Book Two of The Castelli Brothers Series starts with Rafael and Luca heatedly discussing Kathryn Merchant, their deceased father's twenty-three-years-old widow (who had been his sixth wife and found specific mention in his will). The story opens about three years after the incidents of the first book.

Kathryn and Luca have a standoffish beginning. A beginning which started two years back when Kathryn married Gianni Castelli. Luca doesn't miss any chance to taunt her or sneer at her and call her stepmother. Kathryn has been a disappointment for her mother her whole life in spite of trying to be the best version of herself. And it hurt her so much that she went along with her mother's brilliant plan of her marrying Castelli Senior with the condition that after they separate she would be doing a job at their corporate offices.

I just couldn't wrap my head around Kathyn's agenda. I mean, really, just to prove her mother otherwise, she had to marry Gianni so that she could get a job in a large corporation to prove her mother wrong! Umm...who does that? When gradually Kathryn's mother's story was revealed, I did feel sad for her but she shouldn't have treated her child the way she did, she shouldn't have practically pushed her to do something so strange. Though I must say, Luca and Kathryn hit it off from the start. In all that hatred, there's a passion so intense that it burns the pages (in my case, my Kindle!). But Luca is anything but merciful. He sends her straight to the gallows as soon as she steps foot in his office.

And Luca is an entirely different story. At first, it's not clear why he hates Kathryn so much. But then, isn't hatred a strong emotion which sometimes speaks of hidden love, or attraction, maybe. And Kathryn is funny.

She told herself she was starting to find that scowl on his face almost charming. Like a love song from an ogre.

Also, Luca has had a neglected childhood. It doesn't justify his later meanness but, well, he is a character after all.

I read many reviews where Luca is painted all black for insulting Kathryn so much. But I really enjoyed reading this story, because Kathryn almost always gave back what she got. And it was total fun to read them bickering.

Like I said in the review of Book One - sordid.

Luca wasn’t sure he found his latest stepmother’s obvious manipulation of the press to be in the same realm as the stories Rafael and his wife, Lily—who also happened to be their former stepsister, because the Castelli family tree was nothing if not tangled and bent back on itself—had told to explain the fact she’d been thought dead for five years.

Not related by blood, but one brother romancing stepsister and the other their stepmother is definitely sordid.
All I can say is: Read at your own risk!

P.S. I loved the parts that Rafael and Lily, from Book One - [b:Unwrapping the Castelli Secret|25494264|Unwrapping the Castelli Secret (The Castelli Brothers #1)|Caitlin Crews|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1526000283s/25494264.jpg|45269339], had in this one.