The quick verdict
Dante has officially made me realise I love mafia romance.
Dark, possessive, dangerously proprietary about the heroine’s safety and completely uninterested in taking no for an answer. This is a captor-and-captive romance done properly, and I listened to the whole thing with headphones on for very good reason.
I chose the Tor Thom narration over the Sebastian York version, and I suspect that choice shaped my rating more than I expected.
The rundown
Katerina “Kat” Everson is taken captive by Dante Moretti, the ruthless and vicious mafia boss, to pay off a debt her brother owes him.
Kat has no say in the arrangement. Dante tells her she is coming with him, and that is essentially the end of the negotiation as far as he is concerned.
What follows is set in Chicago’s criminal underworld, with brutal power plays, dangerous enemies and a heroine who is punished for a debt she did not personally create, simply because of who her brother is. Locked into overlapping, inescapable living spaces with the man holding her captive, Kat’s fear and resistance slowly shift into something far more complicated.
Real talk
Dante tells Kat she’s coming with him. She says no. My internal response was somewhere along the lines of “move aside,” because that man was clearly not asking.
Then he tells her to come with him to his room, and I was already looking for the door before she’d finished objecting.
Dante is unremorseful, cold and dangerous to absolutely everyone except Kat. He falls first, and he falls obsessively, tracking her movements and zeroing in on her from the very start. Anyone who threatens her safety gets an extreme, lethal response, and somehow, despite being her captor, he becomes the only person who can settle her nightmares.
My only real complaint is the narration during the spicy scenes. The dialogue itself was still good, but the male narrator’s tone during those moments had the energy of someone reading out a weather report. I want my spice to sound spicy, not like I’m being reminded to bring home milk from the shops.
That is specific to the Tor Thom version I listened to. I have not heard the Sebastian York narration, and I suspect it might land differently.
Tropes & vibes
- Dark mafia romance
- Captor and captive
- Kidnapping
- Forced proximity
- Extreme enemies to lovers
- Morally grey alpha anti-hero
- He falls first, obsessively
- Touch her and die
- Debt payoff / bloodline liability
- Nightmare comfort, safe haven in her captor
- Dual POV
- Guaranteed HEA
The tiny details that did the damage
- “You’re coming with me.” “No.” “Move aside.”
- Being invited to his room and immediately looking for the door
- Dante becoming the only thing that calms her nightmares
- A gilded cage doing exactly what gilded cages do
- Lethal overreactions to anyone who so much as looks at her wrong
- A debt she never personally owed, used against her anyway
Read this if…
Pick this up if you enjoy dark mafia romance, captor-and-captive dynamics, forced proximity and a hero who is dangerous to everyone in the room except the heroine.
Audiobook listeners should stick with headphones for this one, and if narration style matters to you during spicy scenes, it may be worth comparing a sample of the Tor Thom and Sebastian York versions before committing.
EmberSas ratings
- Story: 4 / 5
- Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5
- Emotional damage: 💀💀 (2 skulls). Light damage. No crying in the car park, but bring headphones.
- Series: Chicago Ruthless, Book 1
- Format: Audiobook
- Narration: Tor Thom (dual narration also available with Sebastian York, not the version I listened to)
- Narration rating: 3.75 / 5. Dialogue was strong, but the spicy scenes needed more heat and less weather report.
- Favourite problem: Dante Moretti
- Public-listening safety: Headphones essential
- Final vibe: Gilded cage, obsessive mafia boss and a new genre problem I did not see coming.
Group chat verdict
Dante told Kat she was coming with him. She said no. He did not care.
I have officially discovered a love of mafia romance, and I blame this book entirely. Dante’s brand of possessive, lethal, “touch her and die” energy hit exactly the way it was supposed to, even if the narration during the spicy scenes could not quite match the intensity of the dialogue.
Four stars, four chillies, and a very strong recommendation to have your headphones ready.
Comfort-level note
This is a high-intensity dark mafia romance featuring kidnapping, captivity, violence, threats and explicit adult content. Check the author’s full content warnings and your comfort level before reading or listening.
Final vibe
One debt, one gilded cage and a mafia boss who does not do “no.”
