Try that. That's the thing. And I've actually cracked her up a couple of times on TikTok because I've made a couple of TikToks where I've been like, "Spitting kink, comes out of nowhere." It just appears.

Daniella:

Didn't know I was into that.

Evelyne:

Didn't know I was into that.

Daniella:

I'm still pretty confident that's not something I'm into, but-

Evelyne:

But she makes you think maybe you could be.

Daniella:

She does. She made me doubt it. She made doubt it. She's like, "Well, he's just sharing alcohol with me. So maybe."

Evelyne:

I know. If it's a drink, maybe it's okay.

Daniella:

Maybe it's okay.

Evelyne:

Maybe it's a good thing. I don't know. No, it's true. The tequila thing got me. I was totally just like, "Well, maybe."

Daniella:

I just loved it. Didn't know I was into that. Because I think every time I read a spicy book, I swear.

Evelyne:

I was like, "Too real. Too real." Oh God, it's true. She does it like twice. It's so funny.

Daniella:

Yeah, it's so good. She's like, "Oh my God. I didn't know I was under that." Gunner's like, "Yeah, I got you." Did we see the twist coming?

Evelyne:

Did not see the twist coming.

Daniella:

I didn't either. I knew that he had a secret.

Evelyne:

Well, she asked about his past and he's wishy washy about it.

Daniella:

Well, his whole relationship with Dex, I feel like sets up what's happening.

Evelyne:

Well, because close happening with Pres, and he and Pres obviously have something going on.

Daniella:

Something, yes.

Evelyne:

But he and Dex are like besties.

Daniella:

Brothers. Yeah. They are inseparable, yes.

Evelyne:

And you know they have a past. And you're like, "Okay, you guys have something going on."

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

But you don't know what.

Daniella:

No.

Evelyne:

And then Ryan asks about his tattoo, the McGregor thing, and you're like, "Okay."

Daniella:

And he's just dismissive. He's like, "Ah, it's from my past."

Evelyne:

And then you go to meet Scar.

Daniella:

Scar. That whole scene was so great.

Evelyne:

I love Scar. I love Scar.

Daniella:

Her little cadre of men just sitting on the couch.

Evelyne:

Oh my God. And they're so different from one another.

You've got scowling guy in the back. He just doesn't want to talk and he-

Daniella:

Doesn't say anything.

Evelyne:

He's looking at Gunner like, "I know you. I don't like you."

Daniella:

Yep.

Evelyne:

And then you've got Kenji, who's just got a scimitar, practically-

Daniella:

For reasons, yeah.

Evelyne:

Or whatever, a sword over there. And he's like, "Cool. I don't know what to do with that. That's fine, I guess." And then you got Russian Mafia guy over there and poor Gunner's just like, "I don't know, I want to go home."

Daniella:

What did I stumble into? But even walking up to the building, he was like, "What the hell? We are not safe here. Where have you taken me?"

Evelyne:

Ryan is just enjoying the fuck out of it.

Daniella:

I know. She thinks it's so funny. She's like, "No, no, just trust me."

Evelyne:

I know. But she's like... In her head because she's totally not reassuring anything.

Daniella:

No, no.

Evelyne:

She's enjoying the fuck-

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

She's not reassuring Gunner at all.

Daniella:

No. Not even a little.

Evelyne:

No. She's totally enjoying his uncomfort. She's like, "Yeah. The first time I came too, I was totally freaked out."

Daniella:

Yeah. She goes, this is the only proper response. I was thinking the same thing when I showed up. But I love Scar so much because Gunner calls her and is like, "I need help. Ryan's in trouble." And she goes, "This is what you need, this, this, this, and this."

Evelyne:

The best part of that though, is Gunner was afraid to ask for more. And so he asked for the bare minimum.

Daniella:

Bare minimum.

Evelyne:

And Scar went, "That's not all you need, you dumbass."

Daniella:

Yeah. She's like, "No, no, no."

Evelyne:

And then just produce everything, blueprints, everything. And he is just like, "Great."

