PRETTY PREY
Series: Empire of Kings #2
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Author: A Zavarelli
Release Date: January 26, 2026
It started with a message from a stranger.
Or so I thought.
Beneath a veil of anonymity, he lured out my secrets, fears, and desires.
Behind the mask, he could be anyone.
And somehow, it felt safer not knowing.
He comes to me under the cover of darkness, pulling me deeper into this forbidden game.
I give myself to him, knowing the consequences could destroy my life.
I just didn’t expect him to be the one to ruin me.
When the mask comes off, the truth cuts deep.
He isn’t just a man obsessed.
He’s the same man who’s hated me for the last nine years.
In the Cosa Nostra, they call him Il Lupo.
The wolf.
And all this time…
I’ve been his prey.
There’s something so primal about the way he touches me. It isn’t just want. It’s possession.
It’s official, I’m obsessed with this series. It should come as no surprise, considering I live for A Zavarelli dark romance and mafia romance. But something about the Vitale brothers just hits oh so good. I was so excited for Romeo’s story after being introduced to his quiet storm as a secondary character in Beautiful Torment. But as a main character? He exceeded all of my expectations and then some.
Gabi and Romeo have a long standing history, rooted in pain and regrets. As a teenager, Gabi was in love with Romeo. But she never got to know what it would be like to be his. Because one fateful night changed the trajectory of their future and irrevocably changed his. She thinks that he hates her. He’s spent every moment he has in her presence antagonizing and throwing barbs her way after all. But little does she know that he has a secret that she’s at the center of.
I consider lying to her, so I don’t scare her away. But Gabi’s too smart for that, and I don’t want to do that to her. “Acts of Service is my love language,” I tell her. “It was a romantic gesture.”
Romeo is the king of unhinged that I live for when it comes to my fictional men. This man is obsessed and he’s absolutely feral with it. I loved his single minded possessiveness.
There was something so incredibly vulnerable about both of their characters. Gabi and her people pleasing ways, she struggles with her duty to her family and the cost that it would have to her. Her engagement to a man she doesn’t want, nothing but a business connection for the Cosa Nostra. And her pining for a man she can never is something she can’t seem to get away from.
The romance and the spice was absolutely delicious. The angst, the emotion, the sizzle of it all just hit every spot for me.
This was more mafia light than the previous book, but it was very much a page turner nonetheless. I loved the romance, I loved the characters, and I loved the story.
I’m already itching for my next hit of this series and can’t wait for the next book!
A. Zavarelli is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of dark and contemporary romance.
When she’s not putting her characters through hell, she can usually be found watching bizarre and twisted documentaries in the name of research.
She currently lives in the Northwest with her lumberjack and an entire brood of fur babies.
Connect w/A. Zavarelli:
Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter | Mailing List | Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Bookbub
Check out more information on the books and authors coming this fall HERE—> https://under-world-kings.com
Keep up-to-date with all things Underworld Kings in the Reader Group HERE—> https://bit.ly/3ArB5vx
Speak Your Mind