Daniella:

And he's just like, "Yeah, that'll do it."

Evelyne:

That's exactly what I need.

Daniella:

Exactly. I love it. She was so funny. I know. The second book is her story, which I haven't read yet.

Evelyne:

It is absolutely her story. And the three guys. It's amazing.

Daniella:

It's so funny.

Evelyne:

Syndicate of Sins. It's hot as fuck.

Daniella:

Yeah, I believe that.

Evelyne:

But also great. And the plot is wonderful and you should read that.

Daniella:

She's so funny.

Evelyne:

But yeah.

Daniella:

I will say the characters in this, so good.

Evelyne:

Yeah. The arcs are great.

Daniella:

And even when Mario was texting, Ryan was being all coy about, "Well, Sergio's not really a problem. You don't need to worry about him." And I was just like, "Oh God, he's killed him." Immediately-

Evelyne:

Immediately.

Daniella:

I'm like, "He's dead." And poor Ryan is not quite ready to recognize who Mario is. Mario's a snake.

Evelyne:

He is a snake. He's so gross.

Daniella:

He's a snake. This is what upsets me is he thinks that he's so smart.

Evelyne:

He thinks he's so fucking smart but he's a dumb.

Daniella:

He's so dumb. And he's just got money. That's the thing, he's been able to solve so many problems because he has money and power, and that's the only reason.

Evelyne:

That's it.

Daniella:

And he's doing all of this to impress the circle or whatever.

Evelyne:

Exactly.

Daniella:

And you're not fooling anyone.

Evelyne:

The circle.

Daniella:

I know.

Evelyne:

That's what really brought it home. That's what makes Marie so great.

Daniella:

Yes.

Evelyne:

You were like, "Why is Mario doing all of this? What is the point?"

Daniella:

What is the point?

Evelyne:

Because he's already the heir to the fucking Mexican cartel.

Daniella:

Right. And first I was like, "Well, he just really wants to be in control. He just wants to have control." Because I can understand that based on the way he's treating Ryan, I'm like, "He's just a narcissist and he just wants to be in control of it all." But then it doesn't quite explain it enough.

Evelyne:

Exactly.

Daniella:

You're like, "What the hell is going on? What are his motivations?" And then you hear about the circle and you're like, "Ooh."

Evelyne:

Ooh.

Daniella:

Yeah, exactly.

Evelyne:

Okay.

Daniella:

And you're like, "Oh, he's trying to impress someone else."

Evelyne:

But even early on, when Ryan first goes to the cage fight and Mario's texting her about Gunner, you get like a, "How does he know?"

Daniella:

Your Spidey senses go off for sure. Yes.

Evelyne:

Because even she's going, "How does he know I'm here with Gunner?"

Daniella:

She's getting the little hairs on the back of her neck. She's like, "Ah, something is off."

Evelyne:

Something's weird. And so when she's on the run towards the end, and then you find the mole.

Daniella:

The mole.

Evelyne:

I don't even know her name because I hate her so much.

Daniella:

I can't remember.

Evelyne:

Because I hate that bitch.

Daniella:

Hate her so much.

Evelyne:

I hate her so much.

Daniella:

But you knew from the jump.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

You knew as soon as we met her, she was going to be a problem.

Evelyne:

And here's where Marie Maravilla uses the patriarchy against the reader.

Daniella:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Evelyne:

Against the fucking reader. Because you dismiss her as just one of the motorcycle bunnies. You think she's not important. You think she's just there to climb the ladder.

Daniella:

Well, and part of it is you're seeing her through Gunner's eyes, and he's so dismissive of her because she just wants to move up in the ranks of this motorcycle club.

Evelyne:

Yes. But she is in Mario's fucking pocket, and she's texting him and telling him exactly where fucking Ryan is.

Daniella:

Yep, yep. Exactly.

Evelyne:

And when you learn that, oh man.

Daniella:

I know. I know.

Evelyne:

But that actually led to one of the best scenes of the book is when she and Nikki are tied up in that room and Ryan is sitting there, her hands are tied, they're zip tied and she's sitting there and she's going, "These guys are fucking idiots."

Daniella:

I know. She goes, "I designed this room."

Evelyne:

They don't know how to do this at all.

Daniella:

They don't know how to do anything.

Evelyne:

I can escape out of this in a minute. Why aren't they in here?

Daniella:

Exactly.

Evelyne:

They've left us alone too long. My hands are above my head. I can break it out of this in a minute. That camera isn't even fucking on.

Daniella:

On. Exactly. I can tell when that's on. It hasn't been on this whole time. She and Nikki are having a full conversation.

Evelyne:

Yeah.

Daniella:

I loved Nikki.

Evelyne:

Nikki is amazing.

Daniella:

I loved Nikki. And I actually thought the next book, because of the way that this book plays out, I thought the next book for sure would be her and Dex. So I was surprised. That was a nice twist that Marie Maravilla was like, "No."

Evelyne:

Marie Maravilla's brain, I swear, is like the fucking labyrinth.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

You never know where it's going to go.

Daniella:

Good luck figuring it out. Exactly, yeah.

Evelyne:

You never know where it's going to go, and that's what I really like about her, and that's why I gave it five stars is because I didn't see the twist coming. And you don't see. So Gunner's like, "Okay, I have to go save my woman." And you can see the moment where he switches because the whole book, he had an end game and his end game was, "I'm going to run guns and I'm going after Mario."

Daniella:

You could see it.

Evelyne:

Yeah. I'm there for Mario.

Daniella:

Yep. 100%.

Evelyne:

I'm not supposed to get involved with Ryan, even though I'm really into Ryan, this is bad. The whole book. I'm going to sleep with Ryan, but I'm going to keep her at an emotional distance.

Daniella:

Yeah. I'm going to keep her at a distance. We can't get too close. It's dangerous for both of us.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

For whatever reason.

Evelyne:

Can't do this. But as soon as Mario captured Ryan and Ryan was actually in danger-

Daniella:

All bets are off.

Evelyne:

All bets are off. And you can see it flip and the thing is, Scar knew, and you can see it in the room. Scar knew.

Daniella:

Absolutely.

Evelyne:

And she actually told him when he asked for help, she's like, "I hope she forgives you. Good luck." And so you're like, "Huh?"

Daniella:

Something else is going on.

Evelyne:

And you know that there's something going on with him. And I knew he might've been in law enforcement. I thought maybe a cop, local.

Daniella:

Especially when Scar said that, I was like, "Okay, okay. I have a suspicion for what's going on."

Evelyne:

I thought maybe a cop, but low level, I was not thinking fucking FBI.

Daniella:

I know. No, did not see that coming.

Evelyne:

And then you link back to all the clues and you go, "Shit, motherfucking Marie."

Daniella:

She put huge chunks of breadcrumbs for us to follow.

Evelyne:

And what pissed me off is I always...

Daniella:

Always pick up on that shit.

Evelyne:

Yeah, same. And I did not get the twist.

Daniella:

She distracted us with sex.

Evelyne:

She did.

Daniella:

She did.

Evelyne:

Really good sex.

Daniella:

Yes. Yes, she did.

Evelyne:

Really, really good sex.

Daniella:

And she got us good.

Evelyne:

We were completely just sidelined with really fucking hot sex.

Daniella:

Yeah. That's what I think happened. I was so impressed.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

I was so impressed that she got me.

Evelyne:

So got me. I was like, "Oh my God."

Daniella:

I know. I know.

Evelyne:

Oh my God. Of course he's FBI. So of course he goes to try to rescue her, but she doesn't need rescuing.

Daniella:

She's not interested.

Evelyne:

No. And that's just not only does she not need rescuing, she's annihilating Mario's men in there.

Daniella:

All the Armandos.

Evelyne:

All the Armandos are dead.

Daniella:

Say goodbye.

Evelyne:

Dead, bleeding out.

Daniella:

But I love it too, because she makes a priority of getting Nikki out. Nikki doesn't want to leave her. And she's like, "I can't do what I need to do if I'm worried about you. You have to get out." And I love their relationship. I love their relationship so much.

Evelyne:

The women helping women theme is very strong in this book.

Daniella:

And I love Nikki. She's so complicated and you can tell, you don't really get to know her story in full. And I'm assuming there's going to be a book later.

Evelyne:

Book three.

Daniella:

Yeah. I just know that's coming because she set it up so well. So you just know that's coming down the pipe. But their whole thing where Nikki's got Mario's number immediately and she's trying so hard to get Ryan to see it. And Ryan just can't because she's in it. And when you're in it, you just can't. It's so hard to see it for what it is.

Evelyne:

It's true.

Daniella:

But also Ryan being so protective of her and wanting to save her, and knowing that of the two of them, Ryan is going to be the more hands-on, let's just say. And so she's the one. She's like, "No, no, you have to get out so that I can do what I need to do to get myself out." And Nikki finally goes, "Okay then, I understand. I understand." But you can just feel the love between them. Oh, yeah. It was such a great... And it was so nice to see that relationship for Ryan who has had a fucked up life.

Evelyne:

Because Ryan is very forgiving of secrets because she lives in a world of crime.

Daniella:

Oh, absolutely.

Evelyne:

And so she's like, "Look-"

Daniella:

She's got her own secrets. She's carrying around this burden of having killed the murderer of her parents. She is like, "I've killed." That's what started all of that.

Evelyne:

Absolutely. So she's like, "I get secrets. I live in a world where people are committing crimes on the daily. I completely get secrets." And so when she learns that Nikki is like, "There's a whole Russian Mafia thing happening." She's like, "Wait, you never told me about the Russian mafia." And then Nikki's like, "Eh..."

Daniella:

Well, in that whole thing, she tells Nikki immediately. She's like, "You need to get out of town." She knows enough about Mario to be like, "He's going to use you against me." She knows and this is why it's so funny to me because she does it so well. She knows that Mario is going to-

Evelyne:

At that point, she was catching on too.

Daniella:

She had gotten to the point where she was healthy enough and out of it enough that she could recognize.

Evelyne:

She had been out of his sphere of influence and she had been living with Gunner for a couple of days.

Daniella:

A healthy enough relationship that she knows the difference and could see. And plus, she had Nikki's voice in the back of her head saying, "This guy is trouble. He doesn't treat you as a person. He treats you as an object that he owns." And she finally starts to go, "Oh my God. Yeah, that's exactly what's happening." And so she's like, "You have to get yourself out of here because he's going to use you against me." And then unfortunately, her past catches up with her. And so Mario also catches up with her, but she gets out and I love that. I love that for both of them.

Evelyne:

Mario meets the end that he should meet.

Daniella:

Yes, 100%. Because fuck that guy.

Evelyne:

Ugh, fucking Mario. God.

Daniella:

I know.

Evelyne:

I hate him.

Daniella:

He's the worst.

Evelyne:

God.

Daniella:

The whole book, I was just like, "Ugh."

Evelyne:

Every time he showed up.

Daniella:

Every time. Her phone would go off and I'd just be like, "Ugh."

Evelyne:

Because you knew when he had her on his lap and Gunner was in there.

Daniella:

Immediately.

Evelyne:

That whole exchange. Well, even that was the first time for her where she was like, "This is fucking weird." And then when he said that she's his fiance, everyone except him was like, "What?"

Daniella:

Yeah, exactly.

Evelyne:

The fuck?

Daniella:

Out of left field. Nobody knows what is happening. Ryan is like, "No, not, no."

Evelyne:

But he's touching her at that point, and she's afraid to do anything. And she's just like, "Okay, what though? Ew. No. Gross."

Daniella:

Not cool.

Evelyne:

Fucking Mario.

Daniella:

Yeah. He's the worst. I hate him. But it ends happily. They get to stick it to the FBI agent in charge and be like, "Ha ha, we know who you work for."

Evelyne:

Yeah, we do.

Daniella:

Fuck you. It's so great. I love it.

Evelyne:

I love it.

Daniella:

And Gunner's like, "I came into this thinking, I got to change things. I can't change shit. I quit."

Evelyne:

I love it. Yep. I love it so much.

Daniella:

I'm going to start gun running for real.

Evelyne:

I know. I'm going to go and do a life of crime with the woman I love.

Daniella:

That's right. That's right.

Evelyne:

Put some more tequila in her mouth.

Daniella:

That's right.

Evelyne:

God, I love it so much. Oh, fuck.

Daniella:

So yeah, I was surprised. I did not expect to like it as much as I did. The only reason I can't give it five stars, honestly, is so subjective. And it's just because I have a hard time with violence. And it is so personal. It is nothing against the author, it is nothing against the genre. It is totally 100% me.

Evelyne:

That's fair.

Daniella:

It's just I can't do it, it's so violent.

Evelyne:

Come on. The very first time he accompanies her, she goes to the strip club because there's a problem. She walks into the strip club because there are Reapers there. The Reapers call her a whore to her face. He cuts the finger off right there. No fucking hesitation. Just takes a fucking knife.

Daniella:

Didn't even pause.

Evelyne:

Cuts a finger off and says, "No one better insult her ever again." And I'm just like, "Okay, I love you." There was no fucking hesitation. Immediate.

Daniella:

Immediate. Yeah.

Evelyne:

You better not disrespect her ever again. And she's just like... Because for her, she hasn't had anyone do...

Daniella:

Fucking Mario's not going to do that.

Evelyne:

No. And Sergio expected her to be able to defend her herself. It wasn't that Sergio wasn't going to defend her.

Daniella:

Absolutely not. But he understood that she was capable enough to do it on her own.

Evelyne:

Exactly.

Daniella:

So that was its own pride and trust and whatever. Whereas Mario didn't think that she was capable of anything.

Evelyne:

Exactly. And so to have someone who would be like, "What did you say?" But then she got to also beat the shit out of somebody in front of Gunner and then have Gunner be like-

Daniella:

That's hot.

Evelyne:

That's great. Keep doing that. And not be like-

Daniella:

Not be judged.

Evelyne:

Change yourself.

Daniella:

Exactly.

Evelyne:

Not be like, "Yeah, that's hot, but..."

Daniella:

From the get go, it was like, "I appreciate you just the way you are."

Evelyne:

It's just she had never had that. So yeah.

Daniella:

Yep.

Evelyne:

Yeah. Perfect.

Daniella:

Yeah, it was very good. I'll probably read the rest.

Evelyne:

I will say that book two starts with Scar going on an assassination. I think it's assassination. It was either that or stealing very, very sensitive documents.

Daniella:

Love it. Scar's awesome. So, hard to go wrong.

Evelyne:

Love Scar. Kenji though? Kenji is unhinged. Love Kenji.

Daniella:

That's fair. That's fair. All right. Let's see. Was there anything else we wanted to talk about?

Evelyne:

I do not think so. Do you remember what book we're reading?

Daniella:

So next time, we're going to read Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh.

Evelyne:

Yes.

Daniella:

So join us for that.

Evelyne:

Going pretty traditional urban fantasy with that.

Daniella:

Yeah.

Evelyne:

I like it. Yeah, it's going to be fun.

Daniella:

It's going to be great. I read that whole series.

Evelyne:

I did too.

Daniella:

Yeah, it was good.

Evelyne:

Knocked that sucker out.

Daniella:

So did I. Just one after the other like dominoes.

Evelyne:

Yeah.

Daniella:

So join us for that. This has been Intoxicated Literature. I am Daniella Drake.

Evelyne:

And I'm Evelyne Crowe.

Announcer:

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Intoxicated Literature. Drink well, friends